TIP: Control your DIRECTV DVR with menu shortcuts

Managing your DIRECTV DVR just got a whole lot easier with the addition of menu shortcuts. These shortcuts should be available on every Genie DVR and client and unlike earlier press-and-hold efforts from DIRECTV, these are a lot easier to manage and will even work with universal remotes.

It’s easy… just press the {MENU} button followed by a number. That’s all there is to it… you get easy two-button access to almost all the key functions, and with one or two more button presses you can really dive in deep to the settings you love to personalize. Here’s the whole list:

Menu 0. Settings
Menu 1. Movies
Menu 2. Sports
Menu 3. TV Shows
Menu 4. Smart Search
Menu 5. On Demand
Menu 6. Playlist
Menu 7. Manage Recordings
Menu 8. YouTube
Menu 9. Pandora

From there, you’re only a button press away from your to do list, series manager, or tens of thousands of downloadable movies and shows. This is a feature that DIRECTV folks have been wishing for since the mid-2000s when many of us migrated from the old DIRECTV TiVo DVR which had very similar menu codes.

Personally my only issue is why they wasted an option on the playlist when that’s already a button on the remote. I don’t mind, but I know there’s a Solid Signal fan or two who wishes they used that combination to toggle picture-in-picture.

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.