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During the last couple of weeks, I lost my TV guide feature on my Panasonic HDTV, due to Host Channel not found. After fiddling with it for hours, I gave up and called Buckeye tech support. It turns out that PBS channel 99 (my host channel) converted to a digital signal and the interface with Buckeye is now messed up. I'm told the enginners are working on it, with no timeframe given. Pretty sad. I assume others are having the same problem. Let me know.

Thanks

Jim

I have ota antenna and direct cable hookup for tvgos.I always thought that a "0" before the colon in host chaannel denotes ota.I just bareley have whyy 12,ota for guide.I thought ,but it it says channel 50 .I don't even have a 50 on ota,I do on the direct cable .Can someone figure this out for me.I,d like to take down my ota antenna and go with staight cable and uhf antenna???Heres a picture of that screen.Thanks in advance. ps I hope this picture

Hello everyone. I came across an interesting piece of information. I get the feeling that someone may have noticed this before, but if not, I'll share.

I recently switched over from Comcast Cable to FIOS. Love the all digital picture quality on all the channels. However, after installing the Verizon CableCard, I ran into an obstacle. Where am I going to get VBI data for my DGH-HDD500 ? There are no analog channels.

But after accessing the factory service menus, and going through the channels one-by-one I had a eureka moment. I didn't need an analog channel. The VBI data is also sent via the local PBS/KYW digital channels in digital format. And since FIOS simply rebroadcasts these channels, the VBI data should be intact. I verified this assumption via one of the factory service test screens

So I forced my VBI channel to the Digital WHYY station, and will be leaving the unit off overnight, to pull in the listings. I'll see what happens in 24hrs. Wish me luck.

grindsmygears , good luck! I've never been able to receive tvgos data via fios on my Pio tv . I was receiving it fine using rabbit ears on my antenna b ( from whyy ) but that stopped a couple months back. I'm guessing whyy changed or stopped their analog broadcasting of the data causing me to no longer be able to receive it ota.

Hello everyone. I came across an interesting piece of information. I get the feeling that someone may have noticed this before, but if not, I'll share.

I recently switched over from Comcast Cable to FIOS. Love the all digital picture quality on all the channels. However, after installing the Verizon CableCard, I ran into an obstacle. Where am I going to get VBI data for my DGH-HDD500 ? There are no analog channels.

But after accessing the factory service menus, and going through the channels one-by-one I had a eureka moment. I didn't need an analog channel. The VBI data is also sent via the local PBS/KYW digital channels in digital format. And since FIOS simply rebroadcasts these channels, the VBI data should be intact. I verified this assumption via one of the factory service test screens

So I forced my VBI channel to the Digital WHYY station, and will be leaving the unit off overnight, to pull in the listings. I'll see what happens in 24hrs. Wish me luck.

There's been a lot of interest and discussion on the topic of receiving TVGOS listings data from a digital host channel on the Sony DHG thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711). Please be sure to cross-post your findings over there.

You should also check a new forum specific to the DHG (http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php) and consider posting your findings there, too.

Hey All:

Its seems that I am no longer receiving TVGOS updates. I'm in the Hartford, CT area. Just checking if anyone else is having the same issue of No listings?

Thanks
-paul;

No listings since 25 July. TVGOS (I managed to catch them on the phone) says they know there's a problem in this area (Redlands, CA)...but no info from them on what the problem is and if they intend to fix it.

Shenzie

I just caught one of those ads over on the left corner of the TVGOS listing display, from all places, TVGOS itself. It referred users of TVGOS to their webpage http://www.tvgos.com/dtv for info on TVGOS and DTV.

Their website now contains lots of information about getting analog TVGOS to work, after conversion to DTV. It all apparently rides on whether equipment used in getting the signal to your TVGOS device supports spec SCTE 127 2007 (http://www.scte.org/documents/standards/approved/SCTE1272007.pdf) (aka "Carriage of Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) Data in North American Digital Television Bitstreams").

It even allow one to look up your local cable system to see if it is known, yet, if it does indeed support SCTE 127. Plus it lists digital STB's which are known to support SCTE 127. If the analog stations still carried by your cable company support SCTE 127, you will be OK. If the analog output from your digital STB supports SCTE 127, you will be OK.

If you get over-the-air digital channels, then you need a STB box which supports SCTE 127, which happens to be the DTVpal box talked about extensively in another forum here at AVSforum.

Plus, after years of silence, there is even a TVGOS customer support email address, where you can ask for help.

Things do appear to be better than I had hoped! :)

I just caught one of those ads over on the left corner of the TVGOS listing display, from all places, TVGOS itself. It referred users of TVGOS to their webpage http://wwww.TVGOS.com/DTV for info on TVGOS and DTV.

Their website now contains lots of information about getting analog TVGOS to work, after conversion to DTV. It all apparently rides on whether equipment used in getting the signal to your TVGOS device supports spec SCTE 127 2007 (http://www.scte.org/documents/standards/approved/SCTE1272007.pdf) (aka "Carriage of Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) Data in North American Digital Television Bitstreams").

It even allow one to look up your local cable system to see if it is known, yet, if it does indeed support SCTE 127. Plus it lists digital STB's which are known to support SCTE 127. If the analog stations still carried by your cable company support SCTE 127, you will be OK. If the analog output from your digital STB supports SCTE 127, you will be OK.

If you get over-the-air digital channels, then you need a STB box which supports SCTE 127, which happens to be the DTVpal box talked about extensively in another forum here at AVSforum.

Plus, after years of silence, there is even a TVGOS customer support email address, where you can ask for help.

Things do appear to be better than I had hoped! :)

Site seems down right now?

Site seems down right now?

Sorry, too many w's. :D

Try this ... http://www.tvgos.com/dtv

Thanks for the info. I had given up on TVGOS because it was always wrong with erroneous out of area station program descriptions, network logos etc on some the local OTA channels. I just sent them an email about the incorrect listings I get OTA, so maybe there's a chance it will work properly someday.

Notice that Macrovision has gotten into the mix.
What next? Programs with Macrovision??:mad:

Notice that Macrovision has gotten into the mix.
What next? Programs with Macrovision??:mad:

Macrovision owns Gemstar, and thus TVGOS, for about a year now.

I would not worry about programs with Macrovision. The Digital TV standard allows for program by program data encryption.

Hi,

I have a Toshiba 65" DLP (rear projection). Has TVGOS been discontinued?

Since 10/11/08 the TV Guide On Screen does not appear when I press the button on the remote. The remote flashes a colored light to indicate that a signal is being sent to the TV but nothing appears on the screen. It's been working fine for 2 years.

When I go to the TV's menu, under Applications, the TV GOS option is present and is NOT greyed out but when I highlight the option and press ENTER nothing happens. I can't get into it to do any kind of a reset. It's as if the feature has been turned off.

I have not installed any software into my TV since Summer 2007.

Thank you.

--Scott

Has TVGOS been discontinued?

Still working fine for me.


Since 10/11/08 the TV Guide On Screen does not appear when I press the button on the remote.
...
When I go to the TV's menu, under Applications, the TV GOS option is present and is NOT greyed out but when I highlight the option and press ENTER nothing happens. I can't get into it to do any kind of a reset. It's as if the feature has been turned off.


I have a Toshiba LCD set and a Toshiba DVD/HDD recorder, and I have the exact same problem every year or so.

I go to press the "TVGuide" button or select "TVGuide" from a menu, it is simply ignored. No TVGOS screen, even a grid with nothing but "no program data" displayed.

What I have to do, is a full system reset (not a TVGOS reset). Somewhere in your menus, you should find a master reset. Yea, it will erase everything; all your settings.

It is like the Toshiba's own master firmware needs to get a full, new, re-boot every once-in-a-while. Almost like it was written by Microsoft. :D

After the reboot is complete, the TVGOS screen will once again be displayed, and after 24 hours or so, program data will start to appear again. Of course, you'll have to re-do all the various settings back to your preferences.

Hi, About 10 days ago my Panasonic PVR stopped downloading the guide. Other people on this board with various brands of equipment that rely on teh TVGOS guides have reported similar problems.

Today, I confirmed with Shaw that they are no longer subscribing to the guide service provided by Macrovision. In an email I recieved from Macrovision when I asked if there were TVGOS problems in Edmonton, I recieved the following:



Unfortunately Shaw is no longer supporting TVGuide onScreen Data, there is no resolution to this issue at this time. We have attempted on several occasions to work with Shaw but they have been uncooperative. We are open to working with Shaw in the future to resolve this issue for there [sic] consumers.

Shaw's Technical Support agent, Greg, told me this afternoon that he had received a memo saying Shaw had discontinued the service because it used to be free, but a fee was to come into effect and Shaw felt that their 'channel 5' guide and the digital cable guide would be sufficient for subscribers.

I will be sending an email to Jim Shaw, President and CEO and encourage anyone else affected by this decision to do the same. I believe his email address is jim.shaw@sjrb.ca

That's why it's important to have a outdoor antenna. In your case for the TVGOS data from whichever station is providing it.
The data is there, the MSO is stripping it from that signal.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

[QUOTE=videobruce;15002737]That's why it's important to have a outdoor antenna.[QUOTE]

Hey Bruce, I'm not sure how this would work. The PVR device records off the same input it recieves the guide from -- so with an external antenna this would be the RF/Coax In.

Which would be fine, except that Canadian OTA is different than the US OTA -- I only recieve six channels OTA (and two of them are in French). If I want any of the US networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) or premium services (HBO, Showtime, etc.) then I must use Cable or Satellite.

I might be missing something here, so if you have a way that my PVR can get the guide OTA and still record off cable -- I would be willing to give it a shot.

Thanks for the welcome.

Cheers,
Colin

1. What PVR is it?
2. Where are you?

If the PVR had two RF inputs it would work. If not, the only way I can think of is using the OTA analog channel, strip the adjacent channels from the CATV feed and insert that OTA channel into the PVR feed. You would loose those some of those CATV channels (depending on the shape factor of the trap), but that way you would be receiving the data directly from the OTA station.
You would also need a bandpass filter to delete everything except that OTA channel for the antenna feed.

Unless someone has a better way to do it.

I ditched cable and DVR a few months ago and decided to give tvgos a whirl on my 52hm94. I'm using OTA and have had no problems since day one. Zip 02910, Cranston, RI. My only gripe is that the tuner wants to lock onto every channel I scroll past on the guide.

I ditched cable and DVR a few months ago and decided to give tvgos a whirl on my 52hm94. I'm using OTA and have had no problems since day one. Zip 02910, Cranston, RI. My only gripe is that the tuner wants to lock onto every channel I scroll past on the guide.

Go through the options. There should be a place to LOCK the video screen when you are in the guide. That will stop it from changing channels as you scroll the guide.

" There should be a place to LOCK the video screen when you are in the guide"

On my Toshiba it is a button on the remote that has other functions also

Thanks for the tips! Of course, the very day I made that post above my TVGOS started showing a bunch of "no title" and "TBA" for 90% of material. Hopefully it comes back.

When I recently disconnected the rooftop antenna from my Sharp LCD TV's analog tuner I stopped getting TVGOS updates. The antenna remained connected to the digital tuner input and digital channels were still received correctly. When I reconnected the analog antenna input the TVGOS listings returned. Does this mean that TVGOS will stop working on this TV next February ?

Probably. With that useless Macrovision buying Gemstar's ownership (right's, etc.) of TVGOS and then wanting to turn around and sell it, I would hazzard to guess TVGOS will probably be toast unless a miracle happens.

TVGOS data is already being transmitted over Digital channels so it's not necessarily going to die for you next Feb. I believe your ability to receive the TVGOS data is dependent on :
1. Your having a digital tuner ( which you do)
2. Your tv having a recent version of TVGOS capable of receiving the digital TVGOS data. (suspect unless your tv is older , you do)
3. Your receiving a channel locally that is carrying the tvgos data on their digital feed.
Since your tv stopped receiving the analog tvgos fed I'm not sure if tvgos is smart enough to do a search again for host channels.... you might want to try a complete reset of tvgos and let it search out a new host...but leave antenna disconnected from analog tuner until it locks in the digital channel.

Just because the station is transmitting the data on their digital channel, that doesn't mean your TVGOS will 'see' it. AFAIK, it has to be V9 to do this.

Just because the station is transmitting the data on their digital channel, that doesn't mean your TVGOS will 'see' it. AFAIK, it has to be V9 to do this.

Or have an appropriate "box" which will correctly re-build the VBI data on its analog output. That will work with any TVGOS version. Many Motorola brand digital cable STB's will do this, as will the DTVpal brand ATSC tuner STB.

But, that doesn't help existing tuners. :mad:

But, that doesn't help existing tuners. :mad:

I don't disagree with you, but there must be billions of devices out there with existing NTSC tuners. I mean, that problem isn't just limited to devices with TVGOS.

Maybe the Obama administration will abort the forced conversion to ATSC; there will still be a few weeks of time to do just that, after his inauguration. :D

but there must be billions of devices out there with existing NTSC tuners.But, not with TVGOS ability.that problem isn't just limited to devices with TVGOSAnd how would this problem affect tuners with no TVGOS?Maybe the Obama administration will abort the forced conversion to ATSC1. No reason to do so.
2. Far more important things to do.

Just because the station is transmitting the data on their digital channel, that doesn't mean your TVGOS will 'see' it. AFAIK, it has to be V9 to do this.

It's already been demonstrated on Sony DHG HD digital recorders that TVGOS V8 can successfully receive listings from a digital channel, most typically from local CBS stations already transmitting the data.

Our CBS affilate hasen't heard anything about TVGOS and CBS.

Our CBS affilate hasen't heard anything about TVGOS and CBS.

Some CBS affiliates may be lagging behind O&Os on this topic. Go to this Macrovision web site (http://www.macrovision.com/dtv/10053.htm), then click on "Learn more" under an appropriate category and enter your ZIP code to see if Macrovision has interacted with your CBS affiliate. If not, it may be worthwhile sending Macrovision an email about your situation; there's an email link for additional support.

check the sony dhg hdd 250/500 thread for the trials and tribulations of TVGOS. See attached for tips and troubleshootin' for tvgos for mits tvs...

Thanks for that file. I will add that to my service literature.

I have the same issue here. About two weeks ago, the TVGOS on my Toshiba stopped listing the programs. I've gone through resets of the TVGOS system and still nothing. It goes through and finds the time, channels. and then states that listings will start downloading at 2:30am when the tv is off. But next morning, nothing. So it looks like TVGOS has gone away. Well, that the last straw in this tv's back. Between that and the banding issues, I'm getting rid of this set. I was hanging on to it for the TVGOS and cable cards.

1. Where are you?
2. Have you checked to see what it says is your host channel?
3. Are you using OTA or cable? If cable, try OTA, could be a cable issue. If OTA, how is reception on that host channel.

I wouldn't give up that easy. Others are receiving TVGOS, though I will admit is is alot more spotty than before.

1. Where are you?
2. Have you checked to see what it says is your host channel?
3. Are you using OTA or cable? If cable, try OTA, could be a cable issue. If OTA, how is reception on that host channel.


I'm in Northampton, PA (Eastern PA, Allentown area)
What is the "host channel" My tv doesn't list anywhere about a host channel
I'm using RCN cable. This worked for the last two years, with and without a cable card, But as of two weeks ago, it's no longer loading.

So, does the cable company pay TV Guide to pass this info along to it's customers? If so, maybe they just stopped carrying it.

I'm in Northampton, PA (Eastern PA, Allentown area)
What is the "host channel" My tv doesn't list anywhere about a host channel
I'm using RCN cable. This worked for the last two years, with and without a cable card, But as of two weeks ago, it's no longer loading.

So, does the cable company pay TV Guide to pass this info along to it's customers? If so, maybe they just stopped carrying it.

If you have been reading the various forums, you would see that TVGOS is generally screwed up nationwide. Some areas have lost all service, others are still in service. Philly area seems especially hard hit.

In the case of LV RCN, it started around 11/15, when RCN apparently dropped channel 99 analog, which was carrying a WHYY subchannel, and also the TVGOS data. Apparently, at the present time, no Philly, or LV, stations are carrying the TVGOS data.

Hopefully, this will change in the near future.

The following forum has a lot of info. The forum is concerned with Sony DVRs which use TVGOS for guide data.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711&page=438

I'm in the Philly suburbs and it had been erratic for me, but good lately. I stopped receiving ota tvgos data this past summer, I just assumed it was whyy stopping the analog transmission of tvgos data.

I contacted macrovision and was told the digital version of tvgos had begun transmitting on KYW-DT ( CBS) . At some point FIOS started passing the TVGOS data for me so I never bothered to confirm I could receive it ota from KYW.

I have a Mits DLP and it has two different places a Zip Code can be entered for TVGOS. Under the Setup menu and 'Change System Settings' and under the 'Net Command' menu tab of the TV's menu. My DVR only has one location. This is where I think the problem seems to be.

It appears, if you let the Mits entry blank, the TVGOS Setup menu won't allow any changes. There will only be two out of the three submenus. The 'Change System Settings' is missing. This is really a very poor situation since you can't do anything if that entry isn't there.

My problem is I'm trying to use a Canadian Postal Code since I live near the border and Toronto has alot of good programming listings available that aren't available using a US Zip Code. Postal Codes use numbers and letters. The Mits menu is only for numbers for Zip Codes, you can't enter letters.

If I put my Zip Code in and let it ID this market,
wait untill that 1st Setup entry shows that allows changing the setup data,
then check 'No' to the existing choices,
wait again for the opening screen giving you USA or Canada,
enter a Canadian Postal Code,
wait again for the listings to reappear,
sort the list, add/delete channels,
It's ok for a few days, then the setup gets dumped and I have to start from scratch. I loose the channel lineup and the ability to get into the setup menu.

My other device with TVGOS that is using a Zip Code seems to be working alright.

Any ideas? I hope that made sense.

Posted this in another thread but this seems to be the closest to a dedicated TVGOS thead. If anybody has anymore info about the Philly area I would appreciate it. One new question is Can I update my version of TVGOS to Ver 9?

I live in the Philly western burbs (19407) and had intermitent, and now no TVGOS for the last month. This seemed to coincide with my CableCard being replaced due to signal drop-outs on my 50HP95 Plasma and thought the no-guide issue was related, not so sure now. Contacted Toshiba, found out there is wispread outages because of switching to digital TVGOS. Reset TVGOS with the 653159147, the next day It went from "Guide will be available in 24 hours" to "No data listed for this screen" Called Toshiba back and they filled out a report to send to TVGOS, because of the many outages across the country it could take awhile for them to get back to me. Host channel is blank, version is listed as 08.01.53/08.06.44. Contacted Comcast and will have a tech out Thursday so they can call above them to see if the TGOS carrier channel has changed in my area. Toshiba said that CBS will take over for the digital version.

This past summer I stopped receiving tvgos here in paoli. Saw a posting from someone in Lower Gwynedd that was still receiving the data so I switched to that zip (19002) and began receiving it again the next day. Maybe worth a try for you. You can also try submitting a problem ticket with Macrovision : http://www.macrovision.com/dtv/10053.htm
They told me previously that the new digital transmission of tvgos requires version 08.01.65 or higher. good luck

Posted this in another thread but this seems to be the closest to a dedicated TVGOS thead. If anybody has anymore info about the Philly area I would appreciate it. One new question is Can I update my version of TVGOS to Ver 9?

I live in the Philly western burbs (19407) and had intermitent, and now no TVGOS for the last month. This seemed to coincide with my CableCard being replaced due to signal drop-outs on my 50HP95 Plasma and thought the no-guide issue was related, not so sure now. Contacted Toshiba, found out there is wispread outages because of switching to digital TVGOS. Reset TVGOS with the 653159147, the next day It went from "Guide will be available in 24 hours" to "No data listed for this screen" Called Toshiba back and they filled out a report to send to TVGOS, because of the many outages across the country it could take awhile for them to get back to me. Host channel is blank, version is listed as 08.01.53/08.06.44. Contacted Comcast and will have a tech out Thursday so they can call above them to see if the TGOS carrier channel has changed in my area. Toshiba said that CBS will take over for the digital version.

Lot of info on this in the thread below. The thread focuses on SONY DVRs, but the issues are the same as on TV sets with TVGOS. The interesting info starts around Nov 15, or so,

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711&page=442

Any updates on this issue? I'm in the Lehigh Valley area of PA with RCN cable. So far, no change. We still don't get TVGOS.

I'm in the Lehigh Valley area of PA with RCN cable. So far, no change. We still don't get TVGOS.

I'm still getting TVGOS from Service Electric, on both channels 4 (WPHL-17) and 21 (WHYY-12). I believe that both of those channels originate from Philly.

Too bad our local PBS 39 station, or our local independant CH69, never signed up to offer TVGOS. :(

Any updates on this issue?

Here a couple of my observations.


Channel Lineup Re-build. With the change over to DTV, I am sure there is a massive number of lineup changes for TVGOS. Typically, a lineup change is suppose to cause only a 24 hour loss of data. However, when this happen to me a few weeks ago, I was not getting data for just over a week. After that week, I had a new lineup (which for me, however, was like 50% wrong). My guess is that TVGOS just can't roll-over that many lineup changes, all that quickly.
TVGOS Software Hangup. I have this reoccurring problem (once a year?)with all my TVGOS equipment where the grid will suddenly start to display "no data". Thru some trail and error, I have found that I need to do a full reboot/reset of the device in order to get TVGOS to work again. I am not sure why. I could guess either do to a bug in the TVGOS software, invalid (corrupted?) data being received which the software can't handle, a memory leak, or just something else. Once I rebooted, TVGOS will start to work again within 24 hours.

I subscribe to Advanced Cable in Coral Springs, FL and use the "TV Guide On Screen" feature that came with my TV. It stopped working a few weeks ago. Here is the response from Advanced Cable on the cause:

The signal/data for this guide service is transmitted within the vertical blanking interval of over-the-air Ch. 17 (WLRN). In preparation for the upcoming DTV transition we have switched to WLRN's digital signal feed and it currently doesn't contain this data. We've spoken to their engineering staff and they do not have a time frame on when this data will be included in their digital feed.

I subscribe to Advanced Cable in Coral Springs, FL and use the "TV Guide On Screen" feature that came with my TV. It stopped working a few weeks ago. Here is the response from Advanced Cable on the cause:

The signal/data for this guide service is transmitted within the vertical blanking interval of over-the-air Ch. 17 (WLRN). In preparation for the upcoming DTV transition we have switched to WLRN's digital signal feed and it currently doesn't contain this data. We've spoken to their engineering staff and they do not have a time frame on when this data will be included in their digital feed.

Look for it on WFOR-DT's digital feed.

- Trip

It stopped working a few weeks ago. Here is the response from Advanced Cable on the cause:

The signal/data for this guide service is transmitted within the vertical blanking interval of over-the-air Ch. 17 (WLRN). In preparation for the upcoming DTV transition we have switched to WLRN's digital signal feed and it currently doesn't contain this data. We've spoken to their engineering staff and they do not have a time frame on when this data will be included in their digital feed.

That sounds quite reasonable. :rolleyes:

On old analog channels, the TVGOS data is transmitted during the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI). For compatibility, and easy conversion back to an analog signal, DTV transmissions contain this old VBI too. If WLRN isn't including the VBI data in their new DTV broadcast, there is nothing your cable company can do.

I would suggest that you try contacting WLRN directly, and ask them.

BTW, VBI also contains the Closed Captioning (CC) data, and I believe including that old CC VBI data in their new DTV broadcast is required by law. It would really surprise me if WLRN truly isn't supporting VBI data in their new DTV broadcast, though I guess, not including any VBI data might be simply "growing pains" for WLRN, and eventually they will get their act together.

I contacted my local PBS station and asked about the TV Guide data problems I have been having. I would assume my issue and the answer I received will apply to a number of people here.

Problem:
I quit receiving the VBI data from my cable provider after they started transmitting my VBI host channel digitally.

Temporary Solution:
I purchased an OTA antenna so I could receive the analog broadcast. My TV Guide started working after that.

Future Solution:
As of right now, my local PBS has not incorporated the VBI data into their digital transmission. They did confirm that they would do so but could not say when. See their response below.


PBS Response:
I have just received confirmation from Engineering that the signal should continue. However, the Director was unable to give specifics in terms of when PBS will implement the device to allow us to actually transmit the signal - digitally. Perhaps your cable company is already sending our digital signal and that is why the scheduling information is unavailable via your provider. The signal is currently carried via our analog transmission, but not digital.


I hope the information provided is helpful.

XXX

Viewer Services Representative

Alabama Public Television

2112 11th Avenue South, Suite 400

Birmingham, AL 35205

I have two TVGOS devices. The Sony DVR which will work with digital stations and a 2007 Mits DLP that will NOT work according to Macrovision support (yes, I have actually receved replys from their web site).

Responses from two different CSR's;There are several flavors for the V8 guide, this is dependant on the manufactures and the hardware they use, we only license out the firmware to run on there hardware. And yes the glitches you have experienced are largely do to the preparation for the switch in Feb.If the manufacturer chooses to upgrade the TV Guide firmware they are allowed to, but it takes some work on their part. The device would have to already contain a digital tuner.
Regarding the Mitsu TV, yes we are sure it cannot handle the digital signal.The last part of the 1st response is regarding loosing partial data on various days.

Ok, how about a list of devices that will work after Feb. 17th (other than the DHG-HDD250)??

I opened a trouble ticket with MacroVision about a week ago. They sent an email requesting more information, but I haven't heard anything since then. On their web site, you can check to see if tvgos is available in your area. When I enter my zip code, it correctly finds the cable company as RCN, but then states that there are no known problems with tvgos and RCN, which is not the case.

One question for you all. I've been reading about changing the host channel. How do you do that? I can't find any way to change it in the tvgos on my tv.

I opened a trouble ticket with MacroVision about a week ago. They sent an email requesting more information, but I haven't heard anything since then. On their web site, you can check to see if tvgos is available in your area. When I enter my zip code, it correctly finds the cable company as RCN, but then states that there are no known problems with tvgos and RCN, which is not the case.

One question for you all. I've been reading about changing the host channel. How do you do that? I can't find any way to change it in the tvgos on my tv.

These commands that work with my Sony DHG-HDD250 also work with Mitsubishi televisions with TVGOS. Use at your own risk...

http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=9.0
2.2.2 Is there a service menu(s) for TVGOS?>

Yes. There are actually 3 known service-menus/codes that can be accessed:

The TVGOS diagnostic/info menu: This can be accessed by pressing <GUIDE>, then moving the cursor up to the SETUP menu item on the top bar. Press <DOWN>, then 753159852. This gives you a series of screens that show info like Host Channel, VBI info, and numerous other pages of system info. One of the most useful screens is accessed by immediately pressing <RIGHT> after entering this "753..." menu. This page shows you the Host Channel (among other things).

The "VBI Search Current Channel" code: (Note: This code was previously referred to as the "Force Host Channel" code, but it was brought to my attention that this wasn't actually what it does.) This diagnostic code appears to "force" the unit to search for (and download) VBI data on a channel of your choosing. This can then lead to the correct establishment of your host channel. This can be useful in situations when there are multiple host stations in a particular area, and you want to set the system to use the strongest station. WARNING: This should only be used during initial setup, or when the guide info has been completely reset. The host channel must be BLANK, as reported in the "753..." menu above. Unexpected results can occur if the system already has a host channel and this code is used. USE THIS CODE AT YOUR OWN RISK. ONLY A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TRIED THIS SO FAR, SO PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER IF IT MESSES THINGS UP. The procedure to use this code follows:

1. Tune to the station (either OTA or cable) that you want to use as the host.
2. Press <GUIDE> - move the cursor over the SETUP item on the top menu bar, then press <DOWN>, followed by 963214785. If the code is received properly, the "Info" message just below "Change System Settings" should say "Searching Current VBI Channel".
3. Don't touch anything. The screen should disappear after 5 minutes. Once it disappears, turn off the unit and leave it alone overnight to magically download the guide.
4. On the following day, check the host channel with the "753..." menu described above. If it shows the host channel you tuned to in Step 1, you have successfully changed it! If not, try resetting the guide info and start over.

"Reset Slicing Data" : This can be accessed by pressing <GUIDE>, then moving the cursor up to the SETUP menu item on the top bar. Press <DOWN>, then 653274147. As the description says, this resets the slicing data that appears on the "753..." menu (left-up-up), and makes it easier to see whether you are getting data after a system setting change.

These commands that work with my Sony DHG-HDD250 also work with Mitsubishi televisions with TVGOS. Use at your own risk...

http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=9.0
2.2.2 Is there a service menu(s) for TVGOS?>

Yes. There are actually 3 known service-menus/codes that can be accessed:

The TVGOS diagnostic/info menu: This can be accessed by pressing <GUIDE>, then moving the cursor up to the SETUP menu item on the top bar. Press <DOWN>, then 753159852. This gives you a series of screens that show info like Host Channel, VBI info, and numerous other pages of system info. One of the most useful screens is accessed by immediately pressing <RIGHT> after entering this "753..." menu. This page shows you the Host Channel (among other things).

The "VBI Search Current Channel" code: (Note: This code was previously referred to as the "Force Host Channel" code, but it was brought to my attention that this wasn't actually what it does.) This diagnostic code appears to "force" the unit to search for (and download) VBI data on a channel of your choosing. This can then lead to the correct establishment of your host channel. This can be useful in situations when there are multiple host stations in a particular area, and you want to set the system to use the strongest station. WARNING: This should only be used during initial setup, or when the guide info has been completely reset. The host channel must be BLANK, as reported in the "753..." menu above. Unexpected results can occur if the system already has a host channel and this code is used. USE THIS CODE AT YOUR OWN RISK. ONLY A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TRIED THIS SO FAR, SO PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER IF IT MESSES THINGS UP. The procedure to use this code follows:

1. Tune to the station (either OTA or cable) that you want to use as the host.
2. Press <GUIDE> - move the cursor over the SETUP item on the top menu bar, then press <DOWN>, followed by 963214785. If the code is received properly, the "Info" message just below "Change System Settings" should say "Searching Current VBI Channel".
3. Don't touch anything. The screen should disappear after 5 minutes. Once it disappears, turn off the unit and leave it alone overnight to magically download the guide.
4. On the following day, check the host channel with the "753..." menu described above. If it shows the host channel you tuned to in Step 1, you have successfully changed it! If not, try resetting the guide info and start over.

"Reset Slicing Data" : This can be accessed by pressing <GUIDE>, then moving the cursor up to the SETUP menu item on the top bar. Press <DOWN>, then 653274147. As the description says, this resets the slicing data that appears on the "753..." menu (left-up-up), and makes it easier to see whether you are getting data after a system setting change.Add to that the "G* Test" using code 971397135. Works on my 57831 and shows VBI Pass on cable CBS-HD channel.
In addition, while on that "G* Test" screen you can press numbers 1->5 to run the corresponding tests as seen on the left side of the screen.
IIRC 1-Flash, 2-VBI, 3-ATSC, 4-Serial, 5-IP.
While tuned to CBS-HD, 1-3 all Pass for me, 4&5 Fail.

I received an email from MacroVision today, and it stated that my issue will be fixed by 12/31. It didn't give any more information than that. I'll wait and see.

Can anyone link me to this "G* Test" thingy? :)

First off got a Samsung dlp tv that had tvgos working for the last year and a half. It stopped working 2 weeks ago.

I've tried the G* test on every PBS and CBS station both digital and analog, both over the air and on cable and the VBI test fails every time.

I had a chat session with comcast (I live in the 33029 area code) trying to get some answers about how to get tvgos back. They said I have to get a cable box ($3.97 a month) because the tvgos would be on channel 177 and there would be no other way to get it.

My host station shows blank as my VBI channel did in menu 753159852. I've forced the current VBI channel to WFOR-DT thru menu 963214785 as someone else suggested but it doesn't seem to work.

Anybody have any ideas on how to get tvgos back? I even hooked up some rabbit ears to pick up over the air channels. :confused:

(would the cable box disable my 2 tunner PIP if I got it?)

What exactly is this "G test"?
I see it mentioned a few times, but never saw eaxctly what it is.

What exactly is this "G test"?
I see it mentioned a few times, but never saw eaxctly what it is.

http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=9.0

"G* Factory Test": This is a useful menu for checking for VBI packet reception. To use this test, you must switch to your Host Channel before entering the 9012 service menu. The test will show you various info, and will count VBI packets as "Good" if all is well with your Host Channel. Don't be concerned if the Serial and IR test are shows as "Fail" on the left side. Also, the downloading of VBI data doesn't mean that you are seeing guide data packets. This shows all VBI data (which can include things like Closed Caption info). It has also been reported that performing this test on your host channel (or possibly your Clock Set channel) will reset your clock if it is inaccurate. This doesn't work, however, if your Host Channel has not yet been established.

...
I had a chat session with comcast (I live in the 33029 area code) trying to get some answers about how to get tvgos back. They said I have to get a cable box ($3.97 a month) because the tvgos would be on channel 177 and there would be no other way to get it.
...
(would the cable box disable my 2 tunner PIP if I got it?)

Would there be much harm in trying it?

If your STB ("cable box") can convert the VBI data encoded into channel 177 (which I assume is a digital channel) back into "real" VBI encoded into your STB's analog video out, your TV should continue to be able to get the TVGOS data. I would venture a guess that your setup would continue to have your cable connected to your TV (as well as your STB), and therefore, continue to feed an RF signal to both your internal tuners.

Or, if your TV can't select a video input for TVGOS data, you might need to grab the STB's "channel 3" RF output, and connect that up to your TV (do you have more than one RF input?) for TVGOS to get the TVGOS data from channel 3.

BTW, from the TVGOS website, it seems that for the most part, the only STB's which work like this, are those made by Motorola. What brand does your cable system use?

I would assume if you're using a STB that you would tune your tv to channel 3 and use the cable box's output disabling my PIP unless there is another way to set it up. Right now I split the cable into my tv and vcr/dvd player.

The tv has 2 coax inputs, 1 for cable and 1 for an OTA antenea. The dvd/vcr player connects to the tv using a set of rca jacks and a s-video cable. There is also a bunch of other unused connections like component and hdmi. Unless the cable box connects via something else than the coax, then I couldn't use my 2 tuner PIP by splitting the coax. (I guess I could always use the vcr feed in the pip if that's an option).

Not sure what cable box comcast uses and I'm not sure if the rep was actually talking about the same tv guide. She insisted it was the same but also said my PIP would still work (which I have doubts about)

Still wondering if anyone in the south florida area has been able to get the tvgos to work lately on comcast.

myoda; Oh, the VBI slicing test..............

ya

Just found the tvgos guide that came with my TV. The tvgos communicates with the cable box via a g-link cable. My guess is the tvgos tells the cable box which channel to tune to to receive the proper data. But I assume you still need another cable between the cable box and the TV for the signal. That sound correct?

Unless the cable box connects via something else than the coax, ...

The STB should connect via something else. Just make sure that what is connects with, is analog like "video" or "s-video" (ie, not HDMI).

I haven't seen a STB connect only thru RF (a coax), and ch 3, in at least a decade.

When you set up your TV's TVGOS to control your STB, you should also get to set how your STB connects to your TV. Hopefully, the analog "video" connection I mentioned above is one of the options.

Again, that leaves the cable's coax still connected to your TV's cable connection, and that still leaves your PIP working just like it always has. I guess the key point is, that you would be using the STB only for TVGOS, and not for actually watching any programs.

That makes sense, thanks to everyone for their help. Haven't had to deal with cable boxes for over 10 years so I wasn't sure how they connected anymore.

I notice HD DVR is not that much more a month, I might check that out. But for now I'm trying to get TVGOS from my local HD CBS station following directions in this link http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=55.0

wish me luck.

What exactly is this "G test"?
I see it mentioned a few times, but never saw eaxctly what it is.See here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15375348#post15375348)

See here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15375348#post15375348)I have no host channel and no listings for Days 7&8 (1/1 & 1/2). Decided to try the digital CBS route myself. I've got a Mitsubishi 57831 w/G4 Guide v08.02.44/08.06.44 Build June 5, 2006.

Here's what I did tonight.

Tuned to CBS-HD (cable w/cablecard)
Bring up Guide, Setup, down one, then
753159852 - Diagnostics - verified host channel was blank
179324865 - Enable ATSC - why not?
147258369 - Force Slicing - again, why not?
971397135 - Enter Factory Test Screen (aka G* Test)
First run, VBI Fails and ATSC Passes
After about 20 secs the VBI count start incrementing about 1/sec
Press 2 to rerun VBI test again which passes this time
Exit Guide
Channel up to another HD channel, then channel down to CBS-HD
Bring up Guide, Setup, down one, then
963214785 - VBI Search Current Channel and waited about 30 secs
Powered off TV

I'll check mid-morning tomorrow and see if I have 8 days of listings and what the host channel is.

I have no host channel and no listings for Days 7&8 (1/1 & 1/2). Decided to try the digital CBS route myself. I've got a Mitsubishi 57831 w/G4 Guide v08.02.44/08.06.44 Build June 5, 2006.

Here's what I did tonight.

Tuned to CBS-HD (cable w/cablecard)
Bring up Guide, Setup, down one, then
753159852 - Diagnostics - verified host channel was blank
179324865 - Enable ATSC - why not?
147258369 - Force Slicing - again, why not?
971397135 - Enter Factory Test Screen (aka G* Test)
First run, VBI Fails and ATSC Passes
After about 20 secs the VBI count start incrementing about 1/sec
Press 2 to rerun VBI test again which passes this time
Exit Guide
Channel up to another HD channel, then channel down to CBS-HD
Bring up Guide, Setup, down one, then
963214785 - VBI Search Current Channel and waited about 30 secs
Powered off TV

I'll check mid-morning tomorrow and see if I have 8 days of listings and what the host channel is.Picked up the listings overnight. Now have 8 days of full listings. Host channel still blank, but I now have a host channel ID# where I didn't last night. See what happens tomorrow...

Bwall23,

What does the guide show as your Host Channel ID# now that your guide has populated?

Hi all,

I have a HDTV that has a built-in TV guide on screen function. However when I am using it with a cable box (scientific atlanta 4240HDC), the built-in TV guide function does not work. But the tv guide of the cable box works fine. Any idea how I can access the built-in TV guide function of the TV instead of that of the cable box. Thanks,

I'm still getting TVGOS from Service Electric, on both channels 4 (WPHL-17) and 21 (WHYY-12). I believe that both of those channels originate from Philly.

Too bad our local PBS 39 station, or our local independant CH69, never signed up to offer TVGOS. :(
WaltA,

I live in Bethlehem, PA and have cable with Service Electric. I have a Panasonic 58PX600U plasma and I get cable via a cable card. I was getting TVGOS listings for a while now there are only a very few listings showing. I'm getting the correct channel lineup but very few listings. Most channels show "no listing" I used 18017 zip code in the setup process. Any suggestions?

Bwall23,

What does the guide show as your Host Channel ID# now that your guide has populated?Just to clarify - I'm talking about "Host ID" in "Section System-Statistics", not "Host Chan". I don't recall what it was, other than it wasn't blank or 0x0. I'll check tomorrow morning...

Just to clarify - I'm talking about "Host ID" in "Section System-Statistics", not "Host Chan". I don't recall what it was, other than it wasn't blank or 0x0. I'll check tomorrow morning...Bad news - appears VBI Search Current Channel doesn't get the digital data. My Host Channel was still blank, Host ID was 0x0 and I had no listings for Day 8.

GOOD NEWS - I found the G* Test does get digital data from CBS digital very fast. After running G* Test today for about 30 minutes, I have full listings for Day 8.

Here's a good way to tell if your CBS station is broadcasting the TVGOS data.
Tune to your CBS digital station (I used CBS-HD on cable).
Go into the TVGOS diagnostics screen (753 159 852). You need to be in the right place in the Guide Setup before you key in the code.
Arrow down 3 times to the screen "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer" (If you don't have this, maybe it's because I already enabled ATSC w/179 324 865 and you didn't or your set doesn't support it?).
Write down the number for TVG packets as a base reference.
While still on that diagnostic screen, run the G* Test (On your remote, press these number keys one after the other 971 397 135).
Watch the count for VBI Good packets. Mine takes about 20 seconds before it starts incrementing at a rate of anywhere from 1 a second to 1 every 3 seconds.
Ignore the fact VBI Test failed, it should pass if you press 2 to run it again if you have an incrementing VBI packet count.
Leave the test running until TV Guide times out and exits (about 4 mins on mine).
You should still be tuned to your digital CBS station.
Wait another 10-15 minutes.
Go back into the TVGOS diagnostic screen (753 159 852). You need to be in the right place in the Guide Setup before you key in the code.
Arrow down 3 times to the screen "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer".
Check the number for TVG packets to see if it incremented (mine went from 0 to over 4,000 in about 30 minutes).

After this, although my Host Chan is still blank, I now have "Host ID 0x13" (which is what it used to be when analog PBS was my Host Channel), "VBI Chan fffffffd", "Clock Set Chan fffffffd" and 8 full days of listings.

As an aside, on the diag screen "Section VBI Data-VBI Info" does anyone know what "VBIState 0x05" is? It used to be 0x07 when the analog PBS station was my host channel.

UPDATE: After leaving the TV on and tuned to CBS-HD for 4-5 hours, I checked the diagnostic screen and now have "Host ID 0x13", "Host Chan fffffffd", "VBI Chan fffffffd", "Clock Set Chan fffffffd" and still 8 full days of listings. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

I've run the G* test on numerous stations and it always fails. Should it work while still at firmware version 8.01.42 or do you need to be at 8.05.40 or 8.06.44?

Bad news - appears VBI Search Current Channel doesn't get the digital data. My Host Channel was still blank, Host ID was 0x0 and I had no listings for Day 8.

GOOD NEWS - I found the G* Test does get digital data from CBS digital very fast. After running G* Test today for about 30 minutes, I have full listings for Day 8.

Here's a good way to tell if your CBS station is broadcasting the TVGOS data.
Tune to your CBS digital station (I used CBS-HD on cable).
Go into the TVGOS diagnostics screen (753 159 852). You need to be in the right place in the Guide Setup before you key in the code.
Arrow down 3 times to the screen "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer" (If you don't have this, maybe it's because I already enabled ATSC w/179 324 865 and you didn't or your set doesn't support it?).
Write down the number for TVG packets as a base reference.
While still on that diagnostic screen, run the G* Test (On your remote, press these number keys one after the other 971 397 135).
Watch the count for VBI Good packets. Mine takes about 20 seconds before it starts incrementing at a rate of anywhere from 1 a second to 1 every 3 seconds.
Ignore the fact VBI Test failed, it should pass if you press 2 to run it again if you have an incrementing VBI packet count.
Leave the test running until TV Guide times out and exits (about 4 mins on mine).
You should still be tuned to your digital CBS station.
Wait another 10-15 minutes.
Go back into the TVGOS diagnostic screen (753 159 852). You need to be in the right place in the Guide Setup before you key in the code.
Arrow down 3 times to the screen "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer".
Check the number for TVG packets to see if it incremented (mine went from 0 to over 4,000 in about 30 minutes).

After this, although my Host Chan is still blank, I now have "Host ID 0x13" (which is what it used to be when analog PBS was my Host Channel), "VBI Chan fffffffd", "Clock Set Chan fffffffd" and 8 full days of listings.

As an aside, on the diag screen "Section VBI Data-VBI Info" does anyone know what "VBIState 0x05" is? It used to be 0x07 when the analog PBS station was my host channel.

UPDATE: After leaving the TV on and tuned to CBS-HD for 4-5 hours, I checked the diagnostic screen and now have "Host ID 0x13", "Host Chan fffffffd", "VBI Chan fffffffd", "Clock Set Chan fffffffd" and still 8 full days of listings. We'll see what tomorrow brings...Update tonight...
Full 8 days listing (still going strong, yeah!)
Host ID still 0x13
Host Chan still fffffffd
Different now is VBI Chan 0:0-518 where it was fffffffd last night
Different now is ClockSet Chan 0:0-913 (My cable channel for CBS-HD)
I checked the DLTimer which was previously stuck on 12/25 and it's now (adjusted by me for my local time) tonight at 10:31pm (about 1hr 21 mins from this post).
Also, LastDLEnd is now 12/29/08 @ 13:40:19 my time, which was about 8hrs ago.

The saga continues...

I've run the G* test on numerous stations and it always fails. Should it work while still at firmware version 8.01.42 or do you need to be at 8.05.40 or 8.06.44?First - Ignore the Pass/Fail and look at the counts.

Short Answer is I don't know about the versions since I'm not Macrovision/Gemstar.

Do you get any incrementing counts while leaving the test running for more than, say 30 secs on any of the channels you tested?

First - Ignore the Pass/Fail and look at the counts.

Short Answer is I don't know about the versions since I'm not Macrovision/Gemstar.

Do you get any incrementing counts while leaving the test running for more than, say 30 secs on any of the channels you tested?

Unfortunately, I get no counts anywhere. I did see some counts previously when I tried this whole procedure previously. I screwed it up ending the G* test prematurally because I think it reverted to the old analog station.

Last night the clock reset and the VBI channel said 0:0-4 which I think means over the air channel 4. That's strange since I tried to do CBS-HD which should be 4.1

This morning still no listings but version has been updated and VBI channel nows says 1:0-17 which is my old PBS station which no longer has listings becuase it went digital. I even diabled that station but it came back.

I'm trying to leave the G* test running overnight like the previous posts suggest but it times out after 30 minutes, this may be due to the fact that no VBI data is received. When that happens I shut off the TV.

Hopefully, the version will update tonight and I will start to receive VBI data from somewhere

Unfortunately, I get no counts anywhere. I did see some counts previously when I tried this whole procedure previously. I screwed it up ending the G* test prematurally because I think it reverted to the old analog station.

Last night the clock reset and the VBI channel said 0:0-4 which I think means over the air channel 4. That's strange since I tried to do CBS-HD which should be 4.1

This morning still no listings but version has been updated and VBI channel nows says 1:0-17 which is my old PBS station which no longer has listings becuase it went digital. I even diabled that station but it came back.

I'm trying to leave the G* test running overnight like the previous posts suggest but it times out after 30 minutes, this may be due to the fact that no VBI data is received. When that happens I shut off the TV.

Hopefully, the version will update tonight and I will start to receive VBI data from somewhere

There is a lot of information on the Sony DHG-HDD250/500 thread. Do a search on "digital host", this will return a lot of matches.
One thing that has been observed is that the guide only updates when the power is on when receiving it digitally. It does not need to be powered off overnight like the analog transmission does. I believe it is because with this version of software it looks for an analog host when the power is off.

Update tonight...
Full 8 days listing (still going strong, yeah!)
Host ID still 0x13
Host Chan still fffffffd
Different now is VBI Chan 0:0-518 where it was fffffffd last night
Different now is ClockSet Chan 0:0-913 (My cable channel for CBS-HD)
I checked the DLTimer which was previously stuck on 12/25 and it's now (adjusted by me for my local time) tonight at 10:31pm (about 1hr 21 mins from this post).
Also, LastDLEnd is now 12/29/08 @ 13:40:19 my time, which was about 8hrs ago.

The saga continues...Appears to be working...
Still have a full 8 days of guide listings.
Host ID 0x13
Host Chan fffffffd
I'm ignoring VBI Chan now
ClockSet Chan still 0:0-913
Downloads have occurred, seeing valid start and end times.
DLTimer incremented pointing to later tonight.

bwall23, what version TVGOS do you have?

I have a Mits DLP and it has two different places a Zip Code can be entered for TVGOS. Under the Setup menu and 'Change System Settings' and under the 'Net Command' menu tab of the TV's menu. My DVR only has one location. This is where I think the problem seems to be.

It appears, if you let the Mits entry blank, the TVGOS Setup menu won't allow any changes. There will only be two out of the three submenus. The 'Change System Settings' is missing. This is really a very poor situation since you can't do anything if that entry isn't there.

My problem is I'm trying to use a Canadian Postal Code since I live near the border and Toronto has alot of good programming listings available that aren't available using a US Zip Code. Postal Codes use numbers and letters. The Mits menu is only for numbers for Zip Codes, you can't enter letters.

If I put my Zip Code in and let it ID this market,
wait untill that 1st Setup entry shows that allows changing the setup data,
then check 'No' to the existing choices,
wait again for the opening screen giving you USA or Canada,
enter a Canadian Postal Code,
wait again for the listings to reappear,
sort the list, add/delete channels,
It's ok for a few days, then the setup gets dumped and I have to start from scratch. I loose the channel lineup and the ability to get into the setup menu.

My other device with TVGOS that is using a Zip Code seems to be working alright.

Any ideas? I hope that made sense.

Bruce I used the Batavia zip 14020 and got listings in a day

bwall23, what version TVGOS do you have?Scroll up a bit to post #2071 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15388219#post15388219)

Appears to be working...
Still have a full 8 days of guide listings.
Host ID 0x13
Host Chan fffffffd
I'm ignoring VBI Chan now
ClockSet Chan still 0:0-913
Downloads have occurred, seeing valid start and end times.
DLTimer incremented pointing to later tonight.Still working...
8 full days of listings
Host ID 0x13
Host Chan fffffffd
ClockSet Chan still 0:0-913
Downloads have occurred, seeing valid start and end times.
DLTimer incremented again pointing to later tonight.
Only difference is now I have VBIState 0x08
UPDATE: It's now VBIState 0x0c

dave41736; But, you are getting the listings from WNED analog 17 (or WXXI analog 21 from Rochester).
Tell me that after Feburary 18th of next year. ;)

BTW, welcome to the forums and visit the 'Buffalo' thread.

Still working...
8 full days of listings
Host ID 0x13
Host Chan fffffffd
ClockSet Chan still 0:0-913
Downloads have occurred, seeing valid start and end times.
DLTimer incremented again pointing to later tonight.
Only difference is now I have VBIState 0x08
UPDATE: It's now VBIState 0x0cA New Year and New Issues...
I found tonight my host channel is again blank.
And I have no listings for days 7&8.
I also see others in my area complaining about lack of TVGOS data from our CBS station, so assume it's Macrovision stopped sending it or the station stopped transmitting it.
I found another cable channel that passes the G* Test and increments both VBI and TVG packets, so after running VBI Search Current Channel and G* Test on it, am waiting to see if my listings fill in tonight.

What an adventure!

When I submitted a trouble ticket with MacroVision, they responded in a way in which I understood the issue being that my zip was missing. (Yes it worked before, but I'm assuming that with whatever they're doing to migrate to digital, my zip was not there). They told me as of 12/31, my issue would be resolved. Well, sort of. I now get past the part where it's looking for what I believe to be the host channel. It now just says that all my listings are pending. It's been that way since 12/31. And since it states that it could take up to a week to get listings, I guess I'll hold off until then. If it's still not working, I'll contact MacroVision again.

A New Year and New Issues...
I found tonight my host channel is again blank.
And I have no listings for days 7&8.
I also see others in my area complaining about lack of TVGOS data from our CBS station, so assume it's Macrovision stopped sending it or the station stopped transmitting it.
I found another cable channel that passes the G* Test and increments both VBI and TVG packets, so after running VBI Search Current Channel and G* Test on it, am waiting to see if my listings fill in tonight.

What an adventure!Stuck like glue...
The new host channel is sticking and i've maintained 8 full days of listings for the last 2 days with it. Not sure what the channel is (other than digital SD) since there's no visible video and no audio, but G* Test shows lots of VBI packets and I see lots of TVG packet counts and my TVGOS just loves it as a host channel (0:103-0, cablecard channel 94 on Comcast here).

Just out of curiousity, I ran the G* Test again on my CBS-HD channel which worked as host channel previously and although it still increments the VBI packet count, it no longer updates listings.

Those counts using that test screen include all data sent, not just TVGOS, if I understand correctly which means, that doesn't guarantee you are receiving TVGOS data.

When I submitted a trouble ticket with MacroVision, they responded in a way in which I understood the issue being that my zip was missing. (Yes it worked before, but I'm assuming that with whatever they're doing to migrate to digital, my zip was not there). They told me as of 12/31, my issue would be resolved. Well, sort of. I now get past the part where it's looking for what I believe to be the host channel. It now just says that all my listings are pending. It's been that way since 12/31. And since it states that it could take up to a week to get listings, I guess I'll hold off until then. If it's still not working, I'll contact MacroVision again.

Who do you contact at Macrovision to get answers? I have been sending e-mails to customer support for several weeks now and they put my questions in a discussion thread which never get answered. I lost my analog TVGOS (South Bend, IN) Dec 5 or 6, 2008. I e-mailed engineer at South Bend CBS station, WSBT-TV last week and he responded that their station has not been contacted regarding transmitting TVGOS data via their digital channel.

johnerickson, I sent email via customer support. They responded two times. First, looking for more information. THen after that, I got the response stating that they updated their database and that I should start getting listing as of 12/31. Well, at least it's now stating listings pending. But I still don't have any. I'll be contacting them again soon. I just wanted to give it a whole week before I email again.

quattroG, could you please let me know the e-mail address you are using for Macrovision customer support?

Those counts using that test screen include all data sent, not just TVGOS, if I understand correctly which means, that doesn't guarantee you are receiving TVGOS data.Not quite sure which of the two screens you meant.
1) G* Test
2) Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer

One thing I'm sure of is that it's my host channel and I continue to have 8 full days of listings with it as my host channel. The rest is anecdotal evidence based on information gleaned from posts to this and other forums, which is all any of us without a magic decoder ring or inside info have. My CBS-HD station (which worked as a host channel for awhile) currently shows incremented TVG packets on the diag screen "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer" after running the G* Test and going back in to the diag screen, but it doesn't update my listings, so you may be correct, or maybe the packets are for another version of TVG, corrupt or blank???

P.S. The "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer" TVG packet count appears to stop updating when going back into the diag screen and reset to 0 when starting another G* Test.

Seems to be some confusion about this. First, what does "G" stand for? Guide, Good?
Second, I though those two names were the same screen or test.

quattroG, could you please let me know the e-mail address you are using for Macrovision customer support?

You can go to this page: http://www.macrovision.com/support/9391.htm?link_id=topnav

Once there, they have the following information:

TV Guide On Screen

The TV Guide On Screen system's features vary between products. Please refer to the product list below so you can get the support that works best for you. If you need additional support for TV Guide On Screen, you can contact us at Ce_customer_support@tvguide.com or 800-386-7380.

You can go to this page: http://www.macrovision.com/support/9391.htm?link_id=topnav

Once there, they have the following information:

TV Guide On Screen

The TV Guide On Screen system's features vary between products. Please refer to the product list below so you can get the support that works best for you. If you need additional support for TV Guide On Screen, you can contact us at Ce_customer_support@tvguide.com or 800-386-7380.

Thanks for the info quattroG. That is where I have been sending my questions, but apparently they don't have any answers for me since they are not responding. I wish they would at least acknowledge something.

Seems to be some confusion about this. First, what does "G" stand for? Guide, Good?:) My SWAG would be for G=Gem, *=Star, Gemstar Factory Test Screen.
Second, I though those two names were the same screen or test.Yah, my fault. I forgot to mention where I found you can be anywhere in the Diagnostic screens and still enter codes. The G* Test is what you Sony DVR users refer to it as. In the Mitsubishi Expander covering TVGOS, they refer to it as "TVGuide VBI Slicing Test". In the list of codes I found it's referred to as "Enter Factory Test Screen". When you actually run it, the screen changes to that test screen. Regardless, use the code 971 397 135 to run it. After it times out and returns you to your normally scheduled program, er TV display, go back into the TVGOS Diagnostic screens and navigate to the screen titled "Section ATSC-ATSC Slicer" to view the TVG packet count. That packet count was reset to 0 when you started the test.

As I found out and others have posted, the real check is after running this G* Test, let it timeout and leave the TV on and tuned to that channel you ran the test on for 30 mins to 4 hrs. If your program listings fill in, you are receiving valid TVG packets from that channel since there's only one tuner and you left it tuned to that channel!

You can go to this page: http://www.macrovision.com/support/9391.htm?link_id=topnav

Once there, they have the following information:

TV Guide On Screen

The TV Guide On Screen system's features vary between products. Please refer to the product list below so you can get the support that works best for you. If you need additional support for TV Guide On Screen, you can contact us at Ce_customer_support@tvguide.com or 800-386-7380.

Interesting.. I just followed that link and now it says "The TV Guide On Screen system's features vary between products. Please refer to the product list below so you can get the support that works best for you. If you need additional support for TV Guide On Screen, please contact your manufacturer." Maybe they are tired of all the emails and phone calls?

Weasels.

This is the problem I'm having with my Mits DLP (as posted previously). Mits stuck their fingers into the mix and f*cked it up. :mad:
Now, it's finger pointing time.

Thanks for the info quattroG. That is where I have been sending my questions, but apparently they don't have any answers for me since they are not responding. I wish they would at least acknowledge something.

Well, they got back to me again. They stated what was changed was that my cable company added a host channel on analog channel 99, which I can see that they did. That should have fixed my issue. But it still hasn't. Funny thing is that even though I can see the new channel 99, it still doesn't show up in the TV Guide list of channels. So I'm still back and forth with MacroVision on this issue. Funny that they would still be looking at an analog fix to this issue. I thought everyone else here is looking digital host channels.

Funny that they would still be looking at an analog fix to this issue. I thought everyone else here is looking digital host channels.

I guess it depends on how old your equipment is. If you have an older version of TVGOS that can only use a NTSC tuner (even if there happens to also be a ATSC/QAM tuner too), then you need an analog fix. Basically, an analog channel which is created from a digital channel and includes re-creating the VBI data.

Personally, my DVR is analog NTSC only, and my older LCD HDTV, even though it has an ATSC/QAM tuner, apparently can only use its NTSC tuner for TVGOS data. So far, both are still getting TVGOS data thru SECTV's analog channels.

Has anyone in a market that their CBS digital affilate has not started to pass TVGOS data contacted the station and asked what their plans are? Hopefully not by e-mail, since those rarely get answered.

Has anyone in a market that their CBS digital affilate has not started to pass TVGOS data contacted the station and asked what their plans are? Hopefully not by e-mail, since those rarely get answered.

My local CBS station (WSBT South Bend, IN) is not passing TVGOS data. I e-mailed their engineer and he did answer. He stated that the station has not been contacted by anyone regarding passing TVGOS data. From what I understand, Macrovision needs to send equipment to the CBS station in order for them to sent the TVGOS data. So I don't believe the station can do anything on their own.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Maybe beiig bought by Lionsgate is the reason the contact info was changed?

"Lionsgate to buy TV Guide properties for US$255 million".

MacroVision just sent me an email with a 4 page attachement on running diagnostics. They want me to follow it and fill it out and send it back. They want this to start doing more detailed trouble shooting. I've attached a pdf of this form if anyone would like to take a look at it. Most of the information looks ok. I see a Host ID of 0x4 and VBI state of 0x07 but the VBI Stats section is all 0x0. From this form, it would appear that there needs to be something there for 2xlines/GemstarLines and EnabledLines.

Could some one go over what the following mean and what they do?

Slicing
VBI


I should also add that my Toshiba TV is using verion v09

Also, if anyone would like the word version, so that they can fill it out and send to MacroVision, let me know and I'll also attached that.

Stuck like glue...
The new host channel is sticking and i've maintained 8 full days of listings for the last 2 days with it. Not sure what the channel is (other than digital SD) since there's no visible video and no audio, but G* Test shows lots of VBI packets and I see lots of TVG packet counts and my TVGOS just loves it as a host channel (0:103-0, cablecard channel 94 on Comcast here).

Just out of curiousity, I ran the G* Test again on my CBS-HD channel which worked as host channel previously and although it still increments the VBI packet count, it no longer updates listings.Well... tonight I came home and checked... still have 8 full days of listings, but my host channel has changed. I guess that's good news that my TV can think for itself in the digital age?!? My host channel was 0:0-103 (CableCard Channel 94), now its 0:0-92 and I have no idea what that is since the cablecard maps 10 different digital sub-channels to carrier 92-???. The good thing is it picked up a new host channel on it's own and I've 8 full days of listings.

MacroVision just sent me an email with a 4 page attachement on running diagnostics. They want me to follow it and fill it out and send it back. They want this to start doing more detailed trouble shooting. I've attached a pdf of this form if anyone would like to take a look at it. Most of the information looks ok. I see a Host ID of 0x4 and VBI state of 0x07 but the VBI Stats section is all 0x0. From this form, it would appear that there needs to be something there for 2xlines/GemstarLines and EnabledLines.

Could some one go over what the following mean and what they do?

Slicing
VBII would take a stab at it, but I have ver 8, not 9.

I guess it depends on how old your equipment is. If you have an older version of TVGOS that can only use a NTSC tuner (even if there happens to also be a ATSC/QAM tuner too), then you need an analog fix. Basically, an analog channel which is created from a digital channel and includes re-creating the VBI data.

Personally, my DVR is analog NTSC only, and my older LCD HDTV, even though it has an ATSC/QAM tuner, apparently can only use its NTSC tuner for TVGOS data. So far, both are still getting TVGOS data thru SECTV's analog channels.Not pickin' on you, WaltA, but I sure would like to see more posters backup their posts when they generically say 'OLD', or 'OLDER'. What's wrong with being specific when you have the info to back it up? v7, v8, v9, 07.06.53?, 08.01.59, 08.01.83, 09.01.72? Do you know what the major and minor versions are? Do you know what part of the version# specifies the general vs. platform/model specific version? Do you know what the difference between a main and setup patch version is? Do you know that both main and setup patches are downloaded along with guide info? Do you know when and how often each of these are downloaded? Do you know how to read the version info on the diag screen? Do you have an account at Gemstar and have access to this info?

Appears too often someone posts - ANALOG dependant version, OLDER version, ANALOG dependant even though you also have ATSC/QAM tuner, etc. Let's just get it straight. Nobody can make sense of those posts...

Here's a test, what does it mean when you're told you need a version of TVGOS that's 08.01.65 up in order to utilize digital TVGOS? Remember that if you've done your homework you know that the Major version is 8, Minor version is 65 and the middle 1 means it's general release of that version for all platforms/models/partners.

He stated that the station has not been contacted by anyone regarding passing TVGOS data.Guess they never heard of contacting them first. :rolleyes:Macrovision needs to send equipment to the CBS station in order for them to sent the TVGOS data.Macrovision is suppose to supply the equipment and reimburse the station for carrying the data.

quattroG; Nice link.

Lionsgate to buy TV GuideHere we go again (for the 2nd time), maybe their support might be better.
http://mobile.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6626526
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/lionsgate-buy-tvguidecom-14238"This is tremendous real estate, rarely available, that fits extremely well with our strategy of combining content creation, distribution and direct access to the consumer," Lionsgate co-chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a prepared statement.And so begins all the corporate BS. :mad: Wonder who writes up that crap?“We believe this transaction improves the probability and the timing of closing the transaction, while providing for non-contingent consideration comparable to our previously announced transaction.Huh?? :confused: Under the deal, Macrovision retains its grid syndications business through TVGuide.com, where it licenses its online guide to other Web sites.Wonder if that has anything to do with TVGOS?

Here we go again (for the 2nd time), maybe their support might be better.
http://mobile.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6626526
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/lionsgate-buy-tvguidecom-14238
Wonder if that has anything to do with TVGOS?I don't see where it says anything about TVGOS, Guide Daily or Guide Plus+. It appears to be just TV GUIDE Online (http://www.tvguide.com/Listings/default.aspx) and TV Guide Network (http://www.tvguide.com/Channel/default.aspx).
In fact an earlier article (http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6557074) about Macrovision purchasing Gemstar had this to say
Macrovision has said it is most interested in Gemstar’s IPG assets and will explore options for selling TV Guide magazine, TV Guide Network and the TVG horse-racing channel.

To update on my TVGOS problem in the South Bend, IN area, I did get a reply from Macrovision support, stating that both inserters in my area were down and that they were working on the problem. They also asked for the name and number of the CBS engineer (regarding the digital inserter).

bwall23; Agreed, there was no direct mention of TVGOS, but consdiering that is only a small part of the whole picture, I would see why. So it's unclear if TVGOS is affected, though it would be odd if it wasn't. BTW, that last link is dead.

bwall23; Agreed, there was no direct mention of TVGOS, but consdiering that is only a small part of the whole picture, I would see why. So it's unclear if TVGOS is affected, though it would be odd if it wasn't. BTW, that last link is dead.Here's your answer.
Neon and Liquid (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6627461.html?q=macrovision) LiquidHD (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6627462.html?q=macrovision)

Golla, nice find.
Macrovision Solutions is enhancing the next version of the interactive program guide it licenses to TV manufacturers -- code-named Neon Kinda as what M$ said about Vista a few years ago (and we all know how much BS that was).According to Macrovision, 58 million CE devices around the world are enabled with its IPG for on-screen program listings. TV manufacturers that have licensed previous versions of the TV Guide On-Screen IPG include Panasonic, Sony, Samsung Electronics and Sanyo."According to....." Gota love that opening. How about "According to well researched facts....." I see Mitsubishi and Toshiba weren't listed. Macrovision, which acquired Gemstar-TV Guide International last year, also sells IPG software to cable operators. You know, those MSO's that strip away the data from the local OTA 'host' channel, just to force you to rent their STB's.Neon, previously called TV Guide On-Screen, will be available for CE manufacturers to begin developing with by the second quarter.....in time for the 2010 CES.
Yep, if the current name isn't working, just give it a glitzy name to market to the kids under 30.

Meanwhile, in another part of town.....
Mitsubishi (one of the manufactures that wasn't listed) is claiming their newer firmware (V8.03) will allow their older TV's with TVGOS to decode the data from digital channels, which was stated in the Service Manual that the set could not. It also fixes a error mssage regarding these new "M" cable cards.

A couple of pages back I was posting about my lose of TVGOS and trying to re-aquire the info. Well I've finally got data but not sure how I actaully accomplished it. I tried to follow the directions from the following URL which I've pasted the directions at the end of this post. I also setup a set of rabbit ears just in case.

http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=55.0

I finally was able to get the firmware version updated to 8.06.44 using the digital CBS station but was never able to see VBI data incrementing on the G* test. The VBI station always reset to my old PBS station and I had no host station or data.

I finally tried the G* test on the PBS station (cable version) just for kicks and wouldn't you know it the TV froze up kinda like windows does. Instead of seeing the test screen the screen was just black in that portion with the rest of setup screen looking normal. The remote wouldn't work and the power button on the TV wouldn't work either. When my PC freezes up like this I hold the power button in for 5 seconds so I tried that on the TV. Well that rebooted everything but I figured that it reset everything and the firmware would be back to 8.01.42.

Funny though when I went back to the tv guide I magically had a channel linup with no listings. I never ran the 963214785 test (VBI Search Current Channel). Well I left the set off overnight and in the morning I had listings (both cable and OTA). The host station was 1:0-17 while the VBI channel was 0:0-17. One being the cable station and the other being the OTA one.

I figured that wasn't right so I tuned out the OTA channel 17 and left the set off for another night. Next morning the TV went through the setup process again asking me to select which channel lineup to use, I also seemed to lose all the listings. I reenabled the OTA channel 17 and later had all my listings back.

Now both Host and VBI channel point to 1:0-17 (cable) and everything seems good at least until Feb 17th. Not sure if I'm getting the signal OTA anymore but I'm afraid to turn it back off. Seems like I'm getting it from cable channel 17 which may have gone digital, or maybe they were running a digital trial which wiped out my data.

Oh, and by the way been getting responses from from the TVGOS guys but they have not been too helpful. They just want to close the call and have me contact the manufacturer. In case anybody is intersted I've included the text at the end of the post.




1. Turn off the "Auto Off" feature.

2. Run the TVGOS "Reset to Factory Default" from the TV Guide level of the 9012 service menu (NOT the "Restore Factory Default" at the top level of the 9012 service menu). Then enter all your zipcode, air/cable, etc. info.

3. Run the 753159852 test and verify that your TVGOS firmware factory version is 8.01.42 (or some similar old version) and the downloaded version is 0. If not, repeat the TVGOS factory reset in step 2 until it is. The clock will probably be incorrect or absent at this point.

4. Tune to your digital host channel and run the TVGOS G* test.

5. Leave alone overnight (and I do mean overnight).

6. In the morning, run the 753159852 test and verify that your TVGOS firmware has been upgraded to 8.05.40. The clock will still probably be incorrect or absent.

7. Tune to your digital host channel and run the TVGOS G* test.

8. Leave alone overnight.

9. In the morning, run the 753159852 test and verify that your TVGOS firmware has been upgraded to 8.06.44. The clock will still probably be incorrect or absent.

10. Tune to your digital host channel and run the TVGOS G* test. Once it shows incrementing VBI, exit the test screen with the EXIT button. Press the channel up button, wait a few seconds, and press the channel down button so that you're back tuned to your digital host channel.

11. Now run the 963214785 test (VBI Search Current Channel), wait a few seconds, and turn the Sony off.

12. Leave alone overnight.

13. In the morning, the clock should be correct! Turn it back on and verify that your guide channel lineup has filled in. It will probably be all no-listings.

14. Run the 753159852 test and verify that your host channel is your digital host channel (*** This is where my test went awry - mine had selected the analog host; but then again, it has been known to do that in the past in spite of the VBI Search Current Channel. ***)

15. Tune to your digital host channel and run the TVGOS G* test. Wait a few hours, then re-check the guide. Hopefully it will be completely populated. If not, run the G* test again and wait a few more hours.

16. Have fun rearranging all the channels. Turn "Auto Off" back on if you want. If necessary, repeat the VBI Search Current Channel procedure overnight as many times as necessary to get the digital host to stick as the host channel.


............................................................ ...............................
email trail from Macrovision

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

We will assume your issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you within 48 hours.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Digital Transition Problem 33029:Comcast - Pembroke Pines


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Nick) - 01/09/2009 10:25 AM
I do apologize for the inconvenience. We are not a call center and there are only 4 of us here. To help you quicker, please call Samsung; they have a TV Guide On Screen support team and will be able to help you. And WLRN PBS 17 is the channel the carries the data in your area. Thank you.

Customer (Michael) - 01/08/2009 10:01 AM
You must be kidding. You want me to contact Samsung to find out why you're not sending the data to my local station. Or maybe you are sending it but you have changed which station you are working with. Or that station has gone digital and I cannot receive the signal anymore.

Do you guys know which stations in my area carry the TVGOS data????

-----Original Message-----
From: TV Guide Customer Care [mailto:tvgos@mailnj.custhelp.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:37 AM
To: Michael
[Incident: 081229-000006]

Response (Nick) - 01/08/2009 09:37 AM
Please contact your manufacture for support. They will work with you, collect the appropriate information, and escalate your case to us if need be. Thank you.

Customer (Michael) - 01/08/2009 09:30 AM
Sorry I didn't understand this response, it doesn't say anything.

Can you supply a list of analog/digital stations that broadcast the TVGOS data currently? Do you know who will be supplying the signal after everything goes digital next month? CBS? PBS?

-----Original Message-----
From: TV Guide Customer Care [mailto:tvgos@mailnj.custhelp.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 3:32 PM
To: Michael
[Incident: 081229-000006]

Response (Gina Barnes) - 01/07/2009 03:31 PM
Thank-your inquiry is regarding the Digital Transition please check out our web site www.macrovision.com/dtv for regular updates.

If you need further assistance please contact your consumer electronic manufacture for support.

Regards
TV Guide On Screen
Partner Technical Support

Well, my TVGOS is back up and running. Many thanks needs to go the Richard at MacroVision for all his help. On the ironic side of things, after all this to get it working, Toshiba is giving me a total refund and taking this tv back do to lcd banding issues. So I'm only going to have this set for another week. But I'll be enjoying TVGOS until then.. :rolleyes:

Well... tonight I came home and checked... still have 8 full days of listings, but my host channel has changed. I guess that's good news that my TV can think for itself in the digital age?!? My host channel was 0:0-103 (CableCard Channel 94), now its 0:0-92 and I have no idea what that is since the cablecard maps 10 different digital sub-channels to carrier 92-???. The good thing is it picked up a new host channel on it's own and I've 8 full days of listings.I'm seeing what most posters in the Sony DHG thread have been saying. You just can't seem to get a digital channel to "stick" as host channel. Yesterday I checked and found I had no listings for days 6, 7 & 8 and host channel was blank again. Instead of messing with it, after watching for the evening I just turned it off.

This morning it's locked onto CBS-HD as host channel as has full listings for 8 days. I decided to take pictures of most of the Diagnostic screens as a souvenir in case this never happens again. If anyone's interested, I can post the screen shots.

bwall, when I spoke to Richard at MacroVision, he told me that when they finally update the software for digital, anyone with at least 08 and newer (I have 09), should automatically get the TVGOS listings. Nothing to do. From my understanding, the changes being made now, at least in my case, are updating data to get updated analog host information. Now, maybe I've misunderstood, but I believe not.

bwall, when I spoke to Richard at MacroVision, he told me that when they finally update the software for digital, anyone with at least 08 and newer (I have 09), should automatically get the TVGOS listings. Nothing to do. From my understanding, the changes being made now, at least in my case, are updating data to get updated analog host information. Now, maybe I've misunderstood, but I believe not.Thanks quattroG, I would prefer it takes care of itself too.

Do you know what he meant by "when they finally update the software for digital"? Did he mean they would be broadcasting TVGOS software updates to our sets, i.e. 08.06.44 -> something newer, or updating the software in their TVGOS inserters at the broadcasters, such as CBS, PBS and FOX?

I would think with you being at v9 you have nothing to worry about since that's the digital TVGOS version. Supposedly (according to FAQ's on Macrovision Support Site-you can view once you register to create an account) you need v8.xx.65 or higher for digital TVGOS.

For the last 2 days my set has "stuck" to CBSHD for host channel and I'm at 08.06.44. I'm knocking on wood.

P.S. The middle two digits in the TVGOS version# mean general release(1), model/platform specific release(?), patch(5-setup,6-main). They don't figure into the major and minor versions which are the first and third set of digits separated by the periods. So in my case of 08.02.44/08.06.44, I'm running build 08-Major.02-Platform.44-minor/with main patch 08.06.44. I found all this on the macrovision support site after registering for an account.

quattroG; What model TV do you have?

videoBruce, I currently have a Tosh 42lz196. Now that I got the TVGOS working, Toshiba is taking it back and refunding my money..

bwall, I really don't know what he meant, and maybe I just misunderstood. But he did state that the host channel in my zip code, was still an analog station. I think when my cable company switches over to 100% digital, I shouldn't need to do anything.

He did state that when there are software updates to the TVGOS, they make them available to the manufactures. It would be up to, in my case, Toshiba to license those updates, and then pass them along to the consumers who purchased their products with TVGOS.

For the last 2 days my set has "stuck" to CBSHD for host channel and I'm at 08.06.44. I'm knocking on wood.Make that 3 days now. Where's that wood again.

videoBruce, I currently have a Tosh 42lz196. Now that I got the TVGOS working, Toshiba is taking it back and refunding my money..

bwall, I really don't know what he meant, and maybe I just misunderstood. But he did state that the host channel in my zip code, was still an analog station. I think when my cable company switches over to 100% digital, I shouldn't need to do anything.

He did state that when there are software updates to the TVGOS, they make them available to the manufactures. It would be up to, in my case, Toshiba to license those updates, and then pass them along to the consumers who purchased their products with TVGOS.Thanks quattroG, since you had TVGOS v9 you had nothing to worry about since it's both analog and digital compliant. It would have worked when everything went digital. Hopefully you're getting a better set out of the deal with Toshiba. Do they still make them with cablecard and TVGOS?

quattroG; Not to get OT, but why did you return the set?
Was that a full 8 day guide? Any other LCD's have the Guide?

quattroG; Not to get OT, but why did you return the set?
Was that a full 8 day guide? Any other LCD's have the Guide?

VideoBruce and bwall, There's a long thread under "2006 Toshiba Regza..." explaining the banding issues on these sets. After the 2006 model year, most manufactures dropped cable card. And if you have a set and are using the Cable card instead of a STB, then it makes sense for the TV to have the TVGOS built in. So when my issue first showed up, Toshiba offered me a newer model year set, but it didn't have CC and TVGOS. So I decided to accept the same model tv, in a refurb. I was able to get Tosh to add another year of warranty to this refurb. Then the banding issue showed up on that set. Again, Tosh offered a new MY set, but again no CC or TVGOS. So this time, they had another tv from the same MY, but it was a level higher, and they said used a different panel. So I decided yet again to take the refurb. Again, banding showed up, and this set was still under the second year of warranty. So Toshiba said that finally, there were panels available to repair, and that's what they wanted to do at first. But then I got a call and they stated that their engineers reviewed my file and decided that neither a new panel, or a new set would fix my issue. Read that as, they had enough and gave up, and decided to refund my entire purchase price of the tv. That turned out just fine for me. I ended up purchasing the same new 2009 model set that they would have given me as a swap, and I end up pocketing $400.00 in return due to the lower cost of the newer set than what I paid two years ago for the original set. I have no ill feeling towards Toshiba. I have to say that their customer service was absolutely fantastic. Everytime I contacted them, I was connected to someone right away and they responded very quickly to all issues. That's the biggest reason I'm going back(I've been a fan of Tosh for some time and still have a 36" tube set going on 14 years that has just a fantastic picture for that technology). The banding issue was common that year in the 42 and 47" panels. Which by the way, were used by several manufactures and all had banding issues. So I believe it was a design flaw, not a manufacturing flaw. Anyway, I'll miss the TVGOS as that was head and shoulders above what's on the STB. And Cable Card is still the way to go, No unsitely STB, or extra wires, or power consumed by the STB, and especially, the picture quality was better.

Make that 3 days now. Where's that wood again.I knew I should have found that wood again. Sometime today I lost my CBSHD host channel. I can tell it was today by the last DL time, DL Timer and that I have 8 days of listings.

I did the G* Test, let it time out. Did channel up to another digital channel, then channel down to CBSHD and ran VBI Search Current Channel, letting it timeout, watched some CBSHD and shut the set off. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow.

Hopefully the new firmware available for my Mits TV will fix this.

bwall23,

Do you have a good signal on the cBS ch? I wonder if the all or nothing nature of DTV has anything to do with what is happening in your case? What you are describing would fit that logic.

I knew I should have found that wood again. Sometime today I lost my CBSHD host channel. I can tell it was today by the last DL time, DL Timer and that I have 8 days of listings.

I did the G* Test, let it time out. Did channel up to another digital channel, then channel down to CBSHD and ran VBI Search Current Channel, letting it timeout, watched some CBSHD and shut the set off. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow.

Hopefully the new firmware available for my Mits TV will fix this.Checked today when I got home. No listings for day 8 and still no host channel. I did the G* Test, let it timeout and kept the set on still tuned to CBSHD. That has always got me listings before. I'll leave it on for a few hours and check again later tonight.

bwall23,

Do you have a good signal on the cBS ch? I wonder if the all or nothing nature of DTV has anything to do with what is happening in your case? What you are describing would fit that logic.I'm picking it up from Comcast Digital Cable. I also have a UHF antenna that picks it from OTA, but I don't use that for the TVGOS. It's something changing in the TVGOS data the last month or two and my set (also the Sony DHG recorders) which is version 8 doesn't want to 'stick' to the digital TVGOS host channels.

bwall23; What model? You also have a PM.

I got the firmware and flashed the set. The orginal instructions are wrong (What a surprise........ had to do it a 2nd time) Seemed to fix the corupted TVGOS program issue, but the user interface between the TV itself and TVGOS is still the same. I strongly believe this caused the orginal problem.
If you change the Zip Code in the TVGOS menu after you orginally entered a Zip Code under the NetCommand menu, it doesn't reflect the change in the NetCommand menu. Hence a potential problem.

Using a Canadian Postal code seems to makes matters worse. Apparently Mits Japan has a 'hard-on' for Canada, sisnce Mits isn't sold there and they apparently went out of their way not to have this wotk with Postal Codes.

BTW, have you noticed your 'ZipCode' is SIX digits, not five in the Diag. screen with a Mits TV?? There is an additional '1' after the five digit ZipCode.

Checked today when I got home. No listings for day 8 and still no host channel. I did the G* Test, let it timeout and kept the set on still tuned to CBSHD. That has always got me listings before. I'll leave it on for a few hours and check again later tonight.That seemed to work. Have a full 8 days listings again and the host channel is ffffffd again which is what happened when this all started.

bwall23; What model? You also have a PM.57831 and replied to the PM.

What's your model?

Have you looked in the TVGOS diagnostic screen to see if the TVGOS version changed?

BTW, have you noticed your 'ZipCode' is SIX digits, not five in the Diag. screen with a Mits TV?? There is an additional '1' after the five digit ZipCode.In the TVGOS diag screen? Mine is 5 digits. In MENU-NetCommand-Guide, mine is 5 digits.

Maybe they've enabled 6 character Canadian postal codes. Have you tried that since the firmware update?

57732,
Yes, but still the same updated version. The firmware was for the TV, not TVGOS,
Yes, the TVGOS diag. screen. In mine it's xxxxx1. NetCommand is 5 digits
No, which is part of the problem. The interface between the TV and TVGOS needs to be separate. It appears the Zip Code you enter in the NetCommand supercedes what is entered in the 'Change System Settings' screen when it is available. Which is another problem. This screen keeps disappearing when you make a change and doesn't return.

Answer me this, when you make a change in the System Settings screen, after you exit, if you go back to 'Setup', is that entry (System Settings) still there?

videobruce; 'Change System Settings' only appears when you have a host channel. If TVGOS loses the host channel, that option will not be there. Unless you have a host channel, that option doesn't appear under Setup.

Problem number one. Real bad idea. When you can't get a host channel, you then can't change anything. :mad:

Anyone else that has a Mits TV confirm the number of digits shown for the zip code in the diag. screen? Mine always has a '1' after the 5 digits (for a total of six)even if the digits are all zero's. Again, this is just the diag. screen, NOT the NetCommand screen.

Mits, NetCommand interface for entering a zip code (only a zip code), is the 2nd bad idea. :mad:

videobruce:

i finally got my guide fully loaded and figured out how to access the sysstats screen.

i've got 21120 entered in my netcommand and 21120 showing on sysstats.

good luck

jtm

Which model?

Anyone else other than bwall23 & Jim Miller report on the number of digits in the Stats screen for their zip code?

mitsu 52" from 2003 or 2004 52628 i believe with v30.007.02 firmware.

jtm

What version TVGOS?

build time: may 20, 2005 on the section system - system info screen

i haven't found a "version number anywhere. where to look?

jtm

It's right on the 1st screen that pops up.
2nd line, 2nd entry.

Which model?

Anyone else other than bwall23 & Jim Miller report on the number of digits in the Stats screen for their zip code?

I have a WD-73927 which only has two permanent options in the Setup menu:

- Change channel display
- Change default options

A third option (Change the channel lineup) will display if the system senses multiple lineups available for your zip code, and allow you to choose the appropriate one. There is no “Change system settings”.

Entering the diagnostic code on my “Change channel display” entry brings up the page you reference and mine shows the correct 5-digit zip. If I am looking in the correct place, I believe my TVGOS version number is the same as yours and reads:
08.02.44/08.06.44/00.00.00/00040005/64/0000

That's it;
08.06.44
Is the current version number. Your lucky a set that old updated, but question is will your set work with digital channels as Mits claims their upgraded firmware (they call it software) will allow?A third option (Change the channel lineup) will display if the system senses multiple lineups available for your zip code, and allow you to choose the appropriate one. There is no “Change system settings”.There seems to be two different ways that entry is labeled depending on the device and/or manufacture, just to confuse matters worse. :mad:

That's it;
08.06.44
Is the current version number. Your lucky a set that old updated, but question is will your set work with digital channels as Mits claims their upgraded firmware (they call it software) will allow?

Is the new Mits version available now? That is the latest version of TVGOS? It claims to have a May 2005 build date :(

For my set, I don't know about yours.
Call Mits and see if it is. Tell them you want to know if they have updated firmware to allow your model to decode TVGOS data from a digital channel. You understand they have updates for newer sets.

08.06.44 for me as well

i'm putting calling mitsu on my todo list. does anyone know of updated firmware for a 52628? my current fw is v30.007.02.

tnx
jtm

is there a magic decoder ring somewhere on the web for all this tvgos stuff?

tnx
jtm

videobruce; 'Change System Settings' only appears when you have a host channel. If TVGOS loses the host channel, that option will not be there. Unless you have a host channel, that option doesn't appear under Setup.I should say a valid lineup and host channel providing TVGOS data. Wierd things have been going on since Sunday until tonight. Hopefully that means inserters are updated and running and cable co is fixing things. All of a sudden my old PBS analog channel is transmitting TVGOS packets like crazy and they hadn't been for the last month.

is there a magic decoder ring somewhere on the web for all this tvgos stuff?

tnx
jtmbump

I've found jewels here and there, but no comprehensive info in one place. Since it's proprietary info, now property of Macrovision, you won't find a comprehensive collection of info.

If you have time to kill ;-)
Macrovision Support (http://tvgos.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/tvgos.cfg/php/enduser/acct_login.php?) Create an account

The Unofficial TV Guide On Screen Help Guide (http://home1.gte.net/res18h39/tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/)

The (Un)Official Sony DHG-HDD250/500 Resource Guide (http://www.spiffspace.com/sonydvr.html)

Sony DHG-HDD250/500 Forum (http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php)

Sony DHG-HDD250/500: Official Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711)

TV Guide On Screen - post your info here! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=510125)

The Magic 8 Ball Speaks Out On TVGOS & DTV! (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1093923)

Also a couple DISH DTVPal forums on here.

Interesting find with Steve's site except the e-mail address is dead and the site appears not to been updated since 2006.

BTW, anyone can create a Macrovision account, though it appears it was meant for people within the industry. No personal information is necessaary.
If anything, I would say, the more the better. At least it shows interest in this. :)

Interesting find with Steve's site except the e-mail address is dead and the site appears not to been updated since 2006.

BTW, anyone can create a Macrovision account, though it appears it was meant for people within the industry. No personal information is necessaary.
If anything, I would say, the more the better. At least it shows interest in this. :)You have a (our model year) specific PM awaiting you.

It sure would be helpful if one of you nice folks from Macrovision / Gemstar would post some help or guidance in this Forum. We're all wondering what's going on with the resets, different versions of TVGOS (analog vs. digital) and the impending Digital TV transition.

After almost 3 years using TVGOS with my Sony DVR, I ecperianced the first full reset Thursday morning. All of the channel editing was lost. Not just from a US station, b ut from a Canadian station also so it wasn't the stations fault or the DVR since my TV got reset also. Actually twice.

It's too bad the configuration can't be saved so as to reload it back after something like this happens. Also, it;s too bad the channel list can't be edited outside the set and returned just a FTA satellite receiver allows using a PC program.

To me, it looks as they have consolidated the markets into larger geographic areas. I see listing of stations that I never even heard of before. I'm assuming from the entire state. I understand 50 to 75 miles away, but looks like more as well over 300 miles.
AFAIC, the biggest problems are;

1. Not being able to save a 'config' type of file with the channel list that has been edited.
2. Not being able to edit the file on a PC like you can do with a FTA satellite receiver.
3. Way too many stations shown that are in very distant markets.
4. Not being able to assign a known 'host' channel eliminating the hassle of 'forceing' the channel that doesn't always work.

BTW, I understand the reason not to have #4 available, but it could be made available using a special code that only Macrovision has. Not that that could ever get out. :D

Is there a way to get TVGOS installed on my TV? I searched for this but couldn't find anything. I bought a Pioneer plasma in 2005 (PRO-1130HD) and it came with TVGOS. It had problems with daylight savings and clock issues, but I miss the ability to schedule daily/weekly reminders. I now have a new Pioneer plasma (PRO-151FD), but it doesn't come with TVGOS. I'm curious if there is a way to buy it or get it installed on my new plasma.

Is there a way to get TVGOS installed on my TV? I searched for this but couldn't find anything. I bought a Pioneer plasma in 2005 (PRO-1130HD) and it came with TVGOS. It had problems with daylight savings and clock issues, but I miss the ability to schedule daily/weekly reminders. I now have a new Pioneer plasma (PRO-151FD), but it doesn't come with TVGOS. I'm curious if there is a way to buy it or get it installed on my new plasma.

Just let me mention, that I just bought a Sony XBR6, and it comes with the latest TVGOS (ver 9, I believe). While TVGOS has added several nice new features over the TVGOS versions on my older devices, it does not have the reminder feature anymore.

However, let me mention that possibly you could add a DTVPal or DTVPal Plus STB, not for its DTV tuner, but that it has built-in TVGOS.

Is there a way to get TVGOS installed on my TV? Nice idea, but no.
Actually, if these Asian manufactures woulkd stop putting 'gimmicks' in these TV's (caller ID, internet access etc.) and return the 'pratical' features back like;

1. Two RF inputs (the #1 pratical, needed feature that was removed). or at least, dual channel table memories
2. IEEE1394 outputs,
3. Full TVGOS with ability to store a custom channel lineup internally, separate from the program so it can't get deleted or reset,
4. And an external interface (USB or Media Card Reader which many sets already have) so as to save the file outside the TV,
5. With the ability to (similar to FTA satellite receivers) not just export but to edit the list on a PC and import that channel list back to the device. Why can't that be done here?

But, the above sugestion is the cheapest way of geting the Guide and it appears easy to setup with almost instant results. I don't know about the editing of channels though.

Nice idea, but no.
Actually, if these Asian manufactures woulkd stop putting 'gimmicks' in these TV's (caller ID, internet access etc.) and return the 'pratical' features back like;

1. Two RF inputs (the biggest loss),
2. IEEE1394 outputs,
3. Full TVGOS with ability to store a custom channel lineup internally, separate from the program so it can't get deleted or reset,
4. And an external interface (USB or Media Card Reader which many sets already have) so as to save the file outside the TV,
5. With the ability to (similar to FTA satellite receivers) not just export but to edit the list on a PC and import that channel list back to the device. Why can't that be done here?

But, the above sugestion is the cheapest way of geting the Guide and it appears easy to setup with almost instant results. I don't know about the editing of channels though.

SECOND THAT! A TV with multiple i/o ports and really good pic quality so you can do the fancy stuff with external devices that are really good at a particular task. This vs a TV that does a lousy to minimal job at many tasks.

I have never had a reset before untill last week in the past 3 or so years that I have been using TVGOS. Now, I have had four.

This poll is somewhat dated with results going back 3 years. I would like to start a new thread to reflect the current state of transistion. Since this covers all three types of TV's and two different recorders, it really need to be placed in the HDTV Programming forum.

Nice idea, but no.
Actually, if these Asian manufactures woulkd stop putting 'gimmicks' in these TV's (caller ID, internet access etc.) and return the 'pratical' features back like;

...

I know that this is off topic, but I have to agree with you.

With each TV I purchased over the years, each one has less and less "meaningful" features.

Yea, I miss the two or even three RF inputs; the center channel input (to allow continued use of the built-in speakers); IR output (to allow seamless control of a STB, etc); cablecard; two tuners; all/any inputs to either PIP; etc.

And yea, the reminder feature of TVGOS. :D

And yea, the reminder feature of TVGOS. :DMaybe they got rid of it because it was causing glitches. I remember when a show on my weekly reminder was discontinued, the TVGOS would still flip to that channel even after I removed it from my reminder.

I have 2 RCA TV's that has Guide-plus on screen programming it has been off since the last week in December on one I have lost everything even the channel line up one and on one I have a channel line up. What can I do to get it to start loading the data again?

Can anyone out there help?

This in new to me I really dont know what to do cananyone help? how can I find out if anyone can read my post messages

This in new to me I really dont know what to do cananyone help? how can I find out if anyone can read my post messages

Your TVs may not be able to decode the new TVGOS data being sent by your local host station, or the local host station may have stopped broadcasting the data. If you receive your TV signal via cable, then you may want to call them (ask to speak to an engineer) and ask if they are passing the TVGOS signal to their subscribers. If you receive your TV signal exclusively over the air with an antenna, your TVs will need the capability to receive and decode the TVGOS data being broadcast by CBS on their digital channels.

This in new to me I really dont know what to do cananyone help? how can I find out if anyone can read my post messages

Do what I did. You can contact MacroVision via their web page. They got back to me in about 2 days asking more information. From there, they worked my issue which turned out they needed to update their database regarding my location (zip code area), and I guess where/how to get the guide data. It actually took about two weeks of them trying different things, but finally got it working. They won't know if there's a problem unless you tell them.

Can I say again that I sure miss my TVGOS with daily/weekly reminders and custom channel order? I don't like the idea of having to buy yet another box and clutter my cabinet just to get it.

With each TV I purchased over the years, each one has less and less "meaningful" features.That was the same way it was with VCR's. They had on panel programming which was easy. I could program two, three and and sometimes all eight programs in a couple of minutes. You didn't have to turn on your TV just to program the recorder. Then on screen programming came along which was ok, but they dropped the display on the VCR and the direct programming to save the cost of the front panel LCD and the associated buttons. Much cheaper to have a couple of chips do the work. Of course, most were still too lazy to do so.

About as bad as power windows in a vehicle. You have to turn the key to open or close the window. Battery dead or no key? Tough sh*t, your SOL. :rolleyes:

tootsmag; Go to your closest local reception thread and ask around.

Do what I did. You can contact MacroVision via their web page. They got back to me in about 2 days asking more information. From there, they worked my issue which turned out they needed to update their database regarding my location (zip code area), and I guess where/how to get the guide data. It actually took about two weeks of them trying different things, but finally got it working. They won't know if there's a problem unless you tell them.

Thanks for this info. Would you mind providing a bit more detail:

Which page on their site/email addr did you use to contact them? What did you convey to them as your issue?

You can contact MacroVision via their web page.If you can get them to respond. Apparently, you were lucky.

Thanks for this info. Would you mind providing a bit more detail:

Which page on their site/email addr did you use to contact them? What did you convey to them as your issue?


Try this:

http://www.macrovision.com/support/8459.htm

Try this:

http://www.macrovision.com/support/8459.htm

Thx. I sent them a note via the form above two days ago. Waiting to hear back.

Sure would be great if Ken reconsidered this request now. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11173635&&#post11173635)

Long time satisfied user of TVGOS (well, 90% of the time anyway).
I have 3 devices using the service: LG TV in the bedroom AND LG TV & Sony HD DVR both in the living room.

Problem the past few days: The bedroom LG seems to be loading the programming fine, but the LG and Sony in the living room have not been loading! All are on Charter basic cable feed. I have tried rebooting both the units in the living room and checked the TVGOS setup screen.

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED....

thanks,
Kevin ;)

I have 3 devices too. I know that my DVR gets its data from my cable ch 21, and my LCD TV gets its data from my cable ch 4. I am not too sure why the DVR doesn't like ch 4, just skipped over it and ended up at ch 21.

Do you happen to know what software version of TVGOS you have on each device, and do you happen to know what channel each is using?

Well, the firmware on the Sony is 1.2.06 but I am not sure how to check the software version of TVGOS on it or the LG tv's.

Any idea how to determine that AND where to find out what channels they each get their data from?

Disclaimer: The following is my understanding from posts to this forum. I've had no communication with Macrovision.

TVGOS was formerly distributed using the analog PBS feed, available on both OTA and cable. That is going away soon, if it hasn't already.

Macrovision (formerly Gemstar) reached an agreement with CBS to distribute TVGOS information with their digital broadcast. This information is now available in many markets (http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=tvgos). In theory, cable users with QAM tuners should be able to receive this information on the cable company's CBS HD feed, once upgraded with a newer version of the TVGOS software.

This may not always work in practice, depending on what the cable company does with the source CBS HD feed. For best (reliable) results, some users may need to connect an off-air antenna to continue receiving TVGOS information.

For those older devices without QAM tuners, some cable companies may also install equipment to take the digital TVGOS feed, convert it to analog, and distribute it with an analog channel on their system. I haven't heard much about this and I wouldn't depend on it.

TVGOS was formerly distributed using the analog PBS feed, available on both OTA and cable. That is going away soon, if it hasn't already.

This isn't true in all markets. For example, our local PBS station has never supported TVGOS. Instead, TVGOS analog data has been coming from the local "My" network station.

IMHO, this is where we get into a little trouble sometimes; making generalities. People, searching for solutions then take those generalities and try to apply them to their specific situation.

I haven't noticed this mentioned here yet. TVGOS made a change to how lineups are presented, and this change seems to affect all versions of TVGOS (old and new, analog and digital).

Previously, one was presented with all available channel lineups for the given zip code. One then picked the lineup which best matched their needs.

Now, one is only presented with channel lineups which match up with the TV configuration one selected during one's TVGOS setup.

For example, for years I was presented two lineups for my cable company (amongst several others). One for "basic" cable which was only for their minimal set of analog channels. And one for "digital" cable which added in all their channels including their digital channels.

Starting a little while ago, I can no longer select the "digital" cable lineup. That's because, TVGOS now detects that I have not selected "have cable box" in my TVGOS setup, and therefore, will block all lineups which, in TVGOS's opinion, require a STB.

Now, on my TV with a QAM tuner, I use to select the "digital" cable lineup and manually edit the STB channel numbers and replace them with their QAM channel number equivalents.

I can't do that any more. :(

How this change was presented to me, was that suddenly I stopped getting TVGOS data updates!!! That's because the lineup I had selected ("digital" cable in my case) was now blocked. I wonder how many people out there (possibly including ClemsonKev), incorrectly think that their loss of TVGOS updates is due to the DTV transition?

I had to fully reset my TVGOS, re-enter my zip code, and select from the now reduced number of lineups. I selected the "basic" lineup for my cable company (since "digital" was removed from the list), and TVGOS data started again.

I have exchanged several emails with TVGOS support about this, and it became clear that TVGOS isn't about to back off this change. Quite a disappointment.

I haven't noticed this mentioned here yet. TVGOS made a change to how lineups are presented, and this change seems to affect all versions of TVGOS (old and new, analog and digital).

Previously, one was presented with all available channel lineups for the given zip code. One then picked the lineup which best matched their needs.

Now, one is only presented with channel lineups which match up with the TV configuration one selected during one's TVGOS setup.

For example, for years I was presented two lineups for my cable company (amongst several others). One for "basic" cable which was only for their minimal set of analog channels. And one for "digital" cable which added in all their channels including their digital channels.

Starting a little while ago, I can no longer select the "digital" cable lineup. That's because, TVGOS now detects that I have not selected "have cable box" in my TVGOS setup, and therefore, will block all lineups which, in TVGOS's opinion, require a STB.

Now, on my TV with a QAM tuner, I use to select the "digital" cable lineup and manually edit the STB channel numbers and replace them with their QAM channel number equivalents.

I can't do that any more. :(

How this change was presented to me, was that suddenly I stopped getting TVGOS data updates!!! That's because the lineup I had selected ("digital" cable in my case) was now blocked. I wonder how many people out there (possibly including ClemsonKev), incorrectly think that their loss of TVGOS updates is due to the DTV transition?

I had to fully reset my TVGOS, re-enter my zip code, and select from the now reduced number of lineups. I selected the "basic" lineup for my cable company (since "digital" was removed from the list), and TVGOS data started again.

I have exchanged several emails with TVGOS support about this, and it became clear that TVGOS isn't about to back off this change. Quite a disappointment.

Interesting WaltA....

HOWEVER, just when I was about to give up, I noticed yesterday that my clock was CORRECT one the LG tv that was giving me fits in the living room. I checked the HOST TVGOS channel on it AND the SONY HD DVR connected to it. Both showed the host OTA 29 (I then checked the LG in the bedroom and found the same thing - bedroom tv had been OTA 33 with no problems last few weeks).

Anyway, I woke up this morning and found GUIDE DATA! yippie!
Before I could use the guide, I think both devices asked which cable service I used. I selected CHARTER (in the past, I believe it also listed STD vs DIGITAL in the choices, NOT this time). Anyway, all 400 or so was listed (even though I get only basic and QAM), so I was able to re-map my HD QAMs.

I'm pissed they have been screwing with things, but glad to see my devices aren't paper weights (yet). Please let me know if your experince tonight changes.

BTW, how do you communicate with TVGOS?

"IMHO, this is where we get into a little trouble sometimes; making generalities. People, searching for solutions then take those generalities and try to apply them to their specific situation."

I agree. But, it seems to me that generalities are all one can find about TVGOS. I know it is "free" to the consumer but a central location of certified valid information has never been found by me. Had this been available It would have saved me a HUGE number of wasted hours on what I consider a superior product if you get it to work. If your setup and location meets its assumptions then it works beautifully the first time and is wonderful. If not, it can be a "black hole" simply because having to straw grab for answers which if one had access to very simple valid basic knowledge provide the solution.

I selected CHARTER (in the past, I believe it also listed STD vs DIGITAL in the choices, NOT this time).

Yep, that the "secrete" change.

The new change attempts to be "smart" and restrict your choices of lineups by, as in your case, now hiding STD or DIGITAL. Again, if you had previously selected a lineup that is now hidden, TVGOS simply stops updating.


BTW, how do you communicate with TVGOS?

There was a link on the TVGOS website, back when they were running their own ad on the left side of the chart about the upcoming DTV conversion.

I think that is now all gone. Or I just can't think of the correct URL.

Yep, that the "secrete" change.

The new change attempts to be "smart" and restrict your choices of lineups by, as in your case, now hiding STD or DIGITAL. Again, if you had previously selected a lineup that is now hidden, TVGOS simply stops updating.



hmmm, well I guess I am OK with this 'secret change' then b/c I have always selected the GREENVILLE/ANDERSON DIGITAL CHARTER CABLE option (so that I could re-map those QAM channels listed only on the digital channel list).

I think that is what you are suggesting?

Though I'm not sure what benefit Macrovision or a cable company would gain from this change.....

Not pickin' on you, WaltA, but I sure would like to see more posters backup their posts when they generically say 'OLD', or 'OLDER'. What's wrong with being specific when you have the info to back it up? v7, v8, v9, 07.06.53?, 08.01.59, 08.01.83, 09.01.72? Do you know what the major and minor versions are? Do you know what part of the version# specifies the general vs. platform/model specific version? Do you know what the difference between a main and setup patch version is? Do you know that both main and setup patches are downloaded along with guide info? Do you know when and how often each of these are downloaded? Do you know how to read the version info on the diag screen? Do you have an account at Gemstar and have access to this info?

Appears too often someone posts - ANALOG dependant version, OLDER version, ANALOG dependant even though you also have ATSC/QAM tuner, etc. Let's just get it straight. Nobody can make sense of those posts...

Here's a test, what does it mean when you're told you need a version of TVGOS that's 08.01.65 up in order to utilize digital TVGOS? Remember that if you've done your homework you know that the Major version is 8, Minor version is 65 and the middle 1 means it's general release of that version for all platforms/models/partners.

I think in your zeal to make a point, you missed my point.

I was writing about how the guide data was getting transmitted, which by itself, has nothing to do with TVGOS equipment one has at home. So my point is totally irrelevant to all the questions upon questions upon questions you asked about home equipment.

Let me go over this once again. Analog TV's TVGOS has its guide data encoded into the analog TV signal's VBI (just like Closed Caption data). One doesn't have to worry if they understand what VBI is, just understand that is where the guide data could be.

This format for TVGOS guide data can possibly still be supported after the national convertion to digital TV. That's the good news, and the news I was trying to spread.

One way, if one gets their new digital TV over-the-air with an antenna, is to buy a DTVpal set-top-box. The DTVpal (http://www.dtvpal.com/) receives the TVGOS guide data, and puts it onto its analog output's VBI.

The other way, if one continues to get analog TV from their cable TV company, is that their cable TV company *could* receive the TVGOS guide data, and put it onto some analog channel's VBI.

A few months ago, TVGOS was directly asking its home users to report if their cable company was not doing this. If TVGOS knew which cable companies weren't, possibly, TVGOS might work with that cable TV company
to correct this. However, for reasons I can only guess at, TVGOS abruptly
stopped soliciting such info from home users. I mean, that special
website seems to have disappeared as quickly as it started.

Though I'm not sure what benefit Macrovision or a cable company would gain from this change.....

Neither to I. But I lost that attempt at reasoning with Macrovision. ;)

Yep, that the "secrete" change.

The new change attempts to be "smart" and restrict your choices of lineups by, as in your case, now hiding STD or DIGITAL. Again, if you had previously selected a lineup that is now hidden, TVGOS simply stops updating.

Great info WaltA. For those of us that are newbies to this TVGOS business, could you describe what actionable steps to take to "reset" TVGOS? Do you simply mean to go through the guide process again from start and just re-select your cable provider?

hmmm, well I guess I am OK with this 'secret change' then b/c I have always selected the GREENVILLE/ANDERSON DIGITAL CHARTER CABLE option (so that I could re-map those QAM channels listed only on the digital channel list).

I think that is what you are suggesting?

Though I'm not sure what benefit Macrovision or a cable company would gain from this change.....

I wonder if there's any grounds for a class-action suit against the TV manufacturers. I purchased my television over others because, in part, of this feature.

Its failure to work as advertised would, I think, constitue a false advertising claim.

I'm not a lawyer though...

TVGOS working now.
If digital transition kills it in most markets, then talk about class action.....

Hello, all—

Is anyone in the San Bernardino, Redlands, Chino area in SoCal receiving TVGOS schedule data via Time Warner? My schedule rolled belly-up in late November, and despite e-mail assurances from Macrovision that they've fixed the problem (multiple times) and that the schedule is working now (multiple times), I get nothing.

If you're in this area and are receiving TVGOS data, please advise which channel you're receiving it from. (My cable box consistently cycles to and waits on Ch.97, which has for several years been the analog rebroadcast of KCET. However, there is an indication that KCET no longer injects schedule data into their signal streams.)

Shenzie

Anybody have any luck right now with TVGOS on Directv? (Panasonic EH75V DVR) Any tricks to suggest? I've tried different zip codes. My IR blaster is working so I can do manual programing

I'm located in a rural area of Western Washington, over the air is unlikely to work.

In reading the various post it seems we've created a digital Tower of Babel.

Thanks
Cycledoc

Hello, all—

Is anyone in the San Bernardino, Redlands, Chino area in SoCal receiving TVGOS schedule data via Time Warner? My schedule rolled belly-up in late November, and despite e-mail assurances from Macrovision that they've fixed the problem (multiple times) and that the schedule is working now (multiple times), I get nothing.

If you're in this area and are receiving TVGOS data, please advise which channel you're receiving it from. (My cable box consistently cycles to and waits on Ch.97, which has for several years been the analog rebroadcast of KCET. However, there is an indication that KCET no longer injects schedule data into their signal streams.)

Shenzie

Shenzie, go back to page 71 of this thread. There, I attached a pdf that I got from Macrovision that I filled out and sent back to them. It takes you through diagnostics that they can use to debug your issue. It took only two or three tries, but they got my system working. Unfortunately, after that, the TV with TVGOS was replaced by Toshiba with a newer set that didn't have it.

Thx for the response, quattroG, but believe me, I've been in contact with Macrovision via their e-mail route since the schedule went down in late November. (23 e-mails back and forth, to date.) They've told me there's no problem, then to do a reset, then to send diagnostic data, that there's a problem with the inserter, then that the problem with the inserter has been fixed, then to send more diagnostic data, then that the problem has been escalated, then that the problem has been fixed, then to send more diagnostic data, then that the problem has been re-escalated... I think the pattern is obvious.

In their latest e-mail to me on 13 Feb, they say that data are now being passed in the Redlands area. I e-mailed to them on the 17th that I still am getting nothing (no Host Channel). So far no response.

My reason for asking here is that since Macrovision asserts that the schedule is working in my area, it would be significant to learn if any other member who happens to be in the area is getting schedule data.

Shenzie

Shenzie, go back to page 71 of this thread. There, I attached a pdf that I got from Macrovision that I filled out and sent back to them. It takes you through diagnostics that they can use to debug your issue. It took only two or three tries, but they got my system working. Unfortunately, after that, the TV with TVGOS was replaced by Toshiba with a newer set that didn't have it.

I'm in the Phila. PA area...Comcast. My guide is off again. After working for quite a while, it went off for about a month in late Nov...came back on for about two weeks...went off for a week...then came back on until Feb. 10th or so. Now it's off. The VBI channel in diagnostics is all over the place. I have a cablecard on one inputand rabbit ears on another...nothing!

Thx for the response, quattroG, but believe me, I've been in contact with Macrovision via their e-mail route since the schedule went down in late November. (23 e-mails back and forth, to date.) They've told me there's no problem, then to do a reset, then to send diagnostic data, that there's a problem with the inserter, then that the problem with the inserter has been fixed, then to send more diagnostic data, then that the problem has been escalated, then that the problem has been fixed, then to send more diagnostic data, then that the problem has been re-escalated... I think the pattern is obvious.

In their latest e-mail to me on 13 Feb, they say that data are now being passed in the Redlands area. I e-mailed to them on the 17th that I still am getting nothing (no Host Channel). So far no response.

My reason for asking here is that since Macrovision asserts that the schedule is working in my area, it would be significant to learn if any other member who happens to be in the area is getting schedule data.

Shenzie

Would you share with me the phone number and email address you use to contact Macrovision. We lost our TVGOS guide when our ETV station shut down on the 17th and our CBS stations won't be carrying it.

I have a cablecard on one inputand rabbit ears on another...nothing!

You should be still be getting TVGOS analog (VBI) data from both WPHL-17 and WHYY-12. I believe they both kept their analog TV transmitters 'on' after the first DTV changeover date.

However, as I mentioned in an earlier post, if you are using the cablecard input for TVGOS, you will only be presented with Cable TV STB/CableCard compatible lineups. If you are using the rabbit ears for input for TVGOS, you will only be presented with OTA lineups. If you use to have a different lineup selected, TVGOS will simply stop updating until you do a reset, and pick a newly "valid" lineup.

As I mentioned, Gemstar implementing this lineup change right before the DTV changeover is rather poor planing. :rolleyes:

Hi - just posted this in the EH55 forum but this seems to be the hub re. this problem. I'm in NYC specifically Time-Warner South (Manhattan)

I sent a note yesterday about my Panasonic HD recorder (EH-55) not getting schedule information from the TV Guide channel and offered some theories about the cause. This morning I called Panasonic and was told that many cable operators went "all digital" last week and that might compromise the TV Guide data feature. It's very unclear since I'm getting little help from Time-Warner (Manhattan South) on this. They did acknowledge some vague changes being made on their system.

Panasonic EH-55 is designed to locate the TV Guide channel but the unit can't find it, even though I see it on ch51. The EH-55 will go though all the channels and has done this several times in recent days and claims it can't find the TV Guide channel. Superficially I can see VBI data "dots & dashes" in vertical interval of the TV Guide channel but can't of course inspect the data by eye.

I'm using the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 and have enjoyed perfect performance for over a year with this. During this time I always thought I had an "all digital" service and don't understand what system-wide changes might have been made by Time-Warner. (My wiring config that always worked fine was cable going into the the TW cable box, then s-video going into the eh55)

Paul

This morning I called Panasonic and was told that many cable operators went "all digital" last week and that might compromise the TV Guide data feature. It's very unclear since I'm getting little help from Time-Warner (Manhattan South) on this. They did acknowledge some vague changes being made on their system.

This should be pretty easy to test. Can you hook up any device (an older TV?) with an NTSC tuner to your cable, and see if you can still get any analog stations?


Superficially I can see VBI data "dots & dashes" in vertical interval of the TV Guide channel but can't of course inspect the data by eye.

VBI data is a lot more than just TV Guide. It can be anything from Closed Captioning to Text to Time.

Also, by "TV Guide channel" to you mean the channel which many cable companies provide their customers, which has a slowly scrolling grid of programming? If so, that has nothing to do with TVGOS (it would sure be nice if it did :D ).

Thanks Walt.

I tried a vhs with a tuner and would have to say no, the cable does not provide analog.

I had the "TV Guide" brand channel (not generic) that did work beautifully for a year supplying my Panasonic EH55 with the schedule data. It's only last week that the EH55 reports not being able to find the TVGOS channel, though (as I said in my post) it's still there as channel - but I don't know if the specs on it's feed have changed.

Paul

I wish someone would put together a class action suit against Macrovision, if only just to piss them off. Their sheer stupidity has rendered some otherwise perfectly usable AV devices virtually useless, and they ought to be held accountable. I paid a premium to get a model with the TVGOS feature each time I bought a TV, and now I have a total of 4 devices that I cannot use to my satisfaction because of what Macrovision has done.

I wish someone would put together a class action suit against Macrovision, if only just to piss them off. Their sheer stupidity has rendered some otherwise perfectly usable AV devices virtually useless, and they ought to be held accountable. I paid a premium to get a model with the TVGOS feature each time I bought a TV, and now I have a total of 4 devices that I cannot use to my satisfaction because of what Macrovision has done.


^^ What he said.

Ditto!!!!

I would add the CEA to the list for not supporting features that they have now dropped from current, probably because they weren't supported in the first place. This also includes CC's (Cable Cards). :mad:

FWIW, I was having a similar problem in Naperville, IL. I lost TVGOS data back in October or November on all of my Pioneer plasma TVs with CableCARDs. Macrovision suggested that I contact my hardware and cable providers about the problem and get them to escalate the issue on my behalf with Macrovision.

Needless to say, I was doubtful that this process would yield results :rolleyes:, but I nevertheless contacted both WideOpenWest (my cable provider in Naperville) and Pioneer (my hardware manufacturer), requesting that they escalate the problem with Macrovision.

To my great surprise :eek:, I am happy to report that the TVGOS signal reappeared on each of my CableCARDs within 48 hours, and the TV listings for my entire cable line-up had completely re-populated less than 24 hours after that.

So for those of you still frustrated over this issue, try escalating the tech-support process through your cable provider and hardware manufacturer. It definitely worked for me.

I finally reset my Sony TV and didn't do the TVGOS setup because of the erroneous listings. Sony has a bulletin about it, telling the servicer to tell the customer to call Sony customer service and Sony will "fill out an investigation form" to be sent in to Gem Star.

I was going to try TVGOS again after the old 2-17 analog shutdown date and the stations moved to their permanent places, but since that's been put off til June, I will try it again then.

I have a Toshiba 50HP95 Cablecard plasma that has loss it's guide once again. Toshiba sent a report of this to Macrovision and am still waiting to hear back. Had Ver 08.01.53/08.06.44 before the loss and now have 08.01.53/00.00.00. Very frustrating!

[QUOTE=WaltA;15898767]This should be pretty easy to test. Can you hook up any device (an older TV?) with an NTSC tuner to your cable, and see if you can still get any analog stations?




VBI data is a lot more than just TV Guide. It can be anything from Closed Captioning to Text to Time.

And data for the Emergency Broadcast System - Look out for that comet is not being broadcast on my ffffffd VBI Samsung TV. Someone should call America's Most Wanted and tell them the Amber Alerts don't work if the TVGOS doesn't work.

I have 3 devices, all getting TVGOS fine now. One gets it OTA, the other two get it via basic cable here in SC.

Once June 12 gets here, hopefully things continue smooth. If not, count me in on the class action.....

I have 3 devices, all getting TVGOS fine now. One gets it OTA, the other two get it via basic cable here in SC.

Once June 12 gets here, hopefully things continue smooth. If not, count me in on the class action.....

Did you use any of the info in this forum to get your TVGOS?

Did you use any of the info in this forum to get your TVGOS?

well, I did reset my Sony HD DVR, but I don't think that did the trick. I didn't do anything to my two LG tv's, and all 3 devices just started to collect data again after about 4 or 5 days of down time. Happened right around the initial DTV transition date earlier this month, so I think that was the problem: stations tweaking things here locally.

From macrovision's website AND the fact I am getting guide data via Charter basic cable, I am confident things will be OK here in SC after June 12.....

Good luck to everyone currently not getting TVGOS to load on your devices! I too would like to see these continue on past 2009.:)

ClemsonKev,

Hi neighbor, I'm over in Hartwell, Ga and have Hartcommunications cable w/o box. I've been without a signal for months. I get the same 'ol..... "we'll get you a signal soon"..... from Macrovision (sp) and Hartcom doesn't have a clue, so I'd like to see if I can get something OTA.

If you are receiving an OTA sig. on one of your receivers where are you getting it from, Greenville?

If it's being transmitted from one of those mountaintops I might be able to see if from here.

Tom

ClemsonKev,

Hi neighbor, I'm over in Hartwell, Ga and have Hartcommunications cable w/o box. I've been without a signal for months. I get the same 'ol..... "we'll get you a signal soon"..... from Macrovision (sp) and Hartcom doesn't have a clue, so I'd like to see if I can get something OTA.

If you are receiving an OTA sig. on one of your receivers where are you getting it from, Greenville?

If it's being transmitted from one of those mountaintops I might be able to see if from here.

Tom

Well, I believe the SC PBS went only digital, so my SONY HD DVR is actually using PBS out of NC (ch. 33 I believe, I will check tonight). Comes in with much static, but fine for TVGOS.

My advice for you: first point your antenna to the northeast and see if you can find an analog PBS station out of NC. If not, point it west towards Atlanta. I would think you could fine a weak signal to pull in your data.....

A possible alternative to TVGOS if you have:
Windows w/ Media Center, a $50 tv tuner on your PC, Xbox 360.
Just plug in your cable or antenna to your PC tuner and stream your live and recorded tv to your xbox in your living room.

Trust me, much easier than it sounds. Although HD is a little trickier unless you have a newer PC with TV Pack 2008 (for QAM) or can pull in all your HD channels via OTA.

Wireless to the xbox aint great for HD, should have CAT 5 directly to xbox from your router! Although the newer "n" routers I heard can stream HD pretty good.

I wish someone would put together a class action suit against Macrovision, if only just to piss them off. Their sheer stupidity has rendered some otherwise perfectly usable AV devices virtually useless, and they ought to be held accountable. I paid a premium to get a model with the TVGOS feature each time I bought a TV, and now I have a total of 4 devices that I cannot use to my satisfaction because of what Macrovision has done.

I proposed this a couple of days ago on this same forum.

Any chance anyone on here is a lawyer and can provide info on what it takes to take a case like this to court?

ClemsonKev,

Thanks for the reply......I have a pretty sparten setup here. Pioneer 531H-s and Sylvania TV receiving it's signal via cable. However, I do have a small 4-5 element OTA antenna left from a prior setup still locked in place, so I'll get it pointed in the right direction, rig up a switching setup and see what I can do. IIRC, I was able to receive a pretty good signal out of Greenville with that OTA ant. pointed right at the transmitting ant, of course. Atlanta might be another story..might have to raise the ant. to "see" Atl.

I've kinda resisted this lashup hoping the TVGOS signal would be restored.

Again, thanks for the info.

Tom

Anyone ever have their OTA channel listings disappear for no apparent reason??
I'm talking about even in the "Edit channels" mode, all of the OTA entries have been removed. Only the cable choices remain.

Just as one would only choose cable TV only in the setup choices with NO antenna connected.

Anyone ever have their OTA channel listings disappear for no apparent reason??
I'm talking about even in the "Edit channels" mode, all of the OTA entries have been removed. Only the cable choices remain.

Just as one would only choose cable TV only in the setup choices with NO antenna connected.

And may I add only the Qam Channel list, no CableCard list?

Gregg

February 17th I also lost my host and VBI channel when the local ETV station shut down their analog signal. I have a cable card in my DHG-HDD250 and at that point I had several years of trouble free use. As of February 17th I lost all digital channels both cable and OTA. I ran the G* test and it failed everytime and reset the cable card with no luck. I'm affraid to power it down or do a complete reset that I might lost my clock which also came from the same ETV station. I do have it plugged into a battery backup. My closest CBS station is in Savannah, Ga and I spoke with their engineer and he knew nothing about the TVGOS guide. I then called Macrovision and spoke with one of their engineer's, he going to work on the guide for this area. How long that will take no one knows. I can still use it by doing manual recordings and recording only analog signals but in the meantime would like to get my digital ones back if possible. I would pleased like to hear from you with a suggestions. My question, is it normal to lost digital channels when losting the guide?

Thanks,
Eddie

February 17th I also lost my host and VBI channel when the local ETV station shut down their analog signal. I have a cable card in my DHG-HDD250 and at that point I had several years of trouble free use. As of February 17th I lost all digital channels both cable and OTA. I ran the G* test and it failed everytime and reset the cable card with no luck. I'm affraid to power it down or do a complete reset that I might lost my clock which also came from the same ETV station. I do have it plugged into a battery backup. My closest CBS station is in Savannah, Ga and I spoke with their engineer and he knew nothing about the TVGOS guide. I then called Macrovision and spoke with one of their engineer's, he going to work on the guide for this area. How long that will take no one knows. I can still use it by doing manual recordings and recording only analog signals but in the meantime would like to get my digital ones back if possible. I would pleased like to hear from you with a suggestions. My question, is it normal to lost digital channels when losting the guide?

Thanks,
EddieThe Sony DHG users are over here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711&page=475

And may I add only the Qam Channel list, no CableCard list?Huh?? :confused:

The Sony DHG users are over here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711&page=475

Yes I know and if you look over there at post #14219 you will see my post there too. By the way, no one has answered yet. Would you like too? Oh, my question was about the guide too.

Eddie

Yes I know and if you look over there at post #14219 you will see my post there too. By the way, no one has answered yet. Would you like too? Oh, my question was about the guide too.

EddieDid you lose digital channels both OTA & cable? Can you manually tune to a digital OTA channel? If it's cable only, I would pull the cable card and reinsert it. If it's both OTA & cable I would ask a DHG user if they know what kind of reset would fix it.

February 17th I also lost my host and VBI channel when the local ETV station shut down their analog signal. I have a cable card in my DHG-HDD250 and at that point I had several years of trouble free use. As of February 17th I lost all digital channels both cable and OTA. I ran the G* test and it failed everytime and reset the cable card with no luck. I'm affraid to power it down or do a complete reset that I might lost my clock which also came from the same ETV station. I do have it plugged into a battery backup. My closest CBS station is in Savannah, Ga and I spoke with their engineer and he knew nothing about the TVGOS guide. I then called Macrovision and spoke with one of their engineer's, he going to work on the guide for this area. How long that will take no one knows. I can still use it by doing manual recordings and recording only analog signals but in the meantime would like to get my digital ones back if possible. I would pleased like to hear from you with a suggestions. My question, is it normal to lost digital channels when losting the guide?

Thanks,
EddieJust thought of something. Rescan the OTA and/or cable channels on the DHG.

"My question, is it normal to lost digital channels when losting the guide?"

I only lost the guide. Nothing else changed and still no guide.

Just thought of something. Rescan the OTA and/or cable channels on the DHG.

I have reset the cable card by removing and reinstalling it. I have done a rescan, no good. I can manually enter a digital channel but it tell me "no signal". All analog channels are ok.

Anyone ever have their OTA channel listings disappear for no apparent reason??
I'm talking about even in the "Edit channels" mode, all of the OTA entries have been removed. Only the cable choices remain.

Just as one would only choose cable TV only in the setup choices with NO antenna connected.
VideoBruce, I lost all my over the air digital channels from the guide too. All cable channels are there and good. I have notice that the OTA digital channels are in the guide but listed with the cable setting. I can not change the cable setting on these channels to "air" like I can do with any other channel.

My listings went dark Wednesday, March 18, after getting the last refresh data some days earlier. At least Lost was a rerun :)

Five minutes ago I got off the phone with a tech at TWCable who didn't have anything to add to the TVGOS discussion, though he has had some calls about certain TIVO models. I asked him to please check in with the station, WFMY-2, that is listed as the digital host at rabbitears.info. I've tried scanning that as the host using the instructions here and on spiffy, but no dice, and I lost my clock as a result, not that it was a surprise. I left my # with the tech, so hopefully if he gets any bites, I'll have more to post.


Meanwhile, a question. For the past 18 months or so, my TV and DVR have picked up the local HD stations on different channels than TW claims I should. All the official channels are 500 and above, but I get them in on x.x channels starting at 89.4. WFMY-2 comes in on 113.1. It's never been a problem before, but presumably I was on an analog station lower down before. Any chance this discrepancy in the way the tuner sorts things out is going to bite me? For that matter, any idea how that's happening? It's that way on my TV's own tuner, both being Sony devices.

This is new to me I really dont know what to do? Can anyone help?I would like to know about guide plus and this new digital tv. My guide has quit working for 4 months are so now can one help out there that knows what i can do to get my guide plus to start loading

I have notice that the OTA digital channels are in the guide but listed with the cable setting. I can not change the cable setting on these channels to "air" like I can do with any other channel.Are these channels that had duplicate listings, one for CATV and another for OTA?

Hey Bruce Can u help Im new at this forum can u direct me to what u are talk about local thread. How do you get to a local thread?

Go to the "Local HDTV Info and Reception" and look up whichever market you are in.

Please post your link to the Mitsubishi Expander you speak about in your post. I have seen this document but I cannot remember where??

THANKS!
Robin

Bruce, No, they are listed as 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 etc.... They used to show up as "air" and I pulled them in with my antenna. I still get the channels with the antenna but in the guide they are now listed as 10-1, 10-2, etc.... but listed under "cable" and can not be edited.

Are there non active duplicates in your channel list that can be substituted (in the edit menu)?

nope, i have been through the list a few times and they aren't there. They disappeared in Oct/Nov when my guide went out for a couple weeks. Once i started getting it again no OVA channels.

Well, it's nothing to do with my previous post, but I connected an antenna to my Sony HDD500 and did a full scan and it picked up a host. A few channels populated when the clock got around to the time it wanted, and the clock is now correct. Here's the interesting part. According to rabbitears.info, it should be the local CBS affiliate that is carrying the digital TVGOS info. My host is the OTA analog from Fox 8, where a certain very valuable member here works.

Anyway, for Greensboro TVGOS owners, try WGHP 8 OTA as a host. I'll post tomorrow if the info doesn't populate.

Update: No new listings today, but that may be my fault. I got all impatient and edited the channel listings, though I was careful to leave Fox 8 alone. Incidentally, does anybody know if I have to leave it in the channel rotation, or just on the Guide? I'd rather not have to click to Antenna at all while channel surfing. Still hopeful my listings will fill out tonight.

Lost TVGOS somewhere around week of March 8. Last listings on my Pioneer 533-H were for Wednesday March 18. Have contacted Time Warner Cable, PBS, CBS and Macrovision with no luck so far. However I did receive the following email from TV Guide Customer Care today. Should I be nervously excited that they might actually fix this or pessimistic because others have received the same response with lots of promises but no action?


----- Forwarded Message ----
From: TV Guide Customer Care
To:
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:47:38 PM
Subject: GBA 29 TV Guide System Has Stopped Working [Incident: 090318-000181]


Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

We will assume your issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you
within 48 hours.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
GBA 29 TV Guide System Has Stopped Working


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Peter) - 03/23/2009 01:47 PM
We are working with the cable companies to pass the data. Attached is a document that will guide you to collect diagnostics. Please do this and send it back to us.

What cable company do you have? What is the setup? Cable Box, Cable Card or Cable Ready?

I am also in the KCMO area and lost all TVGOS listings. I am only using OTA signals for TVGOS, so does this mean that only by using a cable service that the TVGOS will be available? I am going to try the steps in the document (TV.Guide.V8.Diagnostics.ATSC.doc), and can provide details if required so that we can get TVGOS back to working in KCMO. One question, what zip code are you currently using in KCMO?

(snipped)
Very interesting, twb311. I'd like to fill that form out and send it in with my initial e-mail. Where did you get the address?

Currently I'm without listings except the tail end of some listings for WGN and VH1C that filled in on 2/17. I find that very strange, btw. Has anybody else had the experience of one or two stations filling in, but no more?

Here is an update from my PBS affiliate. Yea!!!

----- Forwarded Message ----
From:
To:
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 5:21:18 PM
Subject: TV Guide

Todd,

There was an equipment problem in our facility. The guide should be working now. Let me know if there is still a problem.

Anyone else having problems with TVGOS in Baltimore? I'm using Comcast.

Anyone know where to find the station which is supposed to be carrying TVGOS on Comcast in Balto?

tnx
jtm

Anyone else having problems with TVGOS in Baltimore? I'm using Comcast.

Anyone know where to find the station which is supposed to be carrying TVGOS on Comcast in Balto?

tnx
jtm

Try WJZ -- It is Channel 13 OTA but I do not know where Comcast puts it in Baltimore. I think their clock is still on EST, not DST. But I am getting channel listings now. And yes, there have been problems.

evernight: I am in Greensboro also and have lost TVGOS. I have been corresponding with Time Warner Cable and UNC-TV. The engineer at TWC (Terry Cross) told me they used to get the signal from channel 26, the UNC-TV station in Winston-Salem, and that channel 26 had a technical problem on their end with no estimated time to repair. Mr. Cross also told me that TWC is testing with WFMY and that they plan to start carrying the TVGOS signal from WFMY sometime in April. The person at UNC-TV (Marc Erickson) confirmed that their contract to carry the signal is ended and referred me to the rabbitears.info URL that confirms that WFMY is supposed to be carrying the signal.

evernight: I am in Greensboro also and have lost TVGOS. I have been corresponding with Time Warner Cable and UNC-TV. The engineer at TWC (Terry Cross) told me they used to get the signal from channel 26, the UNC-TV station in Winston-Salem, and that channel 26 had a technical problem on their end with no estimated time to repair. Mr. Cross also told me that TWC is testing with WFMY and that they plan to start carrying the TVGOS signal from WFMY sometime in April. The person at UNC-TV (Marc Erickson) confirmed that their contract to carry the signal is ended and referred me to the rabbitears.info URL that confirms that WFMY is supposed to be carrying the signal.

well this might explain my problem for the last few days: I get data via UNC-TV which is carried analog on CHARTER CABLE here in Anderson SC.

I hope UNC-TV or SCTV PBS or maybe CBS can get this worked out quickly so data starts flowing again! I'm about ready to stream my media center PC to my xbox!!:mad:

Here is a newer email I got from the Chief Engineer (retired) at UNC-TV on 03/31/09:
Technical Response, Ticket # 10494
The TVGOS data (originally Gemstar) now Macrovision that was transmitted over WUNL-TV's analog broadcast in your area was suspended several weeks ago. The data comes to the transmitter site via phone line. The TVGOS folks (Macrovision) that supply the data to the PBS stations did not have telephone line service scheduled beyond the original analog shutoff date of February 17. They have restored service in some markets but not in the Triad on WUNL-TV Winston-Salem so that service has been off for some time.
Further, UNC-TV has notified the TV Guide (Macrovision) folks that UNC-TV is suspending carriage of the TV Guide data at all transmitter sites beginning April 1. There are many reasons for this and the primary reason is as we switch the cable companies over to digital service, this TVGOS data is not available on our digital broadcast.

If you receive TVGOS on cable, with analog equipment, there is a possibility that TWC will be putting the data on the WFMY signal as WFMY has agreed to carry and broadcast this data on their digital signal. If your equipment receives the TVGOS data over-the-air with an antenna, then this service will completely end when analog broadcasting ends June 12.