Whole Home DVR Issue

[otis29]

Hi all, having a little issue with a new install of the Whole Home DVR system with Direct. We currently have two rooms hooked into the whole home setup, the front room (HR24 DVR) and our daughter's room (HD Receiver, not sure of the model).

In my daughter's bedroom, we are getting the “Playback failed no audio packets/video data packets received from server” frequently (daily) when accessing programs recorded on the HR24. We've been rebooting the hardware frequently and it's getting pretty annoying.

Is there something I might be missing here to diagnose the problem? On the HR24, I did the system test and everything looks fine. When I check the Whole-Home status, it does say that Whole-Home DVR is authorized, but also says "no networked DVRs found".

One wrinkle to the whole issue is our current DSL service. We've had an issue with our DSL dropping anytime we receive an incoming or make an outgoing call - so the DSL modem is recycling probably a half dozen times per day. Would this cause the issue with the Whole-Home?

We are switching to Cable internet in the next week or so, so that problem should disappear.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[RandallA]

My daughter got the same error last night trying to play a show from the HR-24 receiver. She's got an H24 in her room. I searched this morning for solutions to the problem and one of the suggestions is to use static IP on the Directv receivers. I'll try that solution this afternoon and report back.

One of the reasons this error message pops up is that the receivers lose communication between them. Since you're having trouble with your DSL modem rebooting, that's most likely the culprit in your setup.

 

[charper1]

"We've had an issue with our DSL dropping anytime we receive an incoming or make an outgoing call "



You need to add proper DSL filters into your system. I am also one of those telling people that dynamic IPs are not great. There is another user that wrote a great guide; so search for that too.

 

[Jimbo]

"We've had an issue with our DSL dropping anytime we receive an incoming or make an outgoing call "



You need to add proper DSL filters into your system. I am also one of those telling people that dynamic IPs are not great. There is another user that wrote a great guide; so search for that too.

Generally speaking, Static's are for Businesses and I could hardly afford a bus. ip.

 

[otis29]

"We've had an issue with our DSL dropping anytime we receive an incoming or make an outgoing call "



You need to add proper DSL filters into your system. I am also one of those telling people that dynamic IPs are not great. There is another user that wrote a great guide; so search for that too.

Actually, we replaced all of the filters throughout the house to start, but it didn't fix the problem - AT&T finally diagnosed it as a failing modem (we'd had the thing for about 5 years). But they weren't willing to comp us a new one, and we were out of contract, so we shopped out our business.

I'll report back after we make the switch in providers. I was curious about the "no networked DVRs found" message, would that be a separate issue?

 

[Jimbo]

Actually, we replaced all of the filters throughout the house to start, but it didn't fix the problem - AT&T finally diagnosed it as a failing modem (we'd had the thing for about 5 years). But they weren't willing to comp us a new one, and we were out of contract, so we shopped out our business.

I'll report back after we make the switch in providers. I was curious about the "no networked DVRs found" message, would that be a separate issue?

You've been with AT&T for 5 years, your OUT of your contract, you need a new modem and because they would not GIVE you a new $100-150 modem, you changed PROVIDERS ?

Wow.

 

[otis29]

You've been with AT&T for 5 years, your OUT of your contract, you need a new modem and because they would not GIVE you a new $100-150 modem, you changed PROVIDERS ?

Wow.

Absolutely. I decided to shop my service around, saved quite a bit monthly on my bill and am getting brand new equipment.

Sad to say, we gave AT&T a chance to match the deal we were getting, and were willing to deal with a bit higher monthly rate if they provided updated hardware - but they weren't willing to do so.

 

[RandallA]

That's why competition is a good thing for consumers. You shouldn't have to be stuck with a 5 yrs. old modem, specially if you're having issues.

 

[charper1]

Generally speaking, Static's are for Businesses and I could hardly afford a bus. ip.

Static / assigned IPs at the router. Anyone can do this in a typical home network

 

[charper1]

Actually, we replaced all of the filters throughout the house to start, but it didn't fix the problem - AT&T finally diagnosed it as a failing modem (we'd had the thing for about 5 years). But they weren't willing to comp us a new one, and we were out of contract, so we shopped out our business.

I'll report back after we make the switch in providers. I was curious about the "no networked DVRs found" message, would that be a separate issue?

When I was with ATT DSL I too had a modem failure was never in a contract and they provided a new one via FedEx overnight. I loved ATT DSL but had to switch to Comcast thanks to work VPN needs.


Maybe you should call again?

 

[otis29]

When I was with ATT DSL I too had a modem failure was never in a contract and they provided a new one via FedEx overnight. I loved ATT DSL but had to switch to Comcast thanks to work VPN needs.


Maybe you should call again?

I thought it would be a no-brainer to get a new modem...but when I talked to their tech support to originally work the issue and we finally got it diagnosed down to the hardware - well, they connected me over to some sales department who quoted me the rate for a new modem. When I expressed concern that I was going to have to pay for new equipment after being with them for a long time, they transferred me to another department, where I sat on hold for a while and finally gave up.

So my wife actually called a few days later and made her way through a few supervisors, but they were unwilling to give us a break on the modem. This, considering we had actually just bundled our DirecTV setup through AT&T, so we were doing phone/internet/satellite through them.

I figured those modems were like candy on Halloween - that they just gave them away.

Guess we just couldn't connect with the right people.

 

[charper1]

Wow that is shocking. You could buy your own and then its your to keep.

D-Link ADSL2/2+ Modem with Wireless Router

Actiontec GT724WGR Wireless DSL Modem

 

[DSpud]

I had AT&t dsl and was kinda slow and frequently disconnected. I have time Warner cable internet now, it's cheaper, much faster, and never disconnects. I know everyone has different experiences but given the choice between cable and dsl I will always go with cable if it's even close to the same price range.

As for your other problem with MRV. I have only had that problem with one show, and assigning static IPs to my receivers has not helped. I do know when I attempted to watch the same show on my PC, it stated that my monitor was not authorized to view "protected content" and wouldn't let me watch it on there either. (I know during setup of direct2PC the installation stated my video card did not support HDMI protected content.)

I am thinking that certain programs are "protected". My h24 is connected to my television via component cables which obviously don't support protected content. I am thinking shows that are "protected" and attempted to watch on other receivers through MRV will not play without a fully "protected" video setup, but I have not tested my theory yet. I plan on testing it this afternoon to see if using an HDMI cable begween my H24 and tv allows me to view the shows that current do not play.

 

[reesedh1]

otis29 you need to contact dtv and tell them you want to authorize whole-home dvr. this will cost $3.00 a month.

 

[otis29]

otis29 you need to contact dtv and tell them you want to authorize whole-home dvr. this will cost $3.00 a month.

See, that's the thing I though was odd - my online account shows Whole-Home DVR Service as "currently activated". But in the Whole Home menu on the receiver it shows "no networked DVRs found".

I haven't checked it in the last few days...we are still waiting for Comcast to wire our house (they had to dig a trench from the box across the street). In the interim, the access in my daughter's room to the front room DVR has been sporadic. Still need to reboot the DVR from time to time so she can access programming.

 

[armchair]

I was curious about the "no networked DVRs found" message, would that be a separate issue?

IMO, the disconnects and "No networked DVRs found" are directly related if you're using DHCP addresses.

As other replies in this thread had suggested, the static IPs are what is recommended for those issues. Despite the fact that your present connection is intermittent, static IPs may be a good test for MRV reliability!

Static IP addressing is simple once you know the DHCP range of your router. Plug a unique IP (outside of DHCP range of router) in the advanced network tab of your Directv receivers.
Net Mask 255.255.255.0
gateway: (router LAN IP)
DNS: can be same as gateway or use OpenDNS server 208.67.222.222 or 208.67.220.220

I can certainly understand the DSL issues. I had them myself a few ago, switched to HS-Cable and never looked back. However, it was suggested that once U-Verse made its introduction in my area that the DSL issues may be addressed by increasing the amount of service points to adequately service all dead-spots of DSL service. Not considering U-Verse but may try DSL later. Funny how the cable bill went down after AT&T started call-center dialing my area! Maybe when FIOS and U-Verse are more widespread, the satellite bill will go down too!

 

[cparker]

Get a 4-port or 5-port gigabit switch. Plug THAT into your DSL modem and plug your receivers into the switch. Assign static IPs to the receivers. The DSL modem can go up and down until the cows come home and those 2 receivers will still be talking to each other.

I have a 24-port Gb switch here and a DSL modem. If my modem goes offline to the phone company, all my equipment can still see each other because they're on the switch with static IPs and not on the DSL modem ports. I can be transferring files between 2 computers on my network WHILE I'm rebooting the DSL modem.

 

[maxlemke]

I too have work VPN needs but my Qwest DSL works. I plug my laptop directly to my Linsys router and I have no problem.

 

[maxlemke]

I had DSL issues last year with Qwest. At first I thought is was my modem. I looked for firmware updates and found one. I went through the procedure of installing it and it failed. After a few I was assured a new one with the most recent firmware would arrive. After installing the new modem, my original problem was not solve. It was speed. I purchased 7 mb service but rarely received it. (I used the Qwest speed check to verify my speed.) finally, Qwest sent a technician to my house to check my phone wiring. (On a Sunday to my surprise!) After discussing my problem with the technician, he checked my phone service at the box in my back yard, (we have buried utility service where I live), and checking the wiring in my house, ( the house is over 30 years old), he replaced the small connection box on the outside of the house and replaced the wiring to the wall connection in the house in which my modem was plugged. That fixed my speed problem. He told me the older box and the wiring was causes too many packet faults, (maybe parity faults on transmission???) and that slowed my connection to the internet.

 

[wildbill129]

Get a 4-port or 5-port gigabit switch. Plug THAT into your DSL modem and plug your receivers into the switch. Assign static IPs to the receivers. The DSL modem can go up and down until the cows come home and those 2 receivers will still be talking to each other.

I have a 24-port Gb switch here and a DSL modem. If my modem goes offline to the phone company, all my equipment can still see each other because they're on the switch with static IPs and not on the DSL modem ports. I can be transferring files between 2 computers on my network WHILE I'm rebooting the DSL modem.

He has DECA, the last thing he wants to do is plug in his receivers to an ethernet switch, it will disable the internal DECA on the HR24 and H24.

To the OP, Armchair is right on, assign static IP's to your receivers and you should be fine. DHCP works fine for me, but not everyone is so lucky. It could be the brand of router you are using, who knows. But I would try the static IP route to see if it resolves the problem. If not, it could be a problem with the internal DECA.

I know you said it was a failing modem that caused your DSL issue, but you did have DSL filters on the receivers as well didn't you? BTW, DSL modems can be found cheap on ebay....it's where I got my last one.