Direct TV .... who's got it?

jennifer75 · Feb 12, 2009

Does anybody have the mismatched voice to lip movement problem that I'm having? It drives me INSANE! Lips move before sound comes out. It happens with television shows and stuff I've DVR'd.

Is this a direct tv problem?

James81 · Feb 13, 2009

It happens with television shows and stuff I've DVR'd.

Sounds more like a problem with your DVR.

MMcDonald64 · Feb 13, 2009

I have DirecTV and don't seem to have that problem. I only got it in October, and that was just so I could watch Friday Night Lights. I'm so addicted to that show. :-D

StoryG27 · Feb 13, 2009

I have Direct TV and I have that problem sometimes. It drives me so insane that it doesn't matter if it's my favorite show, I just have to turn it off. But it only does it on certain channels and only every once in a while.

Kitty Pryde · Feb 13, 2009

I have noticed it on occasion with our DirecTV, back when we only had one satellite dish. Now that we have two dishes (I think this is a standard thing they do to improve the picture quality and let you dvr two shows at once, not like something we paid extra for), it doesn't happen anymore.

Clair Dickson · Feb 13, 2009

I have Dish, but when we were having (completely different) problems, we reset the DVR box and that seemed to resolve it. Have you reset the box lately? Seems to be that nearly all electronic, computer-like devices require the occasional reboot. Especially since many are quite sensitive to fluctuations in electricity flow.

jennifer75 · Feb 13, 2009

How do I go about rebooting the box?

Clair Dickson · Feb 13, 2009

My box had a reset/ power button on the front. Said "power" and "hold for reset"

Or, you can unplug the box for, like 15 minutes. That might work.

jennifer75 · Feb 13, 2009

Fabulous. I'll try it tonight.

Clair Dickson · Feb 13, 2009

Oh, BTW, it will have to refind the satellite and probably update the program guide. At least mine did. Took just under ten minutes total to get through that song and dance.

I make no promises on whether or not it will keep any programmed shows. =) Best of luck.

Sacrifices to the technology gods are never a bad idea either... ;-)

jennifer75 · Feb 13, 2009

Clair Dickson said:
I make no promises on whether or not it will keep any programmed shows. =) Best of luck.

Oh no! I don't want to lose programs. Grrrr. Maybe I should call DTV?

James81 · Feb 13, 2009

jennifer75 said:
How do I go about rebooting the box?

I've had to do that in the past, and what the tech people tell you to do is to:

1. Unplug your receiver.
2. Unhook the TV cable from the receiver box
3. Wait 15 minutes.
4. Hook it all back up again and turn it on.

Kitty Pryde · Feb 13, 2009

If you reset, power cycle (unplug and replug in), or turn off your DirecTV DVR box thingy, it won't delete your shows. I have done it a zillion times. The only thing that will delete your shows would be the hard drive dying (we have had this happen twice), which is like the satellite TV apocalypse.

maestrowork · Feb 13, 2009

Try to watch DirectTV directly without going through the DVR. If the sync problem doesn't exist, then it's the DVR. If there's still a sync problem, call a DirectTV tech.

Some DVR and DVD players do have problems with syncing with the TV, especially with HDTVs using HDMI inputs. For example, my DVD player has a function to "re-sync" with the TV; so it seems like such a glitch is no uncommon.

p.s. rebooting your DVR won't cause the programs (or To-Do list) to disappear. You'll have to have done a factory reset for that to happen.

jennifer75 · Feb 13, 2009

Try to watch DirectTV directly without going through the DVR. If the sync problem doesn't exist, then it's the DVR. If there's still a sync problem, call a DirectTV tech.

You mean see if it happens on another tv without DVR capabilities?

jennifer75 · Mar 3, 2009

Long rant...

So last night I was watching my new favorite show, The L Word.....I was anticipating tv night, I was alone and had wine....I start watching Sunday's episode that I dvr'd when I noticed about 10 minutes in the voices weren't in sync with the mouths again. So, I remembered this duscussion, and also remembered that I had asked DTV about this a while ago and how they told me to reset the box, as you lovely people did.

So, I pushed stop and turned the tv off, and hit the little red reset button. I waited a few seconds and then flipped the tv back on. It went through it's reset stages and then was ok, it seemed. I put on a local channel and the voices matched perfectly. So I went into my list of recorded shows........

AND THE LAST EPISODE OF THE L WORD WAS GONE! Everything else was there, even shows I'd recorded immediately after the L Word....but it was gone. I had only gotten ten minutes in before the reset, and was LOVING the episode and was crushed when I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it.

Then I recalled having seen a lot of the same episodes running repeatedly on the different Showtime channels and decided to scan the listing.

Sure enough, it was on at that very moment, though I'd missed ten minutes from where I stopped to that moment. Then I noticed it was also running in an hour from then, so I recorded that one...

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeew.

Silver King · Mar 3, 2009

Jen, if you have access to cable, you might consider switching from DTV to another provider. Digital cable service is much more reliable, and where I live, the prices are about the same.

Even if you miss L Word from one night to the next in the time slot you prefer, the episode will continue to cycle through different Showtime lineups throughout the week (and month). When you bring up the guide, just move forward through the lineup until you find the show you want to view or record.

Also, some cable providers offer On Demand channels, where you can view films and episodes of your favorite shows whenever you want. I'm still watching Season Three of Dexter at my leisure.

maestrowork · Mar 3, 2009

DirectTV also has On Demand.

I think it has more to do with the DVR than DirectTV itself. I never had any problem with it but of course, I have Tivo and not the DVR.

jennifer75 · Mar 4, 2009

What's this "on demand" thing you speak of? Do I have it? Is it additional, or part of my Direct TV package? I've never looked into it.

James81 · Mar 4, 2009

jennifer75 said:
What's this "on demand" thing you speak of? Do I have it? Is it additional, or part of my Direct TV package? I've never looked into it.

ON Demand is kind of like pay-per-view in the sense that you can watch new releases and what not. The only difference is that you can choose exactly when you want to watch it and not have to wait until the scheduled time to do so.

When I go to a hotel, I'll usually buy a movie off the On Demand channel. A lot of the movies on there are new movies that haven't been released on DVD yet, so that's kinda cool.

Plus there is a mountain of porn available. That's always nice.

Kitty Pryde · Mar 4, 2009

jennifer75 said:
What's this "on demand" thing you speak of? Do I have it? Is it additional, or part of my Direct TV package? I've never looked into it.

If you have the DirecTV HD DVR, on-demand is included. But not all shows are available on demand, only some of them. If you have plain old not-HD, no on-demand for you!

Oh! L-Word finale comes on this sunday! And they're doing a finale special to recap all five seasons that comes on right before--DVR it baby!

jennifer75 · Mar 4, 2009

James81 said:
ON Demand is kind of like pay-per-view in the sense that you can watch new releases and what not. The only difference is that you can choose exactly when you want to watch it and not have to wait until the scheduled time to do so.

When I go to a hotel, I'll usually buy a movie off the On Demand channel. A lot of the movies on there are new movies that haven't been released on DVD yet, so that's kinda cool.

Plus there is a mountain of porn available. That's always nice.

Oh, so in addition to my monthly bill, I'd have to pay for on demand stuff as I watch it?

Kitty Pryde · Mar 4, 2009

jennifer75 said:
Oh, so in addition to my monthly bill, I'd have to pay for on demand stuff as I watch it?

No, that's only in hotels. Watching on demand stuff is free IF you pay for HD.

jennifer75 · Mar 4, 2009

Kitty Pryde said:
If you have the DirecTV HD DVR, on-demand is included. But not all shows are available on demand, only some of them. If you have plain old not-HD, no on-demand for you!

Oh! L-Word finale comes on this sunday! And they're doing a finale special to recap all five seasons that comes on right before--DVR it baby!

OH MY GAWD! Really? I love that show. I've watched last Sundays episode like, 4 times. I even took a "which L Word girl should you date" quiz, it said Alice. And I love Alice! She's my favorite.

Silver King · Mar 4, 2009

James81 said:
ON Demand is kind of like pay-per-view in the sense that you can watch new releases and what not...

That's one version, the kind where you pay to view each offering. Another includes premium channels, such as HBO, TMC etc., which have dedicated channels set up where you can select which shows you want to watch at any time. That's the "On Demand" feature I was talking about earlier, which comes as part of the package you already pay for with those premium channels.

In addition, some cable providers (such as mine) have dozens of other On Demand channels at no extra cost, which include National Geographic, A&E, TCM and so forth.

Direct TV .... who's got it?

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i luv you giant bear statue

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