Today my wife wrote me and asked me if I would blog about the software that was recently deployed by COMCAST in the Seattle area, specifically she asked me to talk about:

“Some ladies at work were talking about the Comcast new interface and DVR.  The problem is that Comcast has changed the software. The problem they are running into is they set up a show to record and it keeps recording the same show over and over.  This is wiping out the other shows. “

Now since I love my wife after all she puts up with all my media/technology crap I figure there is no way I can say no to this and stay out of the dog house so here I go.

In 2004 COMCAST and Microsoft partnered to deliver the version of the COMCAST DVR using the Microsoft TV Foundation, Think of the Microsoft TV foundation as a toolkit for building a DVR. This announcement indicated that COMCAST had decided to build a DVR solution on their Motorola (the DCT6412 I think) cable boxes using this framework.

They only deployed this solution to the Seattle area, in the rest of North America they deployed the regular Motorola DVR solution with some customizations.

Those in the Seattle area know that the solution that COMCAST built, sucked; it lacked very important basic features for a DVR, was slow, unstable (required frequent reboots), unreliable (missed recordings), etc. Some would blame this on Microsoft, after all they built the framework the solution was based on, but I suspect (I have no intimate knowledge here) that the core issue was actually with COMCAST and what they did with the framework Microsoft produced. As a corollary think of the problem this way, can you blame Sears (the manufacturer of Craftsmen tools) for what a crummy mechanic did to your car?

I am ranting though, let me get back on track; recently COMCAST removed the COMCAST developed DVR solution from the Seattle area and went with the same Motorola software they had deployed elsewhere that is the origin of the “change” in the software my wife’s co-workers have experience.

To the specific question of why is the DVR recording the same show over and over again, I can only theorize (although I found a geeky wikiboks.org entry on using the Motorola DVRs) as we don’t use the Motorola DVR anymore and instead have a massive Microsoft Media Center PC managing all of our content in the house.

As for my theory, DVRs typically have several settings related to how it manages a recording request; for example:

• How long should the recording be kept (Keep until space is needed, Keep for until removed, etc.)
• What channels should this show be recorded from (Record from any channel, Record from this channel, etc.)
• How many of these shows should be recorded (Record this one, Record all showings, Record first runs and repeats, Record only first-runs, etc)

With that being said most DVRs have a settings page (somewhere) that allow you to set the defaults for new recordings, they also usually have a setting page where you can adjust the settings for existing recordings.

I did a little searching on the Internet and found the manual to the Motorola 6412, where it says:

Record a Series

Your Dual Tuner DVR lets you record multiple episodes of a program according to your preferences. You can set the DVR to record only new (first run) episodes, first run episodes and repeats or all episodes. When you set a recording from a Series Program Information screen, you’ll have an additional icon on the preceding Recordings Overlay. Choose this Create a Series Recording Icon to specify your series recording options.

• Select the episode type to record, such as first run only, first run and repeats or all episodes.
• Specify how many recording to save.
• Specify how long to save the recording – until you erase it or until space is needed.
• To access advanced series setup features like add minutes to the start and end times and specify which channels to record, select the Setup Icon to review all options.

Your series recordings’ will appear in your My Recordings list with the show title as its label. Multiple recordings of the same show will have the same label and will be listed beginning with the most recent recordings first as default. To change your view, use the (arrowleft/right) buttons on your remote to View by Date, View by Channel or View by Title.

Well that’s my answer to my lovely wife’s request I hope it helps, I suppose I will find out tonight .