DirecTV's DVR is a Joke!

Now programs won't even record. They just try and download the program
and never do so. The percentage screen sits at 0% until the show is
over with!!!! I still can't set up certain timers. Even when I delete
the entire timer list, it still won't let me.
Records skip and fail even when the sky is clear.
I'm done! I canceled the service just a few minutes ago!

I see this room in my mind where DirecTV engineers sit with the CEO
and are asked "How can we make DirecTV worse? Is it possible? Do we
dare to be so bold?" And the engineers are "Oh yeah, we will work 24-7
until we make our service the worst! That is a goal we can meet,
because we are almost there!"

DirecTV, your service is so beyond horrible that you should close
down, burn your offices, blow your satellites out of the sky, and
erase the minds of everyone who even knows your company's name.

What a giant mistake it was to switch!!! I would rather watch
black-and-white TV, with only 4 channels, then live another day going
out of my mind with the faults!!

And your new policy of only allowing PPV events to remain on the DVR
for 24 hours! genius! What better way to make your service even
worse!

BE ASHAMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updated:
While I have noticed DirecTV has added a Restart menu option and the
speed of the OS is faster, many problems still remain.

I'm sure this list will keep growing. I wish DirecTV would read this
and keep adding and upgrading features. Dish Network was upgrading
every few months. They kept trying to make the service and DVR better.
DirecTV just doesn't seem to care about these features. Such simple
things would make the service so much better. If they can't fix
anything else, then (((PLEASE ADD MORE INFO TO THE SEARCH MENU AND
DETAILS LISTING FOR SHOWS AND MOVIES))) Having "A man and woman try to
make love work" as the info for a movie is just plain lazy.
Considering the amount of details your competitors have.

Please add these to the description:
1- Full title of the show or movie.
2. List at least 3 of the actors.
3. List the year it was made.
4. List the episode number for a show.
5. List the number of stars a movie earned.
6. List keywords that would help find that program.
7. Allow us to search for a title of a show or movie, even when it is
not on the list. Your list is so small and doesn't have most of the
listings on it. Keywords don't help, seeing as you barely have any
details to begin with.
8. Keep the actors list updated. Stop keeping rappers and adult film
stars on the list and focus on real-deal people.
9. Stop adding an actor today to the guide, then removing them
tomorrow.

These updates would be great!


1. When I'm watching a show while another one is recording, after the
record stops, the show I am watching will reset back to the
beginning.
2. If I add more then 80 timers to the list, the fast forward and
rewinding of shows will lag. This causing me not to be able to stop
fast forwarding at a set point, and the DVR will just keep moving
forward until it stops on it's own. If I set a fast forward for lets
say 2 minutes, it will often times take 5 minutes before it will stop
on its own. This was a problem on the ReplayTV that I owned 5 years
ago. So if this new DirecTV DVR has the same problems; then that is
sad. Even though it is two different companies, upgrades should have
been made to fix these kinds of errors on all DVR's. ReplayTV fixed
the problem, but like I said before, I can't use ReplayTV with
DirecTV.
3. If I set more then 80 timers, shows will often times restart for no
apparent reason.
4. If I set up more then 80 timers, the DVR has frozen and reset. When
it comes back online, every single timer is gone. Keep in mind, 80
timers isn't all that much. It sounds like a large number, but it
really isn't when you consider shows are set to record for over a week
in advanced.
5. When I have tried to set up different timers, they will not work.
The times are not conflicting with anything else, the DVR just doesn't
allow for them for whatever reason. Tech support had no idea how to
fix it but said this is a common problem.
6. As the DVR becomes more filled with shows and movies, everything
slows down. This has not allowed me to record to the limits of the
hard drive. I end up going through so many freeze-up, slow-downs,
resets, ect, that I just end up deleting shows. the main problems that
occurs with this is that the DVR stops recognizing the remote control.
So I up pressing the buttons over and over again. Then after a while
the DVR will run through every button I pressed in rapid succession.
This ends up causing the DVR to reset.
7. Shows and movies become corrupted easily. A show that had a perfect
signal, will just end up skipping. This even happens with shows that I
have already recorded. This has happen for all kinds or reasons, but
happens more often when the hard drive is more then 70% filled up.
8. If I search for let's say My name is Earl and the list comes up; if
I set a record for 1 of the shows, then move down the list and set the
next episode to record as well, the DVR will highlight every single
show. Which just ends up causing conflicts, that causes the OS to slow
down. Then it takes me around 30 seconds before I can cancel the
records. The only way to bypass this is to set a record for the
episode lower on the list, lets say 8:00PM; then set the 7:30PM to
record. This doesn't always work and will often times not let me
record the shows at all. I end up pressing the button on the remote to
record the shows, but the DVR just makes that stupid conflict noise.
9. I ended up ripping buttons off of the remote because if I
accidentally pressed them, menu's will popup and take forever to get
out of them. I think DirecTV did this on purpose, so mistakes can be
made and shows and channels ordered. A child can easily access these
menus and order shows and DirecTV will not refund the money.
10. The search menu is still stupid. If the show or person is not on
the list, then you can not search for them using that feature. You
have to use the keyword search, which doesn't help all that much. The
details for a show or movie are very, very limited. So I can make a
Keyword search for a show I know is on, but it won't come up because
there is no Keywords for it. One day I can search for let's say
Vanessa Lengies and she will be on the Persons search list. Then
tomorrow not. There is so many actors not listed at all, but many
adult films stars and models will be. That doesn't make any sense. So
someone like Cytherea will be on the search list, and Vanessa won't
be. An adult film star with maybe 2 films is on the list, but a well
known actress is not listed.
11. The details list is still limited like I mentioned above. RePlayTV
and even Dish Network will list the full details; actors, date,
episode number, rating, number of stars. While DirecTV will list a
bare bones descriptions. I swear for a movie I once saw a description
of "A man and woman try to make love work." No actors, no rating, no
stars, NOTHING! Needless to say I didn't even know the movie was on
until I found it with 10 minutes left. This still makes it impossible
to find what I want to see. How hard would it be to list a full
details description? And why not allow us to do a title search for
something NOT on the list? Not all movies and shows are on that list
and since Keywords barely work, I never know what is on.
12. This one is not the biggest deal but with RePlayTV and Dish
Network, when I'm watching a show on my list, then press the menu
button, I am taken to that show on the list. DirecTV takes me to the
top of the menu. If I'm watching a show at the bottom of the list, I
want to be taken to that show when I press the recorded shows listing.
Starting from the top, then having to go through the entire listing is
annoying. Again, another simple feature ignored my DirecTV.

Hey Buddy,

at least you directv system works. I had to have 3 service calls
withing a week. Every time they repaired my system it quit working
within 30 minutes after the "technician" left my house. Phoned the
"technician" immediately and was told I'd have to schedule another
service call. The "technicians" were routinely 2 to 3 hours later than
they were scheduled to be.. IE 8am to 12noon service appt, showed up
at 3pm. Each service call meaning I had to take yet ANOTHER day off
work...
Dish Network is much better, same service, half the price, and you
don't have to pay $6 a month for service call insurance to pay for
repairing THEIR faulty equipment.

Good Luck

I was anticipating a punchline and was left sadly let down. Since it's
only been "a few days", have you tried an obnoxious phone call?

This is a very rude, insulting letter. I'll be really surprised if
you receive a response.

Whatever legitimate complaints/suggestions you may have are
overshadowed by the rudeness, attitude, and insults displayed in your
letter.

1. What DVR are you using? DirecTV has several available for use.
RCA, Philips, Hughes, DirecTV TiVo. DirecTV does not have a
monopoly-- I have two recorders, a DirecTV downstairs and an RCA
upstairs.

2. Two minutes to record and save? I don't have that problem. I get
immediate recording capabilities, and, if I've been tuned into that
channel, my DVR will record the ENTIRE program. And the folks who
install your dish are NOT required to tell you every little detail
about your recorder.... That's what the MANUAL is for.

3. Did you even read your manual? If so, you'd be able to watch a
currently-recording program from the beginning. (I do all the time--
I HATE commercials.)

4. The "name list" only applies to movies that are playing within the
next two weeks. Is Jack Black in a movie that will be playing within
two weeks? (Oh, and a hint: Get a TV Guide.)

Sounds to me like your complaint is one of user error.