Comcast DVR Cuts Off American Idol Results, Sopranos Finale Style
Reader Bill, who sends in this video of what his DVR recorded during last night's American Idol finale, says:
"Just thought you would like to see for yourself the kind of service Comcast delivers for a $150 a month."
You know, Bill. This happens to me every time I record football on CBS. (Full disclosure: I don't have Comcast.) I'm always having to record 60 minutes, too. It used to bug me, but I'm starting to like 60 minutes more and more every year... their consumer reporting is really interesting... I think it's a deliberate plot.
Anyway, you're not alone, we found another poor Comcast user whose DVR cut out. And another one. And another one. And it wasn't just Comcast either...
Personally, as someone who liked the Sopranos finale, I think it's almost better this way.
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Thats awesome, My Tivo (got it free so might as well use it) always prompts me when I am recording a live show and asked how much extra time I would like to record. My Dad with Comcast always records the next show when recording sports. Pretty handy most of the time.
HAH! Yeah you really need to just record into other shows thats the way to get around that.
Its American Idol...I think the DVR service did the right thing.
This happened to me too...it was a bit of a downer at the time, but I woke up and was still alive so all is good.
@billbillbillbill: Which is part of why people who have Tivo love it.
Everyone within earshot when I express my love of Tivo looks at me like a Heaven's Gate cultist, but, those "throwaway" DVRs don't hold a candle.
P.S. Bill, some dude named David won.
It's a live show that has a 7 season history of running long. That doesn't make it suck any less, but c'mon...
You could just as easily blame Ryan Seacrest for capping 2 hours worth of needless live programming by taking a minute and a half to get 15 words out.
This happens with every DVR, its set for certain hours, its not programmed to know a show runs 5 mins over. My girlfriend did the same thing, Idol ran 5 mins over and she missed it. She had to call her mom for the results.
I recorded the next thing just in case his happened...My wife would have gone nuts!!!
My Comcast DVR lets me alter the recording time to end 1 minute up to 2 hours later than the scheduled end time of a program.
Learn how to use your DVR.
My Cablevision iO DVR does this to my gf's Intervention episodes ALL THE TIME. Every episode, no matter what time slot. It has to do with the DVR being set for a specific time and either the show running over time or the channel not being synced up time wise.
I've been getting the butt end of *your* American Idol in *my* Hell's Kitchen. This shit needs to stop now!
Whoa! A woman who watches football? Even more, watches it enough that she DVRs games? Your my new favorite Meg.
On topic: That sucks Bill, same shit happens to me when I record SNL. (I do have comcrapstic)
Go Seahawks!
This happened in the Tampabay, FL market for Bright House Networks too. However, most people had the "record all episodes during this time slot" option, which is only slated until 10 or 10:01 or whatever the hour is depending on where you live. The show ran over and therefore it was lost. Next time set a manual recording from say xx:xx to XX:05 to give yourself that run over time.
My parents have a Comcast (Motorola) DVR that can be set to record 5 minutes before and after the shows they record. I have a different Comcast (Scientific Atlanta) DVR and I don't have that option.
Money says that American Idol ended something like 30 seconds overtime last night...the DVR will cut off if that happens.
@Coven: I have that problem with shows recorded on Comedy Central. I'm kinda sick of missing the last 30 seconds of the Colbert Report.
Don't blame Comcast on this one; blame Fox for screwing up their scheduling. Unfortunately, this is the downside to being a DVR user; occasionally, your DVR is going to cut off the last minute because the networks can't schedule their shows to start and stop at the proper time.
If I were an American Idol viewer, and seeing the results was really that important to me, I'd set the recording options to stop recording a few minutes later. Then again, I don't know if the Comcast DVR can do that; I'm on a Tivo myself.
I'm surprised DVRs don't just let you specify your own time in some sort of advanced options menu or something. Not that a time specification is advanced or anything...
I think this is just as much FOX's fault as Comcast's - AI has been running over for just about every episode this year. They either need to make the show run on time, or allow for it in their programming.
However, if I set an ABC show to record, they'll already know if something is going to run over, and adjust their times accordingly. I've grown used to Lost starting at 10:02.
It happens because the time of the show ran over what was actually scheduled for the DVR to record. I always have to set shows to record manually by placing the time 2-3 minutes over at the beginning and 5 or so minutes over at the end otherwise a bit gets cut off. Its the DVR + guide working against each other, not Comcast just cackling madly.
This is hardly Comcast's fault. I hate them just as much as the next guy, but this would happen with any DVR recording a live show that ran over its scheduled time slot.
This happened to me last night as well... "The winner is Davi".....
The girlfriend said "i hate your tv, i hate comcast, i hate that box, i hate everything plugged into that wall over there"...
happened on cablevision too. It's not their fault, American Idol can't keep on time. They had to waste too much time on a 20 minute George Michael song...
This happened to me last year (with TiVo) so this year I just set it to record an extra half-hour.
Can't you define a post-pad duration on your DVR? Like always add 3 minutes to the end? Every DVR I've worked with can do this.
Actually, same thing happened to me on Time Warner Cable too, so I'd blame FOX.
I came downstairs from playing games and my gf and her mother were watching this show. I commented on how funny it would be if the dvr cut of the ending... 20 minutes later they were pissed as hell at me. I couldn't stop laughing.
Oh gosh yes - this happens to me ALL the time, and not just on shows where the network decides to end it at 10:02 (which is fairly annoying).
I find that MOST of the ends of the shows I DVR from Time Warner can be found, instead, at the beginning of the next episode. If I am not 'taping' anything after that, I usually have to set the DVR to end "1 minute later"
It really stinks.
I wish my DVR would let me record only the last 3 minutes of American Idol, whenever that would be. Then I wouldn't even have to fast forward through the hours worth of fluff to get the results.
David won.
Now STFU.
If this was taped on a DVR, and the last 2 minutes was cut off, then by definition the show was over and the results were on every internet news site on the web. Take 30 seconds and google it. Don't piss to Consumerist.
Oh, and Consumerist, boo on you for running this. You did it not because it was a real story, but because "comcast" was in the title.
Sometimes you're just as much of a media whore as the companies you try to knock.
Last week my Tivo cut off the coming attractions to next week's Lost. Post that as a story.
@KRF: Fox is doing it on purpose so you'll watch AI live instead of recording it and watching it later (and skipping the ads)
Just like a VCR would have done 10 years ago if you didn't let it run long.
Don't think this was Comcast, looks like the show ran over. Most DVRs let you pad the beginning and the end.
@Meg Marco: YES! I have complained about CBS's absurd broadcast practices when it comes to football! They only allot 3 hours in the schedule and instead of pre-empting 60 Minutes (don't want to alienate the senior crowd, I guess...I thought 60 Minutes was just the dinner break between the 4:00 game and the 8:00 game. I think last season there was only TWO weeks where football did not run over and cascade through the entire schedule. I always have to record Cold Case to make sure I get all of Amazing Race, but of course in reality Cold Case runs opposite Desperate Housewives and Family Guy/American Dad so because of CBS's ridiculous behavior, while Amazing Race runs, I have to give up American Dad and Family Guy in order to preserve the sanctity of my marriage. MAKES ME SO MAD TO START WATCHING MY RECORDING OF THE AMAZING RACE AND GET A BIG FACEFUL OF ANDY ROONEY! Actually I kinda like Andy Rooney, but when I see Rooney, I know everything is screwed up....AGAIN.
Sorry...sore spot for me.
this is a non-story. just because the user didn't set his DVR to record correctly doesn't mean there is some sort of conspiracy.
So this guy doesn't set his recording to run a few minutes later, and whines about it? It's called AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL.
My TiVo would cut off the end of a show regularly. I fixed it by adding an extra minute to the end of the recording. I didn't whine to "consumer affairs" websites. How is that a consumer problem? It was mine for not doing something about it -- until I did something about it.
@Troy F.: I like Cold Case and hate football. I don't want that crap cluttering up my detective stories.
Moral: someone's gonna be unhappy no matter what.
Isn't this sort of thing why we have dedicated sports channels!?
Bill also reported that watching American Idol has made him "deeply, profoundly, and permanently lame."
Said Bill, "I can't believe Comcast airs this drek. Don't they know I'm enough of a toolbag to watch it, religiously? Now, thanks to Comcast, I'm about as cool as Paula is lucid."
Quit your whining and learn how to use your DVR. Seriously?? American F'ing IDOL??? And this is making the main page!!! This is just sad.
Which David won?
Ummmm
Look at the last screen. The recording was 2 hours. That DVR recorded everything it was supposed to. That is Idol's fault, not Comcast's.
The tall one
@Buran: I'm sorry that you like Cold Case ( :-) ) but you and I are unhappy for the same reason - CBS needs to either just allot more time for football and start primetime programming a little later (it's not like in the unlikely circumstance football runs less than 3.5 hrs they can't fill the spot with highlights, analysis, CSI reruns and other mindless banter). Seems like everyone would be happy, even the remaining 400 bluehairs that actually watch 60 Minutes. Win win win!
I have RCN and it happened to me too.
Last season I had time warner cable and it also happened.
I think is FOX faulty for passing the 10pm time slot.
I don't care about American Idol, but my friend does and she recorded it while the rest of us watched a DVD. We both have Comcast. She goes and checks the result,
"And the winner of American Idol Season 7 is..."
***END OF RECORDING***
That was worth a hearty gut laugh.
my favorite is how the allotted broadcast time for a major league baseball game is an hour and a half. if i don't remember to override the recording time on my DVR the game gets cut off in the 6th.
I wonder if this is like NBC's American Gladiators thing where they were using the broadcast flag and for some reason the DVRs recognized it.