I have a Motorola CC with version 4.05 and I have never had any trouble recording anything, including all premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, Starz, etc.) Mine is configured wide open with no copyright protection.

At the risk of becoming overly repetitious, let me say again that it would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL if posters in this forum included their location in their profile. The name of your cable company and equipment manufacturer (Motorola, SA, etc.) would also be a good thing to include in your post. Most of the problems with the Sony DVR originate with TVGOS, your local TV stations, your cableco, and added equipment like CableCARDs.

Many of us here are willing to help newcomers with the Sony DVR. Furnishing the above information will streamline the process, save time, and make this thread a lot easier to read.

Now, wiredkw --- I am in Chicago; I believe "dozens" is in the Boston area. We both have the exact same problem with Comcast premium channel recordings and Moto card FW 4.05. I can tell you that Chicago has absolutely no flags set to hinder recordings. CCI is 0x00 for all programs including those that won't record. Where are you located and what is your cableco?

Missed recording again!! I verified on Tuesday night that I had Criminal Minds and CSI-NY in the recording schedule for wednesday (3/1/06). I checked at 9:20 PM CST and the DHG-HDD250 was not recording CSI-NY. I turned on and checked if Criminal Minds was recorded and it was not either. I went to the schedule and neither of them were there (I had set them for regular recording). Poof. Gone.

I am in Kansas City. Is there anybody else here in KC that can schedule similar programs as me to see if their box is behaving the same way. May be we can figure out if this is random or if all things are equal, is it repeatable.


I saw something recently that may be co-incidental, or may be a clue. Take if
for what its worth...
Last week I added a one time recording for a Nova Episode on PBS Ch. 11-2.
At the time I added the entry, the CBS Ch. 7-1 lineup was showing all "unknown"
for Wednesday evening. Hence the schedule entry for "Lost" was "???".
When I later checked the schedule, "Lost" was gone. Hmmm. "Desperate
Housewives" was also "???" because of the Academy Awards occupying that
timeslot. When I added another one time recording to the schedule, "Desperate
Housewives" disappeared.

So, my hypothesis is that adding a scheduled recording while a previous entry
is in the "???" state (whether due to TV Guide glitches or due to a scheduling
change by the network) *may* cause the "???" entry to be removed.

Can anyone provide supporting or contradicting evidence?

Thanks,

Dan (Woj...)

With the help of this forum I have finally got my HDD250 working. Since my cablecard is all digital there were no analog signals(and the cable company wouldn't add one). I hooked up my Silver Sensor for OTA but didn't get the guide data because the PBS station I was "focusing" on didn't have a strong enough signal. I bought a cheap amp, pointed the antenna toward another PBS station and I now have guide data. The HD programs I have recorded look awesome.

The only problem now is what am I going to do with the extra time I have since I don't need to be searching this thread for answers :-)

As indicated these units at least around where I live are becoming scarce. I did see an open box HDD500 for $700 @a BB in Kansas City.

I do wish the units had a way to do remote scheduling........

JHawk

avnstf, thanks!

Is there a way to possibly "mod" it and put in a second hard drive or connect an external unit to it?
as noted, people are trying to figure out how to add a second drive to the 250....(the 500 already has 2 drives)

the unit does not have any capability for an external HD device, such as would be connected by firewire or otherwise (this is true despite the fact that it has a usb connection, which however is not activated)

as you probably inferred from responses, this unit gets is Guide data from some local OTA analog station (typically a local PBS station)....if the station is having fits, the data will not be available. Furthermore, if the unit is active, it will not download the Guide data - this, however, is probably not a big issue with the Sony because it has a setting for automatically turning itself off at some specified time (for which the default time is 1 AM, but you can change that)...my new unit has been set that way, and I have gotten the download successfully every night since I got it last Wednesday.

(I have a different, but comparable unit in many respects, that also uses this data - the LG 3410a - and it does not have an auto off like the Sony, so that some nights I miss the data if I'm not careful that it's off...This unit, by the way, CAN archive HD programs to a digital VHS unit via firewire. It is mostly not available from dealers any more, but has been available on Ebay...I personally think this unit and the Sony complement each other nicely...))

By the way, each night, the host station broadcasts Guide data for 3 days - the upcoming day, the following day, and the day one week later - so that completing the full 8-day Guide schedule takes 6 days when you first set it up.

So, my hypothesis is that adding a scheduled recording while a previous entry
is in the "???" state (whether due to TV Guide glitches or due to a scheduling
change by the network) *may* cause the "???" entry to be removed.

Or...more likely, replaces one of the "???" scheduled recordings. I had a similar thing happen, and IIRC, I had also added a new recording, but not a one time only. So, maybe ANY new recording that is added takes the place of one of the "???" entries.

I know that in the past, I have had programs become "???" and then show the correct date/time when it was on the schedule again.

You may be on to something.

Thanks!

Joe
Gainesville, FL
Cox & OTA
250 and 500

I've looked through this thread, but I can't seem to find the code that others are using to program their oneforall universal remote to operate the Sony DHG-HDD500. Can someone re-post it, or PM me with the info? Thanks.

Here's a question about conflict resolution on this unit:

If you have a repeating recording scheduled (either weekly or regularly), and you ask it to record something that conflicts with this repeating recording, it pops up a warning...

If you tell it to record this new program anyway, is the regularly scheduled recording cancelled on just that one instance, or for ALL instances (actually deleting this regularly scheduled program)? I run into this sometimes when I have a recording scheduled, but it is a re-run for that week, and I want it to record something else in that time slot for just that one week. (TiVo is better at this, since it is capable of ignoring programs that are re-runs...)

This has never been clear to me, and I haven't actually allowed it to cancel a repeating recording. I wonder if these situations might be the cause of the missing recordings.

If you tell it to record this new program anyway, is the regularly scheduled recording cancelled on just that one instance, or for ALL instances (actually deleting this regularly scheduled program)?

Not sure. But I know you can leave a weekly or regular recording in the schedule but turn it OFF (in the edit recording screen). It stays off until you turn it back on the same way. Maybe that will help you do what you want to do.

I've looked through this thread, but I can't seem to find the code that others are using to program their oneforall universal remote to operate the Sony DHG-HDD500. Can someone re-post it, or PM me with the info? Thanks.

Cable Box, Device code 1006
Discrete on EFC code is 046
Discrete off EFC code is 047
Previous channel EFC Code 094

http://www.hifi-remote.com/sony/

Now, wiredkw --- I am in Chicago; I believe "dozens" is in the Boston area. We both have the exact same problem with Comcast premium channel recordings and Moto card FW 4.05. I can tell you that Chicago has absolutely no flags set to hinder recordings. CCI is 0x00 for all programs including those that won't record. Where are you located and what is your cableco?

My MSO is comcast new england. It sounds like my headend is different then yours PhillyC, the OTA HD channels in sent with CCI 0x0 and the premium channels are sent with CCI 0x2. I haven't check the other digital, non-OTA channels. I find it odd that comcast would behave differently based on locale, are you sure the premiums are sent with 0x0 ?

You need to unplug for only 10 seconds. Alternatively, just push the front panel TV Guide and Exit buttons simultaneously.

This can get rid of certain odd glitches, but is different than doing a factory reset or a guide reset in the 9012 menu. I'm still not getting any guide data. It's been a few days now and I'm really getting frustrated. The TVG screen just says the guide is searching for data, and to wait 24 hours. It's still recording my scheduled shows. I'm OTA (Chicago) only, but every night before I hit the hay I've been trying everything - resetting without cable/with cable. Today I'm trying a nearby zipcode. I've tried unplugging for a few minutes, with no results. How exactly do I do these 9012 resets? The thing that really gets me is that my other NTSC DVR is getting data fine, although they seemed to have dropped the 7-2 WLS subchannel from that guide, which has got me pretty P.O.'d. The Sony says the host channel is 11. The other DVR's is 20.

It seems that downloads should work. Make sure 94 is "on" in both the guide and the channel +/- list (just in case). I would try a power reset, if you haven't already done so. Hit the TV Guide and Exit buttons on the front panel simultaneously. (This is the same as unplugging for a few seconds.)

If that doesn't do it, I'd have to suspect a problem at the Comcast headend. The ADS setup may somehow be different with respect to PBS data.

An extreme measure would be to remove and reinsert the CableCARD. I was told by Comcast that this is no longer necessary after a reprovisioning of the card, but I have no way to verify that at this time. I needed to do this several months ago, but I can't remember if the unit was on, in standby, or unplugged during the reseating (probably standby). This is EXTREME because you would have to reorganize all of your guide channels afterward.

I would hope that the simple front panel power reset can solve the problem.

I tried all of the above and still do not have any guide data. I am thinking of restoring the unit to factory defaults to see if it will acquire the guide data. You have the most experience dealing with Comcast on these kind of issues. Do you think it would be a waste of my time calling Comcast before doing the factory default restore?

I'm still not getting any guide data. It's been a few days now and I'm really getting frustrated. The TVG screen just says the guide is searching for data, and to wait 24 hours. It's still recording my scheduled shows. I'm OTA (Chicago) only, but every night before I hit the hay I've been trying everything - resetting without cable/with cable. Today I'm trying a nearby zipcode. I've tried unplugging for a few minutes, with no results. How exactly do I do these 9012 resets? The thing that really gets me is that my other NTSC DVR is getting data fine, although they seemed to have dropped the 7-2 WLS subchannel from that guide, which has got me pretty P.O.'d. The Sony says the host channel is 11. The other DVR's is 20.
I've been seeing complaints about the guide data in Illinois on the LG 3410a thread (including posts by you)...seems like it must be the host station...

aren't you also having current problems with the guide data in an LG 3410a??? seems like it must be either the Chicago host station, or your antenna setup...

Just got off the phone with Comcast and they said it is a known network problem that began last week. They are working on it but do not have a resolution date.

No card yet. Tech rep claimed that they were in the process of testing it.
Did you talk to a supervisor? What is there to test exactly? This unit is already being used in other area's that have Cox cable. :confused:

I plugged a Hawking Technologies HUF11 usb adapter into the usb port of my HDD500. The adapter is a RTL8150 passed adapter. Vendor 0BDA Product 8150

I only got blinking when a cable was plugged in. There were no DHCP requests. I haven't yet connected a sniffer yet.

I have a Bravia LCD with that came with a 4 device remote. One of the options is a DVR. The code in the manual doesn't work. Does anyone know a code to program the remote with the DVR.

I've been seeing complaints about the guide data in Illinois on the LG 3410a thread (including posts by you)...seems like it must be the host station...Well, my zipcode change seems to have worked, because the guide is back fully populated with the same channel ordering I last had it in. Seems like the guide was "hidden" for some reason. Oh well. Hope it keeps up.

I have a Bravia LCD with that came with a 4 device remote. One of the options is a DVR. The code in the manual doesn't work. Does anyone know a code to program the remote with the DVR.

I have a oneforall remote and none of the DVR codes worked. I ended up using a sat/cab code mentioned earlier in this thread and it works like a charm!

I just got my Sony DHG-HDD250 back from the Sony service center in Mt Pleasant, PA today. They shipped it back to me in a box barely larger than the unit itself. The front bezel is cracked, the front display window is glued on below the display and there are bits and pieces rattling around inside.

http://home.comcast.net/~twinbrook46636/sonysucks.jpg

Before I sent this unit in for repair it was in perfect cosmetic and operational condition aside from a problem I was having with my new CableCARD. Now look at it. Naturally this would happen on a Friday so I have to wait until Monday to hear back from them.

One thing of interest for you folks is the iLink icon on the display.

Hey Twinbrook! Did you ever hear back from Sony about your broken unit? Did they agree to replace it?

At the risk of becoming overly repetitious, let me say again that it would be EXTREMELY HELPFUL if posters in this forum included their location in their profile. The name of your cable company and equipment manufacturer (Motorola, SA, etc.) would also be a good thing to include in your post. Most of the problems with the Sony DVR originate with TVGOS, your local TV stations, your cableco, and added equipment like CableCARDs.

Many of us here are willing to help newcomers with the Sony DVR. Furnishing the above information will streamline the process, save time, and make this thread a lot easier to read.

Now, wiredkw --- I am in Chicago; I believe "dozens" is in the Boston area. We both have the exact same problem with Comcast premium channel recordings and Moto card FW 4.05. I can tell you that Chicago has absolutely no flags set to hinder recordings. CCI is 0x00 for all programs including those that won't record. Where are you located and what is your cableco?
I am in Aiken, SC and the local cableco is G Force. They only serve Aiken and are not a national company. I was only the 2nd person on their system to receive a cablecard.

I just got the 500.

Has anybody had success setting up their unit in Arlington, VA, which is serviced by Comcast? I'm in area code 22201, which the unit thinks is Charters cable and pulled down the wrong listings last night.

I've gleaned from this thread and Steve's unnofficial TVGOS site that what my unit might want is a different zip code inputed to pull down accurate listings.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Thanks.

Once a TVGOS download crashes the guide, the solution generally is to do a guide reset via the 9012 menu. This of course will require reorganizing your guide channel order, etc.

You also have to hope that TVGOS has solved the problem in your area, if that's what it was.

The guide reset did not resolve my problem. The unit still crashes and reboots everytime the guide tries to download. I can manually set my clock after the crash by doing a VBI test or the clock will set itself at some point in the day but every morning the unit has --:-- as a clock.

I guess I could try a factory reset of the whole unit as a next step but I don't want to loose some of my recordings.

I am also wondering if that will even resolve the issues. I'm thinking it may be the actual TVGOS feed that is bad, but no one else from Seattle seems to be complaining that they're having issues.

I'm OTA only.

Any suggestions?

JP

The guide reset did not resolve my problem. The unit still crashes and reboots everytime the guide tries to download. I can manually set my clock after the crash by doing a VBI test or the clock will set itself at some point in the day but every morning the unit has --:-- as a clock.

I guess I could try a factory reset of the whole unit as a next step but I don't want to loose some of my recordings.

I am also wondering if that will even resolve the issues. I'm thinking it may be the actual TVGOS feed that is bad, but no one else from Seattle seems to be complaining that they're having issues.

I'm OTA only.

Any suggestions?

JP

There is a factory reset in the service menus that will not delete programming.

I can't remember which one it is, but when you choose it, it tells you what it will do. One of them expicitly tells you that recorded programs will be lost, and the other one doesn't. I would try the one that doesn't. Sorry, but I don't remember which service menu it is under (the 9012 or the 1234 one)...

You need to unplug for only 10 seconds. Alternatively, just push the front panel TV Guide and Exit buttons simultaneously.

This can get rid of certain odd glitches, but is different than doing a factory reset or a guide reset in the 9012 menu.

This little easter egg must be like a "Ctrl-Alt-Delete" for a computer reboot. I did it last night and later on my TVGOS was back to normal. Let's hope it stays that way. Thanx again Phil.

Wolfie

My MSO is comcast new england. It sounds like my headend is different then yours PhillyC, the OTA HD channels in sent with CCI 0x0 and the premium channels are sent with CCI 0x2. I haven't check the other digital, non-OTA channels. I find it odd that comcast would behave differently based on locale, are you sure the premiums are sent with 0x0 ?

Yes. Although Comcast must have national policies that govern everything, each area gets around to rolling out changes separately. The local tech supervisor specifically told me that the Chicago area is running without the use of flags for CableCARDS at this time. He said this will change in the not too distant future.

I hope they wait until after we get Moto FW 4.21 and the current premium recording problem is solved. We don't need another layer of confusion right now.

Just got off the phone with Comcast and they said it is a known network problem that began last week. They are working on it but do not have a resolution date.

At least they know they have a problem. That's half the battle. And now you don't have to drive yourself crazy with resets, etc. The issue must be affecting a lot of people with other equipment that uses TVGOS, so maybe they will make fixing it a priority.

I am in Aiken, SC and the local cableco is G Force. They only serve Aiken and are not a national company. I was only the 2nd person on their system to receive a cablecard.

Wow! You are fortunate. I would have thought a small company would be terrible with support of the cards and TVGOS. About half of the first several hundred people in Chicago suffered for weeks and months before Comcast was able to get their cards working. And obviously we STILL have issues. :rolleyes:

I guess I could try a factory reset of the whole unit as a next step but I don't want to loose some of my recordings.

I am also wondering if that will even resolve the issues. I'm thinking it may be the actual TVGOS feed that is bad, but no one else from Seattle seems to be complaining that they're having issues.

I'm OTA only.

Any suggestions?

JP

I'd do as spiff72 says and do a reset in the 9012 menu. Just read the screens carefully before pressing buttons!

Also --- can you call your local PBS station to see if they are aware of a problem?

I plugged a Hawking Technologies HUF11 usb adapter into the usb port of my HDD500. The adapter is a RTL8150 passed adapter. Vendor 0BDA Product 8150

I only got blinking when a cable was plugged in. There were no DHCP requests. I haven't yet connected a sniffer yet.

Same with the LinkSys USB100M that I got last week. Not a peep out of the box according to tcpdump on a FreeBSD machine. I must admit that I am disappointed. I tried rebooting and pressing various buttons during the boot cycle but the best I have been able to do is hang the machine - requireing a power cycle.

I've put this project on the back burner until I can figure something else out.

Andrew

It has been speculated in the past (maybe even confirmed by someone with a source at Sony) that the USB port can be used to do the firmware upgrades. Perhaps it is capable of booting a linux-based OS off from a USB thumbdrive?

I saw something recently that may be co-incidental, or may be a clue. Take if
for what its worth...
Last week I added a one time recording for a Nova Episode on PBS Ch. 11-2.
At the time I added the entry, the CBS Ch. 7-1 lineup was showing all "unknown"
for Wednesday evening. Hence the schedule entry for "Lost" was "???".
When I later checked the schedule, "Lost" was gone. Hmmm. "Desperate
Housewives" was also "???" because of the Academy Awards occupying that
timeslot. When I added another one time recording to the schedule, "Desperate
Housewives" disappeared.

So, my hypothesis is that adding a scheduled recording while a previous entry
is in the "???" state (whether due to TV Guide glitches or due to a scheduling
change by the network) *may* cause the "???" entry to be removed.

Can anyone provide supporting or contradicting evidence?

Thanks,

Dan (Woj...)

for what its worth :-)

i too have seen this problem. in fact it was happening a couple times
a week :-( how are you adding the programs to the schedule? the record
button or the menu button while the listing is selected? my theory :-)
i was initially using the record button (i.e. press once you see the
red dot, press again you see a d next to the red dot, press again you
see a w next to the red dot, etc...). what i noticed was that even though
the program went missing from the schedule the dvr still seemed to know
something of the recording because when i re-added it using the record
button the first press didn't just display the red dot. it displayed
the red dot and the w or r or whatever the recording was set at prior
to it disappearing from the schedule. i seem to have resolved my problem
by getting the program back into the schedule by pressing the record
button, deleting it then re-adding using the menu button. i've not lost
a scheduled recording in over a month...

My Sony HDD500 just dropped the show "Boston Legal". This I think is the first show that it has dropped. Anybody else have Boston Legal dropped this morning?

Firmware .05 and and cable + OTA with out cable card.

My Sony HDD500 just dropped the show "Boston Legal". This I think is the first show that it has dropped. Anybody else have Boston Legal dropped this morning?

Firmware .05 and and cable + OTA with out cable card.

it's amazing. i don't lose a show from the schedule for a month. i post a theory...
and within an hour a show disappears :-( yes, i lost boston legal too... went in
re-added it, checked again and greys anatomy was gone. re-added greys and
now everything's as it was this morning!

i've got firmware .05, OTA only.

My Sony HDD500 just dropped the show "Boston Legal". This I think is the first show that it has dropped. Anybody else have Boston Legal dropped this morning?

Firmware .05 and and cable + OTA with out cable card.

Is it normally on Monday nights? If so, I don't think it was on last night. That Miracle Workers show was on from 10-11. Or is BL on from 9-10?

I have a oneforall remote and none of the DVR codes worked. I ended up using a sat/cab code mentioned earlier in this thread and it works like a charm!

I also have a oneforall remote. I'm using the PVR buttons for a ReplayTV, and I tried using the Cab/Sat button for the Sony HDD. I've tried each code, and even went through the code search (my fingers are tired from that) to no avail. Since you have a remote from the same manufacturer, could you tell me the code you used? If you don't recall what code you used, you can look it up on the remote by doing the following:
For example, to find out which code is operating your Cab/Sat:
1. On the remote control, press Cab/Sat once.
2. Press and hold SET until the LED (red light) blinks twice, then release SET.
3. Enter 9 - 9 - 0.The LED will blink twice.
4. To view the code for the first digit, press 1 once.Wait 3 seconds, count the LED
blinks (e.g., three blinks = 3) and write down the number in the leftmost box in
the TV code boxes on page 10 NOTE: If a code digit is “0”, the LED will not blink.
5. Repeat step 4 three more times for remaining digits.Use 2 for the second digit, 3 for the third digit, and 4 for the fourth digit.

Of course, your remote might have a different mthod of looking this up...

Thanks!

I also have a oneforall remote. I'm using the PVR buttons for a ReplayTV, and I tried using the Cab/Sat button for the Sony HDD. I've tried each code, and even went through the code search (my fingers are tired from that) to no avail. Since you have a remote from the same manufacturer, could you tell me the code you used? If you don't recall what code you used, you can look it up on the remote by doing the following:
For example, to find out which code is operating your Cab/Sat:
1. On the remote control, press Cab/Sat once.
2. Press and hold SET until the LED (red light) blinks twice, then release SET.
3. Enter 9 - 9 - 0.The LED will blink twice.
4. To view the code for the first digit, press 1 once.Wait 3 seconds, count the LED
blinks (e.g., three blinks = 3) and write down the number in the leftmost box in
the TV code boxes on page 10 NOTE: If a code digit is “0”, the LED will not blink.
5. Repeat step 4 three more times for remaining digits.Use 2 for the second digit, 3 for the third digit, and 4 for the fourth digit.

Of course, your remote might have a different mthod of looking this up...


Thanks!

Of course, your remote might have a different mthod of looking this up...

The code I used was 1006. Even though it works off of the cab/sat key it also uses the PVR features such as rewind and record. I find it much more user friendly then the clunky remote that comes with the unit and it even does additional stuff like muting the TV and channel back. Here a link for this remote:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5431632&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat72700050027&id=1051826212660

I have been through the HDD250 (tried one out and returned it to BB) and HDD500 (picked up 4 at Tweeter and passed them on through ebay) drills and moved on. However, I recently had a Sony encounter that bears on the potential function of the USB port on these DVRs. I got a letter from Sony last week suggesting that I might need a software update for my Sony TV. At a specified website it was determined that, based on the TV's serial number, it would benefit from the software update. The update arrived today in the form of a 64 MB Sony Microvault with instructions for updating the TV's software by attaching the Microvault to the TV's USB port and "rebooting" the TV. This certainly suggests that the means are in place for Sony to reconfigure the DVRs for whatever reason including, one might hope, the impending demise of analog TV.

...HDD500 (picked up 4 at Tweeter and passed them on through ebay) drills and moved on.

I don't know if I would be broadcasting that fact here, based on the fact that a lot of us are pissed that weren't able to get in on this deal...

What's the problem with getting guide data? Has it been determined why some can and some are having trouble?
How does it acquire it? Phone line, Internet, air?

You will find lots of information about this earlier in the thread. In a nutshell it is downloaded in obsure bit of Analog TV broadcasts. Cable users seem to have a little more trouble with it than OTA. It is so obscure sometimes people who are having trouble cannot find anybody at the stations who know they are broadcasting it or that it is broke. Wait until you have a full schedule before deleting any channels from the tuner list (the TV Guide listing does not matter). Find out from the TV Guide service menus what channel it is getting the schedule from.

This functions as a "Set Top Box" also, right? Meaning, if I have an HD-Ready set with no built-in tuner, this will allow me to pick up the OTA broadcasts?

Correct, you need to connect it to your monitor via Component Video (or HDMI) and the optical digital audio to a Dolby Digital decoder/amplifier. A number of TVs will output their own tuner's Dolby Digital signal, but will not pass an external source.

Only one tuner, right? You can't record two shows at once, but you can record one while watching another?

Only one tuner. You cannot watch one broadcast while recording an other broadcast (that would require two tuners). You can watch a recorded show while recording a broadcast.

You will find lots of information about this earlier in the thread. In a nutshell it is downloaded in obsure bit of Analog TV broadcasts. Cable users seem to have a little more trouble with it than OTA.

Thats odd, it seems just the opposite to me. Cable user have an (much) easier time getting guide then OTA users, no reception issues, etc.

Did you talk to a supervisor? What is there to test exactly? This unit is already being used in other area's that have Cox cable. :confused:

I think that test is just an excuse and asked for supervisor but person I spoke to insisted that was his superivsor's position.

My 500, which gets guide data OTA, had some guide data this morning but this afternoon it has the wait 24hr message. The diagnostic menu shows a blank for guide channel. My 250, which gets guide data via Comcast cable, has guide data for today, friday and monday. Most of my recordings have Unknown title so I think its time for me to create a log of my recordings.

Does anyone have an ISO image of an HDD-250? I kinda deleted mine decompiling the software. Please respond ASAP... my wife is going to kill me if she misses her shows on Thursday.

Originally Posted by dmaster
I saw something recently that may be co-incidental, or may be a clue. Take if
for what its worth...
Last week I added a one time recording for a Nova Episode on PBS Ch. 11-2.
At the time I added the entry, the CBS Ch. 7-1 lineup was showing all "unknown"
for Wednesday evening. Hence the schedule entry for "Lost" was "???".
When I later checked the schedule, "Lost" was gone. Hmmm. "Desperate
Housewives" was also "???" because of the Academy Awards occupying that
timeslot. When I added another one time recording to the schedule, "Desperate
Housewives" disappeared.

So, my hypothesis is that adding a scheduled recording while a previous entry
is in the "???" state (whether due to TV Guide glitches or due to a scheduling
change by the network) *may* cause the "???" entry to be removed.

Can anyone provide supporting or contradicting evidence?

Thanks,

Dan (Woj...)

for what its worth :-)

i too have seen this problem. in fact it was happening a couple times
a week :-( how are you adding the programs to the schedule? the record
button or the menu button while the listing is selected? my theory :-)
i was initially using the record button (i.e. press once you see the
red dot, press again you see a d next to the red dot, press again you
see a w next to the red dot, etc...). what i noticed was that even though
the program went missing from the schedule the dvr still seemed to know
something of the recording because when i re-added it using the record
button the first press didn't just display the red dot. it displayed
the red dot and the w or r or whatever the recording was set at prior
to it disappearing from the schedule. i seem to have resolved my problem
by getting the program back into the schedule by pressing the record
button, deleting it then re-adding using the menu button. i've not lost
a scheduled recording in over a month...
Interesting, because I've set up recordings while the ??? was in the schedule list by using both the rec button and the menu. I have yet to loose any recordings, in fact the ??? went away this past weekend when the guide populated for next Sunday.

I guess I must be one of the lucky ones on here. I have .05 firmware and using cable only.

Only one tuner. You cannot watch one broadcast while
recording an other broadcast (that would require two tuners). You can watch a recorded show while recording a broadcast.
You know with 2 inputs and 2 hard drives on the 500's, you would think that it could be able to record 2 inputs at once, having one input go to each hard drive. It would be cool if Sony could upgrade are units to do this. :D

Does anyone have an ISO image of an HDD-250? I kinda deleted mine decompiling the software. Please respond ASAP... my wife is going to kill me if she misses her shows on Thursday.

Kinda deleted? Good luck with that...I doubt it would help if anyone did have an ISO image. There have been attempts to image a drive in a 250, and put that image on another drive to see if a "backup" drive could be created like this, and the attempt was unsuccessful.

Does anyone have an ISO image of an HDD-250? I kinda deleted mine decompiling the software. Please respond ASAP... my wife is going to kill me if she misses her shows on Thursday.
How did you do that? :(

Kinda deleted meaning, I was tinkering, I made an image of the drive saved it to my USB drive. Well I formatted my USB drive thinking I had everything backed up to my internal drive, but I forgot to back up the image... so in a nut shell I was being stupid.

it's amazing. i don't lose a show from the schedule for a month. i post a theory...
and within an hour a show disappears :-( yes, i lost boston legal too... went in
re-added it, checked again and greys anatomy was gone. re-added greys and
now everything's as it was this morning!

i've got firmware .05, OTA only.

Yes, I lost Greys also.

Anyone else besides us two with .05 firmware or any other firmware lose these two shows this morning? They just disapeared from the schedule (no ! just gone). I think this shows some connection to the lost show issue.

IYou know with 2 inputs and 2 hard drives on the 500's, you would think that it could be able to record 2 inputs at once, having one input go to each hard drive. It would be cool if Sony could upgrade are units to do this. :D

Having two inputs doesn't mean having two tuners. There are many devices (including this one) that have two inputs so that both OTA and cable can be selected. There is simply a switch that selects one connector or the other to feed the single tuner.

Thats odd, it seems just the opposite to me. Cable user have an (much) easier time getting guide then OTA users, no reception issues, etc.

The problem is that there are a number of ways that that the TVGOS data can be lost as the host channel is passed through the cable processing. A very common one is that it cannot survice the conversion to digital cable. The fix for that is to include the host channel as analog along with everything else as digital but the cable companies don't always get that right.

With OTA, as long as there is a halfway decent picture on the host channel, the data is going to be there. Easy to check and you don't have to worry about a middleman screwing it up.

Having two inputs doesn't mean having two tuners. There are many devices (including this one) that have two inputs so that both OTA and cable can be selected. There is simply a switch that selects one connector or the other to feed the single tuner.Yes, and a noticable "click" can be heard when it switches between the two (when changing channels).

My 500, which gets guide data OTA, had some guide data this morning but this afternoon it has the wait 24hr message. The diagnostic menu shows a blank for guide channel. My 250, which gets guide data via Comcast cable, has guide data for today, friday and monday. Most of my recordings have Unknown title so I think its time for me to create a log of my recordings. If it still hasn't come back after 24 hours, try changing the zipcode. That finally seemed to do the trick for me. Of course, this could've just been coincidence, because I do know now that they have been fiddling with the guide because many of the channel logos have been changed. They seem to be a little fancier and more colorful than the older ones. I think this is what's been going on, probably in more areas than just my own. I knew they had to be doing something, because that's the only times I've ever really had any problems with TVGOS. You'd think they could send out some kind of warning or something, because who knows how many of these units get unnecessarily returned.

Find out from the TV Guide service menus what channel it is getting the schedule from.


How do you find out from the TV Guide Service menu what channel it is getting the schedule from?

If you really want to search this thread then use the "Thread Tools" or use this link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/dt.php?t=537711) and download the entire thread as a rtf file and do a search in your favorite editor or tools.

If you really want to search this thread the use the "Thread Tools" or use this link (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/dt.php?t=537711) and download the entire thread as a rtf file and do a search in your favorite editor or tools.

Do you get a complete file when you download the thread as an RTF file? I only get posts through about #1156 (11-13-05), and Word seems to act a bit goofy with the file...

EDIT: Never mind - it looks like Word is just having trouble with the file - I have to keep on paging down, and it keeps "adding" pages... :rolleyes:

I have done it 4-5 different times and always got the entire file. Are you sure you let the entire file download, it is kinda big. I use emacs, not word to search so I can't help with that. BTW - even thought avs saves it with a .rtf extention I think the file is actually just a text file.

I have done it 4-5 different times and always got the entire file. Are you sure you let the entire file download, it is kinda big. I use emacs, not word to search so I can't help with that. BTW - even thought avs saves it with a .rtf extention I think the file is actually just a text file.

Thanks. I will try an different text editor.

Just curious, did anyone who had placed an order on tweeter.com for a 500 for 249.00 get theirs, or did all of us receive the same email canceling our orders?

Kinda deleted meaning, I was tinkering, I made an image of the drive saved it to my USB drive. Well I formatted my USB drive thinking I had everything backed up to my internal drive, but I forgot to back up the image... so in a nut shell I was being stupid.

OK, so you erased the image you made on your USB drive, and you hadn't copied it elsewhere on your computer, but how did you lose the original drive from the DVR?

Also, what exactly do you mean by "decompiling" the firmware? You shouldn't need to write to the original drive to do such examination.

The firmware is stored in a cramfs image that appears to be encrypted quite securely. So far, I don't think anyone has succeeded in decrypting and mounting the cramfs outside the DVR. I think it is much more likely that someone will find a way to get into the running system (through a hardware debug port, network interface, etc.) Yet you claim you were "decompiling" the firmware... does this mean you've successfully mounted the cramfs?

Without the ability to decrypt the cramfs and then make one's own signed, encrypted cramfs images, no third party firmware modifications will be possible on this device, at least not any that fit the current bootloader / software update model. Sorry for the bad news, but it looks like Sony did their homework on this one.

For some unknown reason, my HDD500 cannot find the PBS digital channels on the antenna. I tried running Auto Scan, and it found the 20 other digital channels, but not PBS. I also tried running "Auto Add from Antenna", and it still did not find PBS. As a result, the PBS digital channels do not appear in the CH+/- list.

Eventually I figured out that the channel numbers are 59.3/5/6/7 (physical) or 4.1/3/4/5 (virtual). I can tune to 59.3/5/6/7 and 4.1 by entering the numbers with the remote control. Although I cannot tune to 4.3/4/5 that way (since it tunes to cable channels instead), I found a another way that works, which is to select "Change channel display" in the TVGOS Setup, and then edit the number of an "Air" channel (changing it to 4.3, for example), and then tune to that channel by selecting it in the TVGOS Listings. To make it more convenient, I added channels 4.1/3/4/5 to a Favorite list. Anyway, since I can manually tune to them, I don't think that a lack of signal strength is what's causing the Auto Scan not to find them.

I had a Tweeter order cancelled. I then got an ebay one for $150 more, (with the Tweeter sales receipt). 3 months labor warr. is a sham at the retail price.

Mine is working great, xx.6 build , guide data over analog PBS (0-18) in Austin, TX. almost full now after 5-6 days. I do HD OTA but since I have no cable box I'm tempted to send my basic cable thru the 500 next. My Sony 34xbr960 tv has QAM and ATSC too.

I can see why Sony cancelled them early, (complex, expensive, and not plug and play, esp at the asking prices.)- but bravo for offering an HD recorder of this quality with free interface. I'm sure all the returns was a headache for Sony.
At the closeout prices it's a very attractive machine IMO. I want another 500.

My 500, which gets guide data OTA, had some guide data this morning but this afternoon it has the wait 24hr message. The diagnostic menu shows a blank for guide channel. My 250, which gets guide data via Comcast cable, has guide data for today, friday and monday. Most of my recordings have Unknown title so I think its time for me to create a log of my recordings.

Try doing what PhillyC mentioned to me about my guide data problems. Press and hold the "exit" button on the unit itself, then press and hold the "TV Guide" button on the unit until it does a reboot. That SHOULD clear out any glitches with the TVGOS. If it doesn't, then there is a problem with either the guide host channel or the unit itself. Good luck.

Wolfie

Yes, I lost Greys also.

Anyone else besides us two with .05 firmware or any other firmware lose these two shows this morning? They just disapeared from the schedule (no ! just gone). I think this shows some connection to the lost show issue.

i'm in south florida, what about you? wonder if the problem is specific to
the local channel sending the tv guide info? my host channel is 17. vbi
channel is currently showing 10-1 but i've seen it as 6-1 in the past...

keep me updated on dropped programs from the schedule. i'll try to confirm
i've lost them also. other shows i record are lost, house and 24.

Mine is working great, xx.6 build , guide data over analog PBS (0-18) in Austin, TX. almost full now after 5-6 days. I do HD OTA but since I have no cable box I'm tempted to send my basic cable thru the 500 next. My Sony 34xbr960 tv has QAM and ATSC too.

I'm in the Austin area. I have TWC for data only. On a lark, I connected the cable to the the QAM input on an HDD500. All the OTA HD channels supported by TWC are in the clear (ie. no KXAN), albeit at a slightly lower signal level than I get with a large antenna pointed at the big antenna farm. Channel numbers are all frucacta, the PBS (KLRU) subchannels at wildly different numbers (I think one is channel 0). Additionally you get (or, in my opinion "must suffer") their locally produced 24/7 sports news channel - on not one but 2 SD digital channels. You also get "iLIFE" and "EWTN", both religeous programming, as well as "NEW!" which is the non-stop TWC advertising channel (there must be somthing in the Geneva Convention about exposure to this) and the "VOD" Video On Demand advertising channel. Interestingly, I've seen one of these two channels say "This movie is now playing on Channel 1000" so I tried to tune it in but no such luck. I was hoping that I could get the UPN affiliate located out in Fredericksburg which I can't receive very well (good thinking UPN) - Bzzzzzt, wrong! For me, TWC basic cable is pretty much useless as I get better reception with an antenna. So I'm mounting one of those fancy 8 bow-tie UHF array antennas up in the attic with a distribution amplifier, and the cable stays for data only.

I can see why Sony cancelled them early, (complex, expensive, and not plug and play, esp at the asking prices.)- but bravo for offering an HD recorder of this quality with free interface. I'm sure all the returns was a headache for Sony. At the closeout prices it's a very attractive machine IMO. I want another 500.

I think they priced them too high. But I have no doubt that they did put that much development effort into them. It seems that aside from the cable card issue, the real problems are all TVGOS generated, and are out of their hands in asmuch as there must be hundreds of TVGOS broadcasters leading to hundreds of different ways to screw up. Much as I despise Sony for foisting over-priced consumer crap, introducing new non-standard rubbish to lock-in customers (memory-stick, ATRAC, MD, SACD, etc), and their latest DRM shenanigans - this is a fine, polished product. If they had only designed in a second tuner to allow recording while live viewing something else, it would be a perfect device. Complexity is in the eye of the beholder: I think that HD DVR's are no more complex than SD Tivo/Replay boxen or VCRs. My parents are too scared/confused to touch their Tivo, just like the VCR. They are happy to plan their life around the TV schedule, and if they miss something, fine, life goes on. I think there was one very unlucky HDD500 customer on the board who received 3 duds in a row. Some people win $360M, some people get 3 bad HD DVR's; I'd prefer to be in group (1).

Andrew

hi Andrew, you must have moved to TX from CA?
Why do you use cable for guide data? I use the antenna for PBS analog. I tested all my channels(6 or so I have tuned) and only PBS analog showed any incoming data.

also, thru QAM on my Sony TV I get the 3 network HDs at a1511, 1521, 1531. I foret the Fox, and PBS #. I was wondering where the HDD500 would put these since I've read it can not handle over 1000 numbering. I'm happy with OTA and antenna but recording SD cable ( I get their 80 channel line-up) with names/guide would be handy on the HDD500.

For folks with other HD DVRs, tivo, directv...

Do they all have have as slow of a response as does the DHGHDDs? After a few months, I'm also getting a little irate on the delayed response when hitting *any* button. Scrolling through an list, recorded, listings e.g. is extremely trying. Many times, I would be double hitting since I wasn't sure the first command got to the device, wasn't pointing right e.g.

Is it a HiDef thing? I already had my video locked and I've all resolved to using the center scroll rather than to repeatedly hit up/down.

I had a Tweeter order cancelled. I then got an ebay one for $150 more, (with the Tweeter sales receipt). 3 months labor warr. is a sham at the retail price.

Mine is working great, xx.6 build , guide data over analog PBS (0-18) in Austin, TX. almost full now after 5-6 days. I do HD OTA but since I have no cable box I'm tempted to send my basic cable thru the 500 next. My Sony 34xbr960 tv has QAM and ATSC too.

I can see why Sony cancelled them early, (complex, expensive, and not plug and play, esp at the asking prices.)- but bravo for offering an HD recorder of this quality with free interface. I'm sure all the returns was a headache for Sony.
At the closeout prices it's a very attractive machine IMO. I want another 500.

I think they are closing them out because Sony is about to release the "next big thing". I think Sony is going to release a Blu-Ray DVR with HDD. Maybe it will be something like an Blu-Ray upgrade of the RDR-HX715 with an ATSC tuner. Now, that would be a beautiful machine. IMOHO : )

For folks with other HD DVRs, tivo, directv...

Do they all have have as slow of a response as does the DHGHDDs?

My 6412 cable box is often much worse.

Yea, but even so, a new HD recorder would either have to use TVGuide or some sort of pay guide service. Sony PCs used to use a 3rd party free web based program for it's PC DVR program, don't know if it still exists. I could see Sony going web based guide route over the current TVGOS system.
Same dilemma as with the HDD series, the guide interface vs rented devices.

hi Andrew, you must have moved to TX from CA?


Yeah, I've been too lazy to update my member data.


Why do you use cable for guide data? I use the antenna for PBS analog. I tested all my channels(6 or so I have tuned) and only PBS analog showed any incoming data.

I'm still using the KLRU PBS channel 18 as the TVGOS data source.


also, thru QAM on my Sony TV I get the 3 network HDs at a1511, 1521, 1531. I foret the Fox, and PBS #. I was wondering where the HDD500 would put these since I've read it can not handle over 1000 numbering. I'm happy with OTA and antenna but recording SD cable ( I get their 80 channel line-up) with names/guide would be handy on the HDD500.

I've disabled most of the channels but as I walk through them now, 83.22 is KLRU-P (18.2), 90.1122 and 116.6781 (I am not making these up!) are the all-local all-sports all the time (eww, super macroblocking artifacts - it's very low bit rate too), 283 is ILIFE (and yes, it is digital), 290 is EWTN, 876 is VOD, 1501 is KTBC1 (7.1), 1511 is KVUE1 (24.1), 1512 is KVUE2 (24.2), 1531 is KEYE1 (42.1), 0 is KLRUHD (18.1), and 1 is NEW!. - non-stop TWC advertising. 84.2 is a very low SNR of 36.1. There's a handful of analog channels 75-78, mainly Spanish and shopping.

The HDD500 can handle channels over 1000 fine, even subchannels: I just entered 116.6781 and was rewarded with the ghastly sports channel.

Andrew

I think they are closing them out because Sony is about to release the "next big thing". I think Sony is going to release a Blu-Ray DVR with HDD. Maybe it will be something like an Blu-Ray upgrade of the RDR-HX715 with an ATSC tuner. Now, that would be a beautiful machine. IMOHO : )
it's just impossible for Sony or any manufacturers to release any cablecard-ready-hdtv-turner-hidef-dvd-recorders.

For folks with other HD DVRs, tivo, directv...

Do they all have have as slow of a response as does the DHGHDDs?

My RCA TV has built-in QAM-256 and it is equivalently slow in changing channels...

There is a factory reset in the service menus that will not delete programming.

I can't remember which one it is, but when you choose it, it tells you what it will do. One of them expicitly tells you that recorded programs will be lost, and the other one doesn't. I would try the one that doesn't. Sorry, but I don't remember which service menu it is under (the 9012 or the 1234 one)...

I did the user configuration reset which bassically looks like a full reset without loosing the recordings. After that, you have do rescan all the channels and do the TVGOS setup.

No luck, this morning I had the clock OK at 6:00 am but after 7:00 am I got back the --:--. So the unit found the host channel and set the clock but as soon as it tried to do a TVGOS download it crashes and reboots. I think that the few times I witnessed the reboots where around at 5 minutes to the hour at different times of the day.

I'm surprised I'm the only one to have this problem on this thread. If it's the TVGOS feed I would expect others from Seattle to be on this thread looking for solutions as they have in the past and we were able to figure out together that the issue was that the feed was down.

I guess my next step will be to call Sony but I am beyond my 90 day warranty. I see the web site shows a $92 flat fee for repairs that dont require parts.

I have the 06 version and OTA only.

JP

For folks with other HD DVRs, tivo, directv...

Do they all have have as slow of a response as does the DHGHDDs? After a few months, I'm also getting a little irate on the delayed response when hitting *any* button. Scrolling through an list, recorded, listings e.g. is extremely trying. Many times, I would be double hitting since I wasn't sure the first command got to the device, wasn't pointing right e.g.

Is it a HiDef thing? I already had my video locked and I've all resolved to using the center scroll rather than to repeatedly hit up/down.The slow button response was, for me, a precursor of more problems with the unit. It progressively got worse until the entire unit froze up...and could not be fixed with any type of reset. I returned it to BB.

Out here in LA, I had the HDD500 working for a couple of days, then nothing. Now, I've reset (factory default!) and re-scanned, just OTA at first to see if it would pull in the simple channels first, but still nothing. The clock is set right, and the channel labels show up, but no guide data and no host channel. I'm getting VBI packets on channel 28, but still no guide (OTA channel 28 is fuzzy, but still getting VBI data.)

I'll try adding cable channels tonight and see if that helps, and I'm using zip code 90094. Is anyone else in LA getting the guide working? I've seen Ray1938 has been having problems, is everyone else? Like I said, it worked a couple of weeks ago, but sometime last week it stopped updating (then the clock was set wrong and wouldn't change until I did the factory reset.)

Someone tell me KCET is not transmitting TVGOS, but is planning on fixing it tonight! Stupid machine!

Someone tell me KCET is not transmitting TVGOS, but is planning on fixing it tonight! Stupid machine!

Sorry, but 28 TVGOS has been solid for the last week, at least.

If 28 is fuzzy, the VBI may be marginal which might pass the test but not be reliable enough for the listings (much more data) to come through.

If it were me, I would try relocating or upgrading your OTA antenna to get a better picture. Alternately, you might get good TVGOS via cable, although cable can have a whole new set of TVGOS problems.

Dammit! I'll try upgrading my antenna and see how that works. I'm stuck with an indoor... any suggestions?

Not the news I wanted, but helpful all the same. At least I know it COULD work, if I could get it to work.

I just picked up an HDD250, and my only real gripe (so far) is that the Auto Scan feature doesn't seem to want to pick up certain OTA channels that I can tune to with ease (usually 85% strength or better). Even when I'm watching the channel, the scan won't pick it up.

I can supposedly add the channels manually...

From Manual p47:
"You may also add or remove a channel from the CH+/- List without using the CH+/- menu. While viewing a channel and no other menus are displayed, press -> to display the options menu. Select Manual Add or Manual Delete to edit the current channel from the CH+/-."

When I try, the screen says "In Channel List" (even though it's not), and it only gives me the "Manual Delete" option. When I click on that (for the heck of it) it tells me that I must first select Auto Scan.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

My RCA TV has built-in QAM-256 and it is equivalently slow in changing channels...

How much slower is that than, say, a SD DirecTV TiVo? (That's my only point of comparison.)

I think they are closing them out because Sony is about to release the "next big thing". I think Sony is going to release a Blu-Ray DVR with HDD. Maybe it will be something like an Blu-Ray upgrade of the RDR-HX715 with an ATSC tuner. Now, that would be a beautiful machine. IMOHO : )
If this is/was a Sony close out, then why are they still full price at other stores?

And lets hope the new one has dual tuners so you can record 2 shows at once. :D

If this is/was a Sony close out, then why are they still full price at other stores?

And lets hope the new one has dual tuners so you can record 2 shows at once. :D

I suspect that Sony might have given the vendor (Tweeter?) who sold the most units first option on a close out deal. Other vendors would be stuck with their stock on hand but might get a rebate break that would allow them to unload their stock when the new units come out. This seems to be the way many mass market electronic manufacturers have dealt with discontinued products in the past.

Tweeter has informed me that they "will not be getting another shipment" of the Sony DHG-HDD500 units; I did not inquire about the 250s.

With the advent of HD DVRs on the horizon, 500 gigs of hard drive will be unnecessary. How much needs to be stored on a hard drive if it is possible to download to a HD DVD medium?

The beauty of owning a DHG-HDD250 or 500 is that hopefully it will be possible to download to either a Blu-Ray DVR or HD-DVR. If this turns out to be the case we can just buy the HD-DVR of our choice and sit back until the next BETA vs VHS war ends. Who knows, they might beat each other up so bad that the Windows based HD recording system will be the last man standing.

How much slower is that than, say, a SD DirecTV TiVo? (That's my only point of comparison.)

I've never had a TiVo so can't compare but it takes 2-3 seconds to change channels on my set.

I've never had a TiVo so can't compare but it takes 2-3 seconds to change channels on my set.

My DHG-HDD250 changes channels almost as fast as my analog Hitachi TV did. My Sceptre 37X-SV TV's tuner is waaaaaaayyyyy slower.

The other commands on the Sony remote are way too slow for comfort. I have to consciously prevent pushing the buttons again while I am waiting to see if the command took : (

I've never had a TiVo so can't compare but it takes 2-3 seconds to change channels on my set.


Are you using HDMI? I found that when using HDMI channel changes were too slow for my tastes. So, I went with component cables - and no, I did not notice any difference in PQ.

Also, there's an output mode setting and I think I remember that setting it to the resolution of my TV (720p in my case) instead of setting it to auto-HDMI or something like that, the channel changes were a bit faster.

I don't know, maybe none of this will help. They're just some things to try.


Mitch

I've had the DHG-HDD250 for a little over two weeks now and have had just about all the bad experiences I've read about here....the only virtue this thing has IMO is that with some effort it will record HD programming for "free", and AFAIK there's nothing else out there right now that will do this, short of a D-VHS and an HD tuner.

My first instinct was to pack it up and take it back to Tweeter, and I'm still considering doing just that.....sluggish operation, mediocre tuner, no pq control, awkward remote, unreliable guide, noisy fan running continuously, etc., etc., etc.....but....I don't know of anything better to replace it, and the thought of time-shifting with a VHS recorder for the foreseeable future doesn't excite me, particularly since I've only recently moved up to HDTV and already I'm spoiled. We do a LOT of time-shift recording.....probably average two hours a day during this time of the year.

I'm trying to decide before my return period is expired whether I should keep this unit or take it back and hope there's something better just over the horizon.

Any advice out there? If you had it to do all over again would you have kept the unit or returned it, knowing what you know now?

BTW, I'm in Austin and get terrific OTA reception with the AntennasDirect DB4 in my attic....actually it's probably overkill. I've got TWC but hardly ever watch it anymore.

I just picked up an HDD250, and my only real gripe (so far) is that the Auto Scan feature doesn't seem to want to pick up certain OTA channels that I can tune to with ease (usually 85% strength or better). Even when I'm watching the channel, the scan won't pick it up.
I have the same problem with some digital OTA channels (namely PBS), which I described in a recent post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7267073&&#post7267073).
I can supposedly add the channels manually...

From Manual p47:
"You may also add or remove a channel from the CH+/- List without using the CH+/- menu. While viewing a channel and no other menus are displayed, press -> to display the options menu. Select Manual Add or Manual Delete to edit the current channel from the CH+/-."

When I try, the screen says "In Channel List" (even though it's not), and it only gives me the "Manual Delete" option. When I click on that (for the heck of it) it tells me that I must first select Auto Scan.

Any thoughts?
I have the same problem on my HDD500, both before and after the firmware update (from 1.2.5 to 1.2.13). I have not found a workaround.

By the way, instead of running Auto Scan, you can run "Auto Add from Antenna", which adds any new channels that are found, but does not remove any existing channels.

I'm trying to decide before my return period is expired whether I should keep this unit or take it back and hope there's something better just over the horizon.

Any advice out there? If you had it to do all over again would you have kept the unit or returned it, knowing what you know now?

BTW, I'm in Austin and get terrific OTA reception with the AntennasDirect DB4 in my attic....actually it's probably overkill. I've got TWC but hardly ever watch it anymore.

I am OTA only with my DVR and really like it. I only have digital channels in my guide so listings fit on a single screen (8 channels--I deleted anything I never watch). Except for the problem with TVGOS everyone had for a few days last year, it has worked great. I think this is a great product compared to my Dish 921 which requires rebooting on a daily basis to correct software flaws. From the thread, it appears to give cable users a lot of problems to get working correctly. If you hardly ever watch TWC, I'd drop cable to save money and use the DVR OTA only. I wish I lived near a Tweeter when they had their $249 sale--I'd have bought another DHG-HDD500 for that price. :)

I've had the DHG-HDD250 for a little over two weeks now and have had just about all the bad experiences I've read about here....the only virtue this thing has IMO is that with some effort it will record HD programming for "free", and AFAIK there's nothing else out there right now that will do this, short of a D-VHS and an HD tuner.

My first instinct was to pack it up and take it back to Tweeter, and I'm still considering doing just that.....sluggish operation, mediocre tuner, no pq control, awkward remote, unreliable guide, noisy fan running continuously, etc., etc., etc.....but....I don't know of anything better to replace it, and the thought of time-shifting with a VHS recorder for the foreseeable future doesn't excite me, particularly since I've only recently moved up to HDTV and already I'm spoiled. We do a LOT of time-shift recording.....probably average two hours a day during this time of the year.

I'm trying to decide before my return period is expired whether I should keep this unit or take it back and hope there's something better just over the horizon.

Any advice out there? If you had it to do all over again would you have kept the unit or returned it, knowing what you know now?

BTW, I'm in Austin and get terrific OTA reception with the AntennasDirect DB4 in my attic....actually it's probably overkill. I've got TWC but hardly ever watch it anymore.

Please refer to your owner's manual. You can set picture quality of analog recordings. Quality of digital recordings is what you receive, and overrides anything you set manually. The sound you hear is probably from the hard drive which spins continuously. From what I've read on this thread, the hard drive in all DVRs run continuously.

My power went out latenight Sunday March 4th and my TV Guide Listings disappeared. I have made sure the unit is off before midnight for the past few nights. Still, no guide. I am OTA with a winegard square shooter in the Chicago area. I do get great reception of WTTW-PBS (the guide channel?). I also tried to "reset" the listings by changing to another zip code. Any suggestions? Thanks ahead.

This is a super long thread, 4,000 plus replys, way too much to read.

What are the "major" short comings of the HDD 500?

Why did Sony stop making them?
Can you do Firmware/Software upgrade yourself or must it go back to Sony?

And finally, if you were to buy one, what is the latest firmware version you should attempt to buy or is that even important?


I plan to use this for OTA only, will not be used for cable or SAT.

[QUOTE=gwsmith]
I'm trying to decide before my return period is expired whether I should keep this unit or take it back and hope there's something better just over the horizon.

Any advice out there? If you had it to do all over again would you have kept the unit or returned it, knowing what you know now?

QUOTE]

Not only would I do it all over again but I bought a second unit. First one, I also needed a tuner so the Sony was perfect. I had issues like everyone else but now both units are working perfectly. I hardly ever watch Dish anymore and with my main tv already being HD ready I put a splitter on my OTA and can watch HD while recording HD. When my Dish contract is over I plan on cutting way back on their dvr's and programming which in the long run will save me what the Sony's cost.

This is a super long thread, 4,000 plus replys, way too much to read.

What are the "major" short comings of the HDD 500?

Why did Sony stop making them?
Can you do Firmware/Software upgrade yourself or must it go back to Sony?

And finally, if you were to buy one, what is the latest firmware version you should attempt to buy or is that even important?


I plan to use this for OTA only, will not be used for cable or SAT.

Major shortcomings:

Problems with TVGOS guide system for some people.
Only one tuner.
Clunky remote.

Pluses:

Free DVR recordings.
Can combine cable and OTA seamlessly.
Extra large hard drive and memory.

I think this unit is absolutely worth it especially at the prices they are selling it for on ebay. It gives you the ability to get free HD OTA signals and record them in HD. It gives you a huge memory that allows you to record almost 100 hours of HD (depending on whether you are recording 720p or 1080i channels). Also, as I've said many times, you can overcome the lack of a dual tuner but simply splitting the cable and sending a second line to your HDTV (if you have an internal tuner) or a second HD receiver (I have a Voom). I also replaced the remote with a universal remote. I have had not problems with TVGOS. So, I would say that it's a great buy!

Are you using HDMI? I found that when using HDMI channel changes were too slow for my tastes. So, I went with component cables - and no, I did not notice any difference in PQ.

Also, there's an output mode setting and I think I remember that setting it to the resolution of my TV (720p in my case) instead of setting it to auto-HDMI or something like that, the channel changes were a bit faster.

I don't know, maybe none of this will help. They're just some things to try.


Mitch

No, on my TV, I use cable input only (have QAM-256). My HDD500 coming thru component has similar delay switching channels - doesn't really bother me - guess I'm used to it now... :D

I just picked up an HDD250, and my only real gripe (so far) is that the Auto Scan feature doesn't seem to want to pick up certain OTA channels that I can tune to with ease (usually 85% strength or better). Even when I'm watching the channel, the scan won't pick it up.

I can supposedly add the channels manually...

From Manual p47:
"You may also add or remove a channel from the CH+/- List without using the CH+/- menu. While viewing a channel and no other menus are displayed, press -> to display the options menu. Select Manual Add or Manual Delete to edit the current channel from the CH+/-."

When I try, the screen says "In Channel List" (even though it's not), and it only gives me the "Manual Delete" option. When I click on that (for the heck of it) it tells me that I must first select Auto Scan.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.



I've asked the same thing you did. The only way I was able to get these channels into the system, where I didn't have to manually enter the channel number was to create a folder under the Favorites.

Why did Sony stop making them?

Sony hasn't said anything, so all we can do is guess.

Can you do Firmware/Software upgrade yourself or must it go back to Sony?

As of now, it has to go back to Sony. The unit does have a USB port so it's conceivable that Sony might eventually make updates available via flash drive. I wouldn't hold my breath, though, considering that these units have been discontinued.

For what it's worth, my experience with these units (I have two of them now, a 250 and a 500) has been mostly positive. I'm OTA only, in a rural area with a big roof antenna, and have had no problem receiving guide data.

My biggest gripe is that some of the stations that I can get are not in the guide listings. Apparently I'm near the edge of the geographical area covered by my guide data, and I can get stations from one city outside that area. However, I can make do by re-mapping listings for stations in another city that I can't get, to the channel numbers of the missing stations. Also, the guide doesn't list the sub-channels of the South Carolina ETV stations, at least not yet.

After a month of error free operation, I'm no longer receiving TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS) data from a local PBS station (WCVE ch23 in Richmond VA). My listings are no longer displayed and my timers are failing since it cannot find a TVGOS host.

I contacted engineering at WCVE. The gentleman I spoke to handles transmitter issues, mostly on the digital side, and didn't know much about TVGOS...however, he did call back after discussing the issue with programming. Anyway, it seems that TVGOS data is not being broadcast during their fund raiser, which started Sunday and coincides with my host timing out after three days. Yesterday afternoon, the same gentleman called again to say they had a connection down (supposedly to an upstream network where they pull TVGOS) and that the connection was back up. However, I was still not receiving VBI or guide data.

Until now, I have been pulling guide data from WCVE, channel 23, however I searched for other TVGOS channels and noticed I was receiving VBI from WRLH (Fox 35)...but my guide listings (after 24 hours) aren't being populated and I didn't feel like resetting TVGOS on my receiver since it is a huge pain editing the channels (trust me). Anyway, I finally reset TVGOS this morning so I will hopefully be pulling TVGOS listings from WRLH when I get home this evening.

Observation: the broadcasters were helpful, but they had little knowledge of TVGOS...and it certainly didn't seem to be a priority.

Questions: Based on the photos, should I be receiving TVGOS listings from WRLH channel 35? Also, is there someone at Gemstar I can contact regarding this issue since I am still not receiving VBI from WCVE?

My power went out latenight Sunday March 4th and my TV Guide Listings disappeared. I have made sure the unit is off before midnight for the past few nights. Still, no guide. I am OTA with a winegard square shooter in the Chicago area. I do get great reception of WTTW-PBS (the guide channel?). I also tried to "reset" the listings by changing to another zip code. Any suggestions? Thanks ahead.

Do the ol' system reboot as mentioned before in this thread - press and hold the "exit" button on the box then press and hold the "TV Guide" button until it reboots. SHOULD clear out your glitch.

Wolfie

I'm in Austin too; granted, I've only had my ebay 500 for a week but I love it. I don't think the remote is clunky at all, I lke it, much smaller than my Sony TV remote. my machine is not noisy either, I have it sitting out in the open right now too. For the ability to record HD beautifully, large hard drive, and my ebay cost I would buy another one...and I am!
I use it only for OTA, so as I have not tried to use cable or cablecard maybe that is why I am happier with it than some other users here. I don't really care about other stuff TWC offers, SD or HD right now.

What are the "major" short comings of the HDD 500?
More shortcomings, although they are minor to me:

No support for IEEE-1394/iLink/FireWire.
No support for adding or swapping hard drives.
No support for bi-directional cable services such as PPV and VOD.
Questionable support for receiving TVGOS data via digital channels.

Observation: the broadcasters were helpful, but they had little knowledge of TVGOS...and it certainly didn't seem to be a priority.

Questions: Based on the photos, should I be receiving TVGOS listings from WRLH channel 35? Also, is there someone at Gemstar I can contact regarding this issue since I am still not receiving VBI from WCVE?

I think there are contracts in place with the stations that send TVGOS data. Good luck finding someone who understands that. But calling your local station is the best course, not Gemstar, AFAIK.

There could be TVGOS data on your channel 35, but other information is also carried in VBI. And there is more than one version of TVGOS. It's been said here that certain stations carry the older version and others carry the newer one. It's not clear if any carry both at the same time.

SE Connecticut - Comcast

I'm new to this forum and so far have read the first 35 and the last 24 pages of posts. I haven't read anything on my particular query, and (possibly due to my advanced age) haven't yet been able to glean the answers from the posts. Any any all responses will be appreciated.

First of all does Comcast broadcast any HD channels that DON'T require the use of a CableCard?

Secondly, is there anyone in SE CT who has experience with Comcast vs the Sony DHGHDDxxx?


I think I need to switch to a digital cable feed (?), but I'm not certain if i need a CableCard (or STB) since I've no use for either premium channels, VOD or PPV.

Thanks.

JLOB

SE Connecticut - Comcast

I'm new to this forum and so far have read the first 35 and the last 24 pages of posts. I haven't read anything on my particular query, and (possibly due to advanced age) haven't yet been to glean the answers from the posts. Any any all responses will be appreciated.

First of all does Comcast broadcast any HD channels the DON'T require the use of a CableCard?

Secondly, is there anyone in SE CT who has experience with Comcast vs the Sony DHGHDDxxx?


I know I need to switch to a digital cable feed, but I'm not certain if i need a CableCard (or STB) since I've no use for either premium channels, VOD or PPV.

Thanks.

JLOB

i've basic comcast cabletv, and hdd250 unit can autoscan-pickup all hidef network channels without card, but channel #s might be very strange.

with HDMI connection, units with firmware x.x.09 seem to retain Settings (1080i or 720p...) when turned-on.

x.x.05 doesn't and AutoHDMI's always default after turned-on.

I think there are contracts in place with the stations that send TVGOS data. Good luck finding someone who understands that. But calling your local station is the best course, not Gemstar, AFAIK.

There could be TVGOS data on your channel 35, but other information is also carried in VBI. And there is more than one version of TVGOS. It's been said here that certain stations carry the older version and others carry the newer one. It's not clear if any carry both at the same time.Thanks! All I know is the PBS station is no longer passing VBI, the only other stations that is passing VBI may not be passing TVGOS, my listings are not updating, the PBS stations (as nice as they are) can't answer my TVGOS questions. Ugh! I sure wish Sony would activate the USB and networking so I could manually download updates if necessary.

Until now, I have been pulling guide data from WCVE, channel 23, however I searched for other TVGOS channels and noticed I was receiving VBI from WRLH (Fox 35)...but my guide listings (after 24 hours) aren't being populated

There are two versions of TVGOS, an older one that is used by my Panasonic DMR-E85H DVD/HDD recorder, and a newer one that is used by the Sony units. My Panasonic receives its guide data from our local FOX station, whereas the Sony gets its data from a PBS station. So it may very well be that the VBI traffic you're seeing on your FOX station is for older TVGOS systems.

SE Connecticut - Comcast

I'm new to this forum and so far have read the first 35 and the last 24 pages of posts. I haven't read anything on my particular query, and (possibly due to my advanced age) haven't yet been able to glean the answers from the posts. Any any all responses will be appreciated.

First of all does Comcast broadcast any HD channels that DON'T require the use of a CableCard?

Secondly, is there anyone in SE CT who has experience with Comcast vs the Sony DHGHDDxxx?


I think I need to switch to a digital cable feed (?), but I'm not certain if i need a CableCard (or STB) since I've no use for either premium channels, VOD or PPV.

Thanks.

JLOB

I live in Windsor and have Expanded Basic cable. I simply plug the cable coax line into this unit and the autoscan picks up all analog and digital channels that Comcast sends out without scrambling. I get High Definition channels for CBS, Fox, WB, PBS, ABC, NBC on the Sony (which has a QAM-256 decoder built-in). Your system may be slightly different but you should NOT have to pay for a digital tier to get the locals in HD. You WILL have to pay for a digital tier if you want to get pay HD channels like ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, INHD, etc. The good news is you can get a Cablecard from Comcast and not have to pay the monthly fee for a digital PVR unit.... :)

with HDMI connection, units with firmware x.x.09 seem to retain Settings (1080i or 720p...) when turned-on.

x.x.05 doesn't and AutoHDMI's always default after turned-on.

I'll have to disagree. My HDD250 is version x.x.05, HDMI connection. I have the output setting at 1080i. It does not default to AutoHDMI when it is turned on. I had the problem of the unit randomly returning to AutoHDMI setting on occassion, but since I did the 'restore to factory defaults' and reformatted HD about one month ago, it has stayed at 1080 setting, no problem.

I'll have to disagree. My HDD250 is version x.x.05, HDMI connection. I have the output setting at 1080i. It does not default to AutoHDMI when it is turned on. I had the problem of the unit randomly returning to AutoHDMI setting on occassion, but since I did the 'restore to factory defaults' and reformatted HD about one month ago, it has stayed at 1080 setting, no problem.
or maybe because i've hdd250 connected to receiver via hdmi?

When Tweeters had it on sale, I asked a relative to buy me a Sony DHG-HDD500. On a whim he brought one for himself too.

It's NIB factory sealed. He is willing to sell it for around $350 if anyone wants to pick it up at his location in Newton, MA.

If interested let me know.

[Followup-It's been arranged to be sold.]

I'd like it but it would need to be shipped. I wil lgladly cover all shipping costs.
Thanks,
Ron in TX

Well, I've all but given up on my 250. In the 7 days I have owned it, i have had a total of 1.5 days of listings. I leave it off for up to 12 hours at a time, and it still doesn't update the listings. I finally did a guide reset a couple days ago, got about 75% of one days listings and then it stopped again.

Does anyone have any suggestions at this point? I get my host channel clearly with no problems, so I don't know what could be causing it. At this point, my Best Buy has one other unit in stock, I may try returning it for that one.

I'll have to disagree. My HDD250 is version x.x.05, HDMI connection. I have the output setting at 1080i. It does not default to AutoHDMI when it is turned on. I had the problem of the unit randomly returning to AutoHDMI setting on occassion, but since I did the 'restore to factory defaults' and reformatted HD about one month ago, it has stayed at 1080 setting, no problem.

Charlie, How are you connected? You must have something like an HDMI switch that is preventing your TV from reporting it's available resolutions. The SONY unit talks to the connected HDMI device if it passes the HDCP handshake it sets the current mode to auto HDMI. I am sure they added this feature because it allows the PVR to be plug and play with the guide output to a HDMI device. If they didn't have this feature if the last selected output was SDout then a HDMI TV was connected the device would appear to not work to the user since the guide would be sent to the svideo/composite outputs. And with the default feature of auto show guide on power on, even the FORMAT button wouldn't work (unless the user pressed the TV guide button first) :eek: .

SONY if you are reading this board you have to put a condition that you only override the video out to auto HDMI if SD-out is the current mode.

I have had two units a 250 and 500 firmware .05 and .06 and both do the exact something. The power up and remember the previous setting but as soon as the HDMI handshake completes the auto HDMI resolution is selected. :rolleyes:

Thanks! All I know is the PBS station is no longer passing VBI, the only other stations that is passing VBI may not be passing TVGOS, my listings are not updating, the PBS stations (as nice as they are) can't answer my TVGOS questions. Ugh! I sure wish Sony would activate the USB and networking so I could manually download updates if necessary.

I suggest that you use manual recording until the unit finds the correct station. The recorder will continue to scan the channels until it does. For the last number of weeks, most days I've had no guide data so I've used manual record, and yesterday I started a log of the recorded programs by day time, channel and program title. When I didn't know the program title, I just played the first few minutes to get it - much easier than a VCR and it's HDTV! Lack of the guide isn't going to stop me from viewing programs in HD.

i'm in south florida, what about you? wonder if the problem is specific to
the local channel sending the tv guide info? my host channel is 17. vbi
channel is currently showing 10-1 but i've seen it as 6-1 in the past...

keep me updated on dropped programs from the schedule. i'll try to confirm
i've lost them also. other shows i record are lost, house and 24.

I just noticed that 24 was dropped for next Monday. Anybody else have 24 dropped? Might be because this week had a 2hour 24 and the SONY picked it up automatically and that might have screwed up the starting time for next week.

I live in Southern MN. I have a Philips unit that uses the TVGOS and it never drops a show from the recording schedule. (It does have alot of other issues though). So I would say it is not the local host channel.

Can any add to the lost programs list????

I just noticed that 24 was dropped for next Monday. Anybody else have 24 dropped? Might be because this week had a 2hour 24 and the SONY picked it up automatically and that might have screwed up the starting time for next week.

I live in Southern MN. I have a Philips unit that uses the TVGOS and it never drops a show from the recording schedule. (It does have alot of other issues though). So I would say it is not the local host channel.

Can any add to the lost programs list????

According to the On-Line TV Gude, 24 is not on the schedule for next Monday.

According to the On-Line TV Gude, 24 is not on the schedule for next Monday.

According to TitanTV, there is a new episode of 24 at 9:00 pm EST on Monday the 13th. What does the online TV guide show in that timeslot?

Never mind - I just found it...

Looks like Nanny 911 at 8pm and Trading Spouses at 9pm. Strange.

I'll have to disagree. My HDD250 is version x.x.05, HDMI connection. I have the output setting at 1080i. It does not default to AutoHDMI when it is turned on. I had the problem of the unit randomly returning to AutoHDMI setting on occassion, but since I did the 'restore to factory defaults' and reformatted HD about one month ago, it has stayed at 1080 setting, no problem.

Please descibe the details of doing this. Were you having a problem other than the unit returning to AutoHDMI and if so did it fix that problem as well? :rolleyes:

Sometimes...I just don't get it...

Yesterday, I lost power for 9 hours, when the power came back on, my two Sony 500's came back like nothing ever happened...the guide was there, the correct time came right up, it even started a scheduled recording a minute after the power came up

Yet...

When I lose power for less than a minute...I lose everything...go figure!

Sometimes...I just don't get it...

Yesterday, I lost power for 9 hours, when the power came back on, my two Sony 500's came back like nothing ever happened...the guide was there, the correct time came right up, it even started a scheduled recording a minute after the power came up

Yet...

When I lose power for less than a minute...I lose everything...go figure!


I strongly recommend getting an uninterruptible power supply for this unit. I have my TV, TiVo, HDD250, wireless router, and DSL modem plugged into it.

It lets me gracefully shut down the TV in the event of a power failure, and provides some backup power for my devices with hard drives...

I just noticed that 24 was dropped for next Monday. Anybody else have 24 dropped? Might be because this week had a 2hour 24 and the SONY picked it up automatically and that might have screwed up the starting time for next week.

I live in Southern MN. I have a Philips unit that uses the TVGOS and it never drops a show from the recording schedule. (It does have alot of other issues though). So I would say it is not the local host channel.

Can any add to the lost programs list????

i did not lose 24 from my recording schedule... my listings show prison break
@ 8:00 and 24 at 9:00. perhaps us both losing boston legal earlier in the
week was a national tvgos problem, you losing 24 now is a local problem???

interesting issue! finding the cause is proving quite difficult. i find myself
checking the schedule every time i turn the tv on :-(

I live in Windsor and have Expanded Basic cable. I simply plug the cable coax line into this unit and the autoscan picks up all analog and digital channels that Comcast sends out without scrambling. I get High Definition channels for CBS, Fox, WB, PBS, ABC, NBC on the Sony (which has a QAM-256 decoder built-in). Your system may be slightly different but you should NOT have to pay for a digital tier to get the locals in HD. You WILL have to pay for a digital tier if you want to get pay HD channels like ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, INHD, etc. The good news is you can get a Cablecard from Comcast and not have to pay the monthly fee for a digital PVR unit.... :)


But will I need to pay the $9.95 fee for digital service to get ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, INHD, etc.?

Thanks.
JLOB

I'll have to disagree. My HDD250 is version x.x.05, HDMI connection. I have the output setting at 1080i. It does not default to AutoHDMI when it is turned on. I had the problem of the unit randomly returning to AutoHDMI setting on occassion, but since I did the 'restore to factory defaults' and reformatted HD about one month ago, it has stayed at 1080 setting, no problem.

How you connect to the TV makes a difference. Some folks use a HDMI>DVI adapter, which appears to cause different behavior than an HDMI>HDMI cable or a component connection.

I just found this out purely by accident - and this fearure might be a "DUHHH!!" thing for most of you - but you can add marks to a recording after it's done just by pushing the "select" button (the center wheel) on your remote at the point you want a break. Therefor, you don't have to monitor the program while it's recording. A nice thing to know.

Wolfie

Are you talking about the index mark feature? It works great, you can add, delete, hide, and even rename them whatever you want. I've had my 500 only a week, so I'm still trying out everything.
not sure what you mean about not having to monitor the program?

But will I need to pay the $9.95 fee for digital service to get ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, INHD, etc.?

Thanks.
JLOB
not just 9.95 but also have to pay for standard cable about 48.99 here.

i try to add just digital classic, but Comcast won't allow.

How you connect to the TV makes a difference. Some folks use a HDMI>DVI adapter, which appears to cause different behavior than an HDMI>HDMI cable or a component connection.
for me with x.x.05 and hdd250->receiver->tv via hdmi, auto-hdmi is always default.

i switch to component instead.

so i'm wrong......there will be hdtv turner+cablecard ready+hdd+blue-ray burner boxes available for perharps $1500-2000.

not just 9.95 but also have to pay for standard cable about 48.99 here.

i try to add just digital classic, but Comcast won't allow.

That is not true for my local comcast. Standcard cable = basic + extend cable. I have just basic and digital service and save about $30 by not having extended (channels 24-69) and I can still get the analog PBS channel for TVGOS data. Some reps might not know how to drop extended so they probably say it is not possible.

That is not true for my local comcast. Standcard cable = basic + extend cable. I have just basic and digital service and save about $30 by not having extended (channels 24-69) and I can still get the analog PBS channel for TVGOS data. Some reps might not know how to drop extended so they probably say it is not possible.
i tried to add digital classic twice but unsuccessfully.

Comcast reps insisted i have to have standard cable first!

i tried to add digital classic twice but unsuccessfully.

Comcast reps insisted i have to have standard cable first!


If you are only trying to get the HDTV channels, you should be able to subscribe to BASIC cable + the HDTV package ($13 + $5)...

According to TitanTV, there is a new episode of 24 at 9:00 pm EST on Monday the 13th. What does the online TV guide show in that timeslot?

Never mind - I just found it...

Looks like Nanny 911 at 8pm and Trading Spouses at 9pm. Strange.

The TVGOS downloads on Saturday night and Sunday night should include updated listings for Monday.

I have found that the best way to record something that is already in progress is to go the guide and, once there, press the record button. This will record the program, including the contents of the buffer. This eliminates the need to set times in the recording options.


I recently had the same problem and couldn't record a show in progress and the buffer. I tryed by going to guide and pressing 'record' and by setting a manual recording. The red dot would appear and then dissappear within 15 seconds. It just wouldn't allow it.

I tryed again later on a different channel and it worked. The only difference was that the first show's buffer included part of the previous program. The second time i tryed the buffer only included that show.

Could it be that the sony can't record a current show if the buffer contains parts of a previous show?

Well, I got my unit via Ebay yesterday, and now begin the long, uphill climb to get the TVGOS to work proprerly! Nothing happened overnight with unit in standby, so wish me luck as I peruse the 146 pages of posts here to find out all of the "tricks". I was happy to have the cable card work right off the bat, at least.

Got my DHG-HDD500 yesterday and plan to set it up today. Have to first go get some extra coax cables and splitters.

I currently have an HDTV to which basic analog cable goes in the "Analog" antenna jack and an off-air HDTV Silver Sensor antenna is attached to the "Digital" antenna input. My plan is to simply split these two antenna feeds and run the second leg of each to the Sony recorder.

Is that the best approach, or is there something else to try first?

Thanks.

Please descibe the details of doing this. Were you having a problem other than the unit returning to AutoHDMI and if so did it fix that problem as well? :rolleyes:

The reset and hard drive reformat were done through the 9012 menu - just followed the prompts. I was having some of the usual problems listed here - dropped recordings, audio breakups, etc, along with losing reception on random channels (which my HD tuner on TV was receiving, so I was pretty sure that it wasn't a signal reception problem). I have OTA only. I decided to try the reset and reformat before sending unit off for service. Since I did that, I've experienced no problems. The unit did previously randomly return to the AutoHDMI on powerup before doing the reset/reformat. It hasn't done that since. Nor have I experienced any of the other problems that I was having. Of course, with the reset/reformat everything had to be rerun and reset, such as channel listings,, tvgos info, etc.

I have HDMI out on HDD directly to HDMI in on my Sony KDF60XS955, nothing else, no dvi, no switches, just the HDMI cable. The standard output for HD from the HDD is set to full, the standard display on HDTV is set for 1080.

I did notice that when HDD was in AutoHDMI mode, the switching between channels took quite some time and there was audible click from HDD. In the 1080 mode, channels switch quickly and there is no click sound.

Got my DHG-HDD500 yesterday and plan to set it up today. Have to first go get some extra coax cables and splitters.

I currently have an HDTV to which basic analog cable goes in the "Analog" antenna jack and an off-air HDTV Silver Sensor antenna is attached to the "Digital" antenna input. My plan is to simply split these two antenna feeds and run the second leg of each to the Sony recorder.

Is that the best approach, or is there something else to try first?

Thanks.

That's pretty much the best approach. It's what I do. :)
Depending on the number of splits between the point of entry to your house and the TV and DVR, you may notice some picture quality degradation.
So, I actually added a drop-amp to my basic cable path to help the signal.
(I use an electroline, iirc, very nice unit - can be had for about $30 on E-bay.)


Mitch

I recently had the same problem and couldn't record a show in progress and the buffer. I tryed by going to guide and pressing 'record' and by setting a manual recording. The red dot would appear and then dissappear within 15 seconds. It just wouldn't allow it.

I tryed again later on a different channel and it worked. The only difference was that the first show's buffer included part of the previous program. The second time i tryed the buffer only included that show.

Could it be that the sony can't record a current show if the buffer contains parts of a previous show?

The buffer makes no difference. Was the non-recordable channel a cable premium channel via CableCARD?

As far as Sony coming out with a HD tuner/cable card/HDD/Blue-Ray or HD-DVD unit, I think that's more speculation than fact. Or wishful thinking at this stage. I don't know of any actual evidence that states that they're in production or even in the pre-production phase yet. Unless somebody's heard something definite that I haven't. With the copyright issues being as they currently are (especially with Sony's latest DVD recorders having reports of up to 50% non-recording due to the broadcast flag - if you don't believe me, check out the DVD recorder threads), I seriously don't expect them to offer permanent archiving of HD material soon, if ever.

That's pretty much the best approach. It's what I do. :)
Depending on the number of splits between the point of entry to your house and the TV and DVR, you may notice some picture quality degradation.
So, I actually added a drop-amp to my basic cable path to help the signal.
(I use an electroline, iirc, very nice unit - can be had for about $30 on E-bay.)


Mitch


Are you talking about picture quality degradation on SD channels, or HD channels? The HD channels should never experience any degradation. The signal either is there or is not there, '1' or '0', isn't it? I can understand the SD channels losing something in the split... (I'm just asking - I've never thought much about it...)

If you are only trying to get the HDTV channels, you should be able to subscribe to BASIC cable + the HDTV package ($13 + $5)...From the posts on this forum, I think that this is an area-dependent thing. In mine you cannot do this, no matter what.

Are you talking about picture quality degradation on SD channels, or HD channels? The HD channels should never experience any degradation. The signal either is there or is not there, '1' or '0', isn't it? I can understand the SD channels losing something in the split... (I'm just asking - I've never thought much about it...) You will lose about half of the signal strength with each split, so if any of your digitals are borderline to begin with, and do not have a strong enough signal strength, you might very well lose them.

As far as Sony coming out with a HD tuner/cable card/HDD/Blue-Ray or HD-DVD unit, I think that's more speculation than fact. Or wishful thinking at this stage. I don't know of any actual evidence that states that they're in production or even in the pre-production phase yet. Unless somebody's heard something definite that I haven't. With the copyright issues being as they currently are (especially with Sony's latest DVD recorders having reports of up to 50% non-recording due to the broadcast flag - if you don't believe me, check out the DVD recorder threads), I seriously don't expect them to offer permanent archiving of HD material soon, if ever.

I am sure Sony is working on cable-ready DVR. I don't have any data in front of but I bet OTA STBs are not big money makers. Lots of CE manufactures are making OCAP (Open Cable Application Platform ) DVRs that consumers can purchase but they will ultimately be controlled by the MSO (ie what can be recorded, what software get loaded, etc).

I see Smartbargains is selling the HDD500 now for $599 + shipping. Not as good as an e-bay deal (or Tweeter!) perhaps, but another option....

http://electronics.smartbargains.com/video/sony-dhghdd500-high-definition-dvr-show.sb?aid=355&ls_sid=Es5Ekr9eEBk-FXx3324lUYdXHE70io6ikQ

You will lose about half of the signal strength with each split, so if any of your digitals are borderline to begin with, and do not have a strong enough signal strength, you might very well lose them.

I split mine with a Terk tv5 and have no signal loss at all. I use the Sony just for HD locals.

You will lose about half of the signal strength with each split, so if any of your digitals are borderline to begin with, and do not have a strong enough signal strength, you might very well lose them.

My OTA setup is with two antennas - a Terk UHF and a Winegard VHF - both in my attic. They connect to a Winegard combiner & I use a Radio Shack signal amplifier. The antenna feed runs from amplifier to a three-way splitter that feeds HDD, HDTV & VCR (yes I still have one but it is rarely used!!) I am 7 miles from transmitter on top of mountain - no line of sight problems. It took a bit of fiddling to get the just-right setting on amplifier, but without it I don't get strong enough signal considering that I have feed going to three devices. Certainly with amp turned off, on certain HD channels the signal strength can be miserably low, resulting in intermittent picture. In trial and errors diagnosing tuner issues, I found that connecting antenna feed directly to individual device, not using amp, resulted in adequate HD signal. But it is necessary for me to use signal amp in order to have adequate feed when running current setup.

The HD channels should never experience any degradation. The signal either is there or is not there, '1' or '0', isn't it?

Nope. The visual result for HD is different than with SD, but if the HD signal is marginal/noisy, you typically get a fragmented image on screen that will change slowly as the unit resyncs on the next decodeable segment of the stream.

The buffer makes no difference. Was the non-recordable channel a cable premium channel via CableCARD?


It was the discovery military channel via cablecard (a digital channel). I set up to record the same show 3 hrs later and it recorded fine. Not sure what happened.

If there is a Tweeters near you go in and check it out. I just went in, saw the 500 gig unit there. The ticket on it was $699 marked down from $999, but when I inquired about it the sales person immediately knew without looking it up that the unit was only $249. A little deceptive, but I was able to buy it. It was their very last one in that store. It was definately worth the trip for me to check it out.

Where are you? Tweeter in Texas claims they don't have any 500's in the State.

After running Auto-Scan, I of course have multiple versions of many of my local network channels. I'm going to go into the DHG settings and delete the lower-quality duplicates (e.g. ABC analog off-air).

Once I manually edit the DHG channel listing, do those edits carry over to TVGOS?

Thanks.

Once I manually edit the DHG channel listing, do those edits carry over to TVGOS?


I don't believe that they do. They are mostly independent of each other.

I think that disabling a channel in the DHG listing just keeps it from being included when you do Chan Up or Down. You can still tune it with the keypad and TVGOS can still access it.

It was the discovery military channel via cablecard (a digital channel). I set up to record the same show 3 hrs later and it recorded fine. Not sure what happened.

Now look in your "Recording History" and see if the program that failed said "not permitted by service provider". This is a known intermittent problem with digital cable programs in some areas with the Sony DVR and Moto cards with FW v. 4.05.

A poster here has reported that FW 4.21 solves the issue.

FYI, I received a return call from WCVE (Richmond VA area) late yesterday afternoon...they figured out the problem and are now receiving TVGOS data from their upstream fiber connection. My guide populated last night and all is once again well.

Ok, am I the only one in the entire Richmond VA area thread using TVGOS for their local cable and OTA recording? As far as I can tell, the TVGOS generator was down at WCVE from Sunday-Friday (5 days) and not one post or phone call into the station besides mine.

TVGOS isn't the greatest guide in the world, but it's free and it usually works quite well once it's set up. I'm just surprised so few people seem to be using it outside this forum.

Here is an update on the broken Sony DHG-HDD250...

http://home.comcast.net/~twinbrook46636/sonysucks.jpg

Monday:
I called Sony service and the woman I spoke with was nice enough. She took my credit card number to do an advance exchange on the unit and arranged for UPS to pick up and inspect the unit.

Tuesday:
UPS stopped by to pick up and inspect the unit. So far so good.

Thursday:
I get a call from Sony requesting my credit card number for an advance exchange and to arrange to have the broken unit picked up. Here we go. I told them that UPS already picked the broken unit up and that they already took my credit card number for the exchange. She told me they would send out a new unit as an advance exchange. She takes my credit card number again.

Saturday:
I receive an email stating that they have received the broken unit and it is with a technician.

I really don't want the original unit back as it had obviously suffered a lot of shock. Even if components such as the hard drive are still working I have doubts they will last very long. There were pieces rattling around inside after all. I was also promised a new unit in exchange.

Update: Situation Resolved

I received a call back and the replacement DHG-HDD250 was shipped out on Thursday. Just a lot of confusion. I received it and it appears to be a new unit but has the 161-6 error fix and firmware 1.2.13 update. This time it was shipped in an appropriate box. They told me they do not re-use the customer's packaging unless the original retail box was used.

TVGOS isn't the greatest guide in the world, but it's free and it usually works quite well once it's set up. I'm just surprised so few people seem to be using it outside this forum.

I suspect that most people wouldn't know who to call for such a problem other than Sony.

I have one hard drive at 113 and the other at 123? Is this too hot? Should I get a fan or laptop cooler for this? Does the internal fan blow the hot air out or draw cool air in?

Also, how do you get to the VBI test menu again?

Thanks!

Tune to channel-->Menu-->Screen Mode-->9012-->TV Guide-->G*Factory Test. Your temps seem a little hot. Mine are 96/107...it's 68 in the house and it's sitting about 3 inches away from a Dish 622 HD DVR (a very warm, not hot receiver). I will say the HDD500 is my coolest running HD DVRs (it's always cool to the touch).

FYI, I received a return call from WCVE (Richmond VA area) late yesterday afternoon...they figured out the problem and are now receiving TVGOS data from their upstream fiber connection. My guide populated last night and all is once again well.

Ok, am I the only one in the entire Richmond VA area thread using TVGOS for their local cable and OTA recording? As far as I can tell, the TVGOS generator was down at WCVE from Sunday-Friday (5 days) and not one post or phone call into the station besides mine.

TVGOS isn't the greatest guide in the world, but it's free and it usually works quite well once it's set up. I'm just surprised so few people seem to be using it outside this forum.

I live in the Boise area with over a half million people and when I called the PBS station he had no idea what I was talking about and when I put my problem on the local HD forum I got one response. Now everything is working great and has been for over a month on both my 250 and 500. Sometimes seems like we are the only ones who have problems but maybe we are the only ones that care enough to try and correct it. Hats off to us! :D

Tune to channel-->Menu-->Screen Mode-->9012-->TV Guide-->G*Factory Test.Can you elaborate a little on this? I'm not getting anywhere after "screen mode"......... :confused:

Can you elaborate a little on this? I'm not getting anywhere after "screen mode"......... :confused:

Hit "Menu" and then "Screen Mode" (in sequence) on the remote. Then enter the digits 9012 (in seguence) on the remote keypad. Then select from the resulting menu.

I have one hard drive at 113 and the other at 123? Is this too hot? Should I get a fan or laptop cooler for this? Does the internal fan blow the hot air out or draw cool air in?

Also, how do you get to the VBI test menu again?

Thanks!

Maximum temperature is 131F according to the specifications on the Western Digital web site.

Now look in your "Recording History" and see if the program that failed said "not permitted by service provider". This is a known intermittent problem with digital cable programs in some areas with the Sony DVR and Moto cards with FW v. 4.05.

A poster here has reported that FW 4.21 solves the issue.

How do i get the fw update - through comcast or moto? Also, if i update the fw, will it reset all the channels, etc? Thanks

How do i get the fw update - through comcast or moto? Also, if i update the fw, will it reset all the channels, etc? Thanks

Comcast will roll out updates area by area. The only reported appearance of 4.21 so far is in the Boston area. That required installation of a different pre-programmed card. It's not clear if future updates can be done remotely. A new card will reset the guide channel list. I don't know what a remote update would do.

Something strange happened last night. I went to watch a recorded HD program and the screen had bars on the top and bottom, which never happens when watching shows I recorded from the major networks. I then went to live tv and the current show, The Unit, also had the bars through the Sony. I then turned off the Sony and watched the same show through my HD tv tuner and no bars, like it should be. I checked screen mode and Sony was set for letterbox as was my tv. Anyone know why I am getting the bars through the Sony tuner?

Something strange happened last night. I went to watch a recorded HD program and the screen had bars on the top and bottom, which never happens when watching shows I recorded from the major networks. I then went to live tv and the current show, The Unit, also had the bars through the Sony. I then turned off the Sony and watched the same show through my HD tv tuner and no bars, like it should be. I checked screen mode and Sony was set for letterbox as was my tv. Anyone know why I am getting the bars through the Sony tuner?

What kind of screen ratio of your TV, 4:3 or 16:9?

According to HDD500 instruction book, letter box setting is for 4:3 screen only.

To Fastep
I also was having this problem with the recording error on my premium channels. I have the moto card rev 4.5. What I did was a soft reboot and for some reason I have not had a single problem since. It has recorded everything I have put in. I have cox cable in my area and they will not offer any help with cable cards. You may want to give this a shot and see if it will do you any good. All I can say is the more I use my hdd 250 the more I enjoy it. Wish I could of gotten in on the deals that were going around on the 500.
Good Luck
rlh149

I have one hard drive at 113 and the other at 123? Is this too hot? Maximum temperature is 131F according to the specifications on the Western Digital web site.
Where/how are you guys reading HD temps? :confused: Has it been determined that the Sony dvr uses a WD HD?
Thanks.

my hdd500 powers down at 1am everyday ( I assume it is for guide info setup), but is there a way to change this time or disable it. thanks

Where/how are you guys reading HD temps?
Thanks.
On the remote, press 'menu' then go into 'system' then 'preferences' then 'diagnostics'. This will tell you the temp, drive space left, and signal strength, and some other stuff that I have no idea about, looks like computer programing language or something. What are all those letters about in that screen, anyone know?

And thanks for the info about the temps and VBI channel info. :D

my hdd500 powers down at 1am everyday ( I assume it is for guide info setup), but is there a way to change this time or disable it. thanks
Do the same as above, except instead of going into 'diagnostics' go into the 'auto off' screen.

On the remote, press 'menu' then go into 'system' then 'preferences' then 'diagnostics'. This will tell you the temp, drive space left, and signal strengthThanks! Got it! My HD temp, btw, shows 102 F.

I notice there's a space for a second HD (hdd500).....I wonder if the two drives are dependent on one another, i.e., if one fails will it render the dvr inoperable? Or is this an added bonus with the hdd500, i.e., HD redundancy?

Thinking down the road, I'm wondering not about whether the HD will fail, but when, especially since this thing is spinning 24/7.

What kind of screen ratio of your TV, 4:3 or 16:9?

According to HDD500 instruction book, letter box setting is for 4:3 screen only.


Both tv's are 16x9. Was never an issue until yesterday. What do others have their screen mode set to?

Where/how are you guys reading HD temps? :confused: Has it been determined that the Sony dvr uses a WD HD?
Thanks.

You can see the HD from a photo of the inside that was posted on this thread.

Thanks! Got it! My HD temp, btw, shows 102 F.

I notice there's a space for a second HD (hdd500).....I wonder if the two drives are dependent on one another, i.e., if one fails will it render the dvr inoperable? Or is this an added bonus with the hdd500, i.e., HD redundancy?

Thinking down the road, I'm wondering not about whether the HD will fail, but when, especially since this thing is spinning 24/7.

My guess is that the 500 will continue to work after one of the drives fail. Since the HD is a mechanical device, it will eventually stop working but it is likely to last for many years. Spinnning 24/7 actually increases its live expectancy since most wear occurs at spin-up.

Before I got my 500, I assumed that only one drive would run until it filled up, and then the second drive would take over. However, that's not the way it works. Programs are recorded on both drives, although temperature of drive 2 is always higher.

Thanks for the pics, guys.

So, it's a WD PATA just like the one I bought for my old pc a couple years ago....wonder how long these drives will still be manufactured....all my drives are SATA now.

Do the ol' system reboot as mentioned before in this thread - press and hold the "exit" button on the box then press and hold the "TV Guide" button until it reboots. SHOULD clear out your glitch.

Wolfie
So it has been a week since my power went out and the TVGOS still has not repopulated. I did the reboot twice. When I first bought the 250 (Feb. 20th? - I was able to record the last few days of the Olympics) it populated the TVGOS after about three nights and worked okay until March 4th. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

So it has been a week since my power went out and the TVGOS still has not repopulated. I did the reboot twice. When I first bought the 250 (Feb. 20th? - I was able to record the last few days of the Olympics) it populated the TVGOS after about three nights and worked okay until March 4th. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

For probably a month, neither of my two units have be able to download the guide, except for a few random days. I'm hoping that the units will eventually acquire guide information without me having to do anything expect turn them off when I go to bed. I've read that reseting the guide using the 9012 access code is needed to get the gude working again but I'm not rushing to do that since it takes lots of time to edit out the unwanted channels from the listing. Until the guide returns I'm going to continue using manual programming.

I've read that reseting the guide using the 9012 access code is needed to get the gude working again but I'm not rushing to do that since it takes lots of time to edit out the unwanted channels from the listing. Until the guide returns I'm going to continue using manual programming.
At least I know I'm not the only one...I've already manually programmed this week of primetime network stuff except for he docu's i watch on pbs-hd so i'll prob do the same. Which reminds me I need to program PBS-HD stuff. Thanks!

I'm late to the dance so I never got a chance to pick up the HDD500 at the blowout Tweeter price but I did manage to pick it up at $520 brand new recently, I'm awaiting delivery to join in this "official" members thread.

Is there a way to dump my HDD500 to .ts files on a computer. My HTPC playback is better quality than the 500 box. Thanks

Is there a way to dump my HDD500 to .ts files on a computer. My HTPC playback is better quality than the 500 box. Thanks

Nope.

Is there a way to dump my HDD500 to .ts files on a computer. My HTPC playback is better quality than the 500 box. Thanks

I find that hard to believe. If you set the Sony to "native" then you should get out what you get in.

So it has been a week since my power went out and the TVGOS still has not repopulated. I did the reboot twice. When I first bought the 250 (Feb. 20th? - I was able to record the last few days of the Olympics) it populated the TVGOS after about three nights and worked okay until March 4th. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Hmmm...find out which channel is your TVGOS host channel (usually your local PBS analog channel) and leave it on in the channel editor section of the menu. It is under "setup".

Wolfie

Not sure what you mean about not having to monitor the program?

You know, having to watch the program just to insert the marks at the proper place so to skip over commercials with OTA programs.

Wolfie

I find that hard to believe. If you set the Sony to "native" then you should get out what you get in.

In most cases, I wouldn't think the HTPC is better than the Sony either (mine isn't). However, it does depend on the decoder used. You do start with the same MPEG2 stream in each case, but decoders can be quite different. Purely software decoders need A LOT of processing power to equal most hardware decoders so usually they don't.

I moved my week old 500 into my AV cabinet and the drives' temps are up to 118 and 123, in standby. they were about 105 and 110-113 before. I am even leaving the front glass door open, there is about 10" above the unit, and 3" on each side, with no other equipment near it. If it doesn't go much hotter is this an okay temp? I'm in Texas and days are gonna get a lot hotter here. I prefer having it in the cabinet, but the door open is a problem cause my Bengal cat likes to play with the glass door and will probably break it. (Anyone familiar with Bengals know what I mean!).

I was only OTA before but decided with the move/unplug to setup for Cable too. No listings yet after 24 hours. my OTA lisitngs did come back, no cable yet.
I set the clock with the 9012 test. I am getting about 100-200 VBI per minute on both the AIR and Cable PBS channels. tho I think Air is getting faster data.
If I decide to move (unplug) it out of the cabinet will I lose any guide data I may get?

Something strange happened last night. I went to watch a recorded HD program and the screen had bars on the top and bottom, which never happens when watching shows I recorded from the major networks. I then went to live tv and the current show, The Unit, also had the bars through the Sony. I then turned off the Sony and watched the same show through my HD tv tuner and no bars, like it should be. I checked screen mode and Sony was set for letterbox as was my tv. Anyone know why I am getting the bars through the Sony tuner?

My unit has similar intermittent problems with screen modes. The solution has been to unplug for a few seconds or do the front panel reset.

If I decide to move (unplug) it out of the cabinet will I lose any guide data I may get?

I have unplugged my unit a couple of times while rearranging my setup and have never lost any guide data. Unit was probably off no more than a few minutes during that time (since I WAS paranoid about losing the data). When power was reapplied I got the countup to 6, the Welcome screen followed by the --:-- clock. After about 3 minutes got the clock back as well - kept all TVGOS data and future recordings.

Thanks.
is it ok for this thing at 123 degrees in standby? I know it has a self cutoff at 132 degrees I think I read. Guess I need to see how hot it gets in full on mode, but I'm in guide download mode so it has been in standy mostly. I really want to keep it in the cabinet. The cabinet back is basically closed with some air holes where the cables enter. I guess I can remove some of the back, it is cheap press board that I have cut for wire hole anyway.
I know that SA 8300 cable box I had got much hotter to the touch than this 500 does.

I moved my week old 500 into my AV cabinet and the drives' temps are up to 118 and 123, in standby. they were about 105 and 110-113 before. I am even leaving the front glass door open, there is about 10" above the unit, and 3" on each side, with no other equipment near it.

Is the cabinet open or closed in the back? That should make a big difference because air tends to go into the unit through the vents in the bottom and out through the vents in the back. I have my 500 in a cabinet that has a glass door in front, but is almost completely open in the back, and a couple of feet from the wall. After turning it on just now, the temperatures are 104 and 116.

Personally, I think you guys are spending WAY too much time worrying about the temperature of these units. :rolleyes:

Has anyone had a problem with playback in which the audio did not come through as well as the picture freezing for a fraction of a second every so often?
Both my 250 and 500 will not output any audio on playback from a recorded show on local 46.1 CBS Atlanta ( over the air). No problem watching live on this channel. No problem with any other channels as they all will record and playback as they should. Only having issues with 46.1 in the playback mode. Also, if when I am trying to playback a show from this station and it is tuned to the same, when I exit to tv, then the live show will lose the audio and have the same freeze frame problem. To clear this I enter 46.1 on the keypad and then it switches to no signal screen. In this screen at the system diagnostics, it shows a cable station at 5%( I have no cable or hookup to cable terminal, plus no listing for such). When I re-enter the station again, then all is well. This problem cropped up on Friday the 10th. Before this, everything was OK and I can still playback any previously saved recordings form 46.1 without any problem.
Also, to update on lost programming.. For 2 weeks in a row 24 dropped off sometime over the weekend( not home so do not know exact). So far it is still in the schedule. Also had some others get lost?? after watching some recorded shows and then deleting the same. The shows that dropped off were not the same as the watched ones,but my have been the same channel as all the lost ones were. But I think it must be a TVGOS issue, because my girlfriends 250 on cable across town also dropped 24 that same day. Have not had any other problems since.
Also, my girlfriend has Panasonic DVR with TVGOS (cable) as well and for the last week it shows no listings what so ever. Anybody else having this problem?
My setup:
No change in equipment or antenna setup or settings. All HDMI output to Denon 4806 AVR. HDMI from there to Sony Plasma TV with built in HD tuner. Signal ranges from 88% to 94% on this 46.1 station as well as other stations.

Personally, I think you guys are spending WAY too much time worrying about the temperature of these units. :rolleyes:I wouldn't dismiss the idea of keeping your drive temps low. Heat is the enemy of hard drives, and they would probably have a shorter lifetime if they run hot.

Nope. The visual result for HD is different than with SD, but if the HD signal is marginal/noisy, you typically get a fragmented image on screen that will change slowly as the unit resyncs on the next decodeable segment of the stream.


I disagree. The visual results for a weak Digital signal, whether HD or SD is
pretty much what you described. After all, the only real difference is the amount
of information contained, not how it is formatted, contained, or delivered.

Perhaps you were thinking of an Analogue signal when you read SD.

Dan (Woj...)

[QUOTE=highdefdottv]So it has been a week since my power went out and the TVGOS still has not repopulated. I did the reboot twice. When I first bought the 250 (Feb. 20th? - I was able to record the last few days of the Olympics) it populated the TVGOS after about three nights and worked okay until March 4th. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[QUOTE=Wolfie]Hmmm...find out which channel is your TVGOS host channel (usually your local PBS analog channel) and leave it on in the channel editor section of the menu. It is under "setup".

On March 3rd did you edit the channels display? I discovered that local PBS is not TVGOS host in ABQ. In setting up the channels display, I turned off the analog of channel 4 (local NBC) in the channel editor, thinking that I didn't need duplicate channels displayed. I then had no TVGOS info populate at all. After turning that station back on, TVGOS info populated. It appeared that if the host channel is set to off in the TVGOS, then you get no TVGOS info. I was able to use the 9012 menu to verify the local host channel, as has been explained in this post.

I moved my week old 500 into my AV cabinet and the drives' temps are up to 118 and 123, in standby. they were about 105 and 110-113 before. I am even leaving the front glass door open, there is about 10" above the unit, and 3" on each side, with no other equipment near it. If it doesn't go much hotter is this an okay temp?

The maximum temperature for the drive is 131F, but lower temperature is always best for long life. Power consumption is probably the same in both standby and On. Only difference is that standby mode is needed to receive guide data. I suggest you provide openings in back of unit for air flow.

I was only OTA before but decided with the move/unplug to setup for Cable too. No listings yet after 24 hours. my OTA lisitngs did come back, no cable yet.
I set the clock with the 9012 test. I am getting about 100-200 VBI per minute on both the AIR and Cable PBS channels. tho I think Air is getting faster data.
If I decide to move (unplug) it out of the cabinet will I lose any guide data I may get?

I think you need to change the setup to both OTA and Cable, and rescan inputs. Also, before moving the unit, be sure to wait a minute after you unplug it, to allow time for the drives to stop spinning.

The NBC DTV issue is due to channel 5.1 being off the air last night.

You could try the 9012 menu -> Format Hard Drive. I believe this will copy all the application software from the backup partition to the main partition. I don't know if that will result in you losing your setups or recordings.

My unit is still crashing multiple times a day and reseting my clock while in standby more. After trying all of the different factory and user resets to default I tried the Format Hard Drive option hoping that something was corrupt and that rebuilding the system for the backup partition would resolve my problems.

When selecting the Format option in the 9012 menu, the warning says that this action will take several hours to run. After confirming my request the unit reboots and shows the Welcome message and goes through 1, 2, 3, and at 4 it stops and shows FORMAT on the front display. This only lasted maybe 2 minutes before the unit showed a message displaing 1000000000 (Not sure about the number of 0s) for another couple of minutes and then rebooted again to end up with only the --:-- as the clock.

After powering up the unit I see a message saying something like "Hard disk error recovered successfully".

I'm guessing the hard drive reformat was not successfull and there must be a bad area on my drive which is possibly also causing the TVGOS crashes.

I tried this twice with the same result.

Whoever was successful in reformating their drives, did it in fact take several hours or was it this quick? Could the recover error only be a normal message after reformating the drive?

It's looking more and more like I will have to send my unit in to Sony for repair and I'll have to pay the $92 labor fee because I'm past the 90 days warranty and only have parts on warranty.

JP

OTA only/06 firmware.

I'd suspect the reformat WAS sucessful, and you should check your setups (or go thru them again) and wait to see if the time and TVG listings populate. How long have you waited since the reformat?

I suspect that you might be nearing a complete failure. If it really did recover successfully from an HDD error, it might just be a matter of time before it is unable to recover. I seem to recall that that error/warning message has been an ominous sign of things to come for others in this forum.

On the other hand, the message might just be the standard notification after a HDD format...

I would wait and see if things start working. If not, it is probably time for service.

Don't know if anyone has the same erratic behavior as me. I recently purchase the dhg500 on ebay, it does not have the .13 firmware update. The problem I have discovered causes multiple reboots and loss of time and tvgos data if not handled correctly.
If for some reason a recording is interrupted for any reason (ie) power interruption or user forced quit or a channel error.
When you try to play back this file the sony doesn't know how to handle the error at the end of the file and auto reboots. At this point everything is still ok if you delete the offending file immediately. Any second attempt to access the file for viewing will cause another reboot and loss of all stored data. This happens even if there is several days between attempts to access the file.
All in all, the picture quality is extraordinary. I own a panasonic eh85 and a motorola 6412. The Sony beats them both on p.q. for digital and analog signals. The motorola is only superior on the high def stations.
Cable card service is not available from my cable provider :-( so I can't compare.
My opinion: A second tuner in this machine should have been a no brainer for Sony

Whoever was successful in reformating their drives, did it in fact take several hours or was it this quick? Could the recover error only be a normal message after reformating the drive?

My HDD250 hard-drive reformat was successful; doing that and resetting to factory defaults cured all problems I was having. Sorry tho, I can't answer your question about time. I started the reformat and then went to bed. When I awoke, unit was off, no time was displayed. When I turned it on there was a message, something like "hard drive successfully formatted", but I really don't recall exact wording.

I suspect that you might be nearing a complete failure. If it really did recover successfully from an HDD error, it might just be a matter of time before it is unable to recover. I seem to recall that that error/warning message has been an ominous sign of things to come for others in this forum....It was for me. Within a day or two of that same chain of events and message, my unit locked up entirely and was pronounced dead at the scene. Got my $$ back.

Emailed engineering at 46.1 local CBS Atlanta about lost audio problem. The reply back:We had an encoder problem. Should be correct as of about 1:00 pm today.
I checked by recording a show this afternoon and thus far the lost audio problem is no longer. Glad that it was not something with the unit, just was weird that I got audio during the live feed, but that it could not record/playback the audio. If this is possible, it makes me wonder if the guys that handle the TVGOS system could manipulate our scheduled programs somehow.
Something to think about.

Anybody here using a JP1 remote to control their DHG-HDD250/500?

I'm having issues with the volume punch through on my JP1 remote with the KM file I used for programming it. Basically I'm not getting Volume punch through, instead it seems to pick buttons for the DHG box other than what it's programmed to when I hit the volume buttons. This is very annoying as I need to remember to switch back and forth between audio receiver and DHG control, if I hit the volume button something like hitting '1' occurs when I have 'volume up' programmed to nothing.

I posted this on hifi-remotes.com w/o much success so I figured I'd try here.

CCourtney

I'd suspect the reformat WAS sucessful, and you should check your setups (or go thru them again) and wait to see if the time and TVG listings populate. How long have you waited since the reformat?


The first time I tried to reformat I redid the setup and eventually got my clock back but the unit still crashed in TVGOS download attempt.

I only ever got the HD error recovery message after attempting to reformat.

I can actually use the unit by always leaving it on and doing manual programming. I just have to prevent it from trying to get the TVGOS and I can keep the clock stable.

From another post that mentions he had a message of successful format when he first turned it on after which I did not get I really don't think my reformat was successful and I will call Sony for service.

Thanks

JP

Perhaps you were thinking of an Analogue signal when you read SD.

Yep, sorry, my bad.

So there is nothing else I need to do to make the cable channels appear in the TVGOS? They should just appear like th Air cables are, after I had reset for both Cable and air? I see nothing else I can do to make them appear. I can tune all the cable channels (108 or so) in the tuner and my Air channels are in the guide. It's been 2 days. the clock has been set and stable from the reset and when I did the 9012 test 2 days ago. THe VBI data is coming in on both PBS stations Air and cable but slower, about 60-100 per minute. I guess I'll wait another day and then do a resetup? I may just stick to Air but I'd like the have the guide for all the cable channels. hmm.

After powering up the unit I see a message saying something like "Hard disk error recovered successfully".

I'm guessing the hard drive reformat was not successfull and there must be a bad area on my drive which is possibly also causing the TVGOS crashes.

I tried this twice with the same result.

Whoever was successful in reformating their drives, did it in fact take several hours or was it this quick? Could the recover error only be a normal message after reformating the drive?

It's looking more and more like I will have to send my unit in to Sony for repair and I'll have to pay the $92 labor fee because I'm past the 90 days warranty and only have parts on warranty.

JP

OTA only/06 firmware.[/QUOTE]
After factory resetting from 9012 the message I get is"Hard disk drive error successfully recovered".My unit will download the 1st,2nd,and 8th days,and then will not download the guide.It will just say no listing.After a week and a half of waiting for more guide downloading I did the factory reset and once again the only download was the first overnight loading.I reset again and and am waiting to see if it downloads more than the initial overnight.
It doesn't appear that "...error successfully recovered" really means success.

Gigaguy, look to see if you got new guide data last night. IE, for next Tuesday. If you did, then it's a display problem since the data contains both OTA and cable.

Has anyone had a problem with playback in which the audio did not come through as well as the picture freezing for a fraction of a second every so often?
Both my 250 and 500 will not output any audio on playback from a recorded show on local 46.1 CBS Atlanta ( over the air). No problem watching live on this channel. No problem with any other channels as they all will record and playback as they should. Only having issues with 46.1 in the playback mode. Also, if when I am trying to playback a show from this station and it is tuned to the same, when I exit to tv, then the live show will lose the audio and have the same freeze frame problem. To clear this I enter 46.1 on the keypad and then it switches to no signal screen. In this screen at the system diagnostics, it shows a cable station at 5%( I have no cable or hookup to cable terminal, plus no listing for such). When I re-enter the station again, then all is well. This problem cropped up on Friday the 10th. Before this, everything was OK and I can still playback any previously saved recordings form 46.1 without any problem.
Also, to update on lost programming.. For 2 weeks in a row 24 dropped off sometime over the weekend( not home so do not know exact). So far it is still in the schedule. Also had some others get lost?? after watching some recorded shows and then deleting the same. The shows that dropped off were not the same as the watched ones,but my have been the same channel as all the lost ones were. But I think it must be a TVGOS issue, because my girlfriends 250 on cable across town also dropped 24 that same day. Have not had any other problems since.
Also, my girlfriend has Panasonic DVR with TVGOS (cable) as well and for the last week it shows no listings what so ever. Anybody else having this problem?
My setup:
No change in equipment or antenna setup or settings. All HDMI output to Denon 4806 AVR. HDMI from there to Sony Plasma TV with built in HD tuner. Signal ranges from 88% to 94% on this 46.1 station as well as other stations.
i have audio playback pause every few secs when using only HDMI cable via the receiver.

Connecting optical audio cable & HDMI correct audio problem.

is this a new HDTV-DVD-HDD Recorder from Panasonic?

http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11315-HDTV:%20New%20HD%20TV's%20and%20HD%20DVD%20recorders%20by%20 Panasonic.html

is this a new HDTV-DVD-HDD Recorder from Panasonic?

http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11315-HDTV:%20New%20HD%20TV's%20and%20HD%20DVD%20recorders%20by%20 Panasonic.html

Interesting. Good to see Guide+ (TVGOS) being offered on another new product - definitely different to see how it looks with Japanese text.

So there is nothing else I need to do to make the cable channels appear in the TVGOS? They should just appear like th Air cables are, after I had reset for both Cable and air? I see nothing else I can do to make them appear. I can tune all the cable channels (108 or so) in the tuner and my Air channels are in the guide. It's been 2 days. the clock has been set and stable from the reset and when I did the 9012 test 2 days ago. THe VBI data is coming in on both PBS stations Air and cable but slower, about 60-100 per minute. I guess I'll wait another day and then do a resetup? I may just stick to Air but I'd like the have the guide for all the cable channels. hmm.

Giga, have you set these channels to on in your setup? This may be obvious, but did you go to channel set up and see if they are there?

Also, as someone else said, you need to rescan for your cable channels. (I assume that you have done that).

is this a new HDTV-DVD-HDD Recorder from Panasonic?

http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-11315-HDTV:%20New%20HD%20TV's%20and%20HD%20DVD%20recorders%20by%20 Panasonic.html

There have been numerous Hi Def HDD / D/L DVD recorder player units for Asia and Europe released from Japan this year - Pioneer, Sharp, and Panasonic. They all use a Gemstar based guide, but none have models that are released in the US with ATSC. It's almost funny that the areas of the world with the most piracy problems are releasing basically wide open systems, (it's notable that sony being a content provider too has not released similar units in Asia or Europe) but the in the US the content providers are so scared of joe sixpack putting hi def CSI on a DVD that they've cowed the manufacturers into either not releasing or crippling the product to make it almost useless. You can get a very acceptable , if not high definition copy, out of the sony through the Svideo out.

Yes I have read a lot of this thread, when I knew I was getting the 500 I read up to page 90. I have read many of the more recent pages too.
No I did not do a rescan of the cable channels. THey are already in the channel list but just not on the guide. Only the OTA are in both.

In the Set-up channels. there are 2-300 listings, but the Menu option to select cable vs Air only allows the Air option. When I tried to turn say CNN on, it would not let me select cable in the Menu box. I'll try to turn more on. Nowhere do I see any channel that allows a Cable option, all say AIR. I figured they would all show up in the Listings (as either Air or Cable) and then I edit them in Setup from there. I have checked the main setup screen and Cable and Air and my zip are there, with no warnings etc.

So I guess I need to rescan cable channels? Not sure what that has to do with the TV guide not showing the channels that are already tuned and working. I'll try it tonight.
otherwise I'm just gonna use it for OTA HD recording and forget about SD cable.

Yes I have read a lot of this thread, when I knew I was getting the 500 I read up to page 90. I have read many of the more recent pages too.
No I did not do a rescan of the cable channels. THey are already in the channel list but just not on the guide. Only the OTA are in both.

In the Set-up channels. there are 2-300 listings, but the Menu option to select cable vs Air only allows the Air option. When I tried to turn say CNN on, it would not let me select cable in the Menu box. I'll try to turn more on. Nowhere do I see any channel that allows a Cable option, all say AIR. I figured they would all show up in the Listings (as either Air or Cable) and then I edit them in Setup from there. I have checked the main setup screen and Cable and Air and my zip are there, with no warnings etc.

So I guess I need to rescan cable channels? Not sure what that has to do with the TV guide not showing the channels that are already tuned and working. I'll try it tonight.
otherwise I'm just gonna use it for OTA HD recording and forget about SD cable.


If you haven't done this yet, go into the TVGOS, and then the upper menu bar. Pick "Setup", and then choose the option that allows you to change the channel setup (I think it is the second option). From there, there is an option to tell it that your lineup is incorrect. Pick this, and then it should show you the OTA and cable lineups. Make sure that you are specifying a cable system here in addition to the broadcast (OTA) channels. I don't remember the exact menu picks...

You can get a very acceptable , if not high definition copy, out of the sony through the Svideo out.

Have you done this already? I was curious how this would come out. I guess you would get an even better picture out of the component output (if you had a DVD recorder with these inputs).

I've output 16:9 to my Panny DVD recorder via S-video, looks fine. All depends on what your DVD recorder will accept. Mine doesn't have component. Now I'm wondering if component would look better than S-video. All SD video looks subpar on my Sony HD tube set, HD looks great.

How can I tell what fiemware version my DHG-HDD500 has

It's on a few of the Menu screens.

Try Menu--System--System data? can't remember the exact wording.
or maybe Menu - System -- Diagnostics,
I'm not at home or I'd look it up.

Have you done this already? I was curious how this would come out. I guess you would get an even better picture out of the component output (if you had a DVD recorder with these inputs).

I didn't have to record it. The sony down-converts whatever you're watching through the S-video. I fed it to the pioneer, which fed it to the set through it's own component outputs at 480p. It was DVD quality ( or close enough that I couldn't tell the difference ). Once it's in the pioneer you can cut the commercials out and dump it to a DVD. I'm curious what an up-converting DVD player would do to it.

Does anyone know if Verizon FIOS service can use any box with a QAM tuner, i e can a Sony DHG HDD500/250 be used with Fios?

I didn't have to record it. The sony down-converts whatever you're watching through the S-video. I fed it to the pioneer, which fed it to the set through it's own component outputs at 480p. It was DVD quality ( or close enough that I couldn't tell the difference ). Once it's in the pioneer you can cut the commercials out and dump it to a DVD. I'm curious what an up-converting DVD player would do to it.

Which Pioneer do you have?

I just noticed that my TVGOS listings are showing new logos tonight. I've had the unit turned off the past couple days. Hallmark, CSPAN2, MTV2, DIY, Oxygen and a couple dozen others that were all generic titles before now they have their own logos and many of the premium movie channel logos have been updated as well. No new channels that I can see but at least there are signs of life so there is hope.

I haven't seen any responses to the new channel logos showing up. Hasn't anyone else noticed these "new and improved" channel logos in their listings? They changed a couple weeks ago. Some of them are quite complex.

Also, at least where I live the channel listings choices have changed.

Previously the options were:

Comcast, Analog
Comcast, Analog (Rebuild)
Comcast, Digital
Comcast, Digital (Rebuild)

Now the options displayed are:

Comcast
Comcast, Digital
Broadcast TVGO Services

To Fastep
I also was having this problem with the recording error on my premium channels. I have the moto card rev 4.5. What I did was a soft reboot and for some reason I have not had a single problem since. It has recorded everything I have put in. I have cox cable in my area and they will not offer any help with cable cards. You may want to give this a shot and see if it will do you any good. All I can say is the more I use my hdd 250 the more I enjoy it. Wish I could of gotten in on the deals that were going around on the 500.
Good Luck
rlh149


By soft reboot do you mean unplugging and plugging back in? If not, please explain. Also, will it affect my recordings or guide setup, etc? Thanks for the info.

I haven't seen any responses to the new channel logos showing up. Hasn't anyone else noticed these "new and improved" channel logos in their listings? They changed a couple weeks ago. Some of them are quite complex.

Also, at least where I live the channel listings choices have changed.

Previously the options were:

Comcast, Analog
Comcast, Analog (Rebuild)
Comcast, Digital
Comcast, Digital (Rebuild)

Now the options displayed are:

Comcast
Comcast, Digital
Broadcast TVGO Services

I've noticed the new logos. I also have Comcast but haven't noticed the above options. What is the procedure to view them?

I've noticed the new logos. I also have Comcast but haven't noticed the above options. What is the procedure to view them?
It depends on your local market. Mine got the change about two weeks ago. It pops up.

I still have no Cable listings in the guide. Did a rescan of cable channels which had no effect on the TV Guide data. All the cable channels are in the tuner just like from the first channel scan. My Air channels are in both the tuner and the guide.
Under Program Settings for Cable it offers
- Austin Broadcast (65) and
- No Match.
I have tried both. I have Time Warner Austin, shouldn't that show up as the cable option? If I go to Setup - Channels and pick an AIR channel 9there are about 300 channels here many with fancy logos but all are labeled as AIR, then in Menu side panel, Cable does not come up as a changeable option. All I get is the AIR option.
I'm probably doing something wrong but I had no trouble setting up the Air channels.
I may just give up on Cable and stick with OTA which shows up in the guide.

My HDD500 has been working perfectly for over a month until tonight. When I hit the TV guide button, I got the message "Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change".

I do not think I made any changes to the set up. I might have turned off a few channels from the guide, but I am not sure if I did it yesterday. Has any one in the Washington DC/ Northern Virginia area got this problem?

I tried to check my host channel and see if I deleted it from the guide. But the "host chan" is blank when I get to that part of the screen. I never tried to check that information before. I was too busy to probe with a working system.

What should I do now? I guess I could wait for at least 24 hours. Should I do anything? reset the guide?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jane

I still have no Cable listings in the guide. Did a rescan of cable channels which had no effect on the TV Guide data. All the cable channels are in the tuner just like from the first channel scan. My Air channels are in both the tuner and the guide.
Under Program Settings for Cable it offers
- Austin Broadcast (65) and
- No Match.
I have tried both. I have Time Warner Austin, shouldn't that show up as the cable option? If I go to Setup - Channels and pick an AIR channel 9there are about 300 channels here many with fancy logos but all are labeled as AIR, then in Menu side panel, Cable does not come up as a changeable option. All I get is the AIR option.
I'm probably doing something wrong but I had no trouble setting up the Air channels.
I may just give up on Cable and stick with OTA which shows up in the guide.Well, I'd say it's time to start over. Try this - Clear it first pressing the TV Guide and Exit channels on the front of the unit. Choose air and cable and try resetting the guide with a nearby zipcode other than the one you've been using. Then leave it off at least overnight and check it again. Then report back.

I may just give up on Cable and stick with OTA which shows up in the guide. gigaguy, same here....all the OTA channels show up but no TWC. Mine's been plugged in continuously for about two weeks.

Probably no biggie for me....nothing I'd want to record from TWC anyway. If there is I'll have to do it manually, but that'll be rare.

I'm getting ready to set up a second HDD250, but I don't expect any difference.

I haven't seen any responses to the new channel logos showing up. Hasn't anyone else noticed these "new and improved" channel logos in their listings? They changed a couple weeks ago. Some of them are quite complex.

Also, at least where I live the channel listings choices have changed.

Previously the options were:

Comcast, Analog
Comcast, Analog (Rebuild)
Comcast, Digital
Comcast, Digital (Rebuild)

Now the options displayed are:

Comcast
Comcast, Digital
Broadcast TVGO ServicesI noticed and mentioned the new channel logos at least a week ago. Perhaps you missed it - post #4304, pg. 144. I attributed my TVGOS problems to this change, as they have since cleared up.

My HDD500 has been working perfectly for over a month until tonight. When I hit the TV guide button, I got the message "Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change".

I do not think I made any changes to the set up. I might have turned off a few channels from the guide, but I am not sure if I did it yesterday. Has any one in the Washington DC/ Northern Virginia area got this problem?

I tried to check my host channel and see if I deleted it from the guide. But the "host chan" is blank when I get to that part of the screen. I never tried to check that information before. I was too busy to probe with a working system.

What should I do now? I guess I could wait for at least 24 hours. Should I do anything? reset the guide?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jane

I got that message yesterday on my 500, and the day before on my 250. This afternoon i still had that 24 hour message but tonight the guide data appeared on my 500. The guide matrix showed up on the 250 yesterday but still no listing. I called Sony today to seek help to solve the TV guide problem and he told me to make sure all the analog channels were turned on. He named four channels in the LA area that furnish guide data, and I had only left the pbs analog station on.

I got that message yesterday on my 500, and the day before on my 250. This afternoon i still had that 24 hour message but tonight the guide data appeared on my 500. The guide matrix showed up on the 250 yesterday but still no listing. I called Sony today to seek help to solve the TV guide problem and he told me to make sure all the analog channels were turned on. He named four channels in the LA area that furnish guide data, and I had only left the pbs analog station on.This is exactly, to a tee, the same thing that was happening to me before it cleared up after a few days and I noticed the new logos. Could be they're doing this upgrade everywhere and it's possible it might be causing your problem.

My HDD500 has been working perfectly for over a month until tonight. When I hit the TV guide button, I got the message "Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change".

I do not think I made any changes to the set up. I might have turned off a few channels from the guide, but I am not sure if I did it yesterday. Has any one in the Washington DC/ Northern Virginia area got this problem?

I tried to check my host channel and see if I deleted it from the guide. But the "host chan" is blank when I get to that part of the screen. I never tried to check that information before. I was too busy to probe with a working system.

What should I do now? I guess I could wait for at least 24 hours. Should I do anything? reset the guide?

Thanks a lot for your help,

JaneI had this exact same problem...however, I'm pulling host channel information out of PBS in Richmond since WETA analog is low power in my area (VBI not reliably passed). Anyway, give WETA a call and check out these posts:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7266725#post7266725
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7275760#post7275760
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7287569&&#post7287569

http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=100579127&formid=324&fac_num=65670

My HDD500 has been working perfectly for over a month until tonight. When I hit the TV guide button, I got the message "Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change".

I do not think I made any changes to the set up. I might have turned off a few channels from the guide, but I am not sure if I did it yesterday. Has any one in the Washington DC/ Northern Virginia area got this problem?

I tried to check my host channel and see if I deleted it from the guide. But the "host chan" is blank when I get to that part of the screen. I never tried to check that information before. I was too busy to probe with a working system.

What should I do now? I guess I could wait for at least 24 hours. Should I do anything? reset the guide?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jane

I have a feeling this is SOP for this machine. Just take it with a grain of salt. What I'm doing is scanning through the TVGOS when there is data and scheduling everything that is worth recording and then dealing with it later.

Wolfie

make sure all the analog channels were turned on.
Thanks a lot for the information. I just want to make sure that I get it right this time. "Turn on" means leave all the analog channel in the channel edit? I am pretty sure that I did not change the channel edit. I removed some channels from the TV Guide. But now that the TV guide is gone. I can not even get to the channel set up of the TV Guide.

I did a fresh Auto Channel Scan this morning, and left all the channels this time. Is that good enough? Do I need to reset the TV guide?

Which Pioneer do you have?
the DVR-520H-S. It has decent editing features, VBR encoding and no guide. The newer ones will record on dual layer disks and a step higher encoding rate but from what I've read the guide is more intrusive.

My HDD500 has been working perfectly for over a month until tonight. When I hit the TV guide button, I got the message "Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change".

I do not think I made any changes to the set up. I might have turned off a few channels from the guide, but I am not sure if I did it yesterday. Has any one in the Washington DC/ Northern Virginia area got this problem?

I tried to check my host channel and see if I deleted it from the guide. But the "host chan" is blank when I get to that part of the screen. I never tried to check that information before. I was too busy to probe with a working system.

What should I do now? I guess I could wait for at least 24 hours. Should I do anything? reset the guide?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Jane

Hi Jane!

I didn't notice any problems for me last night. My guide is working fine. But I'll check again tonight. Is your host channel WETA 26?

I still have no Cable listings in the guide. Did a rescan of cable channels which had no effect on the TV Guide data. All the cable channels are in the tuner just like from the first channel scan. My Air channels are in both the tuner and the guide.
Under Program Settings for Cable it offers
- Austin Broadcast (65) and
- No Match.
I have tried both. I have Time Warner Austin, shouldn't that show up as the cable option? If I go to Setup - Channels and pick an AIR channel 9there are about 300 channels here many with fancy logos but all are labeled as AIR, then in Menu side panel, Cable does not come up as a changeable option. All I get is the AIR option.
I'm probably doing something wrong but I had no trouble setting up the Air channels.
I may just give up on Cable and stick with OTA which shows up in the guide.

I would definitely try Rammitinski's fix and start over setting it up for cable and OTA. Mine is set up for OTA only and I also get the various cable channels with the "AIR" designation. But I will soon be adding cable so I think I will be in the same boat as you.

I've had my HDD500 for about two weeks now without any problems. Using Comcast in Jacksonville, FL.

I need another one for a second TV.

If anyone else has an extra HDD500 they don't want, i'll pay 350 open box, or 400 for an unopened box (preferably).

PM me if interested.

I have a feeling this is SOP for this machine. Just take it with a grain of salt. What I'm doing is scanning through the TVGOS when there is data and scheduling everything that is worth recording and then dealing with it later.

Wolfie
Got the same message a few days ago, then yesterday the guide was back with "no listing" in all the time slots out to seven days, which there was info for. I thought it was because I was screwing with the antena (OTA only for me), but with all these other posts I'm thinking its TVGOS thing. What a piece of crap (the TVGOS, not the Sony, I love the Sony).

Hi Jane!

I didn't notice any problems for me last night. My guide is working fine. But I'll check again tonight. Is your host channel WETA 26?
Hi Rob,

My guide is still not back. I checked my host channel through the hidden menu, it was blank. So I have no idea what the host channel I used. I tried to reset the guide today. When I get into the TV guide setup menu, I chose the 2nd choice "My information is correct, but my channel line up is not", it then showed me one item like Washington DC area (7). I wonder if that means my host channel is 7.

I went ahead and reset my zip code and stuff. Will have to wait another day to see if the guide comes back.

Thanks,

Jane

Thanks a lot for the information. I just want to make sure that I get it right this time. "Turn on" means leave all the analog channel in the channel edit? I am pretty sure that I did not change the channel edit. I removed some channels from the TV Guide. But now that the TV guide is gone. I can not even get to the channel set up of the TV Guide.

I did a fresh Auto Channel Scan this morning, and left all the channels this time. Is that good enough? Do I need to reset the TV guide?

Channel is on if it is checked in the channel edit menu. I suggest you not rush to reset the guide. My guide reappeared within 24 hours. Until then you can use manual mode to record programs. One advantage to that is you won't run risk of dropped program.

Is there any way i can transfer my HD programs from my dhg 500 to another recorder that will record the video in high def? Because i have football playoff games on the dhg500 and they are taking up alot of space on the harddrive.I'd like to transfer it to blu-ray disks eventually,if that will be possible.

Is there any way i can transfer my HD programs from my dhg 500 to another recorder that will record the video in high def? Because i have football playoff games on the dhg500 and they are taking up alot of space on the harddrive.I'd like to transfer it to blu-ray disks eventually,if that will be possible.

No, you can't transfer HD programs in HD to another HD recorder, and if you could, I don't understand what that would accomplish. If you are running out of space on your 500, I suggest you buy a second one.

You can transfer programs in S video quality to a DVD burner.

I noticed and mentioned the new channel logos at least a week ago. Perhaps you missed it - post #4304, pg. 144. I attributed my TVGOS problems to this change, as they have since cleared up.

Sorry I hadn't seen that. I didn't have any problems with mine when the channel logos were updated but I had left off for about 48 hours during that time. Maybe by the time I turned it on it had already corrected itself. I see the TVGOS firmware version remained the same despite the changes. I guess it's all on their end.

I've noticed the new logos. I also have Comcast but haven't noticed the above options. What is the procedure to view them?

From the TVGOS setup menu select Change System Settings and then My Channel Lineup Is Incorrect and it will show you the options. The new Broadcast TVGO Services option turns off everything but the local channels. Seemed to be more accurate though I'm not sure why it shows up under Cable options.

I guess it's time to put my new DHG-HDD250 up on eBay. How much should I ask considering it has the 1.2.13 firmware update and presumably the 161-6 fix as well? I've tested it and confirmed that the firmware has been updated but I have no way to tell if the 161-6 fix was applied. I did tell them to do it despite it being a brand new unit since so many others have had the same problem. My new CableCARD is going into my DHG-HDD500 so that's not an option. Manufacturing date is July 2005 so they must have stopped making these a while ago. Anyone here interested before I put it up for auction? Send me a PM if you are. I try to stay away from eBay as much as I can these days.