HDD 250 for $349.00 - that sounds like a sweet deal.

Although I try to avoid Sony products, the HDD250/500 seems to have the feature set that I am looking for. The only trouble is, I can't buy one. I went in to The Sony Store the other day (Metrotown Centre Mall in Burnaby, BC) and saw two HDD250s. They didn't have a price tag so I asked the salesman how much and he said that he could not sell that product to me. I said are you serious - this is The Sony Store and this is a Sony product, and you have two, and you won't sell me one? He said "that's correct". They have them to demo high-def TVs but won't sell me one.

What's up with that?

It's interesting that XEWT is not listed on either TitanTV or AntennaWeb. They are both very comprehensive for LA stations.

Are you really getting good OTA reception on the LA stations? I looked at a map and it looked like Mt. Wilson (LA transmitter location) would be right in line with the San Diego location from Tijuana but it's still a long, long way.

The transmission tower for XEWT is in Tijuana and the station is not a US station. Those sites don't show stations that are not owned or located in the US. Since there is a large hispanic population in San Diego (LA also) XEWT is popular and TVGuide provides the listings. There are many stations (almost all analog) that have transmission towers near the border but are not listed on TitanTV or Antenna Web. One that IS listed is FOX 6 XETV. The transmission tower is in Tijuana but the station is owned by a US company... they are listed.

Yes, it is unbelievable, but I get very strong signals on a lot of LA stations. Some are apx 90% signal strength. I live a few hundred yards from the ocean. I am about 130 miles line of site from Mt. Wilson. Plus, I have a very high gain antenna: http://www.antennasdirect.com/91XG_HDTV_Antenna.html

Sorry to bore everyone that doesn't live in Southern California :)

HDD 250 for $349.00 - that sounds like a sweet deal.

Although I try to avoid Sony products, the HDD250/500 seems to have the feature set that I am looking for. The only trouble is, I can't buy one. I went in to The Sony Store the other day (Metrotown Centre Mall in Burnaby, BC) and saw two HDD250s. They didn't have a price tag so I asked the salesman how much and he said that he could not sell that product to me. I said are you serious - this is The Sony Store and this is a Sony product, and you have two, and you won't sell me one? He said "that's correct". They have them to demo high-def TVs but won't sell me one.

What's up with that?

They are still available at many retailers on-line. You should be looking to get the HDD250 for $499 or less and the HDD500 model for $699 or less.

If I map KCETHD to 28.1 would this interfere with the host station which for me is analog channel 28.

I just bought the HDD 250 at Best Buy for $349.00 and I am planning to return the HDD 500 to Fry's (I purchased the latter for $799.00) Apart from the smaller storage space, which is not an issue with me since I mainly use it for timeshifting are there other concerns? By the way the HDD 250 did not show the secondary channels on the TVGOS i.e. 4,2,4.3, 7.2, 7.3 etc but $450.00 I can do without these. HDD 500 has software version 1.2.05 while the HDD 250 has version 1.2.06. What's the difference?

Thanks for any help!

EDwinC

I don't think mapping channels to other channel numbers will affect your host. Go for it.

I don't think anyone knows for sure what the difference is with the firmware versions... I wouldn't worry about it.

It appears the the entire lineup of channels available is loaded into the Sony and then those that aren't received are turned off. For instance, I have a big bunch of cable only channels (turned off) although I specified OTA only. Another example: KCET-HD (28.1) was marked as 48.1 and turned off. I mapped it to 28.1 and turned it on and it works fine.

I believe that the zip is there primarily for mapping channel nos for the different cable systems.[/QUOTE

I live in Buena Park and I have a similar problem with both the HDD 250 and 500. When I do the the auto scan all digital channels are picked up by the DVR but when the TVGOS appears it has the logo for KCETHD and KOCEHD but no channel number. If I map KCETHD to 28.1 would this interfere with the host station which for me is analog channel 28.

I just bought the HDD 250 at Best Buy for $349.00 and I am planning to return the HDD 500 to Fry's (I purchased the latter for $799.00) Apart from the smaller storage space, which is not an issue with me since I mainly use it for timeshifting are there other concerns? By the way the HDD 250 did not show the secondary channels on the TVGOS i.e. 4,2,4.3, 7.2, 7.3 etc but $450.00 I can do without these. HDD 500 has software version 1.2.05 while the HDD 250 has version 1.2.06. What's the difference?

Thanks for any help!

EDwinC

The two recorders are identical except the 500 contains a second hard drive, which doubles the record time.
In Los Angeles, most of the HD OTA channels have the same number as the analog version, except for the additional ".1". Channel 28.1 is an exception, it is a demonstration HD channel and carries different programming than 28. I have both channels in my program listing. I'm not aware of any listings for secondary channels. You may be able to find them on the channel web site. If you wish to record programs on these channels, I suggest you use manual method. You can put any channel number to a guide station, and the recorder will tune to that station - that's how I accidentally recorded a channel 5 HD program instead of Commander and Chief. The recording was listed by that program title. The guide loading is not affected by that stuff.

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00. They had just dropped the price on this model, but still sell the 250 for $499.00. Weird. As of yesterday noon, they had several in stock and I believe more at the warehouse. Don't know how long the stock will last, or if they are available at any of their other stores.
I have 2 unit I bought last fall, with a May 2005 date code and .05 firmware. Only problems have been some scheduled programs dropping off the schedule. Since reading this forum, I am trying to keep a log of what I am doing as I set programs and when and how I delete watched shows. Also, I am logging any thing else that might have an effect on the function of the units. I did have the remote control issue at first, but it has not happen since, as far as I know. Could be that I have my remotes in a vertical caddie pointed up and the units in a cabinet. I don't know? Other than that, I am very pleased with these units. By the way, I only receive OTA here in Atlanta,GA.
I bought and set up one for my girlfriend, who lives out in Woodstock. Set it up for cable, and she gets all her cable stations without any problems. She also gets the digital local stations as well in the point (.) range on the upper end of her cable. She only subscribes to basic cable, so she does not have a box or cable card installed. For a while, she had two premium movie channels, but they just vanished. Also, had no trouble mapping these additional stations. Works great for her, and no extra fees
That's all.

I have a quick question again. I am trying to us a combination of antennas to get my signals - however, PBS the one that sends the TVGOS is very weak. So - I am having to add a separate antenna just for this. I am trying to send that antenna signal thru the cable input - picture is great, it got the time, but I don't think it is going to send the TVGOS signal. At least it hasn't for the past day or so. Any ideas/thoughts on how to get the TVGOS signal thru the cable input when coming over a regular antenna?

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00. They had just dropped the price on this model, but still sell the 250 for $499.00. Weird.

You should have bought them all. You could have made a bundle on ebay.


I returned mine because of program guide problems. If I find one for $349 or less, I'll purchase again. For that price I can live without the program guide.

Amadeusmattes,

If your Sony set its clock from that station it will very likely be able to get the TVGOS data. The guide data is in the VBI frames that also has the time. I have found that getting the data is a lesson in patience. According to TVG the host stations are suppose to send the data set several times a day but not all of them do. Also, as you likely already know, your receiver must be off to get the data. Just give it a little time and you will get the guide data. You might want to give the PBS station a call and verify what time they send the data. When I did, I was suprised to learn that several days a week they send the data at 7 PM (when most people have their receivers on). When I asked why they don't send it overnight the engineer told me that the station goes off the air at 1 AM three nights a week. TGVOS shows the station on the air 24 hours a day all 7 days of the week.

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00.

Want to pick up 2 for me ???? I just called HiFi buys (owned by Tweeter) and they wouldn't ship one to California :rolleyes:

They are still $699 on Tweeter.com

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00.

That is, by far, the best deal I have seen in this forum. Srnile is right - you should have bought ALL of them for that price and resold them. I certainly would have!

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00.

WOW! You got a great deal! I found a new-in-box 250 for $499 last weekend at Best Buy, and thought that was a good deal -- the best price I'd found online was $550 or so. I think yours might have been mis-priced, especially if they are still selling the 250 for $499 -- I can't think of any other reason why the more expensive unit would be priced lower. I wish I would have walked into that store. :D

That is, by far, the best deal I have seen in this forum. Srnile is right - you should have bought ALL of them for that price and resold them. I certainly would have!You have to wonder if it might have been mislabeled...thinking it was a returned or open box 250 instead of the 500?

Clicking sound.
Does it make clicking sound (sounds the same as when it switch from OTA to Cable) when the unit is in off position ?
It's just that lately I've been hearing that sound quite often. May be it's always doing that and I never paid attention to it. Is this normal ?

Clicking sound.
Does it make clicking sound (sounds the same as when it switch from OTA to Cable) when the unit is in off position ?
It's just that lately I've been hearing that sound quite often. May be it's always doing that and I never paid attention to it. Is this normal ?

You can hear that sound when it swtiches inputs as it does its guide downloads (it is switching to your host channels input). Perfectly normal.

In Los Angeles, most of the HD OTA channels have the same number as the analog version, except for the additional ".1". Channel 28.1 is an exception, it is a demonstration HD channel and carries different programming than 28. I have both channels in my program listing. I'm not aware of any listings for secondary channels. You may be able to find them on the channel web site. If you wish to record programs on these channels, I suggest you use manual method. You can put any channel number to a guide station, and the recorder will tune to that station - that's how I accidentally recorded a channel 5 HD program instead of Commander and Chief. The recording was listed by that program title. The guide loading is not affected by that stuff.

In Los Angeles, both KCET (28) and KOCE (50) deviate by having the copy of their analog transmission on 28.2 and 50.2 respectively. 28.1 is real PBS (and local KCET) HD content (NOT demo) with listings available from many sources. 50.1 is also PBS HD content (maybe the PBS national feed?) but there seems to be no listing available for it anywhere (including the KOCE web site).

TVGOS has 2 listings for KCET besides the analog one. KCETHD is the listing for 28.1 but lists 48.1 for some reason (probably just someone's error). If it's remapped to 28.1 it's just fine.

There is also a listing marked KCET with no channel number given. It seems to be a copy of the analog listing. It can be mapped to 28.2 to have those listings.

The analog 28 listing could also be mapped to 28.2 but under some conditions this can result in a loss of TVGOS data.

I believe there is also a listing marked KOCEHD. Despite the "HD" this is actually for 50.2 (which is SD) and can be mapped there if it isn't already. In any case, the analog 50 listing can also be mapped to 50.2. Of course, as I said before, there is no listing for 50.1.

There is also a KLCSHD listing which is for 58.1 (SD copy of analog - KLCS doesn't have any HD content. There are no listings for the other KLCS subchannels.

The above is all for OTA only.

I don't think anyone knows for sure what the difference is with the firmware versions... I wouldn't worry about it.

Earlier in this thread someone posted a comment from a Sony service tech saying that a later version of the firmware was needed to enable the unit for the TVGOS switchover from analog to ATSC digital. The latest (and probably last) version of the firmware is .13. I don't know if this is the only one that handles ATSC TVGOS but I spent the money to ship my unit (which was .09) back to Pennsylvania for the upgrade while it was still under warranty.

My unit was manufactured in July and had the .09 firmware so units with .05 or .06 are relatively old.

There is also a hardware mod to fix a CableCard problem. Search for 161-6 in this thread.

I just purchased the 500 model at HiFi Buys at Town Center in Kennesaw, GA for $249.00.

AtlantisMichael, thank you for posting this.... what you discovered is going to cause quite a stir when I add what I found.

As I mentioned in a previous post, HiFi Buys is owned by Tweeter. After calling Tweeter.com to see if they could match the price from HiFi Buys and they declined, I decided to call a Tweeter store in San Diego to see what their price is... guess what ??

$249.00 !!!!! DHG-HDD500... NEW IN BOX.

I just bought a couple. Better get on the phone to your local Tweeter stores fast :)

BTW, the price on the tag in the store still said $699 this morning. But don't worry, the price in the computer is $249.

AtlantisMichael, thank you for posting this.... what you discovered is going to cause quite a stir when I add what I found.

As I mentioned in a previous post, HiFi Buys is owned by Tweeter. After calling Tweeter.com to see if they could match the price from HiFi Buys and they declined, I decided to call a Tweeter store in San Diego to see what their price is... guess what ??

$249.00 !!!!! DHG-HDD500... NEW IN BOX.

I just bought a couple. Better get on the phone to your local Tweeter stores fast :)

BTW, the price on the tag in the store still said $699 this morning. But don't worry, the price in the computer is $249.

In tears, no tweater near me.
I went by Bestbuy and did find an open box 250 for $399. Doesn't seem like such a great deal now. I still picked it up. See if I have better luck with this one.

My HDD250 is connected to my receiver via optical and component. I have the HDD250 set up to pass Doblby 5.1 if the OTA channel is encoded that way. I am setup to receive OTA only.

I occasionally (1 or 2 times per hour) experience audio dropouts that last about 1 second. If I hit the replay button to replay the scene, the dropout disappears... so that tells me that the HDD250 received/decoded the audio correctly.

I saw something about audio dropouts and optical in this thread, but those dropouts seemed to be permanent (e.g. did not correct itself after hitting replay).

Anyway, is what I describe an "optical" connection issue? Can it be fixed by using a digital coax cable?

Oh, I never experience dropouts when watching DVDs via optical, so it looks like the problem resides in the HDD250.

Thanks...
-T

Mark, when you hook the Sony up directly to your TV(bypassing the Gefen switch), do you see the same flashing as well?

I wanted to provide an update to the flashing issue with my DVR: Last night, I came home from work and my wife and I decided to watch "Dancing With the Stars", which I had recorded from ABC, which by the way is in 720p. In my defense of watching this show, Stacy Kiebler is smokin'...but I digress.

As you may recall, the flashing problem occurs when I view 720p material only. We had not seen any flashing for a few days (since my last report), but I have also been working and not here to notice. Anyway, I was interested to see what would happen with a recording of 720p material. I started the recording and it was flashing like crazy. I backed up the recording to see if the flashing occurred in the same exact spots every time, and it did not. That told me the phenomenon had not been recorded, but was occurring in real time, as I watched the recording.

Now, keep in mind my ability to troubleshoot was limited by the fact that my wife was sitting next to me. So, the only thing I could do was push buttons on the remote. Pushing buttons on the remote even resulted in some heavy sighs! There was definitely not going to be any cables changed (to eliminate the HDMI switch) without severe penalties! As I had noted previously, changing the output format had stopped the flashing before, so that was all I could do.

When I started watching the program, the output format was auto HDMI, and been that way for a few days. So, it was initially flashing with auto HDMI engaged. I switched from auto HDMI to Variable 2, and the flashing continued unabated. Next, I switched to 480i, and the flashing stopped. After a few minutes, I switched to 1080i, and there was no flashing. After a few more minutes, I switched back to Auto HDMI, and there was no flashing. I watched the program for around 1.5 hours, and there were no further incidents.

Basically, it appears I can make the flashing go away by simply switching the output format. As long as I can make it go away while sitting on the couch, it is not so bad. Next time this occurs, I am going to try just cycling the format around and back to Auto HDMI to see what happens. I don't know if it would be worth it to get the firmware update before the warranty expires (in ten days) because of this ATSC and TVGOS issue?

Thanks for any input.

Mark

I wanted to provide an update to the flashing issue with my DVR: Last night, I came home from work and my wife and I decided to watch "Dancing With the Stars", which I had recorded from ABC, which by the way is in 720p. In my defense of watching this show, Stacy Kiebler is smokin'...but I digress.

As you may recall, the flashing problem occurs when I view 720p material only. We had not seen any flashing for a few days (since my last report), but I have also been working and not here to notice. Anyway, I was interested to see what would happen with a recording of 720p material. I started the recording and it was flashing like crazy. I backed up the recording to see if the flashing occurred in the same exact spots every time, and it did not. That told me the phenomenon had not been recorded, but was occurring in real time, as I watched the recording.

Now, keep in mind my ability to troubleshoot was limited by the fact that my wife was sitting next to me. So, the only thing I could do was push buttons on the remote. Pushing buttons on the remote even resulted in some heavy sighs! There was definitely not going to be any cables changed (to eliminate the HDMI switch) without severe penalties! As I had noted previously, changing the output format had stopped the flashing before, so that was all I could do.

When I started watching the program, the output format was auto HDMI, and been that way for a few days. So, it was initially flashing with auto HDMI engaged. I switched from auto HDMI to Variable 2, and the flashing continued unabated. Next, I switched to 480i, and the flashing stopped. After a few minutes, I switched to 1080i, and there was no flashing. After a few more minutes, I switched back to Auto HDMI, and there was no flashing. I watched the program for around 1.5 hours, and there were no further incidents.

Basically, it appears I can make the flashing go away by simply switching the output format. As long as I can make it go away while sitting on the couch, it is not so bad. Next time this occurs, I am going to try just cycling the format around and back to Auto HDMI to see what happens. I don't know if it would be worth it to get the firmware update before the warranty expires (in ten days) because of this ATSC and TVGOS issue?

Thanks for any input.

Mark

Have you tried component cables vs HDMI? My DVR is not working properly when hooked up with HDMI but is perfect with component cables.

My second unit is working well so far. The TV Guide was completly blank even after a channel scan, unlike my first unit. In a few hours the channel guide was there and partially populated. This morning the guide is full for today and Monday with data also for the end of the week.

This HDD250 was purchased from Bestbuy "open box" & manufactured almost a year ago. The only recordings on it are from 6 months ago so it makes me wonder where it's been for the last six months. The previous owner had it set up for cable. It came complete with all cables, remote, everthing.

Is there a way to see the use history in the service menu, Like how many hours it's been used, etc. ?

What quality settings is everyone using for standard def programs? I'm using HQ for everthing for now.

The program guide really makes this thing nice. I did a "Science Fiction" search and set up recording for a few programs(Stargate) I'm never able to see. Funny, most people I know have no idea that free digital broadcasts exist or how to go about getting them.

AtlantisMichael, thank you for posting this.... what you discovered is going to cause quite a stir when I add what I found.

As I mentioned in a previous post, HiFi Buys is owned by Tweeter. After calling Tweeter.com to see if they could match the price from HiFi Buys and they declined, I decided to call a Tweeter store in San Diego to see what their price is... guess what ??

$249.00 !!!!! DHG-HDD500... NEW IN BOX.

I just bought a couple. Better get on the phone to your local Tweeter stores fast :)

BTW, the price on the tag in the store still said $699 this morning. But don't worry, the price in the computer is $249.


I just bought a couple of the DHG-HDD5000s also in the last hour for $249 at Tweeters in Northern Viginia. The price had just been reduced in the last 24 hours from $699 to $249 and there are still quite a few in the metro Washington DC area to be found. I'm in 7th heaven! Thank you AtlantisMichael! It was no mistake!

I just bought a couple of the DHG-HDD5000s also in the last hour for $249 at Tweeters in Northern Viginia. The price had just been reduced in the last 24 hours from $699 to $249 and there are still quite a few in the metro Washington DC area to be found. I'm in 7th heaven! Thank you AtlantisMichael! It was no mistake!

Damn I wish I had some Tweeter's in Michigan. I would probably buy out their stock and put 'em up on eBay.

But if too many people find this deal we may see excessive supply on eBay, and the prices will go down...

Maybe these $250 HDD500's will prompt some brave souls to start tinkering (since a $250 doorstop will be easier to deal with than a $700 one)!

Hello all!

Long time lurker, first time poster to this thread. I don't know if this is old news, but here it goes:

I just got off the phone with techs from Sony regarding the discontinue of their dvr...as suspected and pointed out by others earlier in this thread, because of the new updated TV Guide software that was released after most of the cable providers went "All Digital", the Sony units did not have upgrades or firmware available to handle the switch.

However, there could be some good news on the horizon... I asked the tech specifically if there will be a replacement model; First he said that the major focus is on getting their Blu-Ray player ready for shipping early Summer. Although that is good news, that was not what I asked.

I again asked about a newer hd dvr and after pausing for a minute or two, he advised that because of the popularity of the hd dvrs, and the influx of calls they have been getting from customers requesting a new, updated unit, we very may well see new HD DVRs hitting the market sometime in late summer of 2006!


Keep your fingers crossed!!! :D

...The program guide really makes this thing nice....You're kidding, right? Maybe compared to no guide at all, but, obviously, you've never used TiVo. And before everyone starts whining about "I'll never pay for a guide..." blah blah, think about how often you eat out in a month. Bet it's more than $12.95. TiVo's guide is more than worth every penny (and healthier ;)).
....we very may well see new HD DVRs hitting the market sometime in late summer of 2006!

Keep your fingers crossed!!! :DDoubt it will be hard drive based...probably DVD, and your fingers will end up cramped if you keep them crossed until Sony comes out with another hard drive based HD solution.

And speaking of TIVO, in the metro Atlanta area, we have the new motorola 3412 dual tuner HD Dvr set top boxes; the 12 being short for 120 gb.....moto also makes 160 and a 320 gb Hd dvr set top box, but will only use the smaller hdd in the area.

The TIVO interface is not problem free either; just go to the HDTV Reception Hardware forum on this site for more info...instead of Tivo creating new drives to enhance their product, they are partnering with Comcast to produce a new HD DVR Dual tuner set top box due to be released this summer with the same glitchy hdd they currently use; the only difference is that they decided to create a new software layer that will only reside on the top layer of the "New Unit".

Just goes to show you that if man designs it, plans it, programs it, or has a hand in it at all, it will be imperfect, regardless of the cost or the manufacturer.

just my .02 cents worth! :)

You're kidding, right? Maybe compared to no guide at all, but, obviously, you've never used TiVo. And before everyone starts whining about "I'll never pay for a guide..." blah blah, think about how often you eat out in a month. Bet it's more than $12.95. TiVo's guide is more than worth every penny (and healthier ;)).


Never have and never will. Won't pay for the guide. No whining, just a fact!

I occasionally (1 or 2 times per hour) experience audio dropouts that last about 1 second. If I hit the replay button to replay the scene, the dropout disappears...

Yep, happens to me (and others, I believe) over optical as well.

As much as I like my TiVo, I have noticed that there is one GOOD thing about the guide on this Sony. You can go to the guide while watching a recorded program without having to switch back to live TV. The recorded program continues playing in the video window. You can set recording events while watching a recorded program this way, also (using the guide).

With TiVo, if you are watching a recorded program, you will go to live TV.

... with the same glitchy hdd they currently use...Hard drives are very rarely glitchy; software often is.

As much as I like my TiVo, I have noticed that there is one GOOD thing about the guide on this Sony. You can go to the guide while watching a recorded program without having to switch back to live TV. The recorded program continues playing in the video window. You can set recording events while watching a recorded program this way, also (using the guide).

With TiVo, if you are watching a recorded program, you will go to live TV.There is a drawback to that, however. When recording a sports event (or even any recorded program), if you want to begin watching it while it's still recording, the Sony brings up the "live" program either in the full screen or in the video window (if you have the auto guide option enabled). That can ruin the viewing experience if you see a sports score or see something happen in the program before you begin viewing it. With TiVo, it automatically brings up your full screen menu (with no preview), and let's you choose what to view.

Help!!! . . . Things have been working well for me since I purchased the unit 2 months ago until today. I noticed that the clock was more than an hour off, I checked my scheduled recordings and the top 3 had ???s on them, I changed the channel to one of the local PBS stations and got no VBI data, turned to another PBS channel and was getting good VBI data and within a minute I looked up and the time was now correct but, ....

I turned off the unit and 1/2 hour later came back with the clock still correct but when I turned it on the clock turned to 12:00. I went back to the right channel and am still getting no correct time and I have no TVGuide - Any ideas? And, . . . .

When I look at my host channel it is BLANK. My host id is oxffff but the host channel is blank. Also on my scheduled now all of them have ???Any ideas?

I was hoping to record the Superbowl and now this!

Funny thing is when I check out the 'Section System-Statistics' page where the Host Chan is BLANK it does show on the top left "2/5/2006 22:58 [3]" - is this the next scheduled guide download? If so, how will my system know where to go without a Host Chanel and when it thinks that it is in the year 2004?

Have you tried component cables vs HDMI? My DVR is not working properly when hooked up with HDMI but is perfect with component cables.

Andy, I have not tried component video...only HDMI.

Mark

You're kidding, right? Maybe compared to no guide at all, but, obviously, you've never used TiVo. And before everyone starts whining about "I'll never pay for a guide..." blah blah, think about how often you eat out in a month. Bet it's more than $12.95. TiVo's guide is more than worth every penny (and healthier ;)).

I'll second that with a cherry on top! I have an HD TiVo, as well as the HDD250 -- to even begin to compare the user interface is pointless -- there is no comparison at all. Everything about the TiVo makes sense (to me) -- the TGOS on the other hand, is about as convoluted as you can get.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but how come if I want to do something as simple as searching for a show from an alphabetical list, I can only select the FIRST letter, and the have to scroll through EVERY show that starts with that letter until I find the one I want?? There's no way to narrow it down -- at least not that I have found.

It's kind of amazing to me that although it's been on the market for about 6 years, no other "guide" programmers have duplicated, much less improved upon, the TiVo interface.

You're kidding, right? Maybe compared to no guide at all, but, obviously, you've never used TiVo. And before everyone starts whining about "I'll never pay for a guide..." blah blah, think about how often you eat out in a month. Bet it's more than $12.95. TiVo's guide is more than worth every penny (and healthier ;)).
Doubt it will be hard drive based...probably DVD, and your fingers will end up cramped if you keep them crossed until Sony comes out with another hard drive based HD solution.

You are right, I don't know much about Tivo. I needed somthing with an ATSC tuner since I get OTA only. Tivo didn't have that.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but how come if I want to do something as simple as searching for a show from an alphabetical list, I can only select the FIRST letter, and the have to scroll through EVERY show that starts with that letter until I find the one I want?? There's no way to narrow it down -- at least not that I have found.

Try Guide>Search>Keyword, then Menu>New Search>Enter Keyword.

You're kidding, right? Maybe compared to no guide at all, but, obviously, you've never used TiVo. And before everyone starts whining about "I'll never pay for a guide..." blah blah, think about how often you eat out in a month. Bet it's more than $12.95. TiVo's guide is more than worth every penny (and healthier ;)).

I wonder if TiVo has the same problem with missing local and cable channels in the lineup. Anyone own a TiVo and have missing channels?

Doubt it will be hard drive based...probably DVD, and your fingers will end up cramped if you keep them crossed until Sony comes out with another hard drive based HD solution.

I imagine they would combine a HDD and BD-RW together sometime next year. Perhaps later this year they will offer a 300GB HDD model to replace both the current models.

I wonder if TiVo has the same problem with missing local and cable channels in the lineup. Anyone own a TiVo and have missing channels?

I have an HD TiVo, which if you're not familiar, receives both ATSC and DirecTV signals. The channel information from the two sources is seemlessly integrated -- I've never had a problem with a missing channel, though I have seen instances where the guide information was incorrect (usually because the local station sent in the wrong info).

Try Guide>Search>Keyword, then Menu>New Search>Enter Keyword.

Thanks -- I'll try that tonight.

I wonder if TiVo has the same problem with missing local and cable channels in the lineup. Anyone own a TiVo and have missing channels?Never in the two years I've had my TiVo.

I wonder if TiVo has the same problem with missing local and cable channels in the lineup. Anyone own a TiVo and have missing channels?


As I said a few posts back, TiVo is very quick to add cable channels to the lineup (at least they were when I had satellite). I am still waiting for them to add UHD to the lineup though...I don't know if Charter has even officially announced this channel yet (it isn't in their own web site's channel lineup for this area, yet).

Wow,there seems to be little interest around here that you can currently get the DHG-HDD500 for $249from Tweeter.I checked the stores closest to Los Angeles and Costa Mesa has one,Mission Viejo none and Temecula had 4 so i went there and got 2 NIB and they had NO other inquiries for the Sony.They also said that there are about 50 units available in a central wherehouse so all you have to do is to go to a Tweeter and order one.I also called my friend who is in Las Vegas for the superbowl and he went and got 2 NIB units at the only store in Nevada.Again,no interest there.This must truly be a niche product.Heck,you can almost just buy it for parts at this price since you get 2x250GB hard drives,a nice OTA/Quam tuner,HDMI cable & DVI adapter.Even if there are some issues with the guide etc.BTW,i bought a DHG-HDD500 off E-Bay two weeks ago and it has worked perfectly so far and even the SD tuner is watchable in contrast to my LG3410A.In fact,another friend of mine picked one up in Vegas just to use as an SD only DVR-he thought it was cheap for a 500GB fee free recorder.

Help!!! . . . Things have been working well for me since I purchased the unit 2 months ago until today. I noticed that the clock was more than an hour off, I checked my scheduled recordings and the top 3 had ???s on them, I changed the channel to one of the local PBS stations and got no VBI data, turned to another PBS channel and was getting good VBI data and within a minute I looked up and the time was now correct but, ....

I turned off the unit and 1/2 hour later came back with the clock still correct but when I turned it on the clock turned to 12:00. I went back to the right channel and am still getting no correct time and I have no TVGuide - Any ideas? And, . . . .

When I look at my host channel it is BLANK. My host id is oxffff but the host channel is blank. Also on my scheduled now all of them have ???Any ideas?

I was hoping to record the Superbowl and now this!

Funny thing is when I check out the 'Section System-Statistics' page where the Host Chan is BLANK it does show on the top left "2/5/2006 22:58 [3]" - is this the next scheduled guide download? If so, how will my system know where to go without a Host Chanel and when it thinks that it is in the year 2004?

What area are you in?

Wow,there seems to be little interest around here that you can currently get the DHG-HDD500 for $249from Tweeter.I checked the stores closest to Los Angeles and Costa Mesa has one,Mission Viejo none and Temecula had 4 so i went there and got 2 NIB and they had NO other inquiries for the Sony.They also said that there are about 50 units available in a central wherehouse so all you have to do is to go to a Tweeter and order one.I also called my friend who is in Las Vegas for the superbowl and he went and got 2 NIB units at the only store in Nevada.Again,no interest there.This must truly be a niche product.

Haven't been to my local store but their website still shows this for $699....

Haven't been to my local store but their website still shows this for $699....

It still may be a price mistake. If it is they most likely will discover it Monday.

$699 then down to $250, seems like a price mistake.

Wow,there seems to be little interest around here that you can currently get the DHG-HDD500 for $249from Tweeter.I checked the stores closest to Los Angeles and Costa Mesa has one,Mission Viejo none and Temecula had 4 so i went there and got 2 NIB and they had NO other inquiries for the Sony.They also said that there are about 50 units available in a central wherehouse so all you have to do is to go to a Tweeter and order one.I also called my friend who is in Las Vegas for the superbowl and he went and got 2 NIB units at the only store in Nevada.Again,no interest there.This must truly be a niche product.

Well, the only people that know about it are those reading this forum and it has only been about 24 hours since the price drop. I stopped by my local Tweeter and they didn't have one on display. I asked about it and the salesperson had never heard of it. I had him check to be sure and they had one in stock and at $249.

It still may be a price mistake. If it is they most likely will discover it Monday.

$699 then down to $250, seems like a price mistake.

You would think, but the display model in the Tweeters where I bought mine today had it clearly marked on sale for $249 and the price on display was what was in the computer Salesperson told me price dropped in passed 24 hours, which made sense
because i had been in same store on Friday and it was tagged $699. Salesperson said he scooped up two for himself.

It still may be a price mistake. If it is they most likely will discover it Monday.

$699 then down to $250, seems like a price mistake.

$249 price is only in stores. Not a mistake. They are 'dumping' them to get them out of their inventory. I am sure they have been sitting there for 6+ months with minimal sales.

Tweeter.com probably have no incentive to sell them online with free shipping and deal with the returns when people can't get the TV Guide to work. I called tweeter.com before I discovered that they were $249 in the stores to see if they would match the $249 deal, and they declined.

Andy, I have not tried component video...only HDMI.

Mark

I know that HDMI is supposedly superior to component outputs, but I would recommend to hook up the component cables and most likely see your problems go away. I would be willing to bet that you won't see any quality degradation from the HDMI... and as a bonus, you won't have the problems you have now.

At least worth a try with the cable included in the box.

Well, the only people that know about it are those reading this forum and it has only been about 24 hours since the price drop. I stopped by my local Tweeter and they didn't have one on display. I asked about it and the salesperson had never heard of it. I had him check to be sure and they had one in stock and at $249.

We don't have any Tweeters up here, but the $249 price was mentioned down in San Diego, where I have a cousin who might be able to pick one up for me. However, when I called the nearest store, they said they were "fresh out", and there weren't any left in the local area....too bad! I'd pick up one at that price to replace my samsung tuner/JVC digital VHS to go along with my LG 3410a.

If anybody sees any more available, I'd like to hear about it! TOny

Is there a way to see the use history in the service menu, Like how many hours it's been used, etc. ?

What quality settings is everyone using for standard def programs? I'm using HQ for everthing for now.


There is tons of information on resets, clock reset, guide data receive etc in the diagnostics screens for the TV Guide. There are multiple levels of the menu by pressing down and multiple screens on each menu by pressing right.

Go to TV Guide, choose setup, press down, then enter 753159852.

Unless you are planning to store hundreds of hours of SD programming and not watch it, why not use HQ all the time?

We don't have any Tweeters up here, but the $249 price was mentioned down in San Diego, where I have a cousin who might be able to pick one up for me. However, when I called the nearest store, they said they were "fresh out", and there weren't any left in the local area....too bad! I'd pick up one at that price to replace my samsung tuner/JVC digital VHS to go along with my LG 3410a.

If anybody sees any more available, I'd like to hear about it! TOny

There are 6 stores in the San Diego area. You should call them all. There is a store locator at tweeter.com. Probably a couple left.

The store I bought 2 from in Mission Valley had 4 in stock plus the display. 3 after I left on Saturday at noon.

There seems to be a lot of 500's dumped on the market very recently.The prices right now on E-Bay are LOWER on average for the 500 than for the 250 with several wholesalers offering multiple units for sale with one having NIB 500 for $499 buy it now +$30 ship.

$249 is an amazing price for an HDD500... even if you don't want the DVR, the two 250 GB hard drives alone are worth about that much!

There are 6 stores in the San Diego area. You should call them all. There is a store locator at tweeter.com. Probably a couple left.

The store I bought 2 from in Mission Valley had 4 in stock plus the display. 3 after I left on Saturday at noon.

I actually called mission valley, and they said they were fresh out, and when I asked about other stores, he said there were no units left in the area...

Jeez, I'm starting to feel like a real dolt for paying $499 for a HDD250 last weekend. I thought that was a good deal at the time ...

$249 is an amazing price for an HDD500... even if you don't want the DVR, the two 250 GB hard drives alone are worth about that much!

I had the same thought regarding the cost of the two hard drives so $249 has got to be below Sony's cost, and obviously below Tweeter's. I think it has to be a pricing error at the central office, and just flowed down to individual stores. Also, it is illogical for anyone to sell the 500 for less than the 250.

I'm guessing Tweeter knows something from Sony we don't know about which would make these units not be sold even at $250 in a couple months time.

Don't really want to be negative, but Im really beginning to fear you may be right. There's gotta be some kind of catch. I hate to say it, but there always is. But I'd rather be stuck with a $249 doorstop than the $699 I paid. Gulp.

Jeez, I'm starting to feel like a real dolt for paying $499 for a HDD250 last weekend. I thought that was a good deal at the time ...I wouldn't worry about it...I'm sure you'll be able to eBay it for at least 75% of that eventually.

$249 is an amazing price for an HDD500... even if you don't want the DVR, the two 250 GB hard drives alone are worth about that much!


Yes, and also the ATSC tuner is worth about $200.

Bottom line on these is this -- If you keep them, they'll likely continue to record HD just fine. If you keep them, and get a dual tuner TiVo HD unit, you will have three HD recorders. If you decide to sell it, you should be able to recoup at least half your cost.

There seems to be a lot of 500's dumped on the market very recently.The prices right now on E-Bay are LOWER on average for the 500 than for the 250 with several wholesalers offering multiple units for sale with one having NIB 500 for $499 buy it now +$30 ship.

The ebay effect may be because of recent purchases from Tweeter.

What does the USB port on the back of the box do? I've got a Sony HD300 satellite reciever that has a data port for use with "some personal recording devices". Has anyone tried connecting these two ports up? Anyone?...Anyone?...Beuller?...Beuller?

Wolfie

$249 is an amazing price for an HDD500... even if you don't want the DVR, the two 250 GB hard drives alone are worth about that much!
is it possible to take one of the hard drives out and convert an HDD500 into an HDD250 and a PC with an additional 250GB space? :D

I had the same thought regarding the cost of the two hard drives so $249 has got to be below Sony's cost, and obviously below Tweeter's. I think it has to be a pricing error at the central office, and just flowed down to individual stores. Also, it is illogical for anyone to sell the 500 for less than the 250.

Ray, are you getting guide data? I'm on my third unit. My second worked perfectly but I returned it and took advantage of the $249 deal at Tweeter. I did get clock data last night so I can use it manually, but that's it. No channel line-up or program data. It makes me wonder if some units receive data better than others. I did the 9012 G* test and got Pass on first three including VBI test. I got Fail on Serial and last item. Thanks

Edit: I called Sony and was told in the 9012 Dianostics the SNR should be 16.0 or higher. So I'll check that tonight.

Thanks AtlantsMichael and AndyDreww! I just purchased one from Tweeters for $249 . There were still three left, one was being held for someone that called earlier. I already had two but at this price I could not pass up this deal. Thanks again!. Now to find an HDTV for the bedroom.

I actually called mission valley, and they said they were fresh out, and when I asked about other stores, he said there were no units left in the area...

Sorry... seems like you may have missed the deal...

Thank you forum!!!

I just got back from returning my HDD250 at Best Buy and purchasing a HDD500 at Tweeter. (Thanks to the forum I bought the HDD250 on Jan 7th at the great price of $499.99) I had it for a month and it it worked great. (OTA and basic cable, no CC for digital)

I have now purchased and installed the HDD500 for $249.00! (Waiting for the guide to fill in tonight.) I even had a $25 discount coupon that they applied to the purchase to bring the price down to $224.00.

When I walked into Tweeter the HDD500 was displayed on the shelf with the $699 price. The salesman that I spoke with was not aware of the price reduction. I asked him to check the computer, and there it was. Here's the kicker; while the purchase was being rung-up the manager told me that the reason for the drastic drop is the fact that these units are not compatable with Comcast Cable Cards. He wanted to make sure I was not using Comcast. According to him, Sony actually has this notice on their website now. Tweeter has worked out some kind of deal with Sony in order to offer these units at this price.

Tweeter has worked out some kind of deal with Sony in order to offer these units at this price.

I think the word is 'clear out' :) I am sure Tweeter is getting some concessions back from Sony to allow them to reduce the price to a level that will allow Tweeter to clear out their remaining inventory.

Here's the kicker; while the purchase was being rung-up the manager told me that the reason for the drastic drop is the fact that these units are not compatable with Comcast Cable Cards. He wanted to make sure I was not using Comcast. According to him, Sony actually has this notice on their website now.

Hmmm...

I don't see anything on the Sony support website about this, and I thought that there were plenty of people using Comcast cablecards here that were doing OK...

Thank you forum!!!

I just got back from returning my HDD250 at Best Buy and purchasing a HDD500 at Tweeter. (Thanks to the forum I bought the HDD250 on Jan 7th at the great price of $499.99) I had it for a month and it it worked great. (OTA and basic cable, no CC for digital)

I have now purchased and installed the HDD500 for $249.00! (Waiting for the guide to fill in tonight.) I even had a $25 discount coupon that they applied to the purchase to bring the price down to $224.00.

When I walked into Tweeter the HDD500 was displayed on the shelf with the $699 price. The salesman that I spoke with was not aware of the price reduction. I asked him to check the computer, and there it was. Here's the kicker; while the purchase was being rung-up the manager told me that the reason for the drastic drop is the fact that these units are not compatable with Comcast Cable Cards. He wanted to make sure I was not using Comcast. According to him, Sony actually has this notice on their website now. Tweeter has worked out some kind of deal with Sony in order to offer these units at this price. Is that completely true? Hasn't anyone gotten a Comcast cable card to work with it? I wonder if he was just referring to the passing of the guide data with the CC. Because I can easily get around that with an indoor antenna which picks up all the cable channel's data from my OTA host channel.

Ray, are you getting guide data? I'm on my third unit. My second worked perfectly but I returned it and took advantage of the $249 deal at Tweeter. I did get clock data last night so I can use it manually, but that's it. No channel line-up or program data. It makes me wonder if some units receive data better than others. I did the 9012 G* test and got Pass on first three including VBI test. I got Fail on Serial and last item. Thanks

Edit: I called Sony and was told in the 9012 Dianostics the SNR should be 16.0 or higher. So I'll check that tonight.

I have guide data. Last night I set recordings for tonight and tomorrow night.

I have now purchased and installed the HDD500 for $249.00! (Waiting for the guide to fill in tonight.) I even had a $25 discount coupon that they applied to the purchase to bring the price down to $224.00.


I wonder what store you got your unit at? (I have an old friend in Naperville, and if there were still a unit convenient to him, maybe he'd buy me one and ship it to me!)

Thanks - Tony

Is that completely true? Hasn't anyone gotten a Comcast cable card to work with it? I wonder if he was just referring to the passing of the guide data with the CC. Because I can easily get around that with an indoor antenna which picks up all the cable channel's data from my OTA host channel.

Not likely. Salespeople like to tell tall tales. They weren't selling so they are clearing them out. It's as simple as that. They did the same thing with the Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U decks last year.

i use the 250 with a comcast cc, and have had no problems at all.

Is that completely true? Hasn't anyone gotten a Comcast cable card to work with it? I wonder if he was just referring to the passing of the guide data with the CC. Because I can easily get around that with an indoor antenna which picks up all the cable channel's data from my OTA host channel.

I have had a cable card from day one and I have had no problem with the passing of the guide data. I am not sure what he means.

I think the word is 'clear out' :) I am sure Tweeter is getting some concessions back from Sony to allow them to reduce the price to a level that will allow Tweeter to clear out their remaining inventory.
The manager at my HiFi(Tweeter) told me too that Sony was lowering the cost of HDD500s to them so they could clear them out. I wonder if Sony is doing it to other retailers/wholesalers. But the facts on the ground don't seem to make sense with that approach. I ran into a Sony rep in charge of stocking up HDD250s at BestBuy this weekend. He said the HDD250 at BBs were selling like hot cakes. And he said he couldn't imagine Sony discontinuing the model without some new replacement. But if all this is true how does Sony expect BBs, CCs, Fryes and Tweeters to sell HDD250s well at $499 while the HDD500s are being put on firesale prices?

just called the 3 tweeters in my zip and only have an open box so going to go get it. bought a open box that was new at BB last week for 349 and it is working great. As soon as I plugged in I had the correct time. Was around 11:30 at night. tried 3 different zip codes before finally choosing a Frisco Stonebriar. I think I have all channels scanned correctly. Will have to see if INHD 2 is one of them. So if i can get the 500 model for 249 I may take the smaller one back. I have 3 dual dvrs from comcast and I get to use 2 so maybe I can return at least one of them.

I ran into a Sony rep in charge of stocking up HDD250s at BestBuy this weekend. He said the HDD250 at BBs were selling like hot cakes. And he said he couldn't imagine Sony discontinuing the model without some new replacement.

I haven't followed this too closely, but I was under the impression that both the 250 and 500 have already been discontinued. If you look on a reputable site such as Crutchfield.com, they say that it is "no longer available." I found one at a local Best Buy, but that's the only one I've seen recently. It has disappeared from the shelves of all other stores. If they're not discontinued, I would guess that the time is close ...

You lucky guys with Tweeters near buy are killing the ones who live where there are no tweeters. So, we ask all of you that bought a 500 for $249 to be in charge of watching the internet for the lowest prices around and report it ASAP! Least you can do for us poor souls you contribute so much and ask for so little.

$249.00 for an HDD500 - Amazing price, I paid well more for that for my HDD250 four months ago. I noticed quite a few e-bay listings today for hdd500's at a lower price than the hdd250's. And oddly enough the majority seem to be from areas where Tweeter's stores are located!!!! Hmmmm - can't help but wonder if there is any correlation. Don't have a Tweeter's in Albuquerque!!!

I wouldn't have been able to drive to the Tweeter store closest to me due to other commitments, but I called and got the $249 price with $12 shipping.
I just tried calling Tweeters and they said they have them listed at $699 still with no plans to drop the price. Where exactly did you call??

Here's the kicker; while the purchase was being rung-up the manager told me that the reason for the drastic drop is the fact that these units are not compatable with Comcast Cable Cards. He wanted to make sure I was not using Comcast. According to him, Sony actually has this notice on their website now.


Hmmm...

I don't see anything on the Sony support website about this, and I thought that there were plenty of people using Comcast cablecards here that were doing OK...


I thought that it was strange myself. Just reporting what I was told...

I wonder what store you got your unit at? (I have an old friend in Naperville, and if there were still a unit convenient to him, maybe he'd buy me one and ship it to me!)

I purchased it from the Fox Valley store. They had one demo left. (The one on the shelf. Has not seen a bit of use.)

I just tried calling Tweeters and they said they have them listed at $699 still with no plans to drop the price. Where exactly did you call??

Their normal policy is that they do not take purchases over the phone, but they made an exception due to my close proximity to the store. I was told the reason for the low price is simply it is a discontinued model.

I have guide data. Last night I set recordings for tonight and tomorrow night.

Thanks, I just needed to be patient. I was a little paranoid because I was only able to get a floor model at Tweeters. I now have all the channels and the program data.

My "SNR" varies but averages about 20.0. I guess this may change depending on the weather, but it's a bit over the 16.0 minimum.


Thank you AlantsMicheal !!! Awsome deal

I returned the 250 yesterday in the Westwood, CA Bestbuy. Near UCLA. They asked why. I told them about the $249 Tweeter deal. He said they were reducing the price to $349 or $249 for the one I returned. If anyone is interested. It has all the cables, remote, everything.

I got two for $250 each! Time to mess with them.

I purchased it from the Fox Valley store. They had one demo left. (The one on the shelf. Has not seen a bit of use.)

Interesting. Just got back from the Fox Valley store. They had one demo left. (The one on the shelf. Has not seen a bit of use.) I bought it. Can't beat the price.

Thanks, I just needed to be patient. I was a little paranoid because I was only able to get a floor model at Tweeters. I now have all the channels and the program data.

My "SNR" varies but averages about 20.0. I guess this may change depending on the weather, but it's a bit over the 16.0 minimum.


Thank you AlantsMicheal !!! Awsome deal

I returned the 250 yesterday in the Westwood, CA Bestbuy. Near UCLA. They asked why. I told them about the $249 Tweeter deal. He said they were reducing the price to $349 or $249 for the one I returned. If anyone is interested. It has all the cables, remote, everything.

I called Tweeters in Costa Mesa CA. The price was $249. Sales person said that they had none in stock but had ample supply and could have it shipped to the store. I was unable to persuade him to order one for me - he insisted that I had to come to the store. Fortunately I have a friend who lives nearby, went to the store and placed a deposit for it. Salesperson admitted to my friend that the pricing made no sense but he had to follow it.

I looked at what the 500 sold for on Ebay and almost all are above $400.

I called Tweeters in Costa Mesa CA. The price was $249. Sales person said that they had none in stock but had ample supply and could have it shipped to the store. I was unable to persuade him to order one for me - he insisted that I had to come to the store. Fortunately I have a friend who lives nearby, went to the store and placed a deposit for it. Salesperson admitted to my friend that the pricing made no sense but he had to follow it.

I looked at what the 500 sold for on Ebay and almost all are above $400.

I purchased mine from Costa Mesa. They also said ordering one was no problem, they had plenty but none near by. I took the display because of the long drive.

Another guy showed up(AVS member?) at the same time as I. Since he lived near, he chose to wait for a new one.

Damn these things go fast. There were 6 in my local store at 9am, so I put my name on 1 via phone. I told my wife to haul ass up there to snag some extras, as I saw the e-bay prices. She didn't make it until 5pm and there was only mine left. They dug in the back and found one more in box, and we also took the floor model. The dude searched and called ALL of Houston and they are GONE!. :eek:

I'll use one and the others go to friends who were slower than I was.

Damn these things go fast. There were 6 in my local store at 9am, so I put my name on 1 via phone. I told my wife to haul ass up there to snag some extras, as I saw the e-bay prices. She didn't make it until 5pm and there was only mine left. They dug in the back and found one more in box, and we also took the floor model. The dude searched and called ALL of Houston and they are GONE!. :eek:

I'll use one and the others go to friends who were slower than I was.
Would that be the Humble store? I was there at 10:00 a.m. to get one. They still had 3 left, one of which someone had called and asked them to hold.

how can they not go fast at that price? when I was at Tweeter the guy said somebody just bought 15 of those before me. he offered to mop up the rest in the area for me. hey, he said there is nothing to lose, I could always return them in 30 days if I changed my mind. so I put my money down for ten! :D

Would that be the Humble store? I was there at 10:00 a.m. to get one. They still had 3 left, one of which someone had called and asked them to hold.

that's me!!! I thought about reserving all 6, but that would leave some fellow AVS'ers out of luck. At least my friends and I got ours.

We're like starving ants swarming over a fresh candybar.
:D

that's me!!! I thought about reserving all 6, but that would leave some fellow AVS'ers out of luck. At least my friends and I got ours.

We're like starving ants swarming over a fresh candybar.
:D
Are you sure they had six? When I called Sunday around 2:00 they told me they had four in stock. I took a chance waiting until Monday, but I was lucky since it does not look like anyone purchased any on Sunday after I called.

But I went ahead and bought a model 500 from tweeters for 249. I was able to convince the sales guy that I will pick it up tomorrow. He agreed to hold it for me and took my charge number.

Now I have that and the model 250 with an unused 25o gig hard drive.

I guess I will have to sell some of my stamp collection.

HDAddiction.

But I went ahead and bought a model 500 from tweeters for 249. I was able to convince the sales guy that I will pick it up tomorrow. He agreed to hold it for me and took my charge number.

Now I have that and the model 250 with an unused 25o gig hard drive.

I guess I will have to sell some of my stamp collection.

HDAddiction.
I am mad as hell too (not really). I already had two. Now why did I go and buy another one? I am mad as hell (not really). Is it some type of addiction?

I drove 190 miles round trip to get one in Conn.. Now only if i can get the correct time and the Guide to download!

Went to my local Tweeters tonight and all they had were 2 open boxes and a display model. Has anyone here actually gotten a new one? I may go back tomorrow and see if a different salesperson can come up with a new one. If not, I'll probably grab one that's there.

Well, I just called Sony for a work order to get the electrical mod / software update to cure the 161-6 error. My unit will be heading to Texas for this procedure in the near future.

The guy on the phone, level 1 tech, really gave me issues. Not sure where he was based. Maybe Bombay or some such. It took 10 minutes of back and forth before he accepted that the recorder needed service, and I started with the exact error, knowledge base article saying the error requires service, and other information handy. He didn't even know what the product does, but was reading a script about "that error being normal when trying to view copy protected material via HDMI." I don't think he even knew what HDMI is. HAd fun when I informed him that I was using component cables rather than HDMI...

Before sending it in, I'm going to rent the HDDVR from the local cable company. It will be interesting to run a comparison between the two. At the time I plunked down $750 for the Sony, my cableco didn't offer an HDDVR. Now they have one for ~10/month.

Just a quick question: I'm supposed to take the cable card OUT before sending it in, right? And in the experience of those assembled here, will they wipe all the recordings on the HD as part of their service procedure? I've got plenty of unviewed material there.

Wish me luck.

Marc

I have been working with my local headend trying to understand why some recordings would fail with the message "Recording not permitted by service provider." It looks like an upgrade to the latest CC firmware fixed my problem. I have a CC with 4.21 installed and I am 7 for 7 on my recording of channels with CCI 0x2 (ie HBO, Showtime, etc). I have never had that success rate before. I should also mention that my local headend was unable to upgrade my CC via the normal OB methods, I had to get a new card with 4.21 already installed. The upgrade issue is probably Sony's fault but when I called tech support they had no clue what I was talking.

Well, I just called Sony for a work order to get the electrical mod / software update to cure the 161-6 error. My unit will be heading to Texas for this procedure in the near future.

The guy on the phone, level 1 tech, really gave me issues. Not sure where he was based. Maybe Bombay or some such. It took 10 minutes of back and forth before he accepted that the recorder needed service, and I started with the exact error, knowledge base article saying the error requires service, and other information handy. He didn't even know what the product does, but was reading a script about "that error being normal when trying to view copy protected material via HDMI." I don't think he even knew what HDMI is. HAd fun when I informed him that I was using component cables rather than HDMI...

Before sending it in, I'm going to rent the HDDVR from the local cable company. It will be interesting to run a comparison between the two. At the time I plunked down $750 for the Sony, my cableco didn't offer an HDDVR. Now they have one for ~10/month.

Just a quick question: I'm supposed to take the cable card OUT before sending it in, right? And in the experience of those assembled here, will they wipe all the recordings on the HD as part of their service procedure? I've got plenty of unviewed material there.

Wish me luck.

Marc

You don't even need to go thru a customer service representative. All you need to do is fill out the online new repair form at:

http://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web/index.do

The date of purchase you entered (including the copy of your receipt) will dictate whether payment is needed. Just follow the instructions.

YES KEEP THE CABLECARD. PULL IT OUT! JUST SEND THE UNIT. KEEP THE POWER CABLE AND THE HDMI CABLE.

Yes it keeps all previously recorded programs. Once it's comes back upgraded you may need to reset to factory defaults and a different cablecard, mine did not work unless I changed the cablecard with a new one.

Went to my local Tweeters tonight and all they had were 2 open boxes and a display model. Has anyone here actually gotten a new one? I may go back tomorrow and see if a different salesperson can come up with a new one. If not, I'll probably grab one that's there.

I purchased 2 new ones. Tweeter Crossgates Commons Albany, NY

I am mad as hell too (not really). I already had two. Now why did I go and buy another one? I am mad as hell (not really). Is it some type of addiction?

I know what you mean...I now have 3

I have been working with my local headend trying to understand why some recordings would fail with the message "Recording not permitted by service provider." It looks like an upgrade to the latest CC firmware fixed my problem. I have a CC with 4.21 installed and I am 7 for 7 on my recording of channels with CCI 0x2 (ie HBO, Showtime, etc). I have never had that success rate before. I should also mention that my local headend was unable to upgrade my CC via the normal OB methods, I had to get a new card with 4.21 already installed. The upgrade issue is probably Sony's fault but when I called tech support they had no clue what I was talking.

That is interesting information, since I had some trouble with BOTH of my cablecards reight after I had them installed. I have one in my HDD250, and one in my Mits DLP TV. The picture was "tiling" (blocky mosaic pattern) for a second or two every 5 minutes or so when watching premium (non-HD) channels, but my STB on the same cable outlet was just fine.

I took an afternoon off and had a cable tech come out and he did a bunch of stuff (replacing connections, and eventually replacing the drop to my house - which still needs to be buried!). This made him happier about the signal ("11 over 12" - whatever this means), but the tiling continued.

Finally he decided to replace the cablecard (and he had to go back to the office to get 2 more). I wanted to do the TV first, since I knew the DVR would be reset if we did the cablecard swap. We put a new one in the TV, and it seemed to help - the tiling didn't continue. We also noted that both of the old cablecards were Revision 4.05, while this new one in the TV was 4.21. We swapped out the one for the DVR, but that one was another 4.05. Since the swap, it doesn't seem to be tiling anymore...

I haven't really noticed the disappearing recordings on my DVR yet, but there is still some occasionally weird behavior. I am tempted to request a 4.21 cablecard for the DVR, too, but as far as I know, Charter has no way of knowing what firmware a CC has without plugging it into a device. The Sony does have a means to look at the version before you go through the pairing process though.

Can we start an informal survey of Motorola CC users and see what firmware versions they have, and whether they are having problems with their DVR?


I will start:
Sony DHD-HDD250 with the .09 firmware
Charter Cable in West Michigan with Motorola CC and 4.05 firmware
No immediately obvious problems here.

You don't even need to go thru a customer service representative. All you need to do is fill out the online new repair form at:

http://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web/index.do



Can I use this url to request the firmware update that allow digital guide data ?

Went to my local Tweeters tonight and all they had were 2 open boxes and a display model. Has anyone here actually gotten a new one? I may go back tomorrow and see if a different salesperson can come up with a new one. If not, I'll probably grab one that's there.

No new ones, to my knowledge, in the Chicagoland area.

Went to my local Tweeters tonight and all they had were 2 open boxes and a display model. Has anyone here actually gotten a new one? I may go back tomorrow and see if a different salesperson can come up with a new one. If not, I'll probably grab one that's there.


I purchased 2 new ones also. Metro Washington DC

But I went ahead and bought a model 500 from tweeters for 249. I was able to convince the sales guy that I will pick it up tomorrow. He agreed to hold it for me and took my charge number.

Now I have that and the model 250 with an unused 25o gig hard drive.

I guess I will have to sell some of my stamp collection.

HDAddiction.

I haven't had the chance to go by my local Tweeter affiliate here (Phoenix area), but online they're showing a price of $699 for the model 500 and $599 for the model 250. Where'd you find that awesome deal?

all Tweeter in-store prices on HDD500 are still $249! just go to their website to locate a store near you.

Can I use this url to request the firmware update that allow digital guide data ?

Yes, just state it in the comments of what you want. Don't forget to include that you want the cablecard mod 161-6 error fix.

Just figured out the TV Guide situation. The guide is tied to the cable systems channel line-up available in your area. That's why I couldn't recieve all my OTA channels on the guide. My local cable system doesn't have all my HD OTA channels.

Wolfie

Does anyone know if there is "official" word on the firmware version that allows reception of guide data via ATSC or digital cable channels?

My 90 day parts/labor warranty is up on Feb 20th or so, and I am tempted to send it in for service to get the electrical mod, and the latest firmware (.13 I think).

I will probably just tell them that it loses recordings on the schedule sometimes. Is that reason enough for them to make repairs/upgrades?

Thanks!

all Tweeter in-store prices on HDD500 are still $249! just go to their website to locate a store near you.

We don't have any actual Tweeter stores here, just some affiliate of theirs (Showcase Home Entertainment), but I'll definitely go check it out in-store. Thanks for the tip!

No new ones, to my knowledge, in the Chicagoland area.

I actually work at Tweeter in the Chicago area, and we had a decent amount of HDD500's left as of yesterday. I just called my store and had them check in the computer: There are 13 open box / floor models left in the Chicago area as of 9:39 a.m. Central Time, assuming the computer is correct!

This number is for the whole Chicago region, so to get one from your local store (in the Chicago area), the sales person just needs to get one transferred from another store. A deposit of 20% down will "commit" the item and hold it under your name.

Before you ask: Transfers from one region to another are not allowed. I am off for two days, so I cannot help anyone out with taking orders. You need to go into the store to place the order, as phone orders are not allowed. However, you may find a sales person stupid enough to do it over the phone. Happy hunting.

Mark

We don't have any actual Tweeter stores here, just some affiliate of theirs (Showcase Home Entertainment), but I'll definitely go check it out in-store. Thanks for the tip!

Since ebay may be flooded with these for the short term. You might be able to get a decent deal. The $249 price is crazy cheap, even if Sony dumps these as refurbs they should be more than that. I still think it may be a pricing error, an ATSC tuner alone cost $249. It probably was not reported, at least right away, because the salesmen don't care, they get commision.

Does anyone know if there is "official" word on the firmware version that allows reception of guide data via ATSC or digital cable channels?

My 90 day parts/labor warranty is up on Feb 20th or so, and I am tempted to send it in for service to get the electrical mod, and the latest firmware (.13 I think).

I will probably just tell them that it loses recordings on the schedule sometimes. Is that reason enough for them to make repairs/upgrades?

Thanks!

Based on the timing of the original statement, I believe that .13 (current version) is the one that does it (if any do). I haven't heard of any versions above .09 being in boxes as received and .09 goes back to July, at least.

I sent mine in when TVGOS was down in LA giving as the reason that it wasn't receiving any schedule, lineup or clock. I used the web site and did not talk to any live person before sending it in. It does apparently have to go back to Pennsylvania, even from the West Coast.

The tech called me, said that he had upgraded it to .13 and that my problem was probably due to the LA TVGOS being down (he was aware of that). I asked him if he'd done the CableCard mod. He said they don't do it unless a CableCard problem is mentioned but he seemed to have no problem doing it once I said that I was going to be using a CableCard and wanted to be sure that the mod was done. Turn-around, once it got there, was 2 days.

Based on the timing of the original statement, I believe that .13 (current version) is the one that does it (if any do). I haven't heard of any versions above .09 being in boxes as received and .09 goes back to July, at least.

I sent mine in when TVGOS was down in LA giving as the reason that it wasn't receiving any schedule, lineup or clock. I used the web site and did not talk to any live person before sending it in. It does apparently have to go back to Pennsylvania, even from the West Coast.

The tech called me, said that he had upgraded it to .13 and that my problem was probably due to the LA TVGOS being down (he was aware of that). I asked him if he'd done the CableCard mod. He said they don't do it unless a CableCard problem is mentioned but he seemed to have no problem doing it once I said that I was going to be using a CableCard and wanted to be sure that the mod was done. Turn-around, once it got there, was 2 days.


I went to that online RMA page for Sony products, and found that if I put in an earlier purchase date that the flat labor rate would be $92. I think I will be biting the bullet and sending it away. How did you package yours and ship it? I read earlier that the UPS store has a deal with Sony... I also don't really want to send in my original box and packaging if they aren't going to send it back in this same packaging.

I am using a cablecard, so maybe I will tell them that I started to lose scheduled recordings after I installed the CC. Do you think that will be enough?

Thanks again,
Jeff

Does anyone know how I can update the Gemstar software (not the Sony firmware) from version 08.01.42 to 08.06.30.

Supposely, the 08.06.30 gemstar software allows you to enter 4 digit channel numbers in the tv guide channel editor.

I actually work at Tweeter in the Chicago area, and we had a decent amount of HDD500's left as of yesterday. I just called my store and had them check in the computer: There are 13 open box / floor models left in the Chicago area as of 9:39 a.m. Central Time, assuming the computer is correct!

This number is for the whole Chicago region, so to get one from your local store (in the Chicago area), the sales person just needs to get one transferred from another store. A deposit of 20% down will "commit" the item and hold it under your name.

Before you ask: Transfers from one region to another are not allowed. I am off for two days, so I cannot help anyone out with taking orders. You need to go into the store to place the order, as phone orders are not allowed. However, you may find a sales person stupid enough to do it over the phone. Happy hunting.

Mark
since you work there, can you tell us why Tweeter or Sony is sell HDD500 at this crazy price?

I woke up late and decided to work at home today vice drive into the office (very rare). Anyway, I had passively looked at the Sony DHG-HDD500 (500Mb HD DVR) since 70% of our Dish Network HD DVR fills up with over-the-air HD programming (always deleting things)...but it certainly wasn't worth anywhere near the $999 list price for this single tuner device.

However, when I read this thread I immediately called the local Tweeters and placed a hold on one of their two remaining DHG-HDD500s. I just arrived home with the unit and I'm getting ready to place it into well-needed service. It's a steal at $250! :)

I went by one of 3 Tweeter stores in my area :) to pick up there floor model. After waiting over 30 minutes while they tried to find the box. The guy came by and asked if I would like a new one. They would get it from Houston store. I had a sad look on face. He said "you want to play with it tonight don't you?" So he gave me his new in box he was holding for himself. Going to call them today and see if they found the box with remote and stuff and go pick it up today and take my HD 250 I bought at Best Buy for $349.

I woke up late and decided to work at home today vice drive into the office (very rare). Anyway, I had passively looked at the Sony DHG-HDD500 (500Mb HD DVR) since 70% of our Dish Network HD DVR fills up with over-the-air HD programming (always deleting things)...but it certainly wasn't worth anywhere near the $999 list price for this single tuner device.

However, when I read this thread I immediately called the local Tweeters and placed a hold on one of their two remaining DHG-HDD500s. I just arrived home with the unit and I'm getting ready to place it into well-needed service. It's a steal at $250! :)


Sounds like you are "working" hard! :D

I have someone at work that did this through basic cable with brighthouse and sure enough he gets the local HD channels for free.

What Brighthouse channels should I tune to with this box to get the local HD channels for free? I can't find them.

I went to that online RMA page for Sony products, and found that if I put in an earlier purchase date that the flat labor rate would be $92. I think I will be biting the bullet and sending it away. How did you package yours and ship it? I read earlier that the UPS store has a deal with Sony... I also don't really want to send in my original box and packaging if they aren't going to send it back in this same packaging.

I am using a cablecard, so maybe I will tell them that I started to lose scheduled recordings after I installed the CC. Do you think that will be enough?


I paid the UPS store to wrap it in several layers of bubble wrap and then in a box. It did come back in that same wrapping and box, however. I also paid for insurance up to the list price of the unit. Cost more, but cheap for peace of mind. I mentioned the Sony deal to the UPS store and they said they were giving me the rate but it still seemed kind of expensive ($69 from the West Coast for packing, insurance and ground shipping). I probably should have checked more than one store but I was in a hurry.

When you complete the procedure on the web site, they give you a form to fill out and sign. You then include that form together with a copy of the purchase receipt with the shipment. The purchase receipt date is what finally determines whether they charge you or not.

Your reason is probably good enough although, if I was you, I would probably say that I wasn't getting listings and was getting 161-6 errors. The tech called me without any specific request to do so, so you'll probably get the chance to talk to him before they actually send it back.

Does anyone know how I can update the Gemstar software (not the Sony firmware) from version 08.01.42 to 08.06.30.

Supposely, the 08.06.30 gemstar software allows you to enter 4 digit channel numbers in the tv guide channel editor.

It should update automatically within a day or so (if you're getting listings). It should be in the space directly after the 08.01.42 which stays there. The date below (Jan 2005) doesn't change.

since you work there, can you tell us why Tweeter or Sony is sell HDD500 at this crazy price?

I'm making a guess...

1. $700 was FAR too hugh a price for these units
2. They sold a fraction of the units produced
3. I doubt it will ever be CableCard 2.0 compliant ( 2-way for things like PPV, On Demand ).
4. Retailers were revolting with these things taking up shelf space and not selling
5. Probably a new model in the works and they wanted to clear the invintory
6. Sony must be rebating tweeters directly, as this has to be at or below cost.


I got mine yesterday and it's already getting shipped out today. Despite a strong and clear PBS with VBI data, no time no guide. It will be nice since I hate commercials and I love to watch on my own schedule...now if someone could just hack the firmware to allow upload/download of saved content it would be perfect!

Sounds like you are "working" hard! :DI've been so busy lately that I have literally been too busy to be tired. It's nice to catch a break like this once in a while (it's been a long time)...heck, I even decided to purchase a lottery ticket while I was out. :)

I'm making a guess...

1. $700 was FAR too hugh a price for these units
2. They sold a fraction of the units produced
3. I doubt it will ever be CableCard 2.0 compliant ( 2-way for things like PPV, On Demand ).
4. Retailers were revolting with these things taking up shelf space and not selling
5. Probably a new model in the works and they wanted to clear the invintory
6. Sony must be rebating tweeters directly, as this has to be at or below cost.


I got mine yesterday and it's already getting shipped out today. Despite a strong and clear PBS with VBI data, no time no guide. It will be nice since I hate commercials and I love to watch on my own schedule...now if someone could just hack the firmware to allow upload/download of saved content it would be perfect!

I would give it more time. Could be your host station.

My first two had clock data right away, my third took overnight just for clock data, then program data showed up the next day.

I paid the UPS store to wrap it in several layers of bubble wrap and then in a box. It did come back in that same wrapping and box, however. I also paid for insurance up to the list price of the unit. Cost more, but cheap for peace of mind. I mentioned the Sony deal to the UPS store and they said they were giving me the rate but it still seemed kind of expensive ($69 from the West Coast for packing, insurance and ground shipping). I probably should have checked more than one store but I was in a hurry.

I used the UPS store and I paid $39 here in Scotia, NY (they packaged it and insured for $1000).

I would give it more time. Could be your host station.

I need to get the firmware and CC updates anyways if I every plan to use it with TW locally.

Went to my local Tweeters tonight and all they had were 2 open boxes and a display model. Has anyone here actually gotten a new one? I may go back tomorrow and see if a different salesperson can come up with a new one. If not, I'll probably grab one that's there.

No new ones, to my knowledge, in the Chicagoland area.

I actually work at Tweeter in the Chicago area, and we had a decent amount of HDD500's left as of yesterday. I just called my store and had them check in the computer: There are 13 open box / floor models left in the Chicago area as of 9:39 a.m. Central Time, assuming the computer is correct!

This number is for the whole Chicago region, so to get one from your local store (in the Chicago area), the sales person just needs to get one transferred from another store. A deposit of 20% down will "commit" the item and hold it under your name.

Before you ask: Transfers from one region to another are not allowed. I am off for two days, so I cannot help anyone out with taking orders. You need to go into the store to place the order, as phone orders are not allowed. However, you may find a sales person stupid enough to do it over the phone. Happy hunting.

Mark

That is what I was saying. No "new" unopened units. :p

Two questions...

First, are many using these units for OTA reception? If so, is it working well for them?

Second, any ideas why there are so many "open box" units? Are there issues with these units?

(That was more than two questions, wasn't it? :rolleyes: )

My unit is usually problem free.

Last night I was watching a recording and was fast forwarding at 3x. Something went wrong and nothing responded. It just continued to play at 3x. Remote wouldn't work. Buttons on unit wouldn't work. Nothing I could do to stop the runaway play. Came to end of recorded show and just froze on the last scene.

Had to unplug from wall. Rebooted. Seems OK now. But?

i just bought my 250 less than a month ago for $450 at Tweeter, so i could still exchange or price-match. however, was the 250 discounted as well? if so, how much is it now?
getting two of these things will give you essentially a dual-tuner DVR (with up to 1TB of storage)! and you can get rid of Comcast's DVR and $10 monthly fee! you can change the remote control code on one unit so you can put them in the same rack with no IR confusion.

Two questions...

First, are many using these units for OTA reception? If so, is it working well for them?

Second, any ideas why there are so many "open box" units? Are there issues with these units?

(That was more than two questions, wasn't it? :rolleyes: )

Can only speak to first question -

My unit is solely for OTA, no cable or satellite service at my house. DVR worked great until 5 days before 90-day warranty expired. Stopped receiving 4 channels , tho diagnostics showed 90+ signal strength at same time. Other problems that arose - random static in audio, random freezing while playback of live tv & occassionally would jump to current live broadcast time when about 8 - 10 minutes behind.... kind of odd. Sending to PA for service tomorrow. - Back to the drudges of having to watch TV on broadcast schedule or use my VCR - yikes!!

On the plus side, tuner reception near identical to that of Sony HDTV (KDF60XS955). The playback video quality of everything recorded in HD is outstanding. I haven't come close to filling up hard drive - 30 hours hd/200 hours standard is more than plenty for me!

I've never had Tivo so can't compare, but I find TVGOS easy to use, but of course search function could be improved. If you read the instruction manual all tricks will be revealed! - I've seen posts elsewhere that it is hard to get info for days out, tho that is really simple if you know how. The only problem with my channel guide is that it doesn't list three of the local five PBS channels (Albuquerque), so I can't utilize any TVGOS functions for those stations. I had no difficulty setting up channel display to suit my tastes.

All in all, unit has worked well for its designed purpose for me. Would prefer to have two tuners, and I won't be surprised if next generation (if and when there is one) would include two tuners along with other improvements.

My unit is usually problem free.

Last night I was watching a recording and was fast forwarding at 3x. Something went wrong and nothing responded. It just continued to play at 3x. Remote wouldn't work. Buttons on unit wouldn't work. Nothing I could do to stop the runaway play. Came to end of recorded show and just froze on the last scene.

Had to unplug from wall. Rebooted. Seems OK now. But?

That has happened to me as well. However, I just waited for about 20-30 seconds and it corrected itself. I pushed the rewind key while it was stuck, and it eventually started rewinding).

It happened a couple more times over the next couple of days, so I tried a front panel reset (essentially a reboot), and it hasn't done it since then. (I did lose my guide listings though). I might try the unplugging route next time.

As I said a few posts back, I am going to send it in for service in a few days, and this is one of the issues that I will mention in my comments.

Two questions...

First, are many using these units for OTA reception? If so, is it working well for them?

Second, any ideas why there are so many "open box" units? Are there issues with these units?

(That was more than two questions, wasn't it? :rolleyes: )

I picked up a 500 at Tweeter yesterday. picked up all my ota fine. I think a lot of people who bought these that are open box had trouble figuring out the tvguide and zipcode. Some people probably think it is more trouble than it is worth. easier to get a cable box. I have 3 dual dvr cable box and if this works well enough may send one of them back. I still have my HD-120 pc card for OTA as a 3rd backup or 4th backup :D

I wonder if some of the open box units are actually models that they were using in-store (for showing HD content on TV's), or perhaps as simple display models.

i just bought my 250 less than a month ago for $450 at Tweeter, so i could still exchange or price-match. however, was the 250 discounted as well? if so, how much is it now?
getting two of these things will give you essentially a dual-tuner DVR (with up to 1TB of storage)! and you can get rid of Comcast's DVR and $10 monthly fee! you can change the remote control code on one unit so you can put them in the same rack with no IR confusion.

I bought my 500 from Tweeter online last week for $699. I called them yesterday and asked if they would price match the $249 since I just bought it. Their answer was “no”.
So, I guess I will be returning my unit in the next few days for a full refund. It doesn’t make sense to keep it when I can buy a new one on eBay for much cheaper.
If anyone has had any luck with getting Tweeter to price match, please let me know.

...are many using these units for OTA reception? If so, is it working well for them?...Been using it OTA and unencrypted cable, and it works well. I have an outside antenna picking up CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS HD in my area (all within 20 miles), plus expanded basic analog cable.

I will say that I returned one that began showing problems of horizontal white glitches (for lack of a better word). Looked to me to indicate impending HD failure. That began a few weeks after I had it. This unit I've only had for a week and a half. But the recordings now are flawless; I do have an occasional audio drop, but that could be network or local channel related.

I do have a TiVo, and, as I have stated before in this thread, I MUCH prefer its guide over TVGOS. When the dual tuner HD SA TiVo becomes available, I'll snatch it and dump the Sony (or maybe keep it for a third HD tuner).

Does anyone know a host channel(s) in NYC,Long Island,or Northern New Jersey that is UHF? Sony help said they only know of analog Ch.13,which doesn't help since I'm using a UHf antenna to receive the digital OTA signals.
I have a time on the screen that is 2 and a half hours behind Eastern time.Sony level 2 support couldn't solve that either.

First, are many using these units for OTA reception? If so, is it working well for them?

I use mine for OTA only (I don't have cable or satellite) and it works fine for me.

Second, any ideas why there are so many "open box" units? Are there issues with these units?

Some people have trouble getting the electronic program guide (TV Guide on Screen a.k.a. TVGOS) to work because it relies on data broadcast as part of the OTA signal from a "host station" in each area (usually a PBS station, but sometimes FOX or other network affiliate). The unit also sets its clock using that data, and there's no way to set the clock manually. The unit's recording functions are so closely tied to the TV guide that if the guide doesn't work, the unit is almost useless.

Some people with cable also have problems because their cable provider strips out the guide data from the host station's signal, or because they've gone to an all-digital feed (TVGOS requires an analog signal at the moment). Then there are problems with CableCards.

Well, like I mentioned earlier, I somehow am able to get ALL the data for any cable channels I turn on in the guide through my OTA host channel. This comes in handy for me in that I can see what's currently on my Dish channels without having to turn on my Dish 322 receiver and change inputs to check the guide. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to find a way to get my 322 to work with the Sony's channel 3 RF cable input. It would've been nice, cuz then all I'd have to do is set the Sony using the guide grid and just highlight the shows I want to record on the 322. Almost as good as having the Dish DVR!

I have been working with my local headend trying to understand why some recordings would fail with the message "Recording not permitted by service provider." It looks like an upgrade to the latest CC firmware fixed my problem. I have a CC with 4.21 installed and I am 7 for 7 on my recording of channels with CCI 0x2 (ie HBO, Showtime, etc). I have never had that success rate before.

Which cable company do you have?

Can we start an informal survey of Motorola CC users and see what firmware versions they have, and whether they are having problems with their DVR?

I will start:
Sony DHD-HDD250 with the .09 firmware
Charter Cable in West Michigan with Motorola CC and 4.05 firmware
No immediately obvious problems here.

Sony DHD-HDD250 with .05 firmware
Comcast in Chicago with Motorola CC and 4.05 firmware

Only problem: The "recording not permitted" message after a first successful recording on the same pay HD channel (HBO-HD, ESPN-HD). A 3rd, 4th, etc. will also fail. Switching channels and powering down/up usually allows new recordings.

Once in a great while, a first recording fails. CCI=0x0 in all cases. Chicago Comcast has not yet implemented flags.

Does anyone know a host channel(s) in NYC,Long Island,or Northern New Jersey that is UHF? Sony help said they only know of analog Ch.13,which doesn't help since I'm using a UHf antenna to receive the digital OTA signals.
I have a time on the screen that is 2 and a half hours behind Eastern time.Sony level 2 support couldn't solve that either.

I have noticed on initial set up that the first time that is set is incorrect (most likely GMT time). Then when the first guide info is received the clock gets off-set (corrected) to the proper time zone.

Channel 13 is UHF, no? Maybe you don't have your antenna oriented correctly?

Channel 13 is UHF, no?

No Andy, channel 13 is the highest VHF channel. All of us "old timers" know that because we remember when there was no UHF TV band (back in the 50s). When it started you had to use a converter bacause most TVs didn't have UHF tuners. A lot of the first UHF stations were PBS stations because, in a lot of markets, there was no room for them on VHF.

No Andy, channel 13 is the highest VHF channel. All of us "old timers" know that because we remember when there was no UHF TV band (back in the 50s). When it started you had to use a converter bacause most TVs didn't have UHF tuners. A lot of the first UHF stations were PBS stations because, in a lot of markets, there was no room for them on VHF.

Hahaa, I am laughing at myself. Thanks for correcting me.

My UHF 'only' antenna actually does quite well picking up the higher VHF channels.

Gee, thanks for reminding me I'm and "old timer".

Does anyone know a host channel(s) in NYC,Long Island,or Northern New Jersey that is UHF? Sony help said they only know of analog Ch.13,which doesn't help since I'm using a UHf antenna to receive the digital OTA signals.
I have a time on the screen that is 2 and a half hours behind Eastern time.Sony level 2 support couldn't solve that either.

Have you checked your reception on Channel 13? Perhaps it is good enough to pick up the guide. If not, I suggest you either replace the UHF antenna with a combination UHF/VHF or add a VHF antenna and combine it with the UHF with a 2:1 splitter. If you wish, try rabbit ears for VHF.

Are you sure they had six? When I called Sunday around 2:00 they told me they had four in stock. I took a chance waiting until Monday, but I was lucky since it does not look like anyone purchased any on Sunday after I called.

I didn't count them, but that is what the guy said. However it seems that their stock system does not reflect actual minute to minute stock quantities. I say this because he found 7 at another store, but when he called, he found they were out.

I still haven't been able to find a way to get my 322 to work with the Sony's channel 3 RF cable input. It would've been nice, cuz then all I'd have to do is set the Sony using the guide grid and just highlight the shows I want to record on the 322. Almost as good as having the Dish DVR!

Cable channel 3 must be able to receive the output of your 322 since it is just like the output of a VCR, assuming the 322 is set to output a signal on channel 3. What happens when you have the 322 output connected to the Sony and enter 003 on the remote?
Before you do that, you need to connect the 322 directly to a TV to verify that there is a program on channel 3.

Well, I just joined the "I can't believe I did this" club. I drove down to the Tweeter in Columbia SC (about an hour away) after work today, and came back with their last floor sample of the 500, for $249. No box, but I did get the manual and other papers, and all the accessories. I hooked it up in place of one of my other standalone HD receivers so I could check it out without pulling out my 250.

It still had the TVGOS listings from its setup in Columbia, which surprised me a bit. I did a factory reset via the 9012 menu, then set up the TVGOS and did a few channel scans in different directions. Hopefully tomorrow the first set of guide data will be there.

So far I haven't found a way to control two of these units separately with a remote, so if I keep my 250, I may have to resort to putting cardboard in front of one of them to block the IR sensor. I'd hate to give up the recordings that I already have on the 250. (Super Bowl, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music, ...)

At least I have lots of disk space for the Olympics now. :D

[added]After I got my 500 at Tweeter, I went across the road to Best Buy to pick up some other things while I was in the neighborhood. They had two 250's in boxes and a floor sample, marked at $499, out on an end cap along a main aisle.

What area are you in?
South Florida

Well, I just joined the "I can't believe I did this" club. I drove down to the Tweeter in Columbia SC (about an hour away) after work today, and came back with their last floor sample of the 500, for $249. No box, but I did get the manual and other papers, and all the accessories. I hooked it up in place of one of my other standalone HD receivers so I could check it out without pulling out my 250.

It still had the TVGOS listings from its setup in Columbia, which surprised me a bit. I did a factory reset via the 9012 menu, then set up the TVGOS and did a few channel scans in different directions. Hopefully tomorrow the first set of guide data will be there.

So far I haven't found a way to control two of these units separately with a remote, so if I keep my 250, I may have to resort to putting cardboard in front of one of them to block the IR sensor. I'd hate to give up the recordings that I already have on the 250. (Super Bowl, Harry Potter, Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music, ...)

At least I have lots of disk space for the Olympics now. :D

I can't believe I am trying to help all of you JERKS who live near Tweeter stores, but here goes anyway... ;)

In the Menu-Preferences-System menu, there is a remote control code setting - either 50 or 51.I assume that there must be a way to set up one remote for one (on code 50) and the other remote for the other unit (on code 51). From here - I don't know what else to tell you. :D

EDIT: I take that back - there appears to be guidance on page 36 of the manual.

We don't have a Tweeters here in Phoenix. I just got off the phone with Frys electronics and the guy there said that they were NOT on sale. I'm wondering if anyone else in Phoenix has found any on sale at either BB, CC, or Frys? Thanks.

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Showcase, who is affiliated with Tweeter here in AZ. All of theres were gone! DAMN! Had I known about this yesterday I could have gotten one. I'm hoping Frys will have it on sale soon.

there appears to be guidance on page 36 of the manual.

Oops, you're right. :o

I happened to think about this while waiting for the guy at Tweeter to track down the unit after bringing me the manual and accessories, and I thought I remembered seeing something about this in the manual, so I did a quick search. I didn't find it before the guy came back, so I figured I must have been thinking about my Panasonic SD DVR/DVD recorder.

Anyway, I tried it just now. Choosing the code that's different from the one that's currently selected brings up a screen of instructions on how to set the remote to use the new code:

1. Hold down AUX POWER and MENU simultaneously until the power light on the remote starts to blink.

2. While the light is blinking, enter either 50 or 51 (whichever code you want to use), then the SELECT button.

3. To confirm the change, the power light on the remote goes on for two seconds.

So now I can remove the magazines that I've been draping over the front of one of my units. :p

My next project is to figure out how to get my Harmony remote to use both codes... A bit of experimentation should show whether the code 50/51 gets sent only on power on, or with each command. Of course, if someone can tell me in the meantime, that would be fine, too! :)

Oops, you're right. :o

I happened to think about this while waiting for the guy at Tweeter to track down the unit after bringing me the manual and accessories, and I thought I remembered seeing something about this in the manual, so I did a quick search. I didn't find it before the guy came back, so I figured I must have been thinking about my Panasonic SD DVR/DVD recorder.

Anyway, I tried it just now. Choosing the code that's different from the one that's currently selected brings up a screen of instructions on how to set the remote to use the new code:

1. Hold down AUX POWER and MENU simultaneously until the power light on the remote starts to blink.

2. While the light is blinking, enter either 50 or 51 (whichever code you want to use), then the SELECT button.

3. To confirm the change, the power light on the remote goes on for two seconds.

So now I can remove the magazines that I've been draping over the front of one of my units. :p

My next project is to figure out how to get my Harmony remote to use both codes... A bit of experimentation should show whether the code 50/51 gets sent only on power on, or with each command. Of course, if someone can tell me in the meantime, that would be fine, too! :)

I posted harmony compatible hex codes a while back that you can send to harmony to add to your account (if they haven't already added them to their main database). I don't think we have the code 51 versions though).

Hey folks, I am new to this forum and have stumbled into it trying to solve my continued lack of tv guide listings on my ...250. In the few minutes Ive been on here I have seen your posts about the 500 at tweeter for $249 and just ordered two of them over the phone to be transfered to my local tweeter. Now I can return my 250 to best buy where I thought i got a great deal paying $450 w/o remote thanks for the heads up guys! Now this still leaves me a problem , the tv guide. I have comcast in southern NH and am using a cable card they just installed and have never recieved any listings at all. There may be a ton of info in this thread but have not had time to read it all yet. If anyone can point me in the right direction of solving this problem I would greatly appreciate it beacause except for this, I think these units are killer. I am trying a powerdown, card pull and new resetup before bed tonight. Also , good luck with the research on the harmony 50/51 dual remote stuff, I hope that works! thanks all and sorry for the babble -marc

since you work there, can you tell us why Tweeter or Sony is sell HDD500 at this crazy price?

Well, I have only been there a few months, but the pricing in the computer is controlled by the corporate office in Canton, MASS. The managers often complain about some of the decisions made to ditch things when they are discontinued.

I guess they did it because it wasn't a big seller, and every time we sold one (at my store) it came back. Most of our customers have cable, and don't want to deal with the issues or read this great thread to figure out the tricks to make it work.

Mark

My next project is to figure out how to get my Harmony remote to use both codes... A bit of experimentation should show whether the code 50/51 gets sent only on power on, or with each command. Of course, if someone can tell me in the meantime, that would be fine, too! :)

You are probably going to have to learn all of the codes from your remote for code 51. Not likely that all of the codes to operate a second Sony DVR are in the Harmony database.

You are probably going to have to learn all of the codes from your remote. Not likely that all of the codes to operate a second Sony DVR are in the Harmony database.

You might check remotecentral.com for some help.

I just realized that the hex codes i posted before were the discrete codes for power on and power off (and a prev channel one too). These were for code 50.

I wonder if some of the open box units are actually models that they were using in-store (for showing HD content on TV's), or perhaps as simple display models.

All stores in the Chicago area have a single video distribution system consisting of an HD sat receiver and a computer with "Tweeter TV" We can switch between those two sources only. There are DVD Players dispersed around the stores to give us another option, but we generally don't use the DVR's as a source device...it just sits on the shelf looking pretty.

Mark

With my UHF antenna I get a weak picture.Connected rabbit ears- slightly better but still snowy picture with ghosting.Even if rabbit ears work,I'm in trouble.My wife said we are not going to have them sticking up from the rack to the ceiling.

In the few minutes Ive been on here I have seen your posts about the 500 at tweeter for $249 and just ordered two of them over the phone to be transfered to my local tweeter.
What store did you find 2 of them at??

They're still 699.00 online if you call the 800 number on Tweeter.com. Thats BS. :(

All stores in the Chicago area have a single video distribution system consisting of an HD sat receiver and a computer with "Tweeter TV" We can switch between those two sources only. There are DVD Players dispersed around the stores to give us another option, but we generally don't use the DVR's as a source device...it just sits on the shelf looking pretty.

Mark

My only concern about buying the display was they did have it plugged in. If they moved it abound while plugged in they could damage the hardrive, since it's always spinning. I'd prefer a customer return over display, if the display was plugged in.

What store did you find 2 of them at??

They're still 699.00 online if you call the 800 number on Tweeter.com. Thats BS. :(


Sound Advice is an affiliate of Tweeter here in South Florida and they do carry them. I just got mine today and plan to return my 250 back to Best Buy. I'm running the auto scan process now to make sure everything works without issues.
It is a brand new unit !

What store did you find 2 of them at??

They're still 699.00 online if you call the 800 number on Tweeter.com. Thats BS. :(


It's funny, everyone buys two. Is it to sell one? I guess at the current ebay price that would make the one you keep free.

Just got my new 500 today. My problem is that I can't tv video or audio. I can go to the menu and play around with preferences, etc. But when I select a channel to watch, nada. I am sure I am doing something wrong, but what. I scanned my cable channels and it seemed to find them. Do I need to wait for the guide to download? I didn't think so. Help
Rod

It's funny, everyone buys two. Is it to sell one? I guess at the current ebay price that would make the one you keep free.
So you can record two things at once. :D

Sound Advice is an affiliate of Tweeter here in South Florida and they do carry them. I just got mine today and plan to return my 250 back to Best Buy. I'm running the auto scan process now to make sure everything works without issues.
It is a brand new unit !
What city in South Florida? Did you get a 250 or 500? Thanks.

Does anyone know, is this a Sony deal or strickly a Tweeter deal? Just wondering why BB, CC, and Frys don't have them on sale yet. And why are they still full price on their website?

Thanks.

Does anyone know, is this a Sony deal or strickly a Tweeter deal? Just wondering why BB, CC, and Frys don't have them on sale yet. And why are they still full price on their website?

Seems to be Tweeter (and Tweeter owned companies) in store close-out deal.

Tweeter owned companies are:

Tweeter
HiFi Buys
Sound Advice
Showcase Home Entertainment
Hillcrest High Fidelity

With my UHF antenna I get a weak picture.Connected rabbit ears- slightly better but still snowy picture with ghosting.Even if rabbit ears work,I'm in trouble.My wife said we are not going to have them sticking up from the rack to the ceiling.

The signal may be good enough to receive the guide. If it isn't good enough, go to the antenna web site and find out the best direction to point your antenna.

Just got my new 500 today. My problem is that I can't tv video or audio. I can go to the menu and play around with preferences, etc. But when I select a channel to watch, nada. I am sure I am doing something wrong, but what. I scanned my cable channels and it seemed to find them. Do I need to wait for the guide to download? I didn't think so. Help
Rod

I suggest you try different picture formats. Check your wiring. If that doesn't solve your problem, please describe your equipment and setup

The DHG-HDD500 I picked up yesterday was "open box" but the unit was never plugged into a wall socket...in fact, the documentation, cables, remote, batteries, and power cable had never been taken out of the package.

Setup was a piece-of-cake and I picked up all analog/digital cable channels in-the-clear as well as analog/digital OTA local...however, as of 0450 this morning I still don't have TV Guide data for any of the channels. I set the Auto-Off time to 9:00pm (didn't think the auto-off had to be enabled to download EPG, but what the heck) and powered off (standby) the unit yesterday afternoon. I really wasn't expecting to receive TVGOS data for the cable channels, but I was very surprised to see there was no TVGOS data for my digital OTA locals...more than 10 hours later. BTW, I noticed the front panel time on the unit popped up sometime between 8-9:10pm.

I mainly use my Dish Network receivers for OTA these days, but the little Samsung we have in our bedroom downloads EPG (at least a couple hours worth), simply by hitting the Info button. I'm a little disappointed the TV Guide On Screen didn't update simply by reading PSIP.

FYI, I have two OTA antennas (one pointed toward Washington/Baltimore (my zipcode is in the Washington DMA) and other pointed toward Richmond VA (closer to my home and I receive perfect reception). I actually have the Richmond antenna plugged into the HDD500. Quick Question: I'm not sure how TVGOS works, but is it smart enough to display guide data for distant locals?

Is there a way to force TVGOS to populate?

..I set the Auto-Off time to 9:00pm (didn't think the auto-off had to be enabled to download EPG...)
Is there a way to force TVGOS to populate?As I understand it, the unit does have to be off to receive guide data. That's one of the "flaws" of this unit (especially compared to TiVo which can get its guide data anytime via phone line or Internet connection). And there's really no way to "force" TVGOS to populate. It does it when it's good and ready to. But, if you have a good signal from whatever station it derives its data from, you should begin receiving it within 24 hours.

As I understand it, the unit does have to be off to receive guide data. That's one of the "flaws" of this unit (especially compared to TiVo which can get its guide data anytime via phone line or Internet connection). And there's really no way to "force" TVGOS to populate. It does it when it's good and ready to. But, if you have a good signal from whatever station it derives its data from, you should begin receiving it within 24 hours.I understand the unit has to be powered off in order to receive updates, but I didn't know if "Auto-Off" has to be enabled/set as well. I sure hope TVGOS starts to populate by the time I get home from work this afternoon...it's hard to do much without it.

The TVGOS listings are broadcast during four three-hour periods each day. A TVGOS receiver must be turned off during the entirety of one of those chunks in order to get that day's data. In my area, the download periods are (if I remember correctly)

2:21am to 5:21am
7:06am to 10:06am
10:16am to 1:16pm
1:46pm to 4:46pm

When you first initialize the unit, it has to search through the channels to find one that carries the TVGOS data, and this might cause a delay. The unit I bought yesterday did find its host channel and download the first set of data (from channel 29) overnight.

If your unit has been previously used in another area, it probably expects to receive TVGOS data on its "old" host channel. If that's not the one that your area uses, you may have a problem. You might try resetting your unit completely:

On the remote, press MENU, then SCREEN MODE, then 9012. You'll see a menu that has an option that says something like "Restore Factory Default". When the unit reboots, go through the initialization procedure and choose antenna/cable, enter your ZIP code, etc.

If you had to go through the initialization procedure automatically already when you set up your unit, it isn't necessary to do it again, though, unless you want to try a different ZIP code. I had to do it with the unit that I bought yesterday, because the store is in a different area from where I live, as far as TVGOS is concerned, and gets its TVGOS data from a different station that I can't receive very well here.

It's safe to disable the Auto-Off feature. It's just to make sure that the unit does go off at least once per day, if you're the forgetful type. I disabled it on my 250 long ago because I sometimes schedule recordings during the night or other odd times, and don't want to risk interrupting them.

I understand the unit has to be powered off in order to receive updates, but I didn't know if "Auto-Off" has to be enabled/set as well. I sure hope TVGOS starts to populate by the time I get home from work this afternoon...it's hard to do much without it.

You should do the VBI test on your PBS station (or whatever channel you think the TVGOS station is).

Tune to the station (the analog channel), and press Menu-ScreenMode-TVGuide-G*Factory Test.

Make a note of the info on the left - what passes and fails?

Yes, just state it in the comments of what you want. Don't forget to include that you want the cablecard mod 161-6 error fix.

What exactly does cablecard mod for 161-6 fix ?

You should do the VBI test on your PBS station (or whatever channel you think the TVGOS station is).

Tune to the station (the analog channel), and press Menu-ScreenMode-TVGuide-G*Factory Test.

Make a note of the info on the left - what passes and fails?


Thanks, I didn't know you needed to be tuned to the host channel. That may explain why my VBI test failed a couple times.


I wish I would have placed a deposit for a second one when I had the chance.
I could use another tuner for a second TV.

Not sure how other Cable companies are around the US, but here in N. Illinois I have Charter. While I am very happy with their service, besides not offering a FOX in HD due to a squabble with Sinclair (rectified with an Antenna), calling them for anything is an experience to say the least.

I just picked up the Sony HD500 because Charter doesn't offer the HD-DVR Cable boxes yet, although they were promising a Jan 1 availability date. So I call them today to acquire about getting a Cablecard for the HD500 and one of their female representatives tells me they are not available in this area. She wanted to know why I would even want a card, because if the TV gets too hot, the card can melt into the TV. I explained it was not for the TV, but the HD-DVR. Her response...why did you buy a DVR when the new dual-tuner DVR's are available now? I told her I was on the waiting list, and had not heard from anyone. She told me they just came in yesterday. So, they are coming on Fri. with the Dual-DVR cable box. If it is as loud as the one my friend has (Insight cable), I won't be keeping it. That thing is noisy....and hot.

If the Dual-DVR is the Motorola DCT6412, which I suspect it is, that only has a 120G hard drive, so I am happy I purchased the HD500.

Melt into the TV? And I thought I'd heard every cable company CableCARD excuse!

Anyway, they MUST furnish a working card at your request. File an FCC complaint if they do not. BTW, the combo of a Moto 6412 and the Sony HDD500 w/card is HD Heaven. Three tuners and plenty of space.

She wanted to know why I would even want a card, because if the TV gets too hot, the card can melt into the TV.

She actually said that?? :eek:

That actually gave me a much-needed chuckle. :rolleyes:

However, the HDD500 won't do you much good other than recording unencrypted channels (locals) unless you get them to give you a cablecard.

The DHG-HDD500 I picked up yesterday was "open box" but the unit was never plugged into a wall socket...in fact, the documentation, cables, remote, batteries, and power cable had never been taken out of the package.

Setup was a piece-of-cake and I picked up all analog/digital cable channels in-the-clear as well as analog/digital OTA local...however, as of 0450 this morning I still don't have TV Guide data for any of the channels. I set the Auto-Off time to 9:00pm (didn't think the auto-off had to be enabled to download EPG, but what the heck) and powered off (standby) the unit yesterday afternoon. I really wasn't expecting to receive TVGOS data for the cable channels, but I was very surprised to see there was no TVGOS data for my digital OTA locals...more than 10 hours later. BTW, I noticed the front panel time on the unit popped up sometime between 8-9:10pm.

I mainly use my Dish Network receivers for OTA these days, but the little Samsung we have in our bedroom downloads EPG (at least a couple hours worth), simply by hitting the Info button. I'm a little disappointed the TV Guide On Screen didn't update simply by reading PSIP.

FYI, I have two OTA antennas (one pointed toward Washington/Baltimore (my zipcode is in the Washington DMA) and other pointed toward Richmond VA (closer to my home and I receive perfect reception). I actually have the Richmond antenna plugged into the HDD500. Quick Question: I'm not sure how TVGOS works, but is it smart enough to display guide data for distant locals?

Is there a way to force TVGOS to populate?

I'm not sure what Richmond station broadcasts the TVGOS info, but if you do switch to your Washington antenna, WETA (PBS 26) turns off their transmitter every night from 2am to 6am. So leaving it off overnight won't do you any good. You'll have to leave it off during a portion of the day in order to get the listings.

Do you have a Spotsylvania zip code entered? If so, maybe the Richmond TVGOS broadcast does not include that ZIP code and it may just be ignoring the listings?

I don't think you'll be able to get both market's listings. I get my listings through WETA and in only includes the DC channels and most of the Baltimore channels. Although it doesn't have the MPT subchannels out of Annapolis which makes me mad.

What exactly does cablecard mod for 161-6 fix ?

When using cablecard tuning channels would product an onscreen error message (161-6). Sony has a fix for this but you have to request it.

She actually said that?? :eek:

That actually gave me a much-needed chuckle. :rolleyes:

However, the HDD500 won't do you much good other than recording unencrypted channels (locals) unless you get them to give you a cablecard.

Yep, that's what she said, you wonder where they dream that stuff up at. First she said they didn't have any cards, then said they were not available in this area. I'm sure they want you to rent the box as opposed to the $1.50 card.

I also like how you can get different price quotes on the cable packages they offer, depending on who you talk to and what day it is.

Still trying to get it to work. I have connected the dvr to another tv to make sure that my media room setup was not to blame. I now have it connected to a just a tv by way of front composite inputs. I have the cable connected directly to the cable connection on the dvr. I do not have a cable box. I can pull up the TV Guide and the menu screens,, but when I select a tv channel to watch I get a blank screen. I have also tried playing the sample recording and just get a blank screen. No audio or video. Seems strange that it can display the guide and menu, but not be able to view a tv station.
Rod

I'm not sure what Richmond station broadcasts the TVGOS info, but if you do switch to your Washington antenna, WETA (PBS 26) turns off their transmitter every night from 2am to 6am. So leaving it off overnight won't do you any good. You'll have to leave it off during a portion of the day in order to get the listings.

Do you have a Spotsylvania zip code entered? If so, maybe the Richmond TVGOS broadcast does not include that ZIP code and it may just be ignoring the listings?

I don't think you'll be able to get both market's listings. I get my listings through WETA and in only includes the DC channels and most of the Baltimore channels. Although it doesn't have the MPT subchannels out of Annapolis which makes me mad.Thanks for the info! Yes, I'm using a Spotsy zipcode so I may very well have to use the DC antenna in order to receive OTA and cable listings ~OR~ change the zipcode and use it to record Richmond OTA only.

When using cablecard tuning channels would product an onscreen error message (161-6). Sony has a fix for this but you have to request it.

Ok, but what does the fix do ? I vaguely remember reading here about a power modification, supplying more power to the cablecard, is that this fix ?

Still trying to get it to work. I have connected the dvr to another tv to make sure that my media room setup was not to blame. I now have it connected to a just a tv by way of front composite inputs. I have the cable connected directly to the cable connection on the dvr. I do not have a cable box. I can pull up the TV Guide and the menu screens,, but when I select a tv channel to watch I get a blank screen. I have also tried playing the sample recording and just get a blank screen. No audio or video. Seems strange that it can display the guide and menu, but not be able to view a tv station.
Rod


You need to explain how you have it hooked to your TV. Component cables? Composite? Svideo? HDMI?

Try toggling the format button on the remote (slowly). Give it about 10 seconds between each press to make sure that it has time to switch resolutions.

I'm using a Spotsy zipcode so I may very well have to use the DC antenna in order to receive OTA and cable listings ~OR~ change the zipcode and use it to record Richmond OTA only.

Or, you can do a sneaky trick. Get the DC listings, then take some network stations that you don't actually receive (maybe Baltimore stations?) and use the channel editor menu to change their channel numbers to the corresponding Richmond stations. The network programming should be pretty much the same on both, so it will work for recording that stuff. Local and syndicated programming is another matter.

I do this so I can record the ABC station in Columbia SC. My TVGOS listings don't show it, but they do show the ABC station in Charlotte NC which I can receive only occasionally, late at night. So I changed the channel number of the Charlotte station from 9.1 to 25.1. This works fine for network stuff like the Super Bowl, but when I want to record "Jeopardy!" I have to pretend that I'm recording "Entertainment Tonight." :p

Still trying to get it to work. I have connected the dvr to another tv to make sure that my media room setup was not to blame. I now have it connected to a just a tv by way of front composite inputs. I have the cable connected directly to the cable connection on the dvr. I do not have a cable box. I can pull up the TV Guide and the menu screens,, but when I select a tv channel to watch I get a blank screen. I have also tried playing the sample recording and just get a blank screen. No audio or video. Seems strange that it can display the guide and menu, but not be able to view a tv station.
Rod

Rod - is your TVGOS displaying the TV Guide only, or is it populated with the actual shows? From what you are saying, & if it is not populated with the shows, it sort of seems that your unit may not be receiving any signal. Did you run the autosetup with 'cable' selected? Do you have an initalized cablecard installed? Do you have OTA antenna that you can input to DVR to check if it displays OTA broadcasts? Are you sure you have format in right output mode that is compatible with your TV as per Spiff72's suggestion?

Or, you can do a sneaky trick. Get the DC listings, then take some network stations that you don't actually receive (maybe Baltimore stations?) and use the channel editor menu to change their channel numbers to the corresponding Richmond stations. The network programming should be pretty much the same on both, so it will work for recording that stuff. Local and syndicated programming is another matter....That's exactly what I did for our local PBS HD station. There were no HD listings for it, but I plugged in the Peoria PBS HD station with my local's channel designation. Works like a charm.

Or, you can do a sneaky trick. Get the DC listings, then take some network stations that you don't actually receive (maybe Baltimore stations?) and use the channel editor menu to change their channel numbers to the corresponding Richmond stations. The network programming should be pretty much the same on both, so it will work for recording that stuff. Local and syndicated programming is another matter.

I do this so I can record the ABC station in Columbia SC. My TVGOS listings don't show it, but they do show the ABC station in Charlotte NC which I can receive only occasionally, late at night. So I changed the channel number of the Charlotte station from 9.1 to 25.1. This works fine for network stuff like the Super Bowl, but when I want to record "Jeopardy!" I have to pretend that I'm recording "Entertainment Tonight." :p

Yeah all the Baltimore major networks show up and can remap the channels to Richmond, but then if he wants to record a Richmond program, he'll have to change the antenna to record it and then change the antenna back to get the TVGOS listings from DC again the next day since he's in the middle of the two cities.

That's exactly what I did for our local PBS HD station. There were no HD listings for it, but I plugged in the Peoria PBS HD station with my local's channel designation. Works like a charm.

You're lucky. I don't get any subchannel listings for the PBS station I can receive digitally out of Annapolis which sucks. I get my TVGOS data from the Washington PBS station and it includes all their subchannels, but I can't get their digital signal due to a massive building in my way. The analog comes in fine, but damn that line of sight! Unfortunately their subchannels are all different so I can't remap it to the Annapolis PBS. They're supposed to be moving their transmitter to where all the other DC stations broadcast from which I can all receive, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Ok,

I got my first 250 about two weeks ago, and it was working great. I had Comcast come and install a Cable Card last Saturday, and now I'm no longer getting guide data. I noticed that my host station previously was channel 2 (PBS WGBH), and now it's reporting a station of 97 (also WGBH). I reset the guide setup this morning, and hopefully it will kick start itself again, but why would the host channel change? My Dad has a 250 down the street, also with comcast, and his still works fine and reports a host station of 2. My clock corrected itself in 15 minutes after a restart for the cable card, but still no guide updates after 4 days...

anyone else experience this? and fix this? Should I do a factory reset if this doesn't come back?

Jrog

You're lucky. I don't get any subchannel listings for the PBS station I can receive digitally out of Annapolis which sucks. I get my TVGOS data from the Washington PBS station and it includes all their subchannels, but I can't get their digital signal due to a massive building in my way. The analog comes in fine, but damn that line of sight! Unfortunately their subchannels are all different so I can't remap it to the Annapolis PBS. They're supposed to be moving their transmitter to where all the other DC stations broadcast from which I can all receive, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Yeah, fortunately, TVGOS picked up scads of OTA stations way out of my range (Peoria is about 75 miles by air from where I live), and the PBS HD schedule is uniform; no local programming. So it worked out for me. The info banner just lists the Peoria call letters instead of Moline. The channel designation I assigned, however, sticks.

Ok,

I got my first 250 about two weeks ago, and it was working great. I had Comcast come and install a Cable Card last Saturday, and now I'm no longer getting guide data. I noticed that my host station previously was channel 2 (PBS WGBH), and now it's reporting a station of 97 (also WGBH). I reset the guide setup this morning, and hopefully it will kick start itself again, but why would the host channel change? My Dad has a 250 down the street, also with comcast, and his still works fine and reports a host station of 2. My clock corrected itself in 15 minutes after a restart for the cable card, but still no guide updates after 4 days...

anyone else experience this? and fix this? Should I do a factory reset if this doesn't come back?

Jrog

Is channel 2 still the WGBH analog station now that you have the cablecard?

Channel 97 may be the digital simulcast of WGBH. I would try the reset, tune to channel 2, and then try doing the G*test that I described a few posts back. Assuming the test passes, exit out of the test screen, and turn the unit off (leaving it tuned to channel 2). Wait. See if the clock updates, and wait some more to see if the guide populates...

A little while ago I thought to check the disk temperatures on my new 500 for the first time, and was alarmed to find that HDD1 was at 77 degrees while HDD2 was at 102. The room temperature is in the mid to upper 60s and the unit is out in the open on a small table. My 250 which is in a cabinet that is open in the back is has had its single HDD usually in the low 90s lately.

I started to wonder it maybe I had a dead disk. At this point I had not made any recordings yet, so I scheduled a series of recordings to see if I could exercise both disks. The first recording apparently all went onto HDD2, because HDD1 stayed at 100% available and 77 degrees. Then the second recording started and it apparently has all gone onto HDD1, which after a half hour has warmed up to 80 while HDD2 has cooled down to 96 while staying at 98.3% available. Let's see what happens with the next recording...

Or, you can do a sneaky trick. Get the DC listings, then take some network stations that you don't actually receive (maybe Baltimore stations?) and use the channel editor menu to change their channel numbers to the corresponding Richmond stations. The network programming should be pretty much the same on both, so it will work for recording that stuff. Local and syndicated programming is another matter.Thanks for the tip! Perhaps I'll try it when I get more time. I came home from work and the HDD500 prompted me to identify the local cable company. I selected the best choice (not necessarily the right choice) and I had several days of guide date for cable channels, but nothing for the Richmond OTA locals. I've been doing HDTV (ATSC/QAM) for about four years, but I was thrown for a loop when I learned TVGOS is strictly analog and doesn't use PSIP. Yikes! Anyway, there is some really great TVGOS information and FAQs for dummies (like me) at http://tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/

I went into TVGOS diagnostics and noticed I was pulling guide data from our DC PBS channel via cable. I mostly watch DC/Baltimore locals, but it's nice having the Richmond stations handy for an occasion out-of-market football game and state news...however, i's certainly not a requirement. Anyway, I decided to plug in the DC antenna (for now) and ran through the entire setup process. I got to play with the TV Guide and gave the unit a pretty good test run prior to running setup. Suprisingly, the TVGOS and DVR features are much better than I hoped. Just as long as the guide stays up-to-date and the timers work as advertised then this may be the best $249 I ever spend on a component.

My only other sticking point is I have three HD cable channels that won't remap...they show up with their QAM channel identifier (i.e. 78.1 vice 707). The remapped channels display guide data while the QAM ones do not. I'll have to play with this another day since I have a headache reading about TVGOS.

So I just ordered an HDD-500, and I am faced with the problem of too many inputs for my TV, which may mean I have to give up my Samsung receiver. However, I would PREFER to keep it along with my other high-quality sources, including my LG 3410a receiver/recorder (which uses one of the Tv's component inputs) and my progressive-scan DVD player (which uses the other component input and which my TV upconverts to a quality that is similiar to HD quality). The Samsung receiver now uses the DVI input to my TV, but that is the only input avaiilable, if I want to keep my DVD player and 3410a using the component inputs.

I understand the HDD-500 comes with an HDMI cable and an HDMI-to-DVI converter, so I CAN use the TV's DVI input for this unit. So the first question is, what happens for audio, since that isn't carried via the DVI input - do I just hook up audio the same way I would from a receiver with a DVI output (like the Samsung)?

But my key question is about keeping my Samsung (though that also means I won't have enough space in my TV stand)...I've seen info on the web about 2x1 or 4x1 DVI switches, and I see that the ones that are HDCP compliant are rather expensive, i.e., $250 or so (almost as much as the HDD-500 will cost me, assuming Tweeter comes through). The cheaper switches appear to be intended for switching computer sources, and I gather wouldn't work with my Sony TV. So it looks like I'd have to get one of these expensive switches if I want to keep my Samsung, and thus have a system that can record up to 2 programs while watching another live (finally! a complete system :) ). My only other alternative appears to be to relegate my DVD player to a low-quality input to the TV, but then watching movies wouldn't be as great.

Any other possibilities anybody can identify? Thanks - Tony

We don't have a Tweeters here in Phoenix. I just got off the phone with Frys electronics and the guy there said that they were NOT on sale. I'm wondering if anyone else in Phoenix has found any on sale at either BB, CC, or Frys? Thanks.

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Showcase, who is affiliated with Tweeter here in AZ. All of theres were gone! DAMN! Had I known about this yesterday I could have gotten one. I'm hoping Frys will have it on sale soon.

You gave up too soon. My daughter lives in Phoenix and she just ordered one from Showcase at noon today. The store had none in stock but having unit shipped from La Jolla California. Salesman asked her how many she wanted so perhaps there are more available.

This morning the Costa Mesa Ca store said no more were available, which was obviously wrong since at noon there were some nearby in La Jolla.

Yeah all the Baltimore major networks show up and can remap the channels to Richmond, but then if he wants to record a Richmond program, he'll have to change the antenna to record it and then change the antenna back to get the TVGOS listings from DC again the next day since he's in the middle of the two cities.

Instead of antenna switching, the antenna signals can be combined with a 2 to 1 splitter.

Instead of antenna switching, the antenna signals can be combined with a 2 to 1 splitter.


Actually I don't think that is correct, unless they are a VHF and a UHF antenna, and in this case you need to use a special type of combiner. The combiner needs to block all of the UHF bandwidth on the VHF input and vice versa for the UHF input.

You shouldn't combine two VHF antennas with a splitter (or two UHF antennas).

So I just ordered an HDD-500, and I am faced with the problem of too many inputs for my TV, which may mean I have to give up my Samsung receiver. However, I would PREFER to keep it along with my other high-quality sources, including my LG 3410a receiver/recorder (which uses one of the Tv's component inputs) and my progressive-scan DVD player (which uses the other component input and which my TV upconverts to a quality that is similiar to HD quality). The Samsung receiver now uses the DVI input to my TV, but that is the only input avaiilable, if I want to keep my DVD player and 3410a using the component inputs.

I understand the HDD-500 comes with an HDMI cable and an HDMI-to-DVI converter, so I CAN use the TV's DVI input for this unit. So the first question is, what happens for audio, since that isn't carried via the DVI input - do I just hook up audio the same way I would from a receiver with a DVI output (like the Samsung)?

But my key question is about keeping my Samsung (though that also means I won't have enough space in my TV stand)...I've seen info on the web about 2x1 or 4x1 DVI switches, and I see that the ones that are HDCP compliant are rather expensive, i.e., $250 or so (almost as much as the HDD-500 will cost me, assuming Tweeter comes through). The cheaper switches appear to be intended for switching computer sources, and I gather wouldn't work with my Sony TV. So it looks like I'd have to get one of these expensive switches if I want to keep my Samsung, and thus have a system that can record up to 2 programs while watching another live (finally! a complete system :) ). My only other alternative appears to be to relegate my DVD player to a low-quality input to the TV, but then watching movies wouldn't be as great.

Any other possibilities anybody can identify? Thanks - Tony

You can get a four to one selector switch(Phillips brand), which I bought at Walmart for about $20. It accommodates the three wire color signals, Svideo and two wire audio. The color signals share one of my two HDTV color stream inputs, and I use one of the audio switches for my coaxial pcm audio.

A little while ago I thought to check the disk temperatures on my new 500 for the first time, and was alarmed to find that HDD1 was at 77 degrees while HDD2 was at 102. The room temperature is in the mid to upper 60s and the unit is out in the open on a small table. My 250 which is in a cabinet that is open in the back is has had its single HDD usually in the low 90s lately.

I started to wonder it maybe I had a dead disk. At this point I had not made any recordings yet, so I scheduled a series of recordings to see if I could exercise both disks. The first recording apparently all went onto HDD2, because HDD1 stayed at 100% available and 77 degrees. Then the second recording started and it apparently has all gone onto HDD1, which after a half hour has warmed up to 80 while HDD2 has cooled down to 96 while staying at 98.3% available. Let's see what happens with the next recording...


Those temperature readings are very interesting to me. I wondered if both drives ran at the same time. The 77 degree reading means that HDD1 is not spinning, which is a good thing. That reduces power consumption and drive wear. The temperature of my HDD250 is always above 102.

You shouldn't combine two VHF antennas with a splitter (or two UHF antennas).

I know this is the convential wisdom, but in some cases it simply isn't true.
I was having problems getting a couple of stations using a single 4228, so I used a reversed splitter to add in the UHF portion of a 30 year old antenna I had from an old house - I lost a couple points on a couple stations (but still perfectly watchable), added 3 more that I couldn't get before, and cleaned up the station I was having trouble with ... I wish I'd have done it sooner instead of screwing around trying to change the direction, mounting location, amp, etc.

I agree it shouldn't be the first thing you try, but it certainly shouldn't be the last - especially if you have an extra antenna to try it with.

I understand the HDD-500 comes with an HDMI cable and an HDMI-to-DVI converter, so I CAN use the TV's DVI input for this unit. So the first question is, what happens for audio, since that isn't carried via the DVI input - do I just hook up audio the same way I would from a receiver with a DVI output (like the Samsung)?


The audio comes either over RCA (typically red/white) cables or coaxial/optical. Are you saying you have an available DVI input on your set or is it being used by the Samsung?

[Edited to change my conclusion. I originally wrote:]

I've been recording for a few hours now and checking the system menu every 15 minutes or so. The two drives are switching back and forth every half hour, but not in step with the program changes. The unit may just be counting from when I turned it on or when I started recording.

[Update:]

After letting the Grammys roll to the end, it's obvious that the whole show went onto HDD1, where the free % dropped steadily while on HDD2 the % remained constant. Afterwards I deleted all the shows I recorded, one by one, and with each one the % free increased on either HDD1 or HDD2 but not both. I just didn't sample often enough at first, when I was recording a series of half-hour shows back to back.

[but the following is still true]

The temperature of HDD1 has been pretty steady at 80 degrees, while HDD2 has alternated between about 101-102 and 96-98 degrees, apparently depending on whether it's recording or not.

(Hey, the Grammys are in HD! My TVGOS doesn't list it that way.)

Just got the HDD500 from Tweeter for $249 ;) Open box, but I don't care (suppose to be the last one in Houston area at that price, I called every store in Houston ;) )

About how long does it take for the first TV Guide to download to the box. I've done the scan and I picked up 20 Analog Antenna 27 Digital Antenna 79 Analog Cable and 97 Digital Cable Channels. I've got the channel mappings for my area so I can do some manual programming I guess but I'd like to try out a recording tonight.

The open box of course didn't have a manual. I guess I'm off to Sony's website to find a PDF of the manual.

So far so good on the box though. It will be a nice supplement to my SA8300HD for long term storage especially.

CCourtney

I combined 2 antennas, one with both and one with VHF, and it worked fine for me!

You can get a four to one selector switch(Phillips brand), which I bought at Walmart for about $20. It accommodates the three wire color signals, Svideo and two wire audio. The color signals share one of my two HDTV color stream inputs, and I use one of the audio switches for my coaxial pcm audio.

What I am looking for (I think) is a device that let's me switch from 2 DVI cables to the DVI input on my TV, and I don't think that's what you are talking about...?

The audio comes either over RCA (typically red/white) cables or coaxial/optical. Are you saying you have an available DVI input on your set or is it being used by the Samsung?

hmmm...I thought HDMI included the audio, and so what I was asking was, if I use the HDMI-DVI adaptor to connect the HDD-500 to my TV's DVI input (and no longer use the Samsung), what do I use for audio, and I think you answered the question for that case, i.e., RCA cables to the audio inputs associated with the DVI input.

In the event I want to somehow connect BOTH the Samsung and the HDD-500 through the DVI input, what kind of switches would I need? Since posting my question, I realize that just having a DVI switch might not be sufficient, because there is only one pair of audio inputs associated with the DVI input to the TV, so I'd only be able to connect the audio from one of the units....

doesn't seem like there's any solution that allows me to keep the Samsung, unless I downgrade the DVD player to a lower quality input.

I did notice that my Samsung also has something called an RGB output (whatever that is) that can be used for HD in some sense, but I don't find such an input among the 7 inputs to my TV...

I combined 2 antennas, one with both and one with VHF, and it worked fine for me!


My understanding is that combining two antennas (both VHF for instance), you can get bad ghosting. Perhaps if the channels that you are trying to get are far enough apart in the RF spectrum, they didn't cause any interference?

I could be wrong, though. :rolleyes:

Anyone opened one of these up yet? Please post pics if you do.

My understanding is that combining two antennas (both VHF for instance), you can get bad ghosting. Perhaps if the channels that you are trying to get are far enough apart in the RF spectrum, they didn't cause any interference?

If you use two antenna that are cut for specific channels and use the proper combiners (sometimes "backwards" splitters will work if the stations are far enough apart in frequency) you will not have any interference. The combiners that the pros use have sharp bandpass filters that also help to prevent interference.

Anyone opened one of these up yet? Please post pics if you do.

Yeah - here are a few pics someone else posted many pages ago...(sorry I can't recall who).

What I am looking for (I think) is a device that let's me switch from 2 DVI cables to the DVI input on my TV, and I don't think that's what you are talking about...?

I assume your TV has both DVI and component video. If it only has DVI, you can't use it. The device I am referring to selects component video. According to postings on this thread, component video has been trouble free, and some people have reported problems with DVI.

My understanding is that combining two antennas (both VHF for instance), you can get bad ghosting. Perhaps if the channels that you are trying to get are far enough apart in the RF spectrum, they didn't cause any interference?

I could be wrong, though. :rolleyes:

I doubt that you can get ghosting on HDTV. With regard to analog TV, I wouldn't expect problem if antennas are pointed in different directions.

Rod - is your TVGOS displaying the TV Guide only, or is it populated with the actual shows? From what you are saying, & if it is not populated with the shows, it sort of seems that your unit may not be receiving any signal. Did you run the autosetup with 'cable' selected? Do you have an initalized cablecard installed? Do you have OTA antenna that you can input to DVR to check if it displays OTA broadcasts? Are you sure you have format in right output mode that is compatible with your TV as per Spiff72's suggestion?

The TVGOS is populated with the correct cable channels & as of this morning downloaded the info for each program. I did run the autosetup with "cable selected". I do not have a cablecard installed. I can't receive any OTA signals where I live, so no antenna. I have hooked the 500 to two different tv sets. The one now is a very simple hookup. Cable to cable in on dvr. Composite cables from dvr directly to front inputs on tv(video 3). As said earlier, I can view the guide and my menu, but when I select a tv station, a blank screen.
I am beginning to believe I must have a bad tuner. Really hate that as I bought the last one in this area. Looks like I may have to return to Sony service center.
One last thing: i reset the dvr to default settings as per Sony tech. This didn't work either. Judging by Sony's response and this forum's response, I am very unlucky. This seems to be a very unique problem with this unit.

...The temperature of my HDD250 is always above 102.Same for me...when I first turn it on, it might be as "low" as 98, but thereafter, it's always around 102.

And here's (http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=DHGHDD250) the link to a the Web page that has links to the manual.

So I just ordered an HDD-500, and I am faced with the problem of too many inputs for my TV, which may mean I have to give up my Samsung receiver. However, I would PREFER to keep it along with my other high-quality sources, including my LG 3410a receiver/recorder (which uses one of the Tv's component inputs) and my progressive-scan DVD player (which uses the other component input and which my TV upconverts to a quality that is similiar to HD quality). The Samsung receiver now uses the DVI input to my TV, but that is the only input available, if I want to keep my DVD player and 3410a using the component inputs.
....Tony

I've been reading the manuals for my various units to remind myself of what kinds of inputs/outputs they have, and I happened on something that I had only vaguely remembered...i.e., my Samsung 165 receiver is a fairly fancy - albeit out-of-date - unit that not only receives digital and also controls recording HD to a (JVC) digital VHS, but SEEMS to allow other kinds of video sources to be connected THROUGH it to the TV. In particular, the manual says that a DVD player can be connected to it with component cables, and presumably thus viewed on the TV the Samsung is connected to. So it looks like I can connect the component cables from the DVD player to the Samsung, get a new set of component cables to connect the Samsung to the TV component inputs of the TV that the DVD player WAS connected to, and then connect the new HDD-500 unit to the DVI input that the Samsung WAS connected to. Meanwhile the LG 3410a stays connected to the other set of component inputs to the TV.

Seems hard to believe this would end up working out OK, the only hooker being that the Samsung manual has nothing about choosing between showing what's coming in from the DVD player and what's coming in from the antenna!? Maybe when the Samsung unit is OFF, the stuff from the DVD player just passes through to the TV, and when the Samsung is ON, it shows the channel it is tuned to....

go figure! Tony :confused:

I doubt that you can get ghosting on HDTV. With regard to analog TV, I wouldn't expect problem if antennas are pointed in different directions.

The cause of ghosting is multi-path and this is one of the worst problems for the ATSC HDTV standard.

Will my over-the-air HDTV picture ever suffer from static or ghosting?

Over-the-air HD broadcasts are still susceptible to interference from hills or tall buildings, but instead of getting static or ghosting--a faint double image--you'll just get a blank screen or occasional breakup for a weak signal. If you plan on receiving your HD from an over-the-air antenna, you'll need some patience and help from a resource such as Antennaweb.org, a site that offers advice and even coordinates for picking up most local HD stations.

I doubt that you can get ghosting on HDTV. With regard to analog TV, I wouldn't expect problem if antennas are pointed in different directions.

I missed this post. I didn't mean that the digital signal would get ghosts. My concern is that if the antennas are not very directional, you could get a signal from both antennas combining, and this could cause digital reception problems. (I was referring to the possible effects on analog TV signals).

Another (rather different example) would be that you should not try to combine antenna and cable with a splitter/combiner.

Does anyone in Northern New Jersey know if Comcast cable directly into the Sony cable input on the HDD-500 will provide the Guide from WNET-Ch.13?

Yeah - here are a few pics someone else posted many pages ago...(sorry I can't recall who).

Thanks

The TVGOS is populated with the correct cable channels & as of this morning downloaded the info for each program. I did run the autosetup with "cable selected". I do not have a cablecard installed. I can't receive any OTA signals where I live, so no antenna. I have hooked the 500 to two different tv sets. The one now is a very simple hookup. Cable to cable in on dvr. Composite cables from dvr directly to front inputs on tv(video 3). As said earlier, I can view the guide and my menu, but when I select a tv station, a blank screen.
I am beginning to believe I must have a bad tuner. Really hate that as I bought the last one in this area. Looks like I may have to return to Sony service center.
One last thing: i reset the dvr to default settings as per Sony tech. This didn't work either. Judging by Sony's response and this forum's response, I am very unlucky. This seems to be a very unique problem with this unit.

If you had a faulty tuner, you wouldn't get the guide. You say that you plugged the inputs to Video 3. Please give us the details - where do each of you connect wires go to at each end.

You gave up too soon. My daughter lives in Phoenix and she just ordered one from Showcase at noon today. The store had none in stock but having unit shipped from La Jolla California. Salesman asked her how many she wanted so perhaps there are more available.

This morning the Costa Mesa Ca store said no more were available, which was obviously wrong since at noon there were some nearby in La Jolla.
Do you happen to know which store she called? Thanks.

If you had a faulty tuner, you wouldn't get the guide. You say that you plugged the inputs to Video 3. Please give us the details - where do each of you connect wires go to at each end.

The front panel inputs on my tv are video 3. The only wires i am connecting are the yellow, white, & red from the dvr to the tv. Of course the coaxial cable is plugged in the cablet rf connection on the dvr. To try to get it to work, I am not connecting any other cables at this time. This is the most basic connection that you can make.
Rod

Obvious, I know, but is Video 3 selected on the TV and is FORMAT set to SD OUT? How are you selecting a TV station? Is there a setup option that needs to be selected to enable the front inputs on the TV?

You gave up too soon. My daughter lives in Phoenix and she just ordered one from Showcase at noon today. The store had none in stock but having unit shipped from La Jolla California. Salesman asked her how many she wanted so perhaps there are more available.



Which store in Phoenix? I called the Scottsdale store at noon and they said they couldn't get them.

Instead of antenna switching, the antenna signals can be combined with a 2 to 1 splitter.

Concerning combining antenna's, I have some experience with this. I am not an expert, but I do know a few things:

* You can combine a VHF and UHF antenna onto one cable using a combiner designed for this. Shouldn't cause any problems.
* You can combine two UHF antenna's, pointing in different directions, onto one cable using a simple broadband splitter in the reverse direction. The problem here is this will enable only digital broadcasts to your Sony DVR... you will not be able to receive analog broadcasts therefore you won't get TV Guide updates OTA. You will have to get the updates via your cable system.
* Combining two UHF antenna's will degrade your signal somewhat which could cause reception issues. A common splitter used as a combiner will cut your signal strength roughly in half (it won't show half strength on the meter in the DVR since that is not an accurate measurement). Then if your split the signal again to multiple TV's, you lost another half of your signal...
* It would be better to purchase specific filters to receive only certain stations per antenna, but they are very expensive.

Having TV transmission towers in multiple locations is quite difficult to manage with a DVR. Using a rotor to rotate the antenna or an A-B switch are solutions that are better for the signal but require intervention which make it tough to record in these types of set ups.

I live near San Diego where there are three different locations with transmission towers. I tried combining two UHF antenna's and was still having difficulties with signal strength from some stations and also I returned my first Sony DVR because I could not get the TV Guide since I had no analog reception.

I gave up trying to combine my antenna's and have positioned a higher gain antenna at one location which is also picking up most of the LA stations to replace the San Diego stations that are in areas where my antenna isn't pointed.

Do you happen to know which store she called? Thanks.

She didn't call, she just went there. She said it was near her office so it must be the Chandler store.

The front panel inputs on my tv are video 3. The only wires i am connecting are the yellow, white, & red from the dvr to the tv. Of course the coaxial cable is plugged in the cablet rf connection on the dvr. To try to get it to work, I am not connecting any other cables at this time. This is the most basic connection that you can make.
Rod

It just occurred to me that there is a prerecorded video that you can play, which will eliminate the possibility of any tuner issue. Also, what is the brand and model of the tv that has the front panel input? Also, does the tv have the same color code as the dvr, and are there two other jacks for audio?

It just occurred to me that there is a prerecorded video that you can play, which will eliminate the possibility of any tuner issue. Also, what is the brand and model of the tv that has the front panel input? Also, does the tv have the same color code as the dvr, and are there two other jacks for audio?

I am still thinking either a bad tuner - or he needs to set it to SD out. However, since he says he can the the guide screen, he must be hooked to the video input correctly. I also think that he has it set to SD OUT already, since I don't think the guide will appear on the SD output unless it is configured for SD out.

Or his cable signal is non-existent.

Have you plugged cable directly into the TV to make sure that there is a signal present?

Hi folks-

Next week I'll send my unit in for the 161-6 modification and latest software update. Curious to hear stories from people who have done this. Does the "electrical mod" actually fix the problem? Also, I had one response earlier to the effect that the cable card the user was using didn't work after the unit came back; a new card was needed. Is this typical? If so, that's a pain since I need to get the cable guy to come out (my cableco won't let me just pick up a cable card, they send someone out to install it).

Any experiences appreciated. What sort of turn-around time should I expect?

Marc

I am still thinking either a bad tuner - or he needs to set it to SD out. However, since he says he can the the guide screen, he must be hooked to the video input correctly. I also think that he has it set to SD OUT already, since I don't think the guide will appear on the SD output unless it is configured for SD out.

Or his cable signal is non-existent.

Have you plugged cable directly into the TV to make sure that there is a signal present?


I do have the format set to SD Out. I have also tried the pre-recorded video. I press play and i get a blank screen.
As far as selecting the correct format goes, on my first tv set that I hooked the dvr are up to, I was able to see the guide and menus in the 1080i and sd out formats. On this set I had component cables and composite cables hooked up to my audio video receiver.
I think today is the day I am going to have to send it in for repair.
Thanks to all for your help.
Rod

Is channel 2 still the WGBH analog station now that you have the cablecard?

Channel 97 may be the digital simulcast of WGBH. I would try the reset, tune to channel 2, and then try doing the G*test that I described a few posts back. Assuming the test passes, exit out of the test screen, and turn the unit off (leaving it tuned to channel 2). Wait. See if the clock updates, and wait some more to see if the guide populates...


Ok, no updates overnight, so I did the reboot from the front panel, and then the clock was wrong... then tuned to channel 2, and within 10 minutes the clock was set. I will leave off and on channel 2 all day.

jrog

Ok, no updates overnight, so I did the reboot from the front panel, and then the clock was wrong... then tuned to channel 2, and within 10 minutes the clock was set. I will leave off and on channel 2 all day.

jrog

Did you do the G* factory test while tuned to channel 2?

Hi folks-

Next week I'll send my unit in for the 161-6 modification and latest software update. Curious to hear stories from people who have done this. Does the "electrical mod" actually fix the problem? Also, I had one response earlier to the effect that the cable card the user was using didn't work after the unit came back; a new card was needed. Is this typical? If so, that's a pain since I need to get the cable guy to come out (my cableco won't let me just pick up a cable card, they send someone out to install it).

Any experiences appreciated. What sort of turn-around time should I expect?

Marc

My turnaround was 2 days once it got there. It does have to go to the Pittsburgh Service Center (Mt. Pleasant, PA). My total turnaround from Los Angeles via ground was exactly two weeks.

I did have the 161-6 fix put in but I don't actually use the CableCard so I have no further info.

You can check my previous posts for more info.

Did you do the G* factory test while tuned to channel 2?

So I just do Menu-ScreenMode-TVGuide-G*Factory Test? I'm work, so I will do it once I get home.

I hate to be asking basic questions, but I have never been able to load the FAQ site, so I'm not sure which commands get me where exactly.

Thanks for the help, I do appreciate it.

jrog

So I just do Menu-ScreenMode-TVGuide-G*Factory Test? I'm work, so I will do it once I get home.

I hate to be asking basic questions, but I have never been able to load the FAQ site, so I'm not sure which commands get me where exactly.

Thanks for the help, I do appreciate it.

jrog

Yes - just make sure it is tuned to channel 2 when you do it. It should show some pass fail info on the left - tell us what the results are. If the VBI passes, it will also show VBI packets counting up in the main part of the screen.

If you have guide data when you get home, it will probably all be a moot point!

Has anyone had success using a cable card without the 161-6 fix? I have Charter in Los Angeles (Long Beach), and they are coming out next week to install a cable card.

My Sony is out of warranty, so it would cost me some $$ to have them do the 161-6 fix.

Thanks,
Robert

Has anyone had success using a cable card without the 161-6 fix? I have Charter in Los Angeles (Long Beach), and they are coming out next week to install a cable card.

My Sony is out of warranty, so it would cost me some $$ to have them do the 161-6 fix.

Thanks,
Robert

I am using a Motorola cablecard (with Charter), and I have not seen the 161-6 error. I will probably send in the unit for other things (firmware upgrade, mainly), since my 90 day labor warranty is about to expire, and I don't want to pat $92 for the labor to do a firmare upgrade.

Yeah - here are a few pics someone else posted many pages ago...(sorry I can't recall who).

To both Spiff72 & whoever took the pics - Thanks...... Has anyone attempted to add a second HD to a 250?