Unable to watch some recordings
DCGTLS
Enthusiast - Level 3

I have had this problem on and off with the last 2 DVR's and nothing fixes it.

I try to watch a recorded show and when I hit play it throws me back to live TV. I have tried everything I can think of like unplugging, using the "in home support" as well as calling Verizon support. When this happens the only thing I can do is delete the recording and hope that it will air again.

It also has issues with displaying the correct % of space used. It can show 74% used and I watch 4 HD shows each an hour long and delete them after watching and it will then show 72% used. Come on 4 hours of HD is not 2%. If at that point I unplug the power and then plug it in again and look it will now show 42% used.

I especially hate when it happens during a season premiere or finally.

I have had the DVR replaced twice for this problem and it still happens. 

In the last moth or so I have also been experiencing a lot of pixelation and freezing. I am not sure but it could have something to do with the fact that the peaople next door have been diging in their yard alot over the summer to keep fixin broken water lines and my fiber line runs at an angle thru their yard right where they have been digging or this box is just starting to fail again. I have not seen any of the other TV's in the house have the pixelation issue but I usualy only watch TV in the living room.

I really hate to have to go thru replacing the DVR again and have to reprogram all of my recordings and lose what I have not watched yet. If they would just figure out a way to transfer the recording info to a new box would be great even better if they would have folowed thru with what I was promised over 5 years ago when I first got FIOS, the ability to add a USB drive for additional space. That was the selling point for me at the time. 

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Re: Unable to watch some recordings
spacedebris
Master - Level 2

@DCGTLS wrote:

I have had this problem on and off with the last 2 DVR's and nothing fixes it.

I try to watch a recorded show and when I hit play it throws me back to live TV. I have tried everything I can think of like unplugging, using the "in home support" as well as calling Verizon support. When this happens the only thing I can do is delete the recording and hope that it will air again.

It also has issues with displaying the correct % of space used. It can show 74% used and I watch 4 HD shows each an hour long and delete them after watching and it will then show 72% used. Come on 4 hours of HD is not 2%. If at that point I unplug the power and then plug it in again and look it will now show 42% used.

I especially hate when it happens during a season premiere or finally.

I have had the DVR replaced twice for this problem and it still happens. 

In the last moth or so I have also been experiencing a lot of pixelation and freezing. I am not sure but it could have something to do with the fact that the peaople next door have been diging in their yard alot over the summer to keep fixin broken water lines and my fiber line runs at an angle thru their yard right where they have been digging or this box is just starting to fail again. I have not seen any of the other TV's in the house have the pixelation issue but I usualy only watch TV in the living room.

I really hate to have to go thru replacing the DVR again and have to reprogram all of my recordings and lose what I have not watched yet. If they would just figure out a way to transfer the recording info to a new box would be great even better if they would have folowed thru with what I was promised over 5 years ago when I first got FIOS, the ability to add a USB drive for additional space. That was the selling point for me at the time. 


1. the problem with recording but then being unable to playback the recording is actually a known issue right now. Verizon is working on a solution. It should be corrected when the IMG upgrades to version 1.8. Swapping the dvr out will not fix this issue.

2. The problem with it not showing the correct % of space used is also a known issue. You can correct this by going to

Menu->Settings->System Info   then when you are on the system info screen type  2617  you will see "code entered successfully". Then type 8888  again you will see "code entered successfully"  finally type 2601 (code entered successfully) and then the stb should reboot itself. after that the % should show correctly.  (2617 clears the NVMEM and 8888 flushes the logs both of which take up HD space incorrectly, and the 2601 is the reboot command)

3. the pixelation issue wont be your neighbors. if they cut your line you would loose everything, so long as that has not happened then your problem will most likely be inside the house. Try reseating the coax  cable (screw on cable where it says RF in) on the back of the STB with the problem. Generally this will take care of it. If not then you likely have an issue somewhere on the cable between the splitter and the STB. You can try replacing this cable or calling Verizon to come out and check/replace it for you.

4. The next upgrade is supposed to include adding SATA drives to the STB's. I dont know about USB drives but its supposed to happen by the end of the year.

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Re: Unable to watch some recordings
GaryDoug
Specialist - Level 1

Yeah, not likely to be the fiber in the neighbors yard. Possible I suppose, but you would see a fixed degradation of the signal strength on all sets. That stuff has a good protective layer (usually Kevlar) and the only way to damage it would be to bend it until the fiber cracked and then you got nothing,

I would check the Signal-to-noise ratio on all boxes. Did a Verizon tech install the replacement boxes? If so, then did he check the signal while he was there?

You can do it yourself using the following:

With the TV and DVR/STB on....

At the DVR/STB front panel, press and release Power, then Select, and then Select again... all in quick succession.

Use the Channel up or Channel down buttons to move the menu cursor down to d4

Press select

Note the numbers for SNR for both tuners. Normal is typically 36-38. Unusable is about 32 and lower.

Press power to exit.

The readings on all DVR/STB's should be within 1 db if the cables are ok and of similar length.

Of course, this won't indicate intermittantly bad cables.

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Re: Unable to watch some recordings
Suzanne7777
Contributor - Level 1

Sometimes resetting the STB will stave off this problem for a while...or maybe not.   You can see it has been an issue by reading the following thread:

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV-Technical-Assistance/Some-recorded-shows-won-t-play-back-on-641...

I was not aware that Verizon had owned up that there is a problem.  Wouldn't they have to give you a credit every month for all the shows that will not play if they admitted the product they are charging you all this money for does not work properly?

The problem is so prevalent that when I am recording something I really want to see, I check it after 5 minutes to make sure it will play.

If this were an automobile that had certain "functions" that did not work sometimes, there would be a massive outcry.  This is not a safety issue, but if Verizon doesn't own up soon or fix it, they should be crediting customers.  I don't think they have a clue what is causing it, or they would have fixed it by now.

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Re: Unable to watch some recordings
JerryW
Enthusiast - Level 3

Yeah, me too. They've replaced the STB twice and we still have the problem.  I just got off the phone with FiOS tech support (only the latest of many), and today's explanation is that this was a "known problem" in the firmware, and that it's not a function of the particular STB.  Replacing the STB won't fix it.  Nor will anything else 'til the firmware is fixed.

He added that a firmware fix for this problem is currently "in testing" and once it's tested, it'll be "rolled out on a state-by-state" basis. He had no information as to when this will happen, so he couldn't tell me when it'll hit our town in MA.  Watch the message light for an on-screen message about the new firmware version, he said.

I subscribe to VZ's DVR service for the ability to watch a recorded program later, and it makes me unhappy to pay for being disappointed when I've missed a program due to this problem.  The tech support guy couldn't do anything about that, but he offered to connect me to Billing, where I explained this, and a compensation was offered in response.

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