Serious DVR programming error by Verizon!
SurfGuru
Newbie

PLEASE HELP!

There are many shows which Verizon presently shows to end 1 minute after the hour such as The Voice in HD on channel 504 on Mondays which ends at "10:01 PM" and Bates Motel on channel 681, also on Mondays, which ends at 8:01 PM.  If you want to record two shows that start at either 8:00 PM or at 10:00 PM, you can't!  

 

FIRST PROPOSED SOLUTION:

The only two adjustments the system lets the user make to recording length of any show is either to extend the recording time to stop LATER or to start the show EARLIER.  That is you can only EXPAND the recording time but never REDUCE it!  Although you should be able to, presently you can't shorten the VOICE by stopping it 1 minute or even 5 minutes earlier.  Neither can you opt to start the show which normally would start at 10:00 PM  1 minute or 5 minutes LATER so it won't conflict with the show ending at 10:01 PM.  Again, can only make the shows longer on either end, you can't shorten them on either end.  This is actually a different programming deficiency which shoud be corrected in my opinion.

SECOND AND BEST SOLUTION:

In my opinion, the primary deficiency is that no show should be allowed to exceed the top of the hour by any time for recording purposes, not even 1 minute.  All should be truncated to the exact top of the hour or the half hour.  The best solution would be for Verizon to progam ALL shows to end promptly exactly on the hour or the half hour by default.  That way the viewer could always record any two shows at the beginning of any hour.  As an option, as an override, IF the viewers were to want to extend any show by 1 minute or 5 minutes, they could do so at the risk of losing the ability to record other show(s) during the next hour.  Again, that should be the option, not the default, also humbly in my opinion.

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Re: Serious DVR programming error by Verizon!
walt178
Specialist - Level 3

Although I understand your point, I think the current method is adequate.  The manual recording option is available for those times when the defaults don't meet the user's needs.

However, if you want to propose your solutions, you should do so in the "Verizon Idea Exchange."  Then other users can vote on your proposal, and it will have a better chance of being considered.

Re: Serious DVR programming error by Verizon!
lacticacidtrip
Specialist - Level 1

I am a heavy DVR user, and I totally understand your frustration with this issue. You are not alone. There have been many postings about this. Yes, there is the manual option. But with how many overrun conflicts I get this option is ridiculously complicated.

Your first proposal is a common request. Verizon's past response is that they have an agreement with the content providers not to alter content. Of course you an I both agree that shortening is not altering since it is something that can already be done manually. But Verizon has still not budged. Your second proposal would only reverse the problem for many users, causing them to have their endings truncated if they didn't keep a very close eye on their scheduled recordings.

The idea I like best is to have the DVR automatically search for re-airings of the conflicting shows, and reschedule whichever show repeats first. If it cannot find repeats, then it should truncate an overlap based on which show is listed higher in priority in the Series Manager.

You can find an abundance of similar thinking by going to the Idea Exchange and searching the word conflict. Or just click here.

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Re: Serious DVR programming error by Verizon!
CRDFilm
Enthusiast - Level 2

The one minute over-runs on programs isn't Verizon's fault. The networks purposely schedule some of their shows to run over the hour by that one minute just so you won't switch the channel to another network (or can't record a program on another channel that starts at the top of the hour). It's all about greed, not how it affects anyone's DVR.

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