Big Problems with HR20

[BruceMyers]

I use HDMI to the TV and componet cable to the DVD

[akirby]

Sorry, Bruce. I was talking to danerigden who said he used a H20 with a DVD hard disk recorder and I was questioning whether he was able to record in HD using that setup.

[Dave3putt]

Yes you can record and playback in HD, as long as the unit is working

Bruce, do you leave the HR20 on all the time or put it in standby often? I have a HR20-100, leave it on all the time, and have had very few problems.

[BruceMyers]

I use the remote to turn the DVR and TV off. I don't know if that puts the DVR in standby or not. I did not see an option for standby. Bruce

[Dave3putt]

Yeah, I guess off and standby are the same thing. I am used to my old HR10-250 that had on and standby but no "off". If you get the thing working the way it should, try not turning it off. They are made for that, IMO.

[Shane]

That's actually one problem (if you can call it that) with most modern DVR's: You can't turn them off. Since most have a 30 or 60 minute buffer of the currently tuned channel, the unit is always on and recording to hard drive.

I think manufacturers should start including a configuration with these DVR's that can be set by the consumer to completely shut them down during certain blocks of hours when they know they won't be needed (like overnight, assuming nothing is scheduled). This would not only prolong the life of the internal hard drive, but also save on energy consumption ... which is a growing concern these days.

- Shane

[BruceMyers]

Are you saying to just shut the TV off and leave the HR20 running?

[akirby]

Yes. I haven't turned my HR20 off or put it in standby since it was installed a year ago. Once the software bugs were fixed in February I only recall having to RBR it (red button reset) once.

Putting the DVR in standby just turns off the outputs - it's still tuning and recording. At least the Tivos are, not sure about the DirecTV DVRs.

[pzieger]

The HR20 will still record if you turn it off, When its off you can see the yellow light come on when a scheduled show starts to record. I turn mine off to save heat/energy.
Pete

[vegassatellite]

Next week I will receive my fourth HR20 receiver and I am not happy. I spend more time rebooting , repackaging, and re mailing receivers than I do watching them. Today I hooked up my 3rd hr20 and it working fine fr 4 hours. The receiver quit responding to the remote or it's own buttons. I had to reset it. I gone through freezes, choppy sound, crashes, instant reboots, shutdowns, tuners going out and much more. Will there be a end to this madness. Directv acts like no one has problems. This will be the last time I hook one up, i don't know if Dish is any better but I'm pulling my hair our. Bruce

You might want to check and see that this isn't a grounding issue or bad electrical wiring. Try buying one of those deals from Home Depot that you plug in to the electrical socket and a series of lights tells you if your electrical socket is working correctly. Electrical problems can play havoc on complex electronics.

Another thing you should do is to check and see that your satellite system is properly grounded. If it isn't, you need to have this done to protect your equipment, home, and you. It also can affect system stability with complex electronics. Furthermore, lack of grounding is the number one cause of LNBF failure as static that builds up on the dish will eventually dissipate through the LNBF.

If your satellite system is grounded, try unhooking the ground by disconnecting the ground wire from the ground block. (google some images if you don't know what it looks like) Be careful to only unhook this ground and not the house electrical ground wire. Check system performance with it unhooked and see if it stabilizes. If it is stable, then there is errant voltage that is possibly grounding out through the satellite ground. You can check this with a volt-ohm meter by applying the leads to the ground block and ground wire and seeing if any voltage is present. Reverse the leads and try again as it is possible to sometimes have voltage coming up through the ground wire in unusual circumstances. If you find voltage, contact an electrician, not a satellite tech. An electrician will be more capable of locating errant voltage than a satellite tech.

You can also use a volt-ohm meter to check for voltage on the shield of the coax by disconnected the satellite in cable from the receiver and checking for voltage between the chassis and the connector nut, not the center conductor with your volt-ohm meter. You shouldn't have any if your system is properly grounded.