I was talking about tvgos. Granted I did not pay $1000 for my hdd500 I would be really upset if I did and only got 3 years out of it because of piss poor planning on sony`s part.

Good to know that someone at least had a fair experience with them. I know already from the description that mine was going to be missing the power cord. But considering that their like $6.00 at Radio Shack I'm not too concerned about that.

Hi enyce9,

When you say that "these units will not work in 2009" do you mean just the TVGOS part or something else?

Lately, (past couple of months) I have not had much luck downloading the listings (probably due to poor reception) and so I have been doing my programming manually. All I really need is for the clock to continue to be set correctly as I can forgo TVGOS and not really miss it for scheduling my recordings.

My local OTA PBS station, KCET channel 28, is supplying my clock signal within the Los Angeles area. Now I know that OTA stations are supposed to "give back" their VHF channels back to the FCC but does this include UHF channels that are being used for analog transmission too? Anyone know the answer to this?

Cheers...

I believe that there are several channels in the los angeles area sending clock signal, including channel 11.

With regard to the guide data, I don't believe it will go away since that feature is included with many new TVs.

If for some reason both it and time sync were no longer available I believe that the dvr clock will continue to maintain the correct time, except for daylight savings change, until the unit is reset.

Ray

I've had shows "disappear" from the schedule overnight several times.
Shows disappearing from the schedule have been reported by various people ever since these units first came out. AFAIK no one's ever nailed down an algorithm that accurately reflects how the bug manifests.

I was talking about tvgos. Granted I did not pay $1000 for my hdd500 I would be really upset if I did and only got 3 years out of it because of piss poor planning on sony`s part.


Hmmm..without the clock, how do you do a timer recording? Doesn't the time information come from the same channel as the TVGOS. So if one goes away, so does the other? Maybe I'm confused.

The gadget would be useful if it gets a clock set. There is a force clock set at the FAQ page. Has anyone actually done it ?

I'm not so worried the "guide" will go away, although here in NYC it is comprehensive and so far bugless.....you can still read a schedule and set time and date.

The real question to longevity is how long will the hard drive last, as it is always on.

This is a truly amazing gadget...it is the 2006 of what the VCR should be, save a "record in" jack. No wonder it was killed off.

Computer Experts, how long do hard drives like the on in the HDD last ?

I was talking about tvgos. Granted I did not pay $1000 for my hdd500 I would be really upset if I did and only got 3 years out of it because of piss poor planning on sony`s part.


i dont think that we should conclude that these boxes will be worthless in three years until it is officially announced that tvgos wont work, (who really wants to pay a fortune to tivo? and these boxes will still have some viablity). although it seems that the ntsc is being fazed out by then the goverment could always change their minds

Well after my last post, changing the zip code after my reset to a neighboring zip in my region didn't help, in fact it was worst since it populated wrong channel numbers.

So I just did another factory reset and user config reset, tv guide reset again last night, this morning I picked my city in the menu and all my channels are right again but of course no tv guide data. So I will yet again wait 3 days to see if it works.

Concerning 2nd turn...I have bought 3 of them from them in the last month
. . .
Plus, I hate the fact that they give retaliatory negatives, even if the buyer did no wrong. Still might leave a negative and take the hit.

I have been mulling the 'take a hit' part, too. I guess I'll do it. Retaliatory negatives are snake-in-the-grass LOW. They deserve lots of negatives just for that.
. . . . . . . . . . .

Someone asked: G* is Gemstar, a TVGuide company name. Similarly, TVGOS stands for TV Guide Onscreen -- the system which sometimes transmits TV listings to 93% of the users who need them all of the time. <G>

sorry to keep pestering but I must ask. I have a splitter where one side goes to my TV and one side goes to my DHG-hdd250. The TV looks great on SD but the Sony looks like garbage once abot channel 40 on cable. Any ideas? I have an amp and a splitter - both are high end components with low noise figures.


From experiences long ago -- possibilities.

0) I am assuming you have taken the splitter out of the equation by connecting the feed directly to the Sony? Splitters can be faulty.

1) I have seen significant higher-frequency loss when a long cable drop from the pole stretched the wire.

2) In the electronics of the tuner there are several bands -- clusters of channels at different points in the spectrum. The tuner uses a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) to select channels. If we assume that 39 is in 'Band A' and 40 is in 'Band C', the tuner would internally switch a transistor ON to supply a different reference voltage to the VCO. If there is a bad transistor or voltage component, a dramatic change in sensitivity or ability to tune channels can occur at what appears to be a random point.

IMHO and experience, none of us wants to be messing around in a tuner. A shop will usually change the whole tuner block.

or
3) Bad mojo. Yell loudly at your machine until it comes around.

The gadget would be useful if it gets a clock set. There is a force clock set at the FAQ page. Has anyone actually done it ?

I'm not so worried the "guide" will go away, although here in NYC it is comprehensive and so far bugless.....you can still read a schedule and set time and date.

The real question to longevity is how long will the hard drive last, as it is always on.

This is a truly amazing gadget...it is the 2006 of what the VCR should be, save a "record in" jack. No wonder it was killed off.

Computer Experts, how long do hard drives like the on in the HDD last ?

The way that the clock setting can be forced still depends on the analog signal that contains the time code. Thus, when the analogs go dark, there may not be a way to set the clock, other than unplugging it and plugging it back in at midnight. This won't set the date of course, but it will provide time of day.

Hi enyce9,

When you say that "these units will not work in 2009" do you mean just the TVGOS part or something else?

Cheers...

I don't get they won't work in the year 2009 because of a hardware issue. They are still going to transmit ATSC signals but NOT NTSC, and it's the software that causes all these problems in this thread. Actually as far as the channels go, I was told by someone that the VHF channels are not being "given back". It's part of the UHF spectrum that's being taken away. So here in NYC WCBS-DT 56 COULD, if they wanted move BACK to channel 2 VHF.

I don't get they won't work in the year 2009 because of a hardware issue. They are still going to transmit ATSC signals but NOT NTSC, and it's the software that causes all these problems in this thread. Actually as far as the channels go, I was told by someone that the VHF channels are not being "given back". It's part of the UHF spectrum that's being taken away. So here in NYC WCBS-DT 56 COULD, if they wanted move BACK to channel 2 VHF.

The issue here is that the TVGOS data is transmitted within the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) of an analog broadcast.

There is no VBI in a digital (ATSC) broadcast, so the method of transporting the guide data would be have to be different.

The real question to longevity is how long will the hard drive last, as it is always on.
Computer Experts, how long do hard drives like the on in the HDD last ?
I put a Maxtor 120GB drive in my Series 1 TiVo 3 years ago this month. It has been running 24/7 without a hiccup. Hard drives will last longer staying on all the time instead of spinning up, spinning down...just keep 'em cool.
I also put a 300GB Western Digital HD in a Series 2 TiVo 2 years ago (similar drive to the ones used in the Sony)... no problems.
(I have a 40GB HD in my Xeon server that has been running since 1999!)

Concerning 2nd turn...I have bought 3 of them from them in the last month

1) complete in factory box -- arrived and looked like a refurb unit (everything still in plastic wrap, etc, still had stickers on the front)

2) Unit and power cord only -- arrived, had some tape residue, but no signs of abuse, 100% functional

3) Unit and power cord only -- arrived, great cosmetic shape, but no power cord. 100% functional

I have been begging them for the past 12 days for a power cord....all I get is "we're trying to locate it." With the number they sell, they could simply pull a power cord from a not yet listed auction and send it to me, but no, they continue to look. Plus, I hate the fact that they give retaliatory negatives, even if the buyer did no wrong. Still might leave a negative and take the hit.

Why don't you put in a "Neutral" rating instead? I assume you are doing this on principle since you could get a power cord at RatShack for $6 or so....

Neutral to me means that there were serious problems that took a long time to get worked out.

Kind of like buying a new DVD player that didn't have a remote even though it came in the box....take it back to the store and they just say, tough, why don't you buy a universal to use with it, we can't find a replacement. I would be kind of ticked off and want to leave a negative or at least gripe to the manager.

TVGOS stands for TV Guide Onscreen -- the system which sometimes transmits TV listings to 93% of the users who need them all of the time. <G>
;) :D

Since I just upgraded to digital cable and put cablecards in my two 500s I've experienced my first disappointments with the units, -- but it's mostly TVGOS and my cable company's fault.
HD cable channels are mapped above #1000, some of them do not show up in TVGOs and you can not reallocate channel #'s above 1000 in the channels setups. I have to manually record many HD programs, so searching, viewing program listings, and getting program titles does not work.
I hope that TVGOs upgrades to fix this or maybe it's the cableco's fault, not sending the right channel setup data to TVGOS. I do get many of the HD channels in the guide, but not all.

Since I just upgraded to digital cable and put cablecards in my two 500s I've experienced my first disappointments with the units, -- but it's mostly TVGOS and my cable company's fault.
HD cable channels are mapped above #1000, some of them do not show up in TVGOs and you can not reallocate channel #'s above 1000 in the channels setups. I have to manually record many HD programs, so searching, viewing program listings, and getting program titles does not work.
I hope that TVGOs upgrades to fix this or maybe it's the cableco's fault, not sending the right channel setup data to TVGOS. I do get many of the HD channels in the guide, but not all.

You must be a time warner customer. They like to do that to get customers to buy their DVR [GRIN]!

Well after my last post, changing the zip code after my reset to a neighboring zip in my region didn't help, in fact it was worst since it populated wrong channel numbers.

So I just did another factory reset and user config reset, tv guide reset again last night, this morning I picked my city in the menu and all my channels are right again but of course no tv guide data. So I will yet again wait 3 days to see if it works.
Sorry if this had been mention before, but have you check with your local host station as to whether or not they are transmitting the TVGOS data and if that data is good? Have you checked with other TVGOS users in your local area to see if they are having any problems?
Michael

Yes, TW, - all their HD channels are at 1500 or above, HBOHD is at 1670. the network HDs (1500s) show up in TVGOs, the cable channel HDs do not.

Just passed by San Marco's Sony outlet store and stopped to see $ on the Sony units and stock....4 of the 500's reduced to less than $4xx.00 :)

Neutral to me means that there were serious problems that took a long time to get worked out.

Kind of like buying a new DVD player that didn't have a remote even though it came in the box....take it back to the store and they just say, tough, why don't you buy a universal to use with it, we can't find a replacement. I would be kind of ticked off and want to leave a negative or at least gripe to the manager.

OK - guess it depends on how this one negative affects your total % negative. Sounds like you have griped to the seller at least (not that it's gotten you anything).

I just won one of these from the same seller a couple of days ago - supposed to be just the box only, NO other accessories (even the cord!) Hoping they can't screw this up! :D

OK - guess it depends on how this one negative affects your total % negative. Sounds like you have griped to the seller at least (not that it's gotten you anything).

I just won one of these from the same seller a couple of days ago - supposed to be just the box only, NO other accessories (even the cord!) Hoping they can't screw this up! :D

I will give them one thing....they do package the units well that don't come in factory packaging.

Hi everybody. First post here. I want to say just how helpful this forum and Spiff's FAQ have been in getting my unit set up. You guys have done a lot of hard work! Now all we have to do is figure out how to install a bigger hard drive (2 500GB drives anyone?) and keep our units receiving TVGOS listings through 2009.

In any case, my post is to document my experience bying from 2ndturn on eBay. I bought a bare unit, no accessories, and ordered a Harmony remote at the same time from Newegg. 2ndturn's shipping was extremely fast, and the unit arrived very well packaged. I was a little concerned about the condition, since in the listing it said "minor scratches and signs of wear". Aside from a very slight scuff on the bottom and a slightly bent case in the back near the CableCard slot, my unit looks brand new. I picked up a power cable at my local thrift store for $1.00. It was rounded on both ends, but I just made sure the square end matched up with the neutral (bigger) slot in the wall jack. Everything worked fine.

I fought with a CableCard for a while, until I realized that for some reason my card was blocking TVGOS data from coming through (bad provisioning, maybe). I took it out and re-scanned for channels. After about 45 minutes, I had all the same channels the CC had let through, just in different locations. As of this morning, my guide is nearly full. After tonight's update I should have a full 8 days. I'm located in Logan, Utah, and I have the Comcast basic cable package. The host channel is KUED channel 7.

In short, I've been very pleased with the unit's performance and very pleased with my experience buying from 2ndturn. I paid less than $200 with shipping, so even if the guide doesn't last through 2009, I'll still have an excellent HD tuner for a killer price.

Dustin

Looks like you've got your answer. I bought mine at Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=&kw=power%20cords&origkw=power%20cords) and the one I got is polarized, so they do have them there, I just can't remember which one (part number) I bought, sorry. Hope all of this helps.


I went to the Shack tonight and all they had were figure-eight style with no large prong and "squared" side on the DVR end. Did yours have the squared-off side at the DVR end? I could order this but it seems so much easier to pick up at RS.

Has anybody had a problem with a faulty remote? When transversing a list on the screen using the jog dial, the selected item on the screen does not scroll smoothly. This problem occurs most frequently when scrolling downward - it always seems to jump back upwards 2-3 selections after scrolling. I haven't yet tested this with a programmable remote to rule out a problem with the HDD-500 but I'm pretty sure it's the remote.
bluecar

Yes had a similar problem with the remote. I knew it was the remote and not the DVR because I have two DVR's.

When I called SONY I was past the labor warranty period but within the one year parts warranty.

At first they quoted me a $99 fee. I argued that it was ridiculous since a new remote is only $40 and the remote is a "part".

They relented and I only had to pay shipping to send them the bad remote. They sent back a new one.

TVGOS :

Is there a thread dealing strictly with TVGOS issues & solutions. I'm about to pull my hair out here in Canada. I finally had my TV Guide work perfectly for a month or so using OTA 9 Toronto..but 1+1/2 weeks ago it stopped again - plus no luck using cable 13. I switched to a London postal code and used cable 40 Kitchener. It loaded up the initial listings- but then hasn't updated since. There must be someone who knows what's going on. Cable 40 is in the channel +/- list..but not on the Guide Channel List.

If there is no TVGOS thread, we need one.

I have been waiting for an addition to the guide lineup for my ZIP. It appeared two days ago on my HDD250, but failed to show up on my HDD500. So I did the 753959152 thing on the HDD500.

My host channel is listed as 1:0-10. But Cable 10 is not checked in my Channel+/- list. It is not in my favorites. Nor is it in my Channel Display.

Cable 10 is a local PBS station; a valid source for TVGOS info and I am getting listings just fine. From what I have read here and in Spiff's FAQ my machine should have chosen a different channel. Or it shouldn't be working.

Anyone have a clue?

I am thinking of trying the "Force Host Channel" thing without going back through setup. Spiff says it's a no-no. We'll find out . . .

(My apologies to those of you trying everything under the sun to get listings. Feel free to hate me. <g>)

P.S. The listings change for ZIP 21157 is the addition of all the WETA digital channels.

It looks like I've got a garden variety TVGOS problem here in Arlington, VA, with Comcast as my provider. I use a cablecard.

After six months of pretty good service, my schedule went blank 10 days and keeps promising to fill in the next 24 hours. Some days the clock is right and some days it's an hour behind and some days its approximately 30 min. behind. I've rerun the setup a couple of times, to no avail.

I can't get the system to register any channel as the host channel, although it registers Channel 22 as the VBI source, which judging from the Hidy-Spiff document should be my host channel.

So, what the best triage? Call Comcast and ask them to troubleshoot? Have the TVGOS 800 number on hand to give them? Call Channel 22?

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Jack

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Jack

I think you will find Comcast is NO HELP and rightfully so. They will say we just transport the signal.

I think all of these problems go back to either Gemstar data being wrong or the PBS station broadcasting the Gemstar data is doing something to it as it gets put on their network.

I have said this MANY times in this thread, but I will say it again.

I can't think of a single time when the source of my issues with guide data WAS NOT my local PBS station's equipment. Usually they would reset their "box" and all would be well again the next day.

It can't hurt to call or email the engineering department at your host channel and tell them that you are having issues receiving the TVGOS/Gemstar VBI packet data from their broadcast, and see if they can take a look at their equipment. My local station has been very helpful in this regard. At least by doing this you might be able to rule out one possible source of the problem.

On another note, I am going through this right now - I get the 24hour notice message when I look at the guide. They have been resetting, but it hasn't been fixing my issues.

It looks like I've got a garden variety TVGOS problem here in Arlington, VA, with Comcast as my provider. I use a cablecard.

After six months of pretty good service, my schedule went blank 10 days and keeps promising to fill in the next 24 hours. Some days the clock is right and some days it's an hour behind and some days its approximately 30 min. behind. I've rerun the setup a couple of times, to no avail.

I can't get the system to register any channel as the host channel, although it registers Channel 22 as the VBI source, which judging from the Hidy-Spiff document should be my host channel.

So, what the best triage? Call Comcast and ask them to troubleshoot? Have the TVGOS 800 number on hand to give them? Call Channel 22?

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Jack
I would call Comcast and find out if they are upgrading/changing channel listings. If they say they aren't, then ask the why your system is giving you that message. This happen with my girlfriends cable listings, but the over the air listings where just fine. She has two units, one unit set up for cable and the other for antenna. So I do not think this is a TVGOS issue, unless they supply 2 different guides, one for cable and the other for antenna. I know my units (ota only) guide list has both air and cable listings, even thought I am only on antenna.
Michael

TVGOS :

Is there a thread dealing strictly with TVGOS issues & solutions. I'm about to pull my hair out here in Canada. I finally had my TV Guide work perfectly for a month or so using OTA 9 Toronto..but 1+1/2 weeks ago it stopped again - plus no luck using cable 13. I switched to a London postal code and used cable 40 Kitchener. It loaded up the initial listings- but then hasn't updated since. There must be someone who knows what's going on. Cable 40 is in the channel +/- list..but not on the Guide Channel List.

If there is no TVGOS thread, we need one.There are many TVGOS threads over in the "DVD Recorders" area. You'll have to find people in your area that have the 8th generation guide like the Sony has in order to be able to compare experiences. You may find a few over in your local area HD thread, also (if there is one - if not, then it might be a good idea to start one).

I was already somewhat familiar with some of the service's quirks, as I already had experience with it on my Panasonic E85 and Sony RDR-HX900 480i DVR's, so it doesn't hurt to check out some of those threads occasionally. You might get a pertinent tidbit of information here or there.

I can't get the system to register any channel as the host channel, although it registers Channel 22 as the VBI source, which judging from the Hidy-Spiff document should be my host channel.

Jack

I might have to clarify this in the FAQ if it isn't there already...

The "VBI channel" shown in the 753... menu is simply the channel you are currently tuned to. You can't assume that this channel has any VBI data (or that it is your host channel).

I don't think I can ignore the chance to buy another HDD500 now that the Sony Outlet here is selling them at a pretty good price. I already have 2 but a backup with a new receipt and their cheap extended warranties is probably a good thing!.
I see why there are so many on ebay right now (the 250s anyway).

Well - I just found the source of my issue.

I haven't gotten any guide data via Charter channel 12 in about a week. I contacted my host station, and after about 6 emails, they mentioned the fact that they had been at low power for their analog transmitter for a while. During this time (while making repairs), they suggested that Charter use their DIGITAL feed (whose transmitter isn't having any issues), and re-transmit it on their analog channel 12.

Obviously this is a big problem, since their is no Gemstar data in their digital broadcast, and by retransmitting this as analog, they are sending no data. I reconnected my OTA antenna, and their OTA analog channel is passing VBI data.

UGH. I unhooked the antenna because I no longer needed it since all my stations are on cable. I also don't have a way to route my antenna cable to the TV without running it from a spare ajacent room (a bedroom). This is obviously an unsightly cabe running through the door and around the corner.

I left a message with Gemstar to see if they can provide any guidance to handle this situation.

Well - I just found the source of my issue.

I haven't gotten any guide data via Charter channel 12 in about a week. I contacted my host station, and after about 6 emails, they mentioned the fact that they had been at low power for their analog transmitter for a while. During this time (while making repairs), they suggested that Charter use their DIGITAL feed (whose transmitter isn't having any issues), and re-transmit it on their analog channel 12.

Obviously this is a big problem, since their is no Gemstar data in their digital broadcast, and by retransmitting this as analog, they are sending no data. I reconnected my OTA antenna, and their OTA analog channel is passing VBI data.



Spiff,

Are you sure that they didn't mean an optical feed when they said "Digital feed?"
In other words, I know my cable company can either use an optical transmission from the local CBS affiliate or they can pull the signal off the air. In either case, they are getting the analog channel. And, in this context, I wouldn't be surprised if the optical feed was referred to as a digital feed while the ota was referred to as an analog feed.

So, if you haven't already, it might be worth clarifying with Charter what they mean by "digital feed."


Mitch

Sorry if this had been mention before, but have you check with your local host station as to whether or not they are transmitting the TVGOS data and if that data is good? Have you checked with other TVGOS users in your local area to see if they are having any problems?
Michael


My Sony is saying my host is Ch 97 which is not a valid Ch in Comcasts channel line up. In my area Comcast uses Ch 18 to broadcast the TV Guide Data which is an analog station. I'm using cable, I have no outside/inside antenna.

I really have no idea what my host channel really is since I'm using cable, Comcast told me on the phone it's ch 18, said they dont use Ch 97 and can't help me. I tried to call TV Guide today but held on the line for 20 min and I couldn't hold anymore. Tried forcing the host to Ch18 and keeps reverting back to Ch 97. I still think Ch 97 must be correct cause my clock is right and all my channels with proper logos are right on my Sony.

Right now since everything else works for me I'm recording manually everything shows up in the Unknown Recordings Folder which is a hassle since nothing is titled. This whole thing is really aggravating.

I got an HDD500 at the Sony Outlet store. They are not refurbs or opened, they are brand new in the original box with all sealed accessories.
PM me if you want one. price includes tax, shipping, and a handling fee.
they also have the 250s.

How do I find out which station in my area sends me the TV-Guide data to my HDD500?

My Sony is saying my host is Ch 97 which is not a valid Ch in Comcasts channel line up. In my area Comcast uses Ch 18 to broadcast the TV Guide Data which is an analog station. I'm using cable, I have no outside/inside antenna.

I really have no idea what my host channel really is since I'm using cable, Comcast told me on the phone it's ch 18, said they dont use Ch 97 and can't help me. I tried to call TV Guide today but held on the line for 20 min and I couldn't hold anymore. Tried forcing the host to Ch18 and keeps reverting back to Ch 97. I still think Ch 97 must be correct cause my clock is right and all my channels with proper logos are right on my Sony.

Right now since everything else works for me I'm recording manually everything shows up in the Unknown Recordings Folder which is a hassle since nothing is titled. This whole thing is really aggravating.
I suggest that you get an antenna and do a scan for OTA channels. Then see if you are getting your PBS station that supplies the TVGOS. This is all analog. If you are close to the stations, then an indoor antenna should be all you need. If not then check with the www.antennaweb.org to see what you may need in the way of an antenna. By using an antenna, then you should be able to ascertain where the problem lies. If you can receive via OTA the PBS station with the TVGOS listings, then you will know it is a problem with the cable system.
Do you know who your local PBS station is that carries the TVGOS information? Have you contacted them to see if they are properly transmitting the listings?
Do you know which cable channel is the PBS TVGOS station?
Michael

How do I find out which station in my area sends me the TV-Guide data to my HDD500?

There's a list in the HDD250/500 FAQ (see the link at the bottom of one of Spiff72's posts). The list is not complete, but it does include Houston.

Dave

Spiff,

Are you sure that they didn't mean an optical feed when they said "Digital feed?"
In other words, I know my cable company can either use an optical transmission from the local CBS affiliate or they can pull the signal off the air. In either case, they are getting the analog channel. And, in this context, I wouldn't be surprised if the optical feed was referred to as a digital feed while the ota was referred to as an analog feed.

So, if you haven't already, it might be worth clarifying with Charter what they mean by "digital feed."


Mitch

I just asked for clarification from the host station, and they tell me that Charter is picking up the SD digital feed OTA, and then they re-transmit it as analog on cable channel 12. I'm sure no one cares other than the people who use the gemstar system with Charter cable.

I posted in my local HD reception thread to see if anyone else uses this system on Charter...

My Sony is saying my host is Ch 97 which is not a valid Ch in Comcasts channel line up. In my area Comcast uses Ch 18 to broadcast the TV Guide Data which is an analog station. I'm using cable, I have no outside/inside antenna.

I really have no idea what my host channel really is since I'm using cable, Comcast told me on the phone it's ch 18, said they dont use Ch 97 and can't help me. I tried to call TV Guide today but held on the line for 20 min and I couldn't hold anymore. Tried forcing the host to Ch18 and keeps reverting back to Ch 97. I still think Ch 97 must be correct cause my clock is right and all my channels with proper logos are right on my Sony.

Right now since everything else works for me I'm recording manually everything shows up in the Unknown Recordings Folder which is a hassle since nothing is titled. This whole thing is really aggravating.


Have you tried forcing the host channel? If you can confirm that it's channel 18, tune that channel on the DVR and then do the 963... sequence (see FAQ). After entering the sequence, try pressing the down key. If it doesn't do anything, then wait until the menu goes away. If down key works, then start the process over. Wait overnight, and then use the 753... sequence to see if the host channel stuck.


Mitch

Have you tried forcing the host channel? If you can confirm that it's channel 18, tune that channel on the DVR and then do the 963... sequence (see FAQ). After entering the sequence, try pressing the down key. If it doesn't do anything, then wait until the menu goes away. If down key works, then start the process over. Wait overnight, and then use the 753... sequence to see if the host channel stuck.


MitchNormally, if a host channel is listed, it means it's getting something from that channel. Otherwise, if it's not getting anything, the host channel (in the 753... menu) remains blank. At least that's always been my experience.

FanofHD - are you sure you didn't recently move from an area which used that host channel and never did a complete (wipeout) reset in the new area?

Otherwise, that doesn't seem quite right. If you're not getting any data from 97 analog, then it shouldn't have that channel listed as the host channel.

Doesn't this seem a bit odd to anyone else out there, or is this just my experience?

I 've got 2 250's, one of which I purchased a year ago and works great and the other which I purchased a month ago. Strictly for OTA HD. I can get 77-80% digital signal on the old one and 5% on the newer unit. Antenna position identical. Are some units just more sensitive than others? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks.

I 've got 2 250's, one of which I purchased a year ago and works great and the other which I purchased a month ago. Strictly for OTA HD. I can get 77-80% digital signal on the old one and 5% on the newer unit. Antenna position identical. Are some units just more sensitive than others? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks.
How is the new one connected? Splitter? Type of coax and length? Good tight clean connections? Antenna in to ant. in? not to cable in. Have you swapped the cable only from the first unit to the new? Proper channel scans?
I know these are obvious, but easily taken for granted.
Michael

How is the new one connected? Splitter? Type of coax and length? Good tight clean connections? Antenna in to ant. in? not to cable in. Have you swapped the cable only from the first unit to the new? Proper channel scans?
I know these are obvious, but easily taken for granted.
Michael

Just swapped the cable from one unit to the other.

Just swapped the cable from one unit to the other.

Sounds strange, I have an antenna in the attic...50 foot run to splitter 1 (amp), 50 foot run to antenna outlet one, 50 foot run to antenna outlet two. One goes from antenna outlet to the HDD250, one goes from the antenna outlet to another splitter and then to the HDD250.

I get the same channel reception on both units with similar strenght.

Received my DHGHDD250 from 2nd turn. The box looked like UPS played football with it, including intrusion into the box. Opened it expecting the worst. The unit looked like new, still had the plastic over the display and factory stickers. There was a sticker on the outside in fact that seemed it indicate it had been refurbished by Sony on 10/06/06. The only thing that got broken was the power button.

I took it apart and the actually switch on the board is fine. It's just the paper thin clip the holds the outside plastic button it that's busted. I'd probably never use the outside button, but all the same it would be nice to find this probably $0.25 plastic part somewhere. It was complete will all accesories and the baggies looked unopened, no power cord though as I was expecting.

So far it seems like it works fine. I was able to go through the setup and it found all of my channles on both antenna and cable (digital and analog). Now I'm waiting for it to download the guide data. A little annoying that it takes at least 23 hours to populate the guide. I really didn't want to wait that long to play with it!

Right now since everything else works for me I'm recording manually everything shows up in the Unknown Recordings Folder which is a hassle since nothing is titled. This whole thing is really aggravating.

Until you get the guide, I suggest you change the record list presentation so that recordings are listed by date, which eliminates a extra step in viewing the record list.

With regard to unknown recording, only program title is unknown. Since most of my recordings are weekly shows, date, time, and channel number is enough information to identify the program.
If that information isn't enough, you can always create a written log where you can name the show, along with date and time.

The only reason I can see for the recorder to choose channel 97 is that it senses it as the guide station. My units don't sense channel 3 as the guide station on cable, which is the same as broadcast channel 28, which my units do sense. So obviously the cable company is corrupting the signal. It wasn't always that way. When i got my first unit in June 05, it immediately captured channel 3 and displayed the guide data.

I sure don't understand your reluctance to try an antenna.

Has anyone hooked up the Sony DHG-hdd250/500 to a Pioneer VSX-814 or 914 receiver? If so, what was the IR code category that you used to control teh DVR?

There's a list in the HDD250/500 FAQ (see the link at the bottom of one of Spiff72's posts). The list is not complete, but it does include Houston.

Dave

Ok, thanks I will try that. Then I will contact the local station; because for whatever reason we still do not get complete HD data in the TV Guide for CW(formally WB OTA)? That is just one station missing out of about 55 OTA stations listed in the Guide, and it is one of the major network stations?

Have you tried forcing the host channel? If you can confirm that it's channel 18, tune that channel on the DVR and then do the 963... sequence (see FAQ). After entering the sequence, try pressing the down key. If it doesn't do anything, then wait until the menu goes away. If down key works, then start the process over. Wait overnight, and then use the 753... sequence to see if the host channel stuck.
Mitch


Mitch, yes I have tried forcing the host many times, it does exactly like the procedure in Spiffs when I check it the nexy day it always reverts back to Ch 97. One time I even checked after I forced it and it does blank out the host channel like it is suppose to but the next day it reverts back to 97.

To answers some others, no I have not moved been at the same place since I bought this machine 8/9 months ago. Like I mentioned in prev post, it has worked perfectly for the past 8 months or so, about 3 weeks now I lost power and since then I can't get the guide back, again all my channels are correct in the guide, even made sure that all the channels are turned ON in the guide too.

MY UPDATE: I called Comcast again to speak about this and this is what the tech told me. Comcast in my area uses ch 18 as tge tv guide host, again they said never heard of ch 97. They also told me this which was a joke-I told them I was getting TV guide for the past 8 months on this Sony DVR with Cablecard, they said well if you have the digital pkg (which I have with cable) they said you cant get the tv guide data for all your digital channels with a cabelcard, the only way to get the tv guide signal is if you purchase their DVR box or don't use a cable card. I said that is not correct because how else would I be getting the guide data for the past 8 months and I am using a Cablecard, they said well consider yourself lucky that you got it that long cause you were not suppose to be.

So when Comcast said you cant get it with a cable card, I decide to take out the card, when I did it asked me their are more than 1 line up in your area and so I choose my city again and said data will populate in 24 hrs so I am going to see what happens without the cablecard inserted in the Sony. Maybe it will find the host 18 which is my TV channel for analog.Then if I get data I will re-insert the cable card.

Let me also say that the only thing I have different is after I had the Sony for about 3/4 months I decided to get a 2nd cablecard for my Sony HD TV slot and then I got a splitter for my cable one into the tv one into the Sony DVR, that way I can record and watch different channel at the same time. That whole process worked perfect back then and I never lost guide data during that process at all. Only when I had this recent power surge did I lose guide data and it never came back. That is the only thing different that I have now that I didn't have before I had this guide problem.

Thanks for listening. Will update again after I see if this works. Oh and yes the outside anntenna is an option I just dont want to have to pay the money for one since I dont have one just yet until I see if I can get this fixed like it worked before. Thanks

Mitch, yes I have tried forcing the host many times, it does exactly like the procedure in Spiffs when I check it the nexy day it always reverts back to Ch 97. One time I even checked after I forced it and it does blank out the host channel like it is suppose to but the next day it reverts back to 97. Thanks

1) Yes Comcast will always say either you are lucky to be getting the guide or that you should not get the guide and they are right. The guide you use to get which you are trying to get back - is 100% outside of Comcast's Control and usually they know nothing about. The SONY Guide comes from Gemstar and not Comcast. It is sent out via some local ANALOG [MUST BE ANALOG] PBS station. Comcast knows nothing about this capability. So when you ask Comcast about ANY Guide issue - YOU WILL ALWAYS GET THE WRONG ANSWER.

2) Removing the Cable Card should get your SONY Guide back - I predict - because the box should now find the analog PBS channel.

3) When you go to put your cable card back in ----- IT MIGHT NOT WORK. Comcast has some TRICK Provisioning things which MIGHT require a service tech to come out and have the cable card reinitialized. I have encountered this problem more than once since I have (5) SONY DVRs with (5) Cable Cards.

4) As for the splitter - you do have to be aware of signal levels. Like I said I have (5) Sony DVRs being fed with Comcast Cable and OTA Antenna. I have Amplifiers that make sure all signal levels - Cable and OTA are higher than 85% at each DVR. I have found the Motorola Cable Cards that Comcast uses are very sensitive to a lot of things. Comcast went through (8) Cable cards in my house to get (5) to work. When a tech comes out he always brings TWO with him to make sure one out of the two works.

BTW - You should see the look on a Service Tech's face when he sees the guide that has nothing to do with Comcast. They are AMAZED.

Looks like mine is working just fine. The guide populated overnight and I made my edits to the guide. I have to say it's not terribly intuitive, but it does seem to work well.

I really don't like though that you can't just flip through the guide, if you highlight the title it insist on actually tuning to that channel in the little window. Also does not seem to be any way to map QAM channels to real channel numbers. So for example I'm stuck with CBS as 116.1 instead of 2.1. Fortunately I only have one channel I need to do that with, the rest I can get OTA. I essentially am paying to lifeline cable for the one channel I can't get OTA, grr!

There's also no guide data for 116.1 even though I mapped it to CBS. Perhaps that will resolve itself next time it gets the guide data now that it knows what it is?

Overall I think it's a keeper though. I just hope the hard drive doesn't die. I've gathered here that if it does I'm SOL.

Has anyone had any success in manually upgrading the hard drive?

At least from what I've run across, you can't. This seems strange. I took mine apart and it's just a standard Western Digital 250gb drive. There's even an empty slot next to it seemingly waiting for a second drive to be installed.

I wonder if you could put the existing drive in a PC and make an image of it, and dump that image to another drive? I haven't been able to find any details of what has already been tried. Just that "you can't replace the hard drive".

Has anyone had any success in manually upgrading the hard drive?

I just hope the hard drive doesn't die. I've gathered here that if it does I'm SOL.

I'm not sure why you think that?

I had one die in one of the 5 units I own. Sony replaced it under warranty - NO PROBLEM and fast turnaround to boot.

At least from what I've run across, you can't. This seems strange. I took mine apart and it's just a standard Western Digital 250gb drive. There's even an empty slot next to it seemingly waiting for a second drive to be installed.

I wonder if you could put the existing drive in a PC and make an image of it, and dump that image to another drive? I haven't been able to find any details of what has already been tried. Just that "you can't replace the hard drive".

The HDD500's have a PAIR of 250 Drives.

Their Formatting is UNIQUE.

UPDATE-
Well it's only been a few hrs since my post above but I turned on my DVR to see what it looks like, of course no guide data but guess what? When I change channels the banner at the top shows the name of the program that is on, so that means it is getting guide data it even has the time on the banner when the program starts and ends. Remember I took out the cablecard so all I have is analog channels with my cable thru my DVR. So I then checked the host to see what it shows, after doing the 753 check, it now says my host is Ch 17 which is a local PBS station. So I am assuming by tomorrow I will have guide data prefilled on the TV Guide.

But of course with the Cablecard out still I'm not getting all the channels I should, so do you think I should wait till tomorrow and if I have guide data then re-insert the cable card? Or should I re-insert the cable card now?

This is really weird cause I never had a host say it was Ch 17 PBS, I guess because I have never used this without a cablecard.

I really don't like though that you can't just flip through the guide, if you highlight the title it insist on actually tuning to that channel in the little window.
Please see my post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7185208&&#post7185208) on how to solve this.

The SONY Guide comes from Gemstar and not Comcast. It is sent out via some local ANALOG [MUST BE ANALOG] PBS station. Comcast knows nothing about this capability. So when you ask Comcast about ANY Guide issue - YOU WILL ALWAYS GET THE WRONG ANSWER.

It's true that you will almost always get a wrong answer, but Comcast DOES KNOW how TVGOS works. They have written agreements in place with Gemstar. I have privately seen documents that describe the relationship and various points of possible guide failure in the Comcast system and how to avoid such problems. Comcast has promised to pass the guide data without destroying it.

FanofHD --- the real problem is finding someone at your local Comcast office that is willing to research the problem. If you have a local office that you can actually walk into, insist on seeing or leaving a message for a tech supervisor. Get a name. Be specific. Don't take "no" for an answer.

Find out for sure on which channel they send the guide data. If you have ADS (all digital), Comcast will have created a single analog channel to pass the TVGOS data. It can be different in different areas. Mine is on channel 94. You should be able to find someone who knows this, but you may have to go higher up the chain to find someone who can actually fix the problem.

Yes, this process will require more patience than most humans have.

The HDD500's have a PAIR of 250 Drives.

Their Formatting is UNIQUE.

From what I've been able to gather, the core operating system on the DHG 250, is linux, with the DHG software running on top of it. From what I understand about linux based DVRs, the critical issue is having a hard drive that is formatted (blessed) along the linux lines. There are several utilities that are availabe to do this, and this is how people have been able to upgrade their linux based Tivo hard drives in the past. I would assume (I haven't tried it) that a similar process could be performed on the DHG. There is the other possibility, that putting two drives in would require a RAID configuration, that would limit the casual upgrader.

Any thoughts out there?

Bobbie

Well, since I bought it on EBay (and it's more than a year old) it's clearly not under warranty. But perhaps they would still fix it for a charge.

For some reason I though these things were totally abandoned at this point by Sony.

I'm not sure why you think that?

I had one die in one of the 5 units I own. Sony replaced it under warranty - NO PROBLEM and fast turnaround to boot.

You rock!

Please see my post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7185208&&#post7185208) on how to solve this.

Recently, my 500 stopped filling in the TVGOS data after my gf accidentally shut of the power strip while vacuuming over it (she hit the main switch). She quickly flipped the switch back on, and everything powered back on (TV, etc.) - but the 500 just doesn't get the TVGOS data anymore. I have checked the Guide channel in the 75... menu, which is still the same and passes the G* VBI test just as before when it was working. not quite sure why this info has disappeared, since it worked fine for about 2 weeks, even surviving through a cable card installation just shortly after the unit was first installed (but already had the TVGOS data established.) Does this sound like a problem coming the local analog OTA PBS station form which my unit was formely receiving the TVGOS data - like their G* computer may need a reset or something? Is anyone elese having a problem in the central Maryland area getting TVGOS data from PBS local OTA channel 22 MPT (WMPT)?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Recently, my 500 stopped filling in the TVGOS data after my gf accidentally shut of the power strip while vacuuming over it (she hit the main switch). She quickly flipped the switch back on, and everything powered back on (TV, etc.) - but the 500 just doesn't get the TVGOS data anymore. I have checked the Guide channel in the 75... menu, which is still the same and passes the G* VBI test just as before when it was working. not quite sure why this info has disappeared, since it worked fine for about 2 weeks, even surviving through a cable card installation just shortly after the unit was first installed (but already had the TVGOS data established.) Does this sound like a problem coming the local analog OTA PBS station form which my unit was formely receiving the TVGOS data - like their G* computer may need a reset or something? Is anyone elese having a problem in the central Maryland area getting TVGOS data from PBS local OTA channel 22 MPT (WMPT)?

Thanks for any suggestions!
Since she flipped it on and off so fast, there might have been a power glitch, so try doing a reset reboot on the front panel, you will not lose any recorded shows. *But now I can't remember which 2 buttons to push at the same time!*

Since she flipped it on and off so fast, there might have been a power glitch, so try doing a reset reboot on the front panel, you will not lose any recorded shows. *But now I can't remember which 2 buttons to push at the same time!*

I think it is "Guide" and "Exit".

I think it is "Guide" and "Exit".

I did this and it didn't work. Just wondering if its necessary to leave the DVR "off" for 24hrs after this type of reset, since I've set up a couple of manual recordings that have occured within the 24hr window after the front panel soft reset?

I did this and it didn't work. Just wondering if its necessary to leave the DVR "off" for 24hrs after this type of reset, since I've set up a couple of manual recordings that have occured within the 24hr window after the front panel soft reset?
If this was recent, they yes, try that.

just did a G* factory test while tuned to my guide channel, OTA Maryland Public TV PBS channel 22 here in Baltimore that I receiving using a rooftop antenna with an almost direct 40 ft cable run into the DVR. I say almost direct because I had to use an inline female/female connector to connect two shorter cable lengths along with having the RF cable pass through my Belkin Pure AV power/surge suppressor bar that is supposed to stop/suppress a potential surge coming in through this antenna cabling. I suppose you all will tell me to disconnect the pass-through of the RF in the surge suppressor, but I must note that this is the same configuration as before when I was getting the TVGOS data prior to my gf accidentally killing the power to everything.

Right now after running for over 10 minutes on my OTA TVGOS guide channel 22, the VBI packet test in the G* factory test screen is showing receipt of over 2000+ "GOOD" VBI packets, 286 "FIXED" packets, and 84 "BAD" packets. My on-screen reception of this OTA guide channel is considerably ghosted, but other wise viewable with good color (I presume the ghosting is due to my type of antenna, and the proximity to tall building over 3 stories tall within the surround 10 block vicinity.) I'm using a Terk TV50 enclosed, bar-type antenna that is just screwed into my roof facing up to the sky. Not pretty, but it worked for me pre-cable/digital cable/HDTV for the last few years. I've since bought a Sony KD-34XBR960, which led me here, and to ISF tuning, another KD-30XS955 for the bedroom, along with an upconverting Sony DVD player, Comcast DVR, and now my Sony DHG-HDD500. Safe to say I've fully embraced the joy of HDTV!

Thanks for your thoughts and help!

just did a G* factory test while tuned to my guide channel, OTA Maryland Public TV PBS channel 22 here in Baltimore that I receiving using a rooftop antenna with an almost direct 40 ft cable run into the DVR. I say almost direct because I had to use an inline female/female connector to connect two shorter cable lengths along with having the RF cable pass through my Belkin Pure AV power/surge suppressor bar that is supposed to stop/suppress a potential surge coming in through this antenna cabling. I suppose you all will tell me to disconnect the pass-through of the RF in the surge suppressor, but I must note that this is the same configuration as before when I was getting the TVGOS data prior to my gf accidentally killing the power to everything.

Right now after running for over 10 minutes on my OTA TVGOS guide channel 22, the VBI packet test in the G* factory test screen is showing receipt of over 2000+ "GOOD" VBI packets, 286 "FIXED" packets, and 84 "BAD" packets. My on-screen reception of this OTA guide channel is considerably ghosted, but other wise viewable with good color (I presume the ghosting is due to my type of antenna, and the proximity to tall building over 3 stories tall within the surround 10 block vicinity.) I'm using a Terk TV50 enclosed, bar-type antenna that is just screwed into my roof facing up to the sky. Not pretty, but it worked for me pre-cable/digital cable/HDTV for the last few years. I've since bought a Sony KD-34XBR960, which led me here, and to ISF tuning, another KD-30XS955 for the bedroom, along with an upconverting Sony DVD player, Comcast DVR, and now my Sony DHG-HDD500. Safe to say I've fully embraced the joy of HDTV!

Thanks for your thoughts and help!

So - you were getting good TVGOS data prior to the power issue, and now you don't?

Was the off-air PBS picture as ghosted prior to the power issue? Ghosting is the enemy of a lot of VBI data systems - the World Systems Teletext system used in PAL-land is particularly susceptible to multi-path and noise. (You lose Teletext data well before you lose NICAM digital audio or PAL chroma)

Given that you are getting 2000+ GOOD packets, 286 packets that have been FIXED (and I assume this means that the data was error corrected using parity or CRC techniques and thus is also fine), and only 84 BAD packets, I'd assume that if you leave the system running for long enough it would download OK?

How much data does TVGOS distribute, and how long does it take to distribute it? How many times in a 24 hour period does it broadcast a full "listings package"? Does it prioritise listings closer to transmission and broadcast these more often, and only broadcast listings further into the future less frequently?

We have a similar system to TVGOS in the UK - a spin-off of the VideoPlus system from GemStar which is used by some DVD Recorder manufacturers - and this uses ITV1 analogue transmitters VBI - but broadcasts listings for analogue AND digital services (satellite, cable and OTA) I think it uses World Systems teletext packets - though am not certain, and it is funded by on-screen adverts I believe. However it is less popular these days - as more and more devices are OTA digital rather than analogue - and the OTA digital service has an EPG as part of the standard. (However the OTA digital EPG only carries listings for OTA digital services - so is not useful for satellite recording)

AIUI the UK implementation of the digital OTA TV EPG broadcasts the listings for today - and tomorrow? - more frequently than it does those for days further into the future. It also broadcasts data FOR all services ON all services - so whichever channel you are tuned to, you always get full listings for all services - including those on other channels.

UPDATE-
Well it's only been a few hrs since my post above but I turned on my DVR to see what it looks like, of course no guide data but guess what? When I change channels the banner at the top shows the name of the program that is on, so that means it is getting guide data it even has the time on the banner when the program starts and ends. Remember I took out the cablecard so all I have is analog channels with my cable thru my DVR. So I then checked the host to see what it shows, after doing the 753 check, it now says my host is Ch 17 which is a local PBS station. So I am assuming by tomorrow I will have guide data prefilled on the TV Guide.

But of course with the Cablecard out still I'm not getting all the channels I should, so do you think I should wait till tomorrow and if I have guide data then re-insert the cable card? Or should I re-insert the cable card now?

This is really weird cause I never had a host say it was Ch 17 PBS, I guess because I have never used this without a cablecard.
OK, so from day 1 you installed the cable card and then setup your unit. It all worked for 8+ months. Then the power glitch. Perhaps that corrupted something in the cable card. Or, here is another scenario. Since you took out the card and re-scanned ( I assume you did) for cable channels, you then got a message that you had to choose a cable system to match your location or such. Maybe the cable company remapped some channels and the cable card can not deal with them, because of the glitch.
I would definitely leave the card out for a couple of days to see if the guide/listings start to appear. If they do, then I would say that it was the cable card at fault. If not, then you need to try OTA setup with an antenna, otherwise you will never know where the fault is. Also, even with basic cable, I get local digital channels in the upper range, such as 98.3 for ABC, 108.10 for CBS, etc.., so your scan of cable channels without the card should have picked up at least your local HD channels.
Michael

FanofHD,
I have to agree with PhillyC. Even if you have the digital package from Comcast, there are still a lot of analog stations out there. I do not believe that the cable companies are going to covert all the analog feeds to digital to send out and then back to analog at the receiver. In order to do so, would require a set top box D/A converter. So, this means that the cable card is only used to decrypt the premium/upgraded channels that are digital.
From my experience with these units and basic cable, I sometimes can find a digital feed of a premium movie or two. Usually though, I seem to only catch the last 30 or 45 minutes of these shows. Once they are over, then the channel goes blank, but does not say no signal. Happen upon this when I set up a second unit about 2 months back. I just dail in 87.1,87.4 etc.. till I find an active feed.
Michael

Ok I will go on that advice and leave the cable card out overnight and see what I have in the morning. It almost makes me want to put the cable card back in and then force the host to Ch 17 since now I know without the cable card that Ch 17 is the host channel and see if that works. But I'm just gonna leave the card out overnight. I don't understand how the DVR says my host is Ch 97 with my cablecard inserted and says my host is Ch 17 with the cablecard out.

Is there any way to add channels to the "CH +/-" list other than doing an Auto Scan? Page 41 of the manual is not real clear about this. But in the sub-note under CH +/- List -> Edit Channel List (page 41) it implies that you can add or remove channels from the list. I haven't been successful in trying to add channels.

Can anyone help?

Is there any way to add channels to the "CH +/-" list other than doing an Auto Scan? Page 41 of the manual is not real clear about this. But in the sub-note under CH +/- List -> Edit Channel List (page 41) it implies that you can add or remove channels from the list. I haven't been successful in trying to add channels.

Can anyone help?

Menu > Prferences > Ch +/-

I just bought a Sony 250 and have a couple questions...
1. I plan on using it with my KDF-60XBR950 Sony that has a great HD tuner. Has anyone used their Sony 250 DVR with this TV? I'm wondering if I will be disappointed with the tuner quality in my DVR as compared to my TV. I use OTA for my reception.
2. Also...how can I use my TV tuner to watch a program while simultaneously use my DVR to record a different channel? Can this be done?
Thanks...

split your cable feed into 2, one to the TV, and one to the DVR.

split your cable feed into 2, one to the TV, and one to the DVR.

Yep, that is what I do...just don't cheap out on the splitter. I had a $2 splitter laying around the house that killed the picture on my TV, bought a $8 one (up to 1GHz) with excellent results.

As to the tuner, it's just capturing a mpeg2 stream. If you get a picture, it's the same quality as any other tuner.

WELL guess what? Since I took the cablecard out this morning, I left the DVR off most of the whole day today, just turned it on and I have guide data for 2 full days. I am in shock, I'm jumping up and down I have guide data I have guide data after 3 weeks, my dog is looking at me like your a freak LOL, SO the problem seems to be with the Cablecard because the DVR is picking up the guide data without the cablecard.

AtlantisMichael seems to be right. I am finally getting guide data WITHOUT the cablecard. It has found my host using Comcast cable as Ch 17 (local PBS)

In my listings it shows all my digital channels and HD channels with logos and guide data is filled on them with listings, HOWEVER without the cablecard of course I'm not getting any signal for all my digital & HD channels.

So I just re-inserted the cablecard, when I did it found all my digital channels over 280 and all my analog ones too, then it just said to click ok, when I did it asked me to pick from the list of cities in my area I picked my city and the guide data turned to (wait 24 hours for the guide to load message) Then I checked all my digital channels and HD channels thru the DVR and there all there with cablecard inserted and there even showing the banner at the top prefilled with time and name of program. Then I checked my host to see what it says and it's blank.

OH I sure hope it finds the host again as Ch17 and all will be well in the morning, will check back. I finally have some hope back. I hope it doesn't revert back to Ch 97 as host or I'm back to square 1.

WELL guess what? Since I took the cablecard out this morning, I left the DVR off most of the whole day today, just turned it on and I have guide data for 2 full days. I am in shock, I'm jumping up and down I have guide data I have guide data after 3 weeks, my dog is looking at me like your a freak LOL, SO the problem seems to be with the Cablecard because the DVR is picking up the guide data without the cablecard. .

We have been trying to tell you - GUIDE Data is on Analog PBS Channel.

No One Needs a Cable Card to receive an analog PBS channel. The Cablecard is to decrypt the scrambled digital channels.

HOWEVER, When you plug in the cable card it now routes all signals through the cable card. It is suppose to pass the analog - UNTOUCHED - and decrypt the digital. It is possible your power outage screwed up your cablecard. I RUN UPS on all my SONY DVRs.

I predicted you would have guide data THIS MORNING [GRIN]!

Congratulations. Now you KNOW the PBS station is passing good guide data and maybe just unplugging the cable card will reset it so it works. IF NOT GET ANOTHER ONE.

Menu > Prferences > Ch +/-

DrHankz -

No, that's not what I'm trying to do.

Forget about TVGOS for a minute. Just tune to a channel using the "CH +/-" buttons. Now use the same button to scroll up or down. Now let's say you want to ADD in a channel to the scroll list that didn't happen to be available when you did an Auto Scan to detect channels. Is there a way to add channels to this scroll list? Page 41 of the manual implies that there is, but when I try to follow the method described it doesn't seem to work for me. :( :( :(

DrHankz -

No, that's not what I'm trying to do.

Forget about TVGOS for a minute. Just tune to a channel using the "CH +/-" buttons. Now use the same button to scroll up or down. Now let's say you want to ADD in a channel to the scroll list that didn't happen to be available when you did an Auto Scan to detect channels. Is there a way to add channels to this scroll list? Page 41 of the manual implies that there is, but when I try to follow the method described it doesn't seem to work for me. :( :( :(

I don't have page 41 in front of me.

If you want to REORDER the Channels - aka insert one 3 down from the top of the lineup for example.

Is that what you want - it is very easy to do once you get the knack of it.

Grittree....
I'm new to some of this...to be clear, are you saying that the tuner has no impact on the quality of the picture?
Thanks...

DrHankz -

No, that's not what I'm trying to do.

Forget about TVGOS for a minute. Just tune to a channel using the "CH +/-" buttons. Now use the same button to scroll up or down. Now let's say you want to ADD in a channel to the scroll list that didn't happen to be available when you did an Auto Scan to detect channels. Is there a way to add channels to this scroll list? Page 41 of the manual implies that there is, but when I try to follow the method described it doesn't seem to work for me. :( :( :(

I understand what you are saying, although I haven't figured out a way to do it.

For example, the cable company added a channel to the lineup. On the previous scan, the channel did not exist and thus was skipped over. How can you add this single new channel without doing a complete re-scan?

There is an option to add new OTA channels without a complete rescan (which may be where page 41 is confusing), but not cable (analog or digital) channels without doing a complete rescan.

This is what DrHankz is trying to ask.

As to the tuner, it's just capturing a mpeg2 stream. If you get a picture, it's the same quality as any other tuner.

On cable, signal strength usually doesn't matter much for HDTV as long as it's above a certain threshold and you don't have the signals sent through a zillion splitters, but with antennas it's a whole different world.

RF sensitivity and decoding ability of tuners does vary. Using an identical antenna feed, my new Sony KDS60A2000 TV's tuner is significantly more sensitive than the HDD250. DTV signals that have dropouts and pixelization on the HDD250 can sometimes come in error-free on the new TV. The HDD250 has a decent tuner, but each new generation of HDTV tuner chipsets seem to have better sensitivity. The HDD250 does significantly outdo my 1-year older Humax HFA100 STB.

I just bought a Sony 250 and have a couple questions...
1. I plan on using it with my KDF-60XBR950 Sony that has a great HD tuner. Has anyone used their Sony 250 DVR with this TV? I'm wondering if I will be disappointed with the tuner quality in my DVR as compared to my TV. I use OTA for my reception.
2. Also...how can I use my TV tuner to watch a program while simultaneously use my DVR to record a different channel? Can this be done?
Thanks...

I just won an auction and I am waiting for my 250 to get here. I don't mean to come off as an expert or anything.

In regards to number 2 though:

This should be just fine. The 250 has its own tuner and will be connected via an HDMI cable. I will use my input called HDMI 1. My internal tuner is titled antenna.

If I want to record channel 2 and watch channel 4, I will put it on input HDMI1, set the HDD250's tuner to channel 2 and set it to record. I will then switch over to the antenna input, change it to channel 4 and watch what I want.

It should work out just fine.

Dave

For example, the cable company added a channel to the lineup. On the previous scan, the channel did not exist and thus was skipped over. How can you add this single new channel without doing a complete re-scan?

You can't.

There is an option to add new OTA channels without a complete rescan (which may be where page 41 is confusing), but not cable (analog or digital) channels without doing a complete rescan.

The "Auto Add from Antenna" option does do a complete scan of all analog and digital OTA channels. The difference from the "Auto Scan Antenna" option is that "Auto Add" does not erase the channel list first, so any new channels found are added to the existing ones. This is for people who have stations located in different directions and need to rotate their antenna to receive all of them. People with cable aren't in this situation, of course.

Regardless of whether you're dealing with cable or OTA, there is no way to scan for a single channel by specifying the RF channel number, like most STBs allow you to do.

Note that if a station that is already in your channel list adds a new subchannel, for example if you had 7.1 and 7.2 before and a new 7.3 comes into existence, then neither "Auto Add" nor "Auto Scan" will pick it up! (at least for OTA, don't know about cable because I don't have cable)

In that case you have to "reset the user configuration" and then do a fresh channel scan:

1. Press the MENU button.
2. Enter 9012 on the remote; the menu changes.
3. In the new menu, choose "Reset User Configuration."

After a while the unit reboots (you may need to hit the POWER button, I've forgotten) and you see the initial setup screens that lead you through the initial channel scan and TVGOS setup. When you do the TVGOS setup, your previous settings (zip code etc.) will already be there, so you just need to confirm them. If you don't change the TVGOS settings, your old TVGOS listings will be intact.

Also, your previously recorded programs will be intact, whether you change the TVGOS settings or not.

I'm new to the Sony and I was wondering if there was a link to any backdoor tips or tricks like the 9012 just mentioned?

I'm new to the Sony and I was wondering if there was a link to any backdoor tips or tricks like the 9012 just mentioned?

Lots of Backdoor Tricks - you need to go to the trick page [GRIN]!

http://www.spiffspace.com/sonydvr.html

FINAL UPDATE:

I'm all back to normal. I have full guide listings. I can't tell you how happy I am. Wow this was an ordeal but it was so worth it cause as I stated before I really do like this Sony DVR. It also has helped me learn more about it than I knew before. A special thanks to everyone on here that helped me and to Spiff's website otherwise I would not have known the trick codes. Spiff your website is a godsend. Feel free to update with my Comcast info below. This info may help others on Cable.

I have digital plus Cable with Comcast, my Sony TV XBR 40" uses the Cablecard, I have a highend splitter I bought from Tweeter store and split my cable signal to my TV and then to my Sony DVR, that way I can record 1 program and watch another. Comcast charges me $5.00 for the cablecard and allowed me to pick up another for the DVR for n/c.

Up until my power surge around 3 weeks ago I really had no idea what my host channel was cause I never had a problem or a need to find out the guide data just always worked. So once I did the 753 menu after my power surge I found my host was showing Ch 97 but I was not getting any guide data. So I decided to pull out my Cablecard from the DVR, later that same day of pulling the card out I had guide data for 2 full days (of course this was just for all the analog ch's. It mapped all my correct channels/logs and even showed data for my digital/HD channels even though I did not have the cablecard in yet. So I then checked the host ch on the 753 menu and it now showed my local PBS station Ch 17 (I live in Sunrise,FL). So then I decided to re-insert the cablecard in the DVR left it off overnight (last night) and this morning turned it on and I have full guide listings for all my digital plus channels and HD channels, everyithing is just like it was before the power outgage. This morning I checked my host on the 753 menu and it shows, Ch 97 as the host.

All I can think of is Ch 17 must map to Ch 97 through the cablecard and when I had that power outage it must have got confused on the card and didn't know where to get the guide data. So without the card my host is 17 (local PBS) then with the card my host is Ch 97.

I am just so happy to finally have data back even though it was only about 3 weeks, I feel lucky but grateful for this forum.

FINAL UPDATE:

So without the card my host is 17 (local PBS) then with the card my host is Ch 97.



That does sound strange - I just checked mine to see if it was doing something strange like that.

Mine SHOWS Channel 2 - which Is the Analog PBS Channel in Boston that broadcasts the TVGOS. So no unexplained channel mapping here.

How can you add this single new channel without doing a complete re-scan?

Can't you just tune to the channel manually (use the remote to enter 17.3 or whatever). Then once the channel is tuned press the right side of the jog dial to get to the channel +/- menu?

I am a new DHG-HDD500 owner and I am pulling my hair out trying to get this thing to work. I completed the initial setup OK and then shut it down to wait for the guide data to arrive. It has now been 48 hours and I did get the clock set but now when I turn on the unit and press the guide button I get nothing and the unit freezes. If I turn it off and then back on I can very sluggishly get it to change channels and I can access the menu but as soon as I press the guide button it freezes again. I have never gotten any guide info. Unit is OTA use only. Channel scan found all local Analog and Digital channels including local PBS channel.

Anybody have any idea what's wrong?

Does anybody know what generation chipset the DHG-HDD's have?

Recording capabilities aside, I'm amazed how well this thing works as a tuner. I get marginal reception OTA but this thing has been rock solid. I've also had bad luck with QAM on other tuners. Every time Comcast sent out a hit on my node, whatever I was watching would go "content encrypted" and I'd have to tune away and back to get it to display again. None of those problems here. Even NTSC reception is amazing.

Also the guide did populated overnight for the QAM channels I remapped. I guess these kinds of changes don't go into effect until the next guide download.

I'm very happy with my pruchase. Even more so after seeing Fry's is selling the 250's for $800 and the 500's for $1000! Yikes, that's a lot of cash to record TV. If they could have sold them new for around $200, I think they would have been flying off the shelves!

I'm very happy with my pruchase. Even more so after seeing Fry's is selling the 250's for $800 and the 500's for $1000! Yikes, that's a lot of cash to record TV. If they could have sold them new for around $200, I think they would have been flying off the shelves!
Yeah I can't believe Frys still has them at full price. I thought Sony discontinued them, thus allowing them to clearance them out, but I guess Frys didn't have to?

I agree, if they would have marketed them better and sold them for a lower price, more people would have bought them and they might have come out with a 2nd generation 2 tuner unit that got the guide data over the internet. :D

Grittree....
I'm new to some of this...to be clear, are you saying that the tuner has no impact on the quality of the picture?
Thanks...

In most cases, yes. Some tuners might be better at getting weak or multipath signals.

Digital TV is much different than analog. The digital tuner has the simple task of capturing the 0s and 1s of a mpeg2 encoded stream.

Where the quality varies is the TV or DVR scaling the stream for display. The Sony 250/500 does a very good job, as does your Sony TV.

Yeah I can't believe Frys still has them at full price. I thought Sony discontinued them, thus allowing them to clearance them out, but I guess Frys didn't have to?

I agree, if they would have marketed them better and sold them for a lower price, more people would have bought them and they might have come out with a 2nd generation 2 tuner unit that got the guide data over the internet. :D

Ya - I get the guide data over the Internet on my iPronto.

You can't.

The "Auto Add from Antenna" option does do a complete scan of all analog and digital OTA channels. The difference from the "Auto Scan Antenna" option is that "Auto Add" does not erase the channel list first, so any new channels found are added to the existing ones. This is for people who have stations located in different directions and need to rotate their antenna to receive all of them. People with cable aren't in this situation, of course.

Regardless of whether you're dealing with cable or OTA, there is no way to scan for a single channel by specifying the RF channel number, like most STBs allow you to do.

Note that if a station that is already in your channel list adds a new subchannel, for example if you had 7.1 and 7.2 before and a new 7.3 comes into existence, then neither "Auto Add" nor "Auto Scan" will pick it up! (at least for OTA, don't know about cable because I don't have cable)



JT -

I can't find any way to add in the subchannels for digital cable. I'm picking up some clear VOD with my HDD500, and sometimes those subchannels are active
and sometimes not. I was just trying to find a way to get all the potential VOD subchannels into the "CH +/-" list. If I do an Auto Scan, I always lose some (currently inactive channels) while gaining others (currently active channels). :mad: :mad: :mad:

I will have a similar situation with my antenna in the (hopefully near) future when I get my rotor hooked up. But I see from what you've said that I will be able to ADD channels to the "CH+/-" list for OTA.

Thanks,

Dave

JT -

I can't find any way to add in the subchannels for digital cable. I'm picking up some clear VOD with my HDD500, and sometimes those subchannels are active
and sometimes not. I was just trying to find a way to get all the potential VOD subchannels into the "CH +/-" list. If I do an Auto Scan, I always lose some (currently inactive channels) while gaining others (currently active channels). :mad: :mad: :mad:

I will have a similar situation with my antenna in the (hopefully near) future when I get my rotor hooked up. But I see from what you've said that I will be able to ADD channels to the "CH+/-" list for OTA.


If there is not a single time of the day/week when all of the sub channels are active, you are kind of up that creek without a paddle. Luckily for me, my local PBS HD channel is the always "active" even though the screen is blank. It will tune to it just fine, but show a black screen.

DrHankz -

Now let's say you want to ADD in a channel to the scroll list that didn't happen to be available when you did an Auto Scan to detect channels. Is there a way to add channels to this scroll list? Page 41 of the manual implies that there is, but when I try to follow the method described it doesn't seem to work for me. :( :( :(



On a channel you wish to modify, press the RIGHT ARROW. "Depending on that channel's status in the +/- list you will see a choice to add or remove it.

If, however, one wants to add a channel from a broadcaster that doesn't do PSIP right (like Maryland Public Television) one might be out of luck. There are times I am viewing a MPT channel; click RIGHT ARROW; choose ADD; only to be informed that I have to do a channel scan before I can add the channel. Any time of day, a channel scan will not find *all* the MPT channels.

I agree, if they would have marketed them better and sold them for a lower price, more people would have bought them and they might have come out with a 2nd generation 2 tuner unit that got the guide data over the internet. :D

Isn't the 2nd generation the new Sugo line?

Isn't the 2nd generation the new Sugo line?

Yeah you're right, but I believe that's only for the domestic market. I have not heard any plans to launch them here.

I notice there are some used units (HDD250) on FleaBay Buy it Now for $259 plus $19 shipping . . . wish I had a better handle on what's coming out in 2007. If legacy units like these are going to be the only HDTV recorders out until, say, 2008 or 2009, I'd certainly consider it worth it. But if we're going to see new boxes with everything this has plus the ability to burn a down-rezzed version to DVD for $400 next March, well obviously I'd prefer that.

I notice there are some used units (HDD250) on FleaBay Buy it Now for $259 plus $19 shipping . . . wish I had a better handle on what's coming out in 2007. If legacy units like these are going to be the only HDTV recorders out until, say, 2008 or 2009, I'd certainly consider it worth it. But if we're going to see new boxes with everything this has plus the ability to burn a down-rezzed version to DVD for $400 next March, well obviously I'd prefer that.

That's also what I'm hoping for, but bought 2 HDD250's anyway :)

I have a DVD Recorder and a Slingbox connected to my HDD500 (composite/S-video out) and noticed that while the Guide and Menu work properly across HDMI and Component output, they do not work via component/S-video out. This isn't a biggie for the DVD Recorder, but it's a huge pain when using the Slingbox...expecially when the Slingbox doesn't support channels using "." for all my HD OTA locals. Is there a way to enable Guide and Menu functions to display across composite/S-video or am I out of luck?

I have a DVD Recorder and a Slingbox connected to my HDD500 (composite/S-video out) and noticed that while the Guide and Menu work properly across HDMI and Component output, they do not work via component/S-video out. This isn't a biggie for the DVD Recorder, but it's a huge pain when using the Slingbox...expecially when the Slingbox doesn't support channels using "." for all my HD OTA locals. Is there a way to enable Guide and Menu functions to display across composite/S-video or am I out of luck?

Try asking in the DVD recorder area...this is for the Sony HD DVR...although with it, I was using it briefly via composite and received / viewed the guide just fine. The guide shouldn't have anything to do with the type of output.

... But if we're going to see new boxes with everything this has plus the ability to burn a down-rezzed version to DVD for $400 next March, well obviously I'd prefer that.
Ya ain't gonna see $400 HD DVR boxes from Sony anyway, that's for sure, probably double that. I love the HDD500s, I just bought 3 more at the SonyOutlet. They look new, in the original retail box, not like refurbished items where they mark them and put them in a refurb-marked generic box. 2 were firmware 1.xx.05, one was 1.xx.13. I may have cleaned them out. :o

I have a DVD Recorder and a Slingbox connected to my HDD500 (composite/S-video out) and noticed that while the Guide and Menu work properly across HDMI and Component output, they do not work via component/S-video out. This isn't a biggie for the DVD Recorder, but it's a huge pain when using the Slingbox...expecially when the Slingbox doesn't support channels using "." for all my HD OTA locals. Is there a way to enable Guide and Menu functions to display across composite/S-video or am I out of luck?

In order for the on screen menus to show up on the Sony, the "format" must be set to "SD Out". This means that the menus will NOT show up, then on the HD outputs.

All the hardware and software is out there to build your own at this point for OTA using a PC, the appropriate cards and Linux or Windows (depending on whether you like having a DVR that runs or one that crashes).

Sorry, no TV Guide this way :( or :) depending on your experience with it. Although it looks like it goes bye bye in 2009 anyway because of the use of NTSC broadcasting to deliver it.

I don't think the market is big enough for the brand names and I don't think they want to deal with the copyright issues, advertisers and pay for content providers and the intermediarys that deliver it to us trying to stifle their business or give away the hardware to sell the content.

Tivo is kidding itself on being able to sell subscriptions with the type of competition it is up against. I personally will not pay to see OTA content just to get a guide and a nice GUI but I am a geek so what do I know.

intermediaries that is

http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/fcmyth.php#hw

Geek out!

Is there a way to enable Guide and Menu functions to display across composite/S-video or am I out of luck?
Just keep pressing the FORMAT button on the remote to cycle through the output resolutions until "SD Out" appears on the unit's front panel display. Then wait a few seconds for it to take effect. The Guide and Menu will appear on the composite/S-video outputs instead of the HDMI/component outputs.

The FORMAT button might not work in some situations, such as when playback has been paused.

All the hardware and software is out there to build your own at this point for OTA using a PC, the appropriate cards and Linux or Windows (depending on whether you like having a DVR that runs or one that crashes).

I thought about that, but then I read (Windows or Linux) of systems that ran good. They would only crash once or twice a week. (Or need to be monitored, fiddled with in some way).

Then there is also the fact that I don't want a noisy PC running constantly in my living room...and if it is not there, how do I get HD video to my TV? The stand alone DVR seemed better and after a friends experience running MythTV on a Linux box (and he switched to TiVo), I decided not to go that route.

The question that will be answered in March is how will DVD recorders with hard drives capture an ATSC signal to the hard drive, will it be limited to 480i or something higher?

In order for the on screen menus to show up on the Sony, the "format" must be set to "SD Out". This means that the menus will NOT show up, then on the HD outputs.Thanks. I was able to locate/download the manual a short while ago and noticed it on page #7. I really wish the guide/menu would work on multiple outputs, but I guess I'll just have to remember to hit the FORMAT button when I'm not viewing locally.

The Sony DVR sounds like an airplane taking off, the noise is incessant. At least with a home made one there are many options to use heat sinks instead of fans if you are willing to pay for it.

I have the Sony right now but next time I will home grow it (besides I can update my own software and upgrade, add devices etc. etc.)

The Sony DVR sounds like an airplane taking off, the noise is incessant. At least with a home made one there are many options to use heat sinks instead of fans if you are willing to pay for it.

I have the Sony right now but next time I will home grow it (besides I can update my own software and upgrade, add devices etc. etc.)

I have two Sonys and they are both very quiet. Perhaps you have a noisy fan in yours? Only time I notice any noise is when I get within a foot of them and the TV/AV Receiver is off.

I have two Sonys and they are both very quiet. Perhaps you have a noisy fan in yours? Only time I notice any noise is when I get within a foot of them and the TV/AV Receiver is off.

I can hear it from 10 feet away, in its cabinet (glass front, open back) and I am an old duffer (47). Me thinks you like loud HT and music a bit too much. The ones I saw in the stores made the same noise. It is about 60 decibels (ok, not as loud as an airplane, but noisier than I like).

You can go fan less with a home built but it will cost a lot, that will probably be what replaces the Sony given the situation we are in with the manufacturers.

I can hear it from 10 feet away, in its cabinet (glass front, open back) and I am an old duffer (47). Me thinks you like loud HT and music a bit too much. The ones I saw in the stores made the same noise. It is about 60 decibels (ok, not as loud as an airplane, but noisier than I like).

You can go fan less with a home built but it will cost a lot, that will probably be what replaces the Sony given the situation we are in with the manufacturers.

The fans in my Mitsubishi DLP TV are much louder than my Sony DVR...

I have two and neither of them are enclosed in anything. I never notice the fan unless I'm within a few feet of them. I'm 25 so I'm not an old duffer and I don't even have a Home Theatre hooked up to my tv to blast, nor do I have headphones to kill my poor virgin ears :-p

I have two and neither of them are enclosed in anything. I never notice the fan unless I'm within a few feet of them. I'm 25 so I'm not an old duffer and I don't even have a Home Theatre hooked up to my tv to blast, nor do I have headphones to kill my poor virgin ears

Good thing there is a closed captions option, you might need it by the time you are my age :eek:

I happen to live in a market (Chicago) that offers two host channels (local CBS, channel 2, and local PBS, channel 11, affiliates).
In case you missed my several posts a few weeks ago, I started having guide problems (i.e. "No Listings") back in August after 9 months of no problems.
Besides working with the cable company and TVGOS, I tried all sorts of things.
I tried using OTA-2 (CBS), OTA-11 (PBS), and Cable-11 (PBS). The best solution I had found was to force OTA-11 (PBS). But, this was still not perfect. For one, it seemed to only download data during the day. So, on weekends things would become a problem since the DVR was turned on during the day and thus no downloads. And, even then, the data was semi-flaky

Well, as part of their working with me to figure out the cause of the problem, TVGOS suggested I use the TVGOS channel setup screen to change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS (normally cable-2) to tune to channel 11. So, I and another board participant who was also having problems did this and things have been working wuite well. We actually swapped the two - CBS is tuned to channel 11 and PBS is tuned to channel 2.

Interestingly, the 753... page still shows the host channel is cable-2 even though it seems to be using cable-11 (due to the tricked tune-to channel).

I have a few theories as to why this works, but the bottom line is that it's a reasonable band-aid if you're having guide problems and have access to two host channels in your area.

I'm waiting to hear back from TVGOS about what is being done to address the root cause.



Mitch

I happen to live in a market (Chicago) that offers two host channels (local CBS, channel 2, and local PBS, channel 11, affiliates).
In case you missed my several posts a few weeks ago, I started having guide problems (i.e. "No Listings") back in August after 9 months of no problems.
Besides working with the cable company and TVGOS, I tried all sorts of things.
I tried using OTA-2 (CBS), OTA-11 (PBS), and Cable-11 (PBS). The best solution I had found was to force OTA-11 (PBS). But, this was still not perfect. For one, it seemed to only download data during the day. So, on weekends things would become a problem since the DVR was turned on during the day and thus no downloads. And, even then, the data was semi-flaky

Well, as part of their working with me to figure out the cause of the problem, TVGOS suggested I use the TVGOS channel setup screen to change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS (normally cable-2) to tune to channel 11. So, I and another board participant who was also having problems did this and things have been working wuite well. We actually swapped the two - CBS is tuned to channel 11 and PBS is tuned to channel 2.

Interestingly, the 753... page still shows the host channel is cable-2 even though it seems to be using cable-11 (due to the tricked tune-to channel).

I have a few theories as to why this works, but the bottom line is that it's a reasonable band-aid if you're having guide problems and have access to two host channels in your area.

I'm waiting to hear back from TVGOS about what is being done to address the root cause.



Mitch

Mitch,

That is absolutely, to cool!!!

The ones I saw in the stores made the same noise. It is about 60 decibels (ok, not as loud as an airplane, but noisier than I like).
60db? That seems too loud. I think mine is much quieter than that. Did you measure it with a sound meter?

[QUOTE=swestbom]I can hear it from 10 feet away, in its cabinet (glass front, open back) and I am an old duffer (47). Me thinks you like loud HT and music a bit too much. The ones I saw in the stores made the same noise. It is about 60 decibels (ok, not as loud as an airplane, but noisier than I like).


I have 2 units in a cabinet with no back, wood floors, and about 12 feet away. Also, I keep the door open on these when I am watching TV. I can hear the fans, but they do not seem that loud. Never let small distractions bother me. It is a constant, so I tune it out. What is bothersome is the street noise with all the boom box cars going by from time to time.
If the fans were so bad at the showroom, then why did you bother to buy?
You are getting sound reflection out of the back of the cabinet, onto the wall and out into the room with your setup. The only thing I know you could do is to get some sound deadening material and place on the wall behind your cabinet to kill some of the noise reflection.
Michael

Well, as part of their working with me to figure out the cause of the problem, TVGOS suggested I use the TVGOS channel setup screen to change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS (normally cable-2) to tune to channel 11. So, I and another board participant who was also having problems did this and things have been working wuite well. We actually swapped the two - CBS is tuned to channel 11 and PBS is tuned to channel 2.
Mitch

Mitch,

Can you expand your explanation? I don't quite follow how you "change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS ..." etc.

Thanks.

Jack

Sunday, I thought I would see if I could find some of the movies channels on the cable at my girlfriends. I found about 4 different movies on the 90.2,90.4, etc... range. What was strange though, while watching one of the movies, it suddenly fast foward. Switched to another and during this one it did a slow reverse and started back. Of course, some of the movies just terminated and the one that did finish to the end of the movie, once the credits were done, the channel feed froze, then went blank. Any one else ever had this happen?
By the way, she has cable only, no cable card or digital package, just the basic plus service. No movie channels in the package.
Michael

I can hear it from 10 feet away, in its cabinet (glass front, open back) and I am an old duffer (47). Me thinks you like loud HT and music a bit too much. The ones I saw in the stores made the same noise. It is about 60 decibels (ok, not as loud as an airplane, but noisier than I like).

Both of mine are quiet. Can't hear them behind my glass door when sitting in front of it...and yes, I'm the type of person that can walk into a building and tell you that a CRT monitor is on. I actually had one in my bedroom for a week or so and couldn't hear it in my bed (5 feet away) and slept without a problem...Point being is that I haven't found a reasonably priced PC (I.e. $200 like I paid for the Sony DVR) that wasn't louder than the Sony DVR.

Sunday, I thought I would see if I could find some of the movies channels on the cable at my girlfriends. I found about 4 different movies on the 90.2,90.4, etc... range. What was strange though, while watching one of the movies, it suddenly fast foward. Switched to another and during this one it did a slow reverse and started back. Of course, some of the movies just terminated and the one that did finish to the end of the movie, once the credits were done, the channel feed froze, then went blank. Any one else ever had this happen?
By the way, she has cable only, no cable card or digital package, just the basic plus service. No movie channels in the package.
Michael

You're seeing VOD (video on demand) programming. I found it also, while looking for the QAM channels for the HD locals in my area. The interesting thing is when softcore is on you can see someone fast-forward to the "good parts". You can also tell when someone has to go answer the phone or go to the bathroom (by the extended pause). :D :D :D

Sunday, I thought I would see if I could find some of the movies channels on the cable at my girlfriends. I found about 4 different movies on the 90.2,90.4, etc... range. What was strange though, while watching one of the movies, it suddenly fast foward. Switched to another and during this one it did a slow reverse and started back. Of course, some of the movies just terminated and the one that did finish to the end of the movie, once the credits were done, the channel feed froze, then went blank. Any one else ever had this happen?
By the way, she has cable only, no cable card or digital package, just the basic plus service. No movie channels in the package.
Michael

It has been reported that these units sometimes tune in neighbors "Movies on Demand." What you experienced sounds exactly like that.

Mitch,

Can you expand your explanation? I don't quite follow how you "change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS ..." etc.

Thanks.

Jack

That's easier to see. :)

Go to TV Guide, select "Setup," select "Change channel display," select given channel, hit enter or menu, and change the "tune channel" entry to be the other station.


Mitch

That's easier to see. :)

Go to TV Guide, select "Setup," select "Change channel display," select given channel, hit enter or menu, and change the "tune channel" entry to be the other station.


Mitch

So you're seeing the guide info for one channel but tuning another?

Well, as part of their working with me to figure out the cause of the problem, TVGOS suggested I use the TVGOS channel setup screen to change the tune-to channel for cable-CBS (normally cable-2) to tune to channel 11. So, I and another board participant who was also having problems did this and things have been working wuite well. We actually swapped the two - CBS is tuned to channel 11 and PBS is tuned to channel 2.

Interestingly, the 753... page still shows the host channel is cable-2 even though it seems to be using cable-11 (due to the tricked tune-to channel).

Mitch

When I switched to ADS some months ago, I changed my guide analog PBS 11 (which was had become digital) to 94 (the new analog duplicate). I posted at the time that the 753 info screen still showed the host as 11, but everything worked OK so the data had to really be coming from 94.

I don't know why it would be that way and did not think that such a switch could help in your situation. Interesting!

So you're seeing the guide info for one channel but tuning another?

Yes - that's the downside.
If I use TVGOS to select a program listed for CBS, I'm taken to the PBS station instead and vice versa.
Fortunately, I don't watch much on channel 2 and I use OTA-11.2 which is the digital OTA equivalent of Cable channel 11.


Mitch

Does anybody know what generation chipset the DHG-HDD's have?

Recording capabilities aside, I'm amazed how well this thing works as a tuner. I get marginal reception OTA but this thing has been rock solid. I've also had bad luck with QAM on other tuners. Every time Comcast sent out a hit on my node, whatever I was watching would go "content encrypted" and I'd have to tune away and back to get it to display again. None of those problems here. Even NTSC reception is amazing.

Also the guide did populated overnight for the QAM channels I remapped. I guess these kinds of changes don't go into effect until the next guide download.

I'm very happy with my pruchase. Even more so after seeing Fry's is selling the 250's for $800 and the 500's for $1000! Yikes, that's a lot of cash to record TV. If they could have sold them new for around $200, I think they would have been flying off the shelves!It's a 4th generation chip.

Glad to hear of your satisfaction with the unit.

Actually, when Tweeter closed out the HDD500's for $249.99 a few months back, they literally WERE flying off the shelves!

Welcome to the party! (Better late than never!)

When I switched to ADS some months ago, I changed my guide analog PBS 11 (which was had become digital) to 94 (the new analog duplicate). I posted at the time that the 753 info screen still showed the host as 11, but everything worked OK so the data had to really be coming from 94.

I don't know why it would be that way and did not think that such a switch could help in your situation. Interesting!


I had the TVGOS people tell me to do the same thing if I could find an analog duplicate channel in my lineup. I can't find it yet (I have a trouble ticket with them because my local cableco is using the digital OTA feed from my host station because of analog transmitter problems).

well, thanks to suggestions here, I solved the problem I was having with my 500. It appears that after an (unexpected) disconnection from AC power of my 500 (after installation of the Cablecard) caused the cablecard/unit to stop retrieving or passing the TVGOS info. The fix that got things back on track was to remove the cablecard, let the unit retrieve the TVGOS data and rebuild the channel list again based only on the direct cable input without the CC, then re-inserting the cablecard, upon which another download of the TVGOS data and rebuilding of the channel list occurred. less than 24hrs later, everything is perfect and back on track. I know my TVGOS data is coming in over my analog antenna connection, but that for some reason the power off caused the cablecard to interfere with the reception of this data. hope this helps you all. maybe this is a flaw with the units, or with the CC.... I don't know. thoughts?

I have heard many losing their listing (no cable card) with a simple power outage...because of this today I invested in a UPS. It will only handle the HD DVR, but it was about the same price as a good surge protector. Six surge protected outlets, 3 of which are battery backup up to 185W. Since the HDD250 only pulls 45W in operation mode, I should be fine.

I have heard many losing their listing (no cable card) with a simple power outage...because of this today I invested in a UPS. It will only handle the HD DVR, but it was about the same price as a good surge protector. Six surge protected outlets, 3 of which are battery backup up to 185W. Since the HDD250 only pulls 45W in operation mode, I should be fine.

It's strange how this affects some people and not others. I had a 2 minute power outage yesterday with several brownouts before the power went totally out. When the power came back both my units had the time back within 60 seconds and all of my scheduled recordings were intact (as well as everything else). All I have is a surge protector (no UPS).

well, thanks to suggestions here, I solved the problem I was having with my 500. It appears that after an (unexpected) disconnection from AC power of my 500 (after installation of the Cablecard) caused the cablecard/unit to stop retrieving or passing the TVGOS info. The fix that got things back on track was to remove the cablecard, let the unit retrieve the TVGOS data and rebuild the channel list again based only on the direct cable input without the CC, then re-inserting the cablecard, upon which another download of the TVGOS data and rebuilding of the channel list occurred. less than 24hrs later, everything is perfect and back on track. I know my TVGOS data is coming in over my analog antenna connection, but that for some reason the power off caused the cablecard to interfere with the reception of this data. hope this helps you all. maybe this is a flaw with the units, or with the CC.... I don't know. thoughts?


Well, my troubles are back. I did exactly what you stated above, I removed my cablecard and within 1/2 day my listings came back why? because the unit searched for the local PBS station Ch 17 that broadcasts the tv guide data, I even checked the host later that night and sure enough it showed Ch 17 as host. So I did what you did, reinserted the cablecard. But after those 2 days of listings ran out, I'm back to no listings with my cablecard in. I checked the host again and it's back to Ch 97. So I am back to square 1. The problem definately seems to be with the cablecard not getting the host data, forcing the host back to Ch 17 does not work.

How long did you leave the card out before you put it back in?

I left the card out for about 6 hours. Listings are still coming in (I think) I'll check when I get in tonight.

Well, my troubles are back. I did exactly what you stated above, I removed my cablecard and within 1/2 day my listings came back why? because the unit searched for the local PBS station Ch 17 that broadcasts the tv guide data, I even checked the host later that night and sure enough it showed Ch 17 as host. So I did what you did, reinserted the cablecard. But after those 2 days of listings ran out, I'm back to no listings with my cablecard in. I checked the host again and it's back to Ch 97. So I am back to square 1. The problem definately seems to be with the cablecard not getting the host data, forcing the host back to Ch 17 does not work.

How long did you leave the card out before you put it back in?

I think your cablecard would be bad.

I assume you know it really takes multiple days to download all the listings. They stagger the days which are transmitted. So when the card was out - you got two days. When you put the card back in - you most likely stopped getting listings. Like I said Sunday Morning - I checked my Comcast Cablecards here and they are not remapping the host channel as yours is. Ask Comcast for a new card. They own the card - they should have no problem giving you a new one. Your local Comcast should be aware these Motorola cards are a wee bit flaky. Here in New England - they are the ones that told me they are a big headache.

Since the HDD250 only pulls 45W in operation mode, I should be fine.
According to my power meter, the HDD500 consumes 35W while turned on, and 34W while turned off (standby), and it has 2 hard drives.

The HDD250 only has 1 hard drive, so it probably consumes less than 35W.

CW has been available for months. In my market, Cincinnati, the listings for the CW station still haven't been added to the TV guide. It is not a big deal since I only record one program a week from CW but I was wondering if the listings for CW have been added in any market.

CW has been available for months. In my market, Cincinnati, the listings for the CW station still haven't been added to the TV guide. It is not a big deal since I only record one program a week from CW but I was wondering if the listings for CW have been added in any market.

We only get the analogue here (KHCW 39-0) and not the digital (KHCW 39-1) in the TV Guide listing. Of course the numbers can be re-assigned in "set-up" - but the "HD" flag is not there. Our six other major OTA stations list both the analogue and digital (HD) in the TV Guide for "each" station.

btw, our analogue listing for 39-0 KHCW is complete and accurate and has been since inception, even when it was KHWB a few months back.

Since we almost never watch SD anymore it would be nice to have the complete KHCW 39-1 HD in the search list with TV Guide.

According to my power meter, the HDD500 consumes 35W while turned on, and 34W while turned off (standby), and it has 2 hard drives.

The HDD250 only has 1 hard drive, so it probably consumes less than 35W.

Interesting, I was being overly cautious and going by the 45W (HDD250)/65W (HDD500) that the manual stated.

I recently purchased a used HDD250 and the tuner seems to work well. However, the Listings do not have all of my cable Channels, namely about 6 of the movie channels. After searching this thread, I still don't know how to add them to the Listing.
1. I can't get 9012 to work (at least the directions on this thread don't work).
2. I rebooted at the front panel and eventually get the same lineup (I have to do an hour long rearranging).
3. I have hundreds of Channels that do not even pertain to my area (they are listed as OFF). I assume they are there because of previous owners.
3. I have only one host available to me as I live away from any big cities.

My Question is how do I do a complete factory new boot so that nothing is saved. When I start up I don't want to see any ZIP code as though everything is wiped clean. If I can't get all the proper channels then, it goes on the market.

Help is appreciated. Thanks, Rich

When our WB station changed to CW, the TVGOS changed the call letters. I didn't have to do anything.

Botoo -

These instructions are copied from the HDD250/500 FAQ:


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.


To read the whole FAQ, click on the link in the very first post to this thread. :D


Dave

Dave,
I can't get the 9012 to work. I have the latest firmware. The instructions posted (on a couple of different posts here) to get to the 9012 menu don't get me to any new menu. Nothing happens.
could you post the exact method, as maybe I am doing something wrong.
Thanks,
Rich

wow, I have a lot of responses to this type of post.
But anyway, I think the extra channels are on most machines, irregardless of previous use. it's a TVGOs thing.
The 9012 menu has a reset Factory defaults which will clear everything, hard drive too, to start over as new.
Sometimes when channels don't show up in TVGOS I think it is because the cable co is not sending all their setup data correctly to TVGOs. It's not the machine's or even TVGOS fault. THe cableco wants you to rent their machines so they do little sabotages to 3rd party machines.
I think this poster's attitude is why this machine was discontinued. THis machine is not as user friendly as a rental cablebox, but if you are a little patient, it's abilities really pay off IMO.

I recently purchased a used HDD250 and the tuner seems to work well. However, the Listings do not have all of my cable Channels, namely about 6 of the movie channels. After searching this thread, I still don't know how to add them to the Listing.
1. I can't get 9012 to work (at least the directions on this thread don't work).
2. I rebooted at the front panel and eventually get the same lineup (I have to do an hour long rearranging).
3. I have hundreds of Channels that do not even pertain to my area (they are listed as OFF). I assume they are there because of previous owners.
3. I have only one host available to me as I live away from any big cities.

My Question is how do I do a complete factory new boot so that nothing is saved. When I start up I don't want to see any ZIP code as though everything is wiped clean. If I can't get all the proper channels then, it goes on the market.

Help is appreciated. Thanks, Rich
I agree with gigaguy as to why the listings are as such. I am OTA only and have channels that are clearly cable. My unit was new in the box and clean when I purchased. I recall reading about Gemstars service and the fact that they may not provide all the listing/channels in an given area simply because those channels may not be used by a lot of people. You will not get all of your channels that you want, especially if those are cable ones. That is because the cable companies either choose not to pass them or the may not be of high enough use.
Which movie channels are they?
If you re-read the fact sheet and do not get in a hurry, then you should be able to get the 9012 menu. I did, and it was not a chore, pretty simply and straight forward.
Michael

CW has been available for months. In my market, Cincinnati, the listings for the CW station still haven't been added to the TV guide. It is not a big deal since I only record one program a week from CW but I was wondering if the listings for CW have been added in any market.In Chicago we get all the listings for CW. It still uses the call letters of WGN-HD in the logo though. Of course, since that channel has always been included, it never really needed to be "added" here.

I recently purchased a used HDD250 and the tuner seems to work well. However, the Listings do not have all of my cable Channels, namely about 6 of the movie channels. After searching this thread, I still don't know how to add them to the Listing.
1. I can't get 9012 to work (at least the directions on this thread don't work).
2. I rebooted at the front panel and eventually get the same lineup (I have to do an hour long rearranging).
3. I have hundreds of Channels that do not even pertain to my area (they are listed as OFF). I assume they are there because of previous owners.
3. I have only one host available to me as I live away from any big cities.

My Question is how do I do a complete factory new boot so that nothing is saved. When I start up I don't want to see any ZIP code as though everything is wiped clean. If I can't get all the proper channels then, it goes on the market.

Help is appreciated. Thanks, Rich You need to go into the channel edit listings and turn "on" the channels you receive that you want in the guide, and also enter in the channel numbers (assuming any of them are listed there - if not, then you're out of luck with those channels - "rebooting" will not help any). By the same token, you also can turn "off" the channels you do not want to show up in the TVGOS listings.

Chances are the guide data will fill in within a couple of days for most, if not all of the channels you turn "on".

If you want to wipe out the TVGOS settings (without erasing the hard drive), press "menu" and then "screen mode" on the remote in succession, then enter "9012". Then go to "TV Guide" and then "G Factory Default" and press enter.

I've had cablecards in both of my 500s for a month or so now. Mainly just wanted to test CC out and get a few more HD channels. They work fine. I think picture quality is very good but I don't have a cablebox to compare to, I used straight-in cable before.
Unfortuantely, I do not get any of the add-on HD channels in my TVGOS so recordings are labeled as Unknown. I blame this on the cableco not wanting to fully support cablecards and send all the correct data to TVGOS. I can not renumber the SD listings I get for these channels to the HD channels because my local TW cable puts the HDs above 1000, and you can not renumber above 999. I hope they change this. Otherwise cablecards are working seamlessly.

Rammitinski,
I have gone to the channel edit listings and the channels are not there. I know you can turn the channels listed ON or OFF. My guide DOES fill in as the days go by. I have rebooted using the front panel and YES you are right it doesn't help, it just gives me a lot of work rearranging the channels again.

Now, if I try to wipe out everything after getting to the 9012 menu it may not help either, however, I can't even get to that menu.

When I press {MENU} {9012}, nothing happens.
I don't even have a SCREEN mode right after MENU.

If I press {MENU}{PREFERENCES}{SCREEN}{SCREEN MODE} I can get to a screen mode and then press 9012, NOTHING HAPPENS.

Maybe my firmware is different.

Rammitinski,
I have gone to the channel edit listings and the channels are not there. I know you can turn the channels listed ON or OFF. My guide DOES fill in as the days go by. I have rebooted using the front panel and YES you are right it doesn't help, it just gives me a lot of work rearranging the channels again.

Now, if I try to wipe out everything after getting to the 9012 menu it may not help either, however, I can't even get to that menu.

When I press {MENU} {9012}, nothing happens.
I don't even have a SCREEN mode right after MENU.

If I press {MENU}{PREFERENCES}{SCREEN}{SCREEN MODE} I can get to a screen mode and then press 9012, NOTHING HAPPENS.

Maybe my firmware is different.
Are you pressing the menu button on the remote and then the screen mode button on the remote( the button on the upper left hand side of the remote under the dvr/tv/dvd/amp switch)?
Michael
Haste makes waste.

AtlantisMichael,
No, I was not pressing the right button. I was looking for a SCREEN MODE on the screen. Thank you, Thank you, I now have the 9012 menu.
Thanks again,
Rich

Yes - that's the downside.
If I use TVGOS to select a program listed for CBS, I'm taken to the PBS station instead and vice versa.
Fortunately, I don't watch much on channel 2 and I use OTA-11.2 which is the digital OTA equivalent of Cable channel 11.


Mitch

That's actually what I want to be able to do. My OTA reception is terrible, but the guide data is perfect. My digital cable reception is perfect but the guide data sucks. Do you know how I would link the OTA guide data to the digital cable equivalent?

Just got my Ebay 250 from 2nd Turn. It was a unit with nothing else (no remote, power cord, etc.). Still had the stickers on the front - a bit scratched on top but it powered up fine and tuned into all my locals. Just waiting for the TVGOS to reset to my zip code listings. Zip code in the unit when I received it was from some place in Texas (Flower Mound?). Must have been a demo unit in a Best Buy or CC.

2nd turn is based out of McKinney, TX (near DFW), so it doesn't seem surprising that zip would be used if they really do test all the units.

I got mine used from 2nd turn and it had a Zip code of somewhere in Pennsylvania. Actually, I have also purchased other items from 2nd turn and have been treated very fairly. I purchased a Camcorder and thought it didn't work right. They immediately emailed me a return authorization and said I would have my money refunded, or the unit replaced at their discretion. As it turned out, I was operating it incorrectly and it works just fine.

At least here on the bottom of the list, there was a collection of duplicate names not assigned to anything. I went in and assigned what channel that signal was on (I.E. WBBM-DT was 116-1). The guide data then populated overnight and it shows the same data is if OTA 2-1 was in that slot.

Unfortunately there does not seem to be any way remap things so that 2-1=116-1. I have to remeber that WBBM is 116-1 and tune to that. Of course I can also go into the guide and select it that way.

My only remaining issue is getting some of the missing subchannels to show up in the guide. For example PBS has three subchannels and only one shows up. I can tune to them manually though.

That's actually what I want to be able to do. My OTA reception is terrible, but the guide data is perfect. My digital cable reception is perfect but the guide data sucks. Do you know how I would link the OTA guide data to the digital cable equivalent?

Mitch G

I just found out tonight after doing a test on another PBS station that I have 2 local PBS stations that are both passing the VBI test so I like you have 2 host channels mine are 17 and 20 both are PBS stations. I didn't realize this until I did a test tonight on both stations (this is without the cablecard inserted).

Can you explain again what I should do when I have 2 host stations that are both passing the VBI test? I don't know what I should do next. This may be my problem.

When I have my cablecard inserted I tried forcing the host to 17 but it reverts back to 97. Should I try forcing the host to 20 to see if that sticks?

I think your cablecard would be bad.

I assume you know it really takes multiple days to download all the listings. They stagger the days which are transmitted. So when the card was out - you got two days. When you put the card back in - you most likely stopped getting listings. Like I said Sunday Morning - I checked my Comcast Cablecards here and they are not remapping the host channel as yours is. Ask Comcast for a new card. They own the card - they should have no problem giving you a new one. Your local Comcast should be aware these Motorola cards are a wee bit flaky. Here in New England - they are the ones that told me they are a big headache.


drhankz

It is possible my cablecard went bad after my power surge. I wonder if it's the card or is it that I just found out tonight I have 2 host pbs channels both passing the vbi test.

I did notice that when I inserted my cablecard back in it says wait while data is aquired from the cablecard then it find close to 300 digital chs and 27 analog ch's (I know I have more than 27 analog channels) I wonder if the cablecard is not picking up all the analog channels now since the surge and that could be the problem. I had Comcast resend the signal to my home last week to the cablecard but that didnt seem to help. But even when the card said I only had 27 analog channels with the card inserted I am still getting all my analog channels which is about 72 analog. so it makes me think it is not the card but more the host channel. I don't know.

FWIW I called two of the Sony Outlet Centers (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_ViewStatic-Start?page=static%2fsony_outlet%2flocations%2eisml) last night. Lake Elsinore CA had 4, Camarillo CA had 3. Neither had the 500. PM me (or better yet, call them) for the price. (somewhere just north of the model #...if you get my drift! ;) ) The Aurora IL store had zero of either. Didn't check any of the others.

The units are factory refurbished. For $25 they offer a 2 year warranty.

drhankz

It is possible my cablecard went bad after my power surge. I wonder if it's the card or is it that I just found out tonight I have 2 host pbs channels both passing the vbi test.

I did notice that when I inserted my cablecard back in it says wait while data is aquired from the cablecard then it find close to 300 digital chs and 27 analog ch's (I know I have more than 27 analog channels) I wonder if the cablecard is not picking up all the analog channels now since the surge and that could be the problem. I had Comcast resend the signal to my home last week to the cablecard but that didnt seem to help. But even when the card said I only had 27 analog channels with the card inserted I am still getting all my analog channels which is about 72 analog. so it makes me think it is not the card but more the host channel. I don't know.

I'm sure I have many multiple PBS channels here in Boston and NH. I believe the system should work fine even with multiples. But yours is changing to a non-existent one [97] for some reason. That is why I suspect the cablecard. Mine does not change the host channel when my card is in. Something is wrong with yours - I BELIEVE.

Just got my Ebay 250 from 2nd Turn. It was a unit with nothing else (no remote, power cord, etc.). Still had the stickers on the front - a bit scratched on top but it powered up fine and tuned into all my locals. Just waiting for the TVGOS to reset to my zip code listings. Zip code in the unit when I received it was from some place in Texas (Flower Mound?). Must have been a demo unit in a Best Buy or CC.
Just curious to know how much you guys paid for these off of ebay?

Thanks.

$200 including shipping and "tax".

Just curious to know how much you guys paid for these off of ebay?

Thanks.

I'm sure I have many multiple PBS channels here in Boston and NH. I believe the system should work fine even with multiples. But yours is changing to a non-existent one [97] for some reason. That is why I suspect the cablecard. Mine does not change the host channel when my card is in. Something is wrong with yours - I BELIEVE.


Yeah I think you might be right then, I thought it was that I just found 2 host channels but if you have the same then it can't be that. Comcast in my area has an office that allowed me to pick up my own cablecards, they would program them at the office and I brought them both home, I guess I was lucky that they both worked perfect without any trouble for 8/9 months. I will go there on Sat and pick up a new card, since I can't get there during the week. Maybe this might solve my problem. Until then I have the cable card out it should download the guide by tomorrow like before.

I paid $244 plus postage of $25, but it was complete with remote, etc. They seem to be going cheaper now but a lot have missing cables, remote, manuals.

Comcast in my area has an office that allowed me to pick up my own cablecards, they would program them at the office and I brought them both home, I guess I was lucky that they both worked perfect without any trouble for 8/9 months. I will go there on Sat and pick up a new card, since I can't get there during the week. Maybe this might solve my problem. Until then I have the cable card out it should download the guide by tomorrow like before.

I have a local Comcast office - but there won't let anyone except a tech touch a card.

When I had to swap out a HDD500 with another one. I took a good card and plugged it in the new box. The Comcast System detected that even though it is one-way only. I knew all that needed to be done was to have the Network Operations center to hit the card again and I could read the numbers off the screen. They said NO - only a tech could read the numbers to the Network Operations Center. How LAME is that?

I paid about $180 including shipping and tax. I use a Harmony 880 and have a manual from my HDD500 and just bought a power cord for $6 at Radio Shack. I plan on using the HDMI cable from my original 500 (using component on that one) for my LCD monitor.

To get in the 9012 menu you first press the menu then the screen button on the remote and then press 9012.

Also the ones who are having cable card problem, the card has a IP address that the cable company must enter in their system to make is work properly.

The units I got from the Sony Outlet do not appear to be 'refurbished' or even used. They are in their original boxes and they are not marked 'refurbished'. I have bought items at the Sony Outlet for years and they always mark refurbished items as such, and never sell them in the original retail box. Refurbished items are sold in plain boxes labeled as 'Sony Refurbished' and the components themselves are labeled 'refurbished' with permanent stickers. This is done to not compete with new retail items from retail stores.

Also, if you assume refurbished means a repaired item you could be wrong. Refurbished items include overstocks, discontinued items, store returns, demos, damaged boxes that can not be sold in a retail store.

These units are in the original boxes, the boxes do have a B-stock sticker which is used to differentiate from top level retail stock. B-stock is usually unsold items such as discontinued or damaged box etc. THe ones I got have all the accessories, have the sealed warranty sticker on the back.

Anyway enjoy, in any form these are great machines and are fully warranteed.
It appears the 500s are mostly gone, I know the outlet near me was cleared out.

I'm sure I have many multiple PBS channels here in Boston and NH. I believe the system should work fine even with multiples.

I think TVGOS scans through the analog channels sequentially when you set it up, and stops when it finds the first channel that carries TVGOS data. I'm OTA only, and normally get my TVGOS data from channel 29 (PBS) in Greenville SC. Last winter we had a huge ice storm that knocked out my power for a day, and also shut down channel 29 for several days. When I re-initialized TVGOS (using "G* Factory Default" in the 9012 menu) after the power came back on, it picked up data from channel 33 (also PBS) in Asheville NC. After channel 29 came back on the air, I re-initialized TVGOS again, and it picked up channel 29 again.

There are no PBS stations around here with analog channel numbers lower than 29, by the way. I can get PBS stations on 29, 33, 38 and 49 with my antenna in its usual orientation.

This is for OTA, but I see no reason why it would be different for cable.

Also the ones who are having cable card problem, the card has a IP address that the cable company must enter in their system to make is work properly.


This does not apply to me cause I've had my cablecard for 8 months now and it was programed at the store before I picked it up, like I mentioned before the card, DVR, TV Guide all have been working perfect up till I had a power surge then the only thing I seemed to have lost is the Guide Data and I can't get it back, I think it messed up my cablecard cause it maps the host now to Ch 97 (a no signal channel with Comcast) no matter if I try to force the host it keeps reverting back to Ch 97 so it has to be the card went bad. When I take out the card I am getting all my guide data properly, but then I don't have all my digital plus channels.

This does not apply to me cause I've had my cablecard for 8 months now and it was programed at the store before I picked it up, like I mentioned before the card, DVR, TV Guide all have been working perfect up till I had a power surge then the only thing I seemed to have lost is the Guide Data and I can't get it back, I think it messed up my cablecard cause it maps the host now to Ch 97 (a no signal channel with Comcast) no matter if I try to force the host it keeps reverting back to Ch 97 so it has to be the card went bad. When I take out the card I am getting all my guide data properly, but then I don't have all my digital plus channels.

Sure sounds like it lost its IP address and being defective would cause the same.

It appears the 500s are mostly gone, I know the outlet near me was cleared out.

I've noticed a lot less 500s (than 250s) on Ebay as well so perhaps not as many were originally made?

Sony used Tweeter stores to liquidate the 500s earlier in the year. I think the bulk of the 500s were sold then. As far as original retail sale, I would think more 250s were sold overall due to the price of the 500 being $1000, the 250 was $799.

FanOfHD:

A couple of things -

Passing the "VBI test" does not mean it's a TVGOS host channel. The VBI test will pass if the channel is sending closed captioning as well.

Your channel 97/17 issue is strange. Have you tried changing the tune-to channel in the TVGOS setup so that the station that is currently tuned to 97 is changed to tune to 17? (This would be analogous to what I did with regards to the swap between my CBS and PBS channels to get things to work.)

So, use TVGOS->setup->change channel display to find the entry that is for channel 97. Select that entry and change the "tune to" channel to 17. Then wait and see what happens.


Mitch

I currently have an HDD500 w/TWC cablecard and absolutely love it... and am thinking about buying a HDD250 off Ebay for the bedroom.

I don't have time to read the previous 250 pages... so could someone PLEASE advise me as to any problems or issues these units have with new HDTVs or the studios?

I do occasionally have to call Time Warner Cable to complain that a TNT movie did not record due to a screwed up "Record Never" broadcast code.....

Is that still a problem with these units???

Finally, TWC is changing to Comcast in this area in 2007 and I wonder how it will impact these cablecard units, if at all?

Thanks for your help!

drhankz

I did notice that when I inserted my cablecard back in it says wait while data is aquired from the cablecard then it find close to 300 digital chs and 27 analog ch's (I know I have more than 27 analog channels) I wonder if the cablecard is not picking up all the analog channels now since the surge and that could be the problem. I had Comcast resend the signal to my home last week to the cablecard but that didnt seem to help. But even when the card said I only had 27 analog channels with the card inserted I am still getting all my analog channels which is about 72 analog. so it makes me think it is not the card but more the host channel. I don't know.

I've got a similar situation with Comcast: When I remove my cablecard from my 500 and scan, I get 300 digital stations and 5 analog. PBS Channel 22 still appears when I tune to 22 without the cablecard. It's a fuzzy, like an OTA signal, but acceptable. However, the same station also appears on 101.204 when I don't have the cablecard in, only it's a slightly sharper picture. Could it be that Comcast rebroadcasts many of its analog channels on a digital frequency and when the signal hits a cablecard the cablecard assigns the digital rebroadcast to its traditional spot on the dial?

My thinking that this sort of remapping may be at the root of my loss of TVGOS service, which used to come in fine on analog PBS. My hunch is that I'm no longer getting 22 in analog but in digital and the TVGOS data is therefore stripped out.

Any ideas out there?

Jack

I have two 250s stacked. The front panel display on one is brighter than the other.

Is there a way to adjust the display brightness?

The dim one was an open box, I think used as a display with Sony TVs, the brighter one is brand new. Both units work flawlessly so there is no real reason to worry about the display - but insignificant things like this kind of bug me sometimes...

Regards,

As of today all four WETA digital channels are available in the TVGOS listings distributed by MPT 22.

WETA-HD 26.1
WETA-Create 26.2
WETA-Family 26.3
WETA-World 26.4

(I am assuming that all the ZIPs served by this channel get the same data.)

Ignoring my own advice earlier in this thread, I won an 'As-Is, Not Working' HDD250 for $36.

It works! Life is good.

MY GOD - Pat yourself on the back for that FIND [GRIN]!

I think it's a big reason Sony discontinued these, people thought they were broken when they weren't and returned them frequently. People expect plug and play like a rental cable box, and these need a little pampering and patience to set up. 24 hour wait for listings! Return it!
Plus they can be a little fidgety to set up. esp if they have already been setup with another zip and not facory reset. Patience pays off, congrats.

Yep, these things are a little bit on the side of being a geek to work with but I guess I'm a little bit on the side of being a geek. I love to tinker with junk. No fun in plug and play anyway.

I believe what happened was the price in accordance with playability (is that a word?) If you pay 800 bucks or 1000 bucks for a piece of electronic equipment and then have to wait for 24 hours or more to see if it works, you probably wouldn't be too happy. I figure most who dished out the dough in the first place didn't have a clue what they actually had.

Most folks who buy this stuff ain't geeks like all of us. :)

Mike

I have two 250s stacked. The front panel display on one is brighter than the other.

Is there a way to adjust the display brightness?

The dim one was an open box, I think used as a display with Sony TVs, the brighter one is brand new. Both units work flawlessly so there is no real reason to worry about the display - but insignificant things like this kind of bug me sometimes...

Regards,

Don't worry about difference in brightness. Just a variability in manufacture. I have a 250 and 500, and the 500 display is much brighter. Unfortunately unit doesn't have a display brightness adjustment.

Ray

I thought about that, but then I read (Windows or Linux) of systems that ran good. They would only crash once or twice a week. (Or need to be monitored, fiddled with in some way).

Then there is also the fact that I don't want a noisy PC running constantly in my living room...and if it is not there, how do I get HD video to my TV? The stand alone DVR seemed better and after a friends experience running MythTV on a Linux box (and he switched to TiVo), I decided not to go that route.

The question that will be answered in March is how will DVD recorders with hard drives capture an ATSC signal to the hard drive, will it be limited to 480i or something higher?

I've been using a PC as a DVR for about 7 years now. First it only did NTSC but I upgraded it to HDTV about 3 years ago. Right now it does both. It used to get stuck from time to time during booting, but only maybe about 3 or 4 times a year. Simple solution, I just have it go to standby instead of shutting down every night. Also, it's whisper quiet. It's quieter than my ReplayTV. The only way I know it's on is to look at the power light. I just got another HDTV card for it so that I can record two HDTV streams at a time while watching a third. I already have 2 HDTV tuners in it. Try that with a standalone DVR.

I've been using a PC as a DVR for about 7 years now. First it only did NTSC but I upgraded it to HDTV about 3 years ago. Right now it does both. It used to get stuck from time to time during booting, but only maybe about 3 or 4 times a year. Simple solution, I just have it go to standby instead of shutting down every night. Also, it's whisper quiet. It's quieter than my ReplayTV. The only way I know it's on is to look at the power light. I just got another HDTV card for it so that I can record two HDTV streams at a time while watching a third. I already have 2 HDTV tuners in it. Try that with a standalone DVR.

Perhaps, but what I paid for my THREE Sony DVRs is probably less than you invested in your HTPC. However, you have gotten many years out of it.

I was actually heading this route until I discovered these Sonys. I have an HTPC but never got the HD card for it. It is nice to have it connected to the network, though, for sharing pictures and the like (and having a really big PC monitor!)

FanOfHD:

A couple of things -

Passing the "VBI test" does not mean it's a TVGOS host channel. The VBI test will pass if the channel is sending closed captioning as well.

Your channel 97/17 issue is strange. Have you tried changing the tune-to channel in the TVGOS setup so that the station that is currently tuned to 97 is changed to tune to 17? (This would be analogous to what I did with regards to the swap between my CBS and PBS channels to get things to work.)

So, use TVGOS->setup->change channel display to find the entry that is for channel 97. Select that entry and change the "tune to" channel to 17. Then wait and see what happens.
Mitch

Mitch,
I don't think that will work for me because when I go into the TV setup and try to locate ch 97 it is not there, there is no Ch 97 in my setup I've scrolled through the whole listings in the tv guide and there is no Ch 97. But the idea sounds like it might work.

I know for sure that my host is Ch 17 (pbs) because when I take the cablecard out and I do the host test the DVR says it's using Ch 17 as the host and I get full days listing without the card so it's getting it from 17. When I put the cable card back in it changes the host the next day to Ch 97 and I can't force it.

Do you think I could go to my TV Guide set up and change Ch 17 to 97 then with the cablecard inserted and reverts to 97 as host it will think it's 17 since I changed 17 to 97 in the guide set up? Or is it the reverse that I need to do? I can't do the opposite cause there is no 97 in my listings.

Mitch,

Do you think I could go to my TV Guide set up and change Ch 17 to 97 then with the cablecard inserted and reverts to 97 as host it will think it's 17 since I changed 17 to 97 in the guide set up? Or is it the reverse that I need to do? I can't do the opposite cause there is no 97 in my listings.

I don't think that would work at all, because I can't believe the guide is used at all to find the host. If it were, how would it find the host initally when there was no info. in the guide at all.

I don't think the cablecard is used either, because in my case, the guide downloads all the info. from TV-Guide for my Zip regardless of whether I subscribed or not and I have to turn off those channels I don't receive.

I think it would be a better bet to try Zip codes until the host you want shows up in setup without the one you don't want.

My apologies if I sound totally ignorant, but I just received my new Sony DHG-HDD250 back from PA, where the firmware was upgraded to the latest version. I hadn't used it prior to that (due to the 161.6 error) I've searched all of the threads related to this and can't seem to find anything related to the initial set up of the guide. Do I just need to leave it off for a certain period of time (24 hours) for the guide to pop in? Or do I need to do something special to set my host channel? According to things I've read, my host channel here in Orlando FL is WMFE (PBS 24); channel 2 on Brighthouse Networks. They also have an HD channel WMFE 24 (PBS 1124) channel 1124. I've got the cablecard installed and can pull in all of my channels (even the 4-digit HD ones). Thanks for the help !

I noticed something strange on my HDD250...well actually I have two of them, one is acting as expected the other is strange.

My OTA ABC channel is 24 (Digital Channel 33.1, 33.2). On one of the HDD250's, tunes the digital channels using 24.1 and 24.2 (which is expected behavior that pulls in the correct guide data). On the other one, you must enter their frequency assignment (33.1, 33.2) to view the channel...which the guide doesn't pull in. Both are running software 1.2.06. Any ideas why this is happening?

Not that big of a deal because the one without the guide data is used as a TV tuner in the home theater and very rarely used for recording.

Mitch,
I don't think that will work for me because when I go into the TV setup and try to locate ch 97 it is not there, there is no Ch 97 in my setup I've scrolled through the whole listings in the tv guide and there is no Ch 97. But the idea sounds like it might work.

I know for sure that my host is Ch 17 (pbs) because when I take the cablecard out and I do the host test the DVR says it's using Ch 17 as the host and I get full days listing without the card so it's getting it from 17. When I put the cable card back in it changes the host the next day to Ch 97 and I can't force it.

Do you think I could go to my TV Guide set up and change Ch 17 to 97 then with the cablecard inserted and reverts to 97 as host it will think it's 17 since I changed 17 to 97 in the guide set up? Or is it the reverse that I need to do? I can't do the opposite cause there is no 97 in my listings.

OK, this rambling discussion is making me crazy. :) So let me take a shot at it this way:

I think you are not understanding how the DVR works.

1) You get one set of channel numbers with no card, and a different set with a card inserted. The cablecard "takes over" when it is there and provides the channel numbering controlled by the cable company.

2) Further, the cablecard can be provisioned for analog basic channels (including your PBS 17) OR it can be provisioned as all digital (ADS). If you are not on ADS, then 17 would work as your host with the card in or out (assuming the basic channels < 100 are numbered the same with or without the card).

3) If you are on ADS, no host data can reach you via the cablecard channels. BUT, since Comcast and most major cablecos have agreements with Gemstar to pass the host data to anyone who needs it, the cablecos provide a single analog channel via the otherwise digital card to provide the guide data.

4) You will NOT find he NUMBER of the special analog channel in the guide channel list. Normally, the analog channel is a duplicate of its digital version. If your PBS 17 is there and if 97 is supposed to be its duplicate, you would have to go into the guide setup and manually remap channel 17 to channel 97.

5) To narrow things down, you need to KNOW if you are on ADS. If you are, you need to KNOW which is your analog host channel. (And manually tuning to that channel will give you a picture and the same programming as the original digital version of the channel.) Find out from the cableco.

6) Find out if you are on ADS or not. With the card in, tune to 17 and look at the diagnostics screen. If it shows the channel is analog, you are not on ADS. If it shows a QAM channel, you are on ADS.

Once you understand the above and gather the required information, you or people here will be able to figure out the problem. Your card could be bad, or the cableco is not furnishing the host channel properly in an ADS setup, among other possibilities. But this system is too complex to keep taking random shots in the dark.

Let us know what you find out.

Perhaps, but what I paid for my THREE Sony DVRs is probably less than you invested in your HTPC. However, you have gotten many years out of it.

I was actually heading this route until I discovered these Sonys. I have an HTPC but never got the HD card for it. It is nice to have it connected to the network, though, for sharing pictures and the like (and having a really big PC monitor!)

My HTPC was cheap. The basic computer cost me about $300. I did pay $400 for my WinHD card. But only $60 each for my other two tuners. So I paid $700-$800 for it. If it wasn't for me being an early adopter with that WinHD card, it would have been silly cheap. But the WinHDTV's dedicated output still produces a better signal than anything else I've seen.

Today, you can put together a HTPC as a HDTV DVR for about $250. That's only with 200GB of disk though. But for $150 more, you can buy a 750GB disk from Fry's during one of the numerous sales.

My HTPC was cheap. The basic computer cost me about $300. I did pay $400 for my WinHD card. But only $60 each for my other two tuners. So I paid $700-$800 for it. If it wasn't for me being an early adopter with that WinHD card, it would have been silly cheap. But the WinHDTV's dedicated output still produces a better signal than anything else I've seen.

Today, you can put together a HTPC as a HDTV DVR for about $250. That's only with 200GB of disk though. But for $150 more, you can buy a 750GB disk from Fry's during one of the numerous sales.

If you believe you can put together a HTPC for HDTV 1080i or 720p for $250 (barring some silly rebate bargin) you are insane. Do you realize you need a special video card with a DVI connector (or component) and lots of horse power to decode MPEG2 1080i signals on the fly. And to play commercial DVD via recent Windows OS you need a video card that supports copy protection on a DVI or HDMI output (or watch the DVD at 480P or less resolution). And if you think the SONY is hard to get working, ot os nothing comparted to trying to find combinations of software and video drivers with DVXA acceleration. I had an issue on my HTPC that my external USB sound card with optical sound output to for my receiver would cause lip sync issues after a fast forward or rewind operation to skip commercials. I had to get another Sound card that supported a digital output so I could get DD5.1 and DTS to my receiver. I have to use programs to crack DVD copy protection so I can use my current non copy protected DVI connector to watch DVD upconverted to 720P.

Reading the average persons posts in this thread I would say very few would be able to build a HTPC that acctually worked. The motherboard I purchased for my 3 GHz Intel processor doesn't even support S3 sleep mode. This means that the power supply fan is always running and the unit consumes a 3-4 times more power in sleep then the SONY does running. 3GHz processor is not enough to decode MPEG2 at 1080i in software you must use a DVXA video card and purchase a MPEG decoder that support DVXA for you video card. I would recommend a 3.6 GHz dual core Pentium D or equivalent for HDTV HTPC. And keep in mind that currently with a HDTV tuner running under Window MCE you can't view any QAM channels (digital cable channels). I only use the HTPC for OTA HDTV.

My HTPC was cheap. The basic computer cost me about $300.

Why do you deceive people. Silent running PC that are in the 4 GHz range needed to run multiple stream 1080i HDTV signals are way more expensive then $300. You are not telling the truth. Please post link to a fanless PC for $300 with 1 Gig of Ram 3.4 GHz Pentium D DVD Drive 250Gig HD (that is silent) and has Optical DD5.1 sound output and DVI compliant Video card with copy HDCP for protected content with DVXA and I will buy a few of them. Anybody else like puppyfriend to set them up with one of the Computers? I can get HDTV tuner cards for OTA MCE cheap on ebay.

My only remaining issue is getting some of the missing subchannels to show up in the guide. For example PBS has three subchannels and only one shows up. I can tune to them manually though.
That's certainly odd.

I get the other 2 subchannels (WTTW & Create) in the channel listings, but I'm only OTA. I had to ferret them out and turn them on though.

I wonder why they wouldn't include them with (Chicago area) cable?

i have had my unit now for about a week and half and havent had any problems. tvgos is not an issue, i am curious about what the temp of the units should be

OK, this rambling discussion is making me crazy. :) So let me take a shot at it this way:

I think you are not understanding how the DVR works.

1) You get one set of channel numbers with no card, and a different set with a card inserted. The cablecard "takes over" when it is there and provides the channel numbering controlled by the cable company.

2) Further, the cablecard can be provisioned for analog basic channels (including your PBS 17) OR it can be provisioned as all digital (ADS). If you are not on ADS, then 17 would work as your host with the card in or out (assuming the basic channels < 100 are numbered the same with or without the card).

3) If you are on ADS, no host data can reach you via the cablecard channels. BUT, since Comcast and most major cablecos have agreements with Gemstar to pass the host data to anyone who needs it, the cablecos provide a single analog channel via the otherwise digital card to provide the guide data.

4) You will NOT find he NUMBER of the special analog channel in the guide channel list. Normally, the analog channel is a duplicate of its digital version. If your PBS 17 is there and if 97 is supposed to be its duplicate, you would have to go into the guide setup and manually remap channel 17 to channel 97.

5) To narrow things down, you need to KNOW if you are on ADS. If you are, you need to KNOW which is your analog host channel. (And manually tuning to that channel will give you a picture and the same programming as the original digital version of the channel.) Find out from the cableco.

6) Find out if you are on ADS or not. With the card in, tune to 17 and look at the diagnostics screen. If it shows the channel is analog, you are not on ADS. If it shows a QAM channel, you are on ADS.

Once you understand the above and gather the required information, you or people here will be able to figure out the problem. Your card could be bad, or the cableco is not furnishing the host channel properly in an ADS setup, among other possibilities. But this system is too complex to keep taking random shots in the dark.

Let us know what you find out.


Yes I do understand that you will get a separate lists of channel #'s with the card out then with the card in, I understand that the Comcast prgrams the card for our channel line up, as I indicated everything's been working great with the card for the past 9 months until I had a power outage.

Ok, I just checked the diagostics screen for Ch 17 with the cablecard in and
does say QAM. So now what do I check?

Unforntually Comcast techs on the phone know little about cablecards and what to do, last night I called them and it took me 10 minutes to explain I dont have their motorolla box but 2 cable cards one for tv and one for Sony. They kept saying if you have the cablecard you dont get the tv guide channel. So I go in circles with them.


So... if what you say is true:
"3) If you are on ADS, no host data can reach you via the cablecard channels. BUT, since Comcast and most major cablecos have agreements with Gemstar to pass the host data to anyone who needs it, the cablecos provide a single analog channel via the otherwise digital card to provide the guide data"

then maybe Comcast took this away and I will no longer get the tv guide with the Cablecard.

i have had my unit now for about a week and half and havent had any problems. tvgos is not an issue, i am curious about what the temp of the units should be

My drive temps run from about 90-98 degrees on my 250s (and HDD 1 on my 500) and about 105-110 degrees on my HDD 2 on the 500. I believe HDD 2 is not as close to the fan inside the unit.

In my case there are some Channels that I don't receive on the guide. I contacted PBS for my state (as they control my host) and a knowledgeable person wants me to give them a list of those channels. They said they receive information from many sources and compile it and they will check to see if they indeed "push" those channels to my location. They said if they don't, they may be able to.

I am waiting to see what happens.

Following these threads for ever. some of my thoughts.

Why did sony get out the dvr business? I think it has to do with the pressure that was put on them by Hollywood. I think it came down to hey do you want to sell your $50K movies cameras or this dvr? Why has no other electronics mfg come out with a dvr? Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer, the list goes on....

Will they become obsolete in 2009? Don't think so, but then again maybe, but you can always use it to as a decoder and dvr. Somehow, I think, they tvguide will be transmitted digitally. Unless tvguide goes away

The myth tv box. I looked at that....yeah, if your a geek and don't mind tinkering with it constantly. but the Sony dvr has an interface that your wife can follow or your children....

the tread needs to be cleaned up and the myth tv users deleted from this forum, has nothing to do with the Sony dvr.

Lastly....again as a much earlier poster noted...99% of the cable problems is the provider provisioning your unit. Also, sony has dropped thier price to upgrade the dvr software to $51. You pay the shipping in.

HDaddiction

Will they become obsolete in 2009? Don't think so, but then again maybe, but you can always use it to as a decoder and dvr.

My question is how is the time transmitted to the unit? Digital or Analog? If analog, how will we get the time update in the future? Short of plugging it in at 12:00:00 on Jan 1, 2004?

Yes I do understand that you will get a separate lists of channel #'s with the card out then with the card in, I understand that the Comcast prgrams the card for our channel line up, as I indicated everything's been working great with the card for the past 9 months until I had a power outage.

Ok, I just checked the diagostics screen for Ch 17 with the cablecard in and
does say QAM. So now what do I check?

Unforntually Comcast techs on the phone know little about cablecards and what to do, last night I called them and it took me 10 minutes to explain I dont have their motorolla box but 2 cable cards one for tv and one for Sony. They kept saying if you have the cablecard you dont get the tv guide channel. So I go in circles with them.


So... if what you say is true:
"3) If you are on ADS, no host data can reach you via the cablecard channels. BUT, since Comcast and most major cablecos have agreements with Gemstar to pass the host data to anyone who needs it, the cablecos provide a single analog channel via the otherwise digital card to provide the guide data"

then maybe Comcast took this away and I will no longer get the tv guide with the Cablecard.
FanofHD,
Have you thought of taking the card form the tv and using it in your DVR? If so, what happen when you did? I still belive that your card got screwed up during the power glitch. From what others have stated, the logical sense is that the cable card and or company is the root of all your problems. As someone else stated, you need to go high up to a tech supervisor and find someone that is willing to work with you on this issue. All this back and forth here is getting you nowhere fast. For the amount of time you have been fooling with this, you could have found somebody at the cable company that could be of real help. If you had looked at the Gemstar site, they tell you that the cards are suppose to work with these and other devices. Take some time to get all the pertinent information together and make your argument to the cable company, and if needed file a complaint with the appropriate government agency.
Michael

I don't think that would work at all, because I can't believe the guide is used at all to find the host. If it were, how would it find the host initally when there was no info. in the guide at all.



You wouldn't think that the guide is used to find the host channel, but it somehow comes into play as "proven" by my case where changing the tune-to channel for CBS (my host station) to my local PBS channel (a second host station that is available).

In other words, 753... shows cable-2 as the host channel.
Cable-2 is my local CBS station.
Cable-2 is not working as a host channel - my cable company appears to be squashing the VBI channel or something on it.
I change TVGOS setup so that my local cable CBS station tunes to cable-11.
Cable-11 is my local PBS channel which is also a host channel - but one that supports both our later G4 units as well as older revisions.
So, it really seems like the guide is being used in some way to tune to the host channel.

Here's my theory:
There are two different software modules at play here. One is used to get the list of stations/channels. The other is used to get the program listings (i.e. what's on and when). The first module uses the host channel shown in the 753... menu. The second module uses the channel given in the guide for the given station.

Here's why I think this:
I was getting channel listings but not program data. The TVGOS guy I was working with needed to know this. Also, he would often refer to the host channel by its station ID instead of its channel number. Which makes me think that software probably also functions in terms of stations moreso than channels. Finally, when he had me change the TVGOS channel setup so that the host station was tuned to a different host channel I started getting program listings - EVEN THOUGH the 753... menu still shows the old channel as the host channel. So, it sure seems to me that the software is looking at the guide to figure out which channel it should tune to to get the program listings.


Mitch

My question is how is the time transmitted to the unit? Digital or Analog? If analog, how will we get the time update in the future? Short of plugging it in at 12:00:00 on Jan 1, 2004?

From what I read and understand, we will still get time and such via a D/A converter box that the government will supply to people who still have only analog sets and machines. I think 2 D/A boxes per household, costing roughly $40.00 each and free to those who can not afford. Otherwise, there would be massive dumping of obsolete tvs and related equipment. Plus it would bring about a revolt from those who always wait till last minute or past. Those who never plan until it is too late would be screaming to no end if that happen.
Also, nothing prevents cable or satellite from sending an analog signal out. It only applies terrestrial broadcast.
So I am not worried that my clock will not work or even whether or not I will have TVGOS. The only thing to prevent TVGOS from being around would be if they went belly up.
Michael

Just checked Sony Outlet near me in central TX sold all of their 500s but has 6 of the 250s.

From what I read and understand, we will still get time and such via a D/A converter box that the government will supply to people who still have only analog sets and machines. I think 2 D/A boxes per household, costing roughly $40.00 each and free to those who can not afford. Otherwise, there would be massive dumping of obsolete tvs and related equipment. Plus it would bring about a revolt from those who always wait till last minute or past. Those who never plan until it is too late would be screaming to no end if that happen.
Also, nothing prevents cable or satellite from sending an analog signal out. It only applies terrestrial broadcast.
So I am not worried that my clock will not work or even whether or not I will have TVGOS. The only thing to prevent TVGOS from being around would be if they went belly up.
Michael

I have to disagree - I don't think the unit will be able to get the time or TVGOS data when the digital conversion takes place. I base this info on the fact that my local PBS channel started providing their digital OTA feed to my cableco instead of their analog feed. Charter is then sending this digital feed as ANALOG over cable channel 12. There are no VBI packets in this broadcast. I didn't test to see if the time is transmitted, since my Sony already had the time. I never tried resetting the unit after this change took place, but I strongly suspect that the time data isn't being passed through any more either.

I base my theory on the fact that I think that Charter is currently doing the same thing that one of these "converter boxes" would do -- that is turning the digital feed to an analog one that is then passed to a legacy analog TV (or in this case, an analog cable station).

The only way that this would work would be a software and/or firmware upgrade to these DVR's.

Just my opinion, of course...

I have to disagree - I don't think the unit will be able to get the time or TVGOS data when the digital conversion takes place. I base this info on the fact that my local PBS channel started providing their digital OTA feed to my cableco instead of their analog feed. Charter is then sending this digital feed as ANALOG over cable channel 12. There are no VBI packets in this broadcast. I didn't test to see if the time is transmitted, since my Sony already had the time. I never tried resetting the unit after this change took place, but I strongly suspect that the time data isn't being passed through any more either.

I base my theory on the fact that I think that Charter is currently doing the same thing that one of these "converter boxes" would do -- that is turning the digital feed to an analog one that is then passed to a legacy analog TV (or in this case, an analog cable station).

The only way that this would work would be a software and/or firmware upgrade to these DVR's.

Just my opinion, of course...
Are you then not getting your TVGOS listings? Also, as far as the clock is concerned, I belive that more than one station is passing that information. This based on some article I read some time back. If I can remember where and when it came out, will post it, but I know it has been a more than few years ago since I read it.
Michael

My OTA ABC channel is 24 (Digital Channel 33.1, 33.2). On one of the HDD250's, tunes the digital channels using 24.1 and 24.2 (which is expected behavior that pulls in the correct guide data). On the other one, you must enter their frequency assignment (33.1, 33.2) to view the channel...which the guide doesn't pull in.
I have seen this kind of thing under two situations: 1), when the channel scan was performed, the signal was weak, so the scan detected the station on it's actual channel (33), but couldn't receive the PSIP information to get it's logical channel assignment (24.1), so it assigned it according to the actual broadcast channel. Doing a rescan should correct this. 2) During the channel scan, when the channel was scanned, the logical channel number was already in use by another previously scanned channel. In this case, the Sony will assign it a channel based on the actual channel and add 2 to the subchannel number (33.3, 3.4). Note that #2 is not what is happening in your case (it does happen to me).

In either case, you can go into the channel guide editor and re-assign the channel number on which that station is received, and then you can access it/record from it using the guide.

There are quite a few other TVGOS products, like TVs, and DVD recorders. I have a Sony DVD recorder with TVGOS that works great also.
I'd like to believe that all these consumers using these devices will not be left in the lurch. I don't understand the technical aspects as well as others, but could some update be sent over cable?
I personally think TVGOs works very well. I see updates all the time, like now they usually list actors names in movies etc, they didn't do that a few months ago. I hope there will be a fix, these Sony DVRs are really great and will be effected most if they can not continue to use TVGOs for clock and listings.

I think TVGOS scans through the analog channels sequentially when you set it up, and stops when it finds the first channel that carries TVGOS data.
I think that there may be more to it than that. In my location, there are (at least) three stations that carry the TVGOS data (ch6, ch8, and ch10), none of which are PBS stations. All three of my Sony DVRs use channel 10. One of my older Panasonic DVRs used channel 6, and my newer Panasonic DVR uses channel 8. The choice of channel may have to do with the zip code entered and the version of TVGOS software (and therefore version of TVGOS data). As your experience indicates, the Sony is able to use alternate host channels, whether it scans for them, or is preconfigured by the zip code (i.e. primary host, alternate host) I don't know. It would make sense to scan for the host channel.

I think that there may be more to it than that. In my location, there are (at least) three stations that carry the TVGOS data (ch6, ch8, and ch10), none of which are PBS stations. All three of my Sony DVRs use channel 10. One of my older Panasonic DVRs used channel 6, and my newer Panasonic DVR uses channel 8. The choice of channel may have to do with the zip code entered and the version of TVGOS software (and therefore version of TVGOS data). As your experience indicates, the Sony is able to use alternate host channels, whether it scans for them, or is preconfigured by the zip code (i.e. primary host, alternate host) I don't know. It would make sense to scan for the host channel.

Are all your host Channels listed on the setup screen so you can pick the one you want? In my case I only have one host Channel listed their so I assume that is the only one I can get. It's the only analog PBS station.

I have seen this kind of thing under two situations: 1), when the channel scan was performed, the signal was weak, so the scan detected the station on it's actual channel (33), but couldn't receive the PSIP information to get it's logical channel assignment (24.1), so it assigned it according to the actual broadcast channel. Doing a rescan should correct this. 2) During the channel scan, when the channel was scanned, the logical channel number was already in use by another previously scanned channel. In this case, the Sony will assign it a channel based on the actual channel and add 2 to the subchannel number (33.3, 3.4). Note that #2 is not what is happening in your case (it does happen to me).

In either case, you can go into the channel guide editor and re-assign the channel number on which that station is received, and then you can access it/record from it using the guide.

Keying in 24.1 or 24.2 results in a no signal even when the 33.1 and 33.2 pull in fine. I may try a complete channel rescan and see how that works.

The choice of channel may have to do with the zip code entered and the version of TVGOS software (and therefore version of TVGOS data).
It depends on the version.

My question is how is the time transmitted to the unit? Digital or Analog? If analog, how will we get the time update in the future? Short of plugging it in at 12:00:00 on Jan 1, 2004?As I said before, I'm about 95% sure it's from the usual analog channel that traditionally has carried it over the years (that was used to set the time on our VCR's), usually a PBS channel.

I'd like to believe that all these consumers using these devices will not be left in the lurch.


Call me an optimist, but I tend to agree.

Like you say, there are A LOT of devices that depend on the service out there - more than I think most people are aware of. Earlier versions (called "Guide +", were included in many RCA & GE TV's, and countless RCA, Proscan, Sony & Panasonic (and probably some brands I'm forgetting) VCR's. The service goes back well over 10 years. I'm pretty sure there are at least tons of those TV's still being used, along with the countless DVD/DVR's sold in more recent years that depend on it.

Remember too, that most units with it, except for many of the newer ones with the 8th & 9th version of it, generate ad revenue for them (and the newer ones will most likely get around to it, too). So, they have that incentive working, too.

I have to disagree - I don't think the unit will be able to get the time or TVGOS data when the digital conversion takes place. I base this info on the fact that my local PBS channel started providing their digital OTA feed to my cableco instead of their analog feed. Charter is then sending this digital feed as ANALOG over cable channel 12. There are no VBI packets in this broadcast. I didn't test to see if the time is transmitted, since my Sony already had the time. I never tried resetting the unit after this change took place, but I strongly suspect that the time data isn't being passed through any more either.

I base my theory on the fact that I think that Charter is currently doing the same thing that one of these "converter boxes" would do -- that is turning the digital feed to an analog one that is then passed to a legacy analog TV (or in this case, an analog cable station).

The only way that this would work would be a software and/or firmware upgrade to these DVR's.

Just my opinion, of course...


Charter may be stripping the data out unknowingly. Can you get the tvguide OTA, digitaly?

Charter may be stripping the data out unknowingly. Can you get the tvguide OTA, digitaly?

Yes. I called TVGOS and they are supposed to be getting in contact with Charter to either restore the true analog version of the host channel, or to add an analog channel duplicate like they have to do when they go to an all digital lineup.

I might have to call TVGOS back and keep them "on it".

Is the time different than TVGOS, right or wrong? With TV's, VCR's, Atomic Clock's and Etc. that automatically set time isn't the Sony time set the same way. I would think this system would always be around.

That's certainly odd.

I get the other 2 subchannels (WTTW & Create) in the channel listings, but I'm only OTA. I had to ferret them out and turn them on though.

I wonder why they wouldn't include them with (Chicago area) cable?

The only time that I remember WTTW making any mention of the Create channel as being available, they only mentioned Comcast cable and no other.

My experience with cable carriers have left me with the impression that they're nothing but patronizing and arrogant jerks. The fact that they aren't permitted to block out or charge a premium for local OTA HD channels as clear QAM signals to their very basic subscribers seems to have them in a snit. Maybe we should be greatful that we at least get the big six CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, PBS, FOX, and stop complaining when we don't get the lesser affiliate HD channels and or their subchannels.

The fact that they aren't permitted to block out or charge a premium for local OTA HD channels as clear QAM signals to their very basic subscribers seems to have them in a snit. Maybe we should be greatful that we at least get the big six CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, PBS, FOX, and stop complaining when we don't get the lesser affiliate HD channels and or their subchannels.

Actually, Wideopenwest requires getting their digital cable package to get the local HD channels. In other words, no clear local HD is being provided. I believe I read that the law is simply that the cable operators have to allow for access to the local HD channels. It doesn't say it has to be "free."



Mitch

The only time that I remember WTTW making any mention of the Create channel as being available, they only mentioned Comcast cable and no other.

My experience with cable carriers have left me with the impression that they're nothing but patronizing and arrogant jerks. The fact that they aren't permitted to block out or charge a premium for local OTA HD channels as clear QAM signals to their very basic subscribers seems to have them in a snit. Maybe we should be greatful that we at least get the big six CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, PBS, FOX, and stop complaining when we don't get the lesser affiliate HD channels and or their subchannels.
Perhaps the tv stations are not even sending the subchannels to the cable systems. From the subchannels I have there is not really much that the stations offer. Some have even dropped programming on their subchannels (OTA). And I can understand why the cable companies would not carry the subchannels if they did not have to. Why carry something most people will not watch or do not even know is available. At least that is the case here in Atlanta.
Michael

Last time I checked, we had Create on Comcast in this area (far NW Chicago suburb).

But if it looks anything like it's OTA counterpart, and it should, it's virtually unwatchable from artifacts. And the programming leaves a lot to be desired anyway :rolleyes: .

Last time I checked, we had Create on Comcast in this area (far NW Chicago suburb).

But if it looks anything like it's OTA counterpart, and it should, it's virtually unwatchable from artifacts. And the programming leaves a lot to be desired anyway :rolleyes: .

Awww come on, the painting shows alone are worth tuning in. Especially the one with the guy with the 'fro. Family Guy once lampooned him - at the time I didn't realize he was real. :)


Mitch

Actually, Wideopenwest requires getting their digital cable package to get the local HD channels. In other words, no clear local HD is being provided. I believe I read that the law is simply that the cable operators have to allow for access to the local HD channels. It doesn't say it has to be "free."
Title 47, Section 76.901 (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0360e918ce561d7ba2568bea5de67d31&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.14.3.1&idno=47) states: "The basic service tier shall, at a minimum, include all signals of domestic television broadcast stations provided to any subscriber ..."

In other words, if you pay for basic service (which is the minimum level of service that all subscribers pay for), then the cable operator is required by law to provide the local HD channel to you (at no additional charge, since basic service must include it, and you are already paying for basic service), unless the cable operator does not provide the local HD channel to any of their subscribers.

Basically, the law allows either one of these two situations:
1. The cable operator provides the local HD channel to all of their subscribers at no additional charge.
2. The cable operator does not provide the local HD channel to any of their subscribers.

Any situation other than these two is prohibited by the law.

I stand corrected. Thanks.
Maybe I should send my cable operator that section.


Mitch



Title 47, Section 76.901 (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=0360e918ce561d7ba2568bea5de67d31&rgn=div8&view=text&node=47:4.0.1.1.4.14.3.1&idno=47) states: "The basic service tier shall, at a minimum, include all signals of domestic television broadcast stations provided to any subscriber ..."

In other words, if you pay for basic service (which is the minimum level of service that all subscribers pay for), then the cable operator is required by law to provide the local HD channel to you (at no additional charge, since basic service must include it, and you are already paying for basic service), unless the cable operator does not provide the local HD channel to any of their subscribers.

Basically, the law allows either one of these two situations:
1. The cable operator provides the local HD channel to all of their subscribers at no additional charge.
2. The cable operator does not provide the local HD channel to any of their subscribers.

Any situation other than these two is prohibited by the law.

I'd guess it's missing from the mappings for the zip code I entered (60543). I get WREX and WQRF in the listings though. I can't actually receive those two any more though for some reason (unrelated to the Sony box). I suspect if I do a reset and put in a Chicago zip code it will resolve it. But I really don't want to have to go though all that setup again.

That's certainly odd.

I get the other 2 subchannels (WTTW & Create) in the channel listings, but I'm only OTA. I had to ferret them out and turn them on though.

I wonder why they wouldn't include them with (Chicago area) cable?

I just got 2 DHG-HDD250 from Ebay. One unit worked flawlessly, did auto setup and got the TV guide populated.

The other unit is a different story. Always comes up with Texas stations( I am in southern Cal) Doesn't respond to the MENU key on the unit nor the receiver, so I couldn't redo the setup. It responds to a few remote commands, but not all. The remote is OK since the other DHG-HDD250 unit responds to every remote commands.

I unplugged the unit, I did soft power reset ( holding 2 keys togather from the unit), but the same Texas stations still came up. The time is still off and I don't get TV guide.

Is it stuck in some mode? Is the unit defective? Should I return it?

Thanks for helping out.

I unplugged the unit, I did soft power reset ( holding 2 keys togather from the unit), but the same Texas stations still came up. The time is still off and I don't get TV guide.

Is it stuck in some mode? Is the unit defective? Should I return it?

Thanks for helping out.

I had a similar experience until I used the 9012 menu and Formatted the hard drive. The unit was then completely wiped out of useless Channels and I was able to start fresh with new information entirely. A message also came up that it had repaired a hard drive error.

I would recommend this path.

Hi There. Would you be able to offer a bit of insight on my 537711 post?

Hi There. Would you be able to offer a bit of insight on my 537711 post?

Try this:
On the remote press {TVGuide}{MENU}{GO TO SERVICE BAR}(press over to) {SETUP}{CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS}.

There you can change your Zip and the information you need to get started. Leave your recorder Off and wait to the guide to load.

I just got 2 DHG-HDD250 from Ebay. One unit worked flawlessly, did auto setup and got the TV guide populated.

The other unit is a different story. Always comes up with Texas stations( I am in southern Cal) Doesn't respond to the MENU key on the unit nor the receiver, so I couldn't redo the setup. It responds to a few remote commands, but not all. The remote is OK since the other DHG-HDD250 unit responds to every remote commands.

I unplugged the unit, I did soft power reset ( holding 2 keys togather from the unit), but the same Texas stations still came up. The time is still off and I don't get TV guide.

Is it stuck in some mode? Is the unit defective? Should I return it?

Thanks for helping out.

One possibility is that you are viewing an output that doesn't show the menus on screen. If you are connected to the Svideo or Composite (yellow) output, then the output format must be set to "SD Out". You can get to this by pressing "Format" on the remote, waiting a few seconds for it to update, and just keep going until you get to SD Out. If you are connected to an HD output (HDMI or Component), and the TV is set to SD Out, it must be changed to ANYTHING BUT "SD Out" in the same manner. The menus aren't output at the same time on both the SD and HD outputs.

Why do you deceive people. Silent running PC that are in the 4 GHz range needed to run multiple stream 1080i HDTV signals are way more expensive then $300. You are not telling the truth. Please post link to a fanless PC for $300 with 1 Gig of Ram 3.4 GHz Pentium D DVD Drive 250Gig HD (that is silent) and has Optical DD5.1 sound output and DVI compliant Video card with copy HDCP for protected content with DVXA and I will buy a few of them. Anybody else like puppyfriend to set them up with one of the Computers? I can get HDTV tuner cards for OTA MCE cheap on ebay.

You need to step out of self denial. You are clearly stuck in the late '80s in terms of where you think computer hardware is at these days. You do not need a 3.4Ghz processor to decode an HDTV signal. You can get by with an old old old school 1.6Ghz Athlon with room to spare. I started with a Celeron OC'd to 450Mhz. It was a little tight but it worked. Also, you don't need a fanless system to be quieter than a DVR by a long shot. Get a high quality PSU and make sure you don't tax it. Get one that matches the amount of power you are going to use and it will be quieter than the little jets some of these DVRs are. There's a concept called sales in the world of retail. Best Buy is clearing out eMachine T6534s right now for $188. I bought one of them for a backup. It's a A64 3700+ with 512MB of RAM and a 200GB harddisk. Overkill as an HDTV DVR. You can get the T6536 for $40 more and get 1GB and 250GB of disk. I got one of those too. Drop in a $50 HDTV tuner from buy.com and your have an HDTV DVR for $250. Go to Fry's/Outpost and get a 750GB drive when they go on sale for $150-$160 and you'll have a TB.

You sound ignorant of how the process works. As I said, I have a WinHD and two other HDTV tuners. I'm not decoding two or three streams at a time. In fact, most of the time I'm not even decoding one. The WinHD does it in hardware and outputs it through it's dedicated output. The two HDTV tuners just save the transport stream to disk for decoding later during display. At no time does it have to decode more than one stream at a time, the one I watch. It's not as if the tuners decode the TS, then recode just to save it to disk. It just grabs the stream and writes it out. Takes about 2% of the CPU on a bad day. The greatest impact is disk I/O while saving the two streams. Do you even have a clue about any of those terms you mentioned or are they just buzzwords that you found in the Sony manual?

So you can at least start to educate yourself, read these links about how to get things cheaply:
http://www.**************/forums/messageview.php?start=0&catid=18&threadid=666663
http://www.**************/forums/messageview.php?catid=18&threadid=666008

I have no particular problem with the Sony. I would buy one if I could get it for $100-$150. I'd use it as a backup. Same reason I have a ReplayTV. It's my backup since sometimes the local stations don't broadcast in HD or a storm moves in and the OTA signal is choppy.

Yes I do understand that you will get a separate lists of channel #'s with the card out then with the card in, I understand that the Comcast prgrams the card for our channel line up, as I indicated everything's been working great with the card for the past 9 months until I had a power outage.

Ok, I just checked the diagostics screen for Ch 17 with the cablecard in and
does say QAM. So now what do I check?

Unforntually Comcast techs on the phone know little about cablecards and what to do, last night I called them and it took me 10 minutes to explain I dont have their motorolla box but 2 cable cards one for tv and one for Sony. They kept saying if you have the cablecard you dont get the tv guide channel. So I go in circles with them.


So... if what you say is true:
"3) If you are on ADS, no host data can reach you via the cablecard channels. BUT, since Comcast and most major cablecos have agreements with Gemstar to pass the host data to anyone who needs it, the cablecos provide a single analog channel via the otherwise digital card to provide the guide data"

then maybe Comcast took this away and I will no longer get the tv guide with the Cablecard.

You appear to be on ADS. The only way you will get guide data via cable is to make sure Comcast is providing the necessary single analog channel for you. They do not "take away" this channel. There could be a problem with their equipment. Maybe they were affected by the power outage, too.

It's a process of elimination. You need to find the fault with Comcast, or eliminate them and go on to the next possibilities.

You have to find a way to get to a tech supervisor. It's not eay, but it can be done.

SOMEONE knows what your analog channel is. Find out.

Hey guys,

I'm getting a very loud, constant humming tone when I pause, rewind or fast forward a recorded or live (non-recorded) program. This is happening on a brand new unit (my original unit doesn't do this - it does, however, make a short 1/2 or 1 second burst of the same tone when FF, REV or Pause is selected). Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Try this:
On the remote press {TVGuide}{MENU}{GO TO SERVICE BAR}(press over to) {SETUP}{CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS}.

There you can change your Zip and the information you need to get started. Leave your recorder Off and wait to the guide to load.

Thanks. I already ran the setup and entered my zip when I started last night. It's been off since then (approx 24hrs). When I turn it back on, should the guide be partially populated, please?

Awww come on, the painting shows alone are worth tuning in. Especially the one with the guy with the 'fro. Family Guy once lampooned him - at the time I didn't realize he was real. :)


Mitch


I don't know if he is "real", but with enough psycadelic (I can't even spell this) drugs he could be!!!


His website - http://www.bobross.com/

Yes, your guide should have at least day one and the clock should have correct for the assigned zip code. If not, you may have trouble with the host channel serving the entered zip.

I stand corrected. Thanks.
Maybe I should send my cable operator that section.


Mitch

Wow is having problem providing us CBS 2 with full data. I do not think that they would even consider providing, at no extra charge, what they feel is revenue generating channels.

Awww come on, the painting shows alone are worth tuning in. Especially the one with the guy with the 'fro. Family Guy once lampooned him - at the time I didn't realize he was real. :)I think you're talking about Ross(?). His show ran on PBS for years. While he wasn't Boris or Frazetta, he was still cool as heck to me. I believe he passed away like 12-13 years ago.

Wondering -
I disconnected my 500 to move it and when I resetup (less than a minute later) my clock was wrong. No biggie.
Anyway, just for fun I thought I'd do the 9012 and 753... menus. It shows my PBS cable channel as host, 1-09, but when I tune to it and do 9012 it fails the VBI test. Is this because I just unplugged it and the data flow is interrupted til it resets the clock? I use cablecard.

I disconnected my other 500 the other day and the correct time popped back up pretty quickly. I didn't do any menu or VBI checks. Both have been working fine with the cablecards I've had in about a month.
Just curious on the VBI test, it's always showed data moving before, but I never tested it with cablecards before.

You need to step out of self denial. You are clearly stuck in the late '80s in terms of where you think computer hardware is at these days. You do not need a 3.4Ghz processor to decode an HDTV signal. You can get by with an old old old school 1.6Ghz Athlon with room to spare. I started with a Celeron OC'd to 450Mhz. It was a little tight but it worked. Also, you don't need a fanless system to be quieter than a DVR by a long shot. Get a high quality PSU and make sure you don't tax it. Get one that matches the amount of power you are going to use and it will be quieter than the little jets some of these DVRs are. There's a concept called sales in the world of retail. Best Buy is clearing out eMachine T6534s right now for $188. I bought one of them for a backup. It's a A64 3700+ with 512MB of RAM and a 200GB harddisk. Overkill as an HDTV DVR. You can get the T6536 for $40 more and get 1GB and 250GB of disk. I got one of those too. Drop in a $50 HDTV tuner from buy.com and your have an HDTV DVR for $250. Go to Fry's/Outpost and get a 750GB drive when they go on sale for $150-$160 and you'll have a TB.

You sound ignorant of how the process works. As I said, I have a WinHD and two other HDTV tuners. I'm not decoding two or three streams at a time. In fact, most of the time I'm not even decoding one. The WinHD does it in hardware and outputs it through it's dedicated output. The two HDTV tuners just save the transport stream to disk for decoding later during display. At no time does it have to decode more than one stream at a time, the one I watch. It's not as if the tuners decode the TS, then recode just to save it to disk. It just grabs the stream and writes it out. Takes about 2% of the CPU on a bad day. The greatest impact is disk I/O while saving the two streams. Do you even have a clue about any of those terms you mentioned or are they just buzzwords that you found in the Sony manual?



I have no particular problem with the Sony. I would buy one if I could get it for $100-$150. I'd use it as a backup. Same reason I have a ReplayTV. It's my backup since sometimes the local stations don't broadcast in HD or a storm moves in and the OTA signal is choppy.
While you are only factoring in hard cost (material alone) you make no mention of your time spent on building and setting up your machines as well as the money spent for gas, shipping, etc.. in order to get these parts. I guess your time has no value, but mine does and it isn't cheap. I think others feel the same way about their time as well. While we all could try and reinvent the wheel, it is not worth it for us. We each choose to do what we are good at. I choose to let the electronics manufactures do all the R&D, bear all the cost and liability to bring a HD-DVR to market. And it is not cheap to build for the average person who does not have the tech know how.
If you have such a great product, then why have I not seen it on the market. Apparently you know nothing about real world business. Just because you can build your own dvr for a couple of hundred dollars in used/discontinued/close out parts, doesn't mean that a commercial HD-DVR could be sold for the same. Has you machine passed UL listings? FCC compliant? Just because the parts pass, doesn't mean the machine as a whole will. While you may have the tech know how, I am sure that your first endeavor was not as cheap or easy to build. And if you believe that it was, then you are really not considering all your time and efforts.
Does your machine have a QAM tuner?, TVGOS or similar?, only uses 45 watts of power? Has all the required government approvals? Easy to setup and use for the average person? Warranty?. If not, then there is zero comparison between the two.
I for one can make more money in the time I would spend trying to gather parts.look for deals,and then build my own unit, which, by the way has no warranty, tech support, returns, etc.. I think most people would tend to agree with me.
Well enough said for now.
Michael

reading the banter about the HTPC vs. the standalone device and then flipping through my PC World magazine, I ran across this October 23, 2006 article. Wouldn't PC World lean toward the HTPC method? Maybe not....read this article (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127607-c,pcs/article.html)