OT: Direct TV / DVR / DVD/ Home Theater Thread

[Sport73]

No new hardware required. I'm running the beta on my ancient HR22-100 and I'm happy to report that it's BLAZING FAST, at least compared to the old UI. No stutter at all when paging through the grid or recorded programs - at least a 10x improvement in speed and about 1000x in appearance. Very happy to see DTV doing this. Even Picture Quality seems slightly improved, but that could just be a symptom of a better UI adding polish to the whole experience.

[Sport73]

Low-res pictures:

[dbdynsty25]

Whoa, cool. Thanks for the pics Sport. I dig it. Looks good and I can't wait.

[greggsand]

So I have a HR20 in the bedroom that seems slow as hell compared to my hr24. How do I get this???

[Sport73]

They announce Beta downloads for Friday & Saturday nights, usually 11PM-2AM, and only once/twice per month, and not all models are included in each. You can sign up for the Cutting Edge group and get the word on the announcements, or I will post here when they are announced.

When the window for download opens, you restart your box and enter a key-code to initiate the download.

[Sport73]

Beta download probable for tomorrow and Saturday nights from 11PM-2AM:

Software Download Windows:
Friday, September 30, 2011 11:00PM - 2:30AM ET
Saturday, October 1, 2011 11:00PM - 2:30AM ET


High Definition (HR/H/R22)
HR20/HR21/HR22/HR23/HR24/R22 - Expected
H20 - Not Expected
H21/H23/H24/H25 -Expected

Search online for instructions on how to download a CE beta if interested, but it's as simple as Restarting your box and keying in (slowly) 0-2-4-6-8 at the first blue screen on boot.

[dbdynsty25]

Thanks sport...will give it a shot tomorrow night.

[skinsfan]

Follow this thread to keep up with CE doins'; http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php ... e=-1&f=118

[fsquid]

haven't heard of this, looks great. I'll try to do that code tonight.

[GameSeven]

I'll be looking to give this a shot tonight too and I just got my install this morning

So far I like what I see, but am going through the typical acclimation period, what with new channel lineups and particulars of the UI.

I'm *kind of* concerned about two things so far. One is the absence of On Demand channels and TV Apps that report a persistent 301 error on the primary TV. Supposedly this could get better by waiting the whole 24 hour interval recommended by the install, but it's tough to wait out with the kids asking for a show or two.

Second is my Master Bedroom DVR which is dog slow, seemingly when using the coax (DECA) network. Hopefully this update speeds it up as it seems to have made many things faster, but we'll see.

[fsquid]

I keep hitting the code, but it won't download for me.

[Sport73]

I'm downloading now; should be build 0561.

You have to hit 0-2-4-6-8 slowly, like 0...one thousand...2...one thousand...

and obviously have to be on one of the supported receivers:

HR20/HR21/HR22/HR23/HR24/R22 - Expected Release Notes
H21/H23/H24/H25 -Expected Release Notes

[dbdynsty25]

Downloaded...restarting now.

[dbdynsty25]

Holy crap. SOOOOOOOO much better. Did all four of my receivers. Thanks for the tip Sport...appreciated!

[Sport73]

Holy crap. SOOOOOOOO much better. Did all four of my receivers. Thanks for the tip Sport...appreciated!

Post your thoughts here after you've had time to play. I reprogrammed my Harmony remote to make quick use of the Blue button for the mini-guide and the LIST button to go straight to recorded shows. Once those 2 tweaks were done, the speed and attractive UI completely won over my household; even my wife raves about the speed and attractiveness of this new update. Really happy and think it will keep me on DTV where I had been considering a switch.

[dbdynsty25]

Well I already have a whole room setup with a URC R50 remote that is configured as hell so all my shortcuts are setup already. The speed and the look is reason enough for the upgrade. Definitely much better and actually looks like it should be on an HDTV not the outdated crap they had for so long. Now I gotta tell everyone else I know with directv. Lol.

[greggsand]

I did it. Wow. Looks good so far. What if I want to roll back should I find it too buggy?? I guess I should have asked that before I did it

[dbdynsty25]

I did it. Wow. Looks good so far. What if I want to roll back should I find it too buggy?? I guess I should have asked that before I did it

Just do the same thing "outside" of the beta window. You'll then get the normal national release from what I can tell.

PS. How can it be more buggy and slow than the regular one?

[greggsand]

I did it. Wow. Looks good so far. What if I want to roll back should I find it too buggy?? I guess I should have asked that before I did it

PS. How can it be more buggy and slow than the regular one?

Ha, well yes. I was a little worried about it messing with my 'whole home' setup or something, but it's all good (it seems). It did wonders for my clunky HR20 in the bedroom...

[fsquid]

Gotmit finally last night. My guide and banner color is black, I rlly don't like that.

[dbdynsty25]

Gotmit finally last night. My guide and banner color is black, I rlly don't like that.

Well then you have bad taste. Lol. It's light years better than the horrible blue.

[greggsand]

Gotmit finally last night. My guide and banner color is black, I rlly don't like that.

I love the black scheme - esp at night. That blue screen blasting the entire room when you went to the guide or list was obnoxious.

[Sport73]

Another download window starting now for any others...

I suspect this will see GA this month as its very stable.

[wco81]

Have they increased the number of season passes?

It's been like 5 years since he HR2X came out and they've been talking about it all along.

[GameSeven]

Hey All. Loving the CE UI so far. While I recently had the pleasure of using and admiring VZ's revised UI, D*'s is squarely up there as a sharp and snappy alternative.

As a new signup, I was hoping to get an acct number from a friend's family to submit for the referral program. It's likely too late, although I have heard of success stories getting it applied retroactively as a credit, depending on the customer rep.

Unfortunately, the family was out of town for a few days and getting the # has proven fruitless. So I figured I'd ask here if one of you subs has an acct # you'd like me to try to apply as a referral for billing credit. I think I saw the program ends tomorrow, so if one of you would like to PM me your acct #, I'll try to submit it some time during the day. Again, I'm not wildly optimistic that they'll take it, but if they do, should be $100 in credit for both me and the acct owner.

Thanks.