The way I understand it the cable card downloads a channel mapping from the cable provider. It tells the tv what frequency to tune when a channel is selected. In some case this channel will be tuned to the real analog channel other times it will be remapped to a QAM channel. All channel numbers with a cable box or cable card are virtual.

For instance even without ADS your dvr is remapping your digital channels to a different QAM channel. As an example if I tune to 232 (HD-NBC) it is remapped to 93.3, the channel I would need to tune to without the cable card. Tuning to channel 6 causes me to get the ads version of nbc which is actually being sent down the line from comcast on channel 89.4.

The solution comcast is providing is assigning the virtual channel 97 to analog channel 11. In my case they claim to be sending analog channel 16 on virtual channel 97 but it isn't working.

If I were to take the cable card out and do a manual channel scan I end up with two of almost every unencrypted channel. One being the real analog signal the other being the digital signal on a wierd channel like 93.3.

Yes, that's a good explanation of channel mapping. When you insert a cablecard, you can't tell the Sony to scan for cable channels. The card contains the channel map info, which can be changed remotely by the cableco whenever needed.

Although they can't seem to provide your channel 97. :rolleyes:

The solution comcast is providing is assigning the virtual channel 97 to analog channel 11. In my case they claim to be sending analog channel 16 on virtual channel 97 but it isn't working.
Here is something you could try...

Use an RF splitter to split the cable TV signal. So you have two signals. Connect one to the DVR's "CABLE IN", and the other to its "ANT IN". The trick is that analog cable channel 11 is on the same frequency as over-the-air analog channel 11, since it is in the VHF range (channels 2 thru 13). So maybe the DVR can find it when it scans the antenna input.

By the way, is it even possible to use the antenna input while a CableCARD is installed? In other words, can you still tune into the OTA stations, or do you have to remove the CableCARD first?

Here is something you could try...

Use an RF splitter to split the cable TV signal. So you have two signals. Connect one to the DVR's "CABLE IN", and the other to its "ANT IN". The trick is that analog cable channel 11 is on the same frequency as over-the-air analog channel 11, since it is in the VHF range (channels 2 thru 13). So maybe the DVR can find it when it scans the antenna input.


By the way, is it even possible to use the antenna input while a CableCARD is installed? In other words, can you still tune into the OTA stations, or do you have to remove the CableCARD first?

Doesn't work because my guide data is on channel 16 and yes you can use the antenna input while the cable card is installed.

New owner of HDD250, new member of forum.

Lots' of great info in this thread. Had a question on Cablecard decoding. Connected to Adelphia in NH, with Scientific Atlanta CC. When the technician installed the CC, the unscrambled digital channels (network HD and digital music)are displayed OK with the correct Adelphia channel remapping. However, none of the analog channels or scrambled digital channels work. The screen is black for these channels. I've tried 2 CCs so far, and still no luck. Adelphia could send a successful "hit" to CC, but the HD Plus (INHD, ESPN-HD, ...) and Digital Bronze channels are black. Technician could not resolve. So I looked at the CC diag menus and see this:

Auth Status: CP Auth Received
ECM Count: 0
EMM Count: 0
Decryption Status: OK
PowerKey Status: Not ready, waiting for EMMs

Does anyone know if I should see an ECM or EMM count to receive scrambled digital channels? If so, what are typical counts? What do these counts represent? thanks!

I am getting this for every TVGOS page. From what I can tell, this means "And you will NEVER get any data for this screen". And you might as well throw this POS out the window. Now I know why Sony discontinued making these: TVGOS is like having a boat anchor tied to your leg in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

My TVGOS had been getting a little flaky after 4-5 months of continuous use of my HDD500. It would add channels when it felt like it, even though they did not exist. Finally, I noticed that my local CBS affiliate was showing all "No Listing" all the time. What the deuce? Well, if I knew then what I know now, I would have just given up watching CBS. Based on my other HDD500, running continuously also, I have determined the original problem was due to TVGOS insisting that there were TWO local CBS channels KEYEDT, both on 42.1. Some how, in the winnowing process I picked the "wrong" one. TVGOS figured it out one day, and simply stopped sending data for it. Both are still listed on my other HDD500.

Here is where I made my fatal mistake: I tried re-entering my TVGOS information. What a collosal error. Now, it simply will not work. I've tried the 9012 "G* Factory Default" which did nothing, I have tried the "Reset User Configuration" multiple times. No go. It will not even pick up the time. I tave tried power down resets, I have entered and re-entered TVGOS information. The VBI test shows good data, but it is ignored. I even tried the "963214785" trick and still no-go. It used to grab the time nearly instantly. Now it is "- -:- -" all the time.

My other HDD500 shows complete guide information for the next 8 days, so there probably is no TVGOS VBI problem. No, the failure is in the TVGOS crapware embedded in the box & its internal state in this one HDD500. I can't see why any manufacturer would take on the resposibility of distributing this crap that randomly cripples your product. I can't blame Sony now for discontinuing the DVR - TVGOS would bankrupt them.

Now I pine for the days when it would only irritate me with "Updated listings will appear in 24 hours".

Any thoughts? Anyone successfully recover from "There is no data for this screen"?

Andrew

Well, I sort of got things working temporarily. Comcast broadcasts the NYC PBS for me on channel 13, so I split the output of the cable into the ant input. I am now getting a NYC lineup. See many of my HD channels are coming from NYC I was able to remap many channels to the TimeWarner guide. This will get me by until Comcast can get their act together.

I am getting this for every TVGOS page. From what I can tell, this means "And you will NEVER get any data for this screen". And you might as well throw this POS out the window. Now I know why Sony discontinued making these: TVGOS is like having a boat anchor tied to your leg in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

My TVGOS had been getting a little flaky after 4-5 months of continuous use of my HDD500. It would add channels when it felt like it, even though they did not exist. Finally, I noticed that my local CBS affiliate was showing all "No Listing" all the time. What the deuce? Well, if I knew then what I know now, I would have just given up watching CBS. Based on my other HDD500, running continuously also, I have determined the original problem was due to TVGOS insisting that there were TWO local CBS channels KEYEDT, both on 42.1. Some how, in the winnowing process I picked the "wrong" one. TVGOS figured it out one day, and simply stopped sending data for it. Both are still listed on my other HDD500.

Here is where I made my fatal mistake: I tried re-entering my TVGOS information. What a collosal error. Now, it simply will not work. I've tried the 9012 "G* Factory Default" which did nothing, I have tried the "Reset User Configuration" multiple times. No go. It will not even pick up the time. I tave tried power down resets, I have entered and re-entered TVGOS information. The VBI test shows good data, but it is ignored. I even tried the "963214785" trick and still no-go. It used to grab the time nearly instantly. Now it is "- -:- -" all the time.

My other HDD500 shows complete guide information for the next 8 days, so there probably is no TVGOS VBI problem. No, the failure is in the TVGOS crapware embedded in the box & its internal state in this one HDD500. I can't see why any manufacturer would take on the resposibility of distributing this crap that randomly cripples your product. I can't blame Sony now for discontinuing the DVR - TVGOS would bankrupt them.

Now I pine for the days when it would only irritate me with "Updated listings will appear in 24 hours".

Any thoughts? Anyone successfully recover from "There is no data for this screen"?

Andrew

I too started getting "No Listing" on CBS. I was messing around in the 9012 - TV Guide menu, and I selected "Reset to Factory Defaults" to see the usual confirmation screen's description of this option. There was no confirmation screen. It just reset the TV Guide and killed the clock. I had a sick feeling at that point. When I tryed to go into the TV Guide, it wanted me to re-enter my zip code and select cable/air etc. Here's how I got the clock back within 3 hours. I pressed "Exit" and "TV Guide" on the front of the unit simultaneously. After it came back up, it wanted me to enter zip code and cable/air etc. I entered all the correct info. Then I followed the instructions (exactly) for the "963214785" menu. After I entered 963214785, the info window changed to something like "Search VBI Channel". Don't do anything until this window times out! Then turn the unit off, and don't turn it back on until the clock is set. My clock set about 5 or 10 minutes after the 5:46 pm EST 60 minute download. I turned on the unit and went to the "753159852" menu to confirm my host channel was set correctly. That night, I turned the unit off before the start of the 11:01 pm download and left it off until after the 5:46 am 60 minute download. When I turned it on at about 6:47 am, I had a guide full of listings. CBS was still missing it's listings though, and I was just about to blame the host station or the TVGOS data when I discovered a duplicate CBS channel that did have listings. Problem solved. Hope this helps you solve your problem. Let me know if I need to clarify anything.

I was just about to blame the host station or the TVGOS data when I discovered a duplicate CBS channel that did have listings.

Thanks for the tip. I had UPN and WB HD channels with missing listings, but I looked and also found duplicates (with the same station ids) with listings.

I must have missed something about CBS in the thread. My 500 shows channel listings for all channels I have ON except the CBS channel, it shows no listings for every hour. why is just one channel showing no listings, it is set to ON.
it's an OTA channel.

I must have missed something about CBS in the thread. My 500 shows channel listings for all channels I have ON except the CBS channel, it shows no listings for every hour. why is just one channel showing no listings, it is set to ON.
it's an OTA channel.

You could go into TVGuide setup and see if there's a duplicate CBS that you could turn on. The station ID should be the same as your old one. If the channel number is wrong, you can edit it. Once you turn it on, you should have listings by tomorrow. It worked for me.

I have had the DHG-HDD500 about 3 months. Most likely watched about 200 hours on it so far, and it has been perfect.

Yesterday, when watching a show it "froze up" - the picture just stuck on the screen. None of the buttons worked on the remote nor on the front of the unit.........could not even turn it "off".

Then after about 3 or 4 minutes of that, it just "released" itself started playing correctly and has been ever since..............it was sort of like it's internal memory froze up - because when it released it when threw about a half dozen or more of the commands I had entered.

Is this a problem? Has it happened to anyone else?

Yesterday, when watching a show it "froze up" - the picture just stuck on the screen. None of the
buttons worked on the remote nor on the front of the unit.........could not even turn it "off".

Sounds like a thread timeout in the software, some unhandled error condition with a resource probably left it waiting on some I/O(disk, I/O from the channel you were tuned to, etc.)

If it is a timeout, it is nothing serious, it looks like it handled the condition (although a bit slowly).

What version of the firmware are you on? I had a problem like that before I sent mine in for repair and the firmware was updated from version 5 to 13. Haven't seen the problem since.

Yes, I see that happen on occasion, too.

I have the latest firmware (.13), but it still happens sometimes. It can last several minutes, and I have actually done a front panel reset on it to he'll it recover. If this happens when yo are recording, it doesn't record while it is locked up, leaving a gap in the recorded program.

I find that an occasional front panel reset can help keep these lockups less frequent.

Mine froze recently for the first time and kinda freaked me out for a while, had to force reset. It seemed to happen while I was watching a recorded program and it was also recording. I actually had 2 recordings set back to back, and I think it froze during the interval between the 2 scheduled recordings. Since I was watching an already recorded program at the same time I figured it hit a glitch.

A weirder thing happened recently too. The 500 wouldn't respond to any remote commands after I turned it on. I kept punching things and then I was able to get it to up/down channel a few times but then no responses again. I had to do a reset a couple of times. My guess is, the previous day I had dubbed some content to a DVD recorder and had changed the 500 output format to SD output. These machines seem to get a little freezy sometimes when you start messing with the output formats. After the resets it started responding normally.

On March 9 after purchasing a Hitachi 42HDS52A of which I am using cable card due to poor SD reception through Comcast STB I purchased on March 20 a Sony DHG-HDD500. Sole purpose for buying was due to inability to timer record DVDs with TV off due to lack of STB tuner.

However, before and after buying based on reading problems, complexities, firmware updates etc on this thread I never opened box and am reluctant to due so. Thus, I merely record DVDs through STB still used for other TV –a non HD CRT ---- and will await Comcast new STB late this year or early 2007 when shift will supposedly be to total digital broadcasts. In fact, until then, Comcast technician told me I'm better off with CCard than current STB which will continue to degrade analog broadcasts. In the interim, unless I decide, which I doubt, its worth the hassle and headaches to hook up the DHG-HDD500 with another cable card for unattended timer recordings ----------- I'm contemplating selling the never opened and therefore never used DHG-HDD500. Is there a specific thread on this site if I decide to do so?

slannes

On March 9 after purchasing a Hitachi 42HDS52A of which I am using cable card due to poor SD reception through Comcast STB I purchased on March 20 a Sony DHG-HDD500. Sole purpose for buying was due to inability to timer record DVDs with TV off due to lack of STB tuner.

However, before and after buying based on reading problems, complexities, firmware updates etc on this thread I never opened box and am reluctant to due so. Thus, I merely record DVDs through STB still used for other TV –a non HD CRT ---- and will await Comcast new STB late this year or early 2007 when shift will supposedly be to total digital broadcasts. In fact, until then, Comcast technician told me I'm better off with CCard than current STB which will continue to degrade analog broadcasts. In the interim, unless I decide, which I doubt, its worth the hassle and headaches to hook up the DHG-HDD500 with another cable card for unattended timer recordings ----------- I'm contemplating selling the never opened and therefore never used DHG-HDD500. Is there a specific thread on this site if I decide to do so?

slannesLOL! You've probably got 40 pm's by now offering to buy it for $249, right? :D

Well I have had mine for well over 6 months now and couldnt be happier with my HD500. Has worked pretty much flawless over the season of TV.

Well I have had mine for well over 6 months now and couldnt be happier with my HD500. Has worked pretty much flawless over the season of TV.

Nascar 24 (Jeff Gordon???)

Thank you for your feedback of favorable results with your DHG-HDD500. After last nights problem getting an Oppo DVD player to upconvert to 1080i which it does now thanks to this great website's simple solution I wasn't about to embark on another hook up problem influenced by this thread of problems. I'm not a video expert by any stretch of imagination but can I presume the HD-TV with CC I was to hook HDD500 to would allow, in absence of STB, with second CC unattended timer recordings of non HD programs with TV off for downloading from subject unit to a DVD recorder and/or can DVD recorder record unattended in first instance by using HDD500 timer? And, am I presuming correct that unit can't reestablish two way communication for VOD etc with cable provider, in my case Comcast, lost with C-card which is one way?

Thanks,

slannes

man I am getting frustrated. Still no tvgos. I cannot force a channel because I do the 7531 trick and it doesnt tell me what my host channel is.

I did a search and do not see how to reset the sony dvr. Maybe that will work. Any one know what I press or type to hard reset this unit

Thanks for the input guys, yes I sort of thing it was some sort of weird memory/software overflow fit of some kind. It has been working perfect since....I did not have to do any reset....that 3-4 minute hang was it.

Sun-Spots I guess LOL. Mine has the original firmware software, not the updated stuff, if it does it again I will contact Sony. We use the thing several hours each day, and it not uncommon to have it recording one program, while watching another, looking at TV Guide, changing to another recorded program, etc. So we do put it through its paces.

man I am getting frustrated. Still no tvgos. I cannot force a channel because I do the 7531 trick and it doesnt tell me what my host channel is.

I did a search and do not see how to reset the sony dvr. Maybe that will work. Any one know what I press or type to hard reset this unit

Tune to the channel you suspect is your host channel. Then go into the 9012 - TVGuide menu and select "G*Factory Test". If you see data loading in the "Good" column and "Flash Test", "VBI Test", and "ATSC Test" all indicate "Pass", then you are tuned to a host channel. If not, try another channel. It's usually an analog PBS channel. I'm OTA only, and I've tried this on every analog channel I receive (NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS) looking for another host channel. I only have one - PBS. Try it...
After you figure out your host channel, read my earlier post #5764 and do a front panel reset. I take it you have no clock since you have no host channel listed in the 753159852 screen?

Thanks for the reply. But I am a newbie to this machine. I am not sure what the 9012 tvguide menu is. How do I get to that.

and correct no clock

Thanks for the reply. But I am a newbie to this machine. I am not sure what the 9012 tvguide menu is. How do I get to that.

and correct no clock
Tune to the channel you think is sending the TVGOS data, then on the remote control press the-
Menu button
Screen Mode button
enter 9012 on the numerical keypad
then the TV Guide button
Then scroll down to "G*Factory Test" and hit select.

Just read all I could stand of this huge and great collection of info, then decided to take the plunge. My local BestBuy found half a dozen sites in N Calif with one or more units in stock. I got a system unit only (not even a power cord or a manual) for $200 plus tax. :) Sony still has remotes, I need a power cord, I bought a HDMI cord on the web. Anything else I should look out for (I found a pdf manual)?

I just ordered a spare remote from Sony, cause I know I may need it down the line and the remote is crucial to operate the machine. seems like it was about $40 with shipping.

Just read all I could stand of this huge and great collection of info, then decided to take the plunge. My local BestBuy found half a dozen sites in N Calif with one or more units in stock. I got a system unit only (not even a power cord or a manual) for $200 plus tax. :) Sony still has remotes, I need a power cord, I bought a HDMI cord on the web. Anything else I should look out for (I found a pdf manual)?
Did you get a 250 or 500 gig?

I've only seen 250s at BB stores.

I've only seen 250s at BB stores.The BB on on U.S. 183 near Loop 360 had a new 500 about a month ago....the sales guy looked it up and it was priced at $999....LOL! It's the only one I've seen at a BB, and by the look of the box it'd been there since the stone age. ;)

hi GW, BB has the 500 online now for $799. was listed as $999 before.

Did you get a 250 or 500 gig?
It was a 250. Another store had a 500 but they couldn't figure out how to answer the phone, so I let them keep it. Total all up and working cost for this box seems to be about $290 with sales tax and driving my car to pick it up.

It was a 250. Another store had a 500 but they couldn't figure out how to answer the phone, so I let them keep it. Total all up and working cost for this box seems to be about $290 with sales tax and driving my car to pick it up.

I suspect the 250 will be more reliable than the 500 (only one hard drive, should run cooler). But mine has already been in for repairs. It has a lot of moving parts, fan, hard drive, switching for the output source.

I live in Long Beach, California, and have a DHG-HDD250.

I use both off-the-air and Charter Cable with no cable-card.

I seem to be missing a few channels in the listings.

So, I went to turn channels on that might be off, but they aren't in the full listings of channels. What's wierd is that a lot of "nonsense" stations are listed (like 40+ radio stations for Charter, all the shopping stations, the local city hall channel, etc.), but that some other stations that most people would want (like KCET-HD, etc.) are missing.

I did notice, however, that the listings end with (I think it was) 444 stations. When I changed zip codes and cable providers to see if the channels were with them (and a few were), I still saw a maximum of 444 stations listed. A third zip code and third cable company in the LA area also showed the same # of lineup stations listed... again, about 444.

So.... the question of the day is... does TVGOS list more than 444 stations but the Sony is only able to "display" up to 444 of them?

If so, is this the reason a lot of us complain about missing stations in our lineups? And, can Sony increase the maximum # of stations listed?

Or does TVGOS have a limit of 444?

Thanks,
Robert

With all the talk about BB still having units, I stopped by BB in Peabody, MA today since I was in the area. They had one open box 250 on the shelf marked down to $350. The unit was complete with all the cables and remote. I tried to talk them down to $300 but only managed to have them take another $25 off :-( . Now I have TWO 250's and I'm very happy!

I just ordered a spare remote from Sony, cause I know I may need it down the line and the remote is crucial to operate the machine. seems like it was about $40 with shipping.Sorry if I've missed this elsewhere but has anyone tried the Sony RM-AX4000 with these boxes? I've also been thinking about a spare remote but I'd rather spend a "little more" and get a HT remote if it is fully functional with the dvr's. I see these remotes can be bought for ~$100.

Sorry if I've missed this elsewhere but has anyone tried the Sony RM-AX4000 with these boxes? I've also been thinking about a spare remote but I'd rather spend a "little more" and get a HT remote if it is fully functional with the dvr's. I see these remotes can be bought for ~$100.

I use my learning remote from my Pioneer VSX-56txi for just about everything on the Sony. The only thing I found is to make sure that there is a decimal place key in the number keypad to deal with digital channels. I think this is a non-issue for any learning remote less than 2 to 3 years old, the Pioneer came out in 2004 and it has it.

I know of 2 newer Sony learning remotes that cost under $25, that learn most anything fed into them. One was last years model RMVL710, one is current, RMVL600.
They are not as fancy as the LCD screen one you mention though. I have few AV devices, basically my TV, HDD500, and a DVD recorder. I am thinking about getting one of these cheaper Sony learners. Altho I really like using the HDD500 remote.

I live in Long Beach, California, and have a DHG-HDD250.

I use both off-the-air and Charter Cable with no cable-card.

I seem to be missing a few channels in the listings.

So, I went to turn channels on that might be off, but they aren't in the full listings of channels. What's wierd is that a lot of "nonsense" stations are listed (like 40+ radio stations for Charter, all the shopping stations, the local city hall channel, etc.), but that some other stations that most people would want (like KCET-HD, etc.) are missing.



So.... the question of the day is... does TVGOS list more than 444 stations but the Sony is only able to "display" up to 444 of them?

If so, is this the reason a lot of us complain about missing stations in our lineups? And, can Sony increase the maximum # of stations listed?

Or does TVGOS have a limit of 444?

Thanks,
Robert

I have Comcast and my recorder also has 444 channels, except probably half are not useable. You should be able to receive KCET both on cable and OTA. I suggest you do a channel rescan. Also, without a cable card, digital channels have different numbers. I suggest you note down the digital channels listed on the edit channel menu, and find out what channel they belong to. Turn off the ones you don't want, and edit the channel listing for the ones you want - substitute to correct channel number, and move it to the top of the list. Also, while there, turn off channels you don't watch.

I have Comcast and my recorder also has 444 channels, except probably half are not useable. You should be able to receive KCET both on cable and OTA. I suggest you do a channel rescan. Also, without a cable card, digital channels have different numbers. I suggest you note down the digital channels listed on the edit channel menu, and find out what channel they belong to. Turn off the ones you don't want, and edit the channel listing for the ones you want - substitute to correct channel number, and move it to the top of the list. Also, while there, turn off channels you don't watch.

346 possible channels in the guide in the San Diego market. So 444 is a lot of channels.

After a two-week vacation, I returned to discover that the CBS info in the TVGOS shows as "no listing". I have three CBS channels in the TVGOS, always had one on & have had no prior problems. I turned the other two on to see what happens......

However, in investigating the issue before reading posts here, I noticed that under the 753159852 my VBI shows as 'fffffd' - whereas before it has always reflected the local NBC channel 4.

Does anyone know what this 'fffffd' means?

I just posted about this same issue, my CBShd says no listing. I added 2 more CBS channels and one of those has listings but it's not a HD channel. Must be something with the guide system, not my set up or machine.
I've seen the ffffd on a few of the screens too, I think it is normal, could be wrong.

I just posted about this same issue, my CBShd says no listing. I added 2 more CBS channels and one of those has listings but it's not a HD channel. Must be something with the guide system, not my set up or machine.
I've seen the ffffd on a few of the screens too, I think it is normal, could be wrong.

Thanks... yes I read your posts....I thought of turning on the "other" CBS channels in my TVGOS last night before reading the posts here today. The three local ABQ market CBS channels reflect one non-hd (KRQE), and two hd (KRQE-DT and KRQE-HD). I've had the KRQE-HD turned on in TVGOS and the other two off. Last night I turned the other two on to see what TVGOS info that I get.

I hope that the ffffd is normal, as everything else in the TVGOS is working as advertised. I've just never noticed that before.

Normally the VBI Chan simply shows the channel the DVR is currently tuned to. I saw the Ffffffd once before too, but I don't know why. It's The Host Chan that provides useful information; if it's blank, you won't get guide data.
After a two-week vacation, I returned to discover that the CBS info in the TVGOS shows as "no listing". I have three CBS channels in the TVGOS, always had one on & have had no prior problems. I turned the other two on to see what happens......

However, in investigating the issue before reading posts here, I noticed that under the 753159852 my VBI shows as 'fffffd' - whereas before it has always reflected the local NBC channel 4.

Does anyone know what this 'fffffd' means?

Does anyone know what this 'fffffd' means?

Probably a default when it is not set.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal

16777213 in decimal if it were just a straight hex number, but I doubt it, depends on the data type and OS (probably Linux) and sometimes the language.

Time for a host channel reset???

After a two-week vacation, I returned to discover that the CBS info in the TVGOS shows as "no listing". I have three CBS channels in the TVGOS, always had one on & have had no prior problems. I turned the other two on to see what happens......

However, in investigating the issue before reading posts here, I noticed that under the 753159852 my VBI shows as 'fffffd' - whereas before it has always reflected the local NBC channel 4.

Does anyone know what this 'fffffd' means?

I'm OTA in Santa Fe. The guide data on my unit for CBS HD is fine, so guide data for the Albuquerque market for CBS HD is being broadcast.

recorded the coke 600, TVGuide put aside 5 hours. the recording ended at 5 hours, to bad the race wasn't over :(

Fox does a great job of broadcasting the races in HD.

I am officially at my wits end.

I really would like to get this thing to work. It worked fine at my last house 20 miles away. Two weeks of trying different things and it still says no data.

After much research I found my host channel is fox 13. I forced 13 to be host with the 9632... comand. I waited for screen to time out. Kept off 24 hours. Still says no data.

I look with the 7352.. command and it still does not list any info for host channel.

Should I try forcing it again?

Is there a way to wipe this machine clean and do a total factory reset?

Any ideas?

One more try then its going on ebay. I just dont want to pay for sattellite, when all I watch is ota. (I need to record like tivo due to my schedule.)

tia

I am officially at my wits end.

I really would like to get this thing to work. It worked fine at my last house 20 miles away. Two weeks of trying different things and it still says no data.

After much research I found my host channel is fox 13. I forced 13 to be host with the 9632... comand. I waited for screen to time out. Kept off 24 hours. Still says no data.

I look with the 7352.. command and it still does not list any info for host channel.

Should I try forcing it again?

Is there a way to wipe this machine clean and do a total factory reset?

Any ideas?

One more try then its going on ebay. I just dont want to pay for sattellite, when all I watch is ota. (I need to record like tivo due to my schedule.)

tia

Did you do the "G*Factory Test" while on Fox 13 to see if you were getting good VBI data?

From the resource guide - http://www.spiffspace.com/sonydvr.html

1.2.9 How do I default the unit to factory settings?

To default the unit to out of the box settings do the following:

Enter the 9012 service menu. Choose the {Restore Factory Default} option. You will then get a warning message telling you that all recorded programs will be erased, and all user settings will be reset to the defaults.

yep did g factory test it said pass on all three and loaded data under good column.

Trying out of box settings and then ebay.

tia

Well took it to factory settings and 24 hours later no data.

Forced channel 13 (my host channel) no go
changed zip code to one near me no go
restored factory settings no go

This thing worked fine 20 miles away at my other home I dont understand.

Could fox 13's tv guide output be down? or is it more than likely the unit?

Would selling this unit and getting a new one fix it?

any more ideas?

Well took it to factory settings and 24 hours later no data.

Forced channel 13 (my host channel) no go
changed zip code to one near me no go
restored factory settings no go

This thing worked fine 20 miles away at my other home I dont understand.

Could fox 13's tv guide output be down? or is it more than likely the unit?

Would selling this unit and getting a new one fix it?

any more ideas?
I've had the exact same problems in the past so I know how frustrating they can be, especially since most attempts to correct them take two days before you know if it worked.

As far as selling your unit and buying another one, I'd bet you can get your current unit working again, assuming your local Fox station is sending the guide data. Also, it's not easy to get a good deal on a new unit anymore.

Try this before you give up...
1) [MENU] > [SCREEN / MODE] > 9012 > {Restore Factory Default}
2) Go through the initial setup, scanning for channels, entering your local zip-code, etc.
3) Power the unit off overnight.
4) If you can get into the guide the next day, even with no listings, check which Host Chan the unit is using. If you can't access the guide, and your Host Chan is blank, skip the next two steps.
5) Sort the guide the way you like it, but *be sure* the channel the unit is using as the Host Chan remains turned on in the guide.
6) Turn the unit off overnight again. With some luck, you should see some listings the next day.

Forcing the unit to use a particular host channel shouldn't be necessary unless you want to force it to use a different host channel from the one it usually finds on its own. This actually might solve the problem for you if, by chance, Fox is having a problem with the guide data.

If Fox is having a problem, you could force your unit to use your local analog PBS channel instead, but remember to only do the "force host channel" routine when the "Host Chan" is blank.

I love these machines. I got my first one (500) off ebay, with Tweeter receipt, for a very good price. Then I found a returned 250 at BB and got it for the bedroom. Then a local forum user let me know he was selling his 250 so I returned the BB one and bought his.
But I really wanted a 2nd 500, but most sources have dried up and ebay prices are crazy high now. I lucked out and got another 500 off ebay last week for a good price. It is firmware 1.2.13 and had all the updates done by Sony in March.
Both these 500s cost me less than one new one would have.
Set it up yesterday, noticed the clock was up this morning.
Sometimes these machines can be very finnicky at startup esp if they were set up in another zip. THis one kept freezing, but I was able to finally get to the factory reset menu, since then it has not frozen. I've had the 9012 menu set the clock before, but on this one it didn't.

I love these machines. I got my first one (500) off ebay, with Tweeter receipt, for a very good price. Then I found a returned 250 at BB and got it for the bedroom. Then a local forum user let me know he was selling his 250 so I returned the BB one and bought his.
But I really wanted a 2nd 500, but most sources have dried up and ebay prices are crazy high now. I lucked out and got another 500 off ebay last week for a good price.

So.... Are you selling the 250 now? :D

Host channel-
I've had mostly 1.2.6 firmware machines, and usually have set up for both OTA and Cable. Host channel is always OTA PBS. I just got a 1.2.13 firmware unit and hooked up for both OTA and Cable, it chose CABLE PBS as Host.

Does the 1.2.13 upgrade cause Cable hosts to be chosen as maybe a more user friendly option for most people? I thought that these units preferred OTA antenna feed for the guide, and seems like I had trouble when I did not connect an antenna to the 1.2.6 unit.
Can someone explain if there are these differences in the firmware.
I prefer not to use an antenna. I'm gonna re-setup my 1.2.6 unit for CABLE only and see what happens.

Also, the excellent resource guide states-

"Can you record HD channels that are 4 digits? (i.e. 1810, 1837, etc.)?
No. Sony is supposedly working on a fix for this. It is not working as of Firmware Version: 1.2.13"

My 500 unit does record my network HD stations (via QAM cable I assume) because I do not have digital cable or a cablecard. these channels are at 1501, 1510, 1520, 1530 etc. maybe I'm missing something, just exploring any changes with this 1.2.13 firmware unit. This unit was updated by Sony in March 06.

Host channel-
I've had mostly 1.2.6 firmware machines, and usually have set up for both OTA and Cable. Host channel is always OTA PBS. I just got a 1.2.13 firmware unit and hooked up for both OTA and Cable, it chose CABLE PBS as Host.

Does the 1.2.13 upgrade cause Cable hosts to be chosen as maybe a more user friendly option for most people? I thought that these units preferred OTA antenna feed for the guide, and seems like I had trouble when I did not connect an antenna to the 1.2.6 unit.
Can someone explain if there are these differences in the firmware.
I prefer not to use an antenna. I'm gonna re-setup my 1.2.6 unit for CABLE only and see what happens.My Sony is the earliest firmware (1.2.5 I think?). When I run my satellite tuner thru the cable input and setup for OTA and cable, the Sony will pick up the satellite tuner on channel 3, but my host channel is always blank and gets nothing. When I'm set up for OTA only, my host channel is the local analog PBS station. The goofy thing is, I get all the guide info for all the cable/satellite channels over the OTA host. So the only way I can use the TVGOS grid with the satellite tuner is to let the guide fill in with a weeks worth of info (from the OTA host channel), then change the Sony to OTA AND cable (I have to set all satellite channels to "3", of course). But, naturally, after a week the guide is all blank again. It's not worth it.

But I just wanted to let you know that with the earliest firmware, my guide needs the cable host channel in order to work for the setup of OTA and cable.

Unless, of course - I can force it to use the OTA host channel using the method described here. I'm almost afraid to try anything like that, for fear of really screwing the thing up.

Also, the excellent resource guide states-

"Can you record HD channels that are 4 digits? (i.e. 1810, 1837, etc.)?
No. Sony is supposedly working on a fix for this. It is not working as of Firmware Version: 1.2.13"

My 500 unit does record my network HD stations (via QAM cable I assume) because I do not have digital cable or a cablecard. these channels are at 1501, 1510, 1520, 1530 etc. maybe I'm missing something, just exploring any changes with this 1.2.13 firmware unit. This unit was updated by Sony in March 06.Sounds like they updated your unit to handle it in 3/06. They truly were working on that all along, from what I understand.

That info you read just isn't fully up to date. The 1.2.13 version (and any others) just needs to be updated now. Possibly get charged for it too, if it's not under warranty. For anyone who need this, I'd just call the service center and find out, because it sounds like they finally are doing it.

My 250 originally got data from Comcast, but many months ago switch to OTA, and since then, I have to change zip code to get one guide download. Only way to get another download is to change zip - and even that doesn't work. A few days ago I decided to try guide reset and warm reboot in attempt to restore normal guide download. However, after almost 24 hours, there was no clock data, and the guide window said no info instead of the usual info to appear within 24 hours. I tried my usual method to get the clock set but didn't work this time.

Since the guide channel was blank, I decided to try the forced setting. After I entered the sequence 963...785, the info window changed to VBI Search Current Channel. Then after that screen disappeared, I put the unit in standby. The time was set by morning and that evening, the guide appeared at unit turn-on.

I checked my recordings list, and most of them were missing. Fortunately, I remembered that it happened before due to the display format, which had changed to "group". Most of my recordings have Unknown titles, and were grouped under one heading.

I have had my HDD250 since November. I had it hooked to my indoor antenna and made sure that CBS and Fox came fine since CSI and 24 are the programs I recorded generally. However, scheduled programs got dropped pretty often and I did not trust the DVR to remember anything and had to check the schedule everyday.

Recently, I installed an external antenna and now I am getting all channels well. As a side effect (in a positive way), I don't have any dropped programs anymore. Everything I have set to record is getting recorded without my intervention. This has been going on for three weeks now and I couldn't be happier.

Moral of the story is that if the TV guide host channel does not have a strong signal to your DVR, all bets are off. Once I got the external antenna installed, all problems seem to have gone away!!

I think you're right. My Sony has been getting a lot of "no titles" in the listings lately. My host channel reception (indoor antenna) has not been great. I figured that was why, because I know from experience that if you cut off the signal altogether, you will get that famous "guide updating" message, and the guide won't come back on for a couple of hours.

This really sucks, because my 2 SD DVR's with TVGOS never did this. They get by fine on a snowy, somewhat weak signal.

I could probably reconfigure my rabbit ears to get the required channel 11 in better, but I keep them in the position they're in so that I can record a show M - F on a station from another market in a different direction.

Guess I'll just have to forego that one show. It's not really all that important anyway.

I doubt that good reception is needed to receive the guide. I get a very strong signal with an outdoor antenna but yet to receive regular guide data with it, without playing with the zip code. As an experiment, i connected a simple loop antenna behind the recorder and was able to pick up the guide. I used to receive the guide on cable channel 3 but units won't lock on to that channel anymore. I suspect problem is noise that produces random bars in the image.

Does anyone know what this 'fffffd' means?

Looks like a negative signed integer printed in hex. The two's complement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two's_complement) value translates to -3 (maybe some error code or a negative representation of a channel number?).

dumb question:

I'm getting a cablecard installed this week. Right now I have off-the-air and analog / clear QAM on my Sony hdd250.

When I get the cablecard, I will still be able to use the off-the-air antenna tuner, and will be able to populate my guide with off-the-air stations in any order I want, correct?

Also, I will be able to re-order the cable-card stations to my hearts content and will be able to turn off the ones I don't want to see in the guide, right?

And... I assume I will be able to deal with any missing VBI data on the cable system (if they don't broacast an analog version of my VBI datastream channel -- KCET28 in Los Angeles) by continuing to use the same off-the-air antenna that I use right now, right?

Thanks,
Robert

Yes, yes, and yes.

Hi all. I've been doing a bit of research on these DHG-HDD250/500 units, and am impressed with the OTA, QAM with cablecard, HD recording capabilities. I have an icing on the cake kind of question:

Suppose I had an FTA DVB receiver which also has an HD tuner built inside it. Is there a way such a receiver can be hooked up to the HDD500 to record HD or SD material over FTA?

HD, no. SD, only via the coax jack.

Thanks! Considering that there is hardly any HD material over FTA anyway, I think I'll jump in for one. (There is only national PBS-HD feed on FTA I think. I get much better variety of local PBS in HD over OTA.) Being able to record SD from FTA is a great option.

dumb question:

I'm getting a cablecard installed this week. Right now I have off-the-air and analog / clear QAM on my Sony hdd250.

When I get the cablecard, I will still be able to use the off-the-air antenna tuner, and will be able to populate my guide with off-the-air stations in any order I want, correct?

Also, I will be able to re-order the cable-card stations to my hearts content and will be able to turn off the ones I don't want to see in the guide, right?

And... I assume I will be able to deal with any missing VBI data on the cable system (if they don't broacast an analog version of my VBI datastream channel -- KCET28 in Los Angeles) by continuing to use the same off-the-air antenna that I use right now, right?

Thanks,
Robert

Thanks for asking, I was ready to ask the same.

Thanks! Considering that there is hardly any HD material over FTA anyway, I think I'll jump in for one. (There is only national PBS-HD feed on FTA I think. I get much better variety of local PBS in HD over OTA.) Being able to record SD from FTA is a great option.


Remember that the coax input will be mono sound from the FTA (and also be sure to check that the one you buy has this output - they're starting to be phased out). Note that the Sony will have no way to change channels on the FTA. You'll also need to ensure that you have cable TV or an antenna hooked up so that the DVR can set the time via the guide (there is no manual way to do this). Or, I suppose if you're always going to be around you could do fully manual records via REC/STOP.

If you only have antenna or cable then you could use the free coax jack for the FTA and set up the DVR so it only maps, say, channel 3 on that input.

Remember that the coax input will be mono sound from the FTA (and also be sure to check that the one you buy has this output - they're starting to be phased out).

I understand this limitation for recorded FTA programs. But when watching live FTA content, I could send the digital audio out of FTA receiver to an external amplifier and mute the sound on the Sony HDD250 as well as display device. In that case, I should get Dolby stereo sound for FTA channels, correct?

BTW, what if I have an FTA box with an RF-Out on it? Does an RF-Out typically do a digital passthrough of the entire signal (video + audio)? In that case, could it passthrough the digital audio? If not, could an external RF Demodulator be used to "digitize" the output from RF-Out, and is there still loss of data in this process?

Note that the Sony will have no way to change channels on the FTA.

Understood, thanks.

I understand this limitation for recorded FTA programs. But when watching live FTA content, I could send the digital audio out of FTA receiver to an external amplifier and mute the sound on the Sony HDD250 as well as display device. In that case, I should get Dolby stereo sound for FTA channels, correct?

Not if you plan on watching any live video through the Sony - there's a significant delay between a "live" signal coming out of the FTA box and what you'll see on the Sony, due to recording buffering, so video and audio would be more than a little out of sync. And of course timeshifting with audio setup that way would be out of the question. There is no true "live" mode like some DVRs have.

Otherwise, there's wouldn't be anything to stop you from hooking up composite, S-Video or component plus digital audio and bypassing the Sony for any live viewing.



BTW, what if I have an FTA box with an RF-Out on it? Does an RF-Out typically do a digital passthrough of the entire signal (video + audio)? In that case, could it passthrough the digital audio? If not, could an external RF Demodulator be used to "digitize" the output from RF-Out, and is there still loss of data in this process?



Actually the RF out is what I meant by coax (the only inputs on the Sony are two coaxial RF connectors). And any FTA's RF output is going to be NTSC compliant with mono analog sound. You have to remember that the RF out of a sat receiver, cable box or VCR is a "last resort" connection of the least quality (Sony didn't even include one)... and typically anyone using it would likely not even have equipment capable of stereo (or if they did they may not know the difference). So manufacturers don't pay to put in a stereo encoder.

But if you were to buy a higher quality modulator that could encode stereo sound you could then get better audio on the Sony.

Using the RF coax input on the Sony is more of a "hack" method of getting it to record some other device's image. For the most part the Sony is *not* ideal to use as a VCR like this.

Have you considered buying a FTA receiver with built-in DVR capabilities?

Have you considered buying a FTA receiver with built-in DVR capabilities?

Yes.

Actually, for FTA, I'm thinking of foregoing this entire STB and hookup to DVR. There isn't one on the market with both an HD tuner and DVR functionality. Hooking up to an external DVR seems like loss of quality and a lot of headache. Instead, buying an FTA capture card with PVR software on a computer seems like a better approach.

However, this entire topic has me very confused. I thought the HDD500 could be used as a standalone DVR as well, hooked up to other set-top boxes, similar to Tivo. (I understand it has its own tuners, but I thought standalone DVR is a subset of its functionality.) Is crude RF-Out the only way to do it?

Aren't some of the TiVo boxes capable of being used as standalone DVRs by hooking up to satellite/cable/ATSC set top boxes? In that case, what sort of wiring do they use for transfer of digital video/audio? I would think the RF-Out limitation would be applicable in that case as well. Or do TiVo boxes have slots for inputs of digital audio/video from various sources using different kinds of cables?

How does the HDD500 differ from standalone TiVos in this case (apart from providing its own tuners)?

Ok, followup on recording 4 digit HD channels. Works fine on both my 1.2.13 and my 1.2.06 machines. What am I missing? others say they can not do this except on some of the very latest 1.2.13 upgrades. Is it because it is QAM and not digital cable? Would I not be able to record 4 digit digital cable channels like Discovery HD? I only have basic cable now.

I'm researching all this cause I just got a 1.2.13 firmware unit and I also have dropped my OTA setups, and gone all cable. So far both machines are doing all I expected with just cable, no antenna. both have cable PBS as hosts.

Ok, followup on recording 4 digit HD channels. Works fine on both my 1.2.13 and my 1.2.06 machines. What am I missing? others say they can not do this except on some of the very latest 1.2.13 upgrades. Is it because it is QAM and not digital cable? Would I not be able to record 4 digit digital cable channels like Discovery HD? I only have basic cable now.

I'm researching all this cause I just got a 1.2.13 firmware unit and I also have dropped my OTA setups, and gone all cable. So far both machines are doing all I expected with just cable, no antenna. both have cable PBS as hosts.

Have you checked the TVGOS version number? Is is greater than 08.06.30? I think that changes that would enable 4 digit channel numbers would be in the TVGOS firmware rather than the Sony firmware.

Oh, good to know, makes sense, I'll check my TVG #s, where? I'm glad TVGOS keeps upgrading and improving, with all the complaints about it here and in the DVD recorder forums I thought it might be dropped. I generally like using it as I don't use cable boxes/guides.

I just got a Sony DVD recorder, RDRHX900 with TVGOS. it has some interesting differences in the guide too, seems faster to navigate, has a blue and green buttons to do recording edits. It unfortunately does not catalog the recorded programs in the guide like the DHGHDD500 guide does. It saves them in the Sony program just as a general list with program name but no ind. show titles, nowhere near as user-friendly as the 500 guide is.
I was hoping to archive SD programs on the Sony DVD recorder and HD on the 500, but I prefer the 500 guide.

dumb question:

I'm getting a cablecard installed this week. Right now I have off-the-air and analog / clear QAM on my Sony hdd250.

When I get the cablecard, I will still be able to use the off-the-air antenna tuner, and will be able to populate my guide with off-the-air stations in any order I want, correct?

Also, I will be able to re-order the cable-card stations to my hearts content and will be able to turn off the ones I don't want to see in the guide, right?

And... I assume I will be able to deal with any missing VBI data on the cable system (if they don't broacast an analog version of my VBI datastream channel -- KCET28 in Los Angeles) by continuing to use the same off-the-air antenna that I use right now, right?

Thanks,
Robert

Yes to all of the above. I just had a CableCARD installed a couple weeks ago and it is very seamless. You simply end up with more channels then you had before. The only time it gets a little weird is when you have two or three versions of the same channel. For instance, KCBS is on channel 2 OTA, 2 on cable, and 2.1 digital OTA. If you hit "2" it will take you to the cable channel first, hit 2 again and it will take you to the analog OTA, and digital is just 2.1.

As for the TV Guide, it will simply populate all the channels you have in your lineup once the card is inserted. You can, of course, reorganize and turn off whatever you like.

A TV without a cablecard will not see your 97 because it is using a different channel map. Only a Comcast box or a properly configured cablecard device will see analog channel 97.

Refresh my memory --- Did you check the Sony DVR diagnostics screen to see if your channels 2-99 are QAM? If they are, then you are definitely on ADS, but Comcast has not properly implemented the analog 97, which would be the only analog channel. A Comcast box and the Sony with cablecard WILL see 97 or whatever your duplicate PBS channel is.

Another thing to consider is that you might need to reset the Sony from the front panel or you might need to remove and reseat the card if Comcast has made changes since you first got the card. Note that this should NOT be necessary if Comcast has everything right on their end. I had to do these things early on, but now Comcast can make changes on the fly with no interaction from me.


Just to update Comcast finally called me tonight to tell me that they got channel 97 working on analog. Its amazing that at first they deny there is a problem. Then they tell me that they have a solution, and I tell them it doesn't work and they deny it again.

The scroll wheel in the remote is malfunctioning. Just that.

I am still within my parts warranty. I call Sony.

Told that since my labor warranty has expired, they will fix it for a flat fee of $99.

Lucky to have had a reasonable customer support person, you never know how these things go. After I explained to him that the remote is a part, that I can buy two for the price he wants me to pay to fix it, and it all didn't make any sense, I convinced him to go off his script.

After holding on a while, and again holding on, and after he discussed it with someone else I imagine, they agreed to do it for free if I send in the remote.

We'll see how it goes.

I've ordered an HDD500 for strictly OTA HD and SD recording. I've read on this thread that there is no RF-out on the Sony, so could you offer suggestions on the best way of doing the hookup. I have to provide an RF feed to the Sony, to a SD DVR which has an RF-out, and the TV (SXRD). Basically three devices require an RF feed and only one has an RF-out. I was considering a 4-way amplified signal splitter, where I'd use the extra feed for my receiver's FM reception (a minor benefit that I don't need). Is a two-way unamplified spliitter feeding RF to both DVR's (I'd conect the TV to the RF-out of the SD DVR) a better solution even though I'm using a weaker signal? Can an amplified 4-way splitter cause damage due to overload? Is there a better way of doing all of this? I am concerned about weakening my signal by splitting it in two, but also concerned about overloading the front-ends with an amplified splitter. The link below is to the amplified 4-way splitter. Thanks very much for your help.

http://accessories.rca.com/en-US/modeldetail.html?maincat=Connectivity&subcat=Modulators+%26+Amplifiers&modelnum=VH140X

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7152788&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08062&id=1110266394546

I've ordered an HDD500 for strictly OTA HD and SD recording. I've read on this thread that there is no RF-out on the Sony, so could you offer suggestions on the best way of doing the hookup. I have to provide an RF feed to the Sony, to a SD DVR which has an RF-out, and the TV (SXRD). Basically three devices require an RF feed and only one has an RF-out. I was considering a 4-way amplified signal splitter, where I'd use the extra feed for my receiver's FM reception (a minor benefit that I don't need). Is a two-way unamplified spliitter feeding RF to both DVR's (I'd conect the TV to the RF-out of the SD DVR) a better solution even though I'm using a weaker signal? Can an amplified 4-way splitter cause damage due to overload? Is there a better way of doing all of this? I am concerned about weakening my signal by splitting it in two, but also concerned about overloading the front-ends with an amplified splitter. The link below is to the amplified 4-way splitter. Thanks very much for your help.


You want to feed the TV with either Component or HDMI. That's the only way you'll see HD.

You will need a splitter to feed the RF in on all three devices although a passive splitter may do the job very well. Since they're inexpensive, I'd try that first.

I would also use an SVHS connection between the SD DVR and the TV. That would give you better quality than the RF connection.

Thanks for your response. This actually has nothing to do with HDMI, S-video, etc. This is strictly about the OTA RF antenna signal. I need to pass it to three components - the HDD500, a second DVR, and TV. I'm concerned about splitting the signal which weakens it, so I am thinking that an RF amplifier with one coax-in and 4 coax-outs is the answer. Channel Master, Radio Shack, and RCA all make them. Any more advice is very much appreicated.

Thanks for your response. This actually has nothing to do with HDMI, S-video, etc. This is strictly about the OTA RF antenna signal. I need to pass it to three components - the HDD500, a second DVR, and TV. I'm concerned about splitting the signal which weakens it, so I am thinking that an RF amplifier with one coax-in and 4 coax-outs is the answer. Channel Master, Radio Shack, and RCA all make them. Any more advice is very much appreicated.

My incoming cable is split 4 ways (TV, D-VHS, 2 DVR's). The setup originally included the RS 4-way distribution amplifier because I thought it was needed. A Comcast tech said my signal was so strong that the amp should be removed. He gave me a 1GHz 4-way splitter that works just fine.

So just try a good splitter first.

I'm with Comcast in Sarasota, Fl. I have two 500's which have been working nearly perfectly for four months until I lost the clock and all guide updates last week. My host channel had been 1:0:3(cable channel 3) and I was receiving good VBI data on Ch 3 until I stopped getting updates last week but none since. I've found that I still get good VBI packets on two other cable channels(7ABC & 13FOX).

I've tried front panel reset, reset factory defaults, the 963214785 code to force VBI channel and even restore factory defaults which formats the hard drives in attempts to get 7 or 13 as my host channel but nothing has worked. Both 500's now show a blank for the host channel. I've also called Sony, Channel 3, and Comcast. But found no one who had any knowledge about TVGOS.(Comcast wouldn't connect me to an engineer and I've left two voice mails which haven't been returned at Channel 3 engineering. Second level support at Sony was better but I don't think he knew as much as I've learned from this thread.)
TWO QUESTIONS:

1. Does anyone know how I can force the machines to pick a host channel with good VBI data?


2. Is anyone else having the same problems in the Tampa - Sarasota area?

Thanks in advance for any info on this subject.

1. Does anyone know how I can force the machines to pick a host channel with good VBI data?Note that "good VBI data" is not necessarily TVGOS data. The DVR will not pick a host channel that doesn't have TVGOS data. You need to get Comcast to fix their problem. Or resort to an OTA antenna for guide data.

Stingray1,

It sounds like Comcast has equipment problems, since both of your DVR's fail to receive TVGOS data. You might want to post your troubles in the Comcast forum at broadbandreports.com. There is a Florida person there that has very good Comcast contacts. (I can't remember his handle.)

I just picked up an hdd250 from BB for $450 nib and have it at home now. Of course I set up the tvgos out of the box and after 5 days of being off ( i was out of town) it has no TVGOS info at all and the clock is wrong.

I didn't actually expect it to work since my postal code is newer, only 6 months old or so. I have just reset the guide through the menu using an established postal code nearby and will check tomorrow. The clock didn't reset and still reads 3 hours and 7 minutes slow... I understand that the clock can only be set up through the guide, so will the clock update when the guide does or do I need to do some sort of hard reset ?

Anyway I am still evaluating this (can be returned until 6/16) and understand that it has it's quirks and quarks which I will decide if I can live with or not, but I wanted to know when there will be another release from anyone on the HD dvr front in the near future ?

I have read that some are already release in japan by Toshiba, but can anyone comment on when north america can expect a release ?

thanks!

Thanks, Phil, I'll check at broadbandreports.com. The problem may lie with Channel 3, however, since I don't get VBI data OTA on 3.

Thanks for your response. This actually has nothing to do with HDMI, S-video, etc. This is strictly about the OTA RF antenna signal. I need to pass it to three components - the HDD500, a second DVR, and TV. I'm concerned about splitting the signal which weakens it, so I am thinking that an RF amplifier with one coax-in and 4 coax-outs is the answer. Channel Master, Radio Shack, and RCA all make them. Any more advice is very much appreicated.

I am strictly OTA and used the Radio Shack amplifier & a quality splitter to run signal to 3 components (HDTV/DVR/VCR) from a twin antenna setup in my attic (UHF & VHF seperate with a combiner). I found that without the amplifier, I had inadequate signal through the splitter. Only had adequate signal to all three with amplifier turned on....though the adjustment I ended up with for best signal is not at the max for the unit.

the adjustment I ended up with for best signal is not at the max for the unit.

How could you tell when the signal was too weak, and how could you tell when the signal was too strong?

I just picked up an hdd250 from BB for $450 nib and have it at home now. Of course I set up the tvgos out of the box and after 5 days of being off ( i was out of town) it has no TVGOS info at all and the clock is wrong.

I didn't actually expect it to work since my postal code is newer, only 6 months old or so. I have just reset the guide through the menu using an established postal code nearby and will check tomorrow. The clock didn't reset and still reads 3 hours and 7 minutes slow... I understand that the clock can only be set up through the guide, so will the clock update when the guide does or do I need to do some sort of hard reset ?

Anyway I am still evaluating this (can be returned until 6/16) and understand that it has it's quirks and quarks which I will decide if I can live with or not, but I wanted to know when there will be another release from anyone on the HD dvr front in the near future ?

I have read that some are already release in japan by Toshiba, but can anyone comment on when north america can expect a release ?

thanks!


The only function for the postal code is to identify cable service, and provide you a list from which you can choose. I believe clock set is independent of the guide. Looks like you aren't getting the proper signals. Possible causes are: tv station is not broadcasting the guide, guide channel is turned off in edit+/- menu, signal problem with antenna or cable.

So far I haven't seen any new hdtv recorders mentioned in the media, except ones bundled with the tv.

I think one of my hdd500 units has a serious problem. Has anyone had this problem? When I plug my unit in the Welcome comes up on the display it counts 01 02 06 and then says ERR3FFFF81 and locks up. There is no video, no changing channels and the power only goes off by unplugging the unit. Does anyone know how I can fix this issue or do I have to send the unit back to Sony. If I do how big are they on having your original purchase receipt? I recently moved and it is in a box somewhere and I am not sure which one it is?

Thanks for your help.

Eric

THese machines can be a little hard to reset up once they have been set up and then unplugged. but I never had that error message.

However, with mine, I have had to take a while to get access to the machine after an unplug. I do the reset on front, push Exit and Guide buttons together. Sometimes it takes 5-10 times of resetting to get the proper screens up. I can see why so many of these get returned. I have always been able to get them going again. I have probably set up 4 or 5 of these, many had already had other zips in the them. I wish I could give more specifics. Sometimes just changing the format button helped to get it going, sometimes the exit button once the machine comes on. It can be tedious.
I think this happens because once it is set up already with a guide and zip code, and then unplugged, the new start up does not go thru a complete set up, so the machine seems confused or only partially set up.
On one I was able to get the Menu screen up, and entered the 9012 menu, that is where you can do a factory reset, and/or a reformat. THis too kme back to zero, but the machine then set up like brand new. Wixh I could help more, it is frustrating, and amazing that these machines do this. Maybe someone has a sure fire way and restarting these machines.

All I know is the guide in my area has been giving me fits for awhile now. I keep getting "no titles" scattered throughout my listings. If I reset, the guide is all filled in fine, but within a day or so, it's back to the same old thing.

Maybe it's time to give my host station a call.

Anyone else with the Sony in the Chicago area (with channel 11 as their host) having similar problems? I know I've asked this before, but I thought maybe it's changed for some people since.

Seems like this has gotten worse since I've been using different zipcodes. Maybe what you're saying about that possibly confusing the machine permanantly is true. (I'm back to only using my own now.)

My guide has had no problems in recent weeks (via Comcast analog 94 PBS). So I don't think PBS is at fault. I've changed local Zip Codes in the past, but that did not cause any apparent problems.

Is your Sony turned off for more than one download period each day? Or is it on most of the time? I'm wondering if the guide does not have time to fill in completely during a single 3-4 hour download, especially if you have a lot of channels turned on. (I'm wildly speculating here, since you seem to get data, just not all of it.)

Are you getting your data if it's from Channel 13 in NYC?

I have two units and neither has filled for next Thursday or Friday (15th and 16th).

VBI test pases and packets are coming in.

An update on my TVGOS problems:

I finally reached an engineer at WEDU in Tampa. They were having problems transmitting guide data via fiber to Comcast in Saratoa. Happy to say the problem appears to be fixed as my clock is now correct, I'm receiving VBI packets on channel 3(Comcast), and my guide is filling out. Thanks to everyone for their help.

All I know is the guide in my area has been giving me fits for awhile now. I keep getting "no titles" scattered throughout my listings. If I reset, the guide is all filled in fine, but within a day or so, it's back to the same old thing.

Maybe it's time to give my host station a call.

Anyone else with the Sony in the Chicago area (with channel 11 as their host) having similar problems? I know I've asked this before, but I thought maybe it's changed for some people since.

Seems like this has gotten worse since I've been using different zipcodes. Maybe what you're saying about that possibly confusing the machine permanantly is true. (I'm back to only using my own now.)

I'm in area code 60661, and I haven't had any problems with data reception. I do have my settings for both cable and OTA and for RCN as my cable provider, but I don't think that has much to do with it. It could be that your signal may not be as optimal it could be. Do you have a clear shot of the Sears tower? And have you used the system preferences for determining the signal quality when you have WTTW tuned in? This could help. Let me know what happens.

Cheers

If anyone is interested I decided to sell my "spare" DHG-HDD500 in order to pay off my ever increasing credit card dept. The average price on a certain auction site has been between $650 and $750 but I'll offer it here first to my fellow AVS members for $575. It has been updated to the latest 1.2.13 firmware and has had the 161-6 CableCARD error fix applied. Payment via PayPal is fine as long as you have a confirmed address on file with them. Otherwise checks and money orders are fine but they will have to clear first. Please PM me if interested or for more details on its condition and performance. Thanks.

A local here had the same problem with firmware.

Well, despite a few foul balls with the CableCARD install in the Sony DHG-HDD250, with a little patience, I finally got a fat pitch right down the pike....and now I'm 2 for 2 , i.e. I have a working CableCARD in my Sony PVR. The problem turned out to be a bad CableCARD (???) although the working CableCARD has an older FW ver 04.05 whereas the original CableCARD as well as the CableCARD in my Samsung TV is at FW ver 04.21. In the process of troubleshooting the problem (really long story)....although I already had a working CableCARD in my TV, the tech determined I had really low signal levels, and didn't understand how the working CableCARD or my Cox DVR was working based on the signal levels he was seeing, so I got a line amplifier as a part of the deal.....hey it didn't fix the CableCARD issue, but did improve my PQ on some channels....shweet! I did lose all my TVGOS guide data, so I have to wait through the 8 day cycle for the TV guide to re-populate!

Does the red card have 4.05 firmware?
Hi Lastplace,
I read your May 20 post on your cable card experiences. I also have a DHG-HDD250, and have had Time Warner out twice with Scientific Atlanta cable cards, both of which stopped working a short while after being inserted (premium channels locked up - error 161-6, and then went black). The premiums come back if I remove/reinsert CC, or if I re-boot the DHG. My local HD channels on cable were still there - just the premiums were black. I have the latest FW in my unit - 1.2.13.

Is your cable card still working correctly? Did you ever try a Scientific Atlanta card? Have you heard from others that have been able to get the Motorola card with 4.05 FW working correctly? Do you have premium channels? (extra HD tiers or HBO/Showtime HD?)

My guide has had no problems in recent weeks (via Comcast analog 94 PBS). So I don't think PBS is at fault. I've changed local Zip Codes in the past, but that did not cause any apparent problems.

Is your Sony turned off for more than one download period each day? Or is it on most of the time? I'm wondering if the guide does not have time to fill in completely during a single 3-4 hour download, especially if you have a lot of channels turned on. (I'm wildly speculating here, since you seem to get data, just not all of it.)It's off between 1:00am and 12:30pm all of the time. I usually have well under 50 channels turned on. I have tried it with the OTA channels only and with other channels turned on (for the satellite info) - it's the same thing every which way. It's not certain channels that don't fill in at all that's the problem, it's just "no titles" mixed in with other show's info on many channels.

I'm in area code 60661, and I haven't had any problems with data reception. I do have my settings for both cable and OTA and for RCN as my cable provider, but I don't think that has much to do with it. It could be that your signal may not be as optimal it could be. Do you have a clear shot of the Sears tower? And have you used the system preferences for determining the signal quality when you have WTTW tuned in? This could help. Let me know what happens.

CheersMy reception is no worse now than when the guide was working fine. It could be better, I suppose, but it's pretty good now. There are just some dots flying around in the picture, but it's totally good enough to even watch.

As far as the signal strength meter, when I go to it in the menu, it says "not available" because it's an analog OTA channel. All analog OTA channels do the same.

I lost the guide completely this afternoon, and got the famous "updating" screen. Every time I checked the channel, the reception was good.

I wonder if I'm getting some kind of interference that could be causing it?

Has anyone tryed the sony with verizon fios cablecard. Will it work? Thanks.

I have moto cablecard 4.5. Is there a pattern when sony w/cablecard won't allow a recording? Why will a show not record at one time but record at a different time? It's obviously not blocking that particular show. Very wierd.

I have moto cablecard 4.5. Is there a pattern when sony w/cablecard won't allow a recording? Why will a show not record at one time but record at a different time? It's obviously not blocking that particular show. Very wierd.

This is a known issue. Do a thread search for "permitted".

This is a known issue. Do a thread search for "permitted".


That explains a lot for me as well. I noticed that most people were complaining about premium channels, but I have experienced it on everything from Nick@Nite trying to record a 4AM episode of Murphy Brown to Speed trying to record a MotoGP race. Very, very annoying.

I'm switching the audio from my HDD500 through a Denon receiver. Even though the OTA signal indicates "Dolby Digital" when using my TV tuner, the same signal through the HDD500 tuner indicates a snythesized Dolby signal. Both the TV audio-out and HDD500 audio-out are using optical cables. As far as I can see, they are both setup correctly on the receiver. Any help is very much appreciated. .. Jeff

'm switching the audio from my HDD500 through a Denon receiver. Even though the OTA signal indicates "Dolby Digital" when using my TV tuner, the same signal through the HDD500 tuner indicates a snythesized Dolby signal. Both the TV audio-out and HDD500 audio-out are using optical cables. As far as I can see, they are both setup correctly on the receiver. Any help is very much appreciated. .. Jeff

It's in the manual, the menu choice is preferences/audio/dolby digital

Oops, I figured it out. Thanks.

Editted to add: Swestbom, thanks for the quick response.

Hi Lastplace,
I read your May 20 post on your cable card experiences. I also have a DHG-HDD250, and have had Time Warner out twice with Scientific Atlanta cable cards, both of which stopped working a short while after being inserted (premium channels locked up - error 161-6, and then went black). The premiums come back if I remove/reinsert CC, or if I re-boot the DHG. My local HD channels on cable were still there - just the premiums were black. I have the latest FW in my unit - 1.2.13.

Is your cable card still working correctly? Did you ever try a Scientific Atlanta card? Have you heard from others that have been able to get the Motorola card with 4.05 FW working correctly? Do you have premium channels? (extra HD tiers or HBO/Showtime HD?)

hdtvbill,
I don't have a cable card yet, my post was refering to a person on our local thread. From reading this thread I have learned 2 things:

1. 161-6 is a hardware problem that has to repaired by Sony's PA. location.

2. These units have problems with SA cards.

I hope this helps.

This is a known issue. Do a thread search for "permitted".

I just had a rather interesting development that I don't see mentioned anywhere else. I set the DVR to record the World Cup game between the Czech Republic and the USA while I was in class. I just got back and it wasn't recording. Tried to make it record and it wouldn't (of course), so on a whim I changed the channel and went back. Now it is recording. This makes me believe that there is some inherent bug in the Sony unit and NOT a broadcast flag sent out by Comcast.

The only function for the postal code is to identify cable service, and provide you a list from which you can choose. I believe clock set is independent of the guide. Looks like you aren't getting the proper signals. Possible causes are: tv station is not broadcasting the guide, guide channel is turned off in edit+/- menu, signal problem with antenna or cable.

So far I haven't seen any new hdtv recorders mentioned in the media, except ones bundled with the tv.

Thanks for the reply. I would love to read all 5800+ posts, but who has the time! Although the search option is nice for specific questions.

I now have some guide data by using a US zip code accross the border. It started on Saturday morning, time and date is now correct and I have been recording. Not all data is filled in yet, but I read that it takes time for all 8 days and all stations. NHL finals in HD are sweet! Taped the Nascar race on FOXHD sunday too!

Rewatching in HD is fantastic, although I don't look forward to many problems as discussed on these units in the future.... I am really struggling on whether or not I should wait a year or so and then get into a much more developed unit from Sony or another manufacturer (toshiba, currently released in Japan) which would have much less problems... who knows....

I already have HD by way of my TV (Sony KDF-E50A10) but taping in SD just isn't the same.... what to do what to do...

Any advice is welcomed.

Anyone using TVGOS in Corpus Christi, TX? My sister is interested in my spare 250. I told her to ask around town. They don't even have ABC in HD there and maybe not PBS in HD yet.

I'm running out of patience. I have two units, a 500 and a 250. They both have cablecards and are fed from the same Comcast cable via a spliter. I have a digital package from Comcast, and my guide data is transmitted on analog channel 16. I seem to get regular guide updates on only ONE of the two systems. AND it doesn't matter which system it is! If I'm getting no guide data on the 250, and I reset the unit, I then begin to get data for THAT box, but it seems to stop feeding the 500. If I then reset the 500, (and, by the way, spend an hour or two re-positioning all the channels) it begins to populate the 500 and the 250 stops getting any data at all.

I can't see any logical reason for this behavior, and will welcome any and all suggestions to fix the problem. I AM getting tired of revamping the channels all the time, and wonder if this action has anything to do with the problem.

Thanks.

JLOB

JLOB: When repositioning all the channels, are you keeping your analog Ch 16 activated in the guide? The host channel has to be included and turned on in the guide for the guide to repopulate.

JLOB: When repositioning all the channels, are you keeping your analog Ch 16 activated in the guide? The host channel has to be included and turned on in the guide for the guide to repopulate.



YNOS,

I guarantee that that IS (was) the problem. During all my re-positioning stints I just assumed that as long as CH16 was tunable, it was all set. I had used the guide codes for THAT channel to reflect the local PBS HD channel. The other box, for some reason, had the CH16 intact - which apparently was how it was getting data that the second unit wasn't. I'll se if it worked by tomorrow, but thanks in advance for the solution.

JLOB

That explains a lot for me as well. I noticed that most people were complaining about premium channels, but I have experienced it on everything from Nick@Nite trying to record a 4AM episode of Murphy Brown to Speed trying to record a MotoGP race. Very, very annoying.

As you mentioned the problem has nothing to do with viewing it live, the unauthorized stuff happens only during recording. From what I understand some the program number which is part of each mpeg service is getting screwed up so the number that is told to the DHG is not what it should be. So if you can a program number that actually belongs to a PPV or an unauthorized channel then the DHG won't record. I believe the CC firmware bug also prevents the 4.05 card from being upgradable. At first I blamed the sony but my local comcast office tried a 4.05 card on their tvs and it could not upgrade it either. Probably the only way I can think of a getting a newer or older card (yes, cards with older firmware then 4.05 are upgradable) is say the card is broken and request a new one or ask for a 2nd one and return the previous one. The truck roll fees for doing the "install" can add up but being able to record without error on such a big disk is great !

Still saying no data.

The only thing I have not tried is the exit button and tvguide button at the same time on the unit for a soft reset.

I just hit both but after 10 minutes the unit has not come back on. I was under the assumption that it reboots and takes me through setup. Is this not correct?

tia

JLOB: When repositioning all the channels, are you keeping your analog Ch 16 activated in the guide? The host channel has to be included and turned on in the guide for the guide to repopulate.

It may be that it needs to be activated to initially find the analog TVGOS host channel. But, I have had my TVGOS host channel de-activated for over 4 months and my guide populates every day without fail.

What do you mean activated? I thought you had to keep the host channel turned on in the guide?.

Best Buy #479 Newport News, VA has 3 HDD-250's "out of the box" in stock, all under 400

It may be that it needs to be activated to initially find the analog TVGOS host channel. But, I have had my TVGOS host channel de-activated for over 4 months and my guide populates every day without fail.
Same here. I have only OTA digital channels in the CH+/- list and only OTA digital channels in the guide, yet I receive the guide data just fine over an analog channel that isn't in either list. I still have firmware version 1.02.05 and this configuration has been working OK for close to a year now.

It may be that it needs to be activated to initially find the analog TVGOS host channel. But, I have had my TVGOS host channel de-activated for over 4 months and my guide populates every day without fail.I'm assuming when you say de-activated, you mean the host channel is not included in your TV Guide lineup. (Unchecking it in the list of scanned channels is different.) I think PhillyC once said he was getting guide data without the host channel being included in the guide, but he was running on the latest 1.2.13 firmware. I have 1.2.06 and my guide won't repopulate without the host channel included in the guide so perhaps things changed on the latest firmware. Which firmware are you running?

I think PhillyC once said he was getting guide data without the host channel being included in the guide, but he was running on the latest 1.2.13 firmware.

That wasn't me. I have 1.2.05 and keep the host channel on.

That wasn't me. I have 1.2.05 and keep the host channel on.Sorry for the mixup. I'll see if I can find the post I'm thinking of, but maybe it's not all that important.

Hi. I've searched this thread, and others on AVS forum, but can't figure this out. Please help a newbie.

I just got the dhg-hdd250 and an OTA antenna. I was pleasantly surprised when I did a channel scan on the cable (Comcast, Wash DC) that there were lots of digital channels. The guide downloads the program data, but the channel format seems to be a 3 digit number. The digital channels I get are in an XXX.XX format. Is there a way to convert from the comcast channel number to the XXX.XX number? Does anyone have a look up table for DC? Thanks in advance.

Hi. I've searched this thread, and others on AVS forum, but can't figure this out. Please help a newbie.

I just got the dhg-hdd250 and an OTA antenna. I was pleasantly surprised when I did a channel scan on the cable (Comcast, Wash DC) that there were lots of digital channels. The guide downloads the program data, but the channel format seems to be a 3 digit number. The digital channels I get are in an XXX.XX format. Is there a way to convert from the comcast channel number to the XXX.XX number? Does anyone have a look up table for DC? Thanks in advance.

Doesn't this rig have a Cablecard slot? Comcast doesn't charge for them and they do the channel number mapping.

I was pleasantly surprised when I did a channel scan on the cable (Comcast, Wash DC) that there were lots of digital channels. The guide downloads the program data, but the channel format seems to be a 3 digit number. The digital channels I get are in an XXX.XX format. Is there a way to convert from the comcast channel number to the XXX.XX number?

Most of them are probably the music channels. AFAIK there's no easy algorithm, I had to view each one to figure out what it was in my area.

Hi. I've searched this thread, and others on AVS forum, but can't figure this out. Please help a newbie.

I just got the dhg-hdd250 and an OTA antenna. I was pleasantly surprised when I did a channel scan on the cable (Comcast, Wash DC) that there were lots of digital channels. The guide downloads the program data, but the channel format seems to be a 3 digit number. The digital channels I get are in an XXX.XX format. Is there a way to convert from the comcast channel number to the XXX.XX number? Does anyone have a look up table for DC? Thanks in advance.


What you refer to as the XXX.XX channel # is the QAM channel. If you have analog cable, your QAM tuner in the 500/250 should pick up the analog cable channels PLUS any unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your cable provider(Supposely cable providers aren't allowed to encrypt the digital rebroadcasts of local stations). In Sarasota, Fl, I can get the digital broadcasts of CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, WB, and PBSHD on both of my 500's. The interesting thing, however, is I've never picked up any of these stations on any of the(12+) autoscans I've run. To get these stations I needed to know the proper QAM channel #'s and enter them manually. In my case I posted on the Tampa local thread and asked if anyone could tell what the appropriate QAM #'s were. Luckily one member was able to give me this info.

Doesn't this rig have a Cablecard slot? Comcast doesn't charge for them and they do the channel number mapping.


Or to clarify....Comcast doesn't charge for the FIRST cablecard. They DO charge a few bucks per month for each ADDITIONAL card.

JLOB

Thanks for all the info... very helpful. I spent a while remapping the numbers manually last night. I'll wait until enough data downloads to see if I got it right.

We just have basic cable, and I'm mostly interested in getting the local HD broadcasts. It is tempting to find out how much the basic digital package is though.

I think they've got some kind of $39.99 deal going on right now, but it might only be for new customers. Wouldn't hurt to find out.

Or to clarify....Comcast doesn't charge for the FIRST cablecard. They DO charge a few bucks per month for each ADDITIONAL card.

JLOBThey certainly charge for the 1st one in my area - the same price as the tuner.

Sucks.

I live in one of those towns where they think everyone's made out of money, when in reality, only half are. The other half are anything but well off.

They certainly charge for the 1st one in my area - the same price as the tuner.

Sucks.

Are you absolutely sure about that? Because they're required by law to give the first cablecard to you with no extra charge. They can only charge for the programming. That's the whole point of cablecard, so you wouldn't need to pay equipment fees to them. If they're charging you for the first card, you may have a case to take up with FCC.

No freebies here. the cablecard is a piece of equipment you are renting. It's cheaper to rent than a box, they charge $3-4 a month rental for each one, and $30 to install it, requires service call. Believe me I've checked many times, cause I don't want to pay a service call charge just to plug it in.

My sony's host recently switched from OTA analog PBS to cable channel 94 (cable analog pbs). I did not force the switch - it did it on its own. Lately my guide is not repopulating and I wonder what is the best way to reset the host channel to OTA PBS analog. I do not want to have to reorganize my channel list, etc. Thanks.

Are you absolutely sure about that? Because they're required by law to give the first cablecard to you with no extra charge. They can only charge for the programming. That's the whole point of cablecard, so you wouldn't need to pay equipment fees to them. If they're charging you for the first card, you may have a case to take up with FCC.

Then comcast in anne arundel co maryland is breaking the law too. I have one cablecard and it cost $17 to install and $5.95 per month to use.

OK, one time cablecard installation fees should be fine. But it seems like I was under a wrong understanding about mandated free rentals of cablecards nationwide. It sure reduces the attractiveness of these devices. :( I'm happy there is no charge for it in my area. (Comcast + San Francisco Bay Area)

OK, one time cablecard installation fees should be fine. But it seems like I was under a wrong understanding about mandated free rentals of cablecards nationwide. It sure reduces the attractiveness of these devices. :( I'm happy there is no charge for it in my area. (Comcast + San Francisco Bay Area)

Comcast in Kansas City charges $5/month for cable card. In fact, they charge the same $5 for the HD tuner box also. They charge $10 for HD-DVR (Motorola box). I was tempted to get them a few months ago, but decided to stay OTA.

My sony's host recently switched from OTA analog PBS to cable channel 94 (cable analog pbs). I did not force the switch - it did it on its own. Lately my guide is not repopulating and I wonder what is the best way to reset the host channel to OTA PBS analog. I do not want to have to reorganize my channel list, etc. Thanks. I'm having similar problems myself. Mine still says the host is the analog PBS, but everytime I keep resetting it, the guide populates with a couple of days info, then eventually, the whole thing goes blank. (And yes, I leave it off long enough and my host channel reception is fine.)

It was fine for the first few months, then the last few weeks the problems started. I'm at my wit's end.

What you refer to as the XXX.XX channel # is the QAM channel. If you have analog cable, your QAM tuner in the 500/250 should pick up the analog cable channels PLUS any unencrypted digital channels broadcast by your cable provider(Supposely cable providers aren't allowed to encrypt the digital rebroadcasts of local stations). In Sarasota, Fl, I can get the digital broadcasts of CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, WB, and PBSHD on both of my 500's. The interesting thing, however, is I've never picked up any of these stations on any of the(12+) autoscans I've run. To get these stations I needed to know the proper QAM channel #'s and enter them manually. In my case I posted on the Tampa local thread and asked if anyone could tell what the appropriate QAM #'s were. Luckily one member was able to give me this info.

Does anyone know the QAM numbers (or a helpful link) for local HD (ABC, NBC, CBD, Fox, PBS) via basic Comcast service in Baltimore/Baltimore county? I too will need to enter them manually.

It may be that it needs to be activated to initially find the analog TVGOS host channel. But, I have had my TVGOS host channel de-activated for over 4 months and my guide populates every day without fail.

I also DON'T have my host channel turned 'on' in the TV Guide screen OR on the channel +/- list and am getting updates for 4-5 months also...

There may be a painfully obvious answer to this, but I was wondering why this DVR, which has at least two independant tuners with two inputs, cannot record two channels at once. That is to say, if I am recording something on Discovery HD, why can't I also record something on OTA ABC (even if it is non HD)? Is it a software thing?

Mjmoran, try asking help on this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=517400&highlight=baltimore

There may be a painfully obvious answer to this, but I was wondering why this DVR, which has at least two independant tuners with two inputs, cannot record two channels at once.The painlessly obvious answer is that it was not designed to do that. Processing two independant high bandwidth streams would require considerably more powerful processor power, dual codecs, and more complex scheduling software. And we all know that TVGOS has a hard enough time just doing one recording at a time.

As you mentioned the problem has nothing to do with viewing it live, the unauthorized stuff happens only during recording. From what I understand some the program number which is part of each mpeg service is getting screwed up so the number that is told to the DHG is not what it should be. So if you can a program number that actually belongs to a PPV or an unauthorized channel then the DHG won't record. I believe the CC firmware bug also prevents the 4.05 card from being upgradable. At first I blamed the sony but my local comcast office tried a 4.05 card on their tvs and it could not upgrade it either. Probably the only way I can think of a getting a newer or older card (yes, cards with older firmware then 4.05 are upgradable) is say the card is broken and request a new one or ask for a 2nd one and return the previous one. The truck roll fees for doing the "install" can add up but being able to record without error on such a big disk is great !


I went through a good 7 different cablecards to get what I have now. They tried the purple Motorola cards to no avail, and only the red one (which is 4.05) worked. Honestly, I will live with a few missed recordings if it means having to switch to a different card again.

I encountered the following problem recent with my HDD500 which I have not found in this forum (though I may have missed it). My listings, which have been working fine for several months, now give the message to wait 24 hours while the Guide is being updated. I haven't changed my setup so this sort of came out of nowhere. But my local PBS station (WETA 26 in Washington) is still sending out Guide data because when I go to a program it gives me the name of it. Anyway, this keeps happening periodically and I currently don't have my listings. What is going on and how do I fix it?

thanks in advance for any help

I encountered the following problem recent with my HDD500 which I have not found in this forum (though I may have missed it). My listings, which have been working fine for several months, now give the message to wait 24 hours while the Guide is being updated. I haven't changed my setup so this sort of came out of nowhere. But my local PBS station (WETA 26 in Washington) is still sending out Guide data because when I go to a program it gives me the name of it. Anyway, this keeps happening periodically and I currently don't have my listings. What is going on and how do I fix it?

thanks in advance for any help

In the past when this happened to me, it was because the PBS station was having equipment problems. Just because the program is showing a name in the info box, doesn't mean that you are getting guide data.

Check the FAQ under Section 1.2.16, TV Guide, G* Factory Test. Run this test while tuned to your analog host channel. See if it passes the VBI test. If it fails the VBI test, the station probably NOT sending out data.

I had to call my PBS station's engineering department to get them to reboot the "system". They had to do this every two days until the diagnosed the cause of the problems.

Hey, everyone....

I finally have given up on my cable company. They currently carry 5 HD channels, and I don't see them adding an more in the next year or so.

So.... I've moved over to Dish Network.

Good news for anyone that wants it is that I'm now selling my DHG-HDD250. I'm using Ebay so that all parties can be protected in a sale with paypal and their buyer / seller protections.

I've set a fixed price for the unit of $390 + $25 shipping.

Note that the unit has some cosemetic scratches at the top of it from a DVD recorder that was sitting on top of it. The warranty is expired on the unit, but it has worked without a problem for the past year.

If anyone wants it... it's for sale on Ebay (do a search for dhg-hdd250 to find it). My username on ebay is skierrob. It seems I can't post a direct link to the sale site in here, so respond and let me know if you have problems finding the listing.

Since I know you guys will ask... no, the unit has not had the cablecard fix... I never used it with one (planned to, but then switched to Dish instead).

Thanks again to EVERYONE for their help with my questions about this unit during the past year (especially in the beginning when I had no clue what I was doing with the guide, etc.). I really appreciate everyone's input and assistance.

Thanks,
Robert

Zzzzz...

I have seen this happen about three times during the last couple of weeks. These pictures were taken just a couple of minutes ago.

Follow the yellow cursor position along with the matching or non-matching description. The first column starts at 6:30PM.

Is this something a software upgrade would fix? Are just a part of the "odd" TV Guide service? I assume others have seen this?

Remaining few pictures:

Last Group

Of course the thing that is really wrong on pic 5580 is both the description and the title of the show...........it should be the basketball game?........but why did one of the screen shots above show correct title and description and one was half correct?

Last Group

Of course the thing that is really wrong on pic 5580 is both the description and the title of the show...........it should be the basketball game?........but why did one of the screen shots above show correct title and description and one was half correct?

I don't know if a software update would help. This may just be a quirk of the system, but I suspect it may have been caused by the goofy start times (not starting on the top or bottom of the hour). Just speculation of course.

Last Group

Of course the thing that is really wrong on pic 5580 is both the description and the title of the show...........it should be the basketball game?........but why did one of the screen shots above show correct title and description and one was half correct?

I have seen this occur before and it happened in conjunction with a sports broadcast involving a playoff (hockey in my case) where the certainty of the game was not known before the outcome of the previous game. I assume the updates were last minute and maybe were not complete. But now that I think about it, it also involved odd start/stop times (like 10 minutes after and such). Thankfully the problem does not happen very frequently.

Jim

After forcing a host channel three times I finally have tvgos again. However my clock is 10 minutes off and after three days of receiving info I may be going backward. 4.30 am tommorow it shows no info. After three days I should have almost a weeks worth of line up.

Any one ever have the clock be off ten minutes?

It takes 8 days to get a full week's lineup, see the FAQ page at page 1.

I know that but after three days of being up and running I should have tommorows guide and I do not. The guide ends tommorow morning at 4.30 am

Join the club.

I am beginning to think its my pbs channel in Tampa. ONe time I check g factory test and I pass all, I am checking again now that I am having a problem and It is failing the gfactory test.

Channel 13 fox seems to always pass the g factory test but When I tried forcing that channel I still didnt get tvgos.

BTW my fears came true I have no listings today again.

I am beginning to think its my pbs channel in Tampa. ONe time I check g factory test and I pass all, I am checking again now that I am having a problem and It is failing the gfactory test.

Channel 13 fox seems to always pass the g factory test but When I tried forcing that channel I still didnt get tvgos.

BTW my fears came true I have no listings today again.

Call the station and ask for engineering - tell them that you aren't receiving the gemstar TVGOS data for your guide and ask if they are aware of any technical problems.

I have 2 hdd250, both connected to the same cable. One shows the channel number (84.3) Followed by the channel name (WGBHC) and the other one, for the same channel, only shows the channel number. I have looked at the settings until I'm blue in the face but can't find anyplace to correct this. What are I missing?

Thanks

/Peter

[QUOTE=Ferrari328]I have 2 hdd250, both connected to the same cable. One shows the channel number (84.3) Followed by the channel name (WGBHC) and the other one, for the same channel, only shows the channel number. I have looked at the settings until I'm blue in the face but can't find anyplace to correct this. What are I missing?

Smaat answer: Channel 84.3 <g>

I could be that it missed the channel during the original scan. Try AUTO ADD from cable (not replace). Or, can you enter 8-4-.-3 directly with your remote? If you get a sig, right arrow to add it to the list.

Thanks, that was it. I don't think I even did run a scan When I got the second unit.

/Peter

I have a problem that just surfaced with my HDD500. After working fine for a while, it has suddenly started flashing. It flashes a quick single picture repeatedly every 5-8 seconds, and the rest of the time the screen is blank, no matter what is displayed (listings, programs, menu, etc.). I did a search on "flashing" and found some posts about it but I didn't see any solutions. I take the HDMI output into my 1080p (1080i input) TV. I tried the composite video output from the HDD500 and that works fine. Thanks very much for any assistance. .. Jeff

Problem resolved. The HDMI of the TV got messed up for some reason. I reset the TV (5 minutes power off and unplug for 1 minute) and that fixed the problem. Thanks.

.

Who make hard drive for HDD250? I need to know model number & manuf. THX

You can find that info in post #1336 http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6599504&&#post6599504
but it will do you no good, as you can NOT add or swap drives. The software is keyed to the internal serial #s of the original drive(s).

Two fast questions (probably answered somewhere in the last 6,000 posts):

1. Do you have to do the VD Guide setup first?
2. Can you switch between OTA and cable without doing another scan each time as it is with most digital tuners?
3. Does this box get hot when it is off? IOW's is this a power hog as the CC supplied boxes are?

Can you switch between OTA and cable without doing another scan each time as it is with most digital tuners?

Yes - both OTA and cable are integrated into the guide, so it is basically seamless.

The only thing you will notice is the tuner "clicking" when switching from OTA to cable.

I just edited the post while you answered it.
Crutchfield had one 250 'Scratch 'n Dent left for $425 delivered. (notice the emphasis ;) )

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-teE8Z98MlAF/cgi-bin/Prodview.asp?readmore=true&g=193550&I=158HDD250&cc=07#Tab

BTW, they DO have the 500 model for $600 new.

Yes it has two tuners (one cable and one OTA). You can't record from both simultaneously, though. You have to be watching what is recording.

I don't think it runs very hot. My HDD250's hard drive usually runs around 100F according to the internal temp sensor.

I am not sure what you mean by "VD guide". This device does depend heavily on the TVGOS/Gemstar on screen guide, which is downloaded via that VBI data on a local television channel (usually the local PBS affiliate). When the guide doesn't work, recording is a pain in the a$$ - it functions as a "dumb" digital VCR allowing manual recordings. There is no way to manually set the clock, either. It is set automatically by the time signals on a TV channel (again, usually the local PBS).

TV Guide.............When the guide doesn't work, recording is a pain in the a$$ - it functions as a "dumb" digital VCR allowing manual recordings. There is no way to manually set the clock, either. It is set automatically by the time signals on a TV channel (again, usually the local PBS). Really bad, no, make that stupid design. One would think a manual fall back would be provided.
I have programmed video recorders before many members in this forum were even born. It's no big deal;. I'm not lazy. :mad:

30 days to return it, I'll give it a try.

TV Guide............. Really bad, no, make that stupid design. One would think a manual fall back would be provided.
I have programmed video recorders before many members in this forum were even born. It's no big deal;. I'm not lazy. :mad:

30 days to return it, I'll give it a try.

Mine works fine, actually. I am just trying to say that if you can't get the TVGOS downloads for some reason, just setting the clock is very difficult. You have to plug it in at midnight :D .

Take a look at the link in my signature if you want more info...

I can't believe you can't even manually set the clock...............
If you DO get the clock to set w/o the TV Guide is there any way that a timed recording could be done??

I can't believe you can't even manually set the clock...............
If you DO get the clock to set w/o the TV Guide is there any way that a timed recording could be done??


Yes - you just have to set a start and stop time, along with a channel number. If the TVGuide is working, it is much easier.

As long as the clock is set (which can't be done manually), the option of a start & stop time along with a channel number is there just as a VCR has had for the past 30 years? :eek:

As long as the clock is set (which can't be done manually), the option of a start & stop time along with a channel number is there just as a VCR has had for the past 30 years? :eek:

Yep. I use this manual recording mode with my PBS HD subchannel, for which TVGOS doesn't provide listings.

Will Sony come out with a new model anytime soon.
I search through the net and the only place that have DHG-HDD500 is Bestbuy and it's expensive.
A lot of places said it's no longer available.
I hope they come out with another model. I would love to pick another one up for my parents.

Hello,
Great forum! I just sold my RDR-HX715 on eBay. I liked the way it recorded but hated the program guide. While it was turned off to update it wouldn’t record any scheduled recordings. So I left it on all the time to get recordings then the guide would ran out and I’d have to shut it off to update. I hated having to monitor it all the time.

I have purchased the HDD-500 used on eBay. The program guide look very similar but,
I know it will record programs while unit is turn off. I am looking forward to receiving it but, I have to tell you I am a little nervous with all I have read about the program guide not updating very well, missing channels, freezes, ect.

My question is to anyone with info on starting up a used unit in a different zip. Should I just do a factory reset right off the bat? Is there anything else I should know or tips you can pass along that will help make this set up smooth. BTW, I did purchase an outside OTA antenna to go along with this set up.

Thanks, Jay

Hello,

........ Is there anything else I should know or tips you can pass along that will help make this set up smooth. BTW, I did purchase an outside OTA antenna to go along with this set up.

Thanks, Jay


From personal experience the guide didn't load up properly when I only had it hooked up to cable. Once I had it hooked up to OTA antenna and point it to PBS station (Ananlog) I received the guide with no problem. Eight days in advance. Once you had it hooked up to your cable do the digital cable scan. For some reason. I got all my HD network (ABC. NBC, CBS, WB and Fox) with no problem and it's at a weird channel number. What I did was link the HD channel to the analog guide and I can do the programming from there.

Make sure to leave it on for two days like the said but you don't have to. If you don't the guide just won't fill up. Just to be sure to shut it off when you're not using it.

I absolutely love this machine. Even minus the A/V input. Would be nice to record it off other sources like Satellite or DVD.

You will love the picture and sound quality. the recorded program looked as good as it was live.

My question is to anyone with info on starting up a used unit in a different zip. Should I just do a factory reset right off the bat? Is there anything else I should know or tips you can pass along that will help make this set up smooth. BTW, I did purchase an outside OTA antenna to go along with this set up.
Thanks, Jay

Yes, you will need to restore to factory settings or else you will probably not even get to the welcome screen to begin setting it up... I bought an "out-of-box" unit from BB last week and spent a while plugging it in then unplugging it, plugging it in, unplugging it, etc. I thought maybe it was just damaged, but really it was just confused by a previous set-up. A quick restore to factory settings took all of 15 minutes and then she was good to go. Now it works like a charm.

Honestly, I love mine too. It has a lot of annoying quirks, but I love being able to record large amounts of HD (even premium channels thanks to the cablecard).

At the same time, I love TiVo, and I will probably be first in line when the series 3 with dual cablecards and dual tuners comes out. I wish I knew how far out it still is, and how much is is going to cost?!?!

There is no way one can bypass the VD, er, TV Guide setup??

Regarding the HDD changeout, if you were to sub another larger drive (same type make & series) and swap contoller boards, wouldn't that do it?
Isn't the S/N stored on the controller board?

In case anyone else has two DHGs in the same room, I just got my upgraded One For All URC-10820 back after being upgraded with the cable codes C1506 (and C1606) and it now works fine with the alternate remote control setting.

Use setup code Cable/PVR/DVR 1006 for the default remote I then reassigned the cable device key to the PVR key and set it up with code 1506. So I end up controling the first DHG with the CBL device key and the 2nd DHG with the PVR device key. Then user a couple of macro keys to switch the source on your TV or A/V receiver and switch to the CBL or PVR device (in the macro too) and then you have two DHG tuners integrated nicely.

I also do have it learn a few keys from the factory remote too. Previous channel work fine, but make sure you program over the mute key because it will fault your DHG and make it boot.

just got this unit from bb.com and am enjoying it. the picture is outstanding and dvr options seem ok so far. still waiting to download full guide info.

i do have a problem. came home today and i know i set it yesterday to record some shows that are currently playing. i turn on the dvr and it is on the correct channel that i want recorded but the record light is not on and the unit won't respond to any remote commands, pressing the buttons on the face of the unit do nothing as well.

what the heck is going on here? is it recording? am i shut out to use the dvr if it's recording on a schedule? i can turn it off and on but it responds to no other commands.

did a reset on the unit and buttons are responding now but the clock has reset itself.
is there a way to correct this? i assume if the clock is wrong all the recording info will be wrong as well. :confused:

From personal experience the guide didn't load up properly when I only had it hooked up to cable. Once I had it hooked up to OTA antenna and point it to PBS station (Ananlog) I received the guide with no problem. Eight days in advance. Once you had it hooked up to your cable do the digital cable scan. For some reason. I got all my HD network (ABC. NBC, CBS, WB and Fox) with no problem and it's at a weird channel number. What I did was link the HD channel to the analog guide and I can do the programming from there.

Make sure to leave it on for two days like the said but you don't have to. If you don't the guide just won't fill up. Just to be sure to shut it off when you're not using it.

I absolutely love this machine. Even minus the A/V input. Would be nice to record it off other sources like Satellite or DVD.

You will love the picture and sound quality. the recorded program looked as good as it was live. You can record standard def satellite with it if you run the tuner's RF out into the Sony's cable in and run a cable channels scan (leaving the satellite tuner on while doing so). It will be picked up on channel 3.

You can even use the guide to program recordings from satellite. I don't know about your area, but I get all the guide info for those channels OTA. You just have to change all the satellite (cable) channel numbers to 3. Then you have to program the shows you want to record from your satellite tuner separately.

But since you're already running cable into that input, you don't have it free to do this anyway.

figured out the clock thing, set to pbs channel and it will pick up the time code.
as far as the freeze up i don't know what caused it. any advice would be appreciated.

You can record standard def satellite with it if you run the tuner's RF out into the Sony's cable in and run a cable channels scan (leaving the satellite tuner on while doing so). It will be picked up on channel 3.

You can even use the guide to program recordings from satellite. I don't know about your area, but I get all the guide info for those channels OTA. You just have to change all the satellite (cable) channel numbers to 3. Then you have to program the shows you want to record from your satellite tuner separately.

But since you're already running cable into that input, you don't have it free to do this anyway.

Well, I kind of want to use it to record HD programs instead of SD. I can use the DVD recorder for that with A/V input. This way I still get stereo signal rather mono if I hook it up via coax.

figured out the clock thing, set to pbs channel and it will pick up the time code.
as far as the freeze up i don't know what caused it. any advice would be appreciated.
My unit has had the same problem a few times where it stops responding to most of the remote commands, although it will usually power on/off with the remote. It has come back to life simply by turning it off for a while, but if that doesn't work, pressing <EXIT> and <TV GUIDE> on the face panel should fix it. The problem never resulted in losing any guide data or recordings so I don't worry about it.

I have used about 4 or 5 of these machines, started with a 500, then got a 250, then found a cheaper 250 and returned first 250. Then got an updated 500, sold the 250.
They have some quirks, most occur at setup, esp it was already set up in another zip code. takes some resets to get it back to factory resets. as far as quide data, I have had very few problems using OTA, Cable, or both. Now I've gone to cable only on both my 500s with no problems. I thought I needed OTA but I didn't.

for the newbie with clock problems, I have sometimes successfully used the 9012 service code to get an instant clock reset while tuned to the host channel.
I'm very happy with all the units I've had, all worked great.

I have used about 4 or 5 of these machines, started with a 500, then got a 250, then found a cheaper 250 and returned first 250. Then got an updated 500, sold the 250.
They have some quirks, most occur at setup, esp it was already set up in another zip code. takes some resets to get it back to factory resets. as far as quide data, I have had very few problems using OTA, Cable, or both. Now I've gone to cable only on both my 500s with no problems. I thought I needed OTA but I didn't.

for the newbie with clock problems, I have sometimes successfully used the 9012 service code to get an instant clock reset while tuned to the host channel.
I'm very happy with all the units I've had, all worked great.

Just FYI. There is no instant clock setting proceedure if your unit doesn't have you r local zipcode packets stored to know your time zone. The 9012 only works if you unplug the unit but all the zip code packets are stored so it just needs the GMT time to display the correct time. Otherwise you will get GMT time and it won't be setup for your timezone. Getting the timezone packets requires a host channel and ussally a overnight download to find your zipcode (local hosts have to send out zipcode packets for all nearby regions.)

how do you guys watch shows that are regularly after 1am? my unit always shuts off
at that time in the middle of conan and i'm afraid to turn it back on. because the unit is always updating a little bit at a time this means it will need to update on a regular basis r ight? is there a way to set it to later say 3am?

nobody got an operating manual? Auto-off is defeatable in the preferences menu.
just turn 'Auto-off', off.

Auto-off is defeatable in the preferences menu.
just turn 'Auto-off', off.


there you go. that's the post i would have made. ;)

auto-off is a safety measure for those that might never turn the thing off. the listings updates come 4 times a day but the machine must be turned off to get them. If you are afraid you will forget to turn the thing off, then turn auto-off, ON.
It does not hurt to turn it back on at anytime.

you will need to restore to factory settings

I have two HDD500's and one was an open-box. I never did a reset or anything that I recall. I just changed the TVG setup info (zip, etc.). At first, there was some channel confusion, but the next day, everything was perfect. Whatever works for you. FWIW, I think these are great units. If you have OTA only, as far as I know, they are the only game in town, and a good one at that.

figured out the clock thing, set to pbs channel and it will pick up the time code.
as far as the freeze up i don't know what caused it. any advice would be appreciated.

I had a similar problem a few times with my HDD500, the unit froze, including the clock. Whatever time it froze at, stayed. Unit wouldn't respond to any remote function, so I would just hit the power button and it would unfreeze and restart. This all started for me anyway, when I ran the incoming cable through a surge protector. I had done a search and found that someone else had a similar thing happen. It did happen once more after that however, but I believe what happened was the Sony suppled HDMI cable didn't fit tight enough in to the HDMI slot on the back of my SXRD. I switched to another HDMI cable that fit much better, and it hasn't happened again.

how do you guys watch shows that are regularly after 1am? my unit always shuts off
at that time in the middle of conan and i'm afraid to turn it back on. because the unit is always updating a little bit at a time this means it will need to update on a regular basis r ight? is there a way to set it to later say 3am?

I use mine at night quite often since I work night shift. I usually watched the shows that I taped before I go to bed. I set mine to 3:00AM instead of the default 1:00AM
I think the data signal is broadcast in 4 hours interval throughout the day and night. I think someone has posted the schedule in here somewhere on this thread. Just shut the machine off and it will start filling in automatically.

I have an HDD500, and am using the HDMI output to one TV. Works fine.

I'd like to ALSO use the Sony HDD500 Component Video Out to go to a second TV.

The user manual for the Sony says this on page 7:

"The HDMI connector has a higher priority when both the HDMI and COMPONENT outputs are connected to a monitor(s). To enable the COMPONENT output, disconnect the HDMI cable from the HDMI OUT connector."

Well, that's pretty clear that both outputs won't be active at the same time, but has anyone tested this?

Thanks,
Wayne

I have an HDD500, and am using the HDMI output to one TV. Works fine.

I'd like to ALSO use the Sony HDD500 Component Video Out to go to a second TV.

The user manual for the Sony says this on page 7:

"The HDMI connector has a higher priority when both the HDMI and COMPONENT outputs are connected to a monitor(s). To enable the COMPONENT output, disconnect the HDMI cable from the HDMI OUT connector."

Well, that's pretty clear that both outputs won't be active at the same time, but has anyone tested this?

Thanks,
Wayne

It is correct. Plugging into the HDMI disables the comonent video outputs.

Does this have the same problem as the 3410 regarding chroma delay on analog channels because of the wider SAW filter??

Does this have the same problem as the 3410 regarding chroma delay on analog channels because of the wider SAW filter??Not to my knowledge. My analog tuner's fine and I don't recall ever hearing of anyone else having the problem. Picture's great all across the board.

Hi again,

Ok...guide woes. I put up a UHF only antenna a few months ago, and found a sweet spot where all the HD channels come in fine. All but PBS, which, being a cultureless individual, I didn't care about. :)

So now, with the HDD500, I do need the analog PBS station at least for guide data. Brilliant me, I decided to hide some rabbit ears in the attic to get PBS channel 4, and hooked it up to the CABLE input of the HDD500, then auto-learned the cable input. It found that station, along with some other VHF stations as well.

Picture is a little snowy on PBS, but I really only need it for the guide info in the vblank of course.

Also OF COURSE, it didn't work. Guide info didn't come in last night. The clock isn't even set.

Questions:
1)
Does having Analog CH4 on the cable input and no channel 4 found on the ANT input mean it won't find that channel for data?

2)
Does the picture on CH4 have to be pretty darn good for the signal to come through?

3)
How often does PBS set the clock, and if that happens, does it mean my chances for guide data are better? Conversely, until the clock gets set, is it pointless to hope for guide data?

4)
Should I try to FORCE the TVGuide channel? I don't seem to have too much to lose at this point.

Thanks,
Wayne

I'd like to ALSO use the Sony HDD500 Component Video Out to go to a second TV.

If your second TV is for less critical viewing, you can use the composite-video-out which will work with HDMI. I assume S-video would work as well, but I haven't tried that with HDMI.

If your second TV is for less critical viewing, you can use the composite-video-out which will work with HDMI. I assume S-video would work as well, but I haven't tried that with HDMI.

The second TV is in the great room, and is a Fujitsu 61" Plasma. Since it's a big screen, I think I'm going to go with the COMPONENT video outs and the TOSLINK audio out for both sets.

I will convert the TOSLINK optical audio to Coaxial audio:
http://www.trianglecables.com/pof-830.html

Then feed the three component video and digital audio into this cool splitter I found:
http://www.vpi.us/vsplt-hdtv.html

I'd be interested in anyone's comments on the above scheme. Also any reply to my posting on TVGuide listings would be great. I know, I'm needy.

Thanks,
Wayne

1)
Does having Analog CH4 on the cable input and no channel 4 found on the ANT input mean it won't find that channel for data?
It should find the channel and use it for data even if it's on the Cable input. Make sure Channel 4 is also included in your guide and turned on. Others say this isn't necessary, but it is from my experience.

2)
Does the picture on CH4 have to be pretty darn good for the signal to come through?
I had intermittant guide problems and then replaced my antenna with one that provided nearly double the signal strength and my problems went away. Maybe it was just coincidence.

3)
How often does PBS set the clock, and if that happens, does it mean my chances for guide data are better? Conversely, until the clock gets set, is it pointless to hope for guide data?
My unit has always set the clock first before the guide started filling in and it sets the clock usually only a few minutes after a reset.

4)
Should I try to FORCE the TVGuide channel? I don't seem to have too much to lose at this point.
It should find the host (TVGuide) channel on its own although forcing it to use Channel 4 shouldn't do any damage. Have you ever checked to see if your unit found a host channel?

It should find the channel and use it for data even if it's on the Cable input. Make sure Channel 4 is also included in your guide and turned on. Others say this isn't necessary, but it is from my experience.

I had intermittant guide problems and then replaced my antenna with one that provided nearly double the signal strength and my problems went away. Maybe it was just coincidence.

My unit has always set the clock first before the guide started filling in and it sets the clock usually only a few minutes after a reset.

It should find the host (TVGuide) channel on its own although forcing it to use Channel 4 shouldn't do any damage. Have you ever checked to see if your unit found a host channel?

I did check, using the service code, and the host channel remains blank. Taking your advice, I put channel 4 back into the channel up/down list. If that's what you were talking about (I hope). I just put a better antenna on it, pic still not great, but better. Did another force, power cycled the unit, and will see what happens.

Thanks,
Wayne

Since you have some very nice equipment, you might consider picking up a receiver that does video switching. I have a Denon 2807, which has 3 component-ins and has 2 component-outs. I think that that is the cheapest Denon with more than one component-out, but it still lists for $1100. Other companies (Pioneer, Yamaha, Onkyo, Harmon Kardon) might have less expensive models that do that. Since you have a couple (or more?) large screen TV's, it would be a cool way of handling your current and future video needs. Maybe down the road you'll pick up another DVR, a HighDef DVD player, etc., and the switching will be a big help in allowing you to hook up everything to play on everything. And how bad could another cool toy be!!

The Zektor HDS4.1 component and digital audio switch is also very good at $259. It has worked well for me.

I did check, using the service code, and the host channel remains blank. Taking your advice, I put channel 4 back into the channel up/down list. If that's what you were talking about (I hope). I just put a better antenna on it, pic still not great, but better. Did another force, power cycled the unit, and will see what happens.

Thanks,
Wayne
No, I meant that Channel 4 should be in your guide so when you press [TV Guide], you should see a PBS channel listed that is mapped to Channel 4.0. You can uncheck PBS Ch. 4 from the Channel +/- area (the channels the box found after a scan) if you don't want the box to stop on that channel when pressing Channel up/down on the remote.

This is all kind of ironic. I just got my box back from Sony yesterday after getting the latest firmware and although everything was still set up like when I sent it to them, I can't get the thing to update the clock now. I did the TV Guide reset and the Force Host Channel trick this morning so hopefully the clock will update soon.

These things are definitely quirky, but once they're working, they're worth their weight in gold.

Is anyone using a ProntoPro with the 250 or 500? I'm having only sporadic luck with the cursor controls, and wondered if there was a timing problem, or situation, of which I'm unaware.

Thanks.

JLOB

Well, I just started to figure this thing out. How do you add a digital channel that wasn't in the orginal cable scan that can be accessed by direct entry?

To answer my previous question, this is a power hog when in standby. :mad:
It uses as much off, err, standby as it does when 'on' even when recording.
The difference is around 4 watts from high to low current draw. It averages around .39 amp.

I did check, using the service code, and the host channel remains blank. Taking your advice, I put channel 4 back into the channel up/down list. If that's what you were talking about (I hope). I just put a better antenna on it, pic still not great, but better. Did another force, power cycled the unit, and will see what happens.

It might help to know where you are located - as an example, the analog PBS Channel 4 in Raleigh NC is currently having problems and is not transmitting TVGOS data ... it doesn't matter how things are hooked up if the signal doesn't get broadcast.

Try the menu-zoom-9012 check to see if you are getting VBI data on analog channel 4 ... if not, it won't matter whether or not it is in the guide.

No, I meant that Channel 4 should be in your guide so when you press [TV Guide], you should see a PBS channel listed that is mapped to Channel 4.0. You can uncheck PBS Ch. 4 from the Channel +/- area (the channels the box found after a scan) if you don't want the box to stop on that channel when pressing Channel up/down on the remote.

I don't see any channels listed. It says there is no data for this screen. When I tune to analog channel 4, the front panel shows WUNC-TV as it should, but that's the extent of it.

Also, the clock is still wrong. It's a little frustrating, having this great toy for so many days and no being able to do anything with it. Whaaaaaaa!!!!!!

Wayne

It might help to know where you are located - as an example, the analog PBS Channel 4 in Raleigh NC is currently having problems and is not transmitting TVGOS data ... it doesn't matter how things are hooked up if the signal doesn't get broadcast.

Try the menu-zoom-9012 check to see if you are getting VBI data on analog channel 4 ... if not, it won't matter whether or not it is in the guide.

Hey!!! I AM in Raleigh!!!!

Are they going to fix it?

Wayne

Try the menu-zoom-9012 check to see if you are getting VBI data on analog channel 4 ... if not, it won't matter whether or not it is in the guide.

Just tried the 9012 G Factory test. VBI test on channel 4 fails. Is that what I should expect, given that UNC Ch4 is having problems? So, is your unit effectively out of action until they get this problem fixed?

Thanks,
Wayne

Anyone else having trouble with TVGOS guide data from channel 3 WEDU out of Tampa? I'm in Sarasota using Comcast cable and have not been receiving VBI data since last night.

I've been poring over this thread for 2 days, and still don't see why I cannot yet get the clock to even come up.

I'm using comcast and a cable card.

My problems:
-I don't see anything in the channel editor, just 'no data'
-The cable card seems to only hold digital channels, in which case am I screw'd?
-I can't seem to actually edit the diagnostic screens.
-I've left it off for 18 hours, but not yet 24 total hours, would this be the problem? That seems sort of silly.

Solutions?
-Should I get an antenna and have the system scan for analog channels?

Is there anyone else in Denver that has comcast who can assist?

I've been poring over this thread for 2 days, and still don't see why I cannot yet get the clock to even come up.

I'm using comcast and a cable card.

My problems:
-I don't see anything in the channel editor, just 'no data'
-The cable card seems to only hold digital channels, in which case am I screw'd?
-I can't seem to actually edit the diagnostic screens.
-I've left it off for 18 hours, but not yet 24 total hours, would this be the problem? That seems sort of silly.

Solutions?
-Should I get an antenna and have the system scan for analog channels?


Not that you should take advice from me, but you could split your cable input and run it to the ANTENNA input also. Then auto-scan all channels. If comcast does carry analog cable channels, at least 2-13 will be seen on the ANTENNA input. Odds are that your PBS VBI data channel is in 2-13, so this might be a step along your road.

For what its worth, my clock isn't set either, but at least thanks to PYEDOG, I know it's a problem with our local PBS, so I've stopped snatching out my hair!

Let us know what happens. By the way, I know there are theories on why Sony stopped making these; I think they are just so quirky that the customer support was killing them. :)

Wayne

Hello,
I have the clock set correctly “Yaa” The TVGOS filled out, shows all channels
including my OTA HD channels. ie 3.1, 6.1, 10.1 as well as many other affiliates. I have no signal when I tune to one of the OTA HD channels while in the TVGOS. I have a good quality outdoor HD antenna. Tried it in the attic then moved it to the roof. The CBS broadcast is in my home town so, I should at least get that one. Anyone care to speculate if the problem is in the Sony or what it might be?

Thanks,
Jay

Just tried the 9012 G Factory test. VBI test on channel 4 fails. Is that what I should expect, given that UNC Ch4 is having problems? So, is your unit effectively out of action until they get this problem fixed?

Hmmm - looks like my post yesterday went missing ...

Anyway, yep - no VBI data means no guide, incorrect time, and a pain in the neck to schedule manual recordings ... it is basically just a simple HD tuner (chan up/down) until they get it going again.

UNC knows about the problem, but they claim it is Gemstar's responsibility to fix it - they just provide the space for the equipment. Sadly, Gemstar doesn't want to hear from users (since we are not their customers). The whole business model is pretty screwed up - what a waste.

As near as I can tell, the guide data started failing last Friday (Jun 23rd). This is the 3rd time in the last 6 months that it has failed - the first time took a bit more than a week to fix, and the second took a bit less than a week. Normally I'd guess that it would be fixed sometime this week but with the holiday ... who knows?

Anyway, you don't need a particularly good signal on channel 4 - if ou get it well enough to tell what show is on it will probably be fine. Once the VBI data starts flowing again just turn it off overnight and you should get guide data - until the next storm knocks it out again ;-)

The whole business model is pretty screwed up - what a waste. The "waste" is Phoney all baloney for not providing options for a manual clock setting and NOT to setup the VD Guide abortion. :mad:


Separate questions;
1. When you go to delete a recording, it asks you if you want to delete all episodes. How can you only delete only the one that is highlighted?
2. Has anyone opened this up and taken and pics?
3. Can that seal be 'lifted' by using a heat gun to soften the adhesive to separate it away from the top cover without darking the grey sticker?

1. When you go to delete a recording, it asks you if you want to delete all episodes. How can you only delete only the one that is highlighted?

Select the group to display the individual episodes in the group... then select the episode you want to delete.

-T

Is that in the "Recordings" menu?

When you go to delete a recording, it asks you if you want to delete all episodes. How can you only delete only the one that is highlighted?

You may prefer to switch the Recordings view from "group" to "list", so that you always see individual recordings. (With the Recordings tab highlighted in the Service Bar, hit Menu.)

videobruce,

Yes, what I described is in the Recordings menu. Or you could try what thoth suggested.

-T

2. Has anyone opened this up and taken and pics?Yes. They are posted in this thread.

Is that in the "Recordings" menu?
Yes,

scroll to the show you want to delete
press enter
then scroll to the episode that you want to delete
then press menu
on the left side of the screen will be options, scroll down to delete, press enter, then it will ask you yes or no, press enter again and the episode will be deleted.

You may prefer to switch the Recordings view from "group" to "list", so that you always see individual recordings. (With the Recordings tab highlighted in the Service Bar, hit Menu.)
This works too, however, you'll end up with a long list of shows/episodes to scroll through. :D

The "waste" is Phoney all baloney for not providing options for a manual clock setting and NOT to setup the VD Guide abortion.

I guess that is your opinion, but I wouldn't have bought the Sony if it didn't have the guide listings. The TVGOS folks could have spent a bit more and allowed the guide to download over the internet, or they could have added some equipment to monitor the signal being sent by the station , or they could accept reports from users when the signal is lost so they could resolve the problem.

There are lots of ways this system *could* work ... but a half way implementation only hurts them. I'm guessing from the fact that the Ads never appeared that the system is on the way out - if they can't make money from seeling ad space I don't imagine they'll keep losing money forever.

Is this the pic?;
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7292778&&#post7292778

Is there room for a 2nd HDD?? Anyone have some closeups of the boards?

The easiest way to delete a show is just hit 'stop' while playing it. Then select 'delete'.

Well it FINALLY works. The analog tuner did the job. Added a bunch of other channels.

Three hours later, boom, the clock (not right, but I'll take anything at this point.) A quick reset again, and 2 hours later the time is right. This morning, all guide data!

Whew.

One last question: What will happen if the TV Guide folks decide to stop this service? Are we left with an expensive doorstop?

Can that seal be 'lifted' by using a heat gun to soften the adhesive to separate it away from the top cover without darking the grey sticker?

Maybe... another way is to slip a toothpick into the gap behind the sticker and gently roll it, gradually lifting the sticker away...

Is there room for a 2nd HDD?? Anyone have some closeups of the boards?
The 500 model has 2 hard drives.

Well it FINALLY works. The analog tuner did the job. Added a bunch of other channels.

One last question: What will happen if the TV Guide folks decide to stop this service? Are we left with an expensive doorstop?

Analog tuner? Both inputs will tune analog NTSC. You mean running the split cable to the ANTENNA input as I suggested?

Regarding the doorstop question, I've thought about that also after reading the insightful post on the crappy business model.

Two things seem likely to me if such a calamity happens:

Sony *may* mod their software so the clock can be set manually rather than just have it not work. We'd have to send the units back for updates though, which is a pain in the behind. We won't get started on why they didn't put that function in their software to begin with. So, best case with that; a VCR type function and no guide data.

One other thought that I had was to make a little tv circuit which broadcasts a blank screen, but has the time encoded in the VBI. I'm a EE, and I know we did something like that (tv signal) in school. I'm sad to say though that school was a couple decades ago. :-)

A REALLY ambitous project would be to get internet guide data, then encode into our little tv circuit. Just wild speculation; so please don't make me feel stupid by pointing out all the reasons it won't work. Feel free to point out the problems without any belittling though. :-)

All that being said, if you look at the TVGOS page with all the hardware that supports their system, it seems that SOMEONE would take over guide data if TVGOS failed as a business. Maybe the sky won't fall on us chicken littles. That's what I said when I was hoping Dish Network Model 5000 ATSC output for HDTV recording wouldn't stop working. It did stop working, and I have the old modulator as an expensive doorstop. ;)

Sign me off as "Waiting in Raleigh for WUNC to fix their guide output".
Wayne
P.S. A BIG thanks to PYEDOG for posting that info about WUNC. I can't imagine how frustrated I'd be still trying to get it to work on my side.

One last question: What will happen if the TV Guide folks decide to stop this service? Are we left with an expensive doorstop?

There is a slight chance that Gemstar could convince some large cable companies to continue broadcasting a VBI signal on an analog channel even after the analog cutoff ... There are also rumors that the Sony and some newer TVGOS devices can download the guide data off of ATSC digitial broadcasts - there are a number of "interestingly named" fields in the diagnostics that point to this possibility. Of course, in my area the station carrying analog guide data has refused to send the digital/atsc guide data (apparently too much trouble for not enough money), so who knows how it will work out. Like I said - screwed up business. On the other hand, maybe everything will just magically work - I kind of doubt it as they have 0 incentive to get older units to continue working since they don't even get ad revenue.

In the good news, I bought the 4 year extended warranty (I almost never do), so when the guide data goes away it will be broken, and good luck to them trying to fix it - I'll hopefully have better choices with the warranty money.

The 500 model has 2 hard drives. Wow. That's where the 2x capacity comes from. I just assumed that it was a larger HDD.

Ok, who figured out how to add another HDD (inspite of the S/N)?? :D

In the good news, I bought the 4 year extended warranty (I almost never do), so when the guide data goes away it will be broken, and good luck to them trying to fix it - I'll hopefully have better choices with the warranty money.

Good luck claiming the warranty in this scenario. While I'm no lawyer, and haven't seen your warranty terms, in general warranties contain clauses that indemnify the warranter agains situations like this. I doubt they will consider the unit to be broken. The lack of broadcasted analog data probably does not classify as a fault of the DEVICE.

Marc

I agree, most warranties will not cover it, the machine is not faulty.

I'm thinking with all the equipment that uses TVGOS now, lots of TVs, DVD recorders, Sony DVRs, I would think there would be a useable continuance of the TVGOS service for some time. I guess it just depends what can worked out with the broadcasters.

There is a slight chance that Gemstar could convince some large cable companies to continue broadcasting a VBI signal on an analog channel even after the analog cutoff ... There are also rumors that the Sony and some newer TVGOS devices can download the guide data off of ATSC digitial broadcasts - there are a number of "interestingly named" fields in the diagnostics that point to this possibility. Of course, in my area the station carrying analog guide data has refused to send the digital/atsc guide data (apparently too much trouble for not enough money), so who knows how it will work out. Like I said - screwed up business. On the other hand, maybe everything will just magically work - I kind of doubt it as they have 0 incentive to get older units to continue working since they don't even get ad revenue.

In the good news, I bought the 4 year extended warranty (I almost never do), so when the guide data goes away it will be broken, and good luck to them trying to fix it - I'll hopefully have better choices with the warranty money. I think your post is the closest to what will actually happen. If there's no way to send the data over a digital channel then they'll come up with a way to still send out an analog transmittion (OTA). I really don't believe that the TVGOS in these units will become obsolete. It's an established service that has been constantly upgrading over time. Many of you may not even be aware that's it's already been around in one form or another for well over ten years now. It actually started out being included in RCA VCR's and TV's. I think the fact that they're now upgrading the service to be compatible with satellite shows they plan on sticking around and are serious. (Note: I actually seem to have the Sony's TVGOS regularly working with my Dish 322 SD tuner on channel 3 through the cable input now! We'll see how long that actually lasts.)

Anyhow, I played around with my channel listings the other day and I FINALLY appear to be getting regular, full listings. Only I noticed that I do not receive info for the PBS-HD channel anymore.

Does anyone from the Chicago area still get PBS-HD info over channel 11 SPECIFICALLY with the Sony?

Good luck claiming the warranty in this scenario. While I'm no lawyer, and haven't seen your warranty terms, in general warranties contain clauses that indemnify the warranter agains situations like this. I doubt they will consider the unit to be broken. The lack of broadcasted analog data probably does not classify as a fault of the DEVICE.

Implied warranty of merchantability and fitness. Can't hold Sony to it (out of warranty), but if you got an extended warranty you could hold them to it.

An example of it: http://www.courts.state.ny.us/history/cases/codling_paglia.htm

There are lots of them

Anyone call Sony about the audio dropout problem over optical? I chatted with a CSR... basically had me switch the optical out of the Sony to a different optical input on my repre/pro, etc. All basic troubleshooting, to no avail.

CSR said to send it in for repairs... but since I've had the sony longer than 90 days, I have to eat the labor costs... drops out about 1-2 times per hour...


What is everyone else doing? Using analog inputs to the sony, or just living with dropouts?

-T

EDIT: typos

What is everyone else doing? Using analog unputs to the sony, or just living with dropouts?

I'm living with the dropouts.

Ok, who figured out how to add another HDD (inspite of the S/N)?? :D

No one yet. About a month ago, through a technical contact at Sony, I asked about the possibility of end-users replacing the hard drives in these DVRs or adding additional hard drives. The answer I got back was:


"A special jig and software is required to replace the hard drives in these units, due to the industry-required security built into this product. The units must be sent to the Sony Service Center in Pittsburgh if a hard drive needs to be replaced."

With that said, when I was experimenting with a second drive in my HDD250, I did temporarily get the second drive to show up in the HDD status screen, I believe by hot-plugging it after the unit had already booted off the first drive (risky!). But the drive was not usable (of course), and the DVR refused to boot with the second drive attached, displaying a certain error code, which leads me to believe the SN is checked at powerup. Even if you were to get around the serial number check by modifying the flash memory, you'd still have to configure the CPRM protection, which requires tools not available to the general public.

Does anyone from the Chicago area still get PBS-HD info over channel 11 SPECIFICALLY with the Sony?

Working OK here via Comcast. There has been no break in PBS-HD guide data.

never had dropouts on mine. Is it across all channels? I have mine set to DD.

swestbom.

For me, I get dropouts an all channels... I am set to DD too. I even tried PCM to see if that would help, but it did not.

The only solution I have that is free is to use analog outs from the Sony, then apply DPLII in my pre/pro. I tried that once for several weeks, and never had a dropout.

-T

due to the industry-required security Bulls***! :mad:
Sony is in bed with the MPAA!

Next question;
Has anyone successfully gotten the service manual?? I tried, first thru a Sony parts distributor and then through Sony parts (consumer number) and finally through level 2 support (for another issue) and all told me the SM is not available. Only the factory techs have hard copies.

Now, who knows anyone inside Sony or possible a authorized service station as they might have access to this?? The manual is available, one just needs the proper tools or contacts. ;)

Sony is the MPAA (don't forget that they sell a lot of content, not just hardware). Why do you think the LG allowed you to copy a program via firewire to a HD recorder and the Sony doesn't?