TIP: Set Series Recordings with two button presses

You know how you’ll be searching through the guide and you want to record something? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to record quickly with just one or two button presses? DIRECTV DVRs already have this ability and it’s super-easy!

If you see something you want to record in the guide, press the record button on the remote. On the Genie Remote the button is below the GUIDE button and looks like this:

On older DIRECTV remotes the button is above the LIST button and looks like this:

Press it once and you’ll see an icon to indicate that the show will record.

Yeah, you’d probably figured out all that already. But did you know that it’s just as easy to set a series recording? You can set a program to record every time it airs, too. Before you start you might want to set the defaults.

On a Genie DVR

Press LIST, then arrow up to Recording Manager. Press SELECT then arrow down to Typical Recording Preferences. You’ll find it all the way at the bottom and you may need to keep pushing the down arrow button past the first screen. You’ll see this:

Press MENU on the remote then go to Recordings, Manage Recordings, and Record Defaults. On your Genie DVR or client, you’ll see something that looks like this:

On an older DVR:

Press MENU on the remote then go to Recordings, Manage Recordings, and Record Defaults. You’ll see something that looks like this:

This will let you set your preferences for series recordings, if you want only first runs or all episodes, and how many of each show you want to keep. When you’re done setting those preferences, press {EXIT} on the remote.

Once your preferences are set up, pressing the record button twice will give a different icon on the guide. It will look like one of these:

This indicates a series recording that will let you get your favorite shows every time. Want to cancel it? Press the record button again. It’s that easy!

Need more help?

If you need personalized attention, call the experts! The team at Solid Signal are here to help you with free tech support for your DIRECTV system. Call us at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. You’ll get a real trained technician in our Michigan offices. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one day.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.