I have missed so many programs that mysteriously did not record even though I had plenty of space. BTW, i had plenty of space left on my DVR tonight.

Just one more reason I am switching to FIOS as soon as possible.

Their flaw, is a simply fix, must have “new” to record, and not to look for “repeat”.

50 episodes of Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers, and they are still surprised to hear of my problems.

I have even had their techs out, and they told me to edit the settings. I asked to be shown how, and then they just “umm”ed and “uhhhh”ed their way out my door, promising a resolution.

Cox cable never looked better. If Tivo was not more $, I wpuld have given Comcast back their dumb DVR.

Essentially, Comcast tries to blame the Guide provider as if they have no control over the content they themselves are re-selling. This, of course, is not acceptable.

It’s been a problem for nearly a year now but really went haywire a few weeks ago.

Woe is to anyone who had unwittingly asked the DVR to record new episodes of, say, Law and Order, CSI, or any and everything on the Disney Channel (which, apparently, runs Hannah Montana in a continuous loop).

We had 44 programs scheduled to record last Wednesday alone. On Friday it was set to pick up 60+ programs. In the meantime our TV was rendered useless because attempting to watch it led to “the DVR is currently recording two programs in process.”

All you can do is keep calling 1-800-Comcast and report the issue (they’ll generally claim they know nothing about it). You then ask firmly but politely for a credit on the DVR portion of your bill. You’ll get it and in doing so send a clear message to Comcast that the problem needs repaired or it will begin to impact their bottom line.

Until then, off to watch 400 hours of Hannah Montana!

1. Comcast (3): This is far and away the worst DVR. Their UI is primitive. I have noticed what others are commenting about here and it does suggest that they are not getting “original air dates” nor “episode number” which makes it impossible for them to distinguish between different episodes of the same show. Their help desk would continually tell me that lag and lock-up were caused by the fact that the DVR was like a computer and could not handle quick remote commands. That sound correct but is pure baloney as you’ll see later in my comments.

Their DVR has a low capacity and it cannot record any program that is does not appear on it’s guide. Or at least that has been the case since I stopped using them a few weeks ago. My wife absolutely hates the Comcast DVR experience.

1. DirecTV (4): Our farm had DirecTV, which I thought was superior to Comcast but not by much. It’s User Interface was still somewhat primitive when compared to DISH or TiVo and it had similar Comcast-like issues but not as many.

2. TiVo (9): I tried TiVo in both areas and found it had the best UI of any of the four plus it had other features that none of them have (ie, Wish List). I stopped using TiVo after their DVR froze up on four straight machines sent to me in SF. I felt that they were unable to get me a functioning DVR. This may have been a fluke but four was enough.

3. DISH (8): I had a bias for some unknown reason against DISH. But my electronics expert that I’ve used in both homes said that he preferred DISH. I can now see on their DVR that most of the shows have original air dates and episode numbers plus the movies have star ratings which agree fairly closely with Leonard Maltin (who I Like).

There is NO LAG issue whatsoever. In fact their remote is the only one with a 30 second advance button. Until I used that, I didn’t know what I’m missing. No more commercial time guessing. I either press the button 4 or 6 or 8 quick times and the show continues. Terrific!

The 722 DVR has been written up as far and away the best and most advanced on the market.:

a. Records 350 hours, probably 5-6 times more that the non-TiVo DVRs. In my opinion, that’s a tremendous advantage: no more worrying about shows going away if I didn’t lock them down, etc. This gives us a much wider array of shows to watch, more choices every night (I have about 70 Timers, their name for ongoing programmed favorites).

b. Remarkably, the 722 feeds two TV’s at one time. We have a high def TV in the living room and a non-high def set in the bedroom. We ONLY need one DVR. Both sets draw on the same 350-hour library. The remote in the bedroom operates the DVR in the living room THROUGH THE WALLS. We don’t have to setr up a parallel list of shows on a bedroom DVR.

c. I can record shows that are not currently on the guide: favorite movies, etc. Like TiVo, if I program the DVR for “movies” and “194″, I will get all movies made in 1940 (with a few oddball exceptions), which tend to be film noirs, which we love. I can’t imagine having a DVR which will not allow me to put in movies that I love but are not in the guide. I’d have to keep attempting to record these movie titles every 10-14 days if I didn’t want to miss them. What a waste of time.

Overall, the TiVo, as one would expect for a DVR-dedicated company, offered the best experience. But after their inability to get a functioning DVR in our SF home, DISH is a close second. I have had excellent service with DISH also.

So there you have it. That’s been my experience.

They did teach me something important. Do not load the DVR up to it’s limits since, like a computer, it can begin to malfunction when it’s limit is reached. However, DISH allows an external hard drive to be connected if 350 hours isn’t enough.

1. Like TiVo, I can type in a program that is not on the guide, let’s say a movie, and it will be recorded whenever it comes on in the future

First off, it sucks that the only thing customer service knows is to tell you to reboot the box, i.e. unplug it. Then it takes 4 hrs. for all the TV Guide info to reload. I’ve had to do this now 3 times in 1 week!

For anybody who wants 30 sec skip/15 sec back, you can program this into various remotes, mainly if it’s a Universal Electronics:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote

I already have a Back “Replay” button next to the Play Button, but I also programmed it into the B button located under the Navigation Arrow keys. Then next to B, I programmed the C button with 30-sec skip. You can reprogram any dead button not in use, so I chose 2 next to each other, centered and easy to find by thumb.

Now the dreaded “new only” series programming recording all episodes. After the initial boot and authorization, I programmed by day/time/weekly since the friggin’ TV Guide had not loaded. After the 1st night of recording, the box needed a reboot since it was not receiving channels. 5 days later, the box seems to work fine, so I decide to go with series recording since day/time/weekly does not file by the TV show name, rendering useless that sort option in the menu. I delete all the day/time/weekly entries and go with series – then check the future recording schedule and find the problem with repeats. I had a feeling I should Google the problem, but instead called customer service, who again told me to reboot – ughh. So here I am, LOL.

Note: the problem really does not hinge on network vs. cable channel. Why? Because networks don’t tend to repeat shows like cable (this is the reason why we tend to prioritize network shows over cable). The only times I see networks repeat shows is on Saturday nights where it’s common to see CBS rerun Criminal Minds, NBC rerun Law and Order, and ABC rerun Castle.

Indeed, the problem lies with Comcast/Time Warner using the inferior Gemstar-TV Guide which lacks the original airdate which Zap2it-Tribune Media includes. Michael Wexler correctly notes that unique production numbers should be used:

http://newteevee.com/2008/02/29/dear-comcast-why-is-my-dvr-so-dumb/#comment-232857

I’m sure the reason why this isn’t happening is because then the studios have to provide this info, bringing yet another party into the mix of the mess.

So, customer service “pretended” to not know of this problem, and said if the reboot doesn’t work, I’ll need to go to the Time Warner office to switch boxes. Yeah, and they’ll tell me to call customer service. Looks like I’m stuck with this box for a little while since I get a discount for cable/internet, and don’t really want a standup dish sitting on the balcony of my apt.

Oh, and one other note: the Motorola boxes have a spec menu. With power to TV on and DVR box off, hit menu. It shows the software and firmware version installed. References to upgrades and bug fixes here:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software

Turns out my DVR’s versions are 2-3 yrs old. Unlike my Philips DVD player which allows firmware downloads via their website and user installs via CD-R, according to one poster at avsforum, Motorola DVR firmware cannot be upgraded by the user, only the cable company.

Customer service said they don’t have the capability to upgrade over the line, but that Time Warner offices should be able to service. I’m not holding my breath since the rep who signed out my box said she had no technical knowledge and to call customer service. But at least I’ll ask them before disconnecting the box and bringing it in, which would require another 4 hr wait for the useless TV Guide to load, LOL.

Something is definitely wrong when the inferior VCR technology is more reliable. Adam posted that maybe the DVRs are telling us to get outside or read a book. He might be on to something there.

The problem really became an issue when I wanted to set a reminder and I got a msg saying I had too many reminders set up – please delete some. Ok, it would be great to have a screen I could go to to see all of these reminders – especially since I am maxed out b/c of the random reminders they are pushing out to my DVR!

WTF!?

Also, my DVR telling me I am at 100% and nothing else records. I delete a 30 minute show not recorded in HD and it drops to 39%…

Again, WTF!?