DVR Programs Ending A Minute Too Early

[goreds2]

I have Time Warner digital cable.

Usually when I DVR a program and play it back, the recording seems to stop a minute early. I am thinking I can set the clock back one minute but can't seem to find a menu option to do this. Has anyone had this issue and fixed the time? Thanks,

 

[memebag]

I have Time Warner digital cable.

Usually when I DVR a program and play it back, the recording seems to stop a minute early. I am thinking I can set the clock back one minute but can't seem to find a menu option to do this. Has anyone had this issue and fixed the time? Thanks,

The time is probably set by the timecode coming from the cable. You can usually edit the recording to stop a minute or two later.

 

[limegrass69]

The good news is that you can pad the recordings on either the front or back end (or both). The bad news is that the need to pad a recording usually results having to enter it manually into the recorder (i.e. telling the DVR to record channel 4 from 8:00 to 9:03 on Tuesday night...as opposed to finding the show on the program guide and simply pushing the record button).
This is done deliberately by the networks to screw people who use a DVR. There is no way to mess with the time of day on a DVR from the cable company.

The other thing that gets screwed up is that if a show (like American Idol) runs long, you end up missing the end of the show. Your program guide has no way to know that the show has run long, and thus adapt. Again, I think that this is an intentional maneuver by the programmers to try and thwart those who try and avoid the commercials by using a DVR to record the programming.

 

[atlwxman]

The other problem with padding is that it will cause a conflict if you are recording shows on different channels back-to-back.

 

[limegrass69]

Yes. That can be a problem.

The DVRs that my cable company uses (Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD) has 2 tuners, so the overlap problem is lessened somewhat.

 

[flap_jackson]

Some primetime programs end a minute late...

But I have Time Warner too, and the only time it does that is when I manually record a program. On timer programs it seems just fine...

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Do DVRs allow you to program your recordings like you used to with your VCR? Or is it all this point and click nonsense where you pick the show you want recorded and that is that?

I always run my VCR clock about 30 seconds fast and then run all recordings 2 minutes long.

 

[atlwxman]

The clock on the DVR is set when the guide is updated.

On my DVR (ReplayTV) you click on a program you want to record.

 

[goreds2]

Do DVRs allow you to program your recordings like you used to with your VCR? Or is it all this point and click nonsense where you pick the show you want recorded and that is that?

Yes, you can manually record shows on DVR. Thanks for your input everyone. I will probably record the show afterward for now.

 

[limegrass69]

You can do either. Once of the nicer thing about the DVR is the integrated guide. You find what you want, click on it and it can record one or all episodes. The downside to that is that you are subject to the scheduling quirks mentioned above. Then when you go back to watch what you've recorded, you just run down your list of recorded shows and watch it.

If you have a bunch of manually recorded shows on your DVR, it can be difficult to know what's what as it is just listed as "Manual Recording". The time stamp of when it was recorded may clue you in to what it is, but if you have a big DVR loaded with stuff, it can make things hard to find.

Live events are usually best to do manually because they often run over. I don't know if they do this up your way, but many US shows are scheduled to run in a timeslot (say, 8:00 to 9:00), then the network intentionally lets the show run a minute or two long. You end up missing the last few minutes since the guide "thinks" the show ended on time. OTOH, if the program guide is actually correct (8:00 to 9:02), your DVR will possibly miss the next show you want to record at 9:00 due to the overlap.

The good news is that many TV shows are also available on web sites like hulu or the networks' web site (or via other means ). So if your DVR gets screwy, you can always catch your show on line.

 

[MoeSyslack]

I had the same problem with my directv only the shows would start early and I would miss the beginning. I had the ability to go into the default recording setup and program it to automatically start recording a minute early. Maybe you can do the same thing.

 

[limegrass69]

I had the same problem with my directv only the shows would start early and I would miss the beginning. I had the ability to go into the default recording setup and program it to automatically start recording a minute early. Maybe you can do the same thing.

I have an older ReplayTV that allows me to do that sort of padding. The newer HD-DVR from the cable company is a step backwards with respect to the user interface, and does not let me do that. The dual HD tuners are nice.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

If you have a bunch of manually recorded shows on your DVR, it can be difficult to know what's what as it is just listed as "Manual Recording". The time stamp of when it was recorded may clue you in to what it is, but if you have a big DVR loaded with stuff, it can make things hard to find.

But that is still better than rewinding my tape for 1 hour to get the last show recorded.

 

[goreds2]

I am just recording the program after the original one to be sure I see the ending. Thanks again for everyones input.

 

[limegrass69]

That should work if you don't hold a lot of content on the DVR. Otherwise, you could run into disk space issues.

 

[Oren]

I am just recording the program after the original one to be sure I see the ending. Thanks again for everyones input.

This is what I do as well. There is no good way around this problem. You cannot manually set the clock (the time is set by the cable company), and as someone else said, if you set the start and end recording times manually, padding the end time, that can cause conflicts with the start time of other programs that are set to record at the same time.

When I first got my 8300HD DVR, I called the cable company about this. They played dumb, saying that they never heard of the problem... then they blamed the show or channel, saying the recorded programs run overtime.

 

[blyons200]

But that is still better than rewinding my tape for 1 hour to get the last show recorded.

YES!

I love my DVR service. I have a DirtecTV DVR HD recorder. I never misses. It's a dual tuner and it always starts right on time and ends right on time. It even catches "scenes from next week"

There is one problem with it. Sometimes sporting events can mess it up. Especially football and racing. If they run late (OT or lots of caution lapst)and the start the shows late, the DVR can't compensate in real time. This is only really a problem on FOX Sunday since I record new Family Guy and American Dad. I can record it manually though, since I will be watching the football game anyway.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

YES!

I love my DVR service. I have a DirtecTV DVR HD recorder. I never misses. It's a dual tuner and it always starts right on time and ends right on time. It even catches "scenes from next week"

There is one problem with it. Sometimes sporting events can mess it up. Especially football and racing. If they run late (OT or lots of caution lapst)and the start the shows late, the DVR can't compensate in real time. This is only really a problem on FOX Sunday since I record new Family Guy and American Dad. I can record it manually though, since I will be watching the football game anyway.

I record the west coast feed to avoid this issue. FOX and CBS seem to be the ones affected on Sundays during NFL season (CBS more since FOX has filler programming before 8PM and will fill it with "The OT" to start "The Simpsons" at 8PM even while CBS will air 60 Minutes in its entirety at the end of the game).