an answer to" how can i stop my kids from creating dvr timers that fill my hdd?"

[tawhite]

Oh gee... yea... what a good idea, resorting to child abuse over a timer.....

You sir need to take a chill pill. I personally think the idea of a pin is a good idea.

Child abuse and an ass whipping are two different things entirely!

 

[FitzAusTex]

I have had multiple visitors to my house that accidentally create timers that fill up my HDD. They aren't kids either. The problem is that the Dish DVRs default to "all episodes". Thus, if you are in the future and don't know it, you hit select (the DVR menu pops up), you hit select again and the screen goes away (the create timer is also default here). They just created a timer to record all episodes of whatever. If the DVR defaulted to either "cancel" on that screen or at least "record one episode" then all episodes would not accidentally be recorded.

You don't have to beat your kids for what I consider a poor default selection in the DVR GUI. They just have to hit "select" twice to do this and be in the future in the guide. Maybe Dish should change this to prevent accidental recordings. It is REALLY common among those not familiar with Dish systems. This is my biggest annoyance with Dish.

I have been wishing E* would change the default to once for months. I record most things once, and always have to change it from all episodes to once. seems to me that if you're going to record all episodes, you really only do that one time and leave it, so changing once to all (or new) episodes would be a one shot deal for that timer. the current way means i have to change all episodes to once like 30 or 40 times a week.

Off subject, but i sure wish they'd allow us to choose if we wish to display the first 3 Favorites list. I lock out all but 49 channels, and the All Available is identical to the All Subscribed and nearly identical to the All HD on my setup. I then have a Movies and an Education favorites. Net is that i have to cycle through All Subscribed and All HD when i just want those hidden. would love to be able to cycle through 3 instead of 5.

 

[jessshaun]

Child abuse and an ass whipping are two different things entirely!

Not the way he described, they aren't. I don't care if you agree with me or not.

 

[Zero327]

Yeah, instead of tech support thinking they have any business telling people how to raise their kids, they should pass along the request/suggestion to engineering to change the default or at least let the customer choose which behavior is the default.

Engineering has better things to work on than compensating for parents' lack of child-rearing skills. Like new 111 clones so old people stop losing the smartcards... Or requiring DNA verification for access to porn channels so when people watch them they don't call in 5 minutes after Kitty-kat Sorority Girls Gone Wild ends, swearing up and down they go to church every Sunday and how dare they be accused of such obscenity.

Get real people.

Okiekevn, these are techs and customers. Techs care about getting paid for the work they do and developing their businesses. New promotions and ways to make money are of interest to them, and their lines of communication are faster than yours in that respect. CSC finds out fourth, not first. Customers care about getting what they want (and usually more than they pay for) and not who they inconvenience in the process. You need to accept your job before critiquing the issue. Additional information and rants for anything other than the purpose of sheer humor, serves little purpose to this audience.

 

[skottey]

As an alternative in this "me generation"

Get your kid his or her own box and television and tell them to stay off your TV.

 

[skottey]

I have been wishing E* would change the default to once for months. I record most things once, and always have to change it from all episodes to once.

Am I the only one who has a 622DVR that is smart enough to default to recording all episodes of a program, yet not record the same episode more than once? I go days or weeks and only have a few of a show by default. I have never had an issue with my Dish DVR filling up for this reason. My Bright House Networks DVR on the other hand is about as intelligent as your average toll collector. It records the same episodes over and over and over again as the channels like VH1 and A&E milk these shows for all they are worth, playing them over and over again. Every other day I find myself deleting repeats for a good 20 minutes before I begin my evening TV watching session.

I have never used a Tivo and hear they are nice, but the 622 is the best DVR I have ever used.

 

[tawhite]

Not the way he described, they aren't. I don't care if you agree with me or not.

Feelings mutual dude!

 

[rcdallas]

So he vented a little, big deal. Customers come on and gripe about habib who can't speak english or how the tech didn't know what they were doing.

Perhaps it's time to add some additional features for DVR control/customization ??

 

[BobaBird]

As for neighbors and friends recording stuff on my DVR - I have the same rules for them. You don't touch the stuff until you are trained and tested.

Is there a study guide? My setup isn't too difficult, but that's because I know it. For the first-time or even occasional user it's not at all obvious (AV inputs labelled differently from TV inputs, slew of remotes). You'd really like a friend of mine. When housesitting, he won't even turn on the stereo. Even if the owner thinks to tell him he can, changing the radio station requires another explicit permission.

Or requiring DNA verification for access to porn channels...

Yet another chicken and egg conundrum!

the current way means i have to change All Episodes to Once like 30 or 40 times a week.

With that many, certainly some are from regular series. Setting the timer for All or New is one of the best conveniences available to save you from having to scour the EPG every week and possibly overlook a favorite.

 

[8bitbytes]

Pick a theme, either your friends need to be trained or they can just "read" to figure it out.

If you can't read, then how do you learn? Those who are interested in any of my equipment and how to operate it are guided through all of the typical uses where they have their hands on the remote and I step them through the operations. As they move from screen to screen, I ask them what they see, what they think it means and what they would choose for the next step. I have even let them make wrong decisions and have a little fun with them when they panic. It's easy enough to delete and redo.

Not sure what kind of childhood you had, but training and quizzing is not the rigid, formal affair you have in mind and anyone I have helped was immensely grateful for the hands-on education I give.

So, there is no theme. It not an all inclusive or exclusive situation. Sorry you aren't familiar with helpful, respectful relationships.

 

[griz_fan]

Am I the only one who has a 622DVR that is smart enough to default to recording all episodes of a program, yet not record the same episode more than once? I go days or weeks and only have a few of a show by default. I have never had an issue with my Dish DVR filling up for this reason. My Bright House Networks DVR on the other hand is about as intelligent as your average toll collector. It records the same episodes over and over and over again as the channels like VH1 and A&E milk these shows for all they are worth, playing them over and over again. Every other day I find myself deleting repeats for a good 20 minutes before I begin my evening TV watching session.

I have never used a Tivo and hear they are nice, but the 622 is the best DVR I have ever used.

Apparently, not too many people have figured this out yet. One thing about kids programming, though: it gets repeated a LOT. And when you have both East and West coast feeds of the kids' channels, that can add up in a hurry, too. So, I've also set the default recording behavior to only keep a max of 3 episodes. I know enough to over-ride this default for shows I want to keep longer, but I don't wind up with 200 episodes of Puca or Dirty Jobs

As for the knuckle-dragging original poster, grow up. If its your job to answer those questions, then do it. Otherwise, I'm sure there's a South-Asian call center more than happy to do it for you. Seriously, the entire tone of your post was way off base. Do you even have kids? As a parent, I know when to pick my fights. There are much bigger things to worry about.
Besides, with some design tweaks and better support, it would be a lot easier for parents to let their kids use the DVR without accidentally recording a bunch of shows.

But, if the next time someone calls in with that question, and you're in the mood to give out some constructive information, tell the user to edit one of the kid's timers, choose "options", then set the maximum recorded events to 3 or 4. Then, choose the option to set as system default.

 

[popzezo]

maybe dish needs to offer the "i cant take responsabilty for my ignorance" receiver.
i know the "dont tell me how to raise my kids" customers. their the ones that have the lil bastards that hit, spit, call names, touch your tools/van/pole in wet concrete.
if i knew your whiney, liberal, hippie self wouldnt sue, id show you how to raise them rather than tell you... my kids are well behaived and polite. and they too have felt the end of my belt many times.. ooo and guess what, even after all the spankings they have received.. they RUN to meet me at the door everyday with hugs, are elaited when we go places.. spanking/proper discipline doesnt ruin the childs "delicate psyci" it molds them into decent and good people...

 

[Derwin0]

It is very simple to set a timer accidentally, especially if you are happen to be browsing the next half hour.
I've bounced to the set timer screen several times, and had to cancel out.

A kid will just hit the select button to get out, not knowing the timer was set, especially since that same select button got them there.

Problem is, the default thing that happens when you hit select, is that a new timer is created to record all.
Personally I think the default should be one time or new, since I never make timers for all. Preferably once to prevent a lot of accidental recordings to delete, and since I'm already changing the setting from all to new/once when I create a timer, this would save some work.

Since we have the option to change the default padding of a recording, why not the all/new/once?

 

[GregE]

I use the Harmony 880 remote. If I had a problem like this, I could set up an activity for the kids and not map the record button or if that didn't work, buy a remote just for them and do the same thing. Then they could still watch things on the DVR but not record. That is unless the select button would do it for them. Not sure about that.

 

[BobMurdoch]

Each kid has their own DVR in their rooms... A little spoiled maybe, but they don't bury me in Spongebob recordings..... I also set the Parental settings to block out R rated content, and set up favorites so they don't stumble across most other programs. Tiptoing in and opening the door quick hasn't caught them watching bad stuff yet, just makes them jump 5 ft. (OK, that part is fun)

My son is 13, but it a "young" 13.... No interest in the racy stuff yet. We'll see when he hits high school next year and the Playboy gets passed around.... My 8 year old only cares about Nickolodeon, Cartoon Network, and The Disney Channel (Something like 50 Hannah Montana recordings on her DVR.....)

Best thing is that my son already thinks I am omnipotent. He shares my XBox360 gamertag with me so he can have access to all my downloads (nothing R rated there anyway) and we can share achievements. One other benefit... i can spy on his gaming habits... Log on to Your Xbox 360 GamerCard In MySpace, Forums, and More! -- MyGamerCard.net and put in your gamertag. I can see what game he is playing now. I called him up and asked him what he was doing... He hesitated for a second (thinking up a good fib, no doubt), and then said he was working on his homework.... "Really??!?", I said "...it looks to me like you are playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance.... currently battling Dr. Doom... Yeah, I know, he's a tough boss....." silence...... (I'm sure he was looking for the hidden cameras) "Now go do your homework first, THEN you can play"....

He's been good about doing it first ever since.....

 

[voyagerbob]

I wish there was a way to not let people stop a timer when I'm away from home. If I have a timer set to record Survivor and I'm not home, anyone can pick up the remote and change the channel, killing the timer. I wish there was a way to set this up to require a PIN to protect the timer and ensure recording.

 

[BobMurdoch]

I wish there was a way to not let people stop a timer when I'm away from home. If I have a timer set to record Survivor and I'm not home, anyone can pick up the remote and change the channel, killing the timer. I wish there was a way to set this up to require a PIN to protect the timer and ensure recording.

I LIKE that idea.... I lost the Stargate Atlantis premiere that way..... Someone nixed it when it started recording because another timer was firing for a lesser show I could care less about....

 

[GNASH]

I use the Harmony 880 remote. If I had a problem like this, I could set up an activity for the kids and not map the record button or if that didn't work, buy a remote just for them and do the same thing. Then they could still watch things on the DVR but not record. That is unless the select button would do it for them. Not sure about that.

Select button will set up the timer if in the future.

Geoff

 

[Derwin0]

That is unless the select button would do it for them. Not sure about that.

Setting a timer for All episodes is as simple as:
Guide - Left - Select - Select

 

[Stargazer]

It would be nice to have a remote that would only do the channel up and channel done function along with the numbers to prevent that type of problem. It would also prevent people from getting "lost" when they press the wrong buttons. I know that they create a simple remote but something like that with the option to make certain buttons unusable. Or perhaps software in the receivers that will not take commands from certain buttons on a certain type of remote or just remove the buttons from the remote that could cause issues.

The easiest thing to do is to hide the remote and lock front panel buttons and have the children their own receiver in their own room or put it on a channel and they watch that or nothing or change the channel for them when it needs changed.