HD DVR Slow, Unresponsive - CISCO 435

[ashaway12]

I recently had Verizon FIOS installed at my new home on Friday (3/30). In my living room we had a HD DVR set up. Ever since the first day we have had problems with it. THe main problem is when you go to the "Guide" function, you have to hit the button 5-6 times before it works, then once there to scroll through the channels is near impossible due to how slow and unresponsive it is. I tried a different remote but that did not work. Yesterday I talked over the phone with a technician and they sent a refresh signal to the box, it helped performance for an hour or two but was soon back to being sluggish. I talked with a technician over the phone today and nothing they did worked so they are sending me a new box. Has anyone else had similar issues? I am long time Comcast subscriber so I am not used to FIOS, is it typically slow and unresponsive like this? THe DVR box is a Cisco CHS 435 model. Any help is appreciated.

[Justin46]

I don't know if this will help you diagnose the problem or not, but one issue that shows up occasionally with FiOS is that certain TVs, when using certain TV settings, interfer with the IR signal between the remote and the STB. The setting in the TV is sometimes called Vivid, or it may involve using the "room light sensor" in the TV. A simple way to verify if this is your issue is to turn the TV off and then use the remote to control the STB (change the channels, etc). If it works ok with the TV off, then IR interference from the TV is almost certainly the problem, and the solution is to find the setting in the TV and change it to turn off the function, etc. Another way to fix it is to move the STB away from the TV or put some shield between the TV and the STB, such as a piece of cardboard, to reduce the interference.

If the above is not the problem then sorry, I'm at a loss, I have Motorola STBs and have no experience with the Cisco boxes.

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV, 25/25 Internet, and Digital Voice user
QIP7232, QIP7100-P2, IMG 1.9
Keller, TX 76248 

[FIOS-convert]

I had FIOS installed this past Friday and noticed the same problem with the remote not responding properly mainly in the Search page.  It seems to have corrected itself because it's working well today.

[AtomicRooster]

This may sound ridiculous, but I find whenever I have this problem, if I go and read then Delete the Verizon messages (Using Menu > Messages) everything works better. It is almost as if the box is telling you to check messages that way.  Your mileage may vary.....

[Hubrisnxs]

If I could add, sometimes it's a video processing thing, and it makes it slow or unresponsive, so I would try this one video setting, and it may help you out as well.

go to menu > settings > video settings > SD OVERRIDE  and choose OFF

Hope that helps, it worked like a charm for me. 

[avh1]

Changing from 'VIVID' on a panasonic plasma solved the problem for us.  Trying to shield the DVR from the TV didn't work, nor did using an IR extender.

[terps2703]

Thanks for the replies.  Was having these issues too with new Cisco boxes.  Never had the problem with the old Motorolas.  Just changed the vivid setting and hope it helps.

[JCN1908]

Well I tried all of the suggestions but I do not see any improvement.  My Cisco 435s are worse than lazy bassett hounds!

When I am scrolling through a Cisco 435 with 55% - 90% used space,  it will stumble in the upcoming SCHEDULED RECORDNINGS list, in the show current RECORDINGS LIST, in the DELETE A PROGRAM response, in the CANCEL RECORDING selection.  And in the confirmation of these actions (NO/YES).  Then it will be fine for some operations maybe 5-15 (OR NOT!) and then randomly stall again for 10-20 seconds or more on the next selected item..  Like watching paint dry!

Fresh batteries - CHECK!  <8 feet away from the box -- CHECK!.  Dead center face on to the DVR -- CHECK!, Rebooting and two different Cisco 435's in two different rooms on two different brands of TVs (Samsung, LG) -- CHEKC x 4!  It all makes no difference.  Both 435's are just dogs who have lost interest in "fetch".

It has been this way since day 1 of my FIOS installation back in Nov 2013.  And, for other reasons, I have been through at least 4 Cisco 435 replacement units, even getting at least one "brand new"".  And, of course, the numerous software updates.  Zippo.   Worhtless for responsiveness improvement.

It is literally like being back in the 1980s with a 35 pound desktop computer, a black and white monitor and running MS-DOS!   Access to these lists and operations on them should go like greased lightning!  The OS behind all of this is Linux for crying out loud!  Can they not program "Linked lists"?

My smartphone is 100x as fast as these dogs.  And this has been my one temptation to going back to COMCAST.

Somebody tell me Quantum upgrading fixes this and I will get on-board (yeah, losing all of my existing recordings, because, you know, you can't have OLD and NEW dogs on the same DOG.NET -- I wonder where they came up with THAT ONE!  Imagine if the whole Internet worked like that...)

WOOF!

[CRobGauth]

A lot of the Quatum issues are fixed with the latest release.

I beleive the reason you can't have old and new is that Quantum is MOCA 2.

Having older slower devices on the network would affect performance.