HR34 Software Release v.054C 6/7/12

[jcrandall]

Receivers included in this release:
HR34-700

Release date: 6/7/2012

New features
None

Updated
Improved Stability
Caller ID
Recording start time

Previous March Update Included these features:
0x0547
High Definition User Interface
Faster speed
Menu icons
MyDirectv: What's on Now, You Might Like
Movie posters
Serch finds all movies regardless of the source (VOD, Linear, PPV, Premium, etc)
Picture in Graphics Moved to left of the screen
Integrated Rotton Tomatoes movie ratings

 

[Mr Tony]

shoot. I have 54D and when I was going to go back to NR release today it showed 54B...I stopped that one

 

[Mr Tony]

ugh!
54D froze twice so I rebooted and am downloading this one now. Shows 54c

 

[Rey]

ugh!
54D froze twice so I rebooted and am downloading this one now. Shows 54c

you were never on 56D?

 

[jscott70]

I just had DirecTV installed (coming from Dish) and the HR34 is a wonderful unit WHEN IT WORKS. I have experienced at least one problem a day and on two days I had multiple problems. Last Thursday night during the NBA Finals (only the NBA Finals was recording on a SAT tuner, nothing else recording at the time) it became so latent on button responses (1-2 minute response times for ANY button press) that I had to reboot it. Thankfully the Finals had just ended and I was watching delayed so I didn't lose any of the recording but it was VERY frustrating. I have had a hard lockup where not even front panel buttons would respond and every day since I've had it now (June 13th was the install date, maybe that has something to do with it, LOL) I've had to reboot it at least once. That being said, after the reboot it works GREAT. I also prefer the 30SKIP which is really cool except that it seems to go away regularly. Hopefully DirecTV will address some of the slowness and stability issues that still exist with this receiver once and for all. Slowness and stability issues should have the absolute highest priority over anything else. Coming from Dish, I am used to VERY snappy and fast performing receivers that have very little in the way of responsiveness and operational speed issues. I can understand an occasional reboot being necessary or the occasional lockup but what I've experienced so far seems atrocious for the supposed "flagship" of the DirecTV line. Conversely, I have had no issues with our HR21 in the bedroom. I also have an AM21 on the HR34 and have recorded several shows off the local ABC affiliate here in Fort Myers (85% signal strength) and have had no problems whatsoever. Hopefully I've been specific enough with my problem descriptions but if I haven't please let me know. I'd LOVE to see these issues resolved because from a feature set perspective, I REALLY like what DirecTV and the HR34 are offering.

P.S. I've also experienced recordings starting 30 seconds in and having to rewind to the beginning. I thought this release corrected that?

 

[jscott70]

Just experienced another lockup when my wife tried to rewind a live show. I'm getting an earful now about how we should have never switched over to DirecTV. I would try getting a replacement unit but I've heard of others experiencing the same exact behavior and a replacement did nothing to solve the problem. I don't want to lose the recordings I've got on there so far because moronic DirecTV doesn't have a method to save recordings. I'm thoroughly unimpressed with the receiver stability and performance of the HR34 thus far with this update. When is the next update again? Any idea?????

 

[zim2dive]

I had the 622 with Dish.. I've decided that the Hr34 is DTV's way of trying to replicate the experience of the Dish 922.. ie. great hardware which may/not ever reach its potential.

 

[TG2]

I had the 622 with Dish.. I've decided that the Hr34 is DTV's way of trying to replicate the experience of the Dish 922.. ie. great hardware which may/not ever reach its potential.

on the one hand ... LOL ... on the other ... switching from Dish because of AMC and this is the solution DirecTv wants to use.

 

[voripteth]

I'm in exactly the same boat. I'm a Dish customer looking to jump ship because of the loss of AMC. I have a 722 and love it. Will I regret going to the HR34?

 

[gadgtfreek]

I went from a 722k with OTA tuner to a HR34 with AM21 N. The difference for me, other than the external hard drive system working differently and not having a sling adapter, is I can record 5 programs at a time instead of 4 . I actually prefer the Directv version of series links and managing them. I also prefer having Native resolution options. All that being said, I always loved the 722k too.


Yes, the HR34 was buggy in January, but its doing a lot better and they are still improving things every month.

 

[LQQK]

Yes, the HR34 was buggy in January, but its doing a lot better and they are still improving things every month.

I hope your right about improving,,so far it's a Lemon.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I just dont have issues. Back in Jan/Feb, sure, but it does everything I need now, while recording 5 things at once.

 

[jscott70]

I'm in the same boat. I think whoever is responsible for releasing these DVR's to the public should be horsewhipped for letting the HR34 out of the looney bin. This thing is still a buggy POS but I'm working with it. I was just very used to rock solid stability and blazing speed I got with the Dish VIP722k. I am the first one who wants the HR34 to work like it should but I'm not going to mince words. DirecTV needs to pull their heads out of their butts with some of the things they do. For instance, Dish allows you to hook an external HDD to the DVR and transfer recordings onto it ALONG SIDE the internal HDD. Another benefit to this is if you switch DVR's (due to failure, lightning, or upgrade) you can preserve any recordings on the external HDD as it doesn't "marry" those recordings to one specific Dish DVR. That's brilliant. It shouldn't be hard for DirecTV to do the same. How in the heck they don't have a way to preserve recordings blows my mind. How there aren't more outraged customers on here also is beyond me. It seems like alot of people in the DirecTV forums here are very resigned to DirecTV's gross incompetency in some areas and seem perfectly willing to continue cheerleading their products and shouting down anyone who dare say anything negative about the company or the equipment. I am not loyal to any one company. What I am loyal to is competency and innovation. Dish doesn't have the Sunday Ticket, 3d content (of any substance) or a 5 tuner DVR but aside from that I'd take Dish in a heartbeat because their customer service and equipment speed/stability are light years ahead of DirecTV, at least in my experiences. Unfortunately, I've been railroaded into a 2 year agreement with DirecTV as a beta tester so I'm forced to work through the issues or pay the early termination fee. If things become too unbearable I could just scale my DirecTV sub down to the absolute minimum and scale my Dish sub back up to top tier but for now I'll gut it out.

 

[LQQK]

I'm in the same boat. I think whoever is responsible for releasing these DVR's to the public should be horsewhipped for letting the HR34 out of the looney bin. This thing is still a buggy POS but I'm working with it. I was just very used to rock solid stability and blazing speed I got with the Dish VIP722k. I am the first one who wants the HR34 to work like it should but I'm not going to mince words. DirecTV needs to pull their heads out of their butts with some of the things they do. For instance, Dish allows you to hook an external HDD to the DVR and transfer recordings onto it ALONG SIDE the internal HDD. Another benefit to this is if you switch DVR's (due to failure, lightning, or upgrade) you can preserve any recordings on the external HDD as it doesn't "marry" those recordings to one specific Dish DVR. That's brilliant. It shouldn't be hard for DirecTV to do the same. How in the heck they don't have a way to preserve recordings blows my mind. How there aren't more outraged customers on here also is beyond me. It seems like alot of people in the DirecTV forums here are very resigned to DirecTV's gross incompetency in some areas and seem perfectly willing to continue cheerleading their products and shouting down anyone who dare say anything negative about the company or the equipment. I am not loyal to any one company. What I am loyal to is competency and innovation. Dish doesn't have the Sunday Ticket, 3d content (of any substance) or a 5 tuner DVR but aside from that I'd take Dish in a heartbeat because their customer service and equipment speed/stability are light years ahead of DirecTV, at least in my experiences. Unfortunately, I've been railroaded into a 2 year agreement with DirecTV as a beta tester so I'm forced to work through the issues or pay the early termination fee. If things become too unbearable I could just scale my DirecTV sub down to the absolute minimum and scale my Dish sub back up to top tier but for now I'll gut it out.

I'm resetting at least once a day...Good thing I don't watch more than apx. 4hrs a day or I would be resetting every few hrs...POS for sure.

 

[gadgtfreek]

lol

 

[gadgtfreek]

Helloooooooo Directv, 2 months no SW update. WTF? CE not getting enough attendance every week?

 

[Rey]

Helloooooooo Directv, 2 months no SW update. WTF? CE not getting enough attendance every week?

i don't think that matters. besides, if the software isn't that much better than the last NR i can understand not pushing another update.

 

[gadgtfreek]

It just irks me that they had a Customer Candidate last month, with speed increases, then it just disappeared. The thing needs some work, not major work, minor work. Fix that before you throw in stupid things like Pandora.

 

[Rey]

It just irks me that they had a Customer Candidate last month, with speed increases, then it just disappeared. The thing needs some work, not major work, minor work. Fix that before you throw in stupid things like Pandora.

i agree. stability and speed before new features.

 

[gadgtfreek]

My guide really goes nuts when I hit those banner ads around 501.