Playback Failed - or did it?

wputler,

Where what I have read you do not have a HD DVR? This is a requirement for the WH DVR system.

The original poster stated he had a DVR and two receivers.

wputler,  On the problem box pull the AC power for a couple of minutes, then plug it back in.  That will reconfigure the SWM channels that serve that unit.  If that doesn't fix the problem your best bet would be to have Directv return while the installation is still in warranty.

Make sure you don't connect any Ethernet cables to the receivers in an attempt to connect to the Internet.  If you want that service you'll need Directv install a DECA module at your router.

Well, rebooting the receiver didn't fix the problem, but rebooting the DVR seems to have fixed it. Just wanted to let anyone know that might have the same problem.

Thanks.

Well, rebooting the receiver didn't fix the problem, but rebooting the DVR seems to have fixed it. Just wanted to let anyone know that might have the same problem.

Thanks.

dcd,

I thought you needed a HD DVR to work with the WH DVR and not a DVR? That's why I ask the question and provided the information from Directv WH DVR website.

Thanks, but it is an HD DVR.

So after rebooting, it worked for a few different shows I tried. Then an hour or so later, we tried one of the shows that had worked when I tested it and we got the same "Playback failed" message.

A tech is coming out for another problem - we can't watch 2 shows from the DVR (HD), on the HD Receivers at the same time. It says that we are trying to watch too many programs.

I hope they can figure out these problems.

wputier,

Thanks for the information.

The install was done last week and all  current HD installations include 24 series boxes.  The OP stated that they installed H24's, ergo 1 HR24 and two H24's. 

actually there is no problem here that is just the way the system works.  one DVR can stream to ONE remote HD or HDDVR receiver at a time.

You can however, watch one program on the DVR itself and one at a remote receiver, so placement of the receivers can become important if you want to watch two recordings simultaneously.

Well, when I signed up, they never said that it was only the DVR and one other receiver. They said 2 TV's and even the support docs online don't say that it is the HD DVR and 1 receiver:

http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2737/kw/2%20recorded%20shows/r_id/104513

http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2734/session/L3NpZC84dGxYWUE0aw==

So when I called in about the problem, I ended up getting to top level tech support. By that time, I was wondering if it was limited to the DVR and 1 receiver. I mentioned it to the tech. He researched and said that yes it is only 1 receiver at a time. He also told me that they were not told this in their training. I told him I wanted to cancel DirecTV then. He forwarded me to the cancellation department where the person SWORE up and down that you can watch on multiple receivers at a time - he has it setup at his house. So he was going to have a tech come out.

The local office was supposed to call on Friday and schedule a time, but that didn't happen. So I'll have to spend Monday on the phone all day again.

Here's the setup for anyone wondering why it has to be this way:

TV 1 - husband watching live sports (he must have the DVR so that he can cancel the kids shows so that the channel doesn't change in the middle and so that he can pause and rewind.)

TV2 - teenager wants to watch recorded PG-13 movie

TV3 - 10 year old wants to watch her recorded show because she can't watch the PG-13 movie

We could do this just fine with the Dish setup.

So basically I paid $99 for something that's unusable to us. So I'm pretty disappointed.

Thanks for everyone's input.

With DIRECTV's Whole-Home DVR service, you and your family can watch two recordedshowsat the same time on separate TVs — for example, your kids can watch one show on the TV in their room and you can watch another in the living room. If you happen to have a second HD DVR, you can watch up to four recordedshowsat the same time in different rooms — every HD DVR in your Whole-Home DVR setup allows you to watch two recordedshowsat the same time in different rooms.

this is the statement for the link that you provided.  and its actually true.  if the DVR is in the LR, you can watch a recorded show there, while streaming another recorded show to another HD receiver.  that means watching two differenet shows in two different rooms at the same time, hence making that statement true.  I guess you misunderstood when you read the above statement.

I didn't say the statement was false. It is misleading in that it doesn't specify that the HD DVR can only stream to **ONE** HD Receiver at a time. Especially when the other link says that you can connect 14 HD Receivers to one HD DVR and doesn't specify that you can't have them all on watching different things.

I still haven't found any documentation that says it must be the HD DVR and one receiver to have 2 shows going. I did read everything I could find on the Whole Home system before I even considered switching.

I feel like bait and switch was pulled on me. I explained the functionality we had with Dish and asked for the same. I explicitly said that 2 of the TV's were needed for watching recorded shows while the 3rd was used for watching live TV. I don't believe I explicitly said that the live TV user needed to be able to pause and rewind, but when you're talking a DVR system, isn't that expected? (You can't pause/rewind live TV on the HD Recievers, which is another disappointment, but because the users of those TV's hardly ever watch live TV, it isn't that big of a deal to us.)

how is the statement misleading if it is true?  if you had 14HD and one DVR, all of them can be watching different things at the same time. but the DVR can only stream to only one of them at the same time while the others watch live tv.  also help me to understand how is your dish network set up better than DTV's when dish system the dvr can only be access by ONE tv ONLY and that tv will not get HD because the remote tv is hook by coax?  DTV's WHDVR any HD receiver in the house can access your HDDVR or HDDVR's, just one at a time. and all id the beauty of HD.

Misunderstandings at time of purchase are reported from time to time.  After the customer comes here and get's clarification they often wish to debate all sorts of issues regarding the misunderstanding.  I think that's pretty fruitless as we are all customers too and cannot change the facts.

Even more fruitless is the "the CSR lied to me" etc.  That simply becomes a "he said something that I think I understood".

The short of it is that a DVR can stream to only a single satellite device at a time.  Those of us that use Directv2PC discovered that a long time ago and it continues to be true with Whole Home DVR.

End of debate?.