Taping too many episodes of (my program)

[bpvarian]

These DVR's (I have the motorola) make my miss my Tivo's badly...

Here is my problem, I want to tape my local news program "KVUE News" every night at 5pm.  I go to the guide and setup a series recording, new and re-runs, anyday @ 5:00 pm, keep one episode.

the problem is that it tapes the 5:00 episode (for 1/2 hour), and then tapes the 6:00 episode as well (because it is named the same thing, and there is no differentiating programming information).  But my series is setup Antyime *at 5pm*.  why does it tape at 6 too? 

I know that i can have keep two episdoes, but that is stupid, and is a dumb workaround.

What I really want it to do, is to tape the 5:00 pm epside, and then add an extra hour (thugh I would get the 5:00 local news, 5:30 national news, and the 6:00 local news).  But at 6:00, it stops recording the 5:00 stuff, overrites the partial 5:00 recording, and starts again at 6:00 and goes through 7:30 pm).

It is crazy that i can't just setup a repeating (Monday - Friday) recording fo ra certain time & channel.

Tier 2 tech support wants to replace my DVR (what a dumb idea).

can anyone else test this?  anyone have any other ideas?

Brad

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

I think I understand what you are trying to do.  Why do you have the  SHOW TYPE set as First run & reruns?  Change this parameter to First run only and see if that fixes your problem.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

bpvarian - I agree that the available recording settings are seriously deficient. I have complained at every opportunity that the show setting a specific time is not available.

It should be the default setting. The fuzzy time setting should be an alternate choice.

A specific time recurring manual setting should also be available.

I just set up a series because I want to catch a specific rerun on August 10 & noticed it did not even let me set a specific day of the week. Now that I am thinking of the manual setting, I will change it to that - If I can do a manual setting that far out.

Please - more robust recording options  & don't forget to include a default setup so each customer can specify which option is automatically selected each time the red button is pushed.

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

I tried the manual recording mentioned in the previous post - can not do it  - available dates end at 8/4 .

[bpvarian]

I will try to switch the series record to first run only and see if that fixes the problem. I will let you know tonight!

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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bpvarian wrote:

I will try to switch the series record to first run only and see if that fixes the problem. I will let you know tonight!

---

Ok, let us know.  It works for me when I set up a series recording under the same scenario that you describe (i.e. daily program that repeats a couple of hours later on the same day).

[bpvarian]

thanks for taking such an interest Texas Guy.  If you do try to reproduce the problem on your end (and again, maybe taking off the re-runs on my end will work) I think that the local news is the only way to try it for two reasons:

1) it (most likely) runs at 5 and then again 6

2) it has the same Title, but no differentiating program information (like the show "The Office" would have differentiating information about which epiosde was playing - local news does not have that).

it is just a hunch...

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

I did reproduce the issue here.  I cannot reproduce it with any of the local newscasts.  We do have local channels that broadcast news at 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm; however, the names of the program and thus the titles shown in the Guide are not the same. The program titles on the local NBC affiliate are NBC5 First @Four, NBC5 News @5 pm, and  NBC5 @6 pm.  I'm surprised that your local networks have the same name for all of it's daily newscasts.

I can duplicate the issue on CNN (channel 1202) with  Anderson Cooper 360 which airs at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm and on msnbc (channel 1215) with Hardball with Chris Matthews which airs at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm.  If I use First run & re-runs, my series recording selects both episodes of each of these programs to record.  If I select First run only, my series recording only selects the first episode to record.  I'm also able to extend the program by 1 hour and set my KEEP parameter to 1 latest episode in order to achieve the desired result.

[bpvarian]

thanks for all of your help with this Texas Guy. 

Again, my settings:

"KVUE News" anyday at 5pm

keep one episode

New Episodes only (I forget the exact verbage)

It taped at 5pm, and then again at 6pm (thus erasing my 5pm taping).  Even now, when I look at the future recordings, it shows that it will tape at 5pm and 6pm. 

It is so annoying!!!

anything else I can do to help troubleshoot this problem?

[aviewer ACE - Wizard]

bpvarian - I looked at my guide for 5&6. All the staions say - xxxx news at 5 followed by xxxx news at 6.

I suggest you send a PM to alex requesting the guide people set your area the same.

Specify that it needs to be made consistent with other areas and  to make it compatible with the U-verse DVR recording software.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

bpvarian wrote:

thanks for all of your help with this Texas Guy. 

Again, my settings:

"KVUE News" anyday at 5pm

keep one episode

New Episodes only (I forget the exact verbage)

It taped at 5pm, and then again at 6pm (thus erasing my 5pm taping).  Even now, when I look at the future recordings, it shows that it will tape at 5pm and 6pm. 

It is so annoying!!!

anything else I can do to help troubleshoot this problem?

---

Apparently, the system is interpreting each of those episodes as being NEW as opposed to the 6:00 pm episode being a repeat of the 5:00 pm episode. 

In order to have only the 5:00 pm episode record, select the 5:00 pm episode in the GUIDE and change the TIME parameter to Any day, anytime, once per day.

[bpvarian]

TexasGuy - I will try this, but I believe that it will then tape the (morning) news, and I will still be screwed.

I will make that change tonight, still recording at 5, then erasing it with the 6:00

thanks for your interest on this.

do you have the abiliity to report this "bug" to Microsoft (whom I believe makes the OS that runs on the DVR's...)?

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Every local news broadcast on that channel has the same exact title?  How odd.

[bpvarian]

yes, except Saturday and Sunday's, where it then changes to "KVUE news at 5" and "KVUE news at 6"

what is odd (to me at least) is that I can't set the DVR to do a repeating record on a certain channel and time. ;-)

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Ok, when I look at local news broadcasts in the Guide for KVUE in Austin, these are the new broadcasts that I find on weekdays:

  4:30 am  KVUE News Daybreak

  5:00 am  KVUE News Daybreak

  6:00 am  KVUE News Daybreak

11:00 am  KVUE Midday News

  5:00 pm  KVUE News

  6:00 pm  KVUE News

10:00 pm KVUE News

I think my last suggestion should work for you.

[bpvarian]

we shall find out - I love your effort!

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

LOL.  You're welcome.  I didn't realize that you were a fellow Texan.  We have to stick together!

[bpvarian]

It worked! 

TexasGuy: Please show the following to your supervisor - I demand you to! 

After calling regular tech support and getting transferred to a Tier 2 agent the following day, I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with an agent who (in my opinion) could not - or would not - try to grasp the problem that I was having with my DVR. You can read through this post, but I don't think that my problem was particularly difficult to understand, but this agent couldn't get it.  She event went to her DVR and supposedly tried to reproduce the problem.  After giving up, she offered to send out a tech and/or replace my DVR. 

What do you think that both options would have cost AT&T?  Maybe $300? 

TexasGuy - whom I'm guessing works for AT&T in some fashion, decided to spend an immense amount of time and demonstrate superior troubleshooting skills to fix - or find a workaround to - my problem. Besides saving your company the obvious out of pocket costs, he gave me faith that AT&T does actually employ some competent tech support agents. 

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

I'm not an AT&T employee.  I am a U-verse customer, just as you are.  This is a peer to peer forum for U-verse customers. Some of us volunteer our time to help other customers resolve issues, share information and get the most out of their U-verse service.

I'm glad that what I suggested worked for you!

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

You should at least get another set of steak knives. Just sayiin'.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]