uverse dvr/remote issue

Yeah, The IR has problems, always has. I will paste some details below;

Is your DVR a 2250? There are posts indicating that these can be especially infuriating. Some say you have to keep replacing to find a good one.

I was going to suggest you move it. But, not to a more used TV, to a less used TV.

Is it connected cat5? DVrs are best connected cat5.

It sounds like it is getting too much IR. If it were me, I would try the  tape listed below, or something similar.

What is your RF remote? If you use it, the STB has to be hidden from ambient light. If it is the U-verse model & you can return it do so.

If you want a good one - Logitech Harmony Smart control. See this thread for details - - https://forums.att.com/t5/Using-your-U-verse-TV-Remote/Logitech-Harmony-Smart-Control-Remote/m-p/402...

I do have the 2250 working with a smart control mini-blaster (hidden) & it works fine. Maybe I just got a good one.

IR Issues

Going back 5-6 years there are many posts about IR interference. Remedies included taping over the  IR sensor, hiding the STB, turning off auto brightness on the TV.

A common fault was the info button press corrupting to an  STB mute action. The number of reports of this have totally fallen away. My personal initial primary problem was getting the zero to register. But, one day long ago that just went away.

Niles Audio Corp. makes IR repeaters & has a video on their web site showing the fragility of the IR coding that is used for U-verse & other boxes.  They said their new line of repeaters could handle it. Oddly, a U-verse customer posted in this community  that they had a NIles install that was not working & after they contacted Niles they did not get any satisfactory resolution.

I came to believe that the IR sensor is too sensitive, That the DVR is worse than other STBs. That command type buttons are worse than the number buttons. That, somehow software updates can make it better or worse, So, it is a moving target. Hard to pin down.

I noticed that the U-verse remote does work better than my Logitech Harmony model 700. I looked at the IR signal through a digital camera. It appeared to me that the Harmony IR signal is stronger than the U-verse remote. This reinforces my theory that the IR sensor is too sensitive.

Recently, my most common problem was FF and Play Buttons often corrupted to chan up and chan down more than six times a night while watching recorded shows, exclusively.

I happened to notice that I had a specific kind of "duct tape" covering the blue light on the STB. Actually, it just looks like duct tape, but is electrical tape available at the Home Depot in the electrical dept. - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-2-in-x-150-ft-Vinyl-Electrical-Bundling-Tape-Silver-30002664/202741845#specifications

This tape has a degree of transparency. I thought I would use it to cover the IR sensor. The remote has never worked better.  In over 100 evenings since I applied the tape - watching recordings while FF through the ads - I have not had one chan up - chan down corruption .  Previously, there would have been at least 6x100=600 occurrences.

Almost all button  presses are accepted & none are changed to a different action.


RF Issues

It should not be a surprise, but it is, that half the problems with the RF remote are IR. I run an STB well hidden for a second TV. I had the IR sensor covered with black tape. I replaced the black tape with the "duct tape" & saw an immediate improvement in response to menu buttons. The number buttons were already good - see below for that solution.

The STB using RF must be hidden due to the dongle conversion of RF to IR. If it is not hidden it is subject to the following problems:

IR corruption - Ironically, the RF remote was often offered as a resolution for IR problems. But, if the STB is not hidden nothing has changed to eliminate theI IR corruption problem. If the corrupting light can be seen by the STB IR sensor it will continue to corrupt the IR signal.

If the STB IR sensor can see IR from another remote, it will respond to it.

If another STB can see the IR generated by the dongle, it will respond to it.

Note that hidden means the IR does not see outside light - If you have an optical repeater(like the Niles mentioned above) it is IR subject to corruption. If you have an IR receiver that produces RF to go through a wall, it is still IR subject to corruption. Any optical link open to the room is still open to IR corruption.

Only if the remote is RF (like the point anywhere remote) transmitted to a well hidden device will it ward off IR corruption. The ultimate solution is a wireless remote app. These are available, but incomplete & other devices do not yet support wireless remote. But, the Buddy TV remote can be used for a u-verse STB.

Previously, I found the RF remote lacking in RF power -  in the same room, twelve feet away, hidden only by a thin sheet of cardboard.  One method to increase RF power is to hold the remote under your chin while pressing a button - using your head as an antenna.

A better way is this antenna placed in the battery compartment - http://www.amazon.com/Cellular-Innovations-A-BOOSTER-Universal-Antenna/dp/B00009WCAP/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1366128630&sr=8-8&keywords=cell+phone+booster

With this antenna, the channel numbers are almost always accepted. With the "duct tape" in place, the other buttons work almost every time. The remote now works better than ever.

But, recently, I discovered that weakened batteries triggers poor results due to low power. If the remote starts acting up go for fresh batteries.  Before I realized the batteries were low I was getting better RF by holding it against a metal arm of a reading light.

To increase RF sensitivity - Cut off the base and one leg of a wire coat hanger (one piece). Hold the short leg perpendicular to the dongle and wrap the longer end around the dongle a few turns until the two perpendicular ends are about the same length  (about 3”). Cut the longer one to the same length as the shorter one.

STB Issues

Once IR and RF issues are resolved, there are timing issues with the STB to contend with. Numbers process fast and Menu items process slow. You need quick, light  touch on some numbers to avoid duplicates and a slow, strong press on menu activities. Effort is required to  suppress the urge to press again while waiting for a response. It takes concentration to get effective results. Frequently a second press immediately cancels a slow responding first press. Current IR and RF issues amplify the effect of the timing issue.

wow, nice response, thank you very much for that.

i do have the 2250 dvr, it is connected via cat5.

im going to home depot right now and give that a try.

let you know soon.

no luck with the tape.

i can browse thru the channels while hitting page up once it will go twice.

another thing is function buttons as well. like i can press the ok button to highlight say the guide and it will go right back to the channel im on which tells me it sent the response or received the command twice.

sadly this is the only issue i have with uverse, other than this i really like it. 

Thanks for posting status. Sorry to hear it did not work. The tape is very good  for fastening things & then taking them apart. Regular duct tape can be a nightmare to remove.

Probably, the best course is to try another DVR - Maybe work with the community mgrs - send a PM using this link - https://forums.att.com/t5/notes/privatenotespage/tab/compose/note-to-user-id/192773

If the Logitech Harmony Smart control appeals to you, it also has option to control the duration of the IR blast, so, it MAY resolve the problem

ok, again, thanks for trying!

@gw6211- How about trying an app? Do you have a tablet or smart phone?

These do leave a lot to be desired as a real replacement, but, it may interest you to see the difference. IT mai be ammunition to show a tech the difference in operation between the analog IR interface and the digital wi-fi app interface.

This artical says att has the voice commands working on the EASY REMOTE app - http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB422472#fbid=N2g8e7NnmIj

For a screen version the Buddy TV remote is far better.

You are so not alone!  I'm a new u-verse customer and have a VIP2250 DVR, and I'm about ready to ditch AT&T and go back to Dish over this duplicated button action issue. 

Tech support has already sent me a new remote, reloaded the code on the box, and had me perform a destructive reset...all with no help. I'll give the tape a try...nothing like having to put tape over a DVR to make it work...can't say I saw that one coming.

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@morrisosu wrote:

You are so not alone!  I'm a new u-verse customer and have a VIP2250 DVR, and I'm about ready to ditch AT&T and go back to Dish over this duplicated button action issue. 

 

Tech support has already sent me a new remote, reloaded the code on the box, and had me perform a destructive reset...all with no help. I'll give the tape a try...nothing like having to put tape over a DVR to make it work...can't say I saw that one coming.

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If it's an LCD (LED) TV check for these settings on your advanced settings on the menu: Dynamic Contrast, Auto or Ambient Brightness, Energy/Power Saver, Intelligent Sensor or Auto Iris.

If you have any of them or similar ones try turning them 'off' one by one until you find the culprit, then turn the non-offending ones back on to double check. All of these can cause Uverse remote problems w/an LCD (LED).

If it's a plasma, make sure the DVR/STB is in front and the face pointing the same direction as the TV, so it gets no IR from the front of the screen. Good luck 😉

Chris
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it is not any tv doing it.

a non dvr set does not have the same issues.

plus, i bought an RF remote for the DVR and still the same issue, actually it was more frustrating with the RF remote because it seem to have a delay.

MY solution since att cant figure out these problems, or dont care to, i put the dvr in my computer room and attached it as if it were on some other tv. I use non DVR's to control the tvs and have no further issues. 

it sucks i will have to pay another 7 dollars or whatever the charge is for another receiver but its either that or sturggle to flip channels and stuff.

thanks again to all the replies and help.

Thanks for the info.  Unfortunately, the EPA/Energy Saving features were all disabled on my LCD TV prior to this fun.