Hr44 Freezes Daily, What Is Proper 4 Room Diagram?

[SkOrPn]

Hello again. We got a whole home DVR finally a week ago. Three Genie mini clients and one HR44. The tech installed a new SWiM which is much smaller than the old one that is still sitting there. Now there is one cable going from the dish to a 4-way splitter. Then 4 cables going out to each room. One of these cables going to bedroom 2 has a box in-line, I think it is a amplifier. The living room where the HR44 is located does not have the amplifier on it. Is this the proper setup? Or is there a more ideal wiring diagram for 4 rooms, 3 clients and one HR44?

Also, every day since we got this system it freezes up at least once per day and we have to completely slide the entertainment center out from the wall and push the power button on the bbu strip in order to get the system to work again. Is this something I can fix or is this a bad DVR?

Thanks for any help

 

[raoul5788]

What you are calling an amplifier is the power inserter. If the Genie is plugged into a power strip, you should remove it and plug the Genie into the wall. That may fix your issue.

 

[SkOrPn]

Hmm, I have never heard of that before. I was always told to put your expensive equipment on a Uninterruptible Power Strip which it is on a expensive model from Best Buy right now. The previous receiver had no troubles on it as I was told all electronics perform better on conditioned power strips. Our electric company sucks so all our computers, TV's and entertainment equipment is on conditioned power strips to avoid dangerous brownouts.

Should I still remove it from the strip and go directly to the way? Could it be a heat issue? I have the HR44 installed in a wood built entertainment center with glass doors. It does not have air circulation. That is why I wanted the HR44 with the external power brick, to avoid the additional heat output. lol

 

[raoul5788]

You can check the internal temperature through the menu. Is the Genie on a power strip or a UPS?

 

[SkOrPn]

You can check the internal temperature through the menu. Is the Genie on a power strip or a UPS?

The Genie is on the APC j15. It is a power strip with conditioned battery backup. I think it is made for Media devices like DVR's, TV's and A\V Units, but I could be wrong because my little brother purchased it for the entertainment center several years ago (I did not live here at the time). Our electricity cuts out all the time at least once or twice monthly, and brownouts several times a month as well, so we have UPS's everywhere for the devices we most care about.

I will look for the internal temp feature. That is a nice plus... Thanks for the heads up but I wonder what the maximum is? Also, do many other people have freezing/locking HR44's? Could it be the new SWM? Nothing responds at all when it freezes up.

Also, does it matter where the power injector is located?

EDIT: I think I'm using the wrong term, the power strip (I call it a BBU a.k.a battery back up) is a really good sized box, kinda like a A\V unit, but it does not even look like a normal power strip, but it has a lot of plugs ends on the back of it. The word "strip" is just ingrained into my head sorry.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

The Genie is on the APC j15. It is a power strip with conditioned battery backup. I think it is made for Media devices like DVR's, TV's and A\V Units, but I could be wrong because my little brother purchased it for the entertainment center several years ago (I did not live here at the time). Our electricity cuts out all the time at least once or twice monthly, and brownouts several times a month as well, so we have UPS's everywhere for the devices we most care about.

I will look for the internal temp feature. That is a nice plus... Thanks for the heads up but I wonder what the maximum is? Also, do many other people have freezing/locking HR44's? Could it be the new SWM? Nothing responds at all when it freezes up.

Also, does it matter where the power injector is located?

EDIT: I think I'm using the wrong term, the power strip (I call it a BBU a.k.a battery back up) is a really good sized box, kinda like a A\V unit, but it does not even look like a normal power strip, but it has a lot of plugs ends on the back of it. The word "strip" is just ingrained into my head sorry.

Is this what you are talking about? http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=j15

Also,just your power cord is attached to it right,not your coaxial cable? Don't run your coaxial cable through it is my point.

 

[raoul5788]

It sounds like a ups, which is what a dvr should be plugged into. Temps shouldn't go much above 125°. The power inserter can go in several locations. If it's between a splitter and a receiver/dvr, it must be on the power passing port of the splitter.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

It sounds like a ups, which is what a dvr should be plugged into. Temps shouldn't go much above 125°. The power inserter can go in several locations. If it's between a splitter and a receiver/dvr, it must be on the power passing port of the splitter.

Also,can it be that power fluctuations in the house will affect the power inserter? What I did with my power inserter(even though I don't have a Genie yet,but I'd do the same thing anyway) was plug it in into the outlet closest to my circuit breaker box to minimize those fluctuations.

 

[raoul5788]

I suppose it could make a theoretical difference in voltage, but I doubt there is any real world difference.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

I suppose it could make a theoretical difference in voltage, but I doubt there is any real world difference.

I thought that way because whatever would affect the power inserter would also affect the LNB & satellite reception. My receivers never froze though,I'd just get warnings about satellite signal loss.

 

[texasbrit]

Does the HR44 actually freeze? Or do you just lose the signal to the TV? Do the clients work when the HR44 is "frozen"?

 

[Broe67]

Does the HR44 actually freeze? Or do you just lose the signal to the TV? Do the clients work when the HR44 is "frozen"?

They should not. It should just show that a signal is unavailable. Something to that sort.

 

[Broe67]

As for the temp. The client in our bedroom, which is shoved under the Right side of our LCD on top of a cabinet. Showed 150 deg. F. One evening when I checked info. Most times it is around 134. The house is always kept around 68-70 f.

 

[Broe67]

Hello again. We got a whole home DVR finally a week ago. Three Genie mini clients and one HR44. The tech installed a new SWiM which is much smaller than the old one that is still sitting there. Now there is one cable going from the dish to a 4-way splitter. Then 4 cables going out to each room. One of these cables going to bedroom 2 has a box in-line, I think it is a amplifier. The living room where the HR44 is located does not have the amplifier on it. Is this the proper setup? Or is there a more ideal wiring diagram for 4 rooms, 3 clients and one HR44?

Also, every day since we got this system it freezes up at least once per day and we have to completely slide the entertainment center out from the wall and push the power button on the bbu strip in order to get the system to work again. Is this something I can fix or is this a bad DVR?

Thanks for any help

Cabling is usually the critical issue when it comes to freezing. All it takes is a nick in a Coax, or bad connector. Even a failing splitter can cause issues.

I have my incoming line from my dish going to the panel in my basement where my old ATT U-Verse feed is, and active Comcast Internet Coax is at. Outside I have all lines grounded to the ground rod for the electrical system. I did place a Gas Discharge on both coax lines (CATV & DirecTV). No effect with that.

From my incoming line, it goes to the 1x4 splitter. the SWM is between the incoming satellite Coax and the coax jumper to the splitter. From the splitter all lines are home run to the DVR, and 2 clients. I have an Ethernet line ran to the HR44/700 vs. the Moca. I have had no issues with this setup.

I did have to have all new coax ran when I got Direct. Since I pulled out all of the old coax after I had ditched Comcast around five years ago and went with ATT U-Verse.

Ideal makes a Coax/Ethernet Loopback tester. It will not be as accurate as the test equipment that a tech has. But it will tell you if there is an issue. You may want to contact a local DirecTV installer to see if they are able to test the coax for possible failure within specs. Even a splitter could be the culprit as to why you are having problems.

 

[texasbrit]

broe67 - my point about the clients. If the Hr44 is not actually frozen (but has for example an HDMI issue) the clients will continue to work

 

[SkOrPn]

Wow, all good questions. Yes, I think the clients stop working, but I could be wrong. I just know my Father came out of his room and asked what was wrong with his TV. At the exact same time Mom started complaining about her TV show in the living room being frozen, and when I went into the living room it was completely stuck in the center of a scene still outputting video but non responsive to all the remotes assigned to it. None of the buttons on the unit worked, and nothing on the remote worked, just stuck in a scene with no sound and no video playback = Frozen. I did not go check my Room or my brothers room to see if they were dead in there as well. I was forced to completely remove power by using the button on the UPS, which is easiest to do. And the DVR booted up just fine.

I must say that I have not yet witnessed the freeze up occur, I have only heard the family tell me that it has been happening everyday, and I only seen it once this morning. I do not know what to make of it. I texted the tech and he said to try the reset button when it happens next. I am also going to try to place it into a more cool spot on top of the entertainment center, instead of inside it. Its small enough for that.

Oh and no, the injector thing is NOT on a UPS, it is in "bedroom 2" for some odd reason which is the furthest room from the Dish and the furthest room from the breaker box. It was put in their when I moved in 2 years ago and we had them come out to add my TV to the mix. That is when they put the injector in the line, on the floor next to my TV. I'm really not sure why it can't be placed next to the HR44, but that seems to me where it is supposed to be... That would allow me to also plug it into the nice UPS thing, no?

 

[Broe67]

broe67 - my point about the clients. If the Hr44 is not actually frozen (but has for example an HDMI issue) the clients will continue to work

If the DVR is frozen. All clients fail to no longer work. They depend on the DVR to be available to receive their stream. Without the DVR. The system is dead/frozen.

 

[SkOrPn]

Ok, then I am back to my original questions.

1. Is it normal for a HR44 to freeze up? If so, what is causing it? What should I do? Reset button like the tech suggested?
2. Can I put the power injector near the DVR and on the same UPS?
3. Should I go back to the older SWM? Or are they the same regardless of appearances?
4. Could the SWM be causing the lockups, since its the only other device that is new?
5. The last 8 feet or so going to the 4th room (the old CRT) is cable that was installed in the early 90's. Could it be what is wrong or unlikely? Although old it appears to be every bit as high quality as the RG6 the tech used and the connector ends were identical. He said it would not hurt using the old stuff so I took his word for it (Probably comcast cable since my little brother works there).

Things I plan on trying myself
1. Using the reset button and moving the unit to a cooler location the next time it freezes up. Adding active cooling to the DVR chipset? lol
2. Moving the injector to the living room next to the DVR and onto the conditioned UPS, if I can.
3. Thinking of re-installing the old SWM, if there's a difference in quality. (Since appearance wise the newer one looks like low quality plastic crap, and the older one looks high tech, made out of metal etc, lol)
4. Replace the old cable in its entirety using RG6 even though it is not a HD TV connected to the 4th room.

 

[ejb1980]

YES plug your receiver into a protective strip.
NO, don't plug it into one of the ones that completely powers off when the TV is shut off. Mine has 4 outlets that shut off and 4 that don't.

 

[SkOrPn]

Yeah, the TV is plugged into one that shuts off immediately, but the DVR is plugged into one that stays on until battery gets too low. I'm going to take a look and make sure the AV unit is also attached to the bbu plug. But the TV takes too much power so I have it on a non battery protected spot, so it shuts off right away when we lose power. That is OK though, as it gives us plenty of time to properly shut down the other items.