3. Finally, I have a question with regard to taking up hard disk space. If I record an SD show on an HD channel (e.g., recording Dr. Phil on NBC HD) will it take the same amount of space as an HD show? Should I adjust the recording quality down in order to save space reflecting the fact that its an SD show?
I believe the recording quality choices only apply to analog channels. For digital channels, the bitstream is recorded directly, and you have no choice to make it take less disc space. So to save space on Dr. Phil, you'll have to select the analog channel.

I've run the diagnostics and the "host channel" is blank. What does that mean?

As indicated in one of my previous posts I have only a partial guide. However, I changed the lineup last night at this time and that may explain the lack of a complete guide. From the "9012" test it appears VBI info is being sent over the OTA PBS channel.

I believe the recording quality choices only apply to analog channels. For digital channels, the bitstream is recorded directly, and you have no choice to make it take less disc space. So to save space on Dr. Phil, you'll have to select the analog channel.

It probably takes up more space to record program in HD, and you can't control record quality. However, narrow screen (4:3) programs should consume much less space than wide screen. The percent of HD capacity taken by each program is shown in the recorded program listing, so you can record both analog and digital verisons of the program and compare difference in both image quality and space consumed.

1. My unit shows a temperature on one of the drives of 111. The unit is stacked on top of a few other units (an audio receiver and a dvd player) and the stand is open in the front but not the back. Should I change my set-up in order to lower the temp? It would be a bit of a pain in the butt due to space constraints but I certainly don't want to ruin this such a nice piece of equipment!

The air passing through the unit comes in through vents in the bottom, and out through vents in the back (and sides, if I remember correctly). If your stand is open on the sides, you might be OK as the warm air coming out the back can fllow sideways. But if the space is closed both on the back and sides so the air gets trapped back there, that might be a problem.

I have my two units on shelves that are closed on the sides but open in the back, with a couple inches of space on each side of the units. So far my 250 has been in the low 90's on one drive, and my 500 has been in the low 90's on one drive and low 100's on the other. It's been rather cold outside and cool inside recently, so I don't know how this will work out in the summer. If it becomes a problem, I'll remove the glass doors from the front of my cabinet, which are a pain to keep clean anyway.

3. Finally, I have a question with regard to taking up hard disk space. If I record an SD show on an HD channel (e.g., recording Dr. Phil on NBC HD) will it take the same amount of space as an HD show?

Yes, SD content upconverted to an HD signal takes the same disk space as true HD content, as far as I can tell. This puzzles me a bit because it would seem that the solid bars on the sides would compress better than actual content, so I'd expect some space savings from that. I haven't made careful measurements, though. Any SD content that I record and want to save after viewing, I dub to my DVD recorder soon afterwards.

Yes, SD content upconverted to an HD signal takes the same disk space as true HD content, as far as I can tell. This puzzles me a bit because it would seem that the solid bars on the sides would compress better than actual content, so I'd expect some space savings from that. I haven't made careful measurements, though. Any SD content that I record and want to save after viewing, I dub to my DVD recorder soon afterwards.

If digital content is recorded just as it comes off the air then it's a constant 8.5 gb per hour. Apparently this is what Sony does since that number is consistent with the 30/60 hour capacity that they quote. It is possible to extract just the sub-channel of interest (MyHD can do this), but it doesn't seem that Sony is doing it.

It wouldn't make a lot of difference for a most of the content anyway. Most stations transmit all the time at 1080i or 720p, so even if it's SD content with blank bars at the sides, it still takes the same space as HD content. The only way there would be a big saving in space would be for 480i (or p) transmissions (such as sub-channels on some PBS stations).

Is anyone else who is getting their data from WNET Channel 13 from NYC missing Sunday's TVGOS data? Before and after is filled properly.

I wonder if it is storm connected? But why should it be?

It wouldn't make a lot of difference for most of the content anyway. Most stations transmit all the time at 1080i or 720p, so even if it's SD content with blank bars at the sides, it still takes the same space as HD content.

A little more on the compression issue: It certainly would seem that the blank bars would really compress down a lot but it apparently isn't done that way. The bandwidth has to be there all the time for a live transmission so it would be either filled with "content" or null packets. Since the bandwidth is there anyway, it's probably easier to just compress it that far and no farther.

Is anyone else who is getting their data from WNET Channel 13 from NYC missing Sunday's TVGOS data? Before and after is filled properly.

I wonder if it is storm connected? But why should it be?
Hi..new member here (so sorry if anything is wrong with my post)...I just recently got a 500, and am still testing it...noticed this same problem, and thought i was doing something wrong...glad to hear i am not the only person who had this problem....

This forum has provided great advice about my HDD250. Thanks!!!

I recall reading previously in this thread that Version 8.1.45 is most recent. Mine is 8.1.42. Following problems I reset to original configuration and reformatted hard drive through 9012 menu. After that everything is working again. Under the 9012 TV guide menu "Build Version 1.2.05" is displayed. Under the G* test, it shows "Version 8.1.42". Under the 753159852 I get "8.1.42/8.6.30. Is the version downloaded through the VBI, or is that something installed at manufacture? Can someone with much more knowledge about this aspect explain this info? .... Thanks.... Charlie

Couple things I've noticed, (I'm only on pg 38 from reading from the beginning, so maybe this has been posted before). Since recording the Olympics, disk usage seems to be roughly equal, so I'm thinking that they're set up as a RAID 0, meaning if one goes you lose everything. Also, I can't turn the HDD500 off if I turn the TV off first, strange.

Basic question about the DHG-HDD250.

Why can't I seem to find anywhere to buy it on-line. I have checked
1) best buy
2) circuit city
3) crutchfield
4) sony style

No - joy. Cruthfield used to sell them. I can't find anything on the other three sites.

I know the 500 is being dicontinued. Is that true of the 250 as well?

Thanks

Basic question about the DHG-HDD250.

Why can't I seem to find anywhere to buy it on-line. I have checked
1) best buy
2) circuit city
3) crutchfield
4) sony style

No - joy. Cruthfield used to sell them. I can't find anything on the other three sites.

I know the 500 is being dicontinued. Is that true of the 250 as well?

Thanks

Yes, both are discontinued. Try Ebay.....

That is sad.

I am not interested in purchasing a discontinued product. It just sounds too 'risky' for my tastes.

Does Sony have any plans on introducing a next generation of these DVR's? Or are they just getting out of the business?

Thanks

Anything new on the audio dropouts observed when using the optical digitial audio out?

I've just sent in my unit for the 161-6 error modification, and on my cover letter put in a complaint about the occasional audio dropouts (which aren't part of the recorded show). I asked them to correct that too. I wonder if it will get any response from them?

What a fiasco sending it in, though. The level 1 CSR on the Sony support line told me to just take it in to UPS with the work order and reference number. He wouldn't give me the address (just said it would be going to Laredo, TX) as "the UPS Store people have all the information." NOT! They punched up my work order but there was no address in the file. It took almost half an hour for them to get somebody live at Sony who could dredge up the address.

I unsured the box for $750. Total shipping was $18; I packed it myself.

Wish my unit luck in transit, repair, and return! I want it back, because the output of the Scientific Atlanta DVR I'm renting from the cable co is nowhere near as sharp. I'll have to read up here on the forum for any tricks to improve it...

Marc

1. In the Houston area I don't get 39.1 (the WB) on the guide. Anyone else have this issue also? Tuning to it is no issue if I enter "39.1".

2. Is there anyway to scroll faster through the guide while looking for shows coming on later in the day/week. I'd like to skip (or page over). I RTFM, but either I overlooked it, or you have to button over hour by hour.

3. Finally: a friend has the same sony unit for OTA, but cannot get any digital channels. He says he only gets analog ones. If he goes to 8.1, he says he gets "no signal," but he says he gets the analog 8 though. I'm wondering if there is a setting he's overlooking. :confused: I figure unless his HD tuner is bad, he should get both HD and SD OTA channels.

thanks
Kevin

Hello Kevin,

I'm also in Houston and yes I did reset in the TVGuide 39 to 39.1 and that works fine. The 8.1 problem of your friend maybe an antenna problem. Either he is using a bad antenna or is too fay for channel 8.1 and may need to power amp on the antenna.

Mike

If digital content is recorded just as it comes off the air then it's a constant 8.5 gb per hour.

It makes sense that the station would be transmitting at a fixed bit rate regardless of content. So any bits they save from the easy-to-compress sidebars could in principle get used for increased PQ in the actual content. With SD content that wouldn't gain you much (although I have seen some really good upconverted SD on some of my stations). With 4:3 HD content, on the other hand... maybe that's why my recording of the HD broadcast of the Wizard of Oz looks so good, even though the WB station that carried it has a SD simulcast subchannel that eats into bandwidth.

Under the G* test, it shows "Version 8.1.42". Under the 753159852 I get "8.1.42/8.6.30.

That is the latest version... 8.6.30 ...it is downloaded through VBI.

Well, I've had it with this POS. I'm on my third unit after returning two to BB (hard drive failure/audio dropouts the first time and multiple issues including audio dropout the second time). Now, this third unit won't access the Guide or the time (after working for a couple weeks, it began dropping guide data), and it takes the unit up to 30 seconds to respond to remote commands. This just ain't worth it anymore.

Basic question about the DHG-HDD250.

Why can't I seem to find anywhere to buy it on-line. I have checked
1) best buy
2) circuit city
3) crutchfield
4) sony style

No - joy. Cruthfield used to sell them. I can't find anything on the other three sites.

I know the 500 is being dicontinued. Is that true of the 250 as well?

Thanks
Try Amazon.com while they last.

That is sad.

I am not interested in purchasing a discontinued product. It just sounds too 'risky' for my tastes.

Does Sony have any plans on introducing a next generation of these DVR's? Or are they just getting out of the business?

Thanks
Sony might add a BlueRay DVDRW to these units as add-ons.

Hi all!

I am one of the lucky ones who picked up the HDD500 from Tweeter recently. I am very happy with the unit which I use just for OTA (I have a second OTA receiver that I use for my 2nd tuner). I have read through much of this thread and have a few questions for which I have not found a complete answer:

1. My unit shows a temperature on one of the drives of 111. The unit is stacked on top of a few other units (an audio receiver and a dvd player) and the stand is open in the front but not the back. Should I change my set-up in order to lower the temp? It would be a bit of a pain in the butt due to space constraints but I certainly don't want to ruin this such a nice piece of equipment!
2. I have an old software version. And while I don't use this with a cable card right now I plan to do so towards the end of the year when Comcast comes to my area (and perhaps Verizon Fios as well). Should I consider getting the unit fixed due to the common cable card problem and also get the software upgraded? From what I can tell, the cable card problem leads to a need for a reboot about once a week. And there is some talk that only the latest software will accomodate the 2009 move to digital. Is it worth the hassle of sending the unit out even though I've had no problems yet with it?
3. Finally, I have a question with regard to taking up hard disk space. If I record an SD show on an HD channel (e.g., recording Dr. Phil on NBC HD) will it take the same amount of space as an HD show? Should I adjust the recording quality down in order to save space reflecting the fact that its an SD show?

Thanks in advance for any answers. Get that sucker away from that receiver, quick! I'm surprised nobody else caught this.

People are freaking out about HD temperature, here's some info from a tech site:

"Most recent IDE hard drives come with internal temperature sensors, and are capable of reporting their operating temperature via SMART; software utilities are available for displaying the temperature of your hard drive. This temperature readout is not very precise, but definitely good enough to give you a hint whether your drive is running too hot or not. Consult the website of your hard drive manufacturer to learn about the maximum operating temperature of your hard drive. Typical maximum temperature range is 122-135°F, with some drives being able to operate at up to 140°F.

There is, however, an important factor to consider:
Unlike CPUs, which are reliable parts, and fail rarely (even when operated very close to their maximum temperature), hard drives tend to fail more often than any other part in the PC. The MTBF (mean time between failure) of a hard drive can be substantially increased by lowering the drive's temperature. Some drive manufacturers even state this fact in their drives data sheets; but even if this information isn't included there, it is still true. So, even if your drive never exceeds its maximum allowed operating temperature, additional cooling will improve the drive's reliability. "

[QUOTE=jtbell]The air passing through the unit comes in through vents in the bottom, and out through vents in the back (and sides, if I remember correctly). If your stand is open on the sides, you might be OK as the warm air coming out the back can fllow sideways. But if the space is closed both on the back and sides so the air gets trapped back there, that might be a problem.

I have my two units on shelves that are closed on the sides but open in the back, with a couple inches of space on each side of the units. So far my 250 has been in the low 90's on one drive, and my 500 has been in the low 90's on one drive and low 100's on the other. It's been rather cold outside and cool inside recently, so I don't know how this will work out in the summer. If it becomes a problem, I'll remove the glass doors from the front of my cabinet, which are a pain to keep clean anyway.


Thanks! I think I'll go ahead and open up this section of the back of my stand just to be safe -- hopefully the temp will drop a bit.

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum and just got my hands on the hdd500. Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button. I've tried re-booting via the front panel and unplugging, but the problem still exists.

Called Sony today and talked to the DHG "product specialist" and was told there is no firmware with support for 4 digital channel numbers or digital host channels :( I then asked since this product is discontinued I shouldn't expect any new firmware and his response was he was unaware of the product being discontinued. Was he just playing dumb ?

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum and just got my hands on the hdd500. Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button. I've tried re-booting via the front panel and unplugging, but the problem still exists.I just posted above a similar, though not identical problem, and it's one of many reasons I am returning the unit for good.

Called Sony today and talked to the DHG "product specialist" and was told there is no firmware with support for 4 digital channel numbers or digital host channels :( I then asked since this product is discontinued I shouldn't expect any new firmware and his response was he was unaware of the product being discontinued. Was he just playing dumb ?Yeah, probably minus the "playing" part.

That is the latest version... 8.6.30 ...it is downloaded through VBI.

Thanks for the info. Charlie

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum and just got my hands on the hdd500. Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button. I've tried re-booting via the front panel and unplugging, but the problem still exists. Not to imply anything, but you are sure you have fresh batteries in it, aren't you?

I remember someone a few posts back saying that when they scanned cable without cablecard they picked up some hd channels that were actually temporary channels for ON DEMAND. I was wondering if you used a comcast dvr and selected either a pay per view or a movie or tv show if you did a scan and found the channel if you could record it? :)
If someone out there has the comcast dvr. select a free movie or something then pause. the channel should be established. then do a search for the channel. If you find it then hit record.

Not to imply anything, but you are sure you have fresh batteries in it, aren't you?I don't know about him, but my problem was both with the Sony remote and a Harmony remote...exact same results.

I don't know about him, but my problem was both with the Sony remote and a Harmony remote...exact same results.

I had similar problems as well. Remote seemed to just stop working, new batteries made no difference, etc.... power reset worked first time around. After resetting to original configuration and doing hd reformat, I've not had this problem - in fact I've not had any problems.... (ok I'll add a "yet" to that!).

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum and just got my hands on the hdd500. Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button. I've tried re-booting via the front panel and unplugging, but the problem still exists.

I'm using a universal remote (a oneforall) with no problems. It took some work to find the write code for the DVR (it was mentioned earlier in this forum) but it turned out to work well with about all of its features.

I had similar problems as well. Remote seemed to just stop working, new batteries made no difference, etc.... power reset worked first time around. After resetting to original configuration and doing hd reformat, I've not had this problem - in fact I've not had any problems.... (ok I'll add a "yet" to that!).

I'll try this when I got home. I already tried the resetting thing, switching batteries, and changing IR codes. Hopes this works

Did the power reset and that cured the sluggish remote response...now we'll see if I can get time and guide....maybe there is hope.

Here's a problem for anybody listening. I don't know if this has ever come up, but how does one download material to another source when both harddrives become full? 60 hrs of hd material is not much space for all that I can think of to record. Anyone know? Anyone?...Anyone?...Beuller?...Beuller?

Wolfie

I think this is a case of using the DVR for something other than it is designed to do. A DVR is designed to timeshift your TV shows so that you can watch them on your schedule. If you have 60hrs of HD material to watch you are in trouble... either record less shows or allocate more time to watch them :) These units are not designed for permanent storage or HD archival purposes.

If you want to archive the shows or movies, I would suggest buying them on DVD. Yes, it's not quite HD.. but that is coming soon.

That is sad.

I am not interested in purchasing a discontinued product. It just sounds too 'risky' for my tastes.

Does Sony have any plans on introducing a next generation of these DVR's? Or are they just getting out of the business?

Thanks

I would not expect to see new models introduced... As I see it:

* This is a niche product
* Can't compete with cable company DVR rentals at $10/month
* Not enough people getting HD via OTA
* Too many issues with the 'free' TV Guide (I feel that it is very risky for a company to rely on the TV Guide for the operation of their product)
* All of this probably leads to a high percentage of units be returned which is not friendly to the retailers and Sony
* And then there are many people sending their units in for service when they don't have any problems to get firmware upgrades and cable card mods when not using cable cards and no evidence that the firmware upgrade is going to 'fix' anything.

Do you send your home computer in to the manufacturer each time there is a bios upgrade? No... (yes I know you can usually download and install your own bios update, but how many people actually do?)

Can you imagine what it costs Sony each time to service a unit? I would think $100 - $150 not including parts.

Hello All,
I'm new to the forum and just got my hands on the hdd500. Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button. I've tried re-booting via the front panel and unplugging, but the problem still exists.

I do not have this DVR (yet). I have another DVR that did something very similar. My wife was watching a previously recorded show and the DVR shut off. It would not turn back on with either the remote or the power button. Unplugging the unit did not resolve the issue. I finally unplugged the coax from the cable company. It turned on immediately. After plugging in the coax, it operated as if nothing had happened.

My DVR also uses TVGOS for recording purposes. I think it was trying to update the guide listings when it was unresponsive to commands. Next time it occurs, unplug the coax and see what happens. I would be curious to hear your results.

Sony might add a BlueRay DVDRW to these units as add-ons.


I have not heard this before. Is this pure speculation or have there been rumors?

Is anyone having problems with the unit not responding to the remote? Sometimes while i'm flipping channels the remote would just stop working, any button I push will not work, except for the power button.

I had a problem for the first time last night. Not only did my 500 stop responding to the remote, but the front panel buttons on the unit didn't work either, including the power button. It kept displaying the live show correctly, though. I finally had to pull the power cord, and it came back OK.

Ordered a couple from Tweeter today and get them Monday. I'm a little nervous about the functionality, but looking forward to it. And hey, I can always make an Ebay profit ;)

Question- It seems even without the cablecard, this unit can pick up unencrypted QAM signals? True?

Thanks,
MP

Question- It seems even without the cablecard, this unit can pick up unencrypted QAM signals? True?

Thanks,
MPAbsolutely. I pick up a half-dozen HD locals and a few dozen music channels.

I remember someone a few posts back saying that when they scanned cable without cablecard they picked up some hd channels that were actually temporary channels for ON DEMAND. I was wondering if you used a comcast dvr and selected either a pay per view or a movie or tv show if you did a scan and found the channel if you could record it? :)
If someone out there has the comcast dvr. select a free movie or something then pause. the channel should be established. then do a search for the channel. If you find it then hit record.

I have a Comcast HD DVR, and have recorded movies to my Toshiba Non-HD DVR via S video. You could record stuff to the Sony using the Channel 3 signal from the Comcast box. I will run your experiment and report my findings. One of the things that the Comcast box can't do is record On-Demand.

Absolutely. I pick up a half-dozen HD locals and a few dozen music channels.

Excellent, thanks. Exactly what I wanted it for.

I just got my second sony dvr (hdd500) could'nt resist the $249. I think I have read that these will become door stops. I just installed the 500 and the time has'nt updated yet. And the fear was if tvguide stops dl you won't be able to use it and without the clock feature it will be come useless. However even without the clock feature and the guide feature you can still record and record in hd. Now the niceities are not there telling you about the episode etc. but you can and will be able to record.

Now the cable co's dvr. Yes you can get on demand and ppv. thats a plus, but the rental on the dvr with the scheduler and everthing runs about $20 a month here in st louis with charter. I'm just correct the 10 a month...maybe an intro.

Anyway I was thinking...2009 and it becomes a doorstop...but not really....it still can record...it has internal clock...worses comes to worse just plug it in at midnite.

HDaddiction

I have not heard this before. Is this pure speculation or have there been rumors?
add-ons will be available when blank blueray dvds are introduced (and when they're cheap too).

I had a problem for the first time last night. Not only did my 500 stop responding to the remote, but the front panel buttons on the unit didn't work either, including the power button. It kept displaying the live show correctly, though. I finally had to pull the power cord, and it came back OK.
my three 250GB units're working great ever since i bought them.

temp's always 105F. I guess these units're working great when properly ventilated.

I've been using my HDD500 successfully for weeks with an HDCP LCD display, and an HDCP processor.

However, now I'm setting up another HDD500 in my hardware lab (<evil laugh> muahahaha! It's alive!</evil laugh>) and I suddenly realized that, unlike almost every other HD boxes, the HDD500 does not have RGBHV out, which I planned to use with a spare LCD monitor. So it's time to upgrade to a DVI LCD monitor (suggestions?). I was looking at the BenQ FP202W - but all descriptions of it conspicuously neglect to mention HDCP. Which means, of course, no HDCP (fine with me, I consider it evil devil spawn).

So here is the important question: do I need HDCP to make HD DVI work out of the HDD500?

Andrew

Are you getting the analog (non HD) channel of this network on the guide at all?
If so, you might need to "re-map" the channel.
Read below....

Yes, your directions worked perfectly.

thanks!!

Hello Kevin,

I'm also in Houston and yes I did reset in the TVGuide 39 to 39.1 and that works fine. The 8.1 problem of your friend maybe an antenna problem. Either he is using a bad antenna or is too fay for channel 8.1 and may need to power amp on the antenna.

Mike

Yea, I just did the remap thing - I don't know why I didn't think of it while I was remapping the other channels!?!?!

My buddy got some better results using an outdoor antenna. He's now going to move it to the "broadcast side" of his house to improve reception. I think it's going better for him now.

I'm picking up my unit tomorrow (hopefully) which is being shipped over from California to the store here. After hearing all these problems that people are having and that this unit will be useless in 2009, I'm a little nervous.

Is anyone having success with these units?

This is pure speculation. Currently the TV Guide updates come via analog transmissions and the analog transmissions MAY be going away in 2009. But if you remember correctly, analog transmissions were supposed to end this year, and probably another date before. So it is very unlikely that analog broadcasts are going away in 2009.

And even if they do, this box will probably be obsolete anyway, so why worry?

Also, no one knows for sure that these Sony DVR's can't/won't receive the program guide when the switch is made to all digital broadcasts.

It is more likely that the TV Guide company goes out of business before the analog broadcasts go away....

I have two of the HDD500's running for a couple of weeks... still very new but I love them. I have owned ReplayTV and DirecTV Tivo (HR10-250) before and the Sony competes with them both. Of course the season pass functionality in Tivo is more advanced and a unit with two tuners is great, but the Sony rocks for $249! The picture quality is fantastic.

add-ons will be available when blank blueray dvds are introduced (and when they're cheap too).

There will not be any Blu-Ray add-ons for these. Sony is working on a standalone Blu-Ray disc recorder.

I'll try this when I got home. I already tried the resetting thing, switching batteries, and changing IR codes. Hopes this works

Here is another possiblility for remote not working: the selector switch at the top of the remote is not in the correct position.

I just checked E-Bay and the prices are dropping fast.You can get a NIB DHG-HDD500 for $385 buy it now so that is good news for people looking for one.I wonder what the E-Bay store sellers are thinking as they are trying to charge $789.95 for the same thing.

This is pure speculation. Currently the TV Guide updates come via analog transmissions and the analog transmissions MAY be going away in 2009. But if you remember correctly, analog transmissions were supposed to end this year, and probably another date before. So it is very unlikely that analog broadcasts are going away in 2009.

And even if they do, this box will probably be obsolete anyway, so why worry?

Also, no one knows for sure that these Sony DVR's can't/won't receive the program guide when the switch is made to all digital broadcasts.

I have the latest firmware .13 release on my unit and I receive ATSC OTA packets. This is what I did to experiment:

Disconnected cable input
OTA Antenna input is connected
Tune in the Digital or HD PBS ATSC channel OTA.
Go to the hidden 9012 menu
press MENU on the remote
press SCREEN/MODE on the remote
enter 9012
run the G* Test

If you're local PBS station is transmitting digital data you will see the ATSC packet numbers increase, in my case here in New York the PBS station is transmitting and I was receiving ATSC packets and had to go thru the whole channel lineup selection routine because the unit reset itself. I had to wait overnight for the channel data again.

I suspect the unit is programmed to hold only digital or analog TVGuide data but not both.

When I connected the cable input I wasn't able to keep the unit locked on to the PBS OTA digital channel. The unit reverted back to the analog PBS cable channel host for data and it required another reset and going thru the channel lineup selection routine again and waiting overnight for my TVGuide data. I even tried the cable PBS HD channel but I wasn't receiving any data.

I suspect the cable company is only transmitting the analog data until the digital/analog cutover and the cable connection has data priority over the antenna input.

This whole process took about 7 days to complete and it was very frustrating because of the number of soft/hard resets I had to perform because the unit locked up at times. I wouldn't have done all this if I didn't have a second unit for backup but it does show that the unit is capable of receiving OTA ATSC TVGuide data, however, I believe the firmware will need another upgrade for stability when the digital cutover occurs.

Did the power reset and that cured the sluggish remote response...now we'll see if I can get time and guide....maybe there is hope.Just dandy...entire unit froze last night at 10:38...couldn't power it up....toast....bye bye Sony.

Just dandy...entire unit froze last night at 10:38...couldn't power it up....toast....bye bye Sony.

What firmware version do you have?

I have the latest firmware .13 release on my unit and I receive ATSC OTA packets. This is what I did to experiment:

Disconnected cable input
OTA Antenna input is connected
Tune in the Digital or HD PBS ATSC channel OTA.
Go to the hidden 9012 menu
press MENU on the remote
press SCREEN/MODE on the remote
enter 9012
run the G* Test

If you're local PBS station is transmitting digital data you will see the ATSC packet numbers increase, in my case here in New York the PBS station is transmitting and I was receiving ATSC packets and had to go thru the whole channel lineup selection routine because the unit reset itself. I had to wait overnight for the channel data again.

I suspect the unit is programmed to hold only digital or analog TVGuide data but not both.

When I connected the cable input I wasn't able to keep the unit locked on to the PBS OTA digital channel. The unit reverted back to the analog PBS cable channel host for data and it required another reset and going thru the channel lineup selection routine again and waiting overnight for my TVGuide data. I even tried the cable PBS HD channel but I wasn't receiving any data.

I suspect the cable company is only transmitting the analog data until the digital/analog cutover and the cable connection has data priority over the antenna input.

This whole process took about 7 days to complete and it was very frustrating because of the number of soft/hard resets I had to perform because the unit locked up at times. I wouldn't have done all this if I didn't have a second unit for backup but it does show that the unit is capable of receiving OTA ATSC TVGuide data, however, I believe the firmware will need another upgrade for stability when the digital cutover occurs.

Are you sure that it was getting guide data from that digital channel? Even though you were seeing packets, this could have been closed caption data or PSIG data, couldn't it? What did it show for your host channel in the 753 menu?

I find it unlikely that any (or many) stations have spent the money for the TVGOS hardware needed to insert data in a digital channel at this time.

Anyone out there in the Chicagoland area having problems with their OTA TVGOS data lately? I haven't had much success the past several days, with intermittent listings two days ago but nothing since. Checked and the guide channel is still analog 11, as it should be. If it's on my end, I guess I have to do some T & A :D (that's trial and error, of course!). I did do a channel rescan on Sunday, had some listings Monday but then none yesterday (Tuesday).

Hebner

No problem here.
But, iirc, I get my guide data from channel 2 OTA.
So, maybe PBS's TVGOS machine is broken.


Mitch

I find it unlikely that any (or many) stations have spent the money for the TVGOS hardware needed to insert data in a digital channel at this time.

The stations don't pay for the equipment. TVGOS pays for and installs it and actually pays the station a small amount for the privilege.

On another thread, someone posted a message from TVGOS (supposedly) which said that they are installing equipment now. It also said, though, that they were not transmitting data yet.

I have the latest firmware .13 release

I have a much lower firmware release.

If updates come with the TVGOS data why do we all have different firmware when we are all getting good (identical?) program listings data?

And what practical difference is the firmware version making today?

I just checked E-Bay and the prices are dropping fast.You can get a NIB DHG-HDD500 for $385 buy it now

I don't see that. I see those bid on going for between $450- 500 plus $30+ shipping and buy it now at much higher.

In weeks or months these things will be rare and command much better prices.

Just dandy...entire unit froze last night at 10:38...couldn't power it up....toast....bye bye Sony.

You might want to try the reset to original configuration and hd reformat as a last resort. After I did this, my problems have yet to return.

I have a much lower firmware release.

If updates come with the TVGOS data why do we all have different firmware when we are all getting good (identical?) program listings data?

And what practical difference is the firmware version making today?

There are two distinct firmwares on this unit. TVguide and Sony.

I find the current Sony firmware .13 solved my cablecard issue and has been more stable with cablecard as compared to my old .05.

I can't say the same for the tvguide stuff. Although they are supposedly improving.

Like pc software upgrades...the next version always fixes bugs and I don't think this is any different. I have upgraded firmwares on my JVC HD-ILA 61Z786, my Panasonic S97 DVD player and now my Sony DVR. Every release has fixed bugs.

These are internally PC's masked as the familiar consumer products we're all accustom to. In the past I would have dumped any product with that many issues because there was no methodology in place to upgrade firmware. Now I have no problems with software upgrades...

Are you sure that it was getting guide data from that digital channel? Even though you were seeing packets, this could have been closed caption data or PSIG data, couldn't it? What did it show for your host channel in the 753 menu?

I find it unlikely that any (or many) stations have spent the money for the TVGOS hardware needed to insert data in a digital channel at this time.

I did get tv guide channel lineup and programming info did display on the screen. The 753 menu had the host station as blank thruout this whole process over OTA. I put in a call to the PBS WMHT engineer here in Albany, NY to confirm what is being sent.

Also, it is a possibility that even thou I deleted every analog OTA station and kept the digitals that the unit automatically re-scanned for the data and picked up the analog station, over-riding my channel info but I wont know until I get the engineer's call.

I don't see that. I see those bid on going for between $450- 500 plus $30+ shipping and buy it now at much higher.

In weeks or months these things will be rare and command much better prices.

I agree. If these units are discontinued they might actually increase in value. There's not much in the way of 500 gig HD DVRs out there!

There are two distinct firmwares on this unit. TVguide and Sony.


I wasn't aware of that. Where do I look for each?

My second question remains. If the upgrades arrive by the TVGOS data, shouldn't we all be having the same firmware versions assuming we are getting the program listings properly?

I wasn't aware of that. Where do I look for each?

My second question remains. If the upgrades arrive by the TVGOS data, shouldn't we all be having the same firmware versions assuming we are getting the program listings properly?

I'd have to agree with your basic thought - we all get the same version assuming we get listings properly. Only problem I see with this assumption is that it is based on all of us getting the same feed. Now I don't know for certain, but I'd think it's likely that not all markets broadcast identical version(s)/information.

Just a thought..

I know for a fact that comcast new england is send tvgos data over its HD PBS Boston channel. I have the .09 firmware, should I am able to read the guide from it ? My headend is fully ADS but has an analog pbs channel (97) just for folks like me. What do I need to do to the DHG to get it to ignore the analog host channel and use the digital host channel...I would like to get rid of extended basic.

More on the Sony and TVGOS firmware:

Sony firmware version can be seen by something like Menu - System - Diagnostics. Latest version is .13 but I haven't heard of that being in any unit as purchased. .09 is latest version as purchased. This firmware can ONLY be upgraded at a Sony Service Center (and maybe only at Mt. Pleasant, PA).

TVGOS version can be seen in one of the 753159852 screens. There is a base version and date that doesn't change. Right next to the base version is an upgrade version. 08.06.30 is the current version (about a month old now - previous version was 08.06.20). This is the version (and the ONLY one) that is upgraded via VBI.

Even with the latest TVGOS update, it is quite possible that the latest Sony firmware may be needed to take advantage of all it's functionality (especially TVGOS via digital channels). There are differing reports and opinions on this with no really definitive information available.

What firmware version do you have?
I think it was .06, but I've returned it for a refund, so I can't check.

...In weeks or months these things will be rare and command much better prices.I doubt that....as more people post more problems, everyone will realize what a real POS this was. I went through three defective units within one month. Mine's gone -- I got a full refund (even beyond the 30 days of BB's policy), and I will patiently (!) await the TiVo Series 3 or an upgraded Sony.

I doubt that....as more people post more problems, everyone will realize what a real POS this was.

If you consider that a good OTA and QAM HDTV tuner goes for around $250, this remains a good item.

I'm sorry for your problems and I hope they are not catching since I recently bought, through a relative with a Tweeters nearby, a 500 for myself to add to my 250 and another to gift my parents. Will need to travel 250 miles sometime to pick them up.

The relative also bought one for himself although he has no real use for it since he uses his cable company's DVR's and may just sell it someday unopened.

I doubt that....as more people post more problems, everyone will realize what a real POS this was. I went through three defective units within one month. Mine's gone -- I got a full refund (even beyond the 30 days of BB's policy), and I will patiently (!) await the TiVo Series 3 or an upgraded Sony.

Most people are not having problems. It just seems like it because people generally don't go out of their way to post on a messageboard just to say everything is fine. They post when something goes wrong. The TiVo Series 3 is in private beta testing at the moment so it will be at least another 6 to 8 months before it's released.

Most people are not having problems. It just seems like it because people generally don't go out of their way to post on a messageboard just to say everything is fine. They post when something goes wrong. The TiVo Series 3 is in private beta testing at the moment so it will be at least another 6 to 8 months before it's released.That may well be true, but I would say that, out of three units, having three lemons is a bit extreme.
Oh, and BTW, I've posted MANY times in this thread to help folks, too.

I doubt that....as more people post more problems, everyone will realize what a real POS this was. I went through three defective units within one month. Mine's gone -- I got a full refund (even beyond the 30 days of BB's policy), and I will patiently (!) await the TiVo Series 3 or an upgraded Sony.

I am sorry that you had 3 lemons but I have had my 500 since July and haven't had any problems at all. Knock wood!

Most people are not having problems. It just seems like it because people generally don't go out of their way to post on a messageboard just to say everything is fine. They post when something goes wrong. The TiVo Series 3 is in private beta testing at the moment so it will be at least another 6 to 8 months before it's released.


You are absolutely right!

That may well be true, but I would say that, out of three units, having three lemons is a bit extreme.
Oh, and BTW, I've posted MANY times in this thread to help folks, too.

Without doubt, bierboy's postings have helped me. I will not attribute his equipment's failures to operator error; he obviously has had a string of bad luck.

TWinbrook46636 hit the nail squarely on the head. In all endeavors in which I've been involved I've seen that it is always those with the gripes (often the smallest) that make the most noise, not the satisfied customers. I intend to keep my HDD250 that I paid full retail for 4 months ago. After using the info obtained through this forum, it is now working like a charm. OTA only.

Actually, I will continue to help as much as I can, even though I am now a "former" DHG owner ;).

I've seen the same thing on threads for other units I have for OTA reception and recordings...the samsung 165 receiver that records to a JVC digital tape deck, and the LG3410a, which is much like the Sony, but with a smaller hard drive...some people have bad luck, but most get their units to do what they want...with the 3410a, most of the problems are like those seen here...e.g., with getting the TV Guide data...

I consider myself unlucky, because I put my money down for a 500 10 days ago - being told one was avaiilable from Tweeter - and yesterday, after multiple calls from me, the salesman called and left a message... "oops'...no unit - I wish I had called a friend in the area to pick it up immediately...

Is there a quick and easy way to jump to a particular spot in a recording?

For example, if I have a recording that is 2 hours long, and I start playing it from the beginning, but I want to jump to the middle (i.e., the 1-hour mark), what is the best way? (assuming that I have not set any Chapter Marks yet)

I could fast-forward at 90X and wait. Or I could temporarily configure the Advance button to jump 300 seconds at a time, and then press it 12 times. Either way is not quick and easy.

Any ideas?

I did get tv guide channel lineup and programming info did display on the screen. The 753 menu had the host station as blank thruout this whole process over OTA. I put in a call to the PBS WMHT engineer here in Albany, NY to confirm what is being sent.

Also, it is a possibility that even thou I deleted every analog OTA station and kept the digitals that the unit automatically re-scanned for the data and picked up the analog station, over-riding my channel info but I wont know until I get the engineer's call.

I finally got my answer but I don't understand what they are saying, this is too technical for me. I just want my tv guide data to be stable, this is too much blah, blah, blah... that doesn't solve my problems...

All PBS stations receive the guide data for inclusion in the transmission of the Program and System Information Protocol ("PSIP'') ATSC (A/65) data. This information is provided by the PBS National DataCast Center (www.pbsnationaldatacast.com). But not all stations have the equipment to broadcast the PSIP info. WMHT just installed their equipment in August of last year.

The analog version that rides in the VBI carrier of their analog channel is different from the digital version and they suspect this is causing problems, however, because of contractual obligations they must transmit both.

PSIP is the standard protocol for transmission of the relevant data tables, describing system information and event descriptions, contained within digital packets carried in the digital broadcast transport stream multiplex. In the case of Gemstar TV Guide the data is in the PSIP as a metadata aggregator.

System information allows navigation of, and access to, each of the channels within the transport stream, whereas event descriptions give the user content information for browsing and selection. PSIP is composed of four main tables: (1) system time table; (2) ratings region table; (3) master guide table; and (4) virtual channel table. The latter table is of particular importance in the carriage context because it contains a list of all the channels that are or will be on-line, plus their attributes. Among the attributes are the channel name, navigation identifiers, and stream components and types. PSIP allows the broadcaster to customize information to guide viewers to channel numbers they are familiar with.

I think the PSIP data has nothing to do with the TV Guide...PSIP is information that each OTA digital station sends about it OWN transmission, and I don't think the Sony uses that data, a least not for program listings. The TV Guide you see on screen has information that is all sent by one or two stations locally and includes info for ALL the local stations (even the cable stations), including analog or digital....(I should say ALMOST all, because there is a limit to how many channels the data is broadcast for...) So don't confuse he "TV Guide" data used by the Sony with the PSIP data sent by each digital OTA station...2 different beasts...

(I do have one unit- a Samsung 165 - that uses the PSIP data, but this feature doesn't really work, because many of the digital stations don't bother sending the PSIP data...)

hmmm....I read that message again, and it seems to be saying that - in the case of the PBS stations - the Gemstar TV Guide data IS transmitted with the PSIP data....ok, I admit - now I'm confused, ...but what I said above is true in my experience, i.e., usually a PBS ANALOG station, and maybe another local station transmits the Gemstar TV Guide data for ALL the local stations, while EACH digital station transmits PSIP data that may or may not include program data for THAT station, but usually isn't used by TVs of digital receivers that get it...

If a Sony500 pases the VBI 9012 test on the host channel does that mean the unit is receiving general VBI(Closed Caption,etc) info from the station or specifically that it is receiving Guide info from the VBI stream?

I had a Cablecard from Charter installed in my HDD500 yesterday. I can tune to all the added channels so it appears the card is working. The TVGOS did not update overnight so I thought I might have to do an Auto Scan, but it says a Cable or All Auto Scan is not available with a Cablecard. Do I need to just wait for the TVGOS to update or will I have to do a reformat and start over? I went into the Service Menu for the TVGOS and the Host channel was blank.

Thanks for any help.

If a Sony500 pases the VBI 9012 test on the host channel does that mean the unit is receiving general VBI(Closed Caption,etc) info from the station or specifically that it is receiving Guide info from the VBI stream?

I am not certain, but I suspect that it just tells you that there is data that COULD be the guide data. I can tune to just about any analog cable channel and get it to pass that test.

I doubt that....as more people post more problems, everyone will realize what a real POS this was. I went through three defective units within one month. Mine's gone -- I got a full refund (even beyond the 30 days of BB's policy), and I will patiently (!) await the TiVo Series 3 or an upgraded Sony.

You may have returned three units but I find it hard to believe all three were defective. That would mean that there are more faulty units than good ones, and I don't see postings here to support that result.

hmmm....I read that message again, and it seems to be saying that - in the case of the PBS stations - the Gemstar TV Guide data IS transmitted with the PSIP data....ok, I admit - now I'm confused, ...but what I said above is true in my experience, i.e., usually a PBS ANALOG station, and maybe another local station transmits the Gemstar TV Guide data for ALL the local stations, while EACH digital station transmits PSIP data that may or may not include program data for THAT station, but usually isn't used by TVs of digital receivers that get it...

I thought just as you did, so this was a surprise to me too. I looked into a book on datacasting that I have, and it basically said that PSIP is the basis for all kinds of datacasting, not just for the single channel guide info that we've been aware of.

If you look at the web site mentioned in the email it specifically mentions TVGOS over DIGITAL PBS stations. I don't think this means that any PBS station that transmits the basic guide information for itself will have the TVGOS data as well. Even though they both use the PSIP as a basic transport mechanism, the TVGOS data probably requires additional equipment that is being gradually rolled out.

I think the PSIP data has nothing to do with the TV Guide...PSIP is information that each OTA digital station sends about it OWN transmission, and I don't think the Sony uses that data, a least not for program listings. The TV Guide you see on screen has information that is all sent by one or two stations locally and includes info for ALL the local stations (even the cable stations), including analog or digital....(I should say ALMOST all, because there is a limit to how many channels the data is broadcast for...) So don't confuse he "TV Guide" data used by the Sony with the PSIP data sent by each digital OTA station...2 different beasts...

(I do have one unit- a Samsung 165 - that uses the PSIP data, but this feature doesn't really work, because many of the digital stations don't bother sending the PSIP data...)

hmmm....I read that message again, and it seems to be saying that - in the case of the PBS stations - the Gemstar TV Guide data IS transmitted with the PSIP data....ok, I admit - now I'm confused, ...but what I said above is true in my experience, i.e., usually a PBS ANALOG station, and maybe another local station transmits the Gemstar TV Guide data for ALL the local stations, while EACH digital station transmits PSIP data that may or may not include program data for THAT station, but usually isn't used by TVs of digital receivers that get it...

I had the same understanding that PSIP wasn't the tv guide data carrier. And I suspect "metadata aggregator" whatever that implies maybe some sort of ATSC data splitting that has been mentioned in other forums.

Anyways, it seems that posing a simple question, "are you transmitting the gemstar tv guide data with your digital HD broadcast?", got me a complex answer where a simple Yes or No would have suffice, don't you think?

Anyways, it seems that posing a simple question, "are you transmitting the gemstar tv guide data with your digital HD broadcast?", got me a complex answer where a simple Yes or No would have suffice, don't you think?

After reading it three times I finally decided that the answer was probably "Yes", but it's not phrased in a way to be much help to you.

You may have returned three units but I find it hard to believe all three were defective. That would mean that there are more faulty units than good ones, and I don't see postings here to support that result.Why would you not believe all were defective? Calling me a liar? ALL THREE were defective....and you can check my previous posts to see that. #1 developed consistent horizontal white video glitches; #2 dropped guide data; # 3 was total junk...never got the time or guide data and locked up on me. And all three had consistent audio dropouts. Why is that so hard to believe? But even more importantly, where do you fabricate the "math" to lead you to believe that, just because I had three defective units that it would mean there are more faulty units than good ones? I have no doubt there are more good ones than faulty ones; I just happened to get three bad ones in a row.

If this thread is going to stoop to name-calling, then I'm through.

I own a 250, which is setup for both OTA and cable. In addition I rent a Comcast dual recorder, and bought a Tweeter 500, which I plan to pick-up on Saturday.

Until last night, I had planned to setup the 500 for cable only. However, last night I recorded two OTA programs on the 250 and three on the Comcast recorder. The OTA recordings were perfect, and the cable programs were unwatchable because of excess noise - same situation for On Demand. Last night it was very windy and that may have caused the cable problem.

Why would you not believe all were defective? Calling me a liar? ALL THREE were defective....and you can check my previous posts to see that. #1 developed consistent horizontal white video glitches; #2 dropped guide data; # 3 was total junk...never got the time or guide data and locked up on me. And all three had consistent audio dropouts. Why is that so hard to believe? But even more importantly, where do you fabricate the "math" to lead you to believe that, just because I had three defective units that it would mean there are more faulty units than good ones? I have no doubt there are more good ones than faulty ones; I just happened to get three bad ones in a row.

If this thread is going to stoop to name-calling, then I'm through.

Sorry, I didn't intend to impy that your were a liar. To get three bad units in a row is like winning the lottery. Perhaps I am mistaken, but since the recorder is a special purpose PC, I would expect problems to be more likely caused by the software than the hardware. So unless you exhausted all the various options to clear the problem before you returned the unit, you can't say for certain that the unit was defective.

Too bad there isn't a way to get feedback from BB on exactly what was wrong with the unit.

A few weeks ago, my Comcast recorder suddenly put green strips on the screen, and I was ready to return the recorder. Before doing that I decided to try pulling the power plug for a minute - and that cleared the problem.

That may well be true, but I would say that, out of three units, having three lemons is a bit extreme.
Oh, and BTW, I've posted MANY times in this thread to help folks, too.

Hi Bierboy,

Sorry to hear that unit three is toes up for you. I've read this whole thread, including all your troubles as well as your (well documented) help to others, so I'll be sorry to have you leave the forum.

One thing I will suggest, though, is that maybe it wasn't the units so much as the environment.

I work with biomedical equipment. Once I had a customer who had problems with a piece of equipment. Wierd, freaky stuff. Nothing else in the lab was acting up. We eventually replaced this $100k piece of equipment with a unit we KNEW was just fine. It too started doing strange stuff, albeit DIFFERENT strange stuff.

There was lots of potential for user error, problems with chemistry used on the equipment, and so forth. It took months to rule all those things out.

In the final analysis, the problem was the power. We were able to document periodic issues where the power was contaminated due to equipment two floors away. This caused our hardware to do strange, marginal things.

Proper power conditioning eliminated the issues and all was well from then on.

I'm not saying this is your issue, but rather that since you are a convincingly knowledgeable user, and you've gone through three (count'em!) units, it's probably not you, and not the hardware, at least not all of them.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck to you!

Marc

Sorry, I didn't intend to impy that your were a liar. To get three bad units in a row is like winning the lottery. Perhaps I am mistaken, but since the recorder is a special purpose PC, I would expect problems to be more likely caused by the software than the hardware. So unless you exhausted all the various options to clear the problem before you returned the unit, you can't say for certain that the unit was defective.

Too bad there isn't a way to get feedback from BB on exactly what was wrong with the unit.

A few weeks ago, my Comcast recorder suddenly put green strips on the screen, and I was ready to return the recorder. Before doing that I decided to try pulling the power plug for a minute - and that cleared the problem.
Hi Bierboy,

Sorry to hear that unit three is toes up for you. I've read this whole thread, including all your troubles as well as your (well documented) help to others, so I'll be sorry to have you leave the forum.

One thing I will suggest, though, is that maybe it wasn't the units so much as the environment.

I work with biomedical equipment. Once I had a customer who had problems with a piece of equipment. Wierd, freaky stuff. Nothing else in the lab was acting up. We eventually replaced this $100k piece of equipment with a unit we KNEW was just fine. It too started doing strange stuff, albeit DIFFERENT strange stuff.

There was lots of potential for user error, problems with chemistry used on the equipment, and so forth. It took months to rule all those things out.

In the final analysis, the problem was the power. We were able to document periodic issues where the power was contaminated due to equipment two floors away. This caused our hardware to do strange, marginal things.

Proper power conditioning eliminated the issues and all was well from then on.

I'm not saying this is your issue, but rather that since you are a convincingly knowledgeable user, and you've gone through three (count'em!) units, it's probably not you, and not the hardware, at least not all of them.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck to you!

MarcI appreciate both responses. I'm running all my home theater gear through a Panamax 4300 power conditioner (have been for several years now). None of the other equipment has had so much as a hiccup. I suppose anything is possible. I really did want this Sony to work, and, for a while in each instance it did (except for this last unit which was basically DOA).

Well, I've upgraded my DHG-HDD500 from 1.2.05 to 1.2.13 and will keep an eye out for any changes or improvements that I may see...

I had a Cablecard from Charter installed in my HDD500 yesterday. I can tune to all the added channels so it appears the card is working. The TVGOS did not update overnight so I thought I might have to do an Auto Scan, but it says a Cable or All Auto Scan is not available with a Cablecard. Do I need to just wait for the TVGOS to update or will I have to do a reformat and start over? I went into the Service Menu for the TVGOS and the Host channel was blank.

Thanks for any help.

Right, no scan is necessary since the card controls the channel list. If you left the unit off for at least 24 hours and received no guide data, there may be a problem with your local host channel sending the data or with Charter not relaying the data properly. Find out which local channels broadcast the data. Tune to those stations and run the TV G* test in the 9012 menu.

The other cuase could be digital provisioning of your card, as mentioned many times in this thread. Do a search here for "ADS" or "provision" for info.

Crap.

How often does the customization that you do to the channel list get reset? My guide was fine yesterday, but tonight it seems like the whole list has been reset to the defaults. The order and the channels that have been turned off previously are now back on again.

It is such a PITA to get them reset again.

Why would you not believe all were defective? Calling me a liar? ALL THREE were defective....and you can check my previous posts to see that. #1 developed consistent horizontal white video glitches; #2 dropped guide data; # 3 was total junk...never got the time or guide data and locked up on me. And all three had consistent audio dropouts. Why is that so hard to believe? But even more importantly, where do you fabricate the "math" to lead you to believe that, just because I had three defective units that it would mean there are more faulty units than good ones? I have no doubt there are more good ones than faulty ones; I just happened to get three bad ones in a row.

If this thread is going to stoop to name-calling, then I'm through.

You do have bad luck, as with your #1 and #3 units which seem to have had hardware problems. I think others here simply mean that in MOST cases the Sony hardware is OK, but local stations and cablecos cause the time and guide problems that make people give up on the DVR.

Did you find any other Sony owners in your area? The Sony depends on proper information from so many sources (different cablecos and local stations), firmware from at least two different sources (Sony and TVGOS), and hardware/firmware from other manufacturers (cards from Moto and SA), that the best help may come from comparing notes with other folks in the same area.

Add to this the number of open box units with problems getting handed around maybe over and over again.

Now that I think about it, it's a wonder some of these things work at all. :)

Crap.

How often does the customization that you do to the channel list get reset? My guide was fine yesterday, but tonight it seems like the whole list has been reset to the defaults. The order and the channels that have been turned off previously are now back on again.

It is such a PITA to get them reset again.

TVGOS upgrades or corrupt overnight data downloads have been known to cause this. Removing and reinserting a CableCARD can also do this. I think some people said it happened when TVGOS added channels to the list, although this was supposed to have been corrected.

It used to happen to the LG DVR VERY often. The Sony (and its newer guide version) is much more stable. But it is a huge pain to redo the whole guide setup.

Well, I've upgraded my DHG-HDD500 from 1.2.05 to 1.2.13 and will keep an eye out for any changes or improvements that I may see...

Yes, please do. I am interested to see if you notice anything different at all.

How did you do that?

I finally got my unit tonight, got the channels scanned, now just waiting for the guide to download. I'll let you know tomorrow how things go.

One strange thing I did noticed is mapping of channels. Using cable, on my HDTV the NBC-HD channel is mapped to 81-1 and PBS-HD is mapped to 81-2. With the 500, they are flipped, PBS-HD is on 81-1 and NBC-HD is on 81-2. Anyone know what would cause this?

Thanks.

I have noticed some issues similar to this on one of my units. For some reason I could not tune channel 9-1 on one unit but could on the other. So I did a rescan of channels and it showed up and was tunable. But then channel 28-1 was being received on a channel that was not valid (something like 51-2). So I rescanned again, 28-1 was correct but some other channel was funny...

Seems like some potential bug in the firmware. What version are you using? The DVR that has the problem for me is on the .05 firmware. My other unit is .06.

I have noticed a couple of other minor issues:

* Once I deleted a show after watching it but it was still showing on the rec list. If I tried to play it, nothing happened. I had to re-delete it on the rec list.
* I have had a couple of issues with channels that were turned off in the guide turning themselves back on.
* I have noticed a few audio dropouts.. have yet to determine if it is an issue with the DVR, the broadcaster, or the OTA signal.
* When playing back a recorded show, going back in the guide, and exiting out of the guide, sometimes I get a message on the screen asking if I want to change the channel or continue watching the recorded show... strange since I did not attempt to change the channel.

Anyway, none of these minor annoyances are taking away my enjoyment of the DVR's.

I have the sony dhg250...Well i got up to page 26 of this thread and I started to get google eyed so I just skipped to the last
I have a question: everything works great on mine except I'm getting a error code 161-6, then I don't get any digital channels at all until I reboot it. It happens about once a day. I'm going to return it, I talked to sony and they said it needs repair.
Does anyone else have this problem and if so do you know anymore about it? Or is there an easy fix?

I just saw a problem that may be of interest to anyone in Los Angeles with 28.1 and 28.2 in their list (and possibly anyone, anywhere that a new sub-channel is added to an existing channel).

In this case, 28 added a new sub-channel - 28.3. This is apparently just PID's at this time - no video or audio. My DHG-HDD250 suddenly started giving me 28.2 when 28.1 was tuned and the blank 28.3 when 28.2 was tuned. The interesting thing was that occasionally I would get just a flash of 28.1 before it switched to 28.2. I had verified (with the MyHD card) that 28.1 was operating normally.

The fix turned out to be relatively simple. I did a new Autoscan, it picked up the new 28.3 and now 28.1 and 28.2 are tuned correctly. Note that an Auto-add doesn't work. It won't pick up new sub-channels on an existing channel.

Beware of one thing. If there is any channel that was in your list that is off the air when the scan is done, it will no longer be in the list. This happened to me (I'm always the lucky one) when I did the scan. 58.1, etc is apparently having troubles so it's no longer in my list. I'm hoping I can do an Auto-add tomorrow and get it back. Except for that, the Autoscan didn't destroy anything. I still have my enables/disables on the channel list and the Guide is still intact.

I have the sony dhg250...Well i got up to page 26 of this thread and I started to get google eyed so I just skipped to the last
I have a question: everything works great on mine except I'm getting a error code 161-6, then I don't get any digital channels at all until I reboot it. It happens about once a day. I'm going to return it, I talked to sony and they said it needs repair.
Does anyone else have this problem and if so do you know anymore about it? Or is there an easy fix?

It's a known hardware (and possibly also firmware) fix that has to be done at the Sony Service Center.

Without doubt, bierboy's postings have helped me. I will not attribute his equipment's failures to operator error; he obviously has had a string of bad luck.

TWinbrook46636 hit the nail squarely on the head. In all endeavors in which I've been involved I've seen that it is always those with the gripes (often the smallest) that make the most noise, not the satisfied customers. I intend to keep my HDD250 that I paid full retail for 4 months ago. After using the info obtained through this forum, it is now working like a charm. OTA only.Same here - working perfectly (including guide) for almost 2 months now. OTA only.

Well, I've upgraded my DHG-HDD500 from 1.2.05 to 1.2.13 and will keep an eye out for any changes or improvements that I may see...

What was the turn-around time at Sony? Did it go to Pennsylvania or Texas (or somewhere else)?

Marc

Crap.

How often does the customization that you do to the channel list get reset? My guide was fine yesterday, but tonight it seems like the whole list has been reset to the defaults. The order and the channels that have been turned off previously are now back on again.

It is such a PITA to get them reset again.

Hasn't happened to me ever in about three months I've used the machine. Note that at about a month into using it, I installed a cable card and thus has a new set of channels to arrange, as expected. But never an unexplained reset of the lineup.

Marc

I have the sony dhg250...Well i got up to page 26 of this thread and I started to get google eyed so I just skipped to the last
I have a question: everything works great on mine except I'm getting a error code 161-6, then I don't get any digital channels at all until I reboot it. It happens about once a day. I'm going to return it, I talked to sony and they said it needs repair.
Does anyone else have this problem and if so do you know anymore about it? Or is there an easy fix?

To add to Jmonier's reply, the fix he refers to is really a modification of the design, some sort of electrical modification. Don't bother returning your unit to the store for an exchange; it will be identical to the first in this respect.

My own unit is currently in transit to the Sony service center in Laredo, TX for the upgrade for this very problem. In my case it happens about once per week on average, but that's too often for my tastes. It's worth the $18 shipping fee to get it corrected, and to update to the latest firmware version. Note that Sony has a deal with UPS for reduced-cost shipping.

Marc

Even with the latest TVGOS update, it is quite possible that the latest Sony firmware may be needed to take advantage of all it's functionality (especially TVGOS via digital channels). There are differing reports and opinions on this with no really definitive information available.

My 250 has 1.2.09 & 08.01.42/08.06.30 firmware and on my digital (HD) pbs station with TVGOS data embedded it passed the ATSC test and failed the VBI test.

My 250 has 1.2.09 & 08.01.42/08.06.30 firmware and on my digital (HD) pbs station with TVGOS data embedded it passed the ATSC test and failed the VBI test.

Does the HD channel number appear in the 753 menu as your host channel?

My 250 has 1.2.09 & 08.01.42/08.06.30 firmware and on my digital (HD) pbs station with TVGOS data embedded it passed the ATSC test and failed the VBI test.

The VBI test will always fail on a digital station since there is no VBI. The ATSC test doesn't seem to mean a lot - it passes even when tuned to an analog station. This has been the case with me on both .09 and .13 firmware and with or without the 08.06.20 or .30 updates.

Crap.

How often does the customization that you do to the channel list get reset? My guide was fine yesterday, but tonight it seems like the whole list has been reset to the defaults. The order and the channels that have been turned off previously are now back on again.

It is such a PITA to get them reset again.

This happened to me just last night. Like it rebooted all by itself. What a PITB, but I guess we have to live with this discrepency.

Wolfie

Sorry if this question has been answered but I haven't found it in the thread:

I am currently using the Sony for OTA only but am soon to have a cable card. Once the card is installed, will the unit immediately begin picking up cable channels? Do I need to do a new set-up for cable? And, if I do that, will I lose my OTA channels from my Guide?

thanks in advance for any help!

Sorry if this question has been answered but I haven't found it in the thread:

I am currently using the Sony for OTA only but am soon to have a cable card. Once the card is installed, will the unit immediately begin picking up cable channels? Do I need to do a new set-up for cable? And, if I do that, will I lose my OTA channels from my Guide?

thanks in advance for any help!

Think of this unit as having two brains:

The Sony side will let you tune in and view the CC channels immediately and merge your OTA channels with the cable channels in it's own tuner. You can start viewing immediately.

The TV Guide side will ask you to select a cable channel lineup and you'll have to wait overnight for your first TV Guide update listings. You wont get channel listing information until the next day when using TV guide.

Some have name this the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome with the TV guide software being Mr. Hyde.

Does the HD channel number appear in the 753 menu as your host channel?

Is there a seperate 753 menu or do you mean 753159852 ? In either case I will need to check.

Here's one I can't figure out, maybe someone out there can. I have OTA only. In the 753 menu, my host channel info is displayed as 0:0-4. The channel for clock - ffffff. I have a working clock, which is 1 minute off from clock on old VCR (which provides no info on where signal is from). The local PBS is channel 5. There is no channel 0.4. Channel 4 is NBC. Running G* I get VBI pass on channel 5, fail on channel 4.

Now all of this is really of minor significance since my unit is working just fine, but for curiosity I'm trying to figure out what the host channel and clock channel are. Any ideas? Thanks.....

Is there a seperate 753 menu or do you mean 753159852 ? In either case I will need to check.

Yes, 753159852 menu a.k.a. "753" menu.

Same here - working perfectly (including guide) for almost 2 months now. OTA only.

While my 250 works well when it does record, it keeps dropping scheduled recordings. I almost have to baby sit every day to make sure nothing gets dropped. Till now, 24 and Jeopardy are being recorded without babysitting. However, all three CSI programs, Criminal Minds, etc. get dropped almost every week and I have to re-add them. When it does record, the quality is great.

I have the latest firmware.

Think of this unit as having two brains:

The Sony side will let you tune in and view the CC channels immediately and merge your OTA channels with the cable channels in it's own tuner. You can start viewing immediately.

The TV Guide side will ask you to select a cable channel lineup and you'll have to wait overnight for your first TV Guide update listings. You wont get channel listing information until the next day when using TV guide.

Some have name this the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome with the TV guide software being Mr. Hyde.

Great answer! Thanks!

I take it I won't lose my OTA listing from Mr. Hyde when I change to a cable set-up?

Great answer! Thanks!

I take it I won't lose my OTA listing from Mr. Hyde when I change to a cable set-up?

Nah, Mr. Hyde is only interested in frustrating you with the TVGuide data but if you want you can always use the tv guide channel editor and enter your local HD channels replacing the cable counterparts.

While my 250 works well when it does record, it keeps dropping scheduled recordings. I almost have to baby sit every day to make sure nothing gets dropped. Till now, 24 and Jeopardy are being recorded without babysitting. However, all three CSI programs, Criminal Minds, etc. get dropped almost every week and I have to re-add them. When it does record, the quality is great.

I have the latest firmware.


I have the same problem with a 500 and same CSI, ect. programs.
I have a LG as the backup to the Sony, I also just purchased the
2nd Sony 500 as a back up in my computer room. That one is only a week
old and no drop programs yet. I have a video transmeter on it to
my plasma TV.

Mike

While my 250 works well when it does record, it keeps dropping scheduled recordings. I almost have to baby sit every day to make sure nothing gets dropped. Till now, 24 and Jeopardy are being recorded without babysitting. However, all three CSI programs, Criminal Minds, etc. get dropped almost every week and I have to re-add them. When it does record, the quality is great.

I have the latest firmware.

Just wondering if this might be related? Do you have these shows set to record in the "D" "R" or "W" mode? - And, do you use the same mode for recording all shows on a regular basis?

I purchased the HDD500 and ran through the setup last night for both cable and OTA (no cablecard). I found numerous analog and digital signals for both the OTA and cable. Within an hour of shutting of the DVR I had the correct time. This was about 11pm and I shut down the DVR and went to bed. This AM the time was still correct however there were no listings. The setup guide also told me that in the AM I should be able to pick which cable system I have, but still nothing. I can try to wait one more night to see what happens, but in the mean time, I wanted to know if there is anything I could do to ensure that the download will occur (assuming adelphia cable is sending the data). I get PBS both off the air in analog and digital as well as both through cable. Does anyone have any ideas????????????

Here's one I can't figure out, maybe someone out there can. I have OTA only. In the 753 menu, my host channel info is displayed as 0:0-4. The channel for clock - ffffff. I have a working clock, which is 1 minute off from clock on old VCR (which provides no info on where signal is from). The local PBS is channel 5. There is no channel 0.4. Channel 4 is NBC. Running G* I get VBI pass on channel 5, fail on channel 4.

0:0-4 means Channel 4 on the Antenna input.

Just wondering if this might be related? Do you have these shows set to record in the "D" "R" or "W" mode? - And, do you use the same mode for recording all shows on a regular basis? I've got Jeopardy set to record "R" from two stations. My 500 missed both one day, but after investigating I found that my indoor antenna was positioned in a way that I was not receiving any signal from either. Made a note of it and it's been fine since. Those were the only missed recordings I've had so far.

0:0-4 means Channel 4 on the Antenna input.

Thanks. That's what I ascertained from the menu. The odd thing is that in Albuquerque channel 4 is NBC, and from my understanding the VBI data comes from PBS stations, which in ABQ is channel 5.

Just wondering if this might be related? Do you have these shows set to record in the "D" "R" or "W" mode? - And, do you use the same mode for recording all shows on a regular basis?

I am using R (Regularly) for my scheduled recordings. I have tried Weekly also and I don't think that made a difference. Also, why is it that CBS keeps moving the shows around almost every week! Frustrating me and the Sony I guess.

I am using R (Regularly) for my scheduled recordings. I have tried Weekly also and I don't think that made a difference. Also, why is it that CBS keeps moving the shows around almost every week! Frustrating me and the Sony I guess.

From the users guide, "Regularly indicates that the program is set to record every time the program airs on the same time and channel." I'm not keeping track of when the shows you mention are on, but if the time of the show is changed by the network, could that be the root of the problem?

When I've used "R" on my Sony (and on my Panny DVR with TVGOS), it always records that show on that channel, no matter what the day or time.

Thanks. That's what I ascertained from the menu. The odd thing is that in Albuquerque channel 4 is NBC, and from my understanding the VBI data comes from PBS stations, which in ABQ is channel 5.

It doesn't have to be a PBS station. Mine is using CBS even though my local PBS station is also broadcasting it.

Why would you not believe all were defective? Calling me a liar? ALL THREE were defective....and you can check my previous posts to see that. #1 developed consistent horizontal white video glitches; #2 dropped guide data; # 3 was total junk...never got the time or guide data and locked up on me. And all three had consistent audio dropouts. Why is that so hard to believe? But even more importantly, where do you fabricate the "math" to lead you to believe that, just because I had three defective units that it would mean there are more faulty units than good ones? I have no doubt there are more good ones than faulty ones; I just happened to get three bad ones in a row.

If this thread is going to stoop to name-calling, then I'm through.

We get it! You don't like the Sony. We get it!!!!!!!! Why are you still here? You said you were waiting for either a Sony upgrade unit, or a TiVO Series 3 unit. Great! No need to keep posting again, and again, and again why you do not like the Sony.

But you continue to come back, saying the same old thing. You are not adding to the discussion because it's the same old message... except for my Uncle who has Alzheimer’s... he forgets what you post on a daily basis, so your old tired message is brand new to him...

-T

so your old tired message is brand new to him...

-T

oops! so is yours....

(maybe read the rest of the thread before you post?)

I have the latest firmware.

By latest firmware, do you mean 1.2.13?

Another member who's been posting to this thread had the missed recording problem. He sent his unit in for service and it came back with the 1.2.13 firmware. It's been about two months and he hasn't seen the problem. I had the missed recording problem myself and I've been using manual recordings for everything, which has worked, but isn't preferable. I just sent my unit to Sony today hoping that they will upgrade the firmware which will fix the missed recording problem. Of course it would be easier if Sony techs could give us a straight answer regarding what fixes are in the 1.2.13 firmware, but that's asking for too much. Anyhow, I will be disappointed if you are having the missed recording problem with the 1.2.13 firmware since it will mean that I just wasted money on shipping.

We get it! You don't like the Sony. We get it!!!!!!!! Why are you still here? You said you were waiting for either a Sony upgrade unit, or a TiVO Series 3 unit. Great! No need to keep posting again, and again, and again why you do not like the Sony.

But you continue to come back, saying the same old thing. You are not adding to the discussion because it's the same old message... except for my Uncle who has Alzheimer’s... he forgets what you post on a daily basis, so your old tired message is brand new to him...

-T

Thank you so much for saying what many are thinking but haven't until now stated!

We get it! You don't like the Sony. We get it!!!!!!!! Why are you still here? You said you were waiting for either a Sony upgrade unit, or a TiVO Series 3 unit. Great! No need to keep posting again, and again, and again why you do not like the Sony.

But you continue to come back, saying the same old thing. You are not adding to the discussion because it's the same old message... except for my Uncle who has Alzheimer’s... he forgets what you post on a daily basis, so your old tired message is brand new to him...

-T

Oh boy....did I get a chuckle out of this. Still laffing. It was a question I had 50 pages back. But you put it clearly. Thanks for the laff.

Uncle Al...aka HDAddiction

Well, I've upgraded my DHG-HDD500 from 1.2.05 to 1.2.13 and will keep an eye out for any changes or improvements that I may see...

Where can you get the firmare upgrades?

We get it! You don't like the Sony. We get it!!!!!!!! Why are you still here? You said you were waiting for either a Sony upgrade unit, or a TiVO Series 3 unit. Great! No need to keep posting again, and again, and again why you do not like the Sony.

But you continue to come back, saying the same old thing. You are not adding to the discussion because it's the same old message... except for my Uncle who has Alzheimer’s... he forgets what you post on a daily basis, so your old tired message is brand new to him...

-TBite me....I've helped quite a few people in this thread. I've posted nothing but the truth about MY experience with three defective DHG units. But, I've also posted helps for folks here to learn from my experiences both good and bad.

Oh, and the reason I keep coming back is because I love reading hilarious comments from folks such as yourself....

Where can you get the firmare upgrades?

To get firmware, you must ship your unit to Sony. However, it only fixes DVI compatibility problems with certain TVs, according to a Sony engineer. Many on this web assume otherwise.

I think that a program is dropped from the schedule because of a glitch in the TV Guide software. I believe that there are several non-HD DVRs on the market, including a Sony, that use TV guide. I wonder if they also experience dropped programs.

Wow, 122 pages.

I bought my 500 at Sound Advice January 21 for $699 which I thought was a good price. A few days later(10?) I started seeing posts here about Tweeters offering them for $249. Someone also posted that Tweeters wouldn't price match so I keep delaying any action. I finally checked today and they had one left and would price match my original purchase.

I bought their last one and ended up with two for $500 plus tax. Unbelievable!!!

I just want to thank those whose posts led to this great buy.

I'm very happy with my first unit and have had no significant problems(crossed fingers).

I also had a similar price experience with my DTV HR 10 250.

This board has saved me hundreds of dollars and provided me priceless support information.

Thanks again to all who post here!!!

Ok, got my unit back. Took about a week from shipment to being dropped back on my doorstop ( upstate ny to PA is about 2 days ). Took about 1 full day to get time and guide data. Took some time to setup the guide so that the multicasts are mapped correctly to the guide data and removed all the stuff that I don't get.

So far so good.... now stupid question. Can you record and watch another TV channel or just another recording?

Can you record and watch another TV channel or just another recording?

There's only one tuner, so you can't watch another channel while you're recording. If you try to change channels while recording, a box pops up asking you whether you want to change the channel and stop recording, or leave the channel as it is and continue recording.

You can watch a previously-recorded program, though. Just hit the REC LIST button and pick the recording you want to watch.

Bite me....I've helped quite a few people in this thread. I've posted nothing but the truth about MY experience with three defective DHG units. But, I've also posted helps for folks here to learn from my experiences both good and bad.

Oh, and the reason I keep coming back is because I love reading hilarious comments from folks such as yourself.... Bierboy has been nothing but helpful to MANY people around here, including myself. He's perfectly within his rights to vent his frustrations with the product here, just as anybody else should be. He's not attacking anyone, which is more than I could say about some of you, who should maybe refrain from popping off like that considering you've barely been around here very long. You really owe him an apology.

There's only one tuner, so you can't watch another channel while you're recording. If you try to change channels while recording, a box pops up asking you whether you want to change the channel and stop recording, or leave the channel as it is and continue recording.

You can watch a previously-recorded program, though. Just hit the REC LIST button and pick the recording you want to watch.

You can also watch the currently recorded program while it is being recorded.

To get firmware, you must ship your unit to Sony. However, it only fixes DVI compatibility problems with certain TVs, according to a Sony engineer. Many on this web assume otherwise.

I think that a program is dropped from the schedule because of a glitch in the TV Guide software. I believe that there are several non-HD DVRs on the market, including a Sony, that use TV guide. I wonder if they also experience dropped programs.Instead of wondering why don't you go over to the DVD recorder threads and find out? People over there have been dealing with TVGOS issues for a few years now. Be a little adventurous.

Right, no scan is necessary since the card controls the channel list. If you left the unit off for at least 24 hours and received no guide data, there may be a problem with your local host channel sending the data or with Charter not relaying the data properly. Find out which local channels broadcast the data. Tune to those stations and run the TV G* test in the 9012 menu.

The other cuase could be digital provisioning of your card, as mentioned many times in this thread. Do a search here for "ADS" or "provision" for info.

The TVGOS did not update after 24hrs in standby. I have no listings at all. If I set the unit back to factory default does the Cablecard stay activated?

The TVGOS did not update after 24hrs in standby. I have no listings at all. If I set the unit back to factory default does the Cablecard stay activated?


How about adding nice indoor antenna to see if you pick up the broadcast station locally that is transmitting TVGOS data?

Tweeter has the HDD500 online for $249.

http://www.tweeter.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2017121

Lets see how long it takes before it's sold out. 3..... 2..... 1.....

it is already sold out. all the store managers can't be dummer than that website computer.

How about adding nice indoor antenna to see if you pick up the broadcast station locally that is transmitting TVGOS data?

Actually I have an outdoor Winegard that pulls in all the Madison, WI channels and an indoor Terk that gets the all the Rockford, IL channels.

To get firmware, you must ship your unit to Sony. However, it only fixes DVI compatibility problems with certain TVs, according to a Sony engineer. Many on this web assume otherwise.

I think that a program is dropped from the schedule because of a glitch in the TV Guide software. I believe that there are several non-HD DVRs on the market, including a Sony, that use TV guide. I wonder if they also experience dropped programs.

So the 1.2.13 firmware only fixes DVI compatibility problems? That's the first I've heard of Sony revealing specific issues that are addressed in the firmware. The reason we "assume otherwise" is because nobody has been able to get a straight answer from Sony regarding what fixes are in the firmware. I specifically asked a tech what fixes are included in the firmware and I'm still waiting to hear back from him - that was months ago. Since Sony can't seem to answer my questions, I have to rely on others who post to this thread. A member who frequently had the missed recording problem hasn't seen it in two months since upgrading to 1.2.13. That is why I assumed that the 1.2.13 may have addressed the problem.

Speaking of "assuming", it sounds like you have the missed recording problem all figured out. Did the Sony engineer have anything to say about your theory? Let us know what you find out since you're the only person who can seem to get any answers from Sony.

There's only one tuner, so you can't watch another channel while you're recording. If you try to change channels while recording, a box pops up asking you whether you want to change the channel and stop recording, or leave the channel as it is and continue recording.

You can watch a previously-recorded program, though. Just hit the REC LIST button and pick the recording you want to watch.

Not sure how many have this capability but since my unit was hooked up to a tv that already had an HD tuner I put a splitter on my indoor antenna. I have one end hooked up to the Samsung antenna imput and the other to the Sony. I used the HDMI from the Sony to the Samsung. Now I can record and watch HD tv at the same time.

Lets see how long it takes before it's sold out. 3..... 2..... 1.....

Just ordered one at Tweeters online. Said 1 to 2 week wait to ship. Figure if they even cancel no big deal because they won't charge me until they ship.

The TVGOS did not update after 24hrs in standby. I have no listings at all. If I set the unit back to factory default does the Cablecard stay activated?

Did you first try the things I mentioned in my previous post? With what results?

Since you also have OTA, did you connect it to the Sony and set it up for OTA and cable (both)? If you did and the Sony can't find a host via OTA either, your local station may have an equipment problem. Run the VBI test on the OTA channel too.

Resettting the Sony should not affect the CableCARD. You might even want to remove the card and reseat it.

Did you first try the things I mentioned in my previous post? With what results?

Since you also have OTA, did you connect it to the Sony and set it up for OTA and cable (both)? If you did and the Sony can't find a host via OTA either, your local station may have an equipment problem. Run the VBI test on the OTA channel too.

Resettting the Sony should not affect the CableCARD. You might even want to remove the card and reseat it.

Phil,

Thanks for helping me out. I have it set up for OTA and cable. Charter in their infinite wisdom, can not tell me which station broadcasts the TVGOS info, although the tech that installed the card said they do broadcast it. I tuned to the analog Madison PBS channel OTA and it passes the VIB test. I had the complete guide in the 2 weeks prior since purchasing the HDD500. Only since the card installation is it not updating.

Bjorn

Just ordered one at Tweeters online. Said 1 to 2 week wait to ship. Figure if they even cancel no big deal because they won't charge me until they ship.

Same here. I hope I get this. I already have a 250 I bought from Best Buy for $499 + tax + four year service warranty. $621 total :(

So the 1.2.13 firmware only fixes DVI compatibility problems? That's the first I've heard of Sony revealing specific issues that are addressed in the firmware. The reason we "assume otherwise" is because nobody has been able to get a straight answer from Sony regarding what fixes are in the firmware. I specifically asked a tech what fixes are included in the firmware and I'm still waiting to hear back from him - that was months ago. Since Sony can't seem to answer my questions, I have to rely on others who post to this thread. A member who frequently had the missed recording problem hasn't seen it in two months since upgrading to 1.2.13. That is why I assumed that the 1.2.13 may have addressed the problem.

Speaking of "assuming", it sounds like you have the missed recording problem all figured out. Did the Sony engineer have anything to say about your theory? Let us know what you find out since you're the only person who can seem to get any answers from Sony.

I have 1.2.13 and it is dropping programs all the time. For example, just on Thursday I setup to record the CBS show Numbers. On Friday, it did not record it and it was not in the schedule either (I set it up as regular). However, there are other shows such as "24" that is has recorded consistently for several weeks without any problems.

I tried to place an order at Tweeter online too...

If it ever ships, great. If not, oh well...

Maybe I will sell my 250 (from BB.com $499) to a coworker...

Thanks for posting that tweeter did this online...how long ago did they add it at that price?

Thanks!

I have 1.2.13 and it is dropping programs all the time. For example, just on Thursday I setup to record the CBS show Numbers. On Friday, it did not record it and it was not in the schedule either (I set it up as regular). However, there are other shows such as "24" that is has recorded consistently for several weeks without any problems.

If you are using a Motorola cablecard make sure you get the latest firmware (4.21) on it. Once I did, I haven't missed a recording yet and my Sony firm is 1.2.09.

I have 1.2.13 and it is dropping programs all the time. For example, just on Thursday I setup to record the CBS show Numbers. On Friday, it did not record it and it was not in the schedule either (I set it up as regular). However, there are other shows such as "24" that is has recorded consistently for several weeks without any problems.

When did you send your unit in for service to get the 1.2.13 firmware? Your post from 12/14/05 indicates that your unit came with the 1.2.09 firmware. Did Sony provide any notes when they serviced your unit, and did you send it in specifically for the missed recording problem?

I tried to place an order at Tweeter online too...

If it ever ships, great. If not, oh well...

Ditto............

Ditto............
I ordered two.

Add me to the list. I'm caught in an interesting place though -- I bought a HDD250 for $499 from Best Buy on Jan. 29 -- that means I have about 10 days left to return it for a refund -- but I don't want to do that until I'm sure I will actually be getting the HDD500. Hmmmm. Well, I guess I could return it just to be safe, and then buy another one later if it never shows up.

This reminds me of the crush that occurred when the HD TiVo first came out. THAT was crazy.

When I go to BB to return my 250, I'm sure they'll ask me for a reason. I'll show them my Tweeter receipt showing $249 for the 500. If they offer to give me a $250 refund instead of returning it, I'd go for that. If that happens, I'll post it here.

When I go to BB to return my 250, I'm sure they'll ask me for a reason. I'll show them my Tweeter receipt showing $249 for the 500. If they offer to give me a $250 refund instead of returning it, I'd go for that. If that happens, I'll post it here.

Although that would be LOGICAL, I suspect BB would use the excuse that they are different models, and they won't price match the $250 price...

Although that would be LOGICAL, I suspect BB would use the excuse that they are different models, and they won't price match the $250 price...

I agree. That's why I am not going to ask for it, but just interested to see if they make the offer.

One thing that I have noticed is that the TVGOS on my TV has listings for the whole next week while the 500 only has listing for the next 2-3 days. Is this a TVGOS issue or a 500 issue? Thanks.

how long has the 500 had to download the listings?

So the 1.2.13 firmware only fixes DVI compatibility problems? That's the first I've heard of Sony revealing specific issues that are addressed in the firmware. The reason we "assume otherwise" is because nobody has been able to get a straight answer from Sony regarding what fixes are in the firmware. I specifically asked a tech what fixes are included in the firmware and I'm still waiting to hear back from him - that was months ago. Since Sony can't seem to answer my questions, I have to rely on others who post to this thread. A member who frequently had the missed recording problem hasn't seen it in two months since upgrading to 1.2.13. That is why I assumed that the 1.2.13 may have addressed the problem.

Speaking of "assuming", it sounds like you have the missed recording problem all figured out. Did the Sony engineer have anything to say about your theory? Let us know what you find out since you're the only person who can seem to get any answers from Sony.

You can read from an earlier post that the 1.2.13 firmware didn't fix the recording problem.

I didn't get an explanation for the missing recording problem, which I beleive it is a in the Guide software, and it is very difficult to solve since it is so random. The same program isn't always dropped from the schedule, and it doesn't seem to happen to everyone for a given program.
In my opinion, the only major bug with the recorder is dropped programming. As a group, perhaps we can help find the cause by reporting specific dropout occurrence on this forum.

If you have two of these recorders, I suggest you set both of them to record the same program, when you only want to record one program in that time slot. I plan to do that, and I also plan to keep a detailed dropped program record.

Tomorrow, I'll fire it up and report the outcome - though I expect to have problems with the guide. At my current location I can only get ABC and CBS and getting PBS (which I understand where the guide comes from) would require a high-end outdoor antenna (violet). I'll, of course, be getting more use out of it once I move.

Looks like I was given the wrong remote (open box), so I'll just buy one @ 1-800-REMOTES for 50$, bringing the total to 300$ - still unbelievable. I did the channel scan, but it can't see any of the channels. Since I don't have a remote, how do I select the digital channels? I can't seem to press the up/down button to find them. I expected them to be 8.1 and 10.1 (since I have analog 8 (CBS) and 10 (ABC).

You can read from an earlier post that the 1.2.13 firmware didn't fix the recording problem.

I've been following this thread pretty closely and your post was the first that I've seen indicating that the 1.2.13 firmware only addresses DVI compatibility problems. I just did a search and couldn't find anything. If you don't mind, please let me know which post discussed it since I am interested in what the 1.2.13 firmware does because I just sent my unit to Sony for service. This post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7143772&post7143772) indicates that 1.2.13 solved a cable card issue, but not the tvguide stuff - not sure if that includes missed recordings or not. Whatever the case, it looks like 1.2.13 addresses cable card issues in addition to DVI compatibility.

Besides your post mentioning the DVI compatibility problem, the only other post that I could find where a unit had the missing recordings problem with the 1.2.13 firmware was today from user bommai. I'm trying to confirm if he has 1.2.13 or 1.2.09 (which he mentioned having earlier). If he does have 1.2.13, that means that he sent his unit in for service and will provide confirmation that it doesn't fix the problem.

Did you actually talk to a Sony engineer yourself regarding the 1.2.13 firmware only addressing DVI compatibility, or is that information from a post that I missed?

If you are using a Motorola cablecard make sure you get the latest firmware (4.21) on it. Once I did, I haven't missed a recording yet and my Sony firm is 1.2.09.

I have Comcast and my Motorola cablecard is Version 4.05. How did you get your provider to update the firmware?

Phil,

Thanks for helping me out. I have it set up for OTA and cable. Charter in their infinite wisdom, can not tell me which station broadcasts the TVGOS info, although the tech that installed the card said they do broadcast it. I tuned to the analog Madison PBS channel OTA and it passes the VIB test. I had the complete guide in the 2 weeks prior since purchasing the HDD500. Only since the card installation is it not updating.

Bjorn

If you can't get the OTA host data, then your PBS station may have a problem with faulty equipment and/or a corrupt TVGOS data stream. You would have to call them, but it won't be easy to get to the right person or department.

The other possibility, since your guide worked pre-CableCARD, is that your card has been provisioned as digital and Charter is not including one analog channel for TVGOS data. If that is the case, you would need to have them reprovision your card for analog. This would probably degrade your channels 2-99, but would give you guide data. Does your CABLE PBS station pass the VBI test?

24 hours the 1st night.

And what should the max temperature be for the hard drives?

Thanks.

The Sony TVGOS needs about a week to fill in the first time, and should remain full thereafter.

Drive temps can run form 90+ to 120 degrees. Mine average about 113-116 degrees, which seems to be a bit warmer than others here.

24 hours the 1st night.
Thanks.

hmmm...so did it just download the listings for days 1, 2, and 8?

If you are using a Motorola cablecard make sure you get the latest firmware (4.21) on it. Once I did, I haven't missed a recording yet and my Sony firm is 1.2.09.

I am strictly OTA. Don't even have cable connection. CBS programs especially keeps getting dropped. I don't watch too many ABC or NBC programs, so can't comment.

If you can't get the OTA host data, then your PBS station may have a problem with faulty equipment and/or a corrupt TVGOS data stream. You would have to call them, but it won't be easy to get to the right person or department.

The other possibility, since your guide worked pre-CableCARD, is that your card has been provisioned as digital and Charter is not including one analog channel for TVGOS data. If that is the case, you would need to have them reprovision your card for analog. This would probably degrade your channels 2-99, but would give you guide data. Does your CABLE PBS station pass the VBI test?

The CABLE PBS station fails the VBI test.

Just 2 days, not sure about day 8, I didn't scroll over that far. Is there a way to scroll over say 3 hours at a time, or scroll over more then 1 hour at a time?

Thanks.

yes...you can go one day at a time if you scroll all the way to the top, i.e., above the program listings themselves...the green button then turns into a day-at-a-time advance....

yes...you can go one day at a time if you scroll all the way to the top, i.e., above the program listings themselves...the green button then turns into a day-at-a-time advance....

Or just go to the guide and punch in the number of hours you want to skip ahead, then press the arrow to the right.

A basic question that I can't seem to find after searching the thread: How do you set up your DVR again (not TV Guide). I am adding cable and was originally set up for ota only -- now I want ota and cable.

thanks!

Hoopnoop,

All you have to do is go to menu, preferences, channel +/- list, edit channel list, auto scan, scan cable.

By the way, scanning cable takes a LOT longer than OTA so don't do it until you have half an hour that you don't want to watch something.

Let us know what is in the clear on your cable system. My cable system (Insight) has all the local digital cables in the clear and the entire Music Choice package (45 channels) and about 10 promo channels and FIT (Health) TV.

yes...you can go one day at a time if you scroll all the way to the top, i.e., above the program listings themselves...the green button then turns into a day-at-a-time advance....

Ugh, this is the Sony thread, not the LG thread. :)

The CABLE PBS station fails the VBI test.

Assuming that this is the analog PBS channel (between 2 an 99), go to the diagnostics screen and see what the Mode/Rate near the upper left says. If it says analog and your VBI test on this channel failed, Charter is NOT passing the guide data.

If the Mode/Rate is QAM, then your card is provisioned as digital and you will have to get Charter to add a duplicate analog PBS. Or tell them to switch you back to analog for now.

None of this explains why you can't get gudie data OTA. Do you know for sure which local station is is the host? It can be PBS, CBS, ABC, or FOX. It depends on your area.

How do you do the VBI test?

Search for 9012 in this thread.

Hi,

I just had my DHG-HDD500 for a few days. It is changing our TV watching experience. I use it for off the air HD broadcast only. I am very glad to find this forum.

I use a TERK indoor antenna. I had a radio shack HD turner before. It offers a menu item for signal strength. That feature makes it much easier to position the antenna. I could not find similar feature in the HDD500. The closest thing I could find is the Diagnositics under system menu. I could not figure out how to use the information for the signal strength though.

I tried to use my radio shack turner to position the antenna, then switch to HDD500. The HDD500 always drops CBS or NBC. I ordered an inline amplifier. Hopefully, I will be able to find one position for all the channels.

I read a lot about the firmware. How could I figure out what version I have? Is there a FAQ for this thread?

Many thanks for your help,

Jane

Hi,

I just had my DHG-HDD500 for a few days. It is changing our TV watching experience. I use it for off the air HD broadcast only. I am very glad to find this forum.

I use a TERK indoor antenna. I had a radio shack HD turner before. It offers a menu item for signal strength. That feature makes it much easier to position the antenna. I could not find similar feature in the HDD500. The closest thing I could find is the Diagnositics under system menu. I could not figure out how to use the information for the signal strength though.

I tried to use my radio shack turner to position the antenna, then switch to HDD500. The HDD500 always drops CBS or NBC. I ordered an inline amplifier. Hopefully, I will be able to find one position for all the channels.

I read a lot about the firmware. How could I figure out what version I have? Is there a FAQ for this thread?

Many thanks for your help,

Jane

There is a signal strength meter under the System menu - System (the first entry) - you have to wait a few seconds for it to show up though. This same menu shows the firmware version at the top, if i remember right.

the green button then turns into a day-at-a-time advance....

Uh... what green button? The one on my Panasonic E85's remote? :)

There is a signal strength meter under the System menu - System (the first entry) - you have to wait a few seconds for it to show up though.

First it takes a few seconds for the % bar to show up, then another few seconds for the quality description to change from "Below Normal" to whatever it really should be. And when you move the antenna, it takes a similar amount of time for the display to reflect the change.

They probably did this to average out the random fluctuations that would confuse some people, but it also makes the meter awkward to use for antenna adjustments. I keep my Radio Shack HD tuner in my system mainly for its signal strength meter, which is quicker to get to (just a single button press on the remote) and more responsive.

After holding off on the Sony for almost a year and seeing no suitable alternatives in the near term, I
went ahead and ordered one from OneCall. They have an attractive price for both the 250 and 500 on open box
units. Not as cheap as Tweeter, which I missed (note to self:check fatwallet weekly) Ordered the 250 noon
Monday Feb 13 and FedEx delivered 1 PM two days later. OneCall always placards open box merchandise and
first look showed a factory refurbished unit. Unpacked and saw a July 2005 mfg date. Hooked up to the Sharp
LCD-37D5U with the HDMI cable, plugged into the APC 1500VA UPS, connected R/S urban VHF/UHF yagi on roof
and the analog TWC San Diego cable and pushed the power switch. Welcome it said. Filled in all the forms
and started the channel scan. About 40 minutes later I saw (wish I had written this down) 11 OTA digital 76
analog cable about 67 digital cable and around 36 OTA analog stations.
I set the Format to 720p (native for the Sharp) and punched in 15.1 for KPBS digital HD. Sweet, nice image
sharp, no noise or artifacts of any kind.

At this time I had read about 50 pages on this (invaluable) thread and printed notes on acessing the
various menus Menu>Screen>9012 etc. So what is factory refurbished ?: Software Main
Main 1.2.13 ... BootRom V2.1 ... Failsafe V 3.3 ... Gemstar 8.1.42 ... Release version 1.2.13
S/W ver factory default 1.2.13 ... HDD ID WD-WCAL75267349 (from the 1234 menu) HDD temp 91 Wow: factory refurbished is good.

Recorded some Olympics from KNSD (NBC) digital HD using the default time (01-01-2001 I think) and watched
in chasing play .. marvelous image. By now it is 11PM so tuned to PBS analog cable Ch 11 and checked VBI,
packets galore VBI test passed. Turned unit off and retired. As luck? would have it woke at 3 AM checked
Sony and saw clock right on .. back to bed.
Checked TVG at 10 AM and found partial listings of OTA digital OTA analog Cable analog and cable digital..
there are so many hannels including unencrypted cable channels. Major local broadcast stations NBC ABC CBS
PBS FOX WB list 4 times Air/cable analog/digital.
Olympics sound is Dolby 5.1 and the optical out to the Sony AV receiver shows L/C/R/RR/LR and LFE so it is all there as advertised.

At this writing the TVG is filled, there have been no hitches an the HD is filed to 55% with Olympics. Am I
lucky, I suppose so, but smart enough to read so many posts here (up to page 74 now and 30 to go) and also
experienced, the Sharp and the Sony HX900 DVR both have TVG and I was well up on the learning curve. BTW
the TVG version on the 250 is more sophisticated.

Many more things to try. I have 2 JVC component switches and can route the 250 to the HX900 and the Panny 53 inch RPTV as well as the sharp. The HX900 likewise can be routed to either TV. I also have the LG LST4200A HDTV tuner which has been feeding the Panny. and the Panny S97 upconverting DVD. So now I need a HDMI switch to use HDMI from the LG, the S97 and the 250 to the Sharp single HDMI input. Anyone here have used the Octava switch or the MonoPrice switch (read the review on the latter); Geffen is too costly.

Forgive the long post, too excited I guess but I did want to tell the folks that the HDTV DVR can work right out of the box with care and feeding and I hope my experience will hearten those who have problems, moreover don't be afraid of open box from a reliable vendor

At this time I had read about 50 pages on this (invaluable) thread and printed notes on acessing the
various menus Menu>Screen>9012 etc. So what is factory refurbished ?: Software Main
Main 1.2.13 ... BootRom V2.1 ... Failsafe V 3.3 ... Gemstar 8.1.42 ... Release version 1.2.13
S/W ver factory default 1.2.13 ... HDD ID WD-WCAL75267349 (from the 1234 menu) HDD temp 91 Wow: factory refurbished is good.





Nice - factory refurb is very good in this case - you get the latest firmware without the hassle of sending it in to Sony.

Hey guys, I just saw Tweeter.com has the hdd500 listed at $249 with free shipping... But says it's on back order... I'm gonna order one.

Assuming that this is the analog PBS channel (between 2 an 99), go to the diagnostics screen and see what the Mode/Rate near the upper left says. If it says analog and your VBI test on this channel failed, Charter is NOT passing the guide data.

If the Mode/Rate is QAM, then your card is provisioned as digital and you will have to get Charter to add a duplicate analog PBS. Or tell them to switch you back to analog for now.

None of this explains why you can't get gudie data OTA. Do you know for sure which local station is is the host? It can be PBS, CBS, ABC, or FOX. It depends on your area.

CBS channel (9) says analog and passes the VBI test....without the card. With card installed, changes to QAM. So that explains it, the card is provisioned digital.

Thanks again for all the help Phil, much appreciated.

Bjorn

Hi,

Is there a FAQ for this thread?

Many thanks for your help,

Jane


http://pvr.hidyman.com/

Hoopnoop,

All you have to do is go to menu, preferences, channel +/- list, edit channel list, auto scan, scan cable.

By the way, scanning cable takes a LOT longer than OTA so don't do it until you have half an hour that you don't want to watch something.

Let us know what is in the clear on your cable system. My cable system (Insight) has all the local digital cables in the clear and the entire Music Choice package (45 channels) and about 10 promo channels and FIT (Health) TV.

Thanks Bill!

I did the scan and get the locals and about a dozen music choice channels. Strange that I also get some channels that appear to be HBO on demand. It seems that when I do a scan it sometimes picks up various programs that are playing on demand. Problem is that the programs end and the channel goes blank at the end. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see what happens.

BTW, at this point, I only get high speed internet through my cable provider yet I get the QAM channels. I thought you had to subscribe to basic cable to get them?

Thanks Bill!

BTW, at this point, I only get high speed internet through my cable provider yet I get the QAM channels. I thought you had to subscribe to basic cable to get them?

You are welcome!

Some cable companies put filters on their high speed internet customers lines so that they only can get internet service, but, as you have found out, some don't.

As for the HBO VOD channels you will find that they come and go. As you also found out the number of unencrypted channels sometimes vary quite a bit from scan to scan. Another thing that you should be aware of is that cable companies (at least mine) moves the local channels around quite a bit. Customers that have the cable company's STB don't notice it because when they move channels they send a new channel map to the box but us customers that have a STB without a cable card have to do a re-scan (and re-map the channels in our TVGOS).

Hey guys, I just saw Tweeter.com has the hdd500 listed at $249 with free shipping... But says it's on back order... I'm gonna order one.

Yes, I saw that. Here is the link for those that may be interested:

http://www.tweeter.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2017121&cp=&keywords=sony+hdtv&y=0&searchId=5534019799&x=0&parentPage=search

The still have the 250 GB model on their web site and the price is $599 so that makes the sale price on the 500 GB model a really good deal. Get them while you can!

Yes, I saw that. Here is the link for those that may be interested:

The still have the 250 GB model on their web site and the price is $599 so that makes the sale price on the 500 GB model a really good deal. Get them while you can!
I ordered two last night. I got an email for the first order saying the product is back ordered. The second order is shown as "being processed" on the web site. No email yet.

Uh... what green button? The one on my Panasonic E85's remote? :)



First it takes a few seconds for the % bar to show up, then another few seconds for the quality description to change from "Below Normal" to whatever it really should be. And when you move the antenna, it takes a similar amount of time for the display to reflect the change.

They probably did this to average out the random fluctuations that would confuse some people, but it also makes the meter awkward to use for antenna adjustments. I keep my Radio Shack HD tuner in my system mainly for its signal strength meter, which is quicker to get to (just a single button press on the remote) and more responsive.

Got it this time. Thanks a lot! Somehow I thought the first item under the systems menu is a top level menu not to be selected. I am still getting use to the HDD500 software.

You are right about the slower response. Everytime I think I got it right, I step down the chair, then the signal dropped down to below normal. I am going to wait until my amplifier comes in before I work more on the antenna position. It is very frustrating. I think the Radio Shack tuner is better with signals. Not only the indicator is better, but I had no problem getting all the channels with the same antenna position. Now I have to adjust the antenna all the time between CBS and NBC.

Bite me....I've helped quite a few people in this thread. I've posted nothing but the truth about MY experience with three defective DHG units. But, I've also posted helps for folks here to learn from my experiences both good and bad.

Oh, and the reason I keep coming back is because I love reading hilarious comments from folks such as yourself....


Get a life!

As I posted 2 days ago I brought one 500 from SA on the 21st of Jan and a second one from SA when they lowered the price to $249. Both were supposed to be new. An interesting sidelight: Both machines had 1/21/05 build dates. The first one was serial # 8102028 with 1.2.06 firmware. The second had serial number of 8101547 so it was apparently built sightly earlier than the 1st one, but the firmware was 1.2.13 which makes me think it had been refurbished by Sony. There weren't any remote batteries included and the sticker on the front of the machine was not present (which reenforced my thought that it was not new).


I'm not complaining because I'm happy to have the later firmware. My point is that there may be an advantage to a open box or refurbished machine(even though mine was supposed to be new) - at least if it's been sent back to Sony before resale.

If it was presented as a new item, then it wasn't Sony who did so. They have strict rules on such things - as soon as something is returned to THEM, no matter the reason, it is looked over and then sold as refurbished. It's possible that Sony has sold a whole pile of these returns off cheap in a mass lot to a distributor or something, or that the chain decided to service them themselves (it's not just Sony that has the firmware update).

The still have the 250 GB model on their web site and the price is $599 so that makes the sale price on the 500 GB model a really good deal. Get them while you can!

I just looked at that entire page -- that IS weird! I also went to Best Buy today and returned the HDD250 I bought three weeks ago. I told them the reason I was returning it, but (as expected) they didn't make me any kind of offer to keep it. Incredibly, they had the HDD500 on display for the amazing low price of just $999. :eek:

Looks like I was given the wrong remote (open box), so I'll just buy one @ 1-800-REMOTES for 50$, bringing the total to 300$ - still unbelievable. I did the channel scan, but it can't see any of the channels. Since I don't have a remote, how do I select the digital channels? I can't seem to press the up/down button to find them. I expected them to be 8.1 and 10.1 (since I have analog 8 (CBS) and 10 (ABC).

Got it all figurd out. For some reason I couldn't get antenna channels without doing the channel scan first, and I had the antenna plugged into the cable input and was getting analog 8 and 10 from there (hence I couldn't find 8.1 and 10.1). Plugging the antenna into the proper input helps :D . An antenna scan after that revealed the proper channel lineup, now to get my guide filled in...

The Sony with CC will work fine with ADS (and so will the Comcast 6412 and 3412). But remember that Comcast will have to insert a duplicate analog PBS channel in your lineup so you can get guide data. I was on ADS with my CableCARD for a couple of days and had to go back to analog because I had no guide data. AFAIK, they have not done the analog channel insertion in downtown Chicago yet. Maybe they have in your area.


I have comcast in annapolis md and we are ADS. I called comcast this am and asked about inserting duplicate analog pbs and they were CLUELESS about what i was talking about.

Now, if I set up the sony with CC and change settings to cable and antenna and I have a local analog PBS that passes VBI test - shouldn't i get guide data? I set it up this am and immediately got the correct time however i still don't see a host channel. Thanks

Has any one got a shipping confirmation yet? I got an email today saying my first order is cancelled. I went to the web site. It says "Cancelled on 02 / 19 / 06 due to missing or invalid payment information". I called the 800 number and waited for long time to talk to someone. I was told the order is cancelled by mistake. So the sales rep took my information again and replaced the order. I was told that they are out of stock now but they will get more in 1-2 weeks.

Since they do not charge cc until order is shipped, this makes me think that maybe they were ready to ship my order. But I am positive that there is nothing wrong with my credit card. I will wait and see what will happen to my second order.

I just hope they will ship eventually.

Has any one got a shipping confirmation yet?

Nothing for me, but I'm not expecting anything since it is the weekend, and when I placed the order, the website told me it was "backordered," but expected to ship within 1-2 weeks.

I just checked my credit card, and the available credit has been reduced by the precise amount of this transaction -- however, I am sure that is just the result of some automated authorization process. Still, if I end up getting one of these for this price, I will be pretty stoked!

I've been following this thread pretty closely and your post was the first that I've seen indicating that the 1.2.13 firmware only addresses DVI compatibility problems. I just did a search and couldn't find anything. If you don't mind, please let me know which post discussed it since I am interested in what the 1.2.13 firmware does because I just sent my unit to Sony for service. This post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7143772&post7143772) indicates that 1.2.13 solved a cable card issue, but not the tvguide stuff - not sure if that includes missed recordings or not. Whatever the case, it looks like 1.2.13 addresses cable card issues in addition to DVI compatibility.

Besides your post mentioning the DVI compatibility problem, the only other post that I could find where a unit had the missing recordings problem with the 1.2.13 firmware was today from user bommai. I'm trying to confirm if he has 1.2.13 or 1.2.09 (which he mentioned having earlier). If he does have 1.2.13, that means that he sent his unit in for service and will provide confirmation that it doesn't fix the problem.

Did you actually talk to a Sony engineer yourself regarding the 1.2.13 firmware only addressing DVI compatibility, or is that information from a post that I missed?


FWIW, I have the 1.2.13 firmware and i am still getting the 161 cable card coma syndrome. I do not believe that this firmware was the fix for the cable card issue either. I can only assume that there is another "fix" that the Sony repair dept does to solve this problem. As for dropped recordings, I have noticed that sometimes when I have a recording set as weekly or regular, after a week or so, if I look into the scheduled recordings section, I see the show name but with ??? instead of the time and date for the next recording. This never corrects itself and the scheduled recording needs to be deleted and readded in order to work.

I have comcast in annapolis md and we are ADS. I called comcast this am and asked about inserting duplicate analog pbs and they were CLUELESS about what i was talking about.

Now, if I set up the sony with CC and change settings to cable and antenna and I have a local analog PBS that passes VBI test - shouldn't i get guide data? I set it up this am and immediately got the correct time however i still don't see a host channel. Thanks

If you mean you want host data from your analog OTA PBS, did you wait at least 24 hours? Can you get a decent OTA signal on that channel?

As far as Comcast, take my word for it that the upper levels are very much aware of the procedures concerning TVGOS. It's just a matter of getting past the CSR's and reaching a tech supervisor.

See my posts #3675 and #3685 on the previous page.

T3 is listed as HD, are you finding with an HD movie search the movies are actually broadcast in High Def?

Thanks Bill!

I did the scan and get the locals and about a dozen music choice channels. Strange that I also get some channels that appear to be HBO on demand. It seems that when I do a scan it sometimes picks up various programs that are playing on demand. Problem is that the programs end and the channel goes blank at the end. I'll have to keep an eye on it and see what happens.

When someone in your neighborhood orders something On Demand you will pick it if the channel assignment used happens to be scanned in but the channel assignments fluctuate continuously. It seems many cable companies do not encrypt these. When the channel goes blank it means the person who ordered it stopped playback. You will also see it Pause, FF or REW on your set if they do so.

FWIW, I have the 1.2.13 firmware and i am still getting the 161 cable card coma syndrome. I do not believe that this firmware was the fix for the cable card issue either. I can only assume that there is another "fix" that the Sony repair dept does to solve this problem. As for dropped recordings, I have noticed that sometimes when I have a recording set as weekly or regular, after a week or so, if I look into the scheduled recordings section, I see the show name but with ??? instead of the time and date for the next recording. This never corrects itself and the scheduled recording needs to be deleted and readded in order to work.

There is a hardware fix for the 161-6 problem. However, although the Service Center seems to routinely upgrade the firmware, they don't do the hardware mod unless a CableCard problem is specifically mentioned.

FWIW, I have the 1.2.13 firmware and i am still getting the 161 cable card coma syndrome. I do not believe that this firmware was the fix for the cable card issue either. I can only assume that there is another "fix" that the Sony repair dept does to solve this problem. As for dropped recordings, I have noticed that sometimes when I have a recording set as weekly or regular, after a week or so, if I look into the scheduled recordings section, I see the show name but with ??? instead of the time and date for the next recording. This never corrects itself and the scheduled recording needs to be deleted and readded in order to work.
What show are you trying to record? I noticed that too tonight for Desperate Housewifes tonight for next week, however, I scrolled over to next Sunday and its not on, so that maybe why you're getting the ??? in the schedules recording list. See if your show is on that day and time.

Is anyone connecting this unit to their TV using DVI, and if so, are you having any problems with it as some have listed here about the firmware upgrade?

One other question I had, does anyone receive listings for their local PBS-HD channel (not the PBS-SD channel)?

Thank you.

Assuming that this is the analog PBS channel (between 2 an 99), go to the diagnostics screen and see what the Mode/Rate near the upper left says. If it says analog and your VBI test on this channel failed, Charter is NOT passing the guide data.

If the Mode/Rate is QAM, then your card is provisioned as digital and you will have to get Charter to add a duplicate analog PBS. Or tell them to switch you back to analog for now.

None of this explains why you can't get gudie data OTA. Do you know for sure which local station is is the host? It can be PBS, CBS, ABC, or FOX. It depends on your area.

Without the Cablecard everything updated and I now have the TVGOS again. The clock wouldn't even update with the Cablecard in when I did the factory reset. I now have a Host channel...6, which is my local FOX. I also acquire that analog channel OTA with an antenna. So why didn't the HDD500 acquire the data from that with the Cablecard installed? Should I insert the Cablecard now and check?

What show are you trying to record? I noticed that too tonight for Desperate Housewifes tonight for next week, however, I scrolled over to next Sunday and its not on, so that maybe why you're getting the ??? in the schedules recording list. See if your show is on that day and time.

Is anyone connecting this unit to their TV using DVI, and if so, are you having any problems with it as some have listed here about the firmware upgrade?

One other question I had, does anyone receive listings for their local PBS-HD channel (not the PBS-SD channel)?

Thank you.I receive listings for my PBS - HD and SD channels (Chicago area), but not for the recently added "Create" subchannel as of yet.

I receive listings for my PBS - HD and SD channels (Chicago area), but not for the recently added "Create" subchannel as of yet.

I get listings for PBS-HD in Los Angeles. The "Create" subchannel doesn't have anything on it (as of 2 days ago) in LA. I doubt that TVGOS will have anything on it for quite a while based on the fact that their kistungs seem to never be complete.

Anybody ever have problems with incorrect recording names? I recorded the olympics the other day, and it listed it as 'Hot Erotic Cabo Nights' or some such LOL.

CCourtney

When someone in your neighborhood orders something On Demand you will pick it if the channel assignment used happens to be scanned in but the channel assignments fluctuate continuously. It seems many cable companies do not encrypt these. When the channel goes blank it means the person who ordered it stopped playback. You will also see it Pause, FF or REW on your set if they do so.

Makes sense. The interesting thing is that the actual channel assignments are always the same but I only pick up new programs on these channels after a new scan (actually got an Adult movie last night). I also have some ability to pause, rewind and fast forward. I think I will keep experimenting with these scans and see what happens.

does anyone receive listings for their local PBS-HD channel

I get listings for WGBH-HD here in the Boston area. (As well as the Create, Kids, and World channels.)

Anybody ever have problems with incorrect recording names? I recorded the olympics the other day, and it listed it as 'Hot Erotic Cabo Nights' or some such LOL.

CCourtney

That can be caused by several things (likely number three applies in your case). One, the listing was wrong. Two, the station did a last minute change in their program. Three, the station send the wrong name for the program (in the PSAP data). Four, the channel is mapped incorrectly. There is a local PBS station in my area and TVGOS does not carry the listing for their HD feed. TVG does carry the listings for their sister station HD feed so I mapped the TVG listing for that station to my local station's number. That way I can record from the guide and most of my listings are correct but sometimes the other station has different programing so that when I play back the program it will be different than what I thought I was recording.

One other question I had, does anyone receive listings for their local PBS-HD channel (not the PBS-SD channel)?

Thank you.

Yes and no. Albuquerque market has two PBS channels - KNME (5.1 & 5.2) and KNMD (9.1, 9.2 & 9.3). I get no listings at all for the 9.x channels. KNME 5.1 is HD, 5.2 is SD. The TVGOS lists 5 and 5.2, and displays correct program info for both. 5.1 is the HD of 5 analog. I configured guide to tune to 5.1 for 5 & now it displays PBS HD, and even lists everything correctly.

That Tweeter page is now GONE!!!

I was in it and then they pulled it before I could order one, :( :eek: .

"This product is temporarily out of stock."
"Try a new search:"

Hi all,

After reading most of this long thread and being aware of the problems many people have had, I decided to go ahead anyway and buy an open-box DHG-HDD250 unit from BB for a good price (though more than the tweeter.com deal). Fortunately, my TV Guide populated overnight.

I'm using over-the-air reception exclusively, as I'm a bit allergic to monthly charges of any kind. Reception with my large rooftop antenna (5 mile line-of-sight to Empire State Building transmitters) is far better than the 4-year-old RCA DTC100 unit I borrowed. This unit had intermittent dropouts on PBS and sometimes other channels. I receive digital feeds for ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB11, PBS and a bunch of others.

The only slight problem was that I lost all guide info when I modified my channel lineup and tried to get correct info for the PBS Kids (WNETK, 13.2) and Thirteen World (WNETSD3?, 13.3) channels. Still, a day later this recovered and I have complete guide info now, with the exception of the 13.3 channel.

So, I'm very happy with this unit and hope it will keep performing like this.

-Geert

That can be caused by several things (likely number three applies in your case). One, the listing was wrong. Two, the station did a last minute change in their program. Three, the station send the wrong name for the program (in the PSAP data). Four, the channel is mapped incorrectly. There is a local PBS station in my area and TVGOS does not carry the listing for their HD feed. TVG does carry the listings for their sister station HD feed so I mapped the TVG listing for that station to my local station's number. That way I can record from the guide and most of my listings are correct but sometimes the other station has different programing so that when I play back the program it will be different than what I thought I was recording.

Well I had looked in the guide and the listing was correct, It was an automated recording as I was recording all Olympics on NBC HD, it did show the correct value when it was recording (I watched almost all of it the night I recorded it.) The channel is mapped correctly. The channel it re-associated the info to was 422 'Cinemax' while the channel being recorded was 312. I had recorded every NBC Olympic broadcast and it was only last Saturday nights recording that had changed the info while watching in the morning.

Does the PSAP get updated while the program is being recorded?

CCourtney

Partition 3 occupies the remainder of the disk. It's an xfs filesystem containing the video files. I tried mounting it on SuSE Linux 9.1 (which supports xfs) and the mount operation segfaults every time. fsck.xfs indicates problems with the filesystem as well. I was also unable to mount the cramfs filesystem using the normal method (i.e. "mount -o loop -t cramfs target.cfs <mountpoint>"). This all seems rather suspicious to me and makes me wonder if perhaps Sony has hacked up encrypted versions of cramfs and xfs. In the case of the cramfs file, this happens to make it hard to inspect the firmware files to ensure Sony has fully complied with the applicable open source licenses.


Has anyone brought the possibility of an encrypted cramfs filesystem to the attention of the GPL license folks ?

Well I had looked in the guide and the listing was correct, It was an automated recording as I was recording all Olympics on NBC HD, it did show the correct value when it was recording (I watched almost all of it the night I recorded it.) The channel is mapped correctly. The channel it re-associated the info to was 422 'Cinemax' while the channel being recorded was 312. I had recorded every NBC Olympic broadcast and it was only last Saturday nights recording that had changed the info while watching in the morning.

Does the PSAP get updated while the program is being recorded?

CCourtney

CCourtney - Do you have a motorola cable card with firmware 4.05 on it ? If so, that is your problem.

If you mean you want host data from your analog OTA PBS, did you wait at least 24 hours? Can you get a decent OTA signal on that channel?

As far as Comcast, take my word for it that the upper levels are very much aware of the procedures concerning TVGOS. It's just a matter of getting past the CSR's and reaching a tech supervisor.

See my posts #3675 and #3685 on the previous page.


All guide data downloaded perfectly overnight - I guess i wasted alot of time not realizing if I had setup originally with Cable and OTA I would have had guide data yesterday. Thanks for post about changing set up - saved me alot of trouble !

CCourtney - Do you have a motorola cable card with firmware 4.05 on it ? If so, that is your problem.

I do have a Motorola CableCARD, and it was a 4.0x firmware version (I forget what the last digit was, I'll confirm tonight.)

This is a known issue? If so are Mots w/ newer firmware corrected or should I request an SA CableCARD?

CCourtney

PS: I do notice that I'm missing a number of HD channels from the guide lineup such as HBOHD's, SHOWHD's, InHDs, but other such as ESPNHD and TNTHD are shown.

Has anyone brought the possibility of an encrypted cramfs filesystem to the attention of the GPL license folks ?

Not yet. A theory someone had earlier in this thread was that the byte order of the cramfs image was swapped. This is not the case- the "magic" at the top of the cramfs image is not merely swapped; it's not even close to being correct. Also, the code posted by Sony indicates that they are using a little-endian MIPS processor, so the cramfs should already have the correct endianness to inspect on a PC. The cramfs is encrypted and signed, apparently using GNU Privacy Guard (mentioned in the manual). This will make it quite difficult for an end user to examine or modify. One might have better luck finding a backdoor into the running system (hardware debug port, USB network interface, etc.).

That Tweeter page is now GONE!!!

I was in it and then they pulled it before I could order one, :( :eek: .

"This product is temporarily out of stock."
"Try a new search:"
Onecall no longer shows the 250 but the 500 is still there. Open Box unit at about 55 % of the original MSRP. Search for HDG HDD500 or HDTV recorders.
The open box 250 I received from them was factory refurbished and has all the latest firmware and software. Have had zero problems. Your mileage may vary

Hi, just registered to be able to post here. I have followed this forum for awhile now and have gotten great info. here. I have had an HDD250 since 9/05, and it works flawlessly on a Motorola cable card from my local CC. I don't have OTA and don't need it since the CC rebroadcasts all the local channels, including their HD programs. The software in the HDD250 is version 1.2.05. I have a great relationship with the CC's engineer, and talked to him today about whether they have plans to broadcast the TVGOS on a digital channel. I had thought I was getting TVG via analog ch. 11. He assured me I was getting it via a 75.25 MHZ frequency they imbed in their broadcast, and that they would always provide it that way. He said it comes thru the cable card. If you go to the cablecard menu you can see this frequency as the "out of band channel". I figured this forum would be able to comment on this since I have not seen anything about it in here yet. Does this mean the HDD250 will be able to work when the analog channels go away? According to the CC engineer, it will work just as it does now.

I spoke to a Comcast engineer today. This information applies to Comcast Motorola cards in the Chicago area.

1) He is aware of the "recording not permitted" issue.
2) The appropriate department is aware of Moto card firmware v. 4.21. It is being tested internally in this area.
3) His GUESS is that 4.21 would be rolled out in about a month.
4) He is not personally aware of what issues 4.21 addresses, but "dozens" has posted here that it has solved his "not permitted" problem. (I think he's on the east coast.) Therefore I have to assume it will PROBABLY solve the problem in Chicagoland.
5) I asked how the FW would be installed. ("dozens" had to get a new card.) He THINKS they can now update the cards remotely.
6) I reminded him that a simple re-provisioning of my card previously required that I remove and replace it before the change became effective. He is sure that re-provisioning can now be handled remotely without the need to reseat the card. (But this is different than a FW update.)

As with all things cable --- no guarantees. But at least we know Comcast is aware of certain issues and is working to solve them.

Hi, just registered to be able to post here. I have followed this forum for awhile now and have gotten great info. here. I have had an HDD250 since 9/05, and it works flawlessly on a Motorola cable card from my local CC. I don't have OTA and don't need it since the CC rebroadcasts all the local channels, including their HD programs. The software in the HDD250 is version 1.2.05. I have a great relationship with the CC's engineer, and talked to him today about whether they have plans to broadcast the TVGOS on a digital channel. I had thought I was getting TVG via analog ch. 11. He assured me I was getting it via a 75.25 MHZ frequency they imbed in their broadcast, and that they would always provide it that way. He said it comes thru the cable card. If you go to the cablecard menu you can see this frequency as the "out of band channel". I figured this forum would be able to comment on this since I have not seen anything about it in here yet. Does this mean the HDD250 will be able to work when the analog channels go away? According to the CC engineer, it will work just as it does now.

The OOB signal carries the guide data, but it is attached to a particular channel. The cableco just rebroadcasts what they get from the host station. The problem with going all digital is that current cableco equipment cannot relay the data. But They are aware of the issues and new equipment has just begun to get rolled out to handle the digital future. I don't think any of it is actually on line yet. Comcast et al have agreements in place to work with Gemstar/TVGOS that assure things will work through the analog/digital transition.

Whether early DVR's like the LG will work with a digitally sent guide, I don't know. We are all hoping that the Sony is future-ready.

I don't claim to know what a cable engineer knows, but this is how it's been explained to me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Hi, just registered to be able to post here. I have followed this forum for awhile now and have gotten great info. here. I have had an HDD250 since 9/05, and it works flawlessly on a Motorola cable card from my local CC. I don't have OTA and don't need it since the CC rebroadcasts all the local channels, including their HD programs. The software in the HDD250 is version 1.2.05. I have a great relationship with the CC's engineer, and talked to him today about whether they have plans to broadcast the TVGOS on a digital channel. I had thought I was getting TVG via analog ch. 11. He assured me I was getting it via a 75.25 MHZ frequency they imbed in their broadcast, and that they would always provide it that way. He said it comes thru the cable card. If you go to the cablecard menu you can see this frequency as the "out of band channel". I figured this forum would be able to comment on this since I have not seen anything about it in here yet. Does this mean the HDD250 will be able to work when the analog channels go away? According to the CC engineer, it will work just as it does now.

No offense, but I think your engineer might not understand your question about TVGOS.

I think that the guide info that he is talking about is the PSIP data, not the TVGOS system data.

Have you looked at the 753159852 menu on your HDD250? I would be interested to know what your host channel is being reported as...

If you don't know how, do the following:

go to the guide
go the the top menu bar
choose the setup item
arrow down to the Change System Settings choice, but DON'T push select
enter 753159852 on the keypad (a special menu will come up - if it doesn't, Exit, and retry)
arrow once to the right
your host channel will be shown on this page

It will say "1:0-11" if it is analog channel 11.

I've been following this thread pretty closely and your post was the first that I've seen indicating that the 1.2.13 firmware only addresses DVI compatibility problems. I just did a search and couldn't find anything. If you don't mind, please let me know which post discussed it since I am interested in what the 1.2.13 firmware does because I just sent my unit to Sony for service. This post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7143772&post7143772) indicates that 1.2.13 solved a cable card issue, but not the tvguide stuff - not sure if that includes missed recordings or not. Whatever the case, it looks like 1.2.13 addresses cable card issues in addition to DVI compatibility.

Besides your post mentioning the DVI compatibility problem, the only other post that I could find where a unit had the missing recordings problem with the 1.2.13 firmware was today from user bommai. I'm trying to confirm if he has 1.2.13 or 1.2.09 (which he mentioned having earlier). If he does have 1.2.13, that means that he sent his unit in for service and will provide confirmation that it doesn't fix the problem.

Did you actually talk to a Sony engineer yourself regarding the 1.2.13 firmware only addressing DVI compatibility, or is that information from a post that I missed?


There are many posts on the 1.2.13 firmware, and all but mine indicate that it is believed to be a fix for missed recordings. As I said before, its only purpose is to fix DVI problems, according to the Sony engineer I spoke with. A subsequent post supported that situation. I didn’t discuss the cable card issue with him but according to many posts on this thread, it requires a hardware fix, and only done if requested by the customer.

I'm having severe synchronization issues with audio being ahead by more than a second from the video. Has anyone else experienced this? The manual mentions switching channels, but that won't take care of recorded material of course. Is this common with DTV in general, or particular to this model? Any suggestions for fixes/workarounds?

Thanks in advance!

I spoke to a Comcast engineer today. This information applies to Comcast Motorola cards in the Chicago area.

1) He is aware of the "recording not permitted" issue.
2) The appropriate department is aware of Moto card firmware v. 4.21. It is being tested internally in this area.
3) His GUESS is that 4.21 would be rolled out in about a month.
4) He is not personally aware of what issues 4.21 addresses, but "dozens" has posted here that it has solved his "not permitted" problem. (I think he's on the east coast.) Therefore I have to assume it will PROBABLY solve the problem in Chicagoland.
5) I asked how the FW would be installed. ("dozens" had to get a new card.) He THINKS they can now update the cards remotely.
6) I reminded him that a simple re-provisioning of my card previously required that I remove and replace it before the change became effective. He is sure that re-provisioning can now be handled remotely without the need to reseat the card. (But this is different than a FW update.)

As with all things cable --- no guarantees. But at least we know Comcast is aware of certain issues and is working to solve them.

Please explain the intended meaning of "reseat the card." Does this mean unplug the unit, pop the card out, put it back in, plug the DVR unit back in? Or does it mean to pop the card while the DVR is "off" (standby). The reason I ask is that I'm not sure what difference there would be between simply rebooting the DVR with the card in the whole time, versus going through the "reseat" proceedure, unless the DVR was on (or in standby) at the time. How does the card know it has been reseated, is what I'm getting at.

Meanwhile, my precious DVR arrived in Laredo Texas today for its cablecard mod and firmware update. The website says they have about a 10 day turn around; at least they acknowledged receipt of the unit! :D

Marc

No offense, but I think your engineer might not understand your question about TVGOS.

I think that the guide info that he is talking about is the PSIP data, not the TVGOS system data.

Have you looked at the 753159852 menu on your HDD250? I would be interested to know what your host channel is being reported as...

If you don't know how, do the following:

go to the guide
go the the top menu bar
choose the setup item
arrow down to the Change System Settings choice, but DON'T push select
enter 753159852 on the keypad (a special menu will come up - if it doesn't, Exit, and retry)
arrow once to the right
your host channel will be shown on this page

It will say "1:0-11" if it is analog channel 11.
Maybe he did, but I quizzed him several times about it, and he insists I get the TVGOS via the 75.2 MHZ thing. This same engineer has a Panasonic DVD recorder I think it is with the same type TVGOS and I asked him if the same was true of his TVGOS to which he said yes. I also asked him if he wasn't talking about the CC's own TVG system. He insists mine is coming from the out of band channel. I can see the TVGOS on Ch. 11 so that is why I thought it was there. Ok, I did what you asked, and it shows the following:
Host CH 1:0-6
Host ID 0x6E
Host Status 0xA0

If Ch. 6 is where I get my TVGOS, then that would be news to me.

No offense, but I think your engineer might not understand your question about TVGOS.

I think that the guide info that he is talking about is the PSIP data, not the TVGOS system data.

Have you looked at the 753159852 menu on your HDD250? I would be interested to know what your host channel is being reported as...

If you don't know how, do the following:

go to the guide
go the the top menu bar
choose the setup item
arrow down to the Change System Settings choice, but DON'T push select
enter 753159852 on the keypad (a special menu will come up - if it doesn't, Exit, and retry)
arrow once to the right
your host channel will be shown on this page

It will say "1:0-11" if it is analog channel 11.

Spiff72, do you know who the gemstar/tvgos provider is in grand rapids? TIA

I'm having severe synchronization issues with audio being ahead by more than a second from the video. Has anyone else experienced this? The manual mentions switching channels, but that won't take care of recorded material of course. Is this common with DTV in general, or particular to this model? Any suggestions for fixes/workarounds?

Thanks in advance!

I get this problem with my Samsung ATSC tuner also. I think it's the broadcast stations.

Tweeters apparantly pulled their ad on their website. I would guess that by the time the web site got updated the stores depleted their stock. That might be the last of em! Except for ebay.

Also, I have not been able to rearrange my channel list for sometime now. Has anyone else encountered this problem? I hate the thought of resetting the entire list as that takes atleast overnight.

HDAddiction

The OOB signal carries the guide data, but it is attached to a particular channel. The cableco just rebroadcasts what they get from the host station. The problem with going all digital is that current cableco equipment cannot relay the data. But They are aware of the issues and new equipment has just begun to get rolled out to handle the digital future. I don't think any of it is actually on line yet. Comcast et al have agreements in place to work with Gemstar/TVGOS that assure things will work through the analog/digital transition.

Whether early DVR's like the LG will work with a digitally sent guide, I don't know. We are all hoping that the Sony is future-ready.

I don't claim to know what a cable engineer knows, but this is how it's been explained to me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)
I think he said this OOB channel is received by the QAM tuner, which the HDD250 can receive. He insisted it had nothing to do with an analog channel, and also insisted it is not broadcast on one. Is it possible it is being broadcast and received directly via QAM? I will quiz him again if I know what to ask.

Spiff72, do you know who the gemstar/tvgos provider is in grand rapids? TIA

PBS - either OTA channel 35, or via cable channel 12 on charter cable along the lakeshore (allendale digital lineup).

I have not been able to rearrange my channel list for sometime now. Has anyone else encountered this problem? I hate the thought of resetting the entire list as that takes at least overnight.

HDAddiction

I had that problem a couple of week ago and asked the same question here but no one had an answer. I called Sony and they suggested a re-set. Like you, I didn't want to do that (thought I might have to set up the whole list again plus wait for a download). Instead, I unpluged the DVR for about 60 seconds. I plugged it back in and the time re-set quickly (within a few minutes) and when I turned it back on the full guide was still there and I could now re-arrange my channels. It has been fine every since then.

I think he said this OOB channel is received by the QAM tuner, which the HDD250 can receive. He insisted it had nothing to do with an analog channel, and also insisted it is not broadcast on one. Is it possible it is being broadcast and received directly via QAM? I will quiz him again if I know what to ask.

I don't think so...

The OOB channel is a data channel that is used for specific channel guide data as PhillyC said. It is also used for other purposes (card authorizations, encryption, etc). I admit that I am probably talking out my a$$, since I am by no means a cable guy...just educated speculation here!

Also, what channel is channel 6 in your area?

No offense, but I think your engineer might not understand your question about TVGOS.

I think that the guide info that he is talking about is the PSIP data, not the TVGOS system data.


Spiff72 is right. I was talking to a person from TVGOS last week (about a problem with my Philips SD DVR, not my Sony) and I asked her about the end of analog broadcasting and the TVGOS system. She said that the new system is still being tested and they are just starting to deploy the system to digital broadcast stations so that they can do field testing. She said that our Sony's WILL require a software update (likely for the Sony OS and for the TVG OS). I asked about the TVG OS updates via the data stream and she said, yes, they can do that, but they can only do point version updates via the data stream (for example 8.06 to 8.09). She did not know for sure but she thought that the Sony DVRs would need a whole new version (like 9.0 or whatever the new version is). When asked how Sony would handle that she did not know. I asked a Sony support person the same question and he didn't know either.

I sure hope that they find some way to field update our DVRs using a USB micro drive with either downloaded software or the drive perloaded fro Sony. A 256MB unit sells for about $25 and I think most Sony owners would be glad to pay that to be able to keep using their TV Guides after analog channels are gone.

A few days ago, I hooked up my Tweeter HDD500 and thought I would share my observations. I also have a HDD250, which is stacked below it.

The HDD500 was manufactured in June 05 versus May 05 for the HDD250, which got in June. The display on the face of the 500 is substantially brighter, and program information is displayed momentarily on the TV screen when the channel is changed. That information doesn’t appear on the 250 unless I press the info button. It took about 12 hours for the time to appear. It picked guide data from OTA Channel 28 instead of Cable channel 3 (channel 28 on cable). The 250 picked channel 3 until a few weeks ago when I switched to OTA 28. I don’t understand why that occurred since both channel 3 and 28 pass the TV guide test.
Last night I recorded Desperate Housewives and Gray’s Anatomy. Afterwards I checked Hard Drive capacity in the system menu and both had the same available space, so each drive recorded a show. Drive temps were 102 and 109 so only one drive is spinning.

I have only one concern about the 500: I couldn’t get it to receive PBS channel 58 HD sub-channels (58.1, 58.2, 58.3 …) – I went thru antenna scan at least three times but I get no signal on these channels. The 250 not only receives them, but indicates a strong signal. I seem to recall others posting a similar problem. Not interested in viewing these stations but I wonder if this is indicative of a tuner problem.

I don't think so...

The OOB channel is a data channel that is used for specific channel guide data as PhillyC said. It is also used for other purposes (card authorizations, encryption, etc). I admit that I am probably talking out my a$$, since I am by no means a cable guy...just educated speculation here!

Also, what channel is channel 6 in your area?
I don't know the answer either. Ch. 6 here is a PBS channel. It is turned on in my guide, but I don't watch it. You can actually see the TV guide that is broadcast on Ch. 11 so that is why I thought mine came from there. If you can tell me what to ask, I'll talk to the CC engineer again.

PS: I ordered an HDD500 from Tweeter before they shut off the offering, but it is backordered. Anyone know if they will be able to supply those who are backordered?

I sure hope that they find some way to field update our DVRs using a USB micro drive with either downloaded software or the drive perloaded fro Sony. A 256MB unit sells for about $25 and I think most Sony owners would be glad to pay that to be able to keep using their TV Guides after analog channels are gone.

They could set it up like Mitsubishi does their TV firmware updates.

They send a CF card with a prepaid return shipping envelope. You do the update yourself and then just drop the shipping envelope at a UPS location. Totally free to the customer.
There is no reason they couldn't do that with a thumbdrive.

Just make the user agree to pay for the thumbdrive if the don't return it...

Hi,

I have my HDD500 in my bedroom. It makes noises at night even when the unit is turned off. It is not really loud, but noticeable. It is like having a laptop running in the room.

Is it normal?

Thanks,

Jane

I have only one concern about the 500: I couldn’t get it to receive PBS channel 58 HD sub-channels (58.1, 58.2, 58.3 …) – I went thru antenna scan at least three times but I get no signal on these channels. The 250 not only receives them, but indicates a strong signal. I seem to recall others posting a similar problem. Not interested in viewing these stations but I wonder if this is indicative of a tuner problem.

It could be that the station was not transmitting the correct PSIP information when you did your scan. You can find out if it is a PSIP problem by directly tuning the digital channel number. Go to http://www.antennaweb.org to find out what the true digital channel is (I'm assuming that 58.1 is the mapped channel and the analog channel is 58). After you have that, just key in the real channel number (like 33.1 or whatever it is). If your DVR can tune the station, it is a PSIP problem and you need to alert the station engineer. By the way, once the channel is mapped (during a scan) it is stored and that is why your other unit can see the stations.