Tutor
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4 Messages
Control over stopping recordings on the DVR?
I have googled every combination of words for this situation I can find; I've found lots of great answers to other questions but not exactly this.
My family has an older relative living with us and, try as I might, I cannot explain to him that he stops my recorded programs to watch live tv. He does it several times a week. We currently have DirecTV but are switching to at&t next week when we move to a new house. Does at&t have a function (perhaps in parental type controls) that allows you to disable a box's ability to halt a recording?
My family has an older relative living with us and, try as I might, I cannot explain to him that he stops my recorded programs to watch live tv. He does it several times a week. We currently have DirecTV but are switching to at&t next week when we move to a new house. Does at&t have a function (perhaps in parental type controls) that allows you to disable a box's ability to halt a recording?
Accepted Solution
Official Solution
aviewer
Expert
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3.2K Messages
10 years ago
No, it is a design limitation. Four streams can come into the house. These can be watched or recorded. Recordings get first choice. When there is not enough it will stop live watching.
LIve cannot stop if you are watching a recording. Live cannot stop a recording from taking place.
The four stream limit is not friendly to users who need more. Get a provider that delivers all channels to the house & each set selects the channel.
If you are borderline -
There are more restrictive limits on HD. Perhaps some viewers could use SD.
Try to record & then watch recordings. This lets you make a weekly sched without conflict.
recording conflicts must be resolved pre-recording & you might want to leave one stream for live.
Many programs can be recorded outside high usage windows.
The message displayed when live is interrupted is confusing. But, it is usually too late to do anything by then. Best to stay on recording & look at the schedule to figure out what is going on. Best to avoid this by not overloading a window.
Critical times are between programs where there is an overlap between shows on different channels due to the soft padding. Soft because it usually works ok, but sometimes doesnt.
This strategy has worked for me for seven years, starting with fewer streams. The only drawback is you cannotset recordings willy nilly.You need to pay attention.But, I believe you watch the samething every week. You can review the sched list & guide once each day to verify there are no conflicts & see if there is anything to add to the rrecordings.
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rdljr
Guru
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332 Messages
10 years ago
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dmharris9
Tutor
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4 Messages
10 years ago
He already does that. I don't think he understands that he is cutting off the program, so that no one can ever see the rest of it, ever again. I'm looking for a function that completely disables the ability to cut off the recording.
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dmharris9
Tutor
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4 Messages
10 years ago
Dang. That's what I was afraid of. For me, I totally understand the hierarchy of recordings, priorities, how many I can record, etc. But this is a concept new to someone who is elderly and does not understand much of technology at all. I'm going to have my husband try to explain it to him when we get all our new equipment next week and hopefully it sticks.
Thanks, accepting your answer to the question as best.
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aviewer
Expert
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3.2K Messages
10 years ago
It is going to be difficult for you to figure this out -
Is it recordings or live?
If it is a live conflict it cannot affect your recordings.
If he is watching a recording & stopping it & erasing it, that is going to be a big problem because every box is the same & cannot be changed & have access to all recordings.
If you can figure out & describe exactly what is happening perhaps we can suggest something, but is going to take some expectation of understanding to follow directions. If that is not possible, i am sorry for you.
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dmharris9
Tutor
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4 Messages
10 years ago
We have four adults in our home. All four can and do set programs they'd like to record. If all available slots are full, and someone tries to turn to live tv, the box will say something like, "All available slots are full, you have to stop recording [some program] to watch tv. Continue?" and every time he clicks "Ok" and stops a recording that someone has previously set. I thought maybe with AT&T U-Verse, there was a control to disable a person from clicking "Ok" and stopping a recording. I must explain to him that he CANNOT click "Ok" and stop a recording. He must either watch a previously recorded program or turn off his tv. It's not that hard to figure out.. for most people. This is an elderly person who does not understand much of anything any more, hence why he is living with family. Yes, it is an unfortunate dilemma.
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aviewer
Expert
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3.2K Messages
10 years ago
That detailed description of the process is very helpful. It is new to me.
My response was based on seven years of experience with u-verse where the original processes were designed to protect recordings in process. There must have been a change.
I did not notice the change because I have not experienced conflicts & there have not been a flood of complaining posts. So, it must be recent.
I think the only thing you can do is review the recordings daily (Menu- Recordings-scheduled) to assure that there there are no conflicts & more important that there are no more than three.
You also, need to dig in to your stream availablity (Menu- options - system options - system resources) Please post the first two lines on the screen. You can round off big numbers to two digits.
Monitoring/coordinating the recordings up front seems like a big effort just to watch Tv. But, I believe it wil settle down pretty quickly as viewing habits tend to be consistent. A couple of compromizes up front may eliminate the problem.
Also, try this - instead of a complex explanation say something like this - If you try to change a channel & you get stuck on a message, type 9999 - OK & select a show from the list.
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