My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
npgmbr
Enthusiast - Level 2

Before I begin let me say that I love FIOS....it beats the competition by a mile.  My disappointment however, comes from the software that runs the Motorola boxes badged as the FIOS Home Media DVR.

 

When I first moved to my current apartment I immediately signed for for FIOS when I found out that it was available.  For three years before I got FIOS I was (and still am) a big fan of TiVo but I decided that it would make sense to try out VZ's DVR if it meant saving money and reducing the number of boxes connected to my TV so I gave the Home Media DVR and try and sent it back to VZ only three weeks after I began using it.

 

Two years later I decide to give it a try again because it was being advertised as a bundle that would save me some cash.  I figured that bugs in the software would have been worked out by now so I didn't mind giving it a try again.  Well I've had the box since Nov 08 and im almost ready to throw it out the window.  Many of the problems I experienced the first time I tried the Home Media DVR still exist and thats very disappointing!

 

Unfortunately, I'm stuck in a contract with this stupid box until Oct this year but you can bet I won't waste a moment kicking these boxes to the curb and replacing them with my TiVos (thank God I kept them).

 

Unlike the Home Media DVR my TiVo's do not:

 

- Arbitrarily fast forward when they want without my input.

- Fail to respond to input from the remote if not pointed directly at the box.

- Fail to recognize the input from the remote and do something else.

- Have clunky fast forward and rewind.  TiVo is smooth and refined.

- Have a tendency to jump to an entirely different folder after I delete a show in one folder.

- Have options that are un-clear when deciding if the user has to decide if he wants to cancel an existing recording to watch or record something new.

 

And finally, my TiVos never made me so sick with rage that I dreamed of ways to make it feel the pain and frustration it was causing me. 

 

As I've already said, I love my FIOS internet and TV service but the Home Media DVR has TOO MANY FREAKIN BUGS.  At this point I'm not waiting on wither VZ or Motorola to fix them; I'll just be waiting out my contract so i can send this damd box back to hell and place my TiVos back where they belong making me and my life much more happy. 

 

Rant Over!

Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2

I do agree with you, I do like my Tivo HD better. But the lack of the "DVR" button does bug me. But my biggest peeve is that to get a recorded show on another TV you have to fully transfer the show to the other Tivo, it takes about a hour to transfer a HD show. . The fios box just streams the video, so it takes no time at all. 

And I moved a hr video from my PC to my Tivo, it took about 6 to 8 hrs for one of the videos to move over. Most the time its only 2, but some times its longer.

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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
npgmbr
Enthusiast - Level 2

Ya know, I like the fact that you can easily watch a show recorded on the Home Media DVR in another room in an instant.....But the negatives pop-up when you try to have any interaction with the box outside of stop and start.  If that show has commercials and you try to skip them the DVR has a really hard time understanding what the satelite box it telling it to do.  Then this odd problem I have with my box is that if im watching a show and I let it play straight through (not fast forwarding through commercials), it picks a point when it wants to start fast forwarding on its own and it doesn't stop.  So if I walk away during a commercial break its possible that when I return, it will have reached the end of the show.  (what the crap is that all about)

 

So while I like the instant satifaction the Home Media DVR provides in that sense, Its not enough to make me hate transferring a show using TiVo. 

Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@TimSykes wrote:

I do agree with you, I do like my Tivo HD better. But the lack of the "DVR" button does bug me


I thought you had a Harmony remote?  You should have "DVR" (LIST) programmed on that remote.  I have it programmed on my Harmony's MENU button, since it is the command I use most often.

To get the command to take you directly to the TiVo's recorded list, make sure you add the correct device to your Harmony, as per FAQ #108 in the AVS TivoHD FAQ.  Some people make the mistake of adding the device to their Harmony as the "TivoHD" -- if you do that, you won't get the function to take you directly to the recorded list.

 

If you prefer to use a TiVo remote, then you can buy a TiVo remote with a DVR (list) button for $13.


@TimSykes wrote:

But my biggest peeve is that to get a recorded show on another TV you have to fully transfer the show to the other Tivo, it takes about a hour to transfer a HD show. . The fios box just streams the video, so it takes no time at all. 


That disparity has mostly to do with your network.  Wireless 802.11g is not adequate for HD MRV.  If you want instant viewing on high-definition recordings with MRV, you need to have a wired, MoCA, or Powerline AV connection to your TiVos.  Verizon's boxes have the advantage of built-in MoCA, so they have a 100Mbps connection, whereas you are lucky to get 12Mbps between wireless TiVos with Actiontec router.

 

On my MoCA network (NIM100s for each TiVo), most recordings transfer fast enough to skip commercials.  You can also resume from a paused point, just as on the FiOS DVR.

 


@TimSykes wrote:

And I moved a hr video from my PC to my Tivo, it took about 6 to 8 hrs for one of the videos to move over. Most the time its only 2, but some times its longer.


With a wired connections, downloads from TiVo to PC are only about 1/3 to 2/5 as fast as MRV.  Why the disparity?  Downloads to a computer are remuxed into a single MPG on-the-fly, whereas transfers between TiVos are sent using the original transport streams stored on the TiVo hard drive.

 

When downloading to your PC, throughput will vary from 6Mbps to 13Mbps, depending on what channels you have tuned.  On a wired network, throughput between TiVos with MRV will vary from 18Mbps to 30Mbps.  Wireless MRV can be as little as 1/3 of that, depending on the RF conditions in your home.

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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2
The issue with all of that is that I have a wired connection all over my house with the Actiontec as my router, and 2 other hubs around my house. I don't believe in wireless network, unless I have to, like my G1 phone.
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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
nascar
Master - Level 1

@npgmbr wrote:

Then this odd problem I have with my box is that if im watching a show and I let it play straight through (not fast forwarding through commercials), it picks a point when it wants to start fast forwarding on its own and it doesn't stop.  So if I walk away during a commercial break its possible that when I return, it will have reached the end of the show.  (what the crap is that all about)


I have reported this problem (and I may have been the first) on this forum, BroadBand Reports, and to two FiOS techs.  I know they are aware of the issue (I think due to my telling them).

I have asked them repeatedly for a direct way to report bugs but no dice.

Maybe I need to make a phone call. 

Message Edited by nascar on 05-07-2009 11:08 AM
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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
daryl054
Newbie

I agree there seems to be some simple intuitive features Fios/verizon seems to have missed the boat on.  I love fios internet and the quality of the HD signal, however I am very frustrated with the programming of the box. 

1) There is am option to extend the record time of a show when setting it up (can not extent while it is recording which is silly) 30,60, 90 etc.  I found out the hard way this feature does not work, Verizon blames motorola for the issue which is crap, it is the programming, as the feature worked fine on my old Comcast box which was the exact same model.  I recorded a playoff game and missed the last 2 minutes of regualtion and overtime as the recording I set up with 90 minutes extra recording , ended on time.  Way to go Verzion in making customers aware that this available feature in the menu does not work!!! According the the support guy I talked to, it has never worked, and they are working on it, so I ask why is it available to choose from?

2) Here is another bass awkwards item I found out the hard way.  When pausing a show, after 30 minutes the show begins playing, however not from where it was paused, it just jumps to live and you lose the 30 minutes.  Verizons answer was just record it.  On Comcast I could pause for a long as there was space on the drive, and if it did run out of room and begin playing , it did it from the pause point.  I can live with the 30 minute cap, however to just jump to live after 30 minutes seems very silly to me.

This all said, I have not had any issues like I did with Comcast of significant hesitation of responding to remote commands, though I agree the ffw and frw are clunky.

 3) I also think it is silly that I can watch shows from one box, on another, however do not have full access, meaning when I watch a show upstairs on my downstair box, why can I not delete it when I am done watching it versus remembering to do it later. Additionally I would like to set up a recording on the remote box as well.  If  we can have access to watch, there is no reason we should not be able to have full access!

Message Edited by daryl054 on 05-07-2009 08:26 AM
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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
nascar
Master - Level 1

All 3 of your points seem like common sense to me.  Hopefully Verizon will make some major changes to IMG 1.7 when it is released.


@daryl054 wrote:

I agree there seems to be some simple intuitive features Fios/verizon seems to have missed the boat on.  I love fios internet and the quality of the HD signal, however I am very frustrated with the programming of the box. 

1) There is am option to extend the record time of a show when setting it up (can not extent while it is recording which is silly) 30,60, 90 etc.  I found out the hard way this feature does not work, Verizon blames motorola for the issue which is crap, it is the programming, as the feature worked fine on my old Comcast box which was the exact same model.  I recorded a playoff game and missed the last 2 minutes of regualtion and overtime as the recording I set up with 90 minutes extra recording , ended on time.  Way to go Verzion in making customers aware that this available feature in the menu does not work!!! According the the support guy I talked to, it has never worked, and they are working on it, so I ask why is it available to choose from?

2) Here is another bass awkwards item I found out the hard way.  When pausing a show, after 30 minutes the show begins playing, however not from where it was paused, it just jumps to live and you lose the 30 minutes.  Verizons answer was just record it.  On Comcast I could pause for a long as there was space on the drive, and if it did run out of room and begin playing , it did it from the pause point.  I can live with the 30 minute cap, however to just jump to live after 30 minutes seems very silly to me.

This all said, I have not had any issues like I did with Comcast of significant hesitation of responding to remote commands, though I agree the ffw and frw are clunky.

 3) I also think it is silly that I can watch shows from one box, on another, however do not have full access, meaning when I watch a show upstairs on my downstair box, why can I not delete it when I am done watching it versus remembering to do it later. Additionally I would like to set up a recording on the remote box as well.  If  we can have access to watch, there is no reason we should not be able to have full access!

Message Edited by daryl054 on 05-07-2009 08:26 AM

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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@TimSykes wrote:
The issue with all of that is that I have a wired connection all over my house with the Actiontec as my router, and 2 other hubs around my house. I don't believe in wireless network, unless I have to, like my G1 phone.

And you can't start watching a show as soon (within 10-20 seconds) as you select it on the remote TiVo?  I find this odd, since I do this almost every night.


@nascar wrote:

All 3 of your points seem like common sense to me.  Hopefully Verizon will make some major changes to IMG 1.7 when it is released.



I agree with #1 and #2, but #3 should be a menu option on the DVR, i.e. "Allow other boxes to delete programs from this DVR."  Otherwise, Verizon would receive support calls asking why programs disappeared from the DVR, when they were remotely deleted by other family members.

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Re: My Displeasure with the Home Media DVR
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2

@KenAF wrote:

@TimSykes wrote:
The issue with all of that is that I have a wired connection all over my house with the Actiontec as my router, and 2 other hubs around my house. I don't believe in wireless network, unless I have to, like my G1 phone.

And you can't start watching a show as soon (within 10-20 seconds) as you select it on the remote TiVo?  I find this odd, since I do this almost every night.


Well I can, but I have to watch all the commercials. Like I said it takes around 1 hr to transfer a HD show. 

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