My Comcast DVR again failed to record a show

[Robin Miller]

This happened a few weeks ago when my Comcast DVD failed to record an
episode of The Mentalist that was preempted at the last minute and then
shown the following week. Now last night it didn't record The Blacklist,
which was preempted last week. (Note to Ubi: This is still not the aioe
troll.)

This time I checked while the program was supposed to be recording, and
the DVR said that it was doing so. But in fact it wasn't recording
anything. Like The Mentalist episode, I can watch this ep of The
Blacklist on demand. But it's a pain to have to go through this, and
it's definitely a glitch with the software for the DVR.

I can, if I remember, set the DVR to manually record the hour the next
time this happens, as another poster suggested when this happened with
The Mentalist and I posted about it. But the key is "if I remember"--the
whole point of season passes on DVRs is not to have to remember. The DVR
I had with DirecTV never had these kinds of problems. But I'm living in
a building right now that doesn't allow dishes.

--Robin

[Barry Margolin]

In article <l72pss$e98$1...@speranza.aioe.org>,

Crap like this is the reason I won't give up my 10-year-old ReplayTV DVR
for the Comcast DVR. It helps that I have little interest in watching
HD, since the ReplayTV is analog-only (it uses an IR Blaster to change
the channel on the Comcast STB).

The other advantage of this is that I can still FF through VOD, even
though VOD normally disallows it. I start a manual recording and then
start VOD playing, then I go back to watching something I recorded
previously. Then I can watch the RTV's recording of the VOD, and use its
FF and skip-ahead features to skip over commercials.

--
Barry Margolin
Arlington, MA

[Bob(but not THAT Bob)]

Happened to me with the Mentalist as well, but Blacklist went OK.

Now, mine has "forgotten" the series recording of The Returned on
Sundance - shows no future episodes (one is on tomorrow night).

Hell with it - I downloaded the rest of them.

[Robin Miller]

Thank you for mentioning that. According to the Sundance website,
Serge et Toni will be showb on Thanksgiving evening, even though my
Comcast DVD shows nothing to be recorded. Geez.

http://www.sundancechannel.com/series/the-returned

--Robin

[BTR1701]

In article <5296F3...@nowhere.com>,

"Bob(but not THAT Bob)" <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:

> Robin Miller wrote:
> >
> > This happened a few weeks ago when my Comcast DVD failed to record an
> > episode of The Mentalist that was preempted at the last minute and then
> > shown the following week. Now last night it didn't record The Blacklist,
> > which was preempted last week. (Note to Ubi: This is still not the aioe
> > troll.)
> >
> > This time I checked while the program was supposed to be recording, and
> > the DVR said that it was doing so. But in fact it wasn't recording
> > anything. Like The Mentalist episode, I can watch this ep of The
> > Blacklist on demand. But it's a pain to have to go through this, and
> > it's definitely a glitch with the software for the DVR.
> >
> > I can, if I remember, set the DVR to manually record the hour the next
> > time this happens, as another poster suggested when this happened with
> > The Mentalist and I posted about it. But the key is "if I remember"--the
> > whole point of season passes on DVRs is not to have to remember. The DVR
> > I had with DirecTV never had these kinds of problems. But I'm living in
> > a building right now that doesn't allow dishes.

Mine does this occasionally, but it actually records when it's supposed
to, it just doesn't show up in the list of recorded shows. It's probably
there on the DVR but the software glitch caused it to fail to make an
entry in the playblack list so there's no way for me to access it. It
might as well have not recorded anything.

[Robin Miller]

That's almost worse if it actually records it but doesn't make the
recording accessible.

--Robin

[Arthur Lipscomb]

On 11/28/2013 4:09 PM, Robin Miller wrote:
> BTR1701 wrote:
>> In article <5296F3...@nowhere.com>,
>> "Bob(but not THAT Bob)" <nob...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Robin Miller wrote:
>>>>
>>>> This happened a few weeks ago when my Comcast DVD failed to record an
>>>> episode of The Mentalist that was preempted at the last minute and then
>>>> shown the following week. Now last night it didn't record The
>>>> Blacklist,
>>>> which was preempted last week. (Note to Ubi: This is still not the aioe
>>>> troll.)
>>>>
>>>> This time I checked while the program was supposed to be recording, and
>>>> the DVR said that it was doing so. But in fact it wasn't recording
>>>> anything. Like The Mentalist episode, I can watch this ep of The
>>>> Blacklist on demand. But it's a pain to have to go through this, and
>>>> it's definitely a glitch with the software for the DVR.
>>>>

Like me, you must have one those new X1 systems...

Sometimes it doesn't record but sometimes it does record the show but it
just doesn't get listed. If it doesn't show up on its' own after an
hour or two, try restarting the box. If you have a second anyroom DVR,
one way to check is to look on the second DVR. You might see the
missing shows listed there, then you'll know they'll show up on the main
unit soon. Otherwise, it just didn't record...

One of the more annoying aspects about the X1 is it doesn't list the
programs the DVR was supposed to record but didn't. At least that way
you'd *know* there was a problem instead of having to guess.

>>>> I can, if I remember, set the DVR to manually record the hour the next
>>>> time this happens, as another poster suggested when this happened with
>>>> The Mentalist and I posted about it. But the key is "if I
>>>> remember"--the
>>>> whole point of season passes on DVRs is not to have to remember. The
>>>> DVR
>>>> I had with DirecTV never had these kinds of problems. But I'm living in
>>>> a building right now that doesn't allow dishes.
>>
>> Mine does this occasionally, but it actually records when it's supposed
>> to, it just doesn't show up in the list of recorded shows. It's probably
>> there on the DVR but the software glitch caused it to fail to make an
>> entry in the playblack list so there's no way for me to access it. It
>> might as well have not recorded anything.
>>
>
>
> That's almost worse if it actually records it but doesn't make the
> recording accessible.
>
>

The X1 does that too! And it randomly deletes recordings as well.

[Robin Miller]

Bob(but not THAT Bob) wrote:

You know what I discovered? I looked at it again tonight, and, while
Comcast's schedule grid correctly lists both tonight's episode and next
Thursday's as new, my series recording wasn't recording either episode.
So I entered a new series recording for The Returned (same show, same
channel number) and this one does pick up both episodes for recording.
So somehow the first series recording "forgot" what show it was supposed
to be recording. How bizarre. I really don't like Comcast's DVR.

--Robin

[Adam H. Kerman]

Robin Miller <Not...@Real.Address.com> wrote:

>You know what I discovered? I looked at it again tonight, and, while
>Comcast's schedule grid correctly lists both tonight's episode and next
>Thursday's as new, my series recording wasn't recording either episode.
>So I entered a new series recording for The Returned (same show, same
>channel number) and this one does pick up both episodes for recording.
>So somehow the first series recording "forgot" what show it was supposed
>to be recording. How bizarre. I really don't like Comcast's DVR.

My guess is that's TV Guide's fault, the listing source, not the DVR. I've
seen that from time to time, that later seasons of a series are treated as
an unrelated series by the listing service, so I have to dump the series
and set it anew.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Further speculation: The DVR's translation table between virtual channel
numbers and actual frequencies has been corrupted, so it can't obtain a
recording due to not knowing the correct frequency to tune in.

The DVR won't re-allocated that space till a hard reboot (power cycle).

[Tom Benton]

I have Time-Warner and I had cases where I recorded a series, "Person
of Interest" and "SVU" come to mind, and an occasional show doesn't
record. I have a new box now and the problem seems to have gone away.
However, I'll keep my eye open. My wife says that she is sure she
recorded some individual shows recently that haven't recorded, but she
has been able to record a future presentation of the show. We'll see
how that works.

[Tom Benton]

Both Time-Warner and the company that put in my current system say you
should re-boot regularly to get updates. I don't that often enough.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Tom Benton <tbe...@nycap.rr.com> wrote:

>Both Time-Warner and the company that put in my current system say you
>should re-boot regularly to get updates. I don't that often enough.

That's illogical. That doesn't appear to be the way they're designed. And
considering it takes three to four days to re-load advance guide ilstings,
that rather discourages one from power cycling it unless it's not
responding to commands or for another reason.

[BTR1701]

In article <l7aa06$gpm$1...@news.albasani.net>,

"Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:

No kidding. When we have the occasional power outage, my DVR takes up to
a week to repopulate the guide listings. And for some reason all the
crap I have no interest in watching repopulates first. It's all the
network prime-time shows and the most popular cable shows that still
show "TBD" when everything else has filled in.

[Robin Miller]

That makes sense, but in my case it happened mid-series. The DVR
recorded the first four episodes of the eight-episode first season of
The Returned on Sundance, then failed to recognize episodes five and
six. These are being shown on consecutive weeks; there hasn't been a
hiatus. I assumed there was no episode for Thanksgiving. I only checked
because Bob (but not that Bob) mentioned that there was a new episode
being shown.

--Robin

[anim8rFSK]

In article <atropos-C22D2B...@news-europe.giganews.com>,

Rebooting my DVR because the guide wasn't updating is exactly how COX
killed my last DVR. :(

In the old days, the COX DVR would only refresh in the middle of the
night, and only if it was off, so it was programmed to power down at 2am
or 4am or something, which was staggeringly annoying if you were
watching TV; you had to choose between watching or not having a guide
for a day. I'm pleased to report that that's not the case any more.

--
Wait - are you saying that ClodReamer was wrong, or lying?

[Robin Miller]

So do DVRs operate by matching a "show code" from the schedule guide
that is provided by the listing service, rather than matching channel
number and show name? If so, that would explain a lot of discrepancies,
if the listing service entered the wrong show code.

--Robin

[Adam H. Kerman]

Robin Miller <Not...@Real.Address.com> wrote:

>So do DVRs operate by matching a "show code" from the schedule guide
>that is provided by the listing service, rather than matching channel
>number and show name? If so, that would explain a lot of discrepancies,
>if the listing service entered the wrong show code.

That's a reasonable assumption.

[Bob(but not THAT Bob)]

It wasn't that long ago my ShitCast DVR spent over a half-hour
downloading updates - then wasted even more time installing them - none
of which, as usual, made it any more reliable.

[BTR1701]

Most software updates these days-- everything from your DVR to your
computer to your phone to your tablet-- aren't designed to provide you the
consumer with new features or more reliable service. What you're
downloading most of the time are improvements in the software's ability to
spy on you and report back to the mothership.

[drmccl...@gmail.com]

Maybe this is obvious to you guys but it was a mistake that had us stumped this week... My dad's Xfinity DVR wasn't recording either. Turns out he was using the red ALL button to turn the TV on and off. So the DVR wasn't recording because it was OFF most of the time!

We just figured out that you need to hit the TV and then POWER button to just turn the TV on and off. The DVR should remain on all the time.

[Dimensional Traveler]

On 9/20/2014 12:33 PM, drmccl...@gmail.com wrote:
> Maybe this is obvious to you guys but it was a mistake that had us stumped this week... My dad's Xfinity DVR wasn't recording either. Turns out he was using the red ALL button to turn the TV on and off. So the DVR wasn't recording because it was OFF most of the time!
>
> We just figured out that you need to hit the TV and then POWER button to just turn the TV on and off. The DVR should remain on all the time.
>

I have a Comcast (Xfinity) DVR and using the All On button turns my DVR
to the "Standby" mode where it does record even though it is "off". If
it was truly powered off it couldn't respond to the remote to turn "on".

--
Humans are irrational. Expecting them to behave rationally and getting
upset when they don't is itself irrational.

[Adam H. Kerman]

I actually make myself use the tv remote to turn it on and off, even though
it requires another remote. Yeah, DVRs demand lots of power at all times.

[suzeeq]

On the Dish remote my bf has, you can use the PWR button to turn off the
tv, but if you just use the off button it turns both of them off.

[Adam H. Kerman]

Yeah, I know, almost every remote can be set to operate almost every
other device. I don't care for that, a la the O.P.'s example.