VERY slow searching

[DaveT]

Sorry if this is a FAQ - I searched the site but didn't see any threads discussing this specific issue.

I've been a DirecTV customer for about 10 years, and have 5 DVRs of various models. They all have the same issue, which is bizzarrely slow searching. For example, if I want to see all the Basketball games on, I bring up the guide, hit the (yellow?) button to filter the guide, select Sports, then Basketball, then ... wait. And wait, and wait. It can take up to 5 minutes for the search results to come up. Then, since it doesn't show any details about the shows in my search, I select one, see that it isn't what I want, then hit the back button to return to the search results, AND IT RUNS THE SEARCH AGAIN!!

I assume everyone else sees this behaviour as well (?). Does anyone know if there's a fix or workaround, or if DirecTV plans on fixing in a future release? Or can anyone explain why it's so slow? The CPU in my digital watch is powerful enough to search through amount of data contained in the guide in a millisecond. It can't be the CPU. And I'm connected to the internet with a very high speed connection, so it can't be bandwidth. So I guess it's doing the search by querying the satellite (which seems wrong, if it is...)? Even so, why does it re-run the search when you return to the search results? And if it's using the satellite to get the data, why doesn't it use the internet connection instead?

Sorry for the rant, but I'd really appreciate it if someone could shed some light on what's going on.

Thanks!

- Dave

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys DaveT!

I haven't heard of the particular behavior you are talking about, but the dvrs can be slow in general. Try this: Go to channel 1 and leave it there for 15 seconds or so. Then hit the colored buttons in this order: red, red, blue, blue, yellow, green. You should see nvram cleared in small white letters in the lower left corner. I hope this helps!

 

[DaveT]

Which part of the behavior don't you see? All of it? So your searches are fast, and when you return from the search list from viewing the details for a search result, it doesn't re-run the search?

I did try pushing those buttons and didn't see "nvram cleared". The DVR I tried it on was an HR21.

- Dave

 

[raoul5788]

I was referring to slow response in general in my dvrs, not doing a search specifically. Try the button sequence again, but leave the dvr on channel 1 for 30 seconds this time. If it works, nvram doesn't stay on the screen very long.

 

[Lanarian]

you can also try running back to back resets. I'd do it on one DVR first to see if it helps.. then do it on the others if its successful.
Do a red button reset, wait until it finishes then as soon as regular TV comes back on do another red button reset.

Clearing the NVRAM as Raoul suggested is a good fix for slowness also.. the "NVRAM has been cleared" message is pretty hard to catch due to the white lettering thats usually on channel 1 right where you get the message.

 

[skysurfer]

I assume everyone else sees this behaviour as well (?). Does anyone know if there's a fix or workaround, or if DirecTV plans on fixing in a future release?

I would have said search with the smartphone app, but I see it doesn't have a search by category function on the app. I should email the developers to request that feature.

I find the searching (or browsing) on the HR34 excruciatingly slow so I spend much more of my time with the app because I can browse single channels or use the search function rapidly fast and a few taps sets up the recording. I hope whatever's going on with the HR34 and it's slow browsing/search will be fixed at some point although it might not change my behavior much with the ease of use of the smartphone app.