New Directv firmware has MRV??

[mohanman]

There is a post on engadget HD that there is going to be a new firmware for Directv units to have MRV? Does anyone know more about this, does that mean that tivo is NOT coming out for Directv??

[Dssturbo1]

yes if its not out already it should be soon. they have been testing it out with some firmware downloads to some customers and certain receivers.

check dbstalk in the Cutting Edge section to get more info.

it should not effect whether tivo and directv bring out a unit.........But if directv does add more features to their in house hd dvrs which they should already have had like MRV and dual live buffers then less people would be waiting on a new tivo/directv unit.

[bigpuma]

The latest beta software has both DLBs and MRV in the HR2x series. This has nothing to do with the new TiVo/DirecTV deal. That box should, hopefully, still be out sometime in 2010.

ETA: I installed it Friday night and MRV works great. That is the feature I have been waiting for. Now I don't need to have duplicate series links and the 50 series limit doesn't matter at all to me.

I haven't played around with DLBs yet.

[shibby191]

MRV has actually been in testing since last fall actually on the H units. It's just now on the HR units (and has been for about a month). DLB came just this week. Assuming all goes well in testing then it would roll out nationally probably in a couple months or three.

[sk33t3r]

My new refurbed HR20 upgraded as soon as I powered it up .

[RBerryman]

Will MRV only be between H/HR2X units or will it work with older units?

[dilbert27]

Will MRV only be between H/HR2X units or will it work with older units?

From my understanding it should work on receivers which have an Ethernet connection which at this time I believe are the R22, H21, HR20, HR21, HR22, HR23 and there maybe a couple of other H receivers that I missed.

[Gunnyman]

/wishes they would fix the stability issues of the HR2x before they rolled out new features.
:mad:

[JimSpence]

There's a very long ongoing thread here.
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=156968&highlight=dlb
And here.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-cutting-edge-ce-discussion-forum/172828-hr2x-ce-release-4-24-v-0301-a.html

[shibby191]

Will MRV only be between H/HR2X units or will it work with older units?

Which older units? It only works with current generation receivers with Ethernet ports.

R22
H21/23
HR20/21/22/23

And many of those are pushing 4 years old now. We're on the edge of these being replaced as old. ;)

[bigpuma]

/wishes they would fix the stability issues of the HR2x before they rolled out new features.
:mad:

I've had my HR20 since October 2006 and it has been rock solid since March 2007. The first few months I did miss a few shows but otherwise it has been great.

[Scooter]

After hearing many reports of spontaneous reboots with the current beta, I think I'm going to wait until it gets a bit more stable.
I'm really excited to get DLB and MRV.

[Scooter]

Hmm. After reading a bit more, the reboots don't seem to be as much of a problem as I first thought. I may just give beta a go this weekend. That's if the have a release available. I'll leave my wife's out of the mix as I don't feel like getting killed. :)

[shibby191]

It is indeed beta and you shouldn't get it expecting it to be bug free. The whole CE program is about finding bugs and stamping them out. It's currently at the beginning of a CE cycle and they are labeled as "high risk". So be warned and read the CE rules on either site before going down that road.

[hiker]

The HR2x is getting better and better. One thing I miss is the Recently Deleted Folder. Is that in the works too?

[sjberra]

/wishes they would fix the stability issues of the HR2x before they rolled out new features.
:mad:

haven't had any stability issues with my HR2X's for awhile - outside of the guide issues that have occurred recently, the guide issues where the ony lockups that I have had.

[Gunnyman]

I've had my HR20 since October 2006 and it has been rock solid since March 2007. The first few months I did miss a few shows but otherwise it has been great.

Lucky you. My Hr22 has to be rebooted once a week or so to remain responsive to remote commands.

[joed32]

The HR2x is getting better and better. One thing I miss is the Recently Deleted Folder. Is that in the works too?

I hope so!

[newsposter]

/wishes they would fix the stability issues of the HR2x before they rolled out new features.
:mad:

you dont like brriping and stuttering :eek:

having people over and having them ask what's wrong with the box is frustrating.

[shibby191]

Lucky you. My Hr22 has to be rebooted once a week or so to remain responsive to remote commands.

If that's the case I would have had it replaced long ago. No reason to put up with a bad box.

[Scooter]

It is indeed beta and you shouldn't get it expecting it to be bug free. The whole CE program is about finding bugs and stamping them out. It's currently at the beginning of a CE cycle and they are labeled as "high risk". So be warned and read the CE rules on either site before going down that road.

Oh, I never expected it to be bug free. For several months, I was testing the beta software, I just got tired of messing with it. For the most part, it went pretty well, but I lost recordings on a couple of them and felt the instability was a bit too bothersome at times. However, it's nice that you can easily go back to the most current general release if you can't stand it anymore.

Scooter :)

[byrd]

I read the thread over at dbstalk.com. This is great news about the MRV and DLB. These are the two BIG functions that have kept us from upgrading to the new Directv DVRs. While I would absolutely LOVE to have the Tivo interface, I'm not sure if I will be willing to wait for an undefined period of time for the Tivo DVR release if I know that the Directv DVRs have (most of) the functionality that I want.

What is Directv's track record for moving the CE releases over to the mainstream software upgrades? Someone above said that it is usually a couple of months. If the software has been released through CE, is it pretty definite that we'll see it as a general upgrade. Do they ever decide to NOT make CE releases available to the general population?

[stevel]

The CE features do eventually turn into a "national release". Depending on how testing goes, this can take weeks or months. Each new CE cycle typically goes through at least four weeks of CE updates.

[shibby191]

The CE features do eventually turn into a "national release". Depending on how testing goes, this can take weeks or months. Each new CE cycle typically goes through at least four weeks of CE updates.

Correct. Could be just a few weeks to many months. All depends on how stable it is and how much they want to tweak the options. For example, often DirecTV will include an option to a feature and ask for feedback. They incorporate that feedback the following week or two and ask for more. It's how the quick tune option was developed.

I think the last CE cycle lasted about 2 months before it went national. But the CE cycle on the H21 started last fall and is still going on. So it really all depends.

[stevel]

What's really nice about the way DirecTV does the CE "betas" is that: 1) Anyone can play, 2) You can always roll back to the current national release if you need to, 3) There's an active discussion in the dbstalk.com forum where issues can be talked about, workarounds found, etc.

The downside (for me anyway) is that the "window" for downloading the CE updates is from 11PM-2AM ET Friday and Saturday (usually), which is when I'm usually already asleep. Folks on the west coast have it easier. So, I have not been able to participate in the CEs as much as I would like to.

[newsposter]

has any CE ever wiped out any programming? well...ever is pretty long...i guess generally is my question

[stevel]

Yes, it has been known to happen. Rare - and it has never happened to me - but I have heard from others. If this is a concern to you, then you should abstain from the CEs, or perhaps at least wait for the second or third update in a cycle. Each one is labeled with a risk level.

[EricG]

The downside (for me anyway) is that the "window" for downloading the CE updates is from 11PM-2AM ET Friday and Saturday (usually), which is when I'm usually already asleep. Folks on the west coast have it easier. So, I have not been able to participate in the CEs as much as I would like to.

So I guess it's too late for me to get this on my HR21 ?

[whitepelican]

So I guess it's too late for me to get this on my HR21 ?

They do the CE downloads nearly every weekend.

[shibby191]

First thing you need to do is go to DBSTalk's CE forum: http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118

Read the FAQ and understand this is beta software and may not be stable and could wreck your system. Do not get a CE just to get new stuff.

[CharlieB]

I've had an HR21 since mid January, not connected to a phone line so if there have been updates since then I haven't gotten them. The only bug I've found that annoys me is when I've been tuned to a music channel for a while and the screensaver is up, the box is unresponsive to the remote. I have to turn it off and then on again with the front panel button, then it responds. Is this peculiar to my HR21 or a known issue?

[bigpuma]

I've had an HR21 since mid January, not connected to a phone line so if there have been updates since then I haven't gotten them.

The phone line is not a requirement to get updates on the HR21. I have never had mine plugged into the phone line.

[shibby191]

Phone line has never been required. All updates on the DirecTV receivers is via the satellite. The Tivo boxes are the only ones that required a phone line. Report your issue on DBSTalk.

[TomF]

The HR2x is getting better and better. One thing I miss is the Recently Deleted Folder. Is that in the works too?
The HR2xs don't have a Recently Deleted Folder and there doesn't seem to be any discussion about it. When this was implemented on the HR10-250, I mentioned it in a thread at DBSTalk, but let's just say that it was met with a less than enthusiastic response.

[litzdog911]

I think it's likely that the DirecTV DVRs will add an "undelete" or "Recently Deleted" feature at some point.

[poppagene]

Is this firmware that enables MRV and DLB still available for download?

[stevel]

You need to visit the Cutting Edge forum at dbstalk.com - and there is now a requirement that you "join" the Cutting Edge group, by which you acknowledge the rules for CE. CE updates are done most every Friday/Saturday night and are available to all, though they are not risk-free. I recommend that you join dbstalk and the Cutting Edge group and read up on the process and people's experiences before blindly downloading.

[shibby191]

I recommend that you join dbstalk and the Cutting Edge group and read up on the process and people's experiences before blindly downloading.

No kidding. There have been so many new people just downloading the CE's to get these features and that's the wrong thing to do. Many of these recent CE test versions have been very buggy (as is expected of beta software). If you want to help test and understand you may have serious bugs then join up. But don't download just to get new features that may not even totally work yet.