TV Guide On Screen - post your info here! [Text View] - Page 5

m_e_m

01-04-06, 04:53 PM

rbbnet

01-04-06, 08:16 PM

celwin

01-04-06, 11:45 PM

Everybody please keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow. For the hundredth time I called/visited my cable company. Finally someone said, "oh... your cable card ID and host ID are set the same. They should be different." I came home from work this eve and retrieved the proper numbers. If all goes as planned, I'll make a simple call tomorrow and they'll plug in the new numbers. Then I'll return home to a completely functional Cable Card set up.
AGAIN.. EVERYBODY CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME.. PLEASE.

I will. You're my guinea pig. I'm having the exact same issue you are. And I have a Toshiba 95 model like you also. Resetting TVGOS via a hard tv reset solved nothing. Neither did the most recent Toshiba 1.2.8 update. I'm giving this one more month. Then if I'm still having this issue, I'm selling the damn TV and going back to my old fashion CRT. I'm not one to continue to pay for features that is not functioning as advertised.

rbbnet

01-05-06, 07:44 AM

I will. You're my guinea pig. I'm having the exact same issue you are. And I have a Toshiba 95 model like you also. Resetting TVGOS via a hard tv reset solved nothing. Neither did the most recent Toshiba 1.2.8 update. I'm giving this one more month. Then if I'm still having this issue, I'm selling the damn TV and going back to my old fashion CRT. I'm not one to continue to pay for features that is not functioning as advertised.

Despite my displeasure with the TV's built in TVGOS and the fact that the cable card doesn't allow me to tune in all the channels I'm paying for, I still love my TV. I wouldn't get rid of my set just because TVGOS doesn't work. I figure it this way, I never had TVGOS in my life, so what if I still don't. What kind of issues does your set exhibit?

magredc5

01-05-06, 10:16 AM

I'm a new owner of a Samsung HL-R6168W and have been having a issue
with the TV Guide On Screen displaying "No Listing". I get all my
channels listing in the TVGOS but do not get any Listing information
for the channels. I live in the Chicago area and I have Comcast as
a cable provider using a Motorola Cable Card supplied by Comcast with no
OTA antenna. I've read several of the posts in this thread referring to
the VBI channel and referring to the local PBS channel for this VBI
channel.

I've contacted Samsung referring to this issue and finally
got through to a service tech that seems to know about my issue. He
begins to explain to me that the makers of the TVGOS, GemStar, have
a issue with CableCard users and areas where the local PBS channel has
been switched to a digital signal rather then a analog signal by the cable
provider. And that they would contact me when an update is available.

I would like to stick with the cablecard instead of going to a cable box.
My question to anyone out there has anyone heard of this issue and should
I hang tough and wait or is there another option?

M_E_M:

Samsung is right, but Comcast in my area retransmits the PBS channel on an analog channel, i.e. WGBH PBS is Channel 2 (Digital) and Channel 99 (Analog). My TVGOS uses Channel 99 as it's Host Channel (that's the more important channel). TVGOS should be able to find that channel. The other possibility is you need to try another zip code - sometimes the main zip code in your area works better than your neighboring one.

Note: What I will describe below worked for me, but I'm not sure you have the same issues that I had so please take it accordingly.

I assume you are getting your Clock signal since you have channels in TVGOS. My TV was like yours when I first set it up (no listings). This is what you should try:

- Go into TVGOS diagnostic screens (in TVGOS, Go to SETUP screen, highlight CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS but don't hit enter, then key in 753159852)
- You'll be able to navigate several screens but can't change anything so don't worry. On one screen you'll see the Clock Set Channel - on my TV its 1:0-99 (Channel 99).
- On the VBI screens, you should see HOST CHANNEL and VBI CHANNEL. Look at what the HOST says. On my TV it's 1:0-99 - same as Clock Set Channel.

To exit out of TVGOS, either hit the GUIDE button or EXIT.

Now go into your TV's channel map (On my Toshiba it's SETUP, INSTALLATION, TERRESTRIAL, CHANNEL ADD/DELETE) and see what your channel map looks like. You should scroll through and see mainly DIGITAL channels, and a few ANALOG. Right down which ones are ANALOG, then see if you recognize any of those as a PBS channel, as well as if it matches what you saw in TVGOS for HOST channel. Note the channels Call Letters, i.e. WGBH.

If you find the Analog PBS channel (or equivalent) in your TV channel map, and it matches the HOST CHANNEL in TVGOS, then you're almost there.

Finally, go into TVGOS, and go to SETUP, highlight CHANGE CHANNEL DISPLAY and hit ENTER. Scroll down until you see the channel you noted above by it's call letters (i.e. WGBH). Once you find it, hit enter and note what the TUNE TO channel number is. If it's different that what it should be then edit it to the correct number. Mine was 97 in TVGOS instead of 99, and once I edited it to the correct number it seemed to work flawlessly since.

If that doesn't work, then again I would try resetting the TVGOS by entering another zip code, and making sure you have the system settings correct, i.e. CABLE YES, CABLE BOX NO. Also, I sometimes find rebooting the TV by unplugging it helps reset the channel map and resync TVGOS, but if the PBS channel number in TVGOS was wrong before you need to edit it again as I noted above.

Hope this helps.

celwin

01-05-06, 01:43 PM

Despite my displeasure with the TV's built in TVGOS and the fact that the cable card doesn't allow me to tune in all the channels I'm paying for, I still love my TV. I wouldn't get rid of my set just because TVGOS doesn't work. I figure it this way, I never had TVGOS in my life, so what if I still don't. What kind of issues does your set exhibit?

More than half of the HD channels I have simply cannot be tuned to; Not to mention the constant dropping of signals from the card. I'd be watching a channel then suddently the tv goes blank and the cable card says acquiring channels. Cable guy is comming once more to replace the card itself. We'll see how that goes.

rbbnet

01-05-06, 04:38 PM

More than half of the HD channels I have simply cannot be tuned to; Not to mention the constant dropping of signals from the card. I'd be watching a channel then suddently the tv goes blank and the cable card says acquiring channels. Cable guy is comming once more to replace the card itself. We'll see how that goes.

I initially had a few more issues than I currently do. I called Toshiba and they sent out a firmware update that fixed a bunch of things. Check your TV's firmware thru the menu item listed on the far right... seems like the icon is shaped like an open box. Sorry for the lack of naming... I'm not at hope to give accurate details. See if your set shows firmware 1.2.8 as it is the lastest I've read about. If not call Toshiba's 1-800 and tell them you're having issues and need the firmware upgrade. Make sure you're at home when you cal lthem as they'll ask a million questions about your set info.

rbbnet

01-05-06, 08:49 PM

Everybody please keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow. For the hundredth time I called/visited my cable company. Finally someone said, "oh... your cable card ID and host ID are set the same. They should be different." I came home from work this eve and retrieved the proper numbers. If all goes as planned, I'll make a simple call tomorrow and they'll plug in the new numbers. Then I'll return home to a completely functional Cable Card set up.
AGAIN.. EVERYBODY CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR ME.. PLEASE.

Welp... not completely 100% functional.. but damn close as far as I can tell. I'm missing audio on SPEED channel and all of the digital music only channels. I can live with that. Maybe it will be as good tomorrow or even better.

sderby

01-05-06, 09:49 PM

Welp... not completely 100% functional.. but damn close as far as I can tell. I'm missing audio on SPEED channel and all of the digital music only channels. I can live with that. Maybe it will be as good tomorrow or even better.

Congrats, rbb! You're getting closer! :)

I had a thought about why some people (including me) never get anything listed as their host channel. In my area, EPG data is sent on two (possibly more) channels. I wonder if TVGOS has found two EPG channels and decided not to play favorites.

Perusing the CES 2006 exhibitor list, I noticed that Gemstar TV Guide On Screen has a booth. It almost makes me want to drive down to Las Vegas just so I can talk to an actual Gemstar person and get some questions answered!

johndl123

01-06-06, 02:04 PM

I have a Tosh 52hm94 . I've had it four about 4 or 5 months. My tv guide will work good for weeks then won't work for mabe days or weeks. I have Dish tv on ant 1 and OTA for local and HD. Some times it works then it doesn't. Is it my signal strength ? Where dos the info come from?
Any Ideas???

John

toshed

01-06-06, 04:22 PM

ATCtech

01-06-06, 09:20 PM

Good news: after deciding to contact someone at TVGOS (not as easy as it may sound), it turns out there *is* a host channel broadcasting in the Toronto area. It's CFTO (CTV), and their broadcast works fine on Rogers cable too. The issue was that for almost the entire month of July, when I was first testing this, there was a problem that prevented the TVGOS signal from working on Rogers - thus why I couldn't get anything. After being assured by the TV Guide folks that it was indeed working now, I did a factory reset, entered my postal code, and by the next day it had the clock, channel mappings and the first few days' worth of guide.

Now the bad news: there are NO HDTV listings at all, and some Buffalo OTA stations I was getting from the PBS TVGOS broadcast are completely missing, such as PBS-HD, WNLO (UPN) and WNYO (WB).

It does have about a 98% complete station listing for Canadian analog cable TV, missing mainly Sun TV, OMNI2 and Food. As for digital cable the listings are extremely incomplete and seem to have just a random sampling of various popular channels.

I'm hoping that they may be able to add some of these absent-but-still-in-their-system channels, and am willing to help them in any way to get the Toronto listings correct.

Daniel,

As of December 24th I got all my Canadian off-air and Cogeco listings for Halton back. I too have virtually no digital and HDD listings, and no Sun TV etc. as you mentioned. Has this changed for you? I was tempted to change to a Mississauga postal code until I read your message...

Bob

HarleyMyler

01-07-06, 10:56 AM

HarleyMyler

01-07-06, 11:05 AM

I initially had a few more issues than I currently do. I called Toshiba and they sent out a firmware update that fixed a bunch of things. Check your TV's firmware thru the menu item listed on the far right... seems like the icon is shaped like an open box. Sorry for the lack of naming... I'm not at hope to give accurate details. See if your set shows firmware 1.2.8 as it is the lastest I've read about. If not call Toshiba's 1-800 and tell them you're having issues and need the firmware upgrade. Make sure you're at home when you cal lthem as they'll ask a million questions about your set info.

Do you mean 1.5.8? If so, it has been out for some time. It does fix a whole slew of issues. My Symbio locked up the set the other day and I finally gave up and pressed the reset button (52HMX94), which usually wipes out everything. Lo and behold my listings were preserved! All that went was the time, and it came back very quickly after I shut the set off. What 1.5.8 does not fix is the channel edits problem. Toshiba told me weeks ago that the next sdftware update would fix it. I am getting concerned because it looks like the newer model sets don't have TVGOS and Toshiba's support, which has been less than stellar anyway, will begin to wane.

magredc5

01-07-06, 11:15 AM

Do you mean 1.5.8? If so, it has been out for some time. It does fix a whole slew of issues. My Symbio locked up the set the other day and I finally gave up and pressed the reset button (52HMX94), which usually wipes out everything. Lo and behold my listings were preserved! All that went was the time, and it came back very quickly after I shut the set off. What 1.5.8 does not fix is the channel edits problem. Toshiba told me weeks ago that the next sdftware update would fix it. I am getting concerned because it looks like the newer model sets don't have TVGOS and Toshiba's support, which has been less than stellar anyway, will begin to wane.

1.2.8 is the lastest for the 95/195 series. I believe 1.5.8 is for the 94 series.

magredc5

01-07-06, 11:29 AM

Back to the drawing board

"My problems are stemming from cable card vs. firmware/software issues. Toshiba's going to send me an upgrade to download but they are currently waiting for a shipment as they are out of the "SD" cards containing the needed upgrade."

I received today(finally)and downloaded it with no problems. EXCEPT that it did not resolve any of the issues the cablecard is creating. Here are the quirky thing going on when cablecard is in;

1. No TVGOS info at all...reads "no data"
2. No channel info outside of number of channel
and signal (480i, 720p, 1080i, etc)
3. Regardless of wether I use the remote or TV
controls there is a 0 to 6 second delay for
any/all functions.
4. Ant 1 (cablecard) is "greyed" out and can't
be accessed to run set up on.

As soon as I have the time to donate I will be back on the phone with Toshiba, who will inturn tell me to contact comcast. Maybe they will try a different cablecard. My set is MX195, anyone else experienced this??????

Toshed: I have CC on my MX195 with no major issues (occasional glitches, but everything is working).

1 - Your lack of TVGOS info problem should be looked at separately after you get the other issues addressed.

2 - When you say you have no channel info (i.e. channel call letters) that means your channel map has not been downloaded over the cable. If you go into the TV's channel map (MENU/SETUP/INSTALLATION/TERRESTRIAL/CHANNEL ADD/DELETE) you should see a list of all your available channels and their call signs. If you don't then the channel map has not been properly downloaded.

To reset the CC and try to force it to reload the channel map, turn off the TV, unplug it, hit the power button twice on the TV (supposed to clear any CC slot memory), replug the TV and wait until it finishes rebooting (yellow LED will stop flashing). Turn TV on and it should acquire the cable channels within a minute. The channel map takes anywhere from a few minutes to a half hour to populate, but you should start to see channel call letters on your screen info once it starts.

3 - After a TV reboot (i.e. unplug/replug) I will see similar delays like you're seeing occasionally, but I believe that's caused by the TV's cache memory - after several weeks the delays go away.

4 - That is normal since all CC setup is automatic and you can't force it manually. That's why you need to do a full power cycle reboot to get it initialize again.

Once you get the channel map correctly loading, then check the other posts on TVGOS setup and how to troubleshoot that.

kdog044

01-08-06, 11:10 AM

kdog044

01-08-06, 11:18 AM

Congrats, rbb! You're getting closer! :)

I had a thought about why some people (including me) never get anything listed as their host channel. In my area, EPG data is sent on two (possibly more) channels. I wonder if TVGOS has found two EPG channels and decided not to play favorites.
I would bet that most people that can't get their guide to work (i.e. acquire host channel) have problems that are due to their provider either blocking VBI data, or not providing an analog channel to send the VBI data or possibly Gemstar not providing the data for the zip code. Mine worked from day one although Toshiba did have to send numerous firmware updates to correct issues with losing channels and resets of the guide. I originally connected with a direct cable feed to ANT1 and changed to a cable card and TVGOS worked with either scenario.

kdog044

01-08-06, 11:30 AM

I have already started from scratch with the TVGOS set-up as well as re-enabled all channels. I wish I were at home where I could be a lil more preceise in my descripts, but I've never seen anything on my set that would indicate which channel the updates are coming from. The best thing is to get comfortable with accessing the TVGOS diagnostics to learn what is happening with your set to try and determine how to trouble shoot your problem. See the attached document on how to access and navigate through some of the important screens. Post your results of the bolded entries and I will try and help you figure out what is going on. I have been working with the TVGOS in my set since last March so I have gained a lot of knowledge in the diagnostics and trouble shooting of it.

FYI, for those of you who have the newer 95's the TVGOS is identical as it also is for any other manufacturer who has TVGOS.

Displaced Husker

01-08-06, 12:01 PM

KDog, I would like to read your attached file but can't download it --- any tricks to downloading it.

paule123

01-08-06, 12:07 PM

paule123

01-08-06, 12:08 PM

KDog, I would like to read your attached file but can't download it --- any tricks to downloading it.

Right-click on the link and "Save target as..." to your hard drive. That worked for me.

kdog044

01-08-06, 04:16 PM

My question is how do I know which Comcast "system number" to choose from. The TV gives me the option to choose from 8 different Comcast systems in the area (I'm in Bonita Springs, FL near Ft Myers) I went through all 8 systems and picked a pretty close match, but I'd like to know for sure.Comcast won't know so Gemstar is the only one who can tell you. From what I understand they won't take calls directly from consumers anymore but I will send an e-mail and see if I can find out for you. What is your zip code?

paule123

01-08-06, 04:38 PM

kdog, my zip is 34134. Thanks.

seeingdouble

01-08-06, 06:25 PM

I just picked up an LG 32LX1D last night and played with the TV Guide a bit. It looks really good, I'm kind of stunned it worked out of the box! My question is how do I know which Comcast "system number" to choose from. The TV gives me the option to choose from 8 different Comcast systems in the area (I'm in Bonita Springs, FL near Ft Myers) I went through all 8 systems and picked a pretty close match, but I'd like to know for sure.

I called Comcast this morning and of course the CSRs are clueless. They wanted to either sign me up for a TV Guide subscription or give me some codes for my TV's remote control. Sigh.

Like you, I had to choose from a number of optional channel lineups with my carrier; and, like you, my cable provider was clueless. After changing my selection for the third time, TVGOS went postal on me. It took me some time to get it working again. Since the Channel Editor does provide some flexibility to make changes, I think you should quit while you are ahead.

I did notice yesterday that two of the HDTV stations that were previously missing did magically appear for the first time while I was editing. I guess the cable company listings change frequently, so they may not exactly match the real station lineup.

Good luck

Natergfunky

01-08-06, 11:14 PM

The best thing is to get comfortable with accessing the TVGOS diagnostics to learn what is happening with your set to try and determine how to trouble shoot your problem. See the attached document on how to access and navigate through some of the important screens. Post your results of the bolded entries and I will try and help you figure out what is going on. I have been working with the TVGOS in my set since last March so I have gained a lot of knowledge in the diagnostics and trouble shooting of it.

FYI, for those of you who have the newer 95's the TVGOS is identical as it also is for any other manufacturer who has TVGOS.

Would you be willing to explain what some of these fields and what can be determined from them depending on what #'s are showing.
I have also been working on gaining a firm understanding of theses diagnostics. I feel I have a petty good grasp on a lot of it, but would like to know more and my correspondence w/ Gemstar has dissolved.

kdog044

01-09-06, 11:38 AM

Would you be willing to explain what some of these fields and what can be determined from them depending on what #'s are showing.
I have also been working on gaining a firm understanding of theses diagnostics. I feel I have a petty good grasp on a lot of it, but would like to know more and my correspondence w/ Gemstar has dissolved.If you fill out the worksheet and upload it back to a post I can take a look and tell you what I can determine. I don't know what every screen and entry signifies but I know which ones are important in determining where you need to focus your efforts.

sderby

01-09-06, 11:38 AM

kdog044

01-09-06, 11:39 AM

kdog, my zip is 34134. Thanks.I'll send an e-mail this morning and post back when I get a response.

kdog044

01-09-06, 12:57 PM

kdog044

01-09-06, 12:59 PM

Comcast won't know so Gemstar is the only one who can tell you. From what I understand they won't take calls directly from consumers anymore but I will send an e-mail and see if I can find out for you. What is your zip code?Here is the response from Gemstar.

I will try with this one, but there are many lineup choices and they are all for Comcast. I am going to ask our data team to take a look at this grouping of lineups, because I believe that a couple could be omitted.

What is confusing though is that this person actually sees all 8 lineup choices. They should only see 4 at any given time, depending on the setup (cable ready, cable card or cable box).

If WNFM is on channel 8, Toon Disney is on 87
Cable Ready – pick 12889
Cable Box/Cable Card – pick 12923 or 10940 (I can’t find the difference in these 2)

If WNFM is on channel 8, SHO is on 77 and Toon Disney is on 135
Cable Ready – pick 2534
Cable Box/Cable Card – pick 2540

WNFM is not available, SHO is on 77, Toon Disney is on 76
No Cable Ready choice
Cable Box/Cable Card – pick 12913 or 12908

WNFM is on channel 8, SHO is not available, Toon Disney is on 135
All setups – pick 10878

Unless this person knows that the lineup has changed very recently, I would suggest not picking one that says “Rebuild”. These are usually only setup temporarily for an interim when the lineup is changing. I believe that the “Rebuilds” in these choices need to be omitted.

I hope this helps some, it is still very confusing.

sderby

01-09-06, 01:23 PM

Yes, but I'm sure if I bother her too much she will stop responding to me as they are supposed to direct us through the TV tech support and they are to contact Gemstar. I will send her the questions and see what I can find out.

Thank you for all the effort you've done on my behalf and on behalf of everyone who's having trouble. I figure the more information we have about how TVGOS is supposed to work, the better able we are to do our own troubleshooting (and thus save Gemstar time and work). I don't think Gemstar understands this, unfortunately. Gemstar is supposed to call me about the problems I've been having, but they haven't done so yet.

Under the idea of "more information is better," I'm in the process of putting together a "self help" website to help people get TVGOS up and running correctly. It's still very early in development, but it'll be at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/

bobv1

01-09-06, 01:40 PM

I have a Sony VCR Model SLV M20HF with GuidePLus+.

The Guide does not work on Comcast nondigital cable in Algonquin Ill.

Question does anyone know if the Comcast nondigital cable supports the gemstar TV GuidePlus+

Also is it possible to get a gemstar firmware upgrade

kdog044

01-09-06, 02:55 PM

Kdog, are you still corresponding with Cheryl from Gemstar? If so, the next time you email her or talk to her could you ask some questions for me?

- Does the ZIP code and channel lineup setup information download only at certain times during the day, or is it continuous? (An engineer for a local PBS station told me he thought it was continuous and carried on a different line in the VBI than the program listings and other data)
- Do stations transmit ZIP code/channel lineup tables only for their local area or for the whole nation? If it's a local area, how big are the areas?
- Once a ZIP code is matched with a channel lineup, does TVGOS actually try to "discover" the available channels that a person has? (The TVGOS website says it does, but I'm skeptical) And if so, what happens if the discovery process never completes?Okay, here is what I found out.

ZIP code and channel lineup information is sent continuously through out the day. Once the Guide has found it’s time zone according the ZIP, it will then look for channel lineups available in the area.

Only local channel lineups are sent. That is where the local host stations come into play. Only data necessary for a particular area is uploaded to the equipment at that particular host station(s).

In most platforms, the Guide decides which channels are available (which should be turned on or off) by checking for video while running through the search process. Toshiba implemented something different in their televisions and Toshiba decides which channels should be on or off.

If any part of the setup process doesn’t complete, after 3 days of searching, the Guide will dump everything that it has and start over. It will continue in this loop until all necessary setup data has been found. If all setup information is found, the Guide then looks to the host station for program listing information.

sderby

01-09-06, 03:05 PM

Okay, here is what I found out.
(Excellent information snipped)

Kdog, I can't thank you enough. You da man!

toshed

01-09-06, 03:16 PM

HarleyMyler,

my "updated" software is 1.2.8

magredc5 ,

Thanks for the info, I will be trying the CC "reset" out tonight. I do know for a fact that there are no call letters showing on my add/delete list. FYI, I talked to a Toshiba tech and he had me go into the TVGOS diagnostic screens and give him my current VBI channel info. He says he will have e-mail contact with a gemstar rep and get back to me in 3 to 5 days........not holding my breath but we'll see. He also mentioned that talking me through the tvgos diagnostic screens was something fairly new on their approach to diagnosing these issues?!

Ed S. 62MX195 - Comcast w/Motorola CC

pyedog

01-10-06, 09:52 AM

I have a Sony DHG HDD-250 using OTA only, and the listings were working great for about a month, and then stopped suddenly last Friday. I didn't make any changes to my setup, and the signal on my local PBS (channel 4) looks reasonable (this was listed as my host channel).

I tried doing the various resets with no luck - I can't even get the clock to set (although my VCR will, which makes me suspect it uses a different signal). The 9012 does not show any VBI data on channel 4 - the VBI test always fails. A couple other channels show VBI data, but it apparently isn't TVGOS data. The 753159852 diags show no VBI data recieved/processed and no host channel (the resets apparently wiped the statistics from when it was working). All channels are enabled in the menu.

Any suggestions as to what to try? Channel 4 has some very slight ghosting, but it has always worked in the past, and I can see some VBI data on other channels that look much much worse.

Thanks in advance for any help!
-Jim

sderby

01-10-06, 10:35 AM

I have a Sony DHG HDD-250 using OTA only, and the listings were working great for about a month, and then stopped suddenly last Friday. I didn't make any changes to my setup, and the signal on my local PBS (channel 4) looks reasonable (this was listed as my host channel).

You might try calling the PBS affiliate station to see if they still carry the TVGOS data. An abrupt end to the transmissions like that could indicate that they no longer carry the service, or it could indicate technical problems (though, theoretically, Gemstar's VBI inserters have self-diagnostics that run daily). There are a few suggestions you can try at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ though the site is still far, far from done.

pyedog

01-10-06, 11:12 AM

You might try calling the PBS affiliate station to see if they still carry the TVGOS data. An abrupt end to the transmissions like that could indicate that they no longer carry the service, or it could indicate technical problems (though, theoretically, Gemstar's VBI inserters have self-diagnostics that run daily). There are a few suggestions you can try at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ though the site is still far, far from done.

No response to email, and the phone call indicated that they don't provide any TV guide services - I suspect I never made it to anyone who understood or cared what I was asking. They did helpfully offer to accept any money I might want to donate ... I wish I knew someone in the area with an OTA TVGOS device so I could see if they lost the listings as well.

I tried the various suggestions - next I guess I'll try a different antenna and see if I can tweak it and start picking up VBI data - I assume that nobody has ever had the 9012 VBI test fail on the host channel and still got the guide data?

*sigh*

Thanks!

jrporter

01-10-06, 11:38 AM

kdog044

01-10-06, 12:09 PM

sderby

01-10-06, 12:18 PM

Do the versions of TVGOS vary a lot between the manufacturers? I've had mixed results with my TVGOS and would like to see if I could get into the diagnostic screens, but I don't see a 'Change System Settings' choice under my Setup.

My TV is a Mits 52628 and I'm using Comcast through a Cablecard.

The TVGOS software in the TV is identical from set to set, but it is configured differently in some sets than in others. In Mitsubishi TV's, for example, setup is done through NetCommand instead of through TVGOS's setup routine, so you won't have a "Change System Settings" option. To get into the diag screens on Mitsubishis, just highlight the "Setup" tab and push the down arrow (which will select "Change Defaults" or something like that) and enter 753159852.

Once you get TVGOS working on your 52628, could you do me a favor and try out the reminders service? I've had trouble getting the reminder service to work properly on a similar set and I'm curious if it's endemic to Mitsubishi.

sderby

01-10-06, 12:26 PM

No response to email, and the phone call indicated that they don't provide any TV guide services - I suspect I never made it to anyone who understood or cared what I was asking. They did helpfully offer to accept any money I might want to donate ... I wish I knew someone in the area with an OTA TVGOS device so I could see if they lost the listings as well.

Maybe you should try donating money! ;) Just kidding.
Are you still getting closed captions on that channel? That's one way to diagnose VBI problems. (I don't have a Sony, so I can't do the 9012 thing.) You probably don't want to call the station back, but if you do, ask to speak to an engineer. The engineer will know if Gemstar's VBI inserter is still installed and operating right.

If all else fails, call the TV manufacturer and explain all the testing you've done. They should follow-up with Gemstar.

jrporter

01-10-06, 01:14 PM

just highlight the "Setup" tab and push the down arrow (which will select "Change Defaults" or something like that) and enter 753159852.

Once you get TVGOS working on your 52628, could you do me a favor and try out the reminders service? I've had trouble getting the reminder service to work properly on a similar set and I'm curious if it's endemic to Mitsubishi.

Thanks! I'll try the reminders and see what happens.

Jim777

01-10-06, 01:55 PM

http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/[/url] though the site is still far, far from done.

Great site. Looks like you have collected alot of info from this thread and other places as well. The VBI discussion was very interesting and enlightening. Too bad that Gemstar hadn't put together something like this. It would have saved them and Toshiba service support departments alot of work. I had been working with them both for about 10 months to get my system up and running properly. (I hope I haven't jinxed myself). Kudos to you for doing this.

sderby

01-10-06, 04:12 PM

Great site. Looks like you have collected alot of info from this thread and other places as well. The VBI discussion was very interesting and enlightening. Too bad that Gemstar hadn't put together something like this. It would have saved them and Toshiba service support departments alot of work. I had been working with them both for about 10 months to get my system up and running properly. (I hope I haven't jinxed myself). Kudos to you for doing this.

Thanks for the kind words! I hope it helps more people get their TVGOS working without having to spend weeks on the phone talking to manufacturers and Gemstar!

greenehouse

01-10-06, 08:12 PM

No response to email, and the phone call indicated that they don't provide any TV guide services - I suspect I never made it to anyone who understood or cared what I was asking. They did helpfully offer to accept any money I might want to donate ... I wish I knew someone in the area with an OTA TVGOS device so I could see if they lost the listings as well.

I tried the various suggestions - next I guess I'll try a different antenna and see if I can tweak it and start picking up VBI data - I assume that nobody has ever had the 9012 VBI test fail on the host channel and still got the guide data?

*sigh*

Thanks!

Pyedog: I'm in the same area, and believe I have same tuner [Sony HDD250], have an OTA antenna, and believe I am seeing same symptoms. [ No listings as of today ]. Though, I did have listings as of yesterday; they may have been received prior to the interruption.

My TVGOS currently says I should have listings within 24 hours... but who knows...
Have you had any luck on your end? Can you provide some pointers on how I can check whether or not Im receiving the VBI data?

pyedog

01-11-06, 08:05 AM

Pyedog: I'm in the same area, and believe I have same tuner [Sony HDD250], have an OTA antenna, and believe I am seeing same symptoms ... Can you provide some pointers on how I can check whether or not Im receiving the VBI data?

Thanks - this is a big big help .... Thursday was the last day I had data, and I suspect that was from the previous Thursday's download ... of course, now even that is gone since I did the reset.

I've tried everything all kinds of resets, 3 different antennas, hooking up to cable, etc. and none of it made any difference, so that might save you some trouble. I'll try calling and emailing UNCTV again, and maybe you can do the same. If enough people complain maybe they'll do something.

I really wish there was an easy way to let Gemstar and/or UNCTV know they have a problem - I suspect they could easily fix it, but instead I've been wasting a week trying different things.

To check VBI data, tune to channel 4, press Menu, then Screen Mode, then 9012. The menu should change to a demo/test menu - select the bottom one TV Guide, and then select the bottom one G* test. If you get VBI PASS and the VBI packet count increases you are looking good - if it fails and you get 0 packets, you are in trouble like me. You can press 2 on this screen to repeat the VBI test over and over ... nothing like watching it fail again and again ;-)

Thanks!
-Jim

pyedog

01-11-06, 10:10 AM

I called UNC-TV channel 4 again this morning, and this time they transferred me to an Engineer - I got voicemail for Wayne Esterbrooks (?my spelling is almost certainly wrong?) and I left a message

I actually got a callback pretty quick. Apparently the system is automated, and they don't have much control, but they will take a look and see what they can find out. A few interesting comments:
1) They don't get much money from Gemstar - about $300 per year - I suspect it isn't worth the amount of trouble that they have to put up with in terms of complaints, problem calls, equipment setup, etc.
2) Gemstar wants stations to start carrying the guide on their digital signal as well (which would be great for me) but they are currently not doing it - Gemstar isn't offering any extra money, and they have other priorities.

So - it is true that Gemstar has some sort of plan for the guide on digital stations, but it looks like Gemstar is trying to squeeze as much money out of things as possible (no surprise there), which is probably what results in the problems a lot of folks have.

I've crossed my fingers that the UNC-TV folks can find a problem and resolve it. I guess the next step would be contacting Gemstar, and I'm not real optimistic about how that would go - I'd hate to have to grind through the Sony Tech support ...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Update for anyone in the Raleigh/Durham area ...

Apparently last Thursday the Gemstar data phone line at the transmitter failed for some reason. They had someone work on it, but it apparently still isn't right. Gemstar has been contacted and hopefully they'll get things working again soon.

A Big thanks to Wayne Estabrook at UNC-TV (sp?) for taking care of this!

jrporter

01-11-06, 07:30 PM

Once you get TVGOS working on your 52628, could you do me a favor and try out the reminders service? I've had trouble getting the reminder service to work properly on a similar set and I'm curious if it's endemic to Mitsubishi.

Well, I've got TVGOS working to at least some extent, and I tried the reminder service. The issues may be endemic to Mits sets, because I couldn't get it to work properly either. I just tried having it change the channel at a given time and sat and watched, nothing happened. So, unless I did something wrong, it didn't seem to work. I hadn't been real interested in using it, so it doesn't bother me a whole lot.

sderby

01-11-06, 07:41 PM

Well, I've got TVGOS working to at least some extent, and I tried the reminder service. The issues may be endemic to Mits sets, because I couldn't get it to work properly either. I just tried having it change the channel at a given time and sat and watched, nothing happened. So, unless I did something wrong, it didn't seem to work. I hadn't been real interested in using it, so it doesn't bother me a whole lot.

Thanks for checking. That's the same behavior I've seen. If I set a reminder to turn the TV on at a specified time, it would turn on the TV, but not tune the correct channel. Setting a reminder to auto-tune or to just remind me doesn't work at all.

Glad to hear you've got TVGOS working!

kdog044

01-12-06, 05:38 PM

Thanks for checking. That's the same behavior I've seen. If I set a reminder to turn the TV on at a specified time, it would turn on the TV, but not tune the correct channel. Setting a reminder to auto-tune or to just remind me doesn't work at all.

Glad to hear you've got TVGOS working!It must be an issue with your TV's as it works fine on my Toshiba. Once I set my reminder, even if I am watching TV via the HDMI input it switches at the designated time to the ANT input and tunes to channel requested in the reminder.

goosyou

01-12-06, 05:55 PM

In my opinion, everyone here is wasting their time. You all are doing the service work for these manufactures, free of charge, when it should be covered under your warranty.

You can keep being a fool, and keep letting them "Stall for time" or use your brain and get what you paid for! Below are some consumer tips.

1) Immediately call your credit card company if you purchased the TV on a credit card. Tell them you want to do a chargeback. You can dispute a charge up to 12 months, and sometimes longer after a purchase. This is your best protection! If enough dealers start getting the $ taken off of them by the Banks for selling stuff that is "not as advertised" and that "does not work", the vendors will quit selling Brands that don't stand behind their warranties and claims. I called my credit card company today, and told them what I was charged for is not what was advertised. If the credit card company refuses to take your dispute, ask to talk to a supervisor. Also, research your credit card protection laws, some states give better protection than others.

2) Contact the Better Business Bureau. File a complaint against the manufacture and also who ever you purchased it from. File multiple complaints, one for the crappy tv you got that did not work as claimed ( if that was the case) and another for the false advertising the manufactures are doing claiming such and such feature works on their TV but it does not.

3) Contact the attorney general in your state, and theirs, and file a complaint if you are not happy.

4) Leave a report on ripoffreportdotc0m that way when people do research on a certain model, they may think twice before they buy it, since it seems the manufactures are not honest about how well some of their systems work. Also, lawyers go thru this site, and may want to file a class action suit.

5) Website of the FTC Federal Trade Commision.

6) This always shakes companies up, they will get a letter from the Postal Authorites stating their mail can be terminated, unless they reply. The US POSTAL Authorities

Stick to facts. I have seen companies put out products with bugs for years, and many times they will just keep postponing you, till the time frame of your rights or warranty are out, then they leave you in the dark. Don't be fooled by their tricks. I remember years ago, I witnesed a modem company having major troubles with their modem, they paid a guy to come onto sites like this, and keep giving bogus info/help techniques to people, to keep postponing people from returning the product. Don't underestimate how low these companies will go, they will hire "online hired guns" to spread propaganda to make their side/view look respectable.

Also, in some states if a product is broken, the customer may be entitled to 3X the cost to get the product repaired, if the get the repair done themselves, I guess my point here is, if you have the time, contact some local attorneys in your area, you would be suprised at all the laws there are out there to protect the consumer! Use them!

I paid for inhome service/warranty, IM not wasting anymore of my time pissing with reading screen codes, let them send a tech to my house and do it, don't waste my time on the phone for hours playing Blame the other guy.

The squeeky door gets the oil, don't them push you around on "Their terms", push them
around on yours.

Sorry I could not post the URL's, said I needed to post 5 URL's before I could post URL's! GOOD LUCK

Natergfunky

01-12-06, 06:42 PM

Mark144

01-16-06, 05:33 PM

I got tvgos to populate (it seems that I needed to have an antenna on ANT2 as well as the cable box on ANT1).

Now it is screwing up my Tivo! TVGOS goes out to the PBS station, presumably looking for updates, but it switches the cable box, and if TIVO is recording, I stop recording the show TIVO is recording, and I get PBS instead.

Is there anyway to control when TGVOS does its thing?

sderby

01-16-06, 07:14 PM

Now it is screwing up my Tivo! TVGOS goes out to the PBS station, presumably looking for updates, but it switches the cable box, and if TIVO is recording, I stop recording the show TIVO is recording, and I get PBS instead.

Is there anyway to control when TGVOS does its thing?

Is TVGOS using an IR blaster (G-link cable) to control your cable box? If so, just disconnect or move the IR blaster. It'll still "try" to manipulate the cable box, but it won't be successful. Since it's getting its data from your OTA antenna, it really doesn't need the cable box. Another thing to try might be configuring TVGOS not to use the cable box at all, but I don't know if it will still let you tune cable box channels from it in that case.

For more help or information about TV Guide On Screen, visit http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/

By the way, don't your TIVO and your cable box each have their own EPGs?

Mark0

01-19-06, 12:52 AM

magredc5

01-19-06, 11:23 AM

Been reading through this thread in hopes of finding a solution, but nothing stands out.
TV: Toshiba 50HP95
TVGOS not working since day 1. "Thre is no data for this screen"

If the TVGOS data is transmitted on PBS, then maybe that is my problem?
PBS analog is on ch 2, 11.
PBS digital is on ch 19, & 58 (I think)
my antenna is a Yagi UHF... maybe I can't pull in the info if it's on a VHF channel?

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Mark O

"No Data For This Screen" means that TVGOS has not been able to get any setup info yet. Make sure your setup is done correctly (Country USA or CANADA, ZIP CODE, CABLE NO, ANTENNA YES). Try a common zip code for your area as sometimes not all zip codes are defined.

Once you get past the setup stage, you should at least see the channels populate. If you're not even seeing the channels, you need to try other zip codes.

Mark0

01-19-06, 11:32 AM

sderby

01-19-06, 12:16 PM

Well, the 2nd tv antenna didn't do anything. (I added an antenna to pull in the local analog PBS on ch 2)
As for the zip code, I've tried 3 or 4 different zip codes including the one for the local PBS ;), but no dice. I even tried my frinds Zip code in Nashua who has the same tv and receives the data.

Each host station only transmits information for zip codes in its local area and, if I understand correctly, there is little or no overlap between stations. I don't know where you live, but if the host station you pull on channel 2 doesn't serve Nashua, it won't give any information for a Nashua zip code. Here's a few things to try:

Turn on closed captioning and see if your VBI reception is good. If you're getting a lot of hiccups in the closed captioning, your reception might not be strong enough to read the TVGOS data. In your case I wonder if it might a signal strength problem.

After leaving the TV off for a while, note what channel it's tuned to when you turn it on. If it's often on the same channel (probably channel 2 for you), that means that TVGOS has found an EPG data stream there. If it seems random, maybe it's not finding a data stream?

Reset TVGOS by starting the guide, scrolling to the "Setup" tab, pressing down-arrow once and entering 653274147 on your remote.

There are some other suggestions at the unofficial TV Guide On Screen Help Guide at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ The site is still in development, but there is some helpful advice there.

Mark0

01-19-06, 12:30 PM

sderby

01-19-06, 01:02 PM

Thanks for the quick reply.
Closed Captioning works fine. I remember seeing it about a week ago when I muted the tv. And to make sure it is still working, I just tried it on a bunch of stations, and it works flawlessly.
I just reset the TVGOS and powered it off. But before I did, I noticed my VBI is reset back to 0:0-0 (originally at 1:13-0, then 2:0-11 when I added the second antenna).
I am going to check out that other site.
Thanks again for the help!

Hmm. The VBI channel being 0:0-0 suggests that there was a configuration change in TVGOS. Maybe you changed the ZIP code recently?

Something else just occurred to me. Try this: Leave the TV off for several hours, then go into diagnostic mode and look at the Reception -> VBI Stats page. See what values are in the LinupSelPkt, StationPkt, and ZipcodePkts fields. I'm just speculating, but those fields might give some hint as to whether it's getting TVGOS data at all and, if so, what type of data it's hanging up on.

Mark0

01-19-06, 01:12 PM

I'm pretty sure I can pull in the data as I am able to pull guide data in with my OTA Motorola receiver (unless the Motorolla data is from another VBI source?)

Mark0

01-19-06, 01:19 PM

No data in there now, but it's only been an hour. I turned the tv back off.

Mark0

01-19-06, 03:07 PM

Still nothing yet.
But here are some screenshots:

Mark0

01-19-06, 04:03 PM

tboo

01-19-06, 06:35 PM

sderby

01-19-06, 06:45 PM

Just got off the phone with the Toshiba rep and he thinks the problem may be fixed with a software update. Unfortunately they have to mail me out the latest s.w. version 1.2.8 on an SD card.
Unless someone here has it??? ;)

Sounds like you may have solved your problem! I think that firmware update has helped some others with Toshibas here, too.

sderby

01-19-06, 06:51 PM

I have a goofy problem. I used to have a Toshiba DLP TV that had TVGOS & it worked great with a cable card inserted. I then sold the Toshiba & bought a Mitsubishi 1080p DLP with TVGOS. TVGOS will not work on this set when the cable card is plugged in-if i removed the cable card, in a few days, TVGOS will start populating channels, but as soon as I plug the cable card back in I get the "there is no data for this screen" message again.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

Was there a delay between using the Toshiba and the Mitsubishi? The problem with the Mitsubishi sounds a lot like your cable company is simulcasting its channels in digital and analog format. With the cablecard, you get digital channels (which do not have a VBI) but without the cablecard you get the analog channels. (This is discussed in the Basic Troubleshooting and Technical FAQ sections of the unofficial guide at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/).

It's possible that plugging the Cable Card in causes the TV or TVGOS to reset. One thing you can try is splitting the cable out of the wall and running both cables after the split into the two RF inputs on your TV (the one with the Cable Card and the one without). If your cable company is simulcasting analog and digital channels, this will probably bring the guide back. This (and some other suggestions) are discussed in the unofficial guide, too. Good luck!

tboo

01-19-06, 08:05 PM

Was there a delay between using the Toshiba and the Mitsubishi? The problem with the Mitsubishi sounds a lot like your cable company is simulcasting its channels in digital and analog format. With the cablecard, you get digital channels (which do not have a VBI) but without the cablecard you get the analog channels. (This is discussed in the Basic Troubleshooting and Technical FAQ sections of the unofficial guide at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/).

It's possible that plugging the Cable Card in causes the TV or TVGOS to reset. One thing you can try is splitting the cable out of the wall and running both cables after the split into the two RF inputs on your TV (the one with the Cable Card and the one without). If your cable company is simulcasting analog and digital channels, this will probably bring the guide back. This (and some other suggestions) are discussed in the unofficial guide, too. Good luck!

Only a 1 day delay between TVs. Ill try splitting the cable & see what happens. Thanks for your help.

kdog044

01-19-06, 08:24 PM

Still nothing yet.
But here are some screenshots:Until you get a host channel you will never get any listings. Sometimes you need to leave the TV off for a long period of time initially (i.e 12 hours). If you don't have success after a few days try temporarily changing the zip code so it will reset and try to find the host channel again.

Jim777

01-19-06, 09:26 PM

Still nothing yet.
But here are some screenshots:

Mark:

I looked at your screens and you do show a clock set, so I presume you are getting time. That means that you are receiving some data. Have you always had a time or is that something new? If you check in your diagnostics the "Section Other-Clocks 2" screen it will show you where you obtained you clock set data from. It appears as the Clock Set Chan at the bottom. That should be your TVGOS data channel. Make sure you are getting a clear signal from that channel. If not maybe adjusting the antenna direction or an antenna amplifier will help.

Also if you also look at your "Section Reception-Slicing" screen if you see numbers in the "Since Cold" column that will tell you how much data is getting though.

Jim

Mark0

01-19-06, 10:44 PM

I'm pulling the clock from one of the PBS affiliates on VHF (ch 11), but I only pull in about 75% of the closed captioning on that channel.
Here are some more stats:

sderby

01-19-06, 11:01 PM

I looked at your screens and you do show a clock set, so I presume you are getting time. That means that you are receiving some data.

Then again, some stations broadcast a time synch but aren't TVGOS host stations. Notice that his "local offset" is "NONE." That means that his TVGOS hasn't found a host channel that carries data for his zip code (or, possibly, that the signal is weak and the zip code transmission was garbled).

Mark0

01-19-06, 11:46 PM

Well, just learned that my friend with the exact same tv located about 15 miles away hooked up his cable wire to the tv and it's possible he's receiving the data through the cable stream.

Mark0

01-19-06, 11:51 PM

I find it somewhat hard to believe that the Boston area (one of the largest markets in the country) with 3 PBS stations would not be transmitting the data.
FWIW, I pull in 11 stations total (20 channels total including sub channels), all in digital.

Jim777

01-20-06, 12:12 PM

I'm pulling the clock from one of the PBS affiliates on VHF (ch 11), but I only pull in about 75% of the closed captioning on that channel.
Here are some more stats:

Mark:

You are getting b and c packet data. The c packets are what contains the program listings. If you clock set channel shows VHF 11, and you are getting a clear signal, I would think you just need to wait 24 to 48 hours for enough data to download while not re-setting anything. Your c packet error rate looks low (5%) so that is good. I have had much higher error rates in the past (10%+) and didn't have any problems getting data. If you go into your TVGOS channel editor does it show any channels?

magredc5

01-20-06, 01:13 PM

I'm pulling the clock from one of the PBS affiliates on VHF (ch 11), but I only pull in about 75% of the closed captioning on that channel.
Here are some more stats:

Here's what I see:

- No Host Channel being identified.
- Your B/C Packets are being seen on other channels, but none associated with a Host Channel.
- No Local Time Offset - indicating TVGOS has not been able to complete it's zipcode related setup.
- If clock is coming in on PBS11, then the time source is there, but you're saying you only get about 75% of closed captioning - indication of poor signal?

It looks like TVGOS is alive and waiting to lock onto a Host Channel to complete it's setup and build the channel list/lineup. Note that your OTA lineup is 0X00 = Nil (same for all).

Any way to try a different antenna, possibly one with a built-in amp to increase the gain? Or run a cable to move the antenna to a better location? I know Radio Shack has some decent HD antennas with gain for about $30 that should also improve your analog PBS.

Mark0

01-20-06, 02:50 PM

I'm running 2 antenna's now... well kinds. I fun a Yagi and supplement it with a home made VHF loop. I pull in many channels 11, (20 total including sub channels).
Tonight, one of my buddies with the exact same setup and tv as jsut set up his TVGOS. If he's up and running, I'll know it's a hardware/software issue and not signal related (I pull in all the channels he pulls in and then some).

kdog044

01-21-06, 11:21 AM

Mark:

You are getting b and c packet data. The c packets are what contains the program listings. If you clock set channel shows VHF 11, and you are getting a clear signal, I would think you just need to wait 24 to 48 hours for enough data to download while not re-setting anything. Your c packet error rate looks low (5%) so that is good. I have had much higher error rates in the past (10%+) and didn't have any problems getting data. If you go into your TVGOS channel editor does it show any channels?In reviewing his numbers with what I typically get there are a lot of errors and drops. Here are the numbers from my set after my recent reset.

Starts 158277
Ends 155814
Drops 249
TypeB 113442
BCorr 113467
BErrs 14
TypeC 41988
CCorr 7
CErrs 11
CBad 90

Also, here is a screen shot of one with Starts with over 2 million.

Mark0

01-21-06, 02:01 PM

kdog044

01-21-06, 02:10 PM

Well friends tv does not work either. Lots of C errors too.
I have a feeling the TVGOS data is transmitted through the analog channels. Which is too bad because who wants analog channels, especially if they require another antenna (VGF).
I think the problem may lie with Gemstar not thinking this through.I know for a fact that TVGOS only works with analog channels today as when Comcast changed my PBS station to digital I lost my TVGOS. Fortunately they added a new analog PBS channel shortly thereafter and once I reset my TVGOS and turned off the old channel in my TV's channel edit menu it started working again. They are looking at getting TVGOS to work with digital channels as in the future that is all there will be but they have no time frame when that will be.

Jim777

01-21-06, 05:35 PM

In reviewing his numbers with what I typically get there are a lot of errors and drops. Here are the numbers from my set after my recent reset.

My current numbers are below:

Starts 854013
Ends 853111
Drops 15372
TypeB 613349
BCorr 613349
BErrs 1832
TypeC 230136
CCorr 8782
CErrs 1591
CBad 534

The Type B packets are not being used now (I believe that they will be used for advertising). My Type C error rate is 1%. (CErrs/Type C). Yours is very low at .03% which may be because you are getting you data from a analog cable channel which has a very clear signal. I am getting mine from an OTA hence the signal is not as clear thus a higher error rate. MarkO is at 5% which from my experience should still be low enough to get the TVGOS data properly. I had error rates of about 10% in August and if I remember correctly over 25% at some points earlier in the year.

Jim777

01-21-06, 05:52 PM

Well friends tv does not work either. Lots of C errors too.
I have a feeling the TVGOS data is transmitted through the analog channels. Which is too bad because who wants analog channels, especially if they require another antenna (VGF).
I think the problem may lie with Gemstar not thinking this through.

I am puzzled because the fact that you are getting data, even though at an error rate of 5% you should still be able to get the TVGOS to work. As I mentioned in my prior post I have had error rates up to 25% and was able to get channels and listings from TV guide.

Also when my cable provider switched my PBS station to digital early last year I got no data and everything was zeros and my Guide didn't work at all.

If you go into the "Change channel display" function do you see any channels listed or does it just say "No data"? If you are still getting data downloads as shown in your Section Reception-slicing screen after 48 hours and you still have no channels listed then there may be something else going on.

Jim777

01-21-06, 06:00 PM

I know for a fact that TVGOS only works with analog channels today as when Comcast changed my PBS station to digital I lost my TVGOS. Fortunately they added a new analog PBS channel shortly thereafter and once I reset my TVGOS and turned off the old channel in my TV's channel edit menu it started working again. They are looking at getting TVGOS to work with digital channels as in the future that is all there will be but they have no time frame when that will be.

I was told by Josue at Gemstar that when Time-Warner in NY had converted their PBS station to digital, they agreed with Gemstar to use a piece of equipment called an "inserter" to insert the TVGOS data into the digital signal. So it this can be done, and its a matter of the cable provider agreeing to use this equipment. Cablevision has not agreed to do this, hence the reason why I need to use an antenna.

sderby

01-21-06, 06:49 PM

I was told by Josue at Gemstar that when Time-Warner in NY had converted their PBS station to digital, they agreed with Gemstar to use a piece of equipment called an "inserter" to insert the TVGOS data into the digital signal. So it this can be done, and its a matter of the cable provider agreeing to use this equipment. Cablevision has not agreed to do this, hence the reason why I need to use an antenna.

I'm not sure of the technical details about the Time-Warner situation in New York, but I know there was more to that story. Time Warner was intentionally stripping out the TVGOS data before rebroadcasting PBS. They felt that since the TVGOS data was being included in their bandwidth, they should be paid by Gemstar. Gemstar, obviously, disagreed and sued Time-Warner saying that stripping that data from the VBI was illegal under the FCC's "must carry" laws. The courts sided with Time-Warner, but Gemstar and TW reached an agreement so that TW would continue to send the data.

VBI inserters are used to put data into the VBI in analog broadcasts. Each host station uses such an inserter to put the TVGOS data into their VBI. Digital broadcasts don't have a VBI, though, so I'm not sure what sort of inserter the Gemstar rep might have been talking about. Maybe they were referring to TW inserting the data into the VBI of an analog rebroadcast of the PBS station's digital signal? Having said that, though, the TVGOS diagnostic screens do have "ATSC slicing" dignostics, so maybe TVGOS is capable of decoding a digital data stream, too (maybe in the PSIP of some channels).

Mark0

01-21-06, 07:28 PM

My latest CErrs/TypeC is at 25.969% So it is very high.
Says "No Data" in change channel display.

MeSmell

01-21-06, 07:46 PM

My latest CErrs/TypeC is at 25.969% So it is very high.
Says "No Data" in change channel display.

You may want to check with your manufacturer about a software update.
High % CErrs can be an indicator of insufficient software as well as just receiving high rates of error packets.

Mark0

01-21-06, 08:52 PM

I need the latest software patch (1.2.8)
Supposedly it't in the mail on it's way here. But if anyone has it already, I'd love to have it.

Jim777

01-21-06, 09:38 PM

I'm not sure of the technical details about the Time-Warner situation in New York, but I know there was more to that story. Time Warner was intentionally stripping out the TVGOS data before rebroadcasting PBS. They felt that since the TVGOS data was being included in their bandwidth, they should be paid by Gemstar. Gemstar, obviously, disagreed and sued Time-Warner saying that stripping that data from the VBI was illegal under the FCC's "must carry" laws. The courts sided with Time-Warner, but Gemstar and TW reached an agreement so that TW would continue to send the data.

VBI inserters are used to put data into the VBI in analog broadcasts. Each host station uses such an inserter to put the TVGOS data into their VBI. Digital broadcasts don't have a VBI, though, so I'm not sure what sort of inserter the Gemstar rep might have been talking about. Maybe they were referring to TW inserting the data into the VBI of an analog rebroadcast of the PBS station's digital signal? Having said that, though, the TVGOS diagnostic screens do have "ATSC slicing" dignostics, so maybe TVGOS is capable of decoding a digital data stream, too (maybe in the PSIP of some channels).

I don't know the technical details either as to how this works but it seemed clear to me when I spoke with him (and Josue is the manager of technical support at Gemstar) that there is a way to pass the data into a digital transmission. He had also told me that Gemstar engineers had spoken to engineers at Cablevision and that there was more than one way to accomplish this. The bigger issue was a business one and the two companies have been unable to reach any agreement. I did not know the details about the TW situation as you have described, but it sounds like the same issue they were able eventually to resolve. Which based upon the court decision would mean some form of compensation by Gemstar.

MeSmell

01-22-06, 12:00 AM

I don't know the technical details either as to how this works but it seemed clear to me when I spoke with him (and Josue is the manager of technical support at Gemstar) that there is a way to pass the data into a digital transmission. He had also told me that Gemstar engineers had spoken to engineers at Cablevision and that there was more than one way to accomplish this. The bigger issue was a business one and the two companies have been unable to reach any agreement. I did not know the details about the TW situation as you have described, but it sounds like the same issue they were able eventually to resolve. Which based upon the court decision would mean some form of compensation by Gemstar.

Do you still have contact with Josue? If so, how? I have been unsuccessful in my efforts to contact him or anyone at Gemstar and get a response. I have been reduced to my TV manufacturer for any and all info.

Bushman4

01-22-06, 12:31 AM

What baffles me is that the manufacturers (Panasonic etc) are putting this technology in their TV's knowing that people that buy them will be using DIGITAL or HDTV and many many people are having problems with TVGOS

kdog044

01-22-06, 10:01 AM

Do you still have contact with Josue? If so, how? I have been unsuccessful in my efforts to contact him or anyone at Gemstar and get a response. I have been reduced to my TV manufacturer for any and all info.Gemstar's policy was always that the user work through their manufacturer. They were taking some calls early on for a few of us but when the volume became too great they started enforcing the policy. I can usually get responses on questions via e-mail but your best bet is to pressure your vendor for TVGOS support. Here was the response I got from them related to calling them directly.

"We are not taking calls directly from consumers any longer. The procedure has always been that consumers need to go to their manufacturers and the manufacturers will send issues over to us. We are not a call center here and the call volume that is coming in is more than we can handle, so we needed to do something to curb the number of calls coming into us. TVGOS tech support was implemented to support the manufacturer's call centers regarding Guide problems.

Consumers who we have already been working with may still call or send emails and we will get back to them. Response time may be delayed."

As far as Mark0 is concerned, until TVGOS identifies a host channel he will never get any listings, regardless of the number of errors. It will attempt for a few days and if unsuccessful it will flush the data and try again. His best bet is to try a neighboring zip code to see if he can get his set to identify a host channel.

As it relates to the inserter, when I spoke with Gemstar they were not aware of any way to get VBI data on a digital channel and said it would involve changing the way TVGOS works today but it was not a high priority and could give me no time frame when it would be possible. Fortunately for me, Comcast added a new analog PBS channel when they changed the original one to digital.

MeSmell

01-22-06, 10:10 AM

Gemstar's policy was always that the user work through their manufacturer. They were taking some calls early on for a few of us but when the volume became too great they started enforcing the policy. I can usually get responses on questions via e-mail but your best bet is to pressure your vendor for TVGOS support. Here was the response I got from them related to calling them directly.

"We are not taking calls directly from consumers any longer. The procedure has always been that consumers need to go to their manufacturers and the manufacturers will send issues over to us. We are not a call center here and the call volume that is coming in is more than we can handle, so we needed to do something to curb the number of calls coming into us. TVGOS tech support was implemented to support the manufacturer's call centers regarding Guide problems.

Consumers who we have already been working with may still call or send emails and we will get back to them. Response time may be delayed."

As far as Mark0 is concerned, until TVGOS identifies a host channel he will never get any listings, regardless of the number of errors. It will attempt for a few days and if unsuccessful it will flush the data and try again. His best bet is to try a neighboring zip code to see if he can get his set to identify a host channel.

As it relates to the inserter, when I spoke with Gemstar they were not aware of any way to get VBI data on a digital channel and said it would involve changing the way TVGOS works today but it was not a high priority and could give me no time frame when it would be possible. Fortunately for me, Comcast added a new analog PBS channel when they changed the original one to digital.

Who is your e-mail contact? I know that I had correspondence with a woman, I believe her name was Cheryl, but last person I spoke to was Josue in the middle of last month.

kdog044

01-22-06, 10:24 AM

Who is your e-mail contact? I know that I had correspondence with a woman, I believe her name was Cheryl, but last person I spoke to was Josue in the middle of last month.Yes, Cheryl Robblee is who I have been in contact with.

Mark0

01-22-06, 12:08 PM

Jim777

01-22-06, 12:54 PM

Do you still have contact with Josue? If so, how? I have been unsuccessful in my efforts to contact him or anyone at Gemstar and get a response. I have been reduced to my TV manufacturer for any and all info.

No, I no longer have been in contact with Josue since the middle of December due to the change in the policy Kdog references. Many if not most of the issues that affected the function of the guide were related to the hardware and software of the TV's and were not anything that Gemstar could directly address and they were getting swamped with calls. Hence now they will not deal directly with consumers, whereas before they would if they were referred by the manufacturer.

Jim777

01-22-06, 01:15 PM

I've tried about 1/2 dozen zip codes... even the one where the local PBS station is based. So I doubt it's a zipcode issue. Unless Gemstar only picks a few zip codes per state to provide listings to, but I would think they would have fixed that issue already.

I am sure that in the Boston area there is a channel transmitting the EPG data. In fact your set is receiving some data but evidently not enough for the guide to work properly. Why its not fixing upon any host channel is a problem. It should not be blank. However, that being said my guide has fixed upon an incorrect host but still gets the EPG data from the constant data search function of the guide. That's why when you view the diagnostic screen the VBI channel is usually different as that is the last channel that the system was 'looking at" for data prior to your turning the TV on. So hopefully, the new software will resolve this issue. You could also look into getting an antenna booster from Radio Shack to get a better signal. I have a booster on mine without which I get no data.

kdog044

01-22-06, 02:10 PM

However, that being said my guide has fixed upon an incorrect host but still gets the EPG data from the constant data search function of the guide.I think the latest software from TVGOS is the cause of this. I also have an incorrect host channel but I also continue to get listings and data. The only place in the diagnostics where the channel is correct is in the Section Other-Clocks 2 page under the Failing Clock Chan and Clock Set Chan entries. See the pictures below. My VBI channel is 97 but the host is reported as channel 3 which is a local WB digital channel. Also, notice there are almost no entries for the host channel in the Reception-Slicing menu.

kdog044

01-22-06, 02:13 PM

I've tried about 1/2 dozen zip codes... even the one where the local PBS station is based. So I doubt it's a zipcode issue. Unless Gemstar only picks a few zip codes per state to provide listings to, but I would think they would have fixed that issue already.I'm not necessarily saying it is a zip code issue but when you make the change to another zip code the TVGOS will start a new search for the host channel and until the TVGOS finds a host channel, even if it isn't the correct one, you will not get any listings. Whenever I had this problem I would change the zip code and then change it right back to mine and turn off the set. This resets the host channel entry and the TVGOS will start a new search for one.

Mark0

01-22-06, 07:26 PM

Gemstar.. LOL Im amazed at how all of you take it up the AZZ from these manufacturing companies. Don't let them dictate to you waht the policies are just because they don't want to hire more than 2 technical support people. There are laws on the books protecting consumers everywhere. IF you get a product that does not work, and you get it repaired by someone else , the manuf is responsible for 3X the cost of your repair in some states. There are lemon laws, implied warrantys that a product should work as advertised, etc. How stupid are some of you people, buying $3,000-$6-000 TV sets that don't work and putting up with it, being given the delay tactic for months? Contact the BBB, postal mail authorities, look up a local consumer product attorney, call state attorney generals, and..... find out how to educate the stock holders of these companies who only have 1 or two customer service techs for a company making millions, and serving millions! I think most of you putting up with gemstar and the tv manuf's are more screwed up than TVGOS ! Call tv stations, and any other consumer groups you can, to get this big problem out in the air, and only then once you start causing a ruckus, will they take serious attention. Till then the companies are looking at all of you as stupid sheep, who they are 'taking care of' by postponing and delaying you all, with BS. FIGHT BACK! Ohhh and don't forget, you can do a chargeback on your credit card months after a purchase if the product does not work as advertised.

Yougoose,
obviously you are trolling here trying to get us annoyed at the situation. I respect the help of the folks here because of their "knowlege". The only one here looking "stupid" is yourself. Let me give you a little bit of advice. Before you post and prove that you are stupid, read up a little and try to gain a little bit of knowlege.
My TVGOS may not be working for a number of reasons, but it may very well be my own fault. If you actually read my postings, you would learn that of the 3 people I know that have the exact same tv located within 10 miles of each other, only the guy with cable hooked up to his other antenna is receiving the TVGOS data. Maybe, just maybe it's not working because I'm not pulling in a strong enough signal over the air.
Your posting is moot, unless you think because I am using an antenna, I should be able to pull in every single channel in my area without a problem. Why should it be TVGOS or Toshiba's problem if I can't pull in these channels?
This forum is a free forum that provides other folks with great information. Don't knock us for trying to fix a problem.

MeSmell

01-23-06, 12:02 AM

jrporter

01-23-06, 09:26 AM

I keep thinking I have 'fixed' my TVGOS and then have it stop working again. It seems to work a couple of days, it starts getting the schedule well populated, and then I turn it on and it's all 'no listing'. The channels stay OK. On my latest go-round, I changed the zip to something else and back, and the next day things were looking good. The only thing I really changed after that was to go through a channel edit, getting rid of the premiums I don't get and other ones I don't want showing up on the guide. Any thoughts? Maybe the host channel is just not reliable. I'm on Comcast using a cable card in Minnesota (Twin Cities). The host channel it picks is 97, which as far as I can tell is an analog PBS channel, although it seems a bit obscure and doesn't show up in the TVGOS itself.

kdog044

01-23-06, 11:00 AM

I'm on Comcast using a cable card in Minnesota (Twin Cities). The host channel it picks is 97, which as far as I can tell is an analog PBS channel, although it seems a bit obscure and doesn't show up in the TVGOS itself.If channel 97 is not showing up in your channel edits it means that Gemstar has not added it to your zip code lineup yet. Until this happens you should edit the digital version of PBS, if like my lineup will be channel 6, and change the tune channel to 97 which may help with your downloads. That's what I had to do until Gemstar got the channel added.

kdog044

01-23-06, 11:02 AM

I keep thinking I have 'fixed' my TVGOS and then have it stop working again. It seems to work a couple of days, it starts getting the schedule well populated, and then I turn it on and it's all 'no listing'. The channels stay OK. What TV do you have and what version is your firmware? There have been a few updates to both the 2004 and 2005 Toshiba models related to TVGOS.

jrporter

01-23-06, 11:17 AM

magredc5

01-23-06, 03:01 PM

Ah, that's an interesting idea. There are several lower number PBS channels, I can't tell if they are digital or not, but I can try switching the tune station on one at a time, see if that helps. I have the Mits 52628, I'm not aware of a firmware update from what I have. Thanks for the help.

I had to edit my PBS channel in TVGOS as well. The correct analog PBS channel was being downloaded in the TVGOS channel lineup, but it was being downloaded as 97 instead of the correct 99. Once I edited that, it's been working fine.

Exit32

01-23-06, 05:53 PM

Natergfunky

01-23-06, 06:23 PM

Ah, that's an interesting idea. There are several lower number PBS channels, I can't tell if they are digital or not, but I can try switching the tune station on one at a time, see if that helps. I have the Mits 52628, I'm not aware of a firmware update from what I have. Thanks for the help.

Do you have Comcast cable, and a cable card ? If so, I know Comcast remapped PBS analog to 97 for the Philadelphia area for TVGOS downloads for CableCARD customers. Changing the tune channel in TVGOS should be prove to be very beneficial.

Jim777

01-23-06, 08:42 PM

I've got TVGOS working well on both my Samsung DLP HDTV and my Sony HDTV DVR, and for that, I am thankful. My only beef is that my TVGOS program info (i.e., the text that describes the show you want to watch or record) never indicates if a listed show is a repeat (rerun) episode. As a result, I end up recording shows that I've already seen.

Perhaps this behavior is limited to my cable company (Comcast) or my area (Boston suburb)? Do any of you other successful TVGOS users receive information that tells you that a show is a repeat of a previous broadcast?

I have never seen any repeat info. I have noticed that some programs have much more descriptive information than others. For example some movies may just have the bare minimum, name, type, year, stars, rating info. Others that plus detailed description. Not sure why.

sderby

01-24-06, 08:07 AM

I've got TVGOS working well on both my Samsung DLP HDTV and my Sony HDTV DVR, and for that, I am thankful. My only beef is that my TVGOS program info (i.e., the text that describes the show you want to watch or record) never indicates if a listed show is a repeat (rerun) episode. As a result, I end up recording shows that I've already seen.

In the program listings I get, the listing includes a little icon that says "NEW!" if a program is not a repeat. You should have that icon, too? It's not in the title bar (like the "HD" icon), but in the upper-right corner of the info box. Of course, the data in the guide is only as good as the information provided to Gemstar by the stations.

Exit32

01-24-06, 09:25 AM

In the program listings I get, the listing includes a little icon that says "NEW!" if a program is not a repeat. You should have that icon, too? It's not in the title bar (like the "HD" icon), but in the upper-right corner of the info box. Of course, the data in the guide is only as good as the information provided to Gemstar by the stations.

You're right! I just looked at my TVGOS listings and saw the little "NEW!" icon you mentioned. I guess if a program doesn't say "NEW!" it must be a repeat. Thanks for telling me about this; I never noticed that little icon before.

ak3883

01-24-06, 03:19 PM

I am in Lower Bucks as well, and am just starting research on how to get this TVGOS to work. Basically I just get no listings, except for sometimes after re-entering my zip code, they appear a day later, but the next day everything is gone.

I don't have a cable card, just a DVR box, and am just looking to get this to work with std. cable and the HD networks.

I see that WTXF(our local FOX station) transmits the data, is this in addiction to WHYY?(I'm assuming that is the PBS station that does it, b/c I also have analog 97 -WHYY on my digital cable)

I don't have analong WHYY or analog WTXF on my lineup that I customized(I put in all the digital versions, no analog stations), do I need to tell it to use the analog channels instead?

I will check out my diagnostic screen when I get home, see if it has found a channel to pull the data from.

Thank you for confirming that...I'm in lower Bucks County, and was having issues re-acquiring any TVG data (including clock set). I changed my setup to use ANT2 as OTA, but split my Comcast input into both (CableCard on ANT1).

My host and clock set channel has been reported as my FOX station on ANT2, and I wasn't sure if that was incorrect (as kdog44 has said is the case for him). I'm still not sure if I got mine working (after 1.5.8 upgrade) because of a cable card issue interfering with TVG data acquisition, or from the configuration change of using ANT2. As kdog44 just posted, since it's working, I'm not messing with it.

BTW, last Sunday I finally obtained .32 patch. It was interesting...I had never received the patch (only the pre-patch) after upgrading to 1.5.8, but it did obtain channel listing. No data populated, as I wasn't prompted to select my Comcast lineup by TVG. Then it all dumped and nothing happened for a couple of days. In frustration, I changed the channel to my ANT1 analog remapped PBS station (Comcast is digital simulcasting 2-78) before shutting off the TV, and about 3 days later the patch was there. Again, don't know if it's coincidence, or cause and effect. Since in the Philly area the data is also on Fox (Comcast channel 2), the simulcast would explain the different behavior. But I assume that the data is also on my PBS (WHYY-12, now remapped to Comcast 97). But since 2 come before 12 on ANT2, it locks onto the first source it sees. But why it never finds 97 on ANT1, the simulcast remap problem on which kdog44 has speculated, is still one of those Gemstar mysteries.

A couple days later I was able to select my cable channel lineup, but never any listing, and 2 days later it all dumped, and I was presented with the "re-acquiring,24 hour" message, which I never saw before and so assume is new to the .32 patch.

I have been neglecting this for the past week, as my wife gave birth to our second child, and she wouldn't appreciate me putting the TV ahead of her and the family (even though it is HD).

kdog044

01-24-06, 05:26 PM

I see that WTXF(our local FOX station) transmits the data, is this in addiction to WHYY?(I'm assuming that is the PBS station that does it, b/c I also have analog 97 -WHYY on my digital cable)

I don't have analong WHYY or analog WTXF on my lineup that I customized(I put in all the digital versions, no analog stations), do I need to tell it to use the analog channels instead?This will probably help. It really doesn't matter if you map the analog version to the TVGOS as they show the same programming anyway but it does seem to help the TVGOS if you have a digital and anlaog version of PBS. Especially when the analog version is way down the lineup.

I also had to turn off the digital channel in my TV's channel edit menu (not TVGOS channel edit) to get mine working but you may or may not need to do this as well. Keep in mind that even if you use a cable card (I know you indicated you are just using straight cable) and you cannot select the channels (they are auto programmed) you can still choose to delete them from the lineup once they are detected by the tuner.

MeSmell

01-24-06, 10:16 PM

ak3883

01-25-06, 09:53 AM

jrporter

01-26-06, 10:06 AM

If channel 97 is not showing up in your channel edits it means that Gemstar has not added it to your zip code lineup yet. Until this happens you should edit the digital version of PBS, if like my lineup will be channel 6, and change the tune channel to 97 which may help with your downloads. That's what I had to do until Gemstar got the channel added.

When I went in to try this, naturally the listings had started populating again... but in the past, they would get partially populated and then a day or two later there would be nothing, so I went ahead and changed the tune channel on the digital version of PBS (for those in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, I edited channel 17 to have a tune channel of 97). This seems to have done the trick, so far at least... it's been a few days now and the TVGOS is populated farther out than it ever has been. Thanks for the help! :)

I had not noticed the flag for 'new' programs either... was looking in the wrong place. Seeing those posts made me look again, and there it was! Great! That's one of the first things I usually want to know.

NR4P

01-26-06, 09:11 PM

I see many folks have intermittant reception problems with the TVGOS. Since Jan. 1 or thereabouts, I've noted that most channel data is missing about 50% of the time. And I use an over the air antenna and have two TVs (Toshiba and Samsung) set to two different market zip codes. So I get data from one PBS station on one set, and the other is set to another market with a different PBS host station. And one has less than 1% C errors and the other less than 10% C errors. But both TV's lose the Guide data within 24 hours of the other. Every time.

In Oct, Nov., and Dec. it was nearly flawless.

Therefore its not a single station, nor a single brand of TV, its the source....Gemstar.

inieto

01-26-06, 09:15 PM

Upon setup, my Toshiba DVD recorder got an initial channel listing and some programming but not a complete listing. After one day, the listing is completely clear with "No Listing" showing in every position. I have read through this forum and it is not clear to me if the problem is that the host or VBI channels are incorrect. My system is hooked up to cable without a cable box. According to the diagnostic data dump, the Host Chan is 0:0-5 and the VBI Chan is 0:0-73. How do I determine what is the correct channel for my locality? Also, if it is incorrect, how do I change it. I saw procedures how to display the information but in is unclear how to change it. Since I got at least some initial data downloaded, isn't the configuration at least partially correct? Can anyone help?

sderby

01-26-06, 09:49 PM

According to the diagnostic data dump, the Host Chan is 0:0-5 and the VBI Chan is 0:0-73. How do I determine what is the correct channel for my locality? Also, if it is incorrect, how do I change it. I saw procedures how to display the information but in is unclear how to change it. Since I got at least some initial data downloaded, isn't the configuration at least partially correct? Can anyone help?

Since it's identified a host channel, it looks like your local channel 5 is correct. It won't set a host channel until it's successfully downloaded a channel lineup for your zip code. If you want to make it start its search over, though, just change the zip code or use the reset code 653274147. This is one of the FAQs at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/

tboo

01-27-06, 06:07 PM

Was there a delay between using the Toshiba and the Mitsubishi? The problem with the Mitsubishi sounds a lot like your cable company is simulcasting its channels in digital and analog format. With the cablecard, you get digital channels (which do not have a VBI) but without the cablecard you get the analog channels. (This is discussed in the Basic Troubleshooting and Technical FAQ sections of the unofficial guide at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/).

It's possible that plugging the Cable Card in causes the TV or TVGOS to reset. One thing you can try is splitting the cable out of the wall and running both cables after the split into the two RF inputs on your TV (the one with the Cable Card and the one without). If your cable company is simulcasting analog and digital channels, this will probably bring the guide back. This (and some other suggestions) are discussed in the unofficial guide, too. Good luck!

Well, I did what you sadi & still no TV Guide. Then one day my TV locked up & I had to do a reset. After the reset the TVGOS appeard with channels but no details in the lineups. This worked for 2 days & then it dissapeared again. I did another reset & the channels are back on the TVGOS, but again no descriptions.

goosyou

01-27-06, 11:57 PM

You would be amazed at the consumer laws that states offer consumers. If you get a product that does not work as advertised, and you take it somewhere to get fixed, you may be entitled to 3X the cost to fix the unit!

Here is a good site to start, go to google and type in mail fraud online complaint form

It will give you the URL to file a complaint with the post office, and it lists attorney generals of all the states to, to complain about.

The only thing that will straighten out companies is if they get enough charge backs from credid cards, from customers fed up with their crap!

goosyou

01-28-06, 12:07 AM

Typical ******** run around I have got from Toshiba so far.

1) Call toshiba, tell them TVGOS does no work. They say, we'll have one of our idiots call you back in 5 days.

I wait.. hum hummm..

2) Guy calls, takes down some info from the tv screen, and after I became an informed consumer reading this website, the kid on the other end basically said Toshiba was talking to their legal assistants about TVGOS. He basically knew nothing about TVGOS, and said TVGOS was not helping them anymore.

3) I have not heard anything back from Toshiba! Surprise!?

A lot of these problems could be solved if TVGOS had a website, telling what host channel broadcasts which local tv programming. Or a phone number to call, where you could enter your phone #, and it would tell you what tv station is hosting the data that covers your cable system (or if its not available.)

Its all a crock of **** in my book, I urge everyone to file complaints with the postal authorities, their credit card companies, and attorney generals so help prevent other people from the agony of dealing with this crap. Just think of all the people who never get TVGOS to work, and just give up on it!

Think of all the $$$ TVGOS is bringing in, from MAJOR tv manuf, and all they have done is hired 2 or 3? support people, who don't even respond to consumer questions! Hell, my local tv store has more techs to help me, than TVGOS and their multi million $ company. WAKE UP PEOPLE.. you are being taken for a ride, while these people are laughing all the way to the bank! Someone might want o find out how to educate the investors in these companies about what is going on also! complaints(dot)com is another good site to file a complaint!

Thank you!

kdog044

01-28-06, 10:32 AM

Well, I did what you sadi & still no TV Guide. Then one day my TV locked up & I had to do a reset. After the reset the TVGOS appeard with channels but no details in the lineups. This worked for 2 days & then it dissapeared again. I did another reset & the channels are back on the TVGOS, but again no descriptions.When you split your cable did you reprogram the TVGOS? You would need to select cable over antenna, that you are NOT using a box, and that you are using ANT2. Also, check the diagnostics to see if you have a VBI Schedule and if so are any taking place as scheduled.

tboo

01-28-06, 11:01 AM

When you split your cable did you reprogram the TVGOS? You would need to select cable over antenna, that you are NOT using a box, and that you are using ANT2. Also, check the diagnostics to see if you have a VBI Schedule and if so are any taking place as scheduled.

Im not using a box. For the TVGOS setup I chose both inputs-should I only choose 1? Any idea on how to check the diagnostics on my Mitsubishi wd52628?

MeSmell

01-28-06, 02:52 PM

Jim777

01-28-06, 05:05 PM

sderby

01-28-06, 06:55 PM

We'll my luck ran out on my channel edits holding. After about 2 weeks and about 1.2 Millions starts, yesterday they were lost along with my time and all diagnostics. However, all my channels and listings were retained. I have power back-up so it wasn't due to a power interruption. After turning the set off within a half hour or so it regained time and began downloading data again. This is an annoyance, however, it only takes me now about 5 minutes or so to reset my listings because I've had so much practice in the past. Hopefully, they (Toshiba or Gemstar) will create a fix but I won't hold my breath. I have placed a complaint with Toshiba on it.

Quite annoying! Is it possible that your TV rebooted for some reason unrelated to TVGOS? (Not a power outage since you have a UPS). The other day as I was watching TV (on a Mitsu. set), the TV suddenly shut down and rebooted itself for no apparent reason. I suspect that Comcast sent out a Cable Card reset signal as they occasionally do when there's a channel mapping update (or just because they feel like it). I think that causes my TV to reboot. When it does, I have to redo the channel lineup as you've described (but listings are preserved).

Jim777

01-28-06, 08:19 PM

Quite annoying! Is it possible that your TV rebooted for some reason unrelated to TVGOS? (Not a power outage since you have a UPS). The other day as I was watching TV (on a Mitsu. set), the TV suddenly shut down and rebooted itself for no apparent reason. I suspect that Comcast sent out a Cable Card reset signal as they occasionally do when there's a channel mapping update (or just because they feel like it). I think that causes my TV to reboot. When it does, I have to redo the channel lineup as you've described (but listings are preserved).

Very interesting. Based upon what happened to you I just noticed that in the TV Guide listings I now have about 47 new channels which are the music channels (all are 800 numbered channels). I had always had them, but they never appeared in the TV Guide listings. In fact they now have descriptions of the type of music next to the channel which I never noticed before. So I think you are right that there was some kind of update which caused them to appear and that update must have reset the TV Guide. I am not sure if it was a Gemstar update of the available channels for my zip code or if it is related to a Cablevision update.

goosyou

01-28-06, 10:21 PM

MeSmell

01-29-06, 10:27 AM

Beware, don't waste your time posting on this guy who keeps posting his NUTS website. I posted my experience with Toshiba, and tried to educate consumers that you don't have to put up with crappy service ( how many millions of subscribers, and tvgos only has 3 techs that don't respond to customers) and he called it a TROLL, haha.

It seems over 1/2 who have responded to the poll in this forum can't even get their TVGOS system to work!

Makes me wonder who the nuts guy might be working for. I remember years ago a certain modem manuf kept releasing modems out that had major bugs, they hired a 'hired gun' techy to get onto news groups, and propose fixs, that did nothing but waste peoples time. He proclaimed to be the GOD of modems, when in fact all he did was help quiet the noise, letting the modem manuf buy time to try to figure out what the bugs were, while he proposed fixes that usually did not work.

Once again, if you get a TV that does not work AS ADVERTISED I highly suggest you do a charge back, and contact the BBB and file complaints with as many agencies as you can! All TVGOS is doing is laughing all the way to the bank with all our $, and not giving us any service.

Okay, we get the point ! Enough already

kdog044

01-29-06, 12:55 PM

magredc5

01-29-06, 01:25 PM

It seems to me if you're not part of the solution you are part of the problem. Give the guy credit for attempting to help others, something you seem to fail to do. :rolleyes:

Mine has worked from day one and if you did your research properly you would find that probably 80% of the people who can't get the guide to work are due to issues with cable company either not providing an analog channel for VBI data or blocking it. If you have some valid suggestions by all means post them, otherwise you are just going to end up on the ignore list. ;)

Agree 100%. I was one that had problems getting the guide to work and thanks to this forum it now works flawlessly.

Goosyou: Bashing Toshiba, who in my experience has provided great customer service each of the several times I've called, does not help your cause. Explain what your problem is and invest in the time to understand how it works. The fact that the first posts you've made are to bash the manufacturer tells a lot.

Jim777

01-29-06, 02:25 PM

Beware, don't waste your time posting on this guy ...

I think that most folks here know about registering complaints, charge backs, etc. and if they don't you have reminded them enough times. Constructive comments that may help folks are always welcome. Comments that criticize posters here for trying to be helpful are not.

Displaced Husker

01-29-06, 05:51 PM

jrporter

01-30-06, 01:47 PM

The other day as I was watching TV (on a Mitsu. set), the TV suddenly shut down and rebooted itself for no apparent reason. I suspect that Comcast sent out a Cable Card reset signal as they occasionally do when there's a channel mapping update (or just because they feel like it). I think that causes my TV to reboot. When it does, I have to redo the channel lineup as you've described (but listings are preserved).

Ouch... I think I've seen this too. I had to redo my channel edits, couldn't figure out why. And I sure can't do it in 5 minutes, there are SO many channels :eek: This is good info... if I see more of this, I'll check with Comcast to see how often they reset the cards. Too bad that loses the channel edits :( I've got a Mits also.

Mark0

01-30-06, 02:00 PM

Well, here's my update:
After a few days of getting nowhere. I decided to properly hang my plasma and fish the wires through the wall. Unplugging the tv caused it to reset. At that point I was able to show the local affiliates, but still no listings. So I left it alone, over the weekend, the on-screen guide populated. But it only lasted about 2 days. (Gone Sunday). So this morning I applied the latest update from Toshiba.
My friend who has the same tv also lost his data this weekend.
Comcast going to come tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to pull the data through them as well.
Thanks for everyones help here.

magredc5

01-31-06, 11:03 AM

magredc5

01-31-06, 12:23 PM

Have a question related to TVGOS patch process. I did a search and couldn't find a clear answer.

I performed a factory reset over the weekend, and I noticed the I now have a new patch load in TVGOS (08.06.30). I also noticed yesterday that there are some additional resets in the reset info diagnostic screens, the latest reset was yesterday morning and coincided with a TVGOS download. This has happened once or twice in the recent past, and I assume it's related to new S/W or updates over TVGOS that requires some time of reset to the application.

I lose no data, listings or channel edits so there's no problem - just wondering if anyone has any info on the different types of resets and associated codes.

The strange thing is that my listing download (type 70) occurs at 7:21 GMT, but the Last Attempt time was around 10:30 GMT which was the time of the last reset in the reset page. It then completed a listing download at the next schedule which as around 12:20 GMT (successful start timestamp). So it looks like the reset was related to some download, but my understanding was that program downloads occur under a different schedule type (81?). Can anyone shed some light on this and let me know if this is normal.

HarleyMyler

01-31-06, 02:24 PM

Ouch... I think I've seen this too. I had to redo my channel edits, couldn't figure out why. And I sure can't do it in 5 minutes, there are SO many channels :eek: This is good info... if I see more of this, I'll check with Comcast to see how often they reset the cards. Too bad that loses the channel edits :( I've got a Mits also.

This is a recurring problem with the TVGOS system. I am now fairly sure that it has to do with the fact that when the CableCard resets, TVGOS is left in limbo as to what channels you are authorized to view, so instead of doing something complicated it just resets your line-up by turning everything back on; i.e., bye-bye channel edits. Since the CC controls what comes through, TVGOS doesn't need to bother keeping track of what you can watch and what you can't. That way, you don't inadvertently have HBO turned off the day that you decide to add the service. Think on it. You edit out all the HBOs, a few months later you get a raise and decide to splurge by upgrading your package and adding HBO. Your provider sends down the CC reset and add command, but you see no HBO. You make an angry call to the provider, service is called in, all sorts of ugly things happen--then, oops, I forgot I edited the channel out!

In the end, it comes down to money, doesn't it? The only people that want TVGOS (besides us) is the set manufacturer (because of us). The cable company does not want us to have TVGOS ('cause then we won't need their set-top box) nor do they want us to have a CC (for the same reason). I think that the cable providers forced TVGOS to reset channel edits for two reasons: 1) the one outlined above and 2) so that they could continually remind us what we don't have.

korbink

01-31-06, 04:15 PM

ogbuehi

01-31-06, 04:47 PM

At least your TVGOS is doing something. My tv acts as if it doesn't even have one.

sderby

01-31-06, 05:30 PM

I have had my TVGOS configured for weeks now and there is still no Host Channel listed in the diagnostics screen, its just blank.

The firmware update from Toshiba may help things. Others have had some success with it. A blank host channel indicates that TVGOS could not find a host station in your area that has data for your zip code. There are some troubleshooting tips at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ but your best bet is probably to install the firmware upgrade first.

magredc5

01-31-06, 06:08 PM

I have had my TVGOS configured for weeks now and there is still no Host Channel listed in the diagnostics screen, its just blank. Therefore, there are no scheduled download times for the programming information, they're listed as N/A. What does it typically mean if there is no Host channel listed? I'm using a cable card and channels 1-100 are all analog and PBS is coming in fine on channel 10.

I've called Toshiba's support and they're sending me a software update for my TV but I just wanted to see if there was anything I could try in the meantime.

Thanks,

The firmware update from Toshiba may help things. Others have had some success with it. A blank host channel indicates that TVGOS could not find a host station in your area that has data for your zip code. There are some troubleshooting tips at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ but your best bet is probably to install the firmware upgrade first.

Agree with sderby - no Host Channel means you're TVGOS has not received any info based on the zip code you provided.

Make sure your setup is correct "CABLE YES, CABLEBOX NO". Also, sometimes your zipcode is not in the database, so you should try using the main zipcode for your region.

korbink

01-31-06, 07:33 PM

Agree with sderby - no Host Channel means you're TVGOS has not received any info based on the zip code you provided.

Make sure your setup is correct "CABLE YES, CABLEBOX NO". Also, sometimes your zipcode is not in the database, so you should try using the main zipcode for your region.
Thanks both of you for your input. It is configured as you recommended and I have changed the zip code to see if it would help, maybe I just wasn't patient enough. Like I said, Toshiba is supposedly sending the upgrade in the mail. When I receive it I will install the update and let you all know how it went.

Thanks,

Displaced Husker

01-31-06, 07:57 PM

HarleyMyler

01-31-06, 10:52 PM

I had a similar problem that I attributed to brief power outages. I ended up putting a battery backup on my TV. I haven't lost the edits since. This was a couple months ago.

Are you saying that you have edited channels (via the TVGOS channel editor) that have stayed intact for over 8 weeks?

How many watts is the battery backup? Manufac and model?

It would be great if this turned out to be the solution, but I still think it is the CC. What is your config?

kdog044

02-01-06, 10:18 AM

Are you saying that you have edited channels (via the TVGOS channel editor) that have stayed intact for over 8 weeks?

How many watts is the battery backup? Manufac and model?

It would be great if this turned out to be the solution, but I still think it is the CC. What is your config?I don't know if it is a cable card issue but the problem is still evident and TVGOS is aware of the problem. The last time it happened to me I was searching the TVGOS listings and when it switched from the HDMI (current input) to the ANT input the screen froze and I lost the edits. At least now the program listings stay intact. Before you would lose everything. I ended up locking the video so it wouldn't switch the inputs when scrolling the listings and so far so good. I am tracking how long the edits stay this time with daily logs of the Reception Slicing menu to determine if it's possibly a memory issue when the count reaches a certain point. Today is day 13.

UPDATE: I didn't get new listings today and noticed in the VBI Schedule I have duplicate entries and two pages for the first time. I used to only have one SiteID but now I have two. :confused:

jrporter

02-01-06, 10:53 AM

This is a recurring problem with the TVGOS system. I am now fairly sure that it has to do with the fact that when the CableCard resets, TVGOS is left in limbo as to what channels you are authorized to view, so instead of doing something complicated it just resets your line-up by turning everything back on; i.e., bye-bye channel edits. Since the CC controls what comes through, TVGOS doesn't need to bother keeping track of what you can watch and what you can't. That way, you don't inadvertently have HBO turned off the day that you decide to add the service.

This makes sense from what I've seen. Just to clarify, I can reset my TV (Mits 52628) and my channel edits remain INTACT. But on at least one occasion, all my cable edits were lost for no apparent reason (I also lost them when I was messing with it to get it to work, but that I understand). If they only reset the CC when my service changes, that wouldn't be so bad, but if these CableCard resets happen a lot it will get tedious. I have always kept my video locked in TVGOS, so that wasn't the problem in my case. I haven't lost the edits since I got TVGOS to start bringing up listings reliably. I'll track how long mine stay intact also.

kdog044

02-01-06, 12:27 PM

Jim777

02-01-06, 01:13 PM

Are you saying that you have edited channels (via the TVGOS channel editor) that have stayed intact for over 8 weeks?

How many watts is the battery backup? Manufac and model?

It would be great if this turned out to be the solution, but I still think it is the CC. What is your config?

I lose my edits due to:

1) Power loss
2) Disconnecting Symbio recorder
3) Activating the TVGOS menu when playing a Symbio recording

I purchased a TRIPP-Lite HT1500UPS system to deal with any occasional short term power loss and make sure I don't use the TVGOS menu after activating the play back of a Symbio recording.

However, last week I lost my edits spontaneously, evidently because of some kind of update to either the TV Guide or the Cable card. After the channel edit loss all my music channels were listed in the TV Guide. Although I have always had music channels they never appeared in my TV Guide listings. So it may be that Gemstar updated my zip code to include these channels and when the my system updated it went to the default line up and I lost my edits.

ak3883

02-01-06, 01:53 PM

I checked the diagnostic screen last night, it did not have a channel listed for the 'guide' channel. Didn't check the clocks, but I don't think it got that either.

I changed my FOX channel to the analog one, and changed WHYY to 12, since on regular std. cable, it's 12, not 97, I think that's just for digital cable.

I forgot to check the tv guide this morning in my haste to get going. Will check tonight.

Thanks for the help!

So I got nothing, after doing all this. I went ahead and did the reset code (753 something), it reset, but now I get the screen that says "There is no data for this screen" and it hasn't changed for a few days from that. I tried re-entering the zip code, it isn't doing a thing.

Any ideas?

sderby

02-01-06, 02:51 PM

magredc5

02-01-06, 04:53 PM

So I got nothing, after doing all this. I went ahead and did the reset code (753 something), it reset, but now I get the screen that says "There is no data for this screen" and it hasn't changed for a few days from that. I tried re-entering the zip code, it isn't doing a thing.

Any ideas?

It sounds like you're making a lot of changes to your TV before TVGOS has initialized. Also, I assume you're running straight analog cable into your TV and your STB is only used as a DVR?

First, go into your TV's channel map and have it auto program all the channels. On some TV's you have to first clear all the old channels before programming as they only append to the list, but not refresh.

Once you've done that, then reset TVGOS (653214741), and reenter your config (CABLE YES, CABLE BOX NO) and zipcode. You may want to pick the major zipcode in your area.

At this point, the next time you turn on the TV you should have your clock set and a channel list in TVGOS. If you have no clock, then you are not receiving data. Either the setup data for your zipcode was not transmitted, or you have a signal issue. If you have the clock (and likely channel list), then go to your diag screens and check CLOCK CHANNEL on the clock screen HOST CHANNEL on the System screen. The will likely be the same, something like 1:0-12. If you do not get this far, then your setup is not able to complete. Call Samsung for further support.

Now look at the channel list in TVGOS and see if the host channel (i.e 12 in this example) is listed as the correct channel (either PBS or FOX). In my case, my correct PBS channel was listed as 97 instead of the correct 99, so I edited the channel number in TVGOS channel setup to the correct 99.

Let us know how far you get.

kdog044

02-01-06, 07:26 PM

Jim777

02-01-06, 08:36 PM

magredc5

02-01-06, 10:40 PM

Spoke to Toshiba customer service today. A new software update for the HM(X)94 models(1.6.0 or 1.6.1) is still being developed but there is no word on time of release. Its supposed to fix certain cable card issues related to pixilation, sound and FOX HD. They have nothing on the drawing board to fix the Guide's channel edit loss problem.

Interesting. I posted several times about a decoding/pixelation problem I occasionally have on my set (MX195) where several HD channels come in corrupt and the only way to clear it is to unplug the TV for a reboot. When I called Toshiba about 10 days ago to ask about any similar issues, they said there weren't any !?!

I'm convinced the problem on my set is a software issue related to video processing. Any idea if this would apply to the MX line?

jrporter

02-02-06, 08:40 AM

The loss of channel edits have been a problem since TVGOS was introduced with the Toshiba sets. I had the problem long before I added a cable card so I doubt it has anything to do with the cable cards themselves. Perhaps others will chime in if they have the problem and don't use a cable card.

Well, I have a little more information, although not enough to eliminate all confusion. :confused: I have a Mits set (52628), and from what I was seeing posted I feared that my channel edits were being lost when the CableCard was reset by Comcast. However, I turned in my digital box from my old TV on Monday, and Comcast in their wisdom (gotta love em :eek: ) decided they should remove my digital channels. Well, that only took one phone call to straighten out, but the interesting thing is... when they reset my CableCard (twice), I did NOT lose my channel edits. So that part is good news, although it leaves me not knowing why I have lost the edits on occasion.

kdog044

02-02-06, 09:33 AM

I don't know if it is a cable card issue but the problem is still evident and TVGOS is aware of the problem. The last time it happened to me I was searching the TVGOS listings and when it switched from the HDMI (current input) to the ANT input the screen froze and I lost the edits. At least now the program listings stay intact. Before you would lose everything. I ended up locking the video so it wouldn't switch the inputs when scrolling the listings and so far so good. I am tracking how long the edits stay this time with daily logs of the Reception Slicing menu to determine if it's possibly a memory issue when the count reaches a certain point. Today is day 13.

UPDATE: I didn't get new listings today and noticed in the VBI Schedule I have duplicate entries and two pages for the first time. I used to only have one SiteID but now I have two. :confused: I wanted to add a further update. I made sure the set was off for the last scheduled download yesterday and I did get the listings so whatever caused me to get the second SiteID didn't prevent me from getting the listings. The successful download was for the usual SiteID and not the recently added one.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-02-06, 10:44 AM

sderby

02-02-06, 11:42 AM

Does anyone have a mapping of zip codes to what channel the TV attempts to use for download data. I have Comcast of Toms River. That is equidistant from Philadelphia and New York. I am trying to figure out which channel it is trying to use and whether Comcast is blocking the VBI data.

For some reason, Gemstar doesn't make this information public. I've just recently started keeping a list (based on user reports) of known host stations, though, at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/ I don't have very many host stations on the list yet, but both Philadelphia and New York are included.

It's unlikely that Comcast is intentionally blocking the TVGOS data. Some other companies have done that from time to time, but I don't think Comcast ever has. It's possible that you're only getting digital stations, though. Digital broadcasts don't have the TVGOS data (there's no VBI in a digital broadcast). There is some troubleshooting information at the above website that might be helpful, too.

wbertram

02-02-06, 01:32 PM

magredc5

02-02-06, 01:58 PM

I wanted to add a further update. I made sure the set was off for the last scheduled download yesterday and I did get the listings so whatever caused me to get the second SiteID didn't prevent me from getting the listings. The successful download was for the usual SiteID and not the recently added one.

I have 4 siteIDs listed in my scheduled download list. It could be because I've tried 2 zipcodes since I got the TV, and it downloads the Digital Cable SiteID for the Cablecard input, and also the analog cable SiteID. I don't have any problems receiving schedule listings and it always uses one siteID for those.

kdog044

02-02-06, 02:07 PM

I have 4 siteIDs listed in my scheduled download list. It could be because I've tried 2 zipcodes since I got the TV, and it downloads the Digital Cable SiteID for the Cablecard input, and also the analog cable SiteID. I don't have any problems receiving schedule listings and it always uses one siteID for those.That makes sense but I haven't made any changes to my setup in over a month and I only have the connection using ANT1. Even when I was temporarily changing the zip code to initiate the host channel lookup I never had more than one SiteID. This is since I have had TVGOS which is about 10 months now. Suddenly, out of the blue, the second SiteId shows up. It doesn't seem to affect my downloads as I did get the one yesterday and also today. I've been tracking the downloads since I lost the edits the last time on the 18th and it has been 16 days and counting.

UPDATE: I received my answer from TVGOS on the issue.

The new 6670 is for WTVS-DT. We are starting to implement ATSC support and we have started to install equipment at host stations. These devices are not yet sending data, but because they are in your channel lineup and we are including them in our data as host stations, you are seeing the entry in VBIDLSched.

sderby

02-02-06, 03:57 PM

The new 6670 is for WTVS-DT. We are starting to implement ATSC support and we have started to install equipment at host stations. These devices are not yet sending data, but because they are in your channel lineup and we are including them in our data as host stations, you are seeing the entry in VBIDLSched.

All I can say about this is... Woo hoo! Once they start sending data with ATSC protocols, I have a feeling that a *lot* of the problems people are having will evaporate. If nothing else, it'll solve the digital-only and digital simulcasting issues (hopefully)

Jim777

02-02-06, 09:08 PM

Interesting. I posted several times about a decoding/pixelation problem I occasionally have on my set (MX195) where several HD channels come in corrupt and the only way to clear it is to unplug the TV for a reboot. When I called Toshiba about 10 days ago to ask about any similar issues, they said there weren't any !?!

I'm convinced the problem on my set is a software issue related to video processing. Any idea if this would apply to the MX line?

My understading is that the 1.5.x/1.6.x Seine software is only for 2004 Toshiba
models: 51H94, 51HX94, 57H94, 57HX94, 46HM94, 52HM94, 52HMX94, 62HM94 and 62HMX94. It is possible that there are similar problems on the 2005 models.

MeSmell

02-02-06, 09:33 PM

MeSmell

02-02-06, 09:35 PM

magredc5

02-02-06, 11:28 PM

What software version do you have currently ?

I have the latest 1.2.8.

MeSmell

02-03-06, 01:57 AM

I have the latest 1.2.8.

I believe Toshiba has 1.3.0 available now. U may want to check with them

kdog044

02-03-06, 09:15 AM

My understading is that the 1.5.x/1.6.x Seine software is only for 2004 Toshiba
models: 51H94, 51HX94, 57H94, 57HX94, 46HM94, 52HM94, 52HMX94, 62HM94 and 62HMX94. It is possible that there are similar problems on the 2005 models.If anyone gets a copy of the latest version for the 2004's let me know via PM. I have been keeping all the versions and I like to stay current. :D

magredc5

02-03-06, 10:58 AM

I believe Toshiba has 1.3.0 available now. U may want to check with them

For the 95/195 models, 1.2.8 just came out, and when I called Toshiba less than 2 weeks ago that was the last and only update for these models.

Can anyone confirm that the 95 models have a new update?

magredc5

02-03-06, 05:40 PM

Don't know if this was already posted, but I came across this recent article on TVGOS.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=1086&page_number=1

Here's an interesting quote:

A TV Guide spokesperson promises that its next-generation guide, available in 2006, will provide the proper channel order and be easier to use. Unfortunately, current versions will not be upgradable, so today’s set buyers may still want to think twice before trading in their cable boxes.

Well, that sucks.

jmonier

02-03-06, 09:05 PM

A TV Guide spokesperson promises that its next-generation guide, available in 2006, will provide the proper channel order and be easier to use. Unfortunately, current versions will not be upgradable, so today’s set buyers may still want to think twice before trading in their cable boxes.

I've seen that before and I'm hoping that it is not exactly correct. TVGOS is switching to digital channels. A previous post in this thread indicated than they're starting to install equipment now. If this is true, then any device that is analog only would not have an upgrade path. Digital boxes could be OK though if the software has (or can be upgraded to have) the hooks for the new TVGOS software. One person was supposedly told that the latest software version for the Sony DGH-HDD250/500 does have the hooks.

sderby

02-03-06, 09:58 PM

I've seen that before and I'm hoping that it is not exactly correct. TVGOS is switching to digital channels. A previous post in this thread indicated than they're starting to install equipment now. If this is true, then any device that is analog only would not have an upgrade path. Digital boxes could be OK though if the software has (or can be upgraded to have) the hooks for the new TVGOS software. One person was supposedly told that the latest software version for the Sony DGH-HDD250/500 does have the hooks.

It's a fairly simple matter to tell if you're capable of getting the PSIP data when they start broadcasting it. Just go into the diagnostics and press the down arrow three times. If it shows a diagnostic screen for ATSC slicing, your version of TVGOS *should* be able to decode information sent in the PSIP.

My understanding is that the older TVGOS software (in sets over about a year old) is not capable of ATSC slicing (and, for that matter, cannot be upgraded on the fly). Maybe someone with a 2004 or earlier model device can check to see if their diagnostics include an "ATSC Slicing" screen.

jmonier

02-04-06, 12:34 AM

It's a fairly simple matter to tell if you're capable of getting the PSIP data when they start broadcasting it. Just go into the diagnostics and press the down arrow three times. If it shows a diagnostic screen for ATSC slicing, your version of TVGOS *should* be able to decode information sent in the PSIP.

My understanding is that the older TVGOS software (in sets over about a year old) is not capable of ATSC slicing (and, for that matter, cannot be upgraded on the fly). Maybe someone with a 2004 or earlier model device can check to see if their diagnostics include an "ATSC Slicing" screen.

I don't think that TVGOS will be using the PSIP packets. They're pretty limited compared with the data that's now available form TVGOS. And you're at the mercy of each station since each transmits only it's own listings and only for a day or so in advance. You also have to tune every station to get all the liatings.

I believe TVGOS will be inserting their own packets in the host channel stream at a relatively low data rate. This is allowed for in the ATSC spec.

I've seen the ATSC screens so I knew that they have some capability in that direction. They are also able to upgrade their software via the VBI. The question would be whether the Sony or Toshiba, etc. software would be able to supply the packets to them since it's a totally different (although actually simpler) thing than suppling VBI data. For instance, I've read that with the earlier Sony software that connection was not there so even though there was ATSC stuff in the TVGOS software it had no way to get the data.

Jim777

02-04-06, 12:52 PM

The new 6670 is for WTVS-DT. We are starting to implement ATSC support and we have started to install equipment at host stations. These devices are not yet sending data, but because they are in your channel lineup and we are including them in our data as host stations, you are seeing the entry in VBIDLSched.

I have always had 2 STID's # 3316 for WNET PBS which is where I get my data from, and #4505 which has always been N/A. I was told a while back that it corresponded with a TV Guide channel which was not being used. In my channel editor at position 349 there is a TV Guide channel with the TV Guide logo which is off. I presume there eventually is some plan to use this to transmit data when everything switches to digital.

Jim777

02-04-06, 12:54 PM

Maybe someone with a 2004 or earlier model device can check to see if their diagnostics include an "ATSC Slicing" screen.

Mine has an ATSC Slicing screen.

goosyou

02-04-06, 06:07 PM

Soo I wonder if they will shut off all the data for the 'old' tvgos system, if and when they move to the new improved TVGOS system the article mentions?

MeSmell

02-04-06, 10:04 PM

Soo I wonder if they will shut off all the data for the 'old' tvgos system, if and when they move to the new improved TVGOS system the article mentions?

I am assuming not. TVGOS Version 7, or Guide Plus, is still be transmitted since the introduction of version 8. Funny enough it has very few issues also.

ak3883

02-04-06, 11:01 PM

Ok, I added all the channels back, did a reset, and now I have guide data! Correctly identifying the host channel as 5, which is WTXF in our area, which carries the guide data. Have a clock as well.

I have about 30 hours of channel data.

Now that I got it working(lost my custom lineup, of course), I think I know why it wasn't working before. I took all the analog channels out of memory, b/c I don't have any need for them. I put them all back, and TVGOS works.

What I want to know, is there any way to make it use the digital simucasted versions of all the channels? When it worked, I remaped ALL the channels to their digital counterparts, and didn't have any channels in the guide mapped to analog channels. This is when it stopped working.

So TVGOS will only work with analog channels? That is such a crock, I didn't buy a digital TV to watch analong channels.

But I am up and running again with listings. Thanks for all the help, you guys are an awesome source of info, I had no idea how TVGOS worked, now I know quite a bit about it.

sderby

02-04-06, 11:28 PM

What I want to know, is there any way to make it use the digital simucasted versions of all the channels?

Your host channel has to be analog. Everything else can be digital. (In other words, TVGOS needs to be able to tune the analog version of the host station. It doesn't care what the actual channel mapping is. You could map some other random channel to it in your TV's setup if you liked.)

So TVGOS will only work with analog channels? That is such a crock, I didn't buy a digital TV to watch analong channels.

TVGOS just displays program listings associated with station ID's. It doesn't know whether the channels are analog or digital. It needs access to your host station's analog broadcast to download the program listings, though. (Digital broadcasts don't have VBI's.)

magredc5

02-04-06, 11:51 PM

Your host channel has to be analog. Everything else can be digital. (In other words, TVGOS needs to be able to tune the analog version of the host station. It doesn't care what the actual channel mapping is. You could map some other random channel to it in your TV's setup if you liked.)

TVGOS just displays program listings associated with station ID's. It doesn't know whether the channels are analog or digital. It needs access to your host station's analog broadcast to download the program listings, though. (Digital broadcasts don't have VBI's.)

Actually, I really believe based on my experience that you MUST leave the correct analog host channel mapped within TVGOS for it to correctly tune to it. When my analog PBS channel was incorrectly mapped to a different channel, the downloads didn't work reliably.

You don't have to watch that analog host channel, but I believe you need to keep it correctly mapped within TVGOS.

rcodey

02-07-06, 03:04 AM

What stations are host channels in NYC and Northern New Jersey?

sderby

02-07-06, 09:43 AM

What stations are host channels in NYC and Northern New Jersey?

WHYY-12. There's a partial list of hosts at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/

jmonier

02-07-06, 10:33 AM

Actually, I really believe based on my experience that you MUST leave the correct analog host channel mapped within TVGOS for it to correctly tune to it. When my analog PBS channel was incorrectly mapped to a different channel, the downloads didn't work reliably.

You don't have to watch that analog host channel, but I believe you need to keep it correctly mapped within TVGOS.

Although I had the host channel enabled when it was initially acquired, I have since disabled it. For the past 4 days I've gotten all new listings without any problem.

This may depend on a lot of things so certainly the safest thing is to leave it enabled. I disabled it because the listings for that channel were being included in my searches which was somewhat confusing.

rcodey

02-07-06, 11:05 AM

Jim777

02-07-06, 01:24 PM

WHYY is located in Philadelphia.I see Ch.13 PBS in NYC(not Long Island) is a host station but my unit is connected to a UHF antenna(all the digital signals here and most of the country are UHF).Doe anyone know if New Jersey Network, WLIW, or Channel 25(Brooklyn)carries the Guide?

I know for sure that WLIW and Channel 25 do not carry the guide. WNET 13 analog is the only source in the NY Metro area that I am aware of. Depending how far you are to the Empire State building you might be able to hook up a set of VHF rabbit ears to pick up the signal.

Opinionated

02-07-06, 09:30 PM

Are people in the Boston/Newton area using RCN able to get TVGOS data by a direct cable into the device or by cablecard?

Also can clear Qam be gotten for local HDTV channels?

Opinionated

02-09-06, 01:38 PM

What stations are host channels in NYC and Northern New Jersey?

Channel 13, WNET

kdog044

02-09-06, 03:55 PM

Knock on wood, since I locked the video on the TVGOS I have not had the channel edits reset. Perhaps, in my case, it is related to the TVGOS switching between the HDMI and ANT inputs when scrolling through the guide. This is from 01/18 and counting. :D

chemicalengineer

02-10-06, 08:41 PM

I have a toshiba 62hm95. My TVGOS has not worked at all since I installed a software update (Seine version 1.3.0). I got the upgrade because I couldn't get TVGOS to work but it started working while the update was in the mail. So when it arrived I thought it wouldn't hurt to install it. I guess that was a mistake.

Here's a symptom that's strange: I have the guide set to come on when I start the TV but it never does since I added the upgrade 1.3.0. Now, I have to manually press the button on the remote to go to the TVGOS page. Now, I can't even get a clock setting and of course no host channel..

I've reset the TV to factory defaults and did the same using the reset code while on the setup screen of TVGOS. This did not help.

My TVGOS data is from an antenna PBS Channel 42 in Mobile, Alabama. Closed-captioning is still strong on this channel.

I have antenna plugged into Ant1 and cable plugged into Ant2 and this setup has not been changed since before the upgrade so I know it can work for TVGOS.

I had to reset the TV after the software upgrade and I may not have setup the TVGOS correctly or the same as before.

I did the following in the TVGOS setup: USA, zip code, cable=no, antenna=yes, antenna=ANT 1, Finish Setup, No VCR

I selected no cable so it will force TVGOS to find my host station (I know from previous experience its PBS channel 42).

I did try a night or two with the cable=yes and antenna=yes, but still no data.

If anyone can answer any of the following questions maybe it will help:

Should I select Ant1 before turning off the TV at night? Should I tell TVGOS the truth that I do have cable on ANT2? Why does my TVGOS not come on when I turn on my TV since the software upgrade; could this be related to by current problem? Is there a certain procedure I should use to make this darn thing work?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

kdog044

02-11-06, 09:22 AM

If anyone can answer any of the following questions maybe it will help:

Should I select Ant1 before turning off the TV at night? Should I tell TVGOS the truth that I do have cable on ANT2? Why does my TVGOS not come on when I turn on my TV since the software upgrade; could this be related to by current problem? Is there a certain procedure I should use to make this darn thing work?

Thanks for any advice you can give.You don't need to select the ANT1 input before turning the TV off at night. Mine is always on HDMI but I get the TVGOS from ANT1. The reason your TVGOS doesn't come on automatically as it's not enabled in the TVGOS setup. Go to the TVGOS and access the service bar and in setup select change default options and general options and change "auto guide" from off to on. It is not related to your current problem as mine is turned off and I still get data. If you know how to access the diagnostics then check to see if you have an entry in the host channel. Until you do you will never get data. If there is an entry and it is incorrect try changing your zip code to a neighboring one and then change it back. Every time you change a zip code it will reset the host channel and start the search for a new one.

One other thing to check is to make sure in the TV menu you have the ANT1 input set to Antenna and the TV has auto programmed the channels. Make sure the channel for TVGOS is identified and enabled (i.e. the check box is selected in the channel edit menu).

Bill Shenefelt

02-11-06, 12:11 PM

One thought, are you suing of the channel that is broadcasting the lineup? You may have a vhs channel doing it and gettin louly reception if you are using a UHF only antenna on antena 1. Just a thought.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-11-06, 05:54 PM

wbertram

02-11-06, 08:49 PM

Samsung HL-R5067W, Comcast Toms River, Cable Card
I have had a very hard time getting tvgos to load. I am in Central New Jersey (Toms River). Apparently, neither WNET 13, WHYY 12 (my catv 24), & WTXF 29 (my catv 16) recognize the Toms River zipcode 08753. So after a week of 08753, I tried Moorestown NJ 08057 and I got the guide loaded over WTXF 29 on my catv 16. Now today I just got a cable card and all of my channels are now digital. So I know that I will not be able to download again unless I get my host channel in the guide on an analog channel. I have the CATV connected to the air-rf input. Problem is both my philly stations for the Moorestown NJ zipcode are not valid over the air frequencies. (16 & 24)
So, what I need is a good zip code for central or northern new jersey that is recognized by the WNET 13 tvgos feed. I assume I will have to customize the channel lineup.

Any suggestions?

Just because you installed a CableCard does not mean that all of your channels are now digital. The CableCard will receive both analog and digital. channels. Your channels only become digital if the cable company stopped transmitting them in analog format, not because you have installed a CableCard.

If you (or one of your neighbors) plug the cable into a standard old analog TV, do you receive a picture from WTXF in channel 16?

IslandHeightsNJ

02-11-06, 09:06 PM

wbertram

02-11-06, 11:35 PM

Comcast has not stopped transmitting analog channels. However, because the cable card has mapped all (or 90%) of the channels to digital, the TV will no longer tune to analog CATV 16 on the primary RF input. This may be particular to the Samsungs. When I go to channel 16, it is digital. I have no way of changing that. The secondary RF input to the other tuner is considered to be "air". Therefore channels 2-13 are fine because they are the same frequency when on CATV vs. AIR. However, channel 16 & 24 CATV frequencies do not map to any VHF or UHF over the air frequencies. When I go to the AIR RF input and select channel 16, I get snow. That is why I am looking for a zipcode that channel 13 will recognize. The Samsung can pick that up on the "air" tuner because it is the same as the RF. I also just noticed that channel 13 is also broadcast in analog on CATV94 and my Cablecard will allow that. I think that tvgos would use that as well, if I found a good zipcode. I am not sure I can setup the Samsung to use the secondary RF input for CATV frequencies. I have not been able to do that as of yet.

On my Samsung with CableCard, when I go to the 'Channel List', the digital channel names are listed capital letters, and the analog channel names are in lower case letters.

So, your FOX WTXF channel 16 is listed in the 'Channel List' in capital letters?

If you display the 'Channel List' and press the yellow button to edit the 'Channel List', is the analog version of the FOX WTXF channel displayed in the list?

If the analog version is displayed, turn it on so that it shows up on your 'Channel List' so that TVGOS will be able to access it.

I would be surprised that the TV is not allowing you to watch and tune to viable channels, even if they are duplicated in digital format.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-12-06, 09:18 AM

The analog channels no longer show up in the channel list. Even when I press the yellow edit button. They never had labels before the CableCard either. Not being able to see the analog channels could be a function of how my CableCard was programmed by Comcast. Before the CableCard, I never had channel labels (neither upper or lower case). If you are seeing lower case labels for analog channels, then it is probably because the CableCard was programmed that way. Do you have Comcast?

Anyway, still looking for a good zipcode for WNET 13. It takes forever just hunting around for one. I heard there were problems with that host. Does anyone still get data from WNET13? What is your zipcode.

wbertram

02-12-06, 02:38 PM

Not to beat a dead horse, just curious. But, how do you know that the channels have been "mapped to digital". On my Samsung, in the INFO box, an analog channel displays, for example, "CABLE 73", and a digital channel displays, for example, "DTV cable, 110, 'CHANNEL NAME'" and has a 2nd INFO box for program information.

Can't help you with WNET, not carried on my cable system. But have read on here that WNET is the TVGOS data provider for the New York/North Jersey area. You might try working your way up the coast towards NY and trying the different ZIP codes. Once you find a ZIP code that gives a download, all the local/national channels will be downloaded. You can then edit them to "turn them ON', and to enter the proper channel number for your cable system. I know the Freehold Cablevision system carries all the NYC channels as well as many of the Philly channels.

The analog channels no longer show up in the channel list. Even when I press the yellow edit button. They never had labels before the CableCard either. Not being able to see the analog channels could be a function of how my CableCard was programmed by Comcast. Before the CableCard, I never had channel labels (neither upper or lower case). If you are seeing lower case labels for analog channels, then it is probably because the CableCard was programmed that way. Do you have Comcast?

Anyway, still looking for a good zipcode for WNET 13. It takes forever just hunting around for one. I heard there were problems with that host. Does anyone still get data from WNET13? What is your zipcode.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-12-06, 02:53 PM

My Samsung is exactly as you have described yours. That is how I know they are all digital. Also, In the first info box it will have SD for the "standard definition" digital channels. The only ones left analog is WNET 13 (on CATV 94). They also have the same WNET channel in digital and the CableCard maps that one to 13. There a couple of local access channels and the disney channel that is still analog. They have a digital disney up in the 100s somewhere. Before the cable card, I could see all of the analog and all of the digital. However most of the digitals were not labeled and were scattered around with 2 part numbers (like 34-22).

I have tried a couple of more northern zip codes and will keep trying. I was just hoping to find one to save me the time. It is basically an overnight experiment for each zip code that I try.

wbertram

02-12-06, 03:15 PM

chemicalengineer

02-12-06, 03:44 PM

You don't need to select the ANT1 input before turning the TV off at night. Mine is always on HDMI but I get the TVGOS from ANT1. The reason your TVGOS doesn't come on automatically as it's not enabled in the TVGOS setup. Go to the TVGOS and access the service bar and in setup select change default options and general options and change "auto guide" from off to on. It is not related to your current problem as mine is turned off and I still get data. If you know how to access the diagnostics then check to see if you have an entry in the host channel. Until you do you will never get data. If there is an entry and it is incorrect try changing your zip code to a neighboring one and then change it back. Every time you change a zip code it will reset the host channel and start the search for a new one.

One other thing to check is to make sure in the TV menu you have the ANT1 input set to Antenna and the TV has auto programmed the channels. Make sure the channel for TVGOS is identified and enabled (i.e. the check box is selected in the channel edit menu).

Thanks Bill and Kdog for the info. I see I'm wasting my efforts by selecting ANT1 before turning off the TV.

I have the "auto guide" setup to "on" already. But ever since the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade it does not come on. The setup screen still shows "on" though. Good to know that I don't need this to download listings anyway.

My problems started after the 1.3.0 upgrade. My TV is no longer looking for a host channel. The VBI channel is always the channel I was viewing when I turned off the TV for the night. It appears TVGOS is no longer searching for a host channel since the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade. I can't even get a clock download. TVGOS is dead after the upgrade.

I verified everything you guys said to check (e.g., the check box is selected in the channel edit menu for the known host channel in my area)

I will reload the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade and see if that helps. If not, then I'm going to request that Toshiba send me the firmware version that was originally on my TV because it worked fine.

Toshiba DLP 62HM95

chemicalengineer

02-12-06, 04:47 PM

You don't need to select the ANT1 input before turning the TV off at night. Mine is always on HDMI but I get the TVGOS from ANT1. The reason your TVGOS doesn't come on automatically as it's not enabled in the TVGOS setup. Go to the TVGOS and access the service bar and in setup select change default options and general options and change "auto guide" from off to on. It is not related to your current problem as mine is turned off and I still get data. If you know how to access the diagnostics then check to see if you have an entry in the host channel. Until you do you will never get data. If there is an entry and it is incorrect try changing your zip code to a neighboring one and then change it back. Every time you change a zip code it will reset the host channel and start the search for a new one.

One other thing to check is to make sure in the TV menu you have the ANT1 input set to Antenna and the TV has auto programmed the channels. Make sure the channel for TVGOS is identified and enabled (i.e. the check box is selected in the channel edit menu).

I reloaded the Seine upgrade 1.3.0. I still get no "auto guide" even though its showing set to AutoGuide=on in the TVGOS setup. I think this symptom shows the TVGOS is still dead since the upgrade.

I have antenna plugged into Ant1 and cable plugged into Ant2. My only host channel must come from OTA.

I've tried the following two setup methods in TVGOS and neither brings in VBI data since the 1.3.0 upgrade.

Method 1 TVGOS setup: USA, zip code, cable=no, antenna=yes, antenna=ANT 1, Finish Setup, No VCR

Method 2 in TVGOS setup: USA, zip code, cable=yes, cable-box=no, cable=ant2, antenna=yes, Finish Setup, No VCR

Which setup method do you think is best? Method 2 is a true representation of my configuration, but will Method 2 prevent TVGOS from gathering VBI data from OTA?

Toshiba DLP 62HM95

Jim777

02-12-06, 07:14 PM

Anyway, still looking for a good zipcode for WNET 13. It takes forever just hunting around for one. I heard there were problems with that host. Does anyone still get data from WNET13? What is your zipcode.

Yes I get it OTA with no problems. My zip is 11703. Keep trying zip codes in your area closer to NYC.

mluster

02-12-06, 08:45 PM

chemicalengineer

02-12-06, 09:26 PM

Does anyone know how to navigate the menus so that I can determine what is being used as my TVGOS host channel setting on a Toshiba 42Hp95, or 50HP95, or maybe even a similar Toshiba model? (I know it can be done, as Toshiba tech support had me look it up once for them, but I did not write down the steps and codes. :( ) Once I can get into the menu, can I change the host channel number manually :) ? Thanks.
Open the guide and scroll to the "Setup" tab. Press down-arrow once, highlighting the first setup option, then enter 753159852 on your remote. No you can not manually change the host channel number. You must let TVGOS search for a host channel.

mluster

02-12-06, 10:46 PM

Open the guide and scroll to the "Setup" tab. Press down-arrow once, highlighting the first setup option, then enter 753159852 on your remote. No you can not manually change the host channel number. You must let TVGOS search for a host channel.

Thanks, chemicalengineer. That did get me to the Section Sytem - System Info screen with several lines. Could you please provide information about how to interpret these lines? In particular, which line/field shows what Channel, and what Input (Ant1, Ant2, etc.) it is trying to use to get to TVGOS. (The other lines/fields would be useful information too.)

chemicalengineer

02-13-06, 08:03 AM

Go to tvgos(dot) theabsolutenuts (dot) com

it has the info you're looking for.

NOTE: I had to enter the web address in this fashion because this message board does not allow you to post website addresses until after you make 5 posts (to prevent spam abuse)

kdog044

02-13-06, 01:48 PM

Thanks, chemicalengineer. That did get me to the Section Sytem - System Info screen with several lines. Could you please provide information about how to interpret these lines? In particular, which line/field shows what Channel, and what Input (Ant1, Ant2, etc.) it is trying to use to get to TVGOS. (The other lines/fields would be useful information too.)The Host Chan in the Section-System Statistics menu identifies the input and channel. See the Word document for navigation. In my example below (0070) the host channel is identified as ANT1 and channel 3. So the number before the colon should be the input and the last number should be the channel. (i.e. 1:0-3). The VBI channel will show the last channel that the TVGOS looked for data on and might be correct sometimes and other times just reflects where it looked last.

FYI, My host channel is incorrect and it identifies a digital WB channel as opposed to the analog PBS channel. It is correct in the screenshot for the VBI channel but not always. The only place where it is always correct is in the Section Other-Clocks 2 Menu under the Failing Clock Chan and Clock Set Chan (0072).

chemicalengineer

02-13-06, 01:56 PM

I reloaded the Seine upgrade 1.3.0. I still get no "auto guide" even though its showing set to AutoGuide=on in the TVGOS setup. I think this symptom shows the TVGOS is still dead since the upgrade.

I have antenna plugged into Ant1 and cable plugged into Ant2. My only host channel must come from OTA.

I've tried the following two setup methods in TVGOS and neither brings in VBI data since the 1.3.0 upgrade.

Method 1 TVGOS setup: USA, zip code, cable=no, antenna=yes, antenna=ANT 1, Finish Setup, No VCR

Method 2 in TVGOS setup: USA, zip code, cable=yes, cable-box=no, cable=ant2, antenna=yes, Finish Setup, No VCR

Which setup method do you think is best? Method 2 is a true representation of my configuration, but will Method 2 prevent TVGOS from gathering VBI data from OTA?

Toshiba DLP 62HM95

Hey Kdog,

I'm bumping my question above since I'm still not clear. Do you know if I should use Method 1 or 2?

kdog044

02-13-06, 02:15 PM

Hey Kdog,

I'm bumping my question above since I'm still not clear. Do you know if I should use Method 1 or 2?If you use option 2 it will search for a host channel on both OTA and cable. Does your cable company not provide the VBI data on an analog channel? If so, you want to use the second option so you get listings for both cable and OTA. It should not prevent you from getting data from OTA but I don't use OTA myself.

chemicalengineer

02-13-06, 04:24 PM

If you use option 2 it will search for a host channel on both OTA and cable. Does your cable company not provide the VBI data on an analog channel? If so, you want to use the second option so you get listings for both cable and OTA. It should not prevent you from getting data from OTA but I don't use OTA myself.

Thank you very much for the information. I'll use option 2. I was fairly certain that option 2 was how I setup TVGOS before the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade but I wasn't sure.

I spoke (3rd hand) to the engineer at my local Comcast Cable. He said they do not transmit the VBI data. That coincides with what I noticed before the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade(my host channel was OTA and TVGOS never could get a host channel from cable).

Unfortunatly (as I mentioned earlier), the latest Siene 1.3.0 update has disabled TVGOS and I'm waiting for a callback from Toshiba to discuss this.

Thanks again. I'll let the forum know what I learn about Seine 1.3.0. (e.g., if I got a bad copy of a good upgrade or if the upgrade programming is flawed or if something is broken inside my TV set)

kdog044

02-13-06, 05:42 PM

I spoke (3rd hand) to the engineer at my local Comcast Cable. He said they do not transmit the VBI data. That coincides with what I noticed before the Seine 1.3.0 upgrade(my host channel was OTA and TVGOS never could get a host channel from cable).That's strange as I get it with Comcast in my area. It's on channel 97 (analog PBS). It used to be on channel 6 which was an analog channel but they recently changed it to digital and added channel 97 as an analog channel.

kdog044

02-13-06, 05:43 PM

If anyone is having a problem getting the Word document in my previous post try using the right-click and "save as" option on the file. ;)

mikecove

02-14-06, 05:44 PM

IslandHeightsNJ

02-14-06, 05:52 PM

Not yet, I need to check again when I get home tonight.
I have tried Elizabeth, NJ (do not remember zip code).
Last night, I put in 11703 per the Jim777 post.
I will let you know if it works.

MeSmell

02-14-06, 05:54 PM

kdog044

02-14-06, 06:06 PM

Anyone with Comcast and CableCard......
I have a full package with Comcast. HBO-HD does show up in my listings, however, when I go to SEARCH and then the HDTV category and search for movies, I only get programs from STARZ HD to come up. HBO-HD movies do come up in the movies category, but not HDTV; Movies

Any ideas or similar issues ?I checked mine and have the same result. I still have the DVR so I rarely use the TVGOS. I will see what I can find out from Gemstar and report back.

Jim777

02-14-06, 09:46 PM

Anyone with Comcast and CableCard......
I have a full package with Comcast. HBO-HD does show up in my listings, however, when I go to SEARCH and then the HDTV category and search for movies, I only get programs from STARZ HD to come up. HBO-HD movies do come up in the movies category, but not HDTV; Movies

Any ideas or similar issues ?

I have the same result with Cablevision. So its not cable provider related.

rcodey

02-14-06, 10:13 PM

Have you had any luck with NJ zip codes. I am in Ocean County NJ also, I have comcast, with a SA CC. Please advise. I have had no luck with ever downloading the TVGOS.
I'm in Essex County on the Comcast system.I've been trying for a week to speak with someone in Comcast that could tell me if they are passing the Ch.13 VBI stream.They refuse to give me a number to call or to reach out to someone in engineering in New Jersey to call me.NOW THAT is FIRST CLASS customer service.I wonder why the latest numbers show Satellite subscribers growing faster than Cable.LOL

IslandHeightsNJ

02-15-06, 07:46 AM

Well, so far (36 hours) I have no guide listings using zip code 11703 per the Jim777 post.
I am in Ocean county NJ.
I have seen in the debug screen that the VBI channel has been on both 1:13 (that is the antenna input on analog channel 13), and 0:94 which is where the cable card is mapping analog channel 13. The VBI channel is the channel that TVGOS was last "listening to" while looking for EPG data. I know that before the cable card, I have only seen the VBI channel pointed to known sources of VBI data (like channel 16 & 24 (Philly FOX & PBS)). So, I can only assume that it has been slow to download from 13, or there is a problem with the zip codes that channel 13 is broadcasting. Samsung technical support is useless. I have read that Toshiba support has a list of supported zip codes to host channels. Samsung knows nothing about this. I have been waiting for more then a week for Gemstar to get back to me. Samsung said they passed me off to them, but I have heard nothing.
As for Comcast, I tried a couple times to verify that they were not blocking the VBI data. I do not think they would be allowed based on reading the FCC rules. Once I finally got a CSR to ask technical support. They indicated that they are not blocking the data. Then I said, OK what channel is it on. They came back with 74MHz. That is bogus because it is not a valid channel frequency for OTA or cable.

kdog044

02-15-06, 10:44 AM

c1courtney

02-15-06, 11:08 AM

I've got a Sony DHG-HDD500 w/ CableCARD in use. It took a LONG time to straight out the channel ordering (what a PIA) It would be nice for a more intuitive system like say, start out with the ACTUALY CHANNEL # ORDERING or provide a way to ORDER BY CHANNEL number. Most cable companies do have things arranged in order for a reason. And for goddness sake when you've got the CHANNEL LOCK on and you're editing the channel ordering, keep the friggin channel LOCKED.

Ok, there I got the venting out of the way. That said I got a couple of questions.

1.) Is there a way to simply change the day/date you're looking at? It takes for every to right arrow 50 times to get to the next day (with delays in between.)
2.) Does anybody know about how long it takes TVgos to add new channel info. For example my local cable provider added Universal HD channel to the line up a week ago and it's not part of the TVgos lineup yet (nor it it part of TVGuide.com yet.) I sent an a couple of messages to TVGuide.com telling them about the channel addition and requesting that they add it to the lineup, but nothing has happened yet.
3.) Is there a way to contact (phone, e-mail, etc.) TVgos, there website seems determined to make sure you can't contact them.

CCourtney

kdog044

02-15-06, 11:14 AM

I checked mine and have the same result. I still have the DVR so I rarely use the TVGOS. I will see what I can find out from Gemstar and report back.Here's the update from Gemstar. I will keep everyone updated.

I have been able to replicate this scenario here. It appears that only STARZ and SHOWTIME are the only HD movies showing up. From now until next Wednesday, I saw 1 CBS movie and 1 ABC movie.

I have escalated this to our operations team. Since we can replicate it, it should be fixed soon. I’ll let you know if I hear anything more.

cheneyp

02-15-06, 12:35 PM

[QUOTE=c1courtney]I've got a Sony DHG-HDD500 w/ CableCARD in use.

1.) Is there a way to simply change the day/date you're looking at? It takes for every to right arrow 50 times to get to the next day (with delays in between.)

I also have the HDD500.

After you hit the right arrow, start typing a number (say 24) and a window pops up on the left hand side of the screen asking how many hours/days you want to go ahead (or back).

c1courtney

02-15-06, 01:47 PM

Thanks, Cheneyp. I figured there was something like this.

CCourtney

IslandHeightsNJ

02-16-06, 07:59 PM

MeSmell

02-16-06, 08:58 PM

No, I have no host channel. Not since the 1st cable card. I got a second cable card yesterday and now I lost all my tvgos channel listings. Both cable cards have perfect audio for ESPN HD and video is a blank black screen. All other HD channels are fine. Comcast is blaming the TV. Samsung is blaming comcast.
As for tvgos, I have to believe there is something wrong with the host channel 13 WNET-NY as far as broadcasting supported zip codes. I can not believe that Comcast would keep channel 13 duplicated as analog on channel 94 and not broadcast the VBI data. They did not block the data on channel 16 (phily fox). That is when I had a breif glmpse into tvgos before the cable card. And I get close caption on the analog channel 94. That says they are not blocking VBI.
I can not get in contact with Gemstar. Samsung gave me the 1-800 number for VCRplus which did not allow me to talk to anyone. The other 1-800-386-7380 indicates it is for manufacturers only. I am considering trying that one anyway. It has been 2 weeks since Samsung supposedly reffered my case to Gemstar.
ANyone have any other ideas?

As soon as you get any listings or even a channel lineup in TVGOS, go immediately into the channel editor and change the tune channel for WNET from 13 to 94.

If you can get the lineup. This should stop the guide from jumping back and forth between 13 and 94 and produce reliable listings.

I would let it try and download for 3 or 4 days, if it is not successful, reset the guide with the code 653274147 and repeat your setup. Do this until you can get a lineup and then make your edit.

JR_U

02-17-06, 04:12 AM

I would not get my hopes up with Samsung tech regarding TVGOS issue. I waited for months for so called update they kept mentioning, that never came. I spoke to you in Broadband Reports forum about splitting your cable line to ANT2/AIR. Have you tried that option? As I said before, I own the Samsung 6168w with Comcast cable card and I could not download any TVGOS data connected only to ANT1/CABLE. In my case it's necessary to run another line to ANT2/AIR and use analog "AIR" channel for TVGOS data.

My post how I got mine to work.
split cable line to ANT2, opt in antenna in TVGOS setup, hours later I got listings. I also edited out all other "air" channels on ANT2 except FOX7 which is the source for TVGOS data in my area. Along with other "cable" channels on ANT1 that might be mistaken as a download channel for TVGOS data (I deleted FOX7, PBS12 and PBS97). I'm not exactly sure if deleting the channels mentioned helped my situation but I figure this would make it easier for TVGOS to determine the correct download source. I should say though that before I edited out these channels, diag screen reflects, host channel was 1:0-12 (PBS12 "air"), VBI channel 1:0-7 (FOX7 "air"), clock channel 1:0-7 (FOX7 "air"). I was able to download listings for a day but then lost all the data the next day. After deleting the channels I mentioned before, my host channel is now 1:0-7 (FOX7) and have continuously been receiving listings ever since.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-17-06, 07:32 AM

IslandHeightsNJ

02-17-06, 07:36 AM

I did try the air input. Unfortunately both the Fox from philly & WHYY are not in a tunable air location. They are CATV 16 & 24 and have no OTA counterpart. For some reason I am having problems with WNET 13 recognizing a good zip code.

mallu2u

02-17-06, 09:33 AM

Does anyone from Washington DC area know whether channel 54.1-3 send PSIP data? I never get data for that channel.

magredc5

02-17-06, 09:57 AM

Are you sure that the tvgos channel listing editor has any influence over where it will go for data. I thought it had to be enabled in the TVs channel lineup. Which it is. Before I lost my listings I had WNET pointing to channel 13 on the antenna input, which is analog.
I lost my channel lineup completely with the second cable card. I have not host ID yet. I think is is scanning all of the analog channel VBI data. I do not think it has seen the zip code I programmed. Right now, it should see analog 13 on the antenna input and analog 94 on the cable input. I believe I have seen the last searched VBI pointing to both of those places. But, still no listings.
I have exchanging the TV today anyway due to a bow in the glass.
I will try fresh tomorrow.

I believe from my experience that the TVGOS channel map must have an accurate mapping for the host channel, i.e. if WNET 94 is the host channel on the digital cable system, the TVGOS must be edited to show WNET as 94 (if it does't show it this way already).

The sure way to reset your system is the following:

- Reset TVGOS - either select a new zipcode for your area or perform the reset with code 653214741 while in Setup and highlighting Edit System Settings (don't hit enter, just hightlight it).
- Power reboot (pull the plug) on the TV. A reboot always helps.
- Now wait until TVGOS at least shows a channel map. If it doesn't get this far, then it's not able to recognize your zipcode and assign a host channel. If it does get the map, do as mentioned above and go into TVGOS diagnostics and check what the Host Channel is. It should be the same as the Clock Set Channel (but may not be). Then go into the channel editor to verify that your analog PBS or Host channel is correctly defined (Call Letters and Channel Number).
- Once that is done, you should be receiving info. If not, then start again with another neighboring zipcode. In my town, I had to use the main zipcode.

mikecove

02-17-06, 10:18 AM

Okay, I am going to go back to square 1 with this. I have an LG, 32LX1D, unit with a Scientific Atlanta cable card. I have my cable line split. One into CATV and the other into Antenna.
TVGOS does not work with this data. Just to see if the TV is capable of downloading the data, i told the TVGOS setup screen I had a cable box.
With that information all of the data downloads, however since I dont have a cable box, the data is useless.
Is there any suggestions in getting the information to download using a cable card.
My carrier is comcast in ocean county NJ.

IslandHeightsNJ

02-17-06, 12:11 PM

IslandHeightsNJ

02-17-06, 12:15 PM

I believe from my experience that the TVGOS channel map must have an accurate mapping for the host channel, i.e. if WNET 94 is the host channel on the digital cable system, the TVGOS must be edited to show WNET as 94 (if it does't show it this way already).

The sure way to reset your system is the following:

- Reset TVGOS - either select a new zipcode for your area or perform the reset with code 653214741 while in Setup and highlighting Edit System Settings (don't hit enter, just hightlight it).
- Power reboot (pull the plug) on the TV. A reboot always helps.
- Now wait until TVGOS at least shows a channel map. If it doesn't get this far, then it's not able to recognize your zipcode and assign a host channel. If it does get the map, do as mentioned above and go into TVGOS diagnostics and check what the Host Channel is. It should be the same as the Clock Set Channel (but may not be). Then go into the channel editor to verify that your analog PBS or Host channel is correctly defined (Call Letters and Channel Number).
- Once that is done, you should be receiving info. If not, then start again with another neighboring zipcode. In my town, I had to use the main zipcode.

I have used several zip codes. I even used a zip code that was posted by someone here that has a working system using WNET 13 as the host.
Maybe because I did not cycle power on the TV?
It got cycled 2 days ago and still no data.

mikecove

02-17-06, 01:11 PM

I am in Ocean County as well. If the data downloads, why is it useless?
What zip code did you use?
If you got the data to download, you should be able to edit the tvgos channel lineup to match your cablecard lineup.

I used your 08701 zip code just to see if I could get the data.
The data it dowloaded was only good with a cable box (on video 1). I dont really have a cable box, when setting up the guide, i put in yes to a cable box just to see if my TV would download data. I am not able to link the cablebox lineup to the CADTV lineup. It simply does not give me that option.

magredc5

02-17-06, 04:34 PM

IslandHeightsNJ

02-17-06, 07:08 PM

I used your 08701 zip code just to see if I could get the data.
The data it dowloaded was only good with a cable box (on video 1). I dont really have a cable box, when setting up the guide, i put in yes to a cable box just to see if my TV would download data. I am not able to link the cablebox lineup to the CADTV lineup. It simply does not give me that option.

To my surprise when I got home tonight, I was offered a channel lineup.
I have had zip code 11703 programmed for many days. Wednesday was the last time the TV had power cycled.
The host channel is 0:94 (analog WNET 13) on the CATV input.
I will have to manually set the channel lineup and also make sure WNET is mapped to 94.
So, if you are patient, it looks like you will get there.
As the previous post said, make sure you do not disable channel 94 in the tv channel list. (not tvgos).
Not sure why it took so many days.

Now the kicker in my case is that I just bought a replacement TV today to swap out my current one. (the screen is bowed inward at the middle and the black bars in 4x3 mode looks like an hour glass; about 5/16" difference between bottom & middle).
So I will start the whole process over again.

mikecove

02-19-06, 11:43 AM

To my surprise when I got home tonight, I was offered a channel lineup.
I have had zip code 11703 programmed for many days. Wednesday was the last time the TV had power cycled.
The host channel is 0:94 (analog WNET 13) on the CATV input.
I will have to manually set the channel lineup and also make sure WNET is mapped to 94.
So, if you are patient, it looks like you will get there.
As the previous post said, make sure you do not disable channel 94 in the tv channel list. (not tvgos).
Not sure why it took so many days.

Now the kicker in my case is that I just bought a replacement TV today to swap out my current one. (the screen is bowed inward at the middle and the black bars in 4x3 mode looks like an hour glass; about 5/16" difference between bottom & middle).
So I will start the whole process over again.

Okay I am willing to wait, since i dont have much choice(11703 zip code)...
Question) How long should it take for the TVGOS clock in the upper left to set?
Does the TV need to be off to set the clock?

Right now the clock is not set, and the lock is the locked position. (because i reset everything)

IslandHeightsNJ

02-19-06, 12:17 PM

Okay I am willing to wait, since i dont have much choice(11703 zip code)...
Question) How long should it take for the TVGOS clock in the upper left to set?
Does the TV need to be off to set the clock?

Right now the clock is not set, and the lock is the locked position. (because i reset everything)

When I got the new TV on Friday, I set it up for the 11703 zip code.
It found the host over night on WNET-13 on 0:0-94 (analog 94).
My previous TV took several days.
I do not know if the problem was the TV, or problems with the host channel (13).

My clock was set right away once I got the cable card installed, before that it was garbage. Keep in mind that the clock is set to GMT until you find your host channel.

You have a cable card right?
Channel 94 is only with the cable card present because I can not see it from my other analog TV sets.
Make sure you have chanel 94 enabled in the TV's channel list (not tvgos). I had the cable split and into the antenna input, but it seems that did not matter because it found the host on 0:0-94.
Now my problem is that my cablecard has locked out due to the change in the TV host id. I had to remove it and expect comcast today to replace it. It would not allow any channels to be tuned and said something about a firmware upgrade.
I still have my channel list, but no show descriptions because I can not get 94 without the cable card.

As for the lock, I only think that has to do with the video preview in the upper left when viewing tvgos listings. Lock means that it does not change channel while looking through the guide. Unlocked means it will change as you go over each channel in the guide.

mikecove

02-19-06, 12:48 PM

When I got the new TV on Friday, I set it up for the 11703 zip code.
It found the host over night on WNET-13 on 0:0-94 (analog 94).
My previous TV took several days.
I do not know if the problem was the TV, or problems with the host channel (13).

My clock was set right away once I got the cable card installed, before that it was garbage. Keep in mind that the clock is set to GMT until you find your host channel.

You have a cable card right?
Channel 94 is only with the cable card present because I can not see it from my other analog TV sets.
Make sure you have chanel 94 enabled in the TV's channel list (not tvgos). I had the cable split and into the antenna input, but it seems that did not matter because it found the host on 0:0-94.
Now my problem is that my cablecard has locked out due to the change in the TV host id. I had to remove it and expect comcast today to replace it. It would not allow any channels to be tuned and said something about a firmware upgrade.
I still have my channel list, but no show descriptions because I can not get 94 without the cable card.

As for the lock, I only think that has to do with the video preview in the upper left when viewing tvgos listings. Lock means that it does not change channel while looking through the guide. Unlocked means it will change as you go over each channel in the guide.

Yes I have a cable card.
You are correct on the lock.
I can not even get my clock to set?!?!?!

IslandHeightsNJ

02-19-06, 01:29 PM

Yes I have a cable card.
You are correct on the lock.
I can not even get my clock to set?!?!?!

Not sure about the clock.
What does the Clock 2 diag screen say?
Clock Set Chan 0:0-0

That is what I currently have also.
But I do not have a cablecard at the moment.
That is unusual, because my first TV I had the clock without the cable card installed. Now nothing. It could be because I have not reset the setup and it has lost the host channel.

Make sure channel 94 is enabled in the channel list (green button),
then try and wait a few days to see if you get a host chan.

Also, go to channel 94, turn on close caption to verify that you can get close caption data. (It also comes on the VBI). Also, make sure it is an analog channel and is WNET. On the Samsung an Analog channel will have "Cable 94" at the top left. If it is digital, it will have "DTV Cable" at the top left.

mikecove

02-19-06, 02:56 PM

Not sure about the clock.
What does the Clock 2 diag screen say?
Clock Set Chan 0:0-0

That is what I currently have also.
But I do not have a cablecard at the moment.
That is unusual, because my first TV I had the clock without the cable card installed. Now nothing. It could be because I have not reset the setup and it has lost the host channel.

Make sure channel 94 is enabled in the channel list (green button),
then try and wait a few days to see if you get a host chan.

Also, go to channel 94, turn on close caption to verify that you can get close caption data. (It also comes on the VBI). Also, make sure it is an analog channel and is WNET. On the Samsung an Analog channel will have "Cable 94" at the top left. If it is digital, it will have "DTV Cable" at the top left.
Clock Set Chan 0:0-0
I get channel 94(WNET 13). It is analog. Close caption works fine on it. Should I disable the digital version of it?

IslandHeightsNJ

02-19-06, 03:24 PM

Clock Set Chan 0:0-0
I get channel 94(WNET 13). It is analog. Close caption works fine on it. Should I disable the digital version of it?

Does the TV's clock when you press info give you good time?
For some reason, I think that tvgos keeps different time.
Do you have your cable split and run into the antenna input?
In your tvgos setup, did you select cable and antenna?

mikecove

02-19-06, 03:31 PM

Does the TV's clock when you press info give you good time?
For some reason, I think that tvgos keeps different time.
Do you have your cable split and run into the antenna input?
In your tvgos setup, did you select cable and antenna?

Does the TV's clock when you press info give you good time? Yes
For some reason, I think that tvgos keeps different time.
Do you have your cable split and run into the antenna input? Yes
In your tvgos setup, did you select cable and antenna? Yes

IslandHeightsNJ

02-19-06, 03:44 PM

Well, that is how mine was setup on Friday night and I got tvgos channel listing on Saturday morning. host chan was 0:0-94.
Right now, without a cablecard, I am not going to try an mess with my setup again until I get the cable card working again. I do not want to loose my channel lineup or host chan.

I have one suggestion for you.
If you have a VCR, you may want to tune it to channel 16, then run the RF output of the VCR to the antenna input of the Samsung. Your VCR should put out the channel on 3 or 4. Test to see if it is working by hitting the antenna button on the remote in the upper left corner. Make sure you are seeing channel 16 (philly FOX). I assume that philly FOX is also on 16 for you. Make sure you are getting closed caption (I do not think the VCR would block, but not sure). Then if OK, you may start to get a clock in tvgos. If yes, then set your tvgos zipcode up to 08057. Check in the AM and see if you have a lineup.
Or, you could wait a few more days on channel 94 to see if it comes in.
One alternative to the VCR setup is to remove your cable card, perform auto scan, try zip 08057 and verify that your TV is not defective. That got my first TV working. I personally think that WNET is flakey.