Most of us who bought these units early are hitting the end of the 90 day parts and labor warranty (parts-alone warranty continues for up to a year).

So has anyone opened up a 250 to see if a second drive can easily be added?

I noticed the warranty text says that it is the customer's responsibility to back up the contents of the DVR before bringing it in for warranty service. Since there is no way to externally access the hard drives to do this backup, it sure seems like one would have a reasonable argument for opening the unit without voiding the warranty.

Gefen emailed me and said the new HDMI 4x1 Switcher works fine with the Sony DVR. I have one on back order and should get it in 2-3 weeks. I'll advise how it works.

Jim

Please search for postings from me and a few others in this forum. You are not alone in having this problem. However, I heard from Sony that Gemstar has fixed this problem and are uploading updated software to the Sony units. According to Sony I have the updated software now and should not see this problem again. He asked me to call him if I see the problem again.

Here is what I was asked to check to see if I have the current version:

Go to TV Guide -> Setup -> Change System Settings -> key in 753159852

Look at the line starting with 08: (second line I believe). If it starts with "08:01:42/08:06:20/" then you have the latest version that fixes the problem according to Sony.

Hope this helps...

Baskaran

Baskaran,
Did the updated software fix your problem with channels sporadically being added to the guide? I have the software version that you mention and channels have been added a few different times. I'm just wondering if anybody else is still having the problem.

Thanks.

Baskaran,
Did the updated software fix your problem with channels sporadically being added to the guide? I have the software version that you mention and channels have been added a few different times. I'm just wondering if anybody else is still having the problem.

Thanks.
yup, having the same problem of randomly added analog channels.

Has anyone encountered audio sync problems with OTA recordings? I had a sync issue with last night's episode of ABC's "Invasion." A slight sync problem occurred with "Surface" which aired Monday Sept. 19th on NBC.

After I finally got my CableCARD working, I could not download the guide, nor could the Sony set the correct time. Here is the unusual situation that caused the problem:

The card was provisioned by Comcast for ADS (Analog Digital Simulcast). This was done even though my area is not yet officially on ADS and my account does not specify ADS. But the CARD controlled this for the Sony, i.e. all of the supposedly analog channels including PBS and other guide hosts were digital as far as the Sony was concerned. The guide info could not be found, since it can only be carried on analog channels. As soon as the card was re-provisioned for no ADS, the guide began to function perfectly.

To further clarify the situation, note that I also have the Comcast 6412. For test purposes, I also hooked up my old LG 3410A DVR. The 6412 received the basic channels as analog. So did the 3410A, which downloaded it's TV Guide OK. Only the HDD500 had the basic channels as digital, and thus could not receive the TV Guide.

Maybe this information will be helpful to some of you with problems getting the guide via cable.

Baskaran,
Did the updated software fix your problem with channels sporadically being added to the guide? I have the software version that you mention and channels have been added a few different times. I'm just wondering if anybody else is still having the problem.

Thanks.

I have seen a few OTA channels added at the end of my list recently. But this time it did not scramble the list and turn on/off state of channels that I have carefully changed before. This is a definite improvement.

there is another way to monitor the VBI packets -tune to the channel you want to monitor for TVGOS VBI - hit {menu} -then on the upperleft of the remote - press {screen mode} -don't select any menu selection - just key in {9012} you will get a new list - scroll down to {TV Guide} and {select} - select G* Factory test - (don't use the G* factory default unless you want to start from scratch with the EPG) --- it will then display a color bar screen with the VBI packets being received if TVGOS is on that channel - If its not it will show VBI fail and the VBI good reading will stay at zero - usually it will show about 1 or 2 good packets per second I use this method to make sure I have no cable channels feeding TVGOS info

Wow thanks for that info. I've had problems in the past of having my antenna positioned correctly at night and I'd miss a night of listings because the signal wasn't clear enough. Now I can use this test to help align my antenna by watching the packets!

I have had the 250 GB Sony DVR for a couple of weeks now. I have been very satisfied with it so far. It would be nice if it had dual tuners, but I can live with one. I was very happy when I finally found a way to lock the video window when browsing the listings. The default setting should be locked in my opinion.

One weird thing that I have found is that Cox cable in Tulsa has some of the HD channels at 0.715, 0.718, etc. The Sony can tune to these just fine, but the TV Guide system does not support channels that begin with 0.XXX If you rent an HD box from the cable co, these channels are found in the 700 range (no 0. ) If I get a cable card will it remap 0.715 to 715? Cox requires that the cable card be "professionally installed" for $30, which sucks if you ask me.

The CableCARD will normally map channels exactly like the cable box maps them. BTW, this is the first I've heard of 0.xxx mapping. Very odd.

For all the people who bought the Radio Shack Accurian HDTV tuner, who live in south Florida and can not receive WFLX Fox 29-1 or the tube 29-2, please go to the WFLX web page and naviagte yourself to the HDTV information page. There will be a place to write to WFLX about Hi-def problems. They have not gotten more than two complaints about this problem, and are only now taking a look at it. The more of you they hear from, the more serioiusly they will look into resolving it.

Thank you, Joe

PS The people from WFLX called me today to talk about the problem I am having. they do care.

Joe,

You will probably get a better response to this post if you put it in the local HDTV broadcast forum, or start a new thread about Accurain problems.

I don't see what this issue has to do with the Sony HD PVRs.

Regards,

-phil

Sorry, I was shooting for the correct forum when I did that.

I will try again. Joe

Well the FALL Tv season is finally underway for the most part, and I'm glad I've got this bad boy to tape stuff for me. So what are people recording now that shows have started? I only have OTA, so my lineup may be a little bland:

Monday - Prison Break
Tuesday - Gilmore Girls
Wednesday - Lost
Thursday - Survivor, ER

Smallivlle also starts this week, but it runs opposite Survivor, so I'll have to watch one of those. Any good shows I'm missing that I don't have time to watch?? :)

And to tie this to the topic, I'll let you know if they all record successfully.

Finally got this.

So far disappointed that one QAM channel is not being picked up. On the other hand it's picking up many OTA HDTV channels with a thirty year old indoor antenna even as the regular OTA VHF channels are unwatchable..

Will probably have more questions but off the bat.

The clicking between getting an off air channel and a Qam channel makes me wonder if its a moving switcher making that noise and so could give out.

Also I have a Oneforall urc-6131 remote. Tried code for Sony PVR and it doesn't work (0636). Anyone know a code that would work?

No clock and certainly no TV Guide yet.

One very strange.

On QAM the local NBC HD channel is coming in on channel 0. Just plain 0

What is the deal with these weird channel assignments by the cable companies? In Tulsa the HD channels come in on 0.715, 0.718, etc. Except for the local NBC affiliate. Their HD channel is 2.1, just like it is over the air.

So what are people recording now that shows have started?

Rome, Desperate Housewives, Gray's Anatomy, Arrested Development, Bones, House, Veronica Mars, Smallville, ER.

I also have a (SD) TiVo for backup/conflicts: Alias, Gilmore GIrls.

Smallivlle also starts this week, but it runs opposite Survivor, so I'll have to watch one of those. Any good shows I'm missing that I don't have time to watch?? :)

Survivor v. Smallville? Is there even a choice? Smallville is broadcast in HD and Survivor isn't.

there is another way to monitor the VBI packets -tune to the channel you want to monitor for TVGOS VBI - hit {menu} -then on the upperleft of the remote - press {screen mode} -don't select any menu selection - just key in {9012} you will get a new list - scroll down to {TV Guide} and {select} - select G* Factory test - (don't use the G* factory default unless you want to start from scratch with the EPG) --- it will then display a color bar screen with the VBI packets being received if TVGOS is on that channel - If its not it will show VBI fail and the VBI good reading will stay at zero - usually it will show about 1 or 2 good packets per second I use this method to make sure I have no cable channels feeding TVGOS info
Looks like my TV guide channel listing is trying to download thru my local PBS channel (as near as I can tell from some of the diagnostic tools mentioned). Analog channel on my cable system (Charter Communications). Not having any luck with the listing downloading. Sounds like you have lots of experience. Any suggestions?

Lots of Discovery-HD. I only have basic cable and I am afraid they are going to start scrambling my Discovery channel any day now. :p

My tuner picks up the odd 480i movie on demand: last Saturday I got "Titanic" and "Alexander" for some reason on channels 91.52 and 90.1 (TWC in NYC).

I am very happy with this unit so far. If it were only $200 cheaper I would be ecstatic.

Looks like my TV guide channel listing is trying to download thru my local PBS channel (as near as I can tell from some of the diagnostic tools mentioned). Analog channel on my cable system (Charter Communications). Not having any luck with the listing downloading. Sounds like you have lots of experience. Any suggestions?see my post #713 - "turning off" PBS analog channel on the cable did force the TVGOS to update from the OTA PBS analog and eveything worked great for about 5 days - just in case someone else has had this problem- I'll post here what is going on now - the unit crashed and the EPG hasn't worked since -not even the time display would show any time -- I think it is an unrecoverable firmware problem in my particular unit - after several days and calls to sony during which they told me to send my unit (in warrantee) across the country at my expense so they could check it (for up to 30 days-maybe longer ) I went over to walmart who was the only retailer in this area selling a tvgos equipped device - bought the Pioneer cheapo 531HS hooked it to the antenna and within 3 hours had all the OTA channel lineup and correct time --I plugged the Sony HDD550 back in (after 3 hours uplugged)- connected to the antenna and cable and it has for 3 days -displayed a time 3 hours and 24 minutes fast and no EPG channel list - however both units show the correct GMT (Universal time) on the "753159852" TVGOS System Info screen - the working Pioneer shows a version 08.01.53 - build June 1, 2005 -ID 10578-V171218-etc - the non working sony shows 08.01.42 - build Jan 21, 2005 -ID 88578-V375621-etc
- does anyone know if the sony is using obsolete firmware? - Sony claims they have not updated the firmware/software since introduction - yeh- right !!!
Quote:from post #713 - for reference:
Originally Posted by bestlab
I was told today that since I was having trouble getting the EPG to work when connected to cable and Ant - that if I reset the TV guide to g*default using the {9012} menu access - then used setup to specify only Ant and let it load - which it did - and then use Guide setup to add the cable to the setup - it would then reload - but use the OTA antenna station as default VBI source instead of the cable - and allow me to get cable listings on the screen - using the OTA VBI ;source. I think I tried this about a week ago without success - and today it seems to be still using the cable channel for update - (i.e not working) - This was in response to my vehement demand that if there was a way to prioritize the acquistion to the OTA signal - while allowing the EPG to display cable listings ---that would solve my and no listing and "crashing" every 72 hours or so -epg problems -
Does anyone else have experience using this method successfully?-it's supposed to tell the unit to look on the antenna first - I know the antenna has a good VBI - by using the G*test function REPLY ---
I marked the cable version of the PBS channel as "don't receive" and then redid the TVGOS setup.

Survivor v. Smallville? Is there even a choice? Smallville is broadcast in HD and Survivor isn't.

The wife likes Survivor though, and I can download Smallville in Divx and watch it on the phillips, which is almost as good as HD. :)

[QUOTE=philspice1] I have found is that Cox cable in Tulsa has some of the HD channels at 0.715, 0.718, etc. The Sony can tune to these just fine, but the TV Guide system does not support channels that begin with 0.XXX If you rent an HD box from the cable co, these channels are found in the 700 range (no 0. ) If I get a cable card will it remap 0.715 to 715? Cox requires that the cable card be "professionally installed" for $30, which sucks if you ask me.



I live in Northern Virginia and have Cox cable. I am using a cable card and all the high def channels will be remapped without a zero and decimal - in the 700s

Yep,
All the fall recording working flawless on my HDD500,
CSI,Surface,Invasion,Threshold,Commander and chief.

Yep,
All the fall recording working flawless on my HDD500,
CSI,Surface,Invasion,Threshold,Commander and chief.

How are all the new alien shows? I watched previews for all of them, but none excited me. I want real aliens attacking earth, not using biowarfare or anything silly. Good old Space: Above and Beyond kind of stuff.

As for "new" shows I want to give a nod to Prison Break. So far it's great, don't know how it will fare over a season or two, but I like it.

.
.
.
Smallville is broadcast in HD and Survivor isn't.

yeah, and this is SO unfortunate!! I can't believe they're not doing survivor in HD yet - they claimed the hd cameras are more delicate, but so what?? They aren't making enough money on that show??

And to get this thread back on topic, I noticed that the hdd500 seems to be able to handle 2 different remote codes, so you can have 2 units, so I've been thinking about getting a second one...I already have the lg 3410a, for 2 hd recorders, but I have FIVE things on at the same time now on thursdays (thanks to the **$%& that moved smallville and alias both to 8pm thursdays!) so now I can only record 2 of the 4 shows that are in hd (survivor being the 5th), and let my replaytv units record the other 3 shows...

Anyway, does anyone have 2 of these sony units, and see that the separate remote codes work fine?

Clock and guide downloaded the first night off cable PBS.

Found all Qam channels. Getting just broadcast HD but that's what I expected.

Picture is great.

Even found, by trial and error, a code for the oneforall remote. Gives me previous channel.

Recorded and watched several shows. Nice.

The bad.

The second day (after it's first overnight download of TV Guide), when I turned on the unit, it froze. Didn't respond except to channel change which took about 30 seconds to change. I unplugged unit and it reset and was OK. Might have been my fault for toying with it before it completely booted. Happened only once. OK since.

Warning. I was trying the different buttons on the oneforall universal remote. When I hit "mute", to see what it would do, it immediately crashed the Sony. Got some kind of fatal hard drive error message and the unit reset itself. Is that the message one gets on a reset? If so, I found a way to reset from a remote. If not, I just did something stupid. Hopefully with no damage. No damage seen so far.

Oddity. The Tonight show, and Conan, show up named in the Guide but there is no info on them and can't record by TV Guide. Happened on both nights. Anyone else?

I was very happy when I finally found a way to lock the video window when browsing the listings. The default setting should be locked in my opinion.

OK, what's the trick? I've been looking for just such a setting.

Even found, by trial and error, a code for the oneforall remote. Gives me previous channel.

Warning. I was trying the different buttons on the oneforall universal remote. When I hit "mute", to see what it would do, it immediately crashed the Sony. Got some kind of fatal hard drive error message and the unit reset itself. Is that the message one gets on a reset? If so, I found a way to reset from a remote. If not, I just did something stupid. Hopefully with no damage. No damage seen so far.



What is that code, please?

Thanks for the mute warning. If your remote can learn from IR you may want to overwrite the mute function with the mute code from your TV.

-phil

OK, what's the trick? I've been looking for just such a setting.
Please see page 61 of the manual:

http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/DHGHDD250_manual.pdf

-phil

What is that code, please?


This was by trial and error (using "searching for your code 9-9-1) . I was only able to get it to work on the cable/satellite button, not PVR.

From reading how many times it blinks, I believe the code is 1006.

I was only able to get it to work on the cable/satellite button, not PVR.

From reading how many times it blinks, I believe the code is 1006.

That code sounds reasonable. Some of the one for all remotes use code 1006 for a Sony cable box.

-phil

Since one can program this with a second remote code (Page 36) maybe someone can find another oneforall code.

Is there a way to set this unit so that when it is turned on it tunes to the last channel rather then the TV Guide Screen?

Is there a way to set this unit so that when it is turned on it tunes to the last channel rather then the TV Guide Screen?

Yes, see the bottom of page 69 in the manual regarding thte Auto-Guide feature.

http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/DHGHDD250_manual.pdf

-phil

Thanks

Ruidh,

To lock the video window while browsing the listings, highlight "Listings" on the "Service Bar" and press Menu. That will call up a small menu below the video window with an option for the video to be locked or unlocked. The channel changing drove me nuts until I found this setting.

How are all the new alien shows? I watched previews for all of them, but none excited me. I want real aliens attacking earth, not using biowarfare or anything silly. Good old Space: Above and Beyond kind of stuff.

As for "new" shows I want to give a nod to Prison Break. So far it's great, don't know how it will fare over a season or two, but I like it.


I love all the alien/super natural stuff this year. Must have been inspired from last years lost. So far Im liking them all but based on past years some will probably get the axe. They are all really well done and them being in HD makes them that much better :D

The DHG-HDDxxx use the same remote codes as stand-alone Sony TiVo units.

"TV Guide" and "Tuner" Nightmares.

About three weeks ago I purchased a Mit's WD-52628 1080p set.....stunning picture.......but when you turn on the TV Guide system, within a couple of days (if not just a few short hours) the TV becomes possesed and loses it's mind........setting up so many duplicate and triplicate channels that you can no longer get the station you want!..............after you "reset" the TV ( I have done this several times now) and leave the TV Guide system off, the tuners in the set work fine (does not add multiple bogus stations)

There are now so many good OTA HD shows on each night, we wanted to add the Sony HD recorder..............and I thought I would use the Sony's TV Guide system............then I saw the post(s) here..................WOW same problems (maybe not quite as bad as what I have with the MITs) additional bogus stations are set up.

I am beginning to think that the TV Guide system does not work correctly with ANY of the new TV sets or recording equipment.

It looks to me like all the companies have rushed this stuff to the field without testing it. In three weeks I have owned this very expensive TV I have gotten nothing but the run around.

Does anyone on the Forum have any information that may help?

The DHG-HDDxxx use the same remote codes as stand-alone Sony TiVo units.

Daniel,
I added the Sony SVR-2000 as a PVR device on my Harmony 659 remote, but it doesn't control anything on my DHG-HDD250. The SVR-2000 was the model number I found for the stand-alone Sony TiVo by searching the Web. Are you aware of any other model number that I can try, or any other way to get the previous channel code into my Harmony remote?

Thanks.

"TV Guide" and "Tuner" Nightmares.

About three weeks ago I purchased a Mit's WD-52628 1080p set.....stunning picture.......but when you turn on the TV Guide system, within a couple of days (if not just a few short hours) the TV becomes possesed and loses it's mind........setting up so many duplicate and triplicate channels that you can no longer get the station you want!..............after you "reset" the TV ( I have done this several times now) and leave the TV Guide system off, the tuners in the set work fine (does not add multiple bogus stations)

There are now so many good OTA HD shows on each night, we wanted to add the Sony HD recorder..............and I thought I would use the Sony's TV Guide system............then I saw the post(s) here..................WOW same problems (maybe not quite as bad as what I have with the MITs) additional bogus stations are set up.

I am beginning to think that the TV Guide system does not work correctly with ANY of the new TV sets or recording equipment.

It looks to me like all the companies have rushed this stuff to the field without testing it. In three weeks I have owned this very expensive TV I have gotten nothing but the run around.

Does anyone on the Forum have any information that may help?

I'm strictly OTA and have not had any problems at all with my Sony DVR. From following this thread it seems that most problems are affecting people who get the TVGOS data through cable.

"TV Guide" and "Tuner" Nightmares.

It looks to me like all the companies have rushed this stuff to the field without testing it. In three weeks I have owned this very expensive TV I have gotten nothing but the run around.

Does anyone on the Forum have any information that may help?

What does your TV have to do with the sony box? They're completely different animals.

Looks like Gemstar (GMST)[TVGuide] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GMST&annual --
is hanging on by its toenails - maybe Sony, Pioneer etal have some plan- I hope so!

What does your TV have to do with the sony box? They're completely different animals.

Because my new high price TV is having the same problem listed in this thread.....the TV Guide and the tuner do not work well together........so this is not just a Sony/TV Guide problem it is also a Mit's/TV-Guide problem...........specificantly the part about setting up bogus stations.

I'm strictly OTA and have not had any problems at all with my Sony DVR. From following this thread it seems that most problems are affecting people who get the TVGOS data through cable.
Not quite true. My DHG-HDD250 OTA-only has added a few random analog channels at the end of the Guide. They are real stations, but very weak. I turn them off and they come back. The main body of stations are fine, the guide and DVR work fine, and the picture quality is extraordinary. I have done an extensie side-by side comparison with the Dish 942, which is their latest HD DVR. The Sony has a stronger and more stable OTA tuner and the random wierd guide issues are about the same. The difference on the Sony is the guide is free!

Not quite true. My DHG-HDD250 OTA-only has added a few random analog channels at the end of the Guide. They are real stations, but very weak. I turn them off and they come back. The main body of stations are fine, the guide and DVR work fine, and the picture quality is extraordinary. I have done an extensie side-by side comparison with the Dish 942, which is their latest HD DVR. The Sony has a stronger and more stable OTA tuner and the random wierd guide issues are about the same. The difference on the Sony is the guide is free!

That's why I said most ;-)

Looks like Gemstar (GMST)[TVGuide] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GMST&annual --
is hanging on by its toenails - maybe Sony, Pioneer etal have some plan- I hope so!


I don't know. It looks to me like Gemstar has made a pretty good turn around improving from a $6.4 Billion operating loss three years ago to a $94.4 Million operating loss last year.

My worry about guide data is what will happen once the PBS analog broadcasts are shut off. Hopefully Gemstar and Sony have a plan for converting our boxes (and all the other TVGOS capable receivers out there) to get their data from the ATSC broadcast signal.

-phil

Looks like Gemstar (GMST)[TVGuide] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=GMST&annual --
is hanging on by its toenails - maybe Sony, Pioneer etal have some plan- I hope so! I don't know. It looks to me like Gemstar has made a pretty good turn around improving from a $6.4 Billion operating loss three years ago to a $94.4 Million operating loss last year. -
My worry about guide data is what will happen once the PBS analog broadcasts are shut off. Hopefully Gemstar and Sony have a plan for converting our boxes (and all the other TVGOS capable receivers out there) to get their data from the ATSC broadcast signal.-philthat 6.4 billion is 5 times the current market cap for GMST
I was relating the recurring losses to the book value of only $300 million - including "goodwill and intangiible assets" $530 mil -
"net tangible assets" of negative $135 million (bankrupt?)-
the stock price slide from $75 to $3 presently over the last 5 years seems to confirm a skeptical outlook -
I noticed that the sony has ATSC packets received on the TVGOS system info screens - I'd hope they will implement PSIP TVGOS data with a gemstar download when necessary - Hopefully

From what I have heard, part of Gemstar's trouble is the declining sales of TV Guide magazines. That is why they just did (or are planning to do) a major revamp of the magazine. Supposedly, their sales are down because more and more people get their tv listings on a cable or satellite EPG or online.

Has anyone else experienced audio dropouts when using the optical output to a surround receiver? I have noticed this phenomenon with other HD products such as a Samsung HD receiver and the Motorola HD DVR I used to rent from the cable co. I have never had this problem with any DVD player or a regular digital cable box. Is this common on all HD receivers?

Grrrrrrr!

The Sony dropped my scheduled recordings for Bones and House last night. They were just gone off the scheduled recordings list. I didn't notice until Bones was halfway over.

Very pissed here. Anyone else missed recordings? Ever figured out why?
I have had programs drop from time to time too. Lately, I have had to check daily at the scheduled recordings to make sure that the list stays accurate. Shouldn't have to do it with
a $700+ piece of equipment but what can I say?

Has anyone else experienced audio dropouts when using the optical output to a surround receiver? I have noticed this phenomenon with other HD products such as a Samsung HD receiver and the Motorola HD DVR I used to rent from the cable co. I have never had this problem with any DVD player or a regular digital cable box. Is this common on all HD receivers?
I have not only experienced dropouts from time to time but I have also witnessed audio sync problems. The audio sometimes lags behind the lips of the characters onscreen.

Is there an input for an antenna on the DHG HDD500 so i can record OTA Hi-DEF signals?Also,does it have a tuner in it necessary to do that,or would i have to get a stb?

Is there an input for an antenna on the DHG HDD500 so i can record OTA Hi-DEF signals?Also,does it have a tuner in it necessary to do that,or would i have to get a stb?
Yes to both questions

Where did some of you get your DGH HDD500 players.The reason i ask,is because i don't want to buy from a site that may be a fake site and lose that much money. I still might get a jvcd-vhs instead.Not sure yet. Also, on the dgh hdd500.can i record a football game and EDIT it so i just end up with my favorite plays from the game instead of having to keep the whole game?I want to be able to record hi def and in the future,record it to HD-DVD,but HD DVD players probably won't have component or HDMI inputs.

on the dgh hdd500.can i record a football game and EDIT it so i just end up with my favorite plays from the game instead of having to keep the whole game?I want to be able to record hi def and in the future,record it to HD-DVD,.The HDCP will probably keep you from making a HiDef copy from the Sony - During playback - pressing the Select function leaves a Chapter mark on the recording - I don't know how many - they could be used to manually jump over commercial and boring stuff - but as far as I know there is no Editing of the HD "Episode" on the Hard Drive - and any edited copy would be HQ-SD at best. - I bought mine from J&R thru Amazon and as far as I can tell from reading the warrantee - If you have a receipt and the unit wasn't "as-is" you're covered. Amazon lowered their price to match - so they are as cheap as anyone I know of. about $800 with shipping for the 500

I am thinking about getting the Sony HD Recorder and have a couple of questions:

1. Can you set the system up and leave the TV Guide system turned "off" and still set up a recording list with dates, times, channels etc. (just like the old VHS recorders)?

2. If you do turn on the TV Guide system and it screws up the internal tuners, is there a system reset to clear everything out?

3. Are you able to record 2 HD channels at the same time - perhaps from the "recorders" tuner and the "TV's" turner?

4. Have you received a software upgrade from Sony? If so, what is the software version and was it installed via the USB port?

I am thinking about getting the Sony HD Recorder and have a couple of questions:

1. Can you set the system up and leave the TV Guide system turned "off" and still set up a recording list with dates, times, channels etc. (just like the old VHS recorders)?

2. If you do turn on the TV Guide system and it screws up the internal tuners, is there a system reset to clear everything out?

3. Are you able to record 2 HD channels at the same time - perhaps from the "recorders" tuner and the "TV's" turner?

4. Have you received a software upgrade from Sony? If so, what is the software version and was it installed via the USB port?

1. You can set manual recordings only once you get the correct time delivered over the TV signal. There is no way to manually set the clock. However all manual recordings show up as 'Unknown' in the recording listsings and there is no way to change the title. You'd have a hard time finding things you recorded.

2. There is a reset and if you search this post I believe you can find the remote codes to do that.

3. You can only record one at a time. There is only a cable and an antenna input on the back.

4. I've received no software updates. I haven't needed any so far anyway.

Bestlab writes-----The HDCP will probably keep you from making a HiDef copy from the Sony - During playback -


I thought HDCP only applied to Hollywood movies.If i record OTA football on DGH-HDD500 or even a D-VHS vcr,shouldn't i be able to transfer it to HD DVD? I thought the big fight with movie studios was preventing Hollywood movies ONLY from being copied and not OTA football or regular tv shows.

I thought HDCP only applied to Hollywood movies..HDCP as I understand it is a hardware handshake that keeps any device not identifyable as display -eg - a nasty HD recorder - from getting any HiDef signal from a HDMI/DVI port - - It is also illegal to make a device to "correct" that - or to make one that allows recording of the Component HD 720/1080 signal -gotcha!

I have had programs drop from time to time too. Lately, I have had to check daily at the scheduled recordings to make sure that the list stays accurate. Shouldn't have to do it with
a $700+ piece of equipment but what can I say?

Worthless comes to mind. Guess it'll be a long wait for next year's model.

Daniel,
I added the Sony SVR-2000 as a PVR device on my Harmony 659 remote, but it doesn't control anything on my DHG-HDD250. The SVR-2000 was the model number I found for the stand-alone Sony TiVo by searching the Web. Are you aware of any other model number that I can try, or any other way to get the previous channel code into my Harmony remote?

Thanks.
I had the same problem. Called Harmony, they diagnosed the problem as a non-compatible language. The tech devised a fix, ran it through their simulator, and had me download the fix via the update button. During the call the tech also suggested customization of the remote that would allow my other components to run a little smoother. All components now work great. Apparently Harmony has techs answering phones during business hours, WOW!

It is also illegal to make a device to "correct" that - or to make one that allows recording of the Component HD 720/1080 signal -gotcha!


So i guess i'd have to use s-video to record HD.

I had the same problem. Called Harmony, they diagnosed the problem as a non-compatible language. The tech devised a fix, ran it through their simulator, and had me download the fix via the update button. During the call the tech also suggested customization of the remote that would allow my other components to run a little smoother. All components now work great. Apparently Harmony has techs answering phones during business hours, WOW!

Thanks for the response Belle View. Initially, I just had the Harmony learn all of the codes for the DHG-HDD250 from the factory remote since their online database didn't have any working codes. I'm fine with it, I'd just like to add the previous channel. When the Harmony tech devised a fix for you, was it to the codes meant for one of the stand-alone Sony TiVo DVRs (if so, which model), or was it to the DHG-HDD250 itself? If the fix was to the DHG-HDD250, does it include the previous channel code, because the factory remote doesn't even have it.

Thanks.

Thanks for the response Belle View. Initially, I just had the Harmony learn all of the codes for the DHG-HDD250 from the factory remote since their online database didn't have any working codes. I'm fine with it, I'd just like to add the previous channel. When the Harmony tech devised a fix for you, was it to the codes meant for one of the stand-alone Sony TiVo DVRs (if so, which model), or was it to the DHG-HDD250 itself? If the fix was to the DHG-HDD250, does it include the previous channel code, because the factory remote doesn't even have it.

Thanks.
Once the core problem was resolved all the available commands appeared in the options menu. This allows me to choose which commands I can access for the TV, Receiver and PVR. One of the many commands available is the previous channel (if I recall correctly). Remember, for mute you will want the command to go through your TV or receiver. When you open the customization screen you will see all commands available for each of the affected components, so you will choose mute under the receiver and previous channel under the PVR. The commands are for the DHG-HDDXXX

Just an upfront warning, I dont know if TVguide uses the same data in every market but they have LOST wrong on wednesday as it shows a different program in the LOST time slot. I think this could be the reason some people miss programs as the data in the TVguide may not be correct. Also, I dont see where you can manually put the time in when its wrong. Is there a spot somewhere where you can do this?

On a similar note, I have yet to receive the TV Guide listings. I manually set up some recording, but where do I manually set the system time?

On a similar note, I have yet to receive the TV Guide listings. I manually set up some recording, but where do I manually set the system time?Sorry give to you the BAD news - but you can't - it will always be from 12am 1/1/2004 plus the time since you plugged it in - Sony wont let you set the time, date , or tune an unscanned channel- manually--Look back thru the thread for kluges to get the TG Guide to respond - (I put some in the low #700s) #714 as I recall see also #771 - Mine quit working - Sony has it now -

Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? I had mine set to record Commander in Chief on ABC which it did fine last week but the scheduled event to record the next episode was not listed. Tonight I rescheduled it and again it disappeared later this evening. I can't figure out any reason for this. Normally if there is a conflict, the event will still be listed, but grayed out. I think this may only be happening on ABC but I'm not 100% sure about that yet.

This week's issue: A new error message appeared while watching a recorded program.

"A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all cable services at this time. Please call your cable operator and report error code 161-4 to have the problem resolved."

Of course, Cablevision has no clue what this error code meant. As far as I could see all my usual channels were available including my premium channels. Thet had me shut down the device, remiove the cablecard, read them the number on the card and reinsert it. Of course, removing and reinserting caused TVGOS to rebuild the channels losing all of my order and on/off settings.

Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? I had mine set to record Commander in Chief on ABC which it did fine last week but the scheduled event to record the next episode was not listed. Tonight I rescheduled it and again it disappeared later this evening. I can't figure out any reason for this. Normally if there is a conflict, the event will still be listed, but grayed out. I think this may only be happening on ABC but I'm not 100% sure about that yet.

I've had shows recording cancelled before. I used to set up shows to record "regularly" hoping that it would work like a TivO and get all episodes of a show. But that caused recording conflicts and I think that the recordings I missed were when there were conflicts that the usit wouldn't resolve.

I don't think that conflicts work the way you think they do. I've seen grayed out items when the show isn't on the schedule. For example, there are no Bones and House for the next few weeks while Fox shows the playoffs and world series. My Tuesday night recordings showed greyed out and I was able to schedule Gilmore Girls on Tuesday. But, when Bones and House return on Nov 1, I expect the conflict to knock something off my schedule. I think I'll see all my Tuesday conflicts removed and I'll have to tell it to get one or the other.

Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? ......it disappeared

I don't have your problem [yet] but have what may be a variant of a similar issue.

I'm not using a cablecard, just the QAM tuner.

NBC is on channel 0 (zero).

The programs show up in the guide. I can record them if I schedule ahead of time.

BUT, the second a program starts, it loses its info. If I press info, I get the channel but also "unknown program". I can no longer record the program using the guide but only as an "unknown".

Only on NBC.

"A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all cable services at this time. Please call your cable operator and report error code 161-4 to have the problem resolved."

I have a Sony RP-LCD and had a cable card for it for a while just to test to see if I would get a 161-* error. Some people have had firmware updates while others have had cable card tuners replaced. I didn't have any problems.

The first thing I'd check is the signal. In other posts I've read, cable cards require good signals and maybe stronger signals than what is normally needed. Do a search on "Sony 161" for more information.

Hope this helps,

Alan

Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? .I read on another forum that an H10 HD DVR (dish?) does something similar when using the HDMI (supposedly incorrectly checking to see if the TV is powered up) - In that case - using the component output and leaving the HDMI disconnected stopped the problem - I notice that the manual for the HDD500 says the component outputs only work if the HDMI is disconnected - maybe there is some fouled-up software that using component instead of HDMI would work around.

Sorry give to you the BAD news - but you can't - it will always be from 12am 1/1/2004 plus the time since you plugged it in - Sony wont let you set the time, date , or tune an unscanned channel- manually--Look back thru the thread for kluges to get the TG Guide to respond - (I put some in the low #700s) #714 as I recall see also #771 - Mine quit working - Sony has it now -

That sucks big time! Still no guide, either.

It's difficult to tell who is using OTA or cable while reading some of these posts with guide problems. So, just in case you have cable (with or without CableCARD) and cannot get any guide data, I'll remind you of this previous post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6238074&&#post6238074

Mentioning OTA, cable, CC, and putting your location in your profile would make it a lot easier for others to help you. :)

It's difficult to tell who is using OTA or cable while reading some of these posts with guide problems. Mentioning OTA, cable, CC, and putting your location in your profile would make it a lot easier for others to help you. :)-When I talked to the Comcast head-end here in 974xx they said they have no TVGuide insertion equipment - any signal would have to be a pass through from the broadcaster - which apparently isn't happening - The PBS affiliate engineer told me that if the video signal is run through a proc amp (rebuilds the VBI) the data will possibly be lost. -proc amps are common in head-end operations - where local ads are inserted etc..

That sucks big time! Still no guide, either.


As PhillyC stated, it would be helpful if we knew whether you are using the DHG-HDD for OTA only or cable recording.

I'd suggest you call your local PBS station engineering dept. and ask them if they are broadcasting the Gemstart guide data. If so, make sure your DHG-HDD is set up to tune that channel.

If you're only hooked up to cable, then try hooking up an antenna (rabbit ears may be adequate) to see if you get the time and guide data.

-phil

Hi all,

I've read a couple of posts in this thread about having copy protection issues that prevent you from recording HD programs when using the CableCARD. Does anyone know if that's an across-the-board thing, or just happening with a handful of cable providers? Also, has anyone heard of this happening with other components that rely on CableCARD to receive/record HD (ex Toshiba TV with Symbio recorder)? Any info greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Looks like Sony is paying some attention to the TVGOS problems. I found this in the support section of the Sony website.

Knowledge Article C394733

The TV Guide On Screen™ set up is complete, but the program guide information is not showing.


After completing the TV Guide On Screen™ set up, program guide information will not immediately be available. It may take up to 24 hours after the set up is complete before program guide information begins to appear. This is normal, however, be sure that no cable or DSS set-top box is connected, because this can interfere with the TV Guide signal.

NOTE: It may take longer than 24 hours after the set up is complete for some program guide information to become available.

IMPORTANT: For customers in the Dallas area only: The TV Guide On Screen™ information is broadcast on channel 13 which is on the A-feed. Select the A-feed then turn off the Digital Network Recorder to collect the guide data.

IMPORTANT: For customers in the state of New York only: The TV Guide On Screen™ information is not currently available if using Cablevision cable service. Contact your service provider for further information.

anyone tried to add another 250GB hard-drive to hdd250 model? seems like the hdd500 has two 250GB hard-disks i think.

*btw, hi-def contents are recorded in mpeg-2??? i wish i could make-use of the USB port to burn few hi-def dvds! :)

-When I talked to the Comcast head-end here in 974xx they said they have no TVGuide insertion equipment - any signal would have to be a pass through from the broadcaster - which apparently isn't happening - The PBS affiliate engineer told me that if the video signal is run through a proc amp (rebuilds the VBI) the data will possibly be lost. -proc amps are common in head-end operations - where local ads are inserted etc..

I have seen a couple of internal Comcast memos that address TVG problems. They were shown to me confidentially, so I cannot reproduce them here. One of them was dated early in 2005, so Comcast has long been aware of this issue at some level of the company.

The way I understand it, the Gemstar equipment resides at the local station, such as PBS. Comcast should have no trouble passing the VBI part of the broadcast signal on an analog channel, except when your home setup involves passing that channel through a digital-only box (like the DCT-700) or a DVR (like the 6412), which internally changes the signal to digital so it can be recorded on the HDD. Yes, the cableco may lose the Guide data if such a signal passes through certain equipment (edge decoders) at the headend, but that equipment can be bypassed in the case of the Guide host channels.

Comcast has an agreement with TVG to figure out how to pass the Guide data in all possible scenarios. TVG has agreed to render technical assistance as needed. Comcast is also working with Motorola with regard to the DVR's and digital boxes.

Eventually, the encoders, edge decoders, and set top boxes will all have to be upgraded. Also, when cablecos go totally digital, they will need to maintain one or two analog versions of host channels. I heard a while ago in these forums that TVG was working to come up with data generation equipment that is all digital, but the Comcast memos do not address this at all. Nor do we know if our current consumer units would work with such future digital equipment.

The bottom line is that Comcast is well aware of all the Guide issues, has a plan to address them, and is working with TVG all along the way. The wheels, however, turn slowly.

I wonder if you can install a bigger hard drive in the future in the DHGhdd.Like if they come out with a 500GB hard drive.Is a computer hard drive the same as the hard drives in DVR'S?

anyone tried to add another 250GB hard-drive to hdd250 model? seems like the hdd500 has two 250GB hard-disks i think.

*btw, hi-def contents are recorded in mpeg-2??? i wish i could make-use of the USB port to burn few hi-def dvds! :)
It does have (2) 250GB hard drives.

My 250HDD is randomly dropping scheduled recordings. Seems to be confined to my CBS HD channel. I receive my HD channel over cable and I do not use CableCard. I schedule all of Monday nights CBS HD schedule and it will remain on the schedule thru Sunday. When I check on Monday, usually 3 shows have been dropped from scheduled recordings list. Other shows are dropped on other nights as well. It seems to drop them on the day they are to record.

I've only had my unit for about 5 weeks and I am still collecting data to see if there is some kind of pattern. Will update post if I discover anything.

My 250HDD is randomly dropping scheduled recordings.

What do you see in Recording History?

My 250HDD is randomly dropping scheduled recordings. Seems to be confined to my CBS HD channel. I receive my HD channel over cable and I do not use CableCard. I schedule all of Monday nights CBS HD schedule and it will remain on the schedule thru Sunday. When I check on Monday, usually 3 shows have been dropped from scheduled recordings list. Other shows are dropped on other nights as well. It seems to drop them on the day they are to record.

I've only had my unit for about 5 weeks and I am still collecting data to see if there is some kind of pattern. Will update post if I discover anything.
My unit dropped this week's episodes of "Lost" and "Invasion." They are both scheduled weekly and I checked as late as 2p.m. EST to verify that they were still listed. Good thing they will repeat on Saturday. I will try again as once-only scheduled recordings. The weekly recordings seem to be more prone to taking the hit than the once-only ones.

Recording Hist shows everything I have recorded, but I rescheduled all dropped recordings as I noticed they were gone.

My unit dropped this week's episodes of "Lost" and "Invasion." They are both scheduled weekly and I checked as late as 2p.m. EST to verify that they were still listed. Good thing they will repeat on Saturday. I will try again as once-only scheduled recordings. The weekly recordings seem to be more prone to taking the hit than the once-only ones.

I stated this in another thread that this is not the fault of the recorder itself but the TV guide data was wrong, LOST was wrong in my TV guide data this week so I put it in manually. Im sure this is what probably happened to you as well. Although in my market Invasion was still correct.

Wow.. I was just googled "Sony HDD500 Linux" and noticed that Sony posted the source code.

Doh.. I cant post the URL (still a newby)

Anyway, you can do the search and see..

Cheers,
-Kevin

Hmm. Did they also post a way to get the firmware onto the box?

I stated this in another thread that this is not the fault of the recorder itself but the TV guide data was wrong, LOST was wrong in my TV guide data this week so I put it in manually. Im sure this is what probably happened to you as well. Although in my market Invasion was still correct.
Thank you for that info. There's hope for this unit afterall.

Well, it took 3 days to get the system time, and another 3 days to get the TV guide. At least I'm moving forward. At some point I'd like to pull the plug on cable, but I'll need to confirm that I can get the guide off the antenna. How do I find out which station is transmitting the TV guide information?

my unit is still with Sony for repair but I recall this works ok--This info on post #740 :-
Diagnostics screen: go to the main Guide Setup menu (the one with three options). Move the cursor highlight over the first option, "Change System Settings" but do NOT hit Select. Type in the number "753159852". You'll now be in the diagnostics menu... use up/down to select category, and left/right to see other screens. When you first enter the menu, if you hit RIGHT you can see what Host Channel it's using (ignore the VBI Channel, that seems to just be the last channel you were on before entering). Most of the screens won't be particularly useful, but there's one where you can see your Guide packet decoding statistics and, if you tuned the Host channel before entering diagnostics, you can see live decoding statistics.
__________________

I guess I've been here long enough - I suppose this is the link
http://products.sel.sony.com/opensource/source.shtml#HDD250-550
or http://products.sel.sony.com/opensource/source_settop.shtml
and these seem to be the relevant code -Any one know which ones are useful/useless
Open Source Code 05 Set Top Box
DHG-HDD250, DHG-HDD500
GPL Monta Vista Linux Kernel (28.9 MB)
busybox (683 KB)
gnupg (3.48 MB)
xfsprogs (1.33 MB)
LGPL libuClibc.so (2.95 MB)
ld.so, libc.so, libm.so (15.8 MB)
libpthread.so (221 KB)
libgcc_s.so, libstdc++.so (25.8 MB)

Sony is providing the source code for certain open source software components used within the DVR in compliance with the GPL and LGPL license terms. But naturally Sony is not providing the source code for the Sony-proprietary DVR software itself. My understanding is that they are not required to release the proprietary portions as long as they maintain a clear separation between their code and the open source code. Usually, this means using shared libraries, a modular kernel, and not statically linking with open source code.

It would not be possible for someone to download these materials and make their own customized version of the DHG-HDDxxx firmware. One could glean a little insight into the internal architecture of the DVR and replicate some of the execution environment, but all of the "guts" are missing.

Couple of things on this unit...

How does this unit update firmware on itself?

Also how do you reset to factory defaults? My unit worked fine for 34 days, then I had to reboot it because some premium channels disappeared and time on device is totally wrong. Also TVGUIDE no longer updates.

Before I send unit for repair I wanted to do a factory defaults reset because I think the issue is with the time, whenever I reboot it goes back to 9.32pm of the next day...

My 2 cents, this unit really sucks. Wish there were alternatives.

I am considering getting one of these to use an HD "VCR" AND a second digital tuner for PIP functionality with my TV. I have a Samsung DLP with the TV Guide function. Having many of the same problems with the TV Guide that have been posted here with these units.

First, I had no data for almost a week. Then let the TV tuner auto program again and left it OFF for 10 hours or so. Got Listings for day one, did not look any farther. I immediately deleted the stations I did not want from the TV tuner's memorized channel list and the TV guide (all the analog stations). Next day, the listings were spotty (either No listing, No Title, No Detailed Data). The next day, no listings at all, but still have the channels and the configuration (order in the listing, on/off, etc). Redid the auto program again this evening and enabled the analog PBS stations, see what happens tomorrow. Using OTA only.

The technique to access the TV Guide Diagnostic screens is exactly the same, so it is a function of the TV Guide chip. The version was "08:01:42/08:05:...".

Saw some posts from Mpls/St Paul area, does anyone know what the "TV Guide station" for this area is?

Is deleting the channel from the Tuner list OR from the TV Guide listings that breaks the TV Guide?

In the diagnostic screen, the Host Channel was blank, what does that mean? (I will check it again if/when I get the listings back).

UPDATE
Overnight I got listings for day 1, 2 and 8. The Host Channel is 1:0-5, Does anyone know what that means? There is no such channel that I am aware of. I also noticed that the Clock Set Channel is 1:0-9 and the failing clock channel 1:0-5.

I do not know if it was adding channels to the tuner listing (via autoprogram) or adding the PBS stations to the TV Guide listing that fixed it.

The tuner channel memory simply includes/excludes channels for when you use your channel up/down function, AFAIK. You can manually tune to any channel, even if it's not in tuner memory. The possible host channels for the guide must be turned on in the guide.

1:0-5 means cable channel 5. (0:0-05 would mean OTA channel 5.) Interesting that you have different channels for guide and time. I thought it would be the same channel for both.

I don't know how many host channels are in your area, but I've seen the guide use PBS, CBS, ABC, and FOX.

The tuner channel memory simply includes/excludes channels for when you use your channel up/down function, AFAIK. You can manually tune to any channel, even if it's not in tuner memory. The possible host channels for the guide must be turned on in the guide.

1:0-5 means cable channel 5. (0:0-05 would mean OTA channel 5.) Interesting that you have different channels for guide and time. I thought it would be the same channel for both.

I don't know how many host channels are in your area, but I've seen the guide use PBS, CBS, ABC, and FOX.

There is some connection on the Samsung between the tuner channels and the TV guide listings. The manual indicates that it uses the tuner list to determine which listing to download (Air and/or Cable I assume). In addition the troubleshooting guide says to repeat the auto program procedure if you are not getting listings.

I do not have cable hooked up so the host channel cannot be cable, perhaps the convention is different depending on the specific tuner.

Channel 5 is ABC here and I do NOT have that analog channel enabled in the TV Guide listings?!

The manual indicates that it uses the tuner list to determine which listing to download (Air and/or Cable I assume). ?!what's the model number of your samsung DLP - I'd like to download the manual - it sounds like it is a lot more instructive than the Sony DHG manual regarding tvgos.

what's the model number of your samsung DLP - I'd like to download the manual - it sounds like it is a lot more instructive than the Sony DHG manual regarding tvgos.

It is an HL-R5078W. On page 109 is the following:
NOTES
• In order for the Guide to receive channel lineup & listings
successfully, “Auto Program” must be performed at least once,
prior to powering off your TV. The Guide displays the channels
that are programmed during “Auto Program”.
• Refer to TV Guide On ScreenTM manual for details.

It also came with a 42 Page "TV Guide On Screen User Manual", but there does not seem to be a PDF version available. It basically walks you through the various screens. It's troubleshooting section is pretty basic. No where is there mention of losing listings if certain channels are disabled/deleted.

There is some connection on the Samsung between the tuner channels and the TV guide listings. The manual indicates that it uses the tuner list to determine which listing to download (Air and/or Cable I assume). In addition the troubleshooting guide says to repeat the auto program procedure if you are not getting listings.

I do not have cable hooked up so the host channel cannot be cable, perhaps the convention is different depending on the specific tuner.

Channel 5 is ABC here and I do NOT have that analog channel enabled in the TV Guide listings?!

Interesting. I know that the 1:0-xx means a cable channel on the Sony and LG DVR's. I would think this is a function of TVG.

If the Samsung uses the tuner list to determine active channels for the guide, does that mean you cannot turn channels on/off in the guide itself? This function is in the guide on the DVR's.

Interesting. I know that the 1:0-xx means a cable channel on the Sony and LG DVR's. I would think this is a function of TVG.

If the Samsung uses the tuner list to determine active channels for the guide, does that mean you cannot turn channels on/off in the guide itself? This function is in the guide on the DVR's.

You can turn listings on and off in the TV Guide, but there does seem to be some correlation between the two at least initially.

The possible host channels for the guide must be turned on in the guide.

This is a logical statement, but it doesn't seem to be true. My setup is OTA-only. I have only digital stations turned on in my guide and only digital stations present in the tuner's ch+/ch- listing, but I still receive the guide just fine. Unless the guide is coming in digitally somehow, the TVGOS software must be aware of the analog station even though it isn't enabled in the guide.

This is a logical statement, but it doesn't seem to be true. My setup is OTA-only. I have only digital stations turned on in my guide and only digital stations present in the tuner's ch+/ch- listing, but I still receive the guide just fine. Unless the guide is coming in digitally somehow, the TVGOS software must be aware of the analog station even though it isn't enabled in the guide.

You can only get guide data via analog. I know that the LG requires the host channel to be turned on in the guide, which was the source of many headaches until people began to figure it out. I'm not sure about the Sony DVR, which uses a newer version of the guide (but I thought people had noticed the same behavior). Maybe equipment with the newer guide can get around this.

It would be nice if TVG was more forthcoming with information on how things work and which channels were hosts in each area. It seems to be counterproductive to shroud everything in mystery.

I don't know why they don't simply have an online database... enter your zip/postal code and it'll tell you which channels in the area carry TVGOS, what version, for which regions, and whether it works on cable.

Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? I had mine set to record Commander in Chief on ABC which it did fine last week but the scheduled event to record the next episode was not listed. Tonight I rescheduled it and again it disappeared later this evening. I can't figure out any reason for this. Normally if there is a conflict, the event will still be listed, but grayed out. I think this may only be happening on ABC but I'm not 100% sure about that yet.

I was catching up on my forum reading, and this post prompted me to check my schedule for last night. And yes, Commander in Chief was missing. It was missing last week too, but I attributed that to possible user error (it had recorded the first show, and I thought I might have left it as a once-only schedule). I've only had this show disappear from the recording schedule, and it is two weeks in a row, now.

Rick

Originally Posted by philspice1
Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? I had mine set to record Commander in Chief on ABC which it did fine last week but the scheduled event to record the next episode was not listed. Tonight I rescheduled it and again it disappeared later this evening. I can't figure out any reason for this. Normally if there is a conflict, the event will still be listed, but grayed out. I think this may only be happening on ABC but I'm not 100% sure about that yet.
--------------------


Oh yes ... I have ... I was watching my recorder (not the TV - the recorder) just last night. A program was scheduled to record weekly "W" and lo and behold, when the time came, the recorder did nothing!!! I am in the process of debugging this, but it is really annoying - to have a recorder that only records what it thinks is important.

As part of the debug process, I have changed from Regular "R" to Weekly "W" already, but the recorder still misses scheduled recordings. :mad:

My current debug path is (other than watching the recorder like a hawk) leading toward the HDD500 not recording the follow-on program. That is, if I have a recording from 8:00 till 9:00, the program recording fom 9:00 to 10:00 doesn't work. Amusingly enough, the program from 10:00 to 11:00 does record, presumably because the recorder deleted the 9:00 to 10:00 recording and is not doing anything. So, I am working on theory that there is a software bug that is not taking into account that one program finishes recording at 09:00 and the next starts at 09:00 and so it misses the record start time. A way for me to test (workaround) this would be to stop the first recording 30 seconds short ... which I hope to test later this week. :confused:

Anyone got some ideas on what is wrong and how to fix this??? This is a big, big problem for me ... :(

Thanks in advance. :)

Originally Posted by philspice1
Has anyone else had scheduled recordings automatically delete themselves from the Schedule menu? I had mine set to record Commander in Chief on ABC which it did fine last week but the scheduled event to record the next episode was not listed. Tonight I rescheduled it and again it disappeared later this evening. I can't figure out any reason for this. Normally if there is a conflict, the event will still be listed, but grayed out. I think this may only be happening on ABC but I'm not 100% sure about that yet.
--------------------


Oh yes ... I have ... I was watching my recorder (not the TV - the recorder) just last night. A program was scheduled to record weekly "W" and lo and behold, when the time came, the recorder did nothing!!! I am in the process of debugging this, but it is really annoying - to have a recorder that only records what it thinks is important.

As part of the debug process, I have changed from Regular "R" to Weekly "W" already, but the recorder still misses scheduled recordings. :mad:

My current debug path is (other than watching the recorder like a hawk) leading toward the HDD500 not recording the follow-on program. That is, if I have a recording from 8:00 till 9:00, the program recording fom 9:00 to 10:00 doesn't work. Amusingly enough, the program from 10:00 to 11:00 does record, presumably because the recorder deleted the 9:00 to 10:00 recording and is not doing anything. So, I am working on theory that there is a software bug that is not taking into account that one program finishes recording at 09:00 and the next starts at 09:00 and so it misses the record start time. A way for me to test (workaround) this would be to stop the first recording 30 seconds short ... which I hope to test later this week. :confused:

Anyone got some ideas on what is wrong and how to fix this??? This is a big, big problem for me ... :(

Thanks in advance. :)

I don't think that is the case at all. I record back to back programs all the time with one ending at say 9pm and the other beginning at 9pm. It'll change the channel a couple of seconds before the top of the hour and then begin recording the next program.

Mine seems to be recording back to back weeklies fine...I had lost a few recordings when I was spending so much time tweaking it and figuring everything out but now that I let it ride it seems to be doing okay...I lost a few recordings due to the copyright protection issues talked about earlier in the forum too...

I still watch it like a hawk to make sure I am not missing anything but so far so good...

Check the settings to start and end recordings early/late. On the Sony, if a recording is set to start one minute early on top of another recording, it will not record one of them.

Concur that setting overlaps would be bad ... But would not the DVR flag a conflict if the times overlap? I obviously haven't tried it ...

Whatever the solution ... there are three of us on this board, and another guy posting at numerous places on the web (http://www.beginners.co.uk/shop/B00067TYFO/Sony_DHG_HDD500_60_Hour_High_Definition_Digital_Video_Record er_500_GB.html), that all seem to have the same problem ... so either we have a software revision problem ... an inconsistent hardware bug ... or, my favorite, an operator error ... I just want to know which one it is - and how to fix it. :)

All,

I have not had time to read all of the 30 pages on this forum yet, so if someone has already suggested this ... sorry.

I think that each of us with the "recording problem" should enter a tech support question to Sony. Hopefully it will raise the awareness of Sony to the problem ... as though thay don't already know :)

Anyway, here is the link ... http://esupport.sony.com/EN/feedback/feedback.html. Let's all use the "Home Audio/Video" email link, so we can get to one set of support people. I then used "TIVO" seeing there is no entry for the DHG-HDD500.

My first lines started ... "First ... the DHG-HDD500 is a HD Digital Video Recorder, but there was not entry in the list that I could find.

I and numerous others (see http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=537711&page=27&pp=30) are experiencing problems with recording."

After that you are on your own. :)

Let's get on this and get a solution .... :D

I was watching my recorder (not the TV - the recorder) just last night. A program was scheduled to record weekly "W" and lo and behold, when the time came, the recorder did nothing!!! I am in the process of debugging this, but it is really annoying - to have a recorder that only records what it thinks is important.

As part of the debug process, I have changed from Regular "R" to Weekly "W" already, but the recorder still misses scheduled recordings. :mad:

My current debug path is (other than watching the recorder like a hawk) leading toward the HDD500 not recording the follow-on program. That is, if I have a recording from 8:00 till 9:00, the program recording fom 9:00 to 10:00 doesn't work. Amusingly enough, the program from 10:00 to 11:00 does record, presumably because the recorder deleted the 9:00 to 10:00 recording and is not doing anything. So, I am working on theory that there is a software bug that is not taking into account that one program finishes recording at 09:00 and the next starts at 09:00 and so it misses the record start time. A way for me to test (workaround) this would be to stop the first recording 30 seconds short ... which I hope to test later this week. :confused:



I have seen precisely what you have seen with weekly scheduled recordings, dszigeti -- most recently, last night. It's also true that sometimes I have had no problems recording several shows back-to-back. But recording failures still occur occasionally, without warning, and I've seen only one consistent feature: in EVERY case when I have had a scheduled recording fail to record, it is a program that had another program scheduled to record immediately before or after it. I am going to try the simplest fix to address this point, which is to specify that any back-to-back scheduled recordings should end "one minute early."

-- Bill

Originally Posted by philspice1
Oh yes ... I have ... I was watching my recorder (not the TV - the recorder) just last night. A program was scheduled to record weekly "W" and lo and behold, when the time came, the recorder did nothing!!! I am in the process of debugging this, but it is really annoying - to have a recorder that only records what it thinks is important.

Anyone got some ideas on what is wrong and how to fix this??? This is a big, big problem for me ... :(


I have a couple of questions.

What is the source for your programing: OTA or cable or cable card or some combination?

Does the skipped recording only happen when you are watching another channel at the time the recording is supposed to happen?

In the instance mentioned above, did you see a warning pop up on the screen stating that another recording was about to happen and ask you if you wanted to continue the recording or skip it?

-phil

Hello All,

I have just received this unit HDD500 and it is slow in the TV guide moving
it from one time to the next time, or next day. Is this normal? It moves very
very slowly. I only have OTA channels about 10 total.

I have the LG3410a box and it has a move +-24 hours at a time, dose this unit
have anything like that? Any way to move to the next day faster?


Thanks
Mike

In the Sony HD recorder, are you able to set up recording times (ie. channel 11-1 every Tuesday from 8PM to 9PM), just like the old Sony VHS recorders. In other words NOT use the TV guide OR can you use the recorder with the TV Guide "off" (just like an old VHS tape system)?

I have called Sony twice - they said they have absolutely "no idea".

Our local TV Guide only list 6 of our local 28 digital stations.

Hello All,

I have just received this unit HDD500 and it is slow in the TV guide moving
it from one time to the next time, or next day. Is this normal? It moves very
very slowly. I only have OTA channels about 10 total.

I have the LG3410a box and it has a move +-24 hours at a time, dose this unit
have anything like that? Any way to move to the next day faster?


Thanks
Mike

When on the listings screen type in the number of hours you want to jump and then push the left or right directional button on the remote.

mstanl,

The Sony guide is MUCH slower than the LG's. Kind of annoying at first, but at least you'll find that this DVR really works --- unlike the LG. You'll be glad you made the switch.

I've had mine for about a month and a half or so, and it's totally awesome. I consistently get guide data, I record shows almost daily, I love starting programs 15 mins late and skipping every commercial.

The picture quality is top-notch, it never skips recordings, and now I've started taping all sorts of shows just to always have something in HD to watch. :)

Note, I'm using OTA in los angeles (where I think we have good guide data support).

mstanl,

The Sony guide is MUCH slower than the LG's. Kind of annoying at first, but at least you'll find that this DVR really works --- unlike the LG. You'll be glad you made the switch.


I have had my LG since it first was sold. I did trade it in 2 times just to get a working unit. But I will use both, The LG has the firewire out to a HD-VCR and
you can pause it for any length of time. The Sony is nice in that you can watch a show while it records another. I did put in a 300gbyte drive into the LG and it will hold 37 hours of HD. The LG has smart skip forward and back, but I like the Sony skip 60seconds back 15seconds it works much faster. I like that you can turn off the Sony while it is recording and it will still record. If you trun off the LG by mistake it will end the recording at that point. The LG box can edit the record show and save it back to disk. Both look great on my PX500 Panasonic.

And with both I have 3 turners, Love that.

Thanks for the help
Mike

what are good alternatives for this box? Or is Sony the best in this space?

Just got one from Bestbuy yesterday. Hooked up cable feed to DHG-HDD500 got all

unscrambled channels up to 120.2 I get all local HD channels. My cable box goes up to

700 or so! TV Guide works with all info. Ordered Cable Card today for installation on

Monday. I have my fingers crossed the guy will know what to do and I will coax him from

what I learned on this thread. I have Comcast Cable South Philly


JohnnyJT :cool:
South Philly

My current debug path is (other than watching the recorder like a hawk) leading toward the HDD500 not recording the follow-on program. That is, if I have a recording from 8:00 till 9:00, the program recording fom 9:00 to 10:00 doesn't work. Amusingly enough, the program from 10:00 to 11:00 does record, presumably because the recorder deleted the 9:00 to 10:00 recording and is not doing anything. So, I am working on theory that there is a software bug that is not taking into account that one program finishes recording at 09:00 and the next starts at 09:00 and so it misses the record start time. A way for me to test (workaround) this would be to stop the first recording 30 seconds short ... which I hope to test later this week. :confused:

Anyone got some ideas on what is wrong and how to fix this??? This is a big, big problem for me ... :(

Thanks in advance. :)

Well, it happened to me again this week. Lost disappeared, and it had been recording regularly for many weeks (including the summer reruns) without a hitch. And, I have nothing scheduled ahead of it on Wednesdays, so it is not an overlap problem. I went forward a week, and the "R"+ red dot was not on next week's Lost.

All my other programs have been fine, but I have now had 3 instances of ABC shows going missing, and the schedule disappearing. Is this really a Sony issue, or another TVGOS quirk with something in the ABC listings (i.e., it doesn't think it was the show you originally scheduled).

Rick

And with both I have 3 turners...
MikeCorrect me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe either of them is dual tuner, so you really only have two tuners -- one in each. Just because you can watch one program while recording another on the Sony doesn't mean it has two tuners (unless you mean your Panny provides the third tuner).

I went forward a week, and the "R"+ red dot was not on next week's Lost.

Not sure if this helps...but I set up Jimmy Kimmel to record every night (he does funny skits) and it only showed up once under my schedule. Since I set this with an Record Regulary (R + red dot) I was confused why nothing else had been marked. However, if you click info on Jimmy Kimmel under schedule, it shows all the episodes for the whole week there.

Now, if Lost doesn't show up at all under your schedule, I don't know what to say. I regularly check my schedule to make sure all my shows there, and I've never seen any disappear before.

Prison break isn't on at all this Monday (Rush hour 2 is) but it still shows up on my scheduled recordings but greyed out. As soon as the data shows a new show it will pick back up. Guess you just gotta re-add it and try and note when stuff disappears.

Well, it happened to me again this week. Lost disappeared, and it had been recording regularly for many weeks (including the summer reruns) without a hitch. And, I have nothing scheduled ahead of it on Wednesdays, so it is not an overlap problem. I went forward a week, and the "R"+ red dot was not on next week's Lost.

All my other programs have been fine, but I have now had 3 instances of ABC shows going missing, and the schedule disappearing. Is this really a Sony issue, or another TVGOS quirk with something in the ABC listings (i.e., it doesn't think it was the show you originally scheduled).

Rick

I agree with Nathan. I have noticed that the red dot is not always present but the recording will still happen. I always check the schedule and if it says it will be recorded it generally will. You can't always depend on the Listings to show the red dot indicating a scheduled recording but the DVR's schedule seems to be right on...Seems to be a minor glitch to me as long as my shows record!

Well, I've been "lurking" in this forum for a while (maybe unfortunately AFTER I bought the DHG-HDD250.) I thought I'd post my experience and see if anyone has suggestions/similar issues.

I bought my HDD250 from B&H Photo online. Got it in and TWC in SC took a couple weeks to get me a CableCARD. Had it installed on 15 Aug and everything seemed to be working well. Until I got the now infamous "...error code 161-6" message :( , at which point I lost all the encrypted digital channels. I called both TWC and Sony Customer Support, to no avail...I'd reset the system both by unplugging and by pushing the two front buttons, the problem would go away and then the problem would come back (without the 161-6 message.)

So I sent the unit back to Sony in PA and they took two weeks to tell me I needed a new unit and one would be shipped. Now I got the new one, but with more information in my brain from these forums. I made sure to use the analoge PBS channel as Host Channel and let the unit scan for channels before installing the CableCARD. Well, after TWC came out again and installed the CableCARD, it took about three days to get the dreaded "161-6" again. I reset the unit and it came back...only trend I could see was having the unit sit on one channel for a long time (~3 hours). I had TWC come out and replace the card, check signal strength and my account; all checked good. So then it took about 30 minutes to get the error message again. This time I called Sony.

I got someone who could barely speak English and seemed to keep repeating what I said to them. They made me reset the system, which I knew would temporarily fix things, and told me to call back if it happened again...which of course it did. So I called yesterday, got to Level II support (after 35 minutes of suffering Level I support) and am now waiting for a call/e-mail from the "last line" of technical support. Wife is on her last straw with the HDD250, so I'm hoping it'll be fixed/replaced and finally work for more than a couple days.

Anyone else have these issues or suggestions?!?

BeakerSC:

Have you tried to restore your unit to the factory default? It's like just taking it out of the box for the first time. The time will reset, you will have to scan your cable channels again and after it's finished, insert your cablecard. Since your card has already been authorized, your tuner should automatically find the encrypted channels on your card. Of course, you will have to wait 24 hours to get the TV guide info, but its worth a try. To get to the secret menu:

Press menu, then screen mode, then 9012, then restore factory default.

This is not the same "reset" function as pulling out the plug, or pressing the two buttons on the front of the unit. This clears everythingg. Perhaps it's worth a try.

Sorry, if this is a repeat question... If you have cable and OTA antenna both connected, does tv guide handle both inputs or only one? I can get some HD channels on OTA that I can't from cable. Would I have to manually schedule (if possible) the OTA channels if I have cable also?

No, the unit will combine the signals. You can then edit what channels you want to show up and in what order.

Have you tried to restore your unit to the factory default? It's like just taking it out of the box for the first time. The time will reset, you will have to scan your cable channels again and after it's finished, insert your cablecard. Since your card has already been authorized, your tuner should automatically find the encrypted channels on your card.

Thanks for the idea. I tried it out based on your instructions. When I installed the CableCARD, it took a long time trying to find channels then the Sony unit came back and said there was "an error with the card" and it couldn't find any channels. I called TWC but they had to forward a workorder to the "PC Techs" who don't work Sunday; apparently TWC in SC uses the computer department to install CableCARDs.

...oh, and then, after watching FOXHD for about thirty minutes: 161-6 error again. AAAggh.

So I'm back to square one: no digital tier channels...now I'm without TVGOS for 24 hours or so. We'll see who gets back to me first, Sony Level II support or the TWC PC Techs. :confused:

Exact same issue here, my unit is in for repairs but not holding my breath.

Rebooting unit would bring back the channels but TVGOS would no longer get updates and time clock would never update and remain compeletly wrong.

BTW, what is the 161-6 mean?

Sal

Well, I've been "lurking" in this forum for a while (maybe unfortunately AFTER I bought the DHG-HDD250.) I thought I'd post my experience and see if anyone has suggestions/similar issues.

I bought my HDD250 from B&H Photo online. Got it in and TWC in SC took a couple weeks to get me a CableCARD. Had it installed on 15 Aug and everything seemed to be working well. Until I got the now infamous "...error code 161-6" message :( , at which point I lost all the encrypted digital channels. I called both TWC and Sony Customer Support, to no avail...I'd reset the system both by unplugging and by pushing the two front buttons, the problem would go away and then the problem would come back (without the 161-6 message.)

So I sent the unit back to Sony in PA and they took two weeks to tell me I needed a new unit and one would be shipped. Now I got the new one, but with more information in my brain from these forums. I made sure to use the analoge PBS channel as Host Channel and let the unit scan for channels before installing the CableCARD. Well, after TWC came out again and installed the CableCARD, it took about three days to get the dreaded "161-6" again. I reset the unit and it came back...only trend I could see was having the unit sit on one channel for a long time (~3 hours). I had TWC come out and replace the card, check signal strength and my account; all checked good. So then it took about 30 minutes to get the error message again. This time I called Sony.

I got someone who could barely speak English and seemed to keep repeating what I said to them. They made me reset the system, which I knew would temporarily fix things, and told me to call back if it happened again...which of course it did. So I called yesterday, got to Level II support (after 35 minutes of suffering Level I support) and am now waiting for a call/e-mail from the "last line" of technical support. Wife is on her last straw with the HDD250, so I'm hoping it'll be fixed/replaced and finally work for more than a couple days.

Anyone else have these issues or suggestions?!?

BTW, what is the 161-6 mean?

Sal

Ain't it grand to be at the cutting edge of technologies?!? If only "they" would put CableCARDs tuners in Home Theater PCs, I think a lot of these issues would be fixed (if not by the manufacturers then by enterprising hackers...I mean, open-source programmers.)

The best answer I've gotten so far on what "161-6" means is either one of two things:

a) the "Q-box" (Sony-version of CableCARD tuner) is bad and needs replacing, or

b) the CableCARD itself can't handle the digital channels in its "buffer" and eventually it just quits and has to be dumped/reset (explains to me why I can still watch a digital tier channel if the 161-6 error comes up on it while I'm watching, but none of the others)

Either way, as the Sony Lvl II guy told me before, CableCARD requires three manufacturers/providers to be on the same sheet of music in order for it to work: cable provider, Sony (in this case) and Scientific Atlanta (my CC manufacturer). And you can image how often those competing interests line up.

Let us know if/when you get your unit back (so to speak) and whether it all works out. BTW, with which cable provider/CC manufacturer are you dealing?

Cable provider is TWC in NYC and CC is Scientific Atlanta.

TWC is absolutely worthless, they have no interest in helping you out with cablecard - at least in my opinion. In fact they tried to discourage me from getting cablecard.

I hope its a tuner issue, because I sure dont want to deal with TWCNYC.

Ain't it grand to be at the cutting edge of technologies?!? If only "they" would put CableCARDs tuners in Home Theater PCs, I think a lot of these issues would be fixed (if not by the manufacturers then by enterprising hackers...I mean, open-source programmers.)

The best answer I've gotten so far on what "161-6" means is either one of two things:

a) the "Q-box" (Sony-version of CableCARD tuner) is bad and needs replacing, or

b) the CableCARD itself can't handle the digital channels in its "buffer" and eventually it just quits and has to be dumped/reset (explains to me why I can still watch a digital tier channel if the 161-6 error comes up on it while I'm watching, but none of the others)

Either way, as the Sony Lvl II guy told me before, CableCARD requires three manufacturers/providers to be on the same sheet of music in order for it to work: cable provider, Sony (in this case) and Scientific Atlanta (my CC manufacturer). And you can image how often those competing interests line up.

Let us know if/when you get your unit back (so to speak) and whether it all works out. BTW, with which cable provider/CC manufacturer are you dealing?

Yeah, I got the same "why, if I can ask, are you even going with CableCARD?" speal. I told them I don't use VOD/MOD, I want the Digitial Tier and I don't like paying over $14/month to them to rent their STB. ...seemed to get past that hurdle.

I'm noticing a trend with those who have CC issues...TWC combined with Sci-Atl cards. It's hard for me to believe my luck is SO bad that Sony replaced my last unit w/ problems with another bad unit.

I'm gonna start pinging Sci-Atl on these issues as well. Wish me luck!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe either of them is dual tuner, so you really only have two tuners -- one in each. Just because you can watch one program while recording another on the Sony doesn't mean it has two tuners (unless you mean your Panny provides the third tuner).


Yes true, But my Panasonic 50PX500 has a HD tuner in it so I do have 3 tuners.
Sorry if it was a little miss leading but what is what I mean. I guess I did not make clear what the meaning of 'is' is.

LG has 1 turner, Sony has only 1 tuner and 50PX500 has 1 tuner.

Thanks
Mike

Comcast cable guy came today but guess what?

He forgot to bring the Cable Card!

Something telling me this is going to a doozy

when he does bring the card tomorrow and try

to get it working!

If he doesn't forget again!

Maybe I should forget to pay my cable bill!


JohnnyJT :(
South Philly

Not sure if this helps...but I set up Jimmy Kimmel to record every night (he does funny skits) and it only showed up once under my schedule. Since I set this with an Record Regulary (R + red dot) I was confused why nothing else had been marked. However, if you click info on Jimmy Kimmel under schedule, it shows all the episodes for the whole week there.

Now, if Lost doesn't show up at all under your schedule, I don't know what to say. I regularly check my schedule to make sure all my shows there, and I've never seen any disappear before.



I should have been more explicit, it didn't show up either in Schedule or in the listings. After rescheduling the two shows, they are staying put. It is just weird that a couple of us have had the exact same problems, in the same week, with the same shows.

Are you able to set up the recorder with dates, times, and channel; to record just like the old VHS recorders without using the built-in TV Guide system? (The Sony folks do not know the answer?)

Yes, you can set a manual timer in the Guide software, **but** there is no manual way to set the time on this STB. So you'll need the TV Guide system functional enough to at least have it set the clock.

Are you able to set up the recorder with dates, times, and channel; to record just like the old VHS recorders without using the built-in TV Guide system? (The Sony folks do not know the answer?)
You can download the manual in amazon.com's listing for this. See pg 71.

Are you able to set up the recorder with dates, times, and channel; to record just like the old VHS recorders without using the built-in TV Guide system? (The Sony folks do not know the answer?)

And if you do set manual recordings they'll all be listed as 'Unknown' in the recording list and there is no way to edit the title of a recording. Good luck wading through 20 of those trying to find what you want to watch ;-)

All,

Concur with the assessments on recording stated here.

It seems to me that these are big oversights on Sony's part.

Not being able to set the time manually is not good. I have had times go wrong before - especially after hurricanes when the "time setting" people have more important things to do. Additionally, it is not possible to use the system (much) for the first few hours (until the time is set - which requires that the recorder be off). So when I got the recorder and wanted to record some material within an hour of receiving the recorder - I was not able to. Hmmm - isn't that why I bought the recorder - to record?

Additionally, although you can manually program the recorder, believe it or not, it is harder to do than the Sony VCRs???? My guess is that Sony decided that manual recording would not be needed (because of TVGOS) and added it as an afterthought. Well I am one of the people who has the random recording problem, so manual recording was the only option for a while ...

Similarly, not being able to name manually recorded shows seems to support my hypothesis - Sony is "helping us out" by making everything automatic. An if the automatic stuff worked - it would be good - but it fails quite often.

Overall, it appears like a poor, high speed, not well thought out, non-ergonomic software programming effort, for a company whose expertise is concentrated in this area.

What about a software update to correct all of these "little" problems - downloadable from the web, and uploaded to the recorder from a PC?????

I guess enough of the rant for now ...

All,

Concur with the assessments on recording stated here.

It seems to me that these are big oversights on Sony's part.

Not being able to set the time manually is not good. I have had times go wrong before - especially after hurricanes when the "time setting" people have more important things to do. Additionally, it is not possible to use the system (much) for the first few hours (until the time is set - which requires that the recorder be off). So when I got the recorder and wanted to record some material within an hour of receiving the recorder - I was not able to. Hmmm - isn't that why I bought the recorder - to record?

Additionally, although you can manually program the recorder, believe it or not, it is harder to do than the Sony VCRs???? My guess is that Sony decided that manual recording would not be needed (because of TVGOS) and added it as an afterthought. Well I am one of the people who has the random recording problem, so manual recording was the only option for a while ...

Similarly, not being able to name manually recorded shows seems to support my hypothesis - Sony is "helping us out" by making everything automatic. An if the automatic stuff worked - it would be good - but it fails quite often.

Overall, it appears like a poor, high speed, not well thought out, non-ergonomic software programming effort, for a company whose expertise is concentrated in this area.

What about a software update to correct all of these "little" problems - downloadable from the web, and uploaded to the recorder from a PC?????

I guess enough of the rant for now ...
I think most of these issues are not because of Sony, it's the lousy TVGOS. Same issues with my Panasonic EH50s dvd-r, the older model without TGOS I have was a joy to use with its vcr interface.

To dszigeti,

Funny, out of probably 40+ recordings mine has never missed a single one. You said it "fails quite often," so how long exactly have you been using it, and how many shows have failed?

I wish you could rename unknown shows...but I would rather spend the time figuring out why the tvgos isn't working. What exactly is your problem? Do you get tvgos data?

And you said you "concur" with the recording assessments....well sorry, but some of our units work perfectly well.

Since TV Guide only lists 6 of our 29 digital stations (over two years out of date)....it does make for a lame recording device. It could have been so easy like a VCR?

Well, so far, I've been on the phone every night since Saturday trying to get someone to fess up to what's going on with my SONY and/or CableCARD. I never did get in touch with Sci-Atl primarily because I was kept on hold for roughly 35 minutes with no hint of when I would talk with someone (thank goodness for speaker phones.)

Sony "Specialists", Level II Tech Support, or whatever name they call themselves these days has been pretty helpful although tonight is the key...I'm supposed to get a call back on a solution to my 161-6 issue (although the guy I talked to had never heard of these units getting that error...hmmm.) Their first solution was "try another CableCARD," which I've already done to no avail.

Now, strangely enough, Cartoon Network won't tune in. Not good for those of us with kids who've become accustomed to recording shows after bedtime...imagine the drama!

Will update when something new happens... :confused:

Since TV Guide only lists 6 of our 29 digital stations (over two years out of date)....it does make for a lame recording device. It could have been so easy like a VCR?my guide cable listings seem to be very sensitive to zipcode input . have you tried using a different zip code that is more central to the cable coverage -to see if you have other cable buildouts listed - or maybe - as I did try the zip for the cable head-end or business office address.- BTW Sony sent me a new - refurb? -today - - with all accessories by overnite fedex - it's still loading TVGOS at this time -it has low s/n - the s/n is 8100311 - is the previous owner here?-

To dszigeti,

Funny, out of probably 40+ recordings mine has never missed a single one. You said it "fails quite often," so how long exactly have you been using it, and how many shows have failed?

I wish you could rename unknown shows...but I would rather spend the time figuring out why the tvgos isn't working. What exactly is your problem? Do you get tvgos data?

And you said you "concur" with the recording assessments....well sorry, but some of our units work perfectly well.

I would have "lost" Commander-in-Chief last night, again, but I looked at the schedule list Monday evening. This time CiC was there, but grayed out. So, I checked the TVGOS listing, and there was CiC, right where it was supposed to be. I deleted the grayed out item, and reset the recording schedule (and it did record).

Also, West Wing for next Sunday was grayed out. I went to check the listing for that, and don't have any TVGOS listing from 4:30am Sunday to 4:30am Monday. So, this one at least worked the way it was supposed to, but now I don't know how to force Sunday to refresh within the guide.

Still - way weird (after a summer of fairly perfect behaviour).

Cable guy came and installed Cable Card on my DHG-HDD500.

I asked if he installed a CC before and he said many!

He knew exactlly what to do and had it up and running in about

10 min. Awesome! Records with no problem!

I am waiting for Guide to d/l now.


JohnnyJT :D
South Philly

Am fuming at Sony, the sent my unit back to me - said they just reset to factory defaults.

2 days later time still not synched and TVGUIDE not downloaded.

Its not the CC as that was changed before, I have CC on my TV and works fine.

This has to be the most overpriced crappy product.

I would have "lost" Commander-in-Chief last night, again, but I looked at the schedule list Monday evening. This time CiC was there, but grayed out. So, I checked the TVGOS listing, and there was CiC, right where it was supposed to be. I deleted the grayed out item, and reset the recording schedule (and it did record).

Also, West Wing for next Sunday was grayed out. I went to check the listing for that, and don't have any TVGOS listing from 4:30am Sunday to 4:30am Monday. So, this one at least worked the way it was supposed to, but now I don't know how to force Sunday to refresh within the guide.

Still - way weird (after a summer of fairly perfect behaviour).

Well, I noticed this for CIC as well but a few days earlier and sure enough the guide was wrong at that point. But yesterday it was correct again, The problem with that is it didnt check again. So its obvious that the guide does not go back and check on a daily basis, Which I agree does suck. So just because it was there last night didnt mean it was correct before hand. I caught it 10 mins. into the show as I had forgot about it from earlier. Ah, well, Other than the guide mis info causing missed recordings I do like the machine.

I would have "lost" Commander-in-Chief last night, again, but I looked at the schedule list Monday evening. This time CiC was there, but grayed out. So, I checked the TVGOS listing, and there was CiC, right where it was supposed to be. I deleted the grayed out item, and reset the recording schedule (and it did record).

Also, West Wing for next Sunday was grayed out. I went to check the listing for that, and don't have any TVGOS listing from 4:30am Sunday to 4:30am Monday. So, this one at least worked the way it was supposed to, but now I don't know how to force Sunday to refresh within the guide.

Still - way weird (after a summer of fairly perfect behaviour).

Hey, the same thing happened to Commander in Chief for me too, and I've never had a problem before!! Only I didn't catch it ahead of time, so I didn't record it...thank goodness for my replaytv with internet video sharing..........

I wonder if it was some issue with the tvgos data? Did anyone happen to look at the schedule listing before 9pm (eastern) yesterday? Actually, I see from the post above that someone did......well, very annoying behavior, to say the least! You would think Sony would have enough clout to put pressure on tvguide to get the listings RIGHT...

To The Blarg,

Funny, out of probably 40+ recordings mine has never missed a single one. You said it "fails quite often," so how long exactly have you been using it, and how many shows have failed? /// .... I have had it for about a month and a half. It failed to record about 10 shows in the first week, and about 5 in the second week. I am still watching it to see what it does, but this week, none have failed.

I wish you could rename unknown shows...but I would rather spend the time figuring out why the tvgos isn't working. What exactly is your problem? Do you get tvgos data?/// .... Yes, I get the data. As stated by numerous of us, even thought the recorder has the show name and a "red dot" with "W" on the program to start recording, you can watch the recorder move to (say) 9 PM, and no recording occurs. I have not had the problem in the last two weeks, so maybe the unit needs to "settle down" ... Maybe the TVGOS is not "stable" when it loads intially???

And you said you "concur" with the recording assessments....well sorry, but some of our units work perfectly well. ... Ah yes ... but you underestimate how many variables are involved with getting every unit to work - not just yours! And I guess you would jump to the "operator" error" conclusion first. Well, if you look at the data some of us are reporting, there is not too much room for error. TVGOS program right there on he screen in front of me, "red dot" on, "W" on, time comes and goes ... no recording!!!

So just thank your lucky stars that you are one of the lucky ones.

I also concur with your statement that it is likely to be the TVGOS software. But when Sony puts it in their devices, they take ownership of it - so to me it's a Sony problem.

And by the way, I own a lot of Sony equipment, and I am thinking of buying more (like the Hi-def camcorder) ... but problems like this sour my overall view of the company and their capabilities.

I record regulary (the red and a R), maybe that's it. I also only use the schedule list to determine what will and will not record. I don't care if there is a red dot in the listings, it's all about the scheduled listings page.

I record regulary (the red and a R), maybe that's it. I also only use the schedule list to determine what will and will not record. I don't care if there is a red dot in the listings, it's all about the scheduled listings page.

That is what I have been using, too. Last night, I checked at about 8:45 to make sure LOST would record (it was there and correct Tuesday night), and lo and behold, it was no longer in the schedule listings! Not grayed out, just not there! So, I went back to the listings page, and once again set a "regular recording". (and now, of course, the next two weeks won't have new episodes of Lost).

What is baffling me is that this behavior has just started in the last couple of weeks, and only seems to affect ABC shows (I haven't tried seeing if it is HD vs Analog dependent - the whole point of this recorder is the OTA HD). And don't get me wrong, I LOVE THIS RECORDER!

Blarg etal,

I also started using the "red dot" and "R", but I changed to the "W" to "make it easier on the recorder". It didn't have to search for regular programming, just record the same time same channel. It didn't matter it failed with both settings. As I said though, failures have reduced to zero in the last couple of weeks. And yes I like the recorder too. But it is certainly not because it is user friendly ... it is user hostile!!!! :-(

... Sony sent me a new - refurb? -today - - with all accessories by overnite fedex - it's still loading TVGOS at this time -it has low s/n - the s/n is 8100311 - is the previous owner here?-my TVGOS has updated sucessfully using the cable PBS channel this time - apparently when my other unit crashed (froze) - the TVGOS functionality was lost and would not recover by reboot, TVGOS "factory default, or and sony resets on 9012 menu. -( to reiterate - the DHG froze and then rebooted when I scrolled while pressing select on the remote - after that no TVGOs back in September -)previous post >>.....but I changed to the "W" to "make it easier on the recorder can someone explain that "W" refers to?

my TVGOS has updated sucessfully using the cable PBS channel this time - apparently when my other unit crashed (froze) - the TVGOS functionality was lost and would not recover by reboot, TVGOS "factory default, or and sony resets on 9012 menu. -( to reiterate - the DHG froze and then rebooted when I scrolled while pressing select on the remote - after that no TVGOs back in September -) can someone explain that "W" refers to?

Weekly.

Since no one seems to be having the problems I'm having, I'll just keep providing updates to my situation on the off-chance that someone will have a suggestion or this helps someone make the decision to buy or not buy this unit.

Finally talked to a human at Sci-Atl on Wednesday and Thursday. Guy on Wednesday didn't seem to know much about CableCARD and just wrote everything down and "sent it to the engineers." Called today for an update and got a different guy who simply asked, "when was it built?" Mine was built May '05. Apparently Sci-Atl developed a firmware upgrade in Apr '05 and all CC built after then have it already. Besides that, he seemed determined to not allow the blame to be put on the CableCARD.

SO, I'm back to waiting on Sony, who today said they have no update on a fix to why I keep loosing Digital Tier programming shortly (30m - 2 hrs) after a reset (including hard factory default resets.)

...hmmm...hmm...hmmm....

Noticed today in the menu of the unit (not tvgos) that there is a record history. I have been 66 for 66 in successful recordings.

Again, not trying to say anyone with problems is a naysayer...just trying to give a fair overview of this unit.

I'm in Los Angeles on OTA (location and content are major factors).

Man, am I having a headache with TVGOS. I used to have three selections on the Guide Setup screen where you choose your cable lineup. Then one of the three (the one I routinely chose) disappeared and I neede to experiment between selecting the other and laboriously reprogramming all of my channel selections.

The, a few days ago, the listings failed to reappear with the dreaded rebuilding your guide data because of your setup change message. Except, of course, I didn't change my setup as it was working perfectly for me. The 24 hours has now been 4 days and I'd have been really pissed if most of my recordings weren't being grabbed by the guide data from before the failure.

But that data is tunnig out and unless the guide rebuilds itself before tomorrow night, I am going to be missing lots of scheduled recordings.

last night I got the dreaded 161-6 cablecard error and I reset the box and removed and reinserted the cablecard.

Nathan118, this box works great when it works. I've had several weeks of flawless operation, but these period are punctuated by periods of bizarre braindamage on the part of this unit.

Noticed today in the menu of the unit (not tvgos) that there is a record history. I have been 66 for 66 in successful recordings.

Again, not trying to say anyone with problems is a naysayer...just trying to give a fair overview of this unit.

I'm in Los Angeles on OTA (location and content are major factors).

My Recording History shows me perfect, too (except for one I purposely killed when I first got the unit, to see what would happen). Since it didn't try to record the shows where the schedule mysteriously disappears, it isn't a failed recording.

The guide finally d/l last night!

The guide displays e.g. all Discovery Channels grouped together,
all HBO, all Showtimes etc. no matter what the channel #s are.
Unlike Comcasts guide listings which list in numerical order on the screen.
The channel display on the Sony is correct with Comcast box

Is that right?


JohnnyJT :confused:
South Philly

My Recording History shows me perfect, too (except for one I purposely killed when I first got the unit, to see what would happen). Since it didn't try to record the shows where the schedule mysteriously disappears, it isn't a failed recording.

The record history did not show that I was 66 for 66. It showed that I have recorded 66 shows. The fact that every show I have setup to record has recorded is what tells me I have been 66 for 66. :)

I'm in Los Angeles viewing ABC off the air HD and lost my weekly recording of Commander in Chief also!

It was greyed out with the times listed as 9 pm - 10 pm Tuesday with ????????????.

Must be the TV Guide ..... this is too wierd. I can't believe I missed the episode, though! :(

Hey, the same thing happened to Commander in Chief for me too, and I've never had a problem before!! Only I didn't catch it ahead of time, so I didn't record it...thank goodness for my replaytv with internet video sharing..........

I wonder if it was some issue with the tvgos data? Did anyone happen to look at the schedule listing before 9pm (eastern) yesterday? Actually, I see from the post above that someone did......well, very annoying behavior, to say the least! You would think Sony would have enough clout to put pressure on tvguide to get the listings RIGHT...

Hi, I haven't posted before so please forgive any errors. I discovered before the 10/18 show that Commander In Chief wasn't going to record. I looked up CIS in the listings and set up another recording. It did record and I discovered that the title had changed from "Commander-In-Chief" previously to "Commander In Chief" on 10/18.

I have Over the Air only and have had complete success recording programs with my DHG-HDD500 since I bought it in early September. My biggest issue is with TVGOS which does not list 3 digital channels in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area, so I had to use the analog channels to get guide info. It would be helpful to find a phone # to contact them to fix this. I tried an email, but they didn't respond and Sony tech support does have contact info either. If someone has a TVGOS tech phone #, let me know.

I really like this forum. I don't come here on a daily basis, so it may take me a couple of days to reply.

Rob

If anyone from Sony is following this thread, for the next firmware update, please consider adding a 29 second setting to the configurable ADVANCE command. The 30 second one is OK for jumping past commercials, but then you have to back up a bit unless you mind missing the first few seconds when the program returns. With a 29 second skip, as soon as a commercial comes on, you could hit ADVANCE 4-5 times and land 2 or 3 seconds before the program returns, without the need to rewind or jump back. Just an idea...

One other suggestion - please implement a shortcut to turn the closed captions on and off. Maybe pressing and holding the INFO button could bring up the caption menu?

Hi, I haven't posted before so please forgive any errors. I discovered before the 10/18 show that Commander In Chief wasn't going to record. I looked up CIS in the listings and set up another recording. It did record and I discovered that the title had changed from "Commander-In-Chief" previously to "Commander In Chief" on 10/18.

I have Over the Air only and have had complete success recording programs with my DHG-HDD500 since I bought it in early September. My biggest issue is with TVGOS which does not list 3 digital channels in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area, so I had to use the analog channels to get guide info. It would be helpful to find a phone # to contact them to fix this. I tried an email, but they didn't respond and Sony tech support does have contact info either. If someone has a TVGOS tech phone #, let me know.

I really like this forum. I don't come here on a daily basis, so it may take me a couple of days to reply.

Rob TVGOS support line -- 800-286-7380 -- not sure how technical it is, though.

Hi, I haven't posted before so please forgive any errors. I discovered before the 10/18 show that Commander In Chief wasn't going to record. I looked up CIS in the listings and set up another recording. It did record and I discovered that the title had changed from "Commander-In-Chief" previously to "Commander In Chief" on 10/18.

I have Over the Air only and have had complete success recording programs with my DHG-HDD500 since I bought it in early September. My biggest issue is with TVGOS which does not list 3 digital channels in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area, so I had to use the analog channels to get guide info. It would be helpful to find a phone # to contact them to fix this. I tried an email, but they didn't respond and Sony tech support does have contact info either. If someone has a TVGOS tech phone #, let me know.

I really like this forum. I don't come here on a daily basis, so it may take me a couple of days to reply.

Rob

Rob:

I'm using a DHG-HDD250 for OTA HD recording. Several of the "lesser" digital
stations were missing from my TVGOS as well. I found that if I took an unsued
entry, say a digital channel in another language or one that was too weak to
actually use or the analogue equivalent channel (probably the best choice),
and edit the entry, I could get proper listings for the missing channel. In my
area, analogue 23 is digital 26-2, so I editted the 23 entry to change the
channel number to 26-2 and everything works perfectly.

I guess Sony forgot to put in a "previous channel" button on the remote. Would be nice to have.

Has anybody experience pausing the unit then after a minute or
so press rewind and the screen is still paused while the audio is
playing from where it was rewined? The only way to get to back
to normal is to change channels.

JohnnyJT
South Philly

ABC often plays games with the start/stop times of popular prime time shows, they can often run a minute or two long or short. I've seen it with Commander in Chief, Lost, Alias, Desperate Housewives, etc. NBC used to do it occasionally for a few shows last season (ER), dunno if they still do. For those setting up regular/weekly recordings, perhaps TVGOS is deciding that regular/weekly schedules don't match what's in the guide because the times don't always exactly match up from week to week.

The unit and tvgos have no idea when a show "changes," they simply know that at 10pm on Thursdays ER is on. The unit doesn't care if ER starts 1 min early, it will just start taping at 10 pm. That would in no way cause the unit to skip recordings. The unit specifically gives a "begin recording X mins early or late" option.

Rob:

I'm using a DHG-HDD250 for OTA HD recording. Several of the "lesser" digital
stations were missing from my TVGOS as well. I found that if I took an unsued
entry, say a digital channel in another language or one that was too weak to
actually use or the analogue equivalent channel (probably the best choice),
and edit the entry, I could get proper listings for the missing channel. In my
area, analogue 23 is digital 26-2, so I editted the 23 entry to change the
channel number to 26-2 and everything works perfectly.

Thanks dmaster :)

I didn't realize I could edit the channel #. Your suggestion fixed my problem. Thanks also to Rammitinski, but I don't need the phone # anymore.

I have a Dishnetwork 921 also. It gives an estimate of recording time remaining anytime you go to the recorded events screen. Does anyone know if the Sony can give an estimate of time remaining? I have over 50 hours of HD recorded so far, so I may be getting close to the limit.

Well everything has been going great, but it looks like my host channel has stopped transmitting the TVGOS data since at least Saturday. I was away most of last week and got back to find the "Guide data is unavailable for 24 hours due to system setup change" message. I went into the 9012 service menu on the channel that was transmitting the TVGOS data and it says VBI test failed and no packets are being received OTA. I sent an email to WETA (Washington DC PBS Channel 26) to see if they are aware, but I've not heard back yet. Anyone else in the DC area? I tried going to MPT which is Maryland PBS on channel 22, but for some reason even though it shows it's sending VBI packets it's not updating the guide or the clock at all.

Same problem here, NYC with Time Warner Cable.

Lost TVGOS on both my Sony DVR and Panasonic TV.

Called TWC they tell you to call TVGOS.

Opened a ticket with Panasonic since they have better support than Sony, they took down some TVGUIDE info from debug and opened a ticket with TVGOS ... now waiting for a call from TVGOS

Sal

Well everything has been going great, but it looks like my host channel has stopped transmitting the TVGOS data since at least Saturday. I was away most of last week and got back to find the "Guide data is unavailable for 24 hours due to system setup change" message. I went into the 9012 service menu on the channel that was transmitting the TVGOS data and it says VBI test failed and no packets are being received OTA. I sent an email to WETA (Washington DC PBS Channel 26) to see if they are aware, but I've not heard back yet. Anyone else in the DC area? I tried going to MPT which is Maryland PBS on channel 22, but for some reason even though it shows it's sending VBI packets it's not updating the guide or the clock at all.

Same problem here, NYC with Time Warner Cable.

Lost TVGOS on both my Sony DVR and Panasonic TV.

Called TWC they tell you to call TVGOS.

Opened a ticket with Panasonic since they have better support than Sony, they took down some TVGUIDE info from debug and opened a ticket with TVGOS ... now waiting for a call from TVGOS

Sal

I just got home from work and still no guide data or correct time. However I don't think my antenna was positioned correctly today before i went to work. The reception was terrible. So I aimed the antenna and went into the 'Menu' 'Format' "9012' service menu and G*Test and it showed Pass this time and packets were being received. So hopefully I'll have guide data starting tomorrow. Maybe the email I sent to the PBS station made them aware of it. I suggest trying to G*Test to see if your packets are being received. Go to the channel where you receive your TVGOS data. Hit the Menu key on the Sony remote, then the Format key, then type in 9012. It'll take you to a series of menus. Pick the last one, then select G*test. You'll see a colorblock, some tests on the left, and if data is being transmitted you'll see the packets increase. This is how I aim my antenna every night before bed so I make sure I am receiving good packets and not bad packets.


My clock just set :-) I'm back on track to the listings! Hooray.

Well add me to the zero TV guide data today, Lets hope this is because of some update to the software. :( First time this has happened to me in the couple of months since I had the unit, Although my recordings are still there so Looks like I am still good to go there. We will see how this plays out, Probably wont be good though for more recordings as it seems like it takes a good 5 to 7 days to fill the data back in, The message it gives me is I made a change and it was making the listing correct for that change, I havent changed anything on the unit since it started working.

Well add me to the zero TV guide data today, Lets hope this is because of some update to the software. :( First time this has happened to me in the couple of months since I had the unit, Although my recordings are still there so Looks like I am still good to go there. We will see how this plays out, Probably wont be good though for more recordings as it seems like it takes a good 5 to 7 days to fill the data back in, The message it gives me is I made a change and it was making the listing correct for that change, I havent changed anything on the unit since it started working.

Hmm maybe Gemstar did some kind of update or changes over the past few days. Seems like a lot of us are having the same problem at the same time when we normally have been running fine.

A lot of us over on the DVD recorder threads have been having a lot of problems with TVGOS, like losing listings, and this constant U99 error message appearing (certain Panny's, specifically). It started around mid-Sept. and seems to be coming from TVG and not in the units themselves. And it seems to not just be a local thing. Fortunately, I myself have had no problems for about the last two weeks. Just thought I would inform you all of this - don't know if this applies to anyone here.

The OTA guide has dropped out in Minneapolis/St. Paul as well, at least for ZIP 55121.

No problems yet in Tulsa, OK.

Now I'm seeing something I've never seen before. On most days of this week's schedule, I'm getting a *ton* of "no title" listings. This is different than the "no listing" on every channel ... this is just particular random time slots with 10-12 channels in that time slot saying "no title". This is causing some of my recordings not to fire.

Anyone have any advice on why this happens?

Robert

The Sony 9012 menu is great - a handy way to determine manually which station is or isn't carrying TVGOS.

Also lost TV Guide listings and live in Northern Virginia. Scheduled recordings still there. Didn't change anything but says it will update in next 24 hours! We'll see. Can still get the logos and individual info for programs on each channel but it's a pain to flip through all channels to see what's on.

Also lost TV Guide listings and live in Northern Virginia. Scheduled recordings still there. Didn't change anything but says it will update in next 24 hours! We'll see. Can still get the logos and individual info for programs on each channel but it's a pain to flip through all channels to see what's on.


Yea,
I agree, Its nice having the guide to see whats on, WHen mine dropped yesterday it dropped everyting no channel guide. I would have to type the number in to get anywhere. Didnt check today yet.

Interesting---mine dropped the guide yesterday also, but still recorded the scheduled shows. Still no guide this morning. Located in Gresham, OR.

LarryM

Also lost TV Guide listings and live in Northern Virginia. Scheduled recordings still there. Didn't change anything but says it will update in next 24 hours! We'll see. Can still get the logos and individual info for programs on each channel but it's a pain to flip through all channels to see what's on.

Do you use OTA or cable? If you use OTA I found out that they shut their transmitter off from 2am to 6am even though they still have programming on then through cable. That means there are only three downloads of the TV Guide data each day. The download overnight is useless as it would cut off after an hour.

Do you use OTA or cable? If you use OTA I found out that they shut their transmitter off from 2am to 6am even though they still have programming on then through cable. That means there are only three downloads of the TV Guide data each day. The download overnight is useless as it would cut off after an hour.


I use cable with cablecard

I got my full listings back this afternoon, so most likely there was a software update, but who knows!

I got my full listings back this afternoon, so most likely there was a software update, but who knows!

Nothing for me after work. Maybe it'll update tomorrow. At least it's not showing the dreaded wait 24 hours screen. It just says no listing for everything.

Yea,
I agree, Its nice having the guide to see whats on, WHen mine dropped yesterday it dropped everyting no channel guide. I would have to type the number in to get anywhere. Didnt check today yet.


Well it looks like half of my guide has downloaded again, Hopfully they fixed something :D

Well it looks like half of my guide has downloaded again, Hopfully they fixed something :D

Yeah mine started loading again yesterday too. It looks like things are back on track.

It'd be nice if Gemstar could put something in the advertisement space on the left side of the listings (that they currently do not use) if they are planning some type of outage or upgrade to the software.

I have the HDD500 and I have a question for others?

Once I turn on the unit the temps. on the 2 drives is 108 and 110.
After it is running for a few hours the drive temps are 118 on one
drive and 122 on the other.

Is this a normal temp or low or high. I have a LG3410 and I run fans on it because it has a heat problem. I just want to see how this Sony unit runs at.

Thanks for any replys.
Mike

Hi,I just got the dhg 500, and through the cable i can get cbs-hd,abc-hd and nbc-hd. But i can't get UPN-HD or WB-HD. I figure it depends on your local cable company,but is there any way i can punch in the channel like "10.3 or 15.4" to get them? I wonder if there's any hidden channels i can get, how could i find them?

I have the HDD500 and I have a question for others?

Once I turn on the unit the temps. on the 2 drives is 108 and 110.
After it is running for a few hours the drive temps are 118 on one
drive and 122 on the other.

Is this a normal temp or low or high. I have a LG3410 and I run fans on it because it has a heat problem. I just want to see how this Sony unit runs at.

Thanks for any replys.
Mike

Those temps sound like the same I am getting and I've not had any issues. It's clear of obstructions so I'm not too worried.

System Reload Problem??

Well my recorder went berserk last night!

I was watching my recorder record (seeing it likes to not record programs occasionally) and the following sequence occurred.
1) From 8:00 through 9:00 PM, I had recorded E-Ring (Channel 2) without a problem (red dot and “W” in schedule and listings) – OK
2) From 9:00 through approximately 9:56 PM, I was recording Martha Stewart (Channel 2) (because E-Ring occasionally runs in this slot) (red dot and “W” in schedule and listings) – OK
3) I had checked that CSI NY at 10:00 had a red dot and “W” in schedule and listings – so it was good to go.
4) As (approximately) 09:57 came around the recorder informed me that it was about to change channels and record CSI NY (Channel 6) – OK
5) At 09:59 and some seconds – everything went dark – no picture no sound – no response – I rapidly switched to my other HDTV receiver – NOT GOOD
6) I tried Stop, Power, Stop, went over to the unit and tried to power it down – all to no avail – NOT GOOD
7) At around 10:03, all of a sudden the unit fired back up, with “Welc” on the unit display – Not “Welcome” just “Welc” – no video output yet … – NOT GOOD
8) At 10:05, video came back up and it was recording on Channel 2 (not 6) like it was supposed to be. The time had reset to 9:42PM!!!
9) I still had no control of the unit.
10) About 5 minutes latter the unit finally responded to “Stop” and stopped recording. The 7 minutes or so of the phantom record was stored on the hard disk. Time was still incorrect.
11) In another 10 minutes the time corrected itself. And the unit went back to normal.
12) Obviously I did not get the CSI NY recording ...

If anyone has any idea of what is going on with my unit – I would appreciate some insight.

Some of you have recently mentioned that Gemstar might be doing an TVGOS update – would anyone be stupid enough to do an update in prime time? Do we have any idea what this update might be?

I am in Orlando, Florida, just in case someone else experienced this problem in the area.

Refer to my previous posts about my (and some other peoples) (maybe related) recording problems.

Tonight, everything seems to be back to normal – whatever normal is with this unit.

System Reload Problem??

Well my recorder went berserk last night!

I was watching my recorder record (seeing it likes to not record programs occasionally) and the following sequence occurred.
1) From 8:00 through 9:00 PM, I had recorded E-Ring (Channel 2) without a problem (red dot and “W” in schedule and listings) – OK
2) From 9:00 through approximately 9:56 PM, I was recording Martha Stewart (Channel 2) (because E-Ring occasionally runs in this slot) (red dot and “W” in schedule and listings) – OK
3) I had checked that CSI NY at 10:00 had a red dot and “W” in schedule and listings – so it was good to go.
4) As (approximately) 09:57 came around the recorder informed me that it was about to change channels and record CSI NY (Channel 6) – OK
5) At 09:59 and some seconds – everything went dark – no picture no sound – no response – I rapidly switched to my other HDTV receiver – NOT GOOD
6) I tried Stop, Power, Stop, went over to the unit and tried to power it down – all to no avail – NOT GOOD
7) At around 10:03, all of a sudden the unit fired back up, with “Welc” on the unit display – Not “Welcome” just “Welc” – no video output yet … – NOT GOOD
8) At 10:05, video came back up and it was recording on Channel 2 (not 6) like it was supposed to be. The time had reset to 9:42PM!!!
9) I still had no control of the unit.
10) About 5 minutes latter the unit finally responded to “Stop” and stopped recording. The 7 minutes or so of the phantom record was stored on the hard disk. Time was still incorrect.
11) In another 10 minutes the time corrected itself. And the unit went back to normal.
12) Obviously I did not get the CSI NY recording ...

If anyone has any idea of what is going on with my unit – I would appreciate some insight.

Some of you have recently mentioned that Gemstar might be doing an TVGOS update – would anyone be stupid enough to do an update in prime time? Do we have any idea what this update might be?

I am in Orlando, Florida, just in case someone else experienced this problem in the area.

Refer to my previous posts about my (and some other peoples) (maybe related) recording problems.

Tonight, everything seems to be back to normal – whatever normal is with this unit.

Sounds like a normal reboot but the question is why. My unit restarted yesterday when I turned it on. I thought maybe it was because the Gemstar stuff was fixed or whatever they did. The time always seems to get messed up by a bit then corrects itself after a few minutes.

Have you checked the temperature of the harddrives inside? Maybe it got too hot and shut down to save itself.

I have seen precisely what you have seen with weekly scheduled recordings, dszigeti -- most recently, last night. It's also true that sometimes I have had no problems recording several shows back-to-back. But recording failures still occur occasionally, without warning, and I've seen only one consistent feature: in EVERY case when I have had a scheduled recording fail to record, it is a program that had another program scheduled to record immediately before or after it. I am going to try the simplest fix to address this point, which is to specify that any back-to-back scheduled recordings should end "one minute early."

-- Bill

I had this problem with my DHG-HDD500. It began after I changed my scheduled recordings from "once" (where I had to put them in each week) to "regularly." The first time, I thought I must have forgotten to schedule it. Then it happened several more times (I found the items had disappeared from the "scheduled" list ahead of their times and re-entered them), so I experimented by changing back all my scheduled recordings to "once." I have not lost a scheduled recording since. My first thought was that somehow the rescheduling function for just-recorded shows was exceeding some internal (and unadvertised) limit to the maximum number of scheduled recordings. But I scheduled even more recordings, and as long as all items were marked "once", none were lost. So, it is a bug, but one I can live with now that I know how to avoid the problem. Maybe Sony will fix it one day!

Well add me to the zero TV guide data today, Lets hope this is because of some update to the software. :( First time this has happened to me in the couple of months since I had the unit, Although my recordings are still there so Looks like I am still good to go there. We will see how this plays out, Probably wont be good though for more recordings as it seems like it takes a good 5 to 7 days to fill the data back in, The message it gives me is I made a change and it was making the listing correct for that change, I havent changed anything on the unit since it started working.

This happened to me (with the same "change message") just a few days ago. It followed a period of steadily-degrading cable signal strength followed by a brief (~1 minute) outage. I attributed the TV Guide problem to the poor signal strength/outage of the cable -- i.e., that the TV Guide info got garbled then. Is there any correlation between your incident and cable problems there (or are you OTA?)

I have the HDD500 and I have a question for others?

Once I turn on the unit the temps. on the 2 drives is 108 and 110.
After it is running for a few hours the drive temps are 118 on one
drive and 122 on the other.

Is this a normal temp or low or high. I have a LG3410 and I run fans on it because it has a heat problem. I just want to see how this Sony unit runs at.

Thanks for any replys.
Mike

Those temps are in the ballpark for my HDD500. It's in the bedroom, which is a bit cooler now that the season has changed (I'm in NVa). Now my startup temps are ~98F for Drive 1 and ~102 for Drive 2.

Hi,I just got the dhg 500, and through the cable i can get cbs-hd,abc-hd and nbc-hd. But i can't get UPN-HD or WB-HD. I figure it depends on your local cable company,but is there any way i can punch in the channel like "10.3 or 15.4" to get them? I wonder if there's any hidden channels i can get, how could i find them?

In my case, the WB-HD station (as well as others in my area) does exist on cable, but the CABLE channel number is a derivative of the station's broadcast number rather than the channel number it has on cable. For example, the WB station is 12 on cable but 50 on broadcast, so the cable channel designation for WB-HD is 50.2 rather than 12.2. And it was found automatically by the HDD500 during setup. Have you checked this possibility? (Or does your cable preserve the broadcast designation?) Just a thought.

Also lost TV Guide listings and live in Northern Virginia. Scheduled recordings still there. Didn't change anything but says it will update in next 24 hours! We'll see. Can still get the logos and individual info for programs on each channel but it's a pain to flip through all channels to see what's on.

I'm beginning to think there was a TV Guide problem. Same thing happened to me at the beginning of this week, and I also live in NVa. I thought it might have been related to a brief cable outage (Comcast in Prince William Co.), but maybe not. Anyway, this may not have been a problem with the recorder since we both experienced it.

Since no one seems to be having the problems I'm having, I'll just keep providing updates to my situation on the off-chance that someone will have a suggestion or this helps someone make the decision to buy or not buy this unit.

Finally talked to a human at Sci-Atl on Wednesday and Thursday. Guy on Wednesday didn't seem to know much about CableCARD and just wrote everything down and "sent it to the engineers." Called today for an update and got a different guy who simply asked, "when was it built?" Mine was built May '05. Apparently Sci-Atl developed a firmware upgrade in Apr '05 and all CC built after then have it already. Besides that, he seemed determined to not allow the blame to be put on the CableCARD.

SO, I'm back to waiting on Sony, who today said they have no update on a fix to why I keep loosing Digital Tier programming shortly (30m - 2 hrs) after a reset (including hard factory default resets.)

...hmmm...hmm...hmmm....

I don't know if my experience applies, but I can tell you what happened to me: Two Sony HDTVs (KD-30XS955 and KD-34XBR960), both equipped with cablecards. The 960 worked flawlessly, never lost digital channels. The 955 was continually losing the channels. Finally got so disgusted with the 955 problems (which cable company couldn't solve and wanted to blame on the TV) that I returned the CC. Ultimately concluded that signal strength on the 955 input was enough weaker that it caused the CC to lose sync with the cable. (Difference in strength between the two TVs was ~3dB). Got rid of the other CC and dropped digital cable once my introductory package expired and the cost went through the roof. Since then cable company has increased input signal strength significantly, but I won't pay the extortionist price of digital cable. Your problem sounds a lot like my experience. If so, I'd have the cable company work on improving signal strength.

Sam Johnson stated ...
I had this problem with my DHG-HDD500. It began after I changed my scheduled recordings from "once" (where I had to put them in each week) to "regularly." ... so I experimented by changing back all my scheduled recordings to "once."

Sam, doesn't the "once" setting mean that you have to schedule recordings manually, every week? Did you mean "weekly" (W)?

Sounds like a normal reboot but the question is why. My unit restarted yesterday when I turned it on. I thought maybe it was because the Gemstar stuff was fixed or whatever they did. The time always seems to get messed up by a bit then corrects itself after a few minutes.

Have you checked the temperature of the harddrives inside? Maybe it got too hot and shut down to save itself.

Good points ...

But would not a reboot taken me through the complete "Welcome" and setup again? With the associated loss of settings? I didn't lose anything but 30 minutes of frustration and one recording :mad:

I will check the temperatures, but as I stated the unit went through its bizarre stage and then continued operating. So it's temperature should have remained about constant ... maybe ... :(

Good points ...

But would not a reboot taken me through the complete "Welcome" and setup again? With the associated loss of settings? I didn't lose anything but 30 minutes of frustration and one recording :mad:

I will check the temperatures, but as I stated the unit went through its bizarre stage and then continued operating. So it's temperature should have remained about constant ... maybe ... :(

A reboot doesn't lose any settings. You have to actually go into the system menus in order to refresh your settings. I accidentally did that to the Gemstar info when I meant to click on Gemstar Test lol You can reboot your system manually just for a fresh start, but all your settings and guide data will remain. The clock just messes up for a few minutes before finding the correct time again. It could be just a crash like happens on Windows where you are doing something and you get the blue screen of old days.

So, i've done a cursory search and saw some other users with similar issues, but none seemed to be the same. Thought I'd post and see if anyone can help me out.

I recently purchased my dhg-hdd250 off of ebay, <-- turned out to be a mistake.

Everything seemed to work fine out of the box. Plugged in the cable and it found a bunch of digital channels, e.g. 2, 2.1, 3, 3.1, ... 98.1, 98.2, etc...

Overnight it downloaded the tvguide data, but the tv channels didn't map to the digital channels. They mapped to the original Comcast lineup.

From my Sony TV (also with cablecard) I remember that these were fixed by inserting a cablecard and that the cablecard had some mappings in it to change the channels from 2.1 to 702.

Now here's the problem.

Cable guy comes to install the cable card and when he inserts it, the unit hangs for about 5 minutes and it never finds any channels. We confirm that the card works by inserting into my TV upstairs and it works fine. I call Sony, talk to level 2 support and they tell me that there's a problem with the box and gave me an RMA to return.

Rather than pay to ship the unit to PA, I thought I'd check here first.

1) any thoughts on how to get cablecard to work?
2) I really don't need cablecard if I can figure out how to decifer the channel lineup 98.1, 98.2.. etc... So if anyone knows where to get channel lineups for Bay Area Comcast, maybe that will fix my problems too.

Thanks
Robert

Thanks,Sam johnson. Iv'e found FOX HD,WB HD,PBS HD. But i still can't find UPN HD. It says channel 19 in the tv guide and i punched in 19.1,19.2 and so on and nothing came up.

I was scrolling through the available channels in the edit channels menu of TVGOS when I discovered that there were several new channels available since the last time I checked. Maybe this has something to do with why some people had TVGOS failures earlier this week.

Sam Johnson stated ...
I had this problem with my DHG-HDD500. It began after I changed my scheduled recordings from "once" (where I had to put them in each week) to "regularly." ... so I experimented by changing back all my scheduled recordings to "once."

Sam, doesn't the "once" setting mean that you have to schedule recordings manually, every week? Did you mean "weekly" (W)?


Yes, I have to schedule them each week. Have not tried the "weekly" (vs. regularly). I may do so just to see if that also causes dropped scheduling. I do know that not a single scheduled recording has been dropped so long as I use "once" exclusively. (Note that, in my case, the scheduled recordings disappeared from the "scheduled" list prior to the time of the program. To my knowledge, the recorder has never failed to record a show as long as it was actually in the scheduled list at the time the program started.) Hope this helps.

So, i've done a cursory search and saw some other users with similar issues, but none seemed to be the same. Thought I'd post and see if anyone can help me out.

I recently purchased my dhg-hdd250 off of ebay, <-- turned out to be a mistake.

Everything seemed to work fine out of the box. Plugged in the cable and it found a bunch of digital channels, e.g. 2, 2.1, 3, 3.1, ... 98.1, 98.2, etc...

Overnight it downloaded the tvguide data, but the tv channels didn't map to the digital channels. They mapped to the original Comcast lineup.

From my Sony TV (also with cablecard) I remember that these were fixed by inserting a cablecard and that the cablecard had some mappings in it to change the channels from 2.1 to 702.

Now here's the problem.

Cable guy comes to install the cable card and when he inserts it, the unit hangs for about 5 minutes and it never finds any channels. We confirm that the card works by inserting into my TV upstairs and it works fine. I call Sony, talk to level 2 support and they tell me that there's a problem with the box and gave me an RMA to return.

Rather than pay to ship the unit to PA, I thought I'd check here first.

1) any thoughts on how to get cablecard to work?
2) I really don't need cablecard if I can figure out how to decifer the channel lineup 98.1, 98.2.. etc... So if anyone knows where to get channel lineups for Bay Area Comcast, maybe that will fix my problems too.

Thanks
Robert


1. If there is a problem with the box, what I am about to suggest won't make a difference. I found I had cablecard problems when the strength of the incoming signal was below a certain threshold. Did the cable guy check the signal strength at the recorder, and did it match or exceed the strength of the signal at the TV where the card did work? If the answer is yes to both, then Sony may be right.

2. You will, indeed, need a cable card to unscramble any scrambled channels on the cable signal. That, and mapping channels to their advertised numbered locations, is about all I think the card accomplishes. You should be capable of receiving any unscrambled digital (or analog, for that matter) channel on the cable simply by connecting the coax cable to the input labeled "cable" on the recorder. Going through set-up will cause the recorder to recognize all unscrambled cable channels, digital and analog. (In my case, all the unscrambled digital channels are associated with broadcast (over-the-air) stations.) Note that the digital OTA stations will be decimal derivatives of the corresponding stations' broadcast numbers, not their cable numbers (if they differ). Again, the recorder will find them automatically if they are not scrambled.

Hope this helps

Thanks,Sam johnson. Iv'e found FOX HD,WB HD,PBS HD. But i still can't find UPN HD. It says channel 19 in the tv guide and i punched in 19.1,19.2 and so on and nothing came up.


If the UPN HD is on the cable and is unscrambled, the recorder should have found it. Perhaps the UPN HD channel is not carried on the cable, or is scrambled.

I don't know if my experience applies, but I can tell you what happened to me: Two Sony HDTVs (KD-30XS955 and KD-34XBR960), both equipped with cablecards. The 960 worked flawlessly, never lost digital channels. The 955 was continually losing the channels. Finally got so disgusted with the 955 problems (which cable company couldn't solve and wanted to blame on the TV) that I returned the CC. Ultimately concluded that signal strength on the 955 input was enough weaker that it caused the CC to lose sync with the cable. (Difference in strength between the two TVs was ~3dB). Got rid of the other CC and dropped digital cable once my introductory package expired and the cost went through the roof. Since then cable company has increased input signal strength significantly, but I won't pay the extortionist price of digital cable. Your problem sounds a lot like my experience. If so, I'd have the cable company work on improving signal strength.

Thanks, Sam, for passing on your experience. I'm not sure what's going on these days. I had TWC come out and check signal strength; they even replaced the cable I was using from the wall to the unit. They told me I had great signal strenth (10 of 13 specifically...although that's a strange scale)

I'm STILL waiting on Sony Level II support to get back to me. Supposedly the engineers are trying to figure out what can be wrong with my unit. I'm thinking Sony is giving me the cold shoulder since they've already replaced my unit once...and of COURSE it can't be the unit's fault twice in a row! Heaven forbid....

So I'll just keep pinging them and if I don't get the right words/solution by end of next week, I'm going to ask to return it for some $$$. :eek:

Thanks, Sam, for passing on your experience. I'm not sure what's going on these days. I had TWC come out and check signal strength; they even replaced the cable I was using from the wall to the unit. They told me I had great signal strenth (10 of 13 specifically...although that's a strange scale)

I'm STILL waiting on Sony Level II support to get back to me. Supposedly the engineers are trying to figure out what can be wrong with my unit. I'm thinking Sony is giving me the cold shoulder since they've already replaced my unit once...and of COURSE it can't be the unit's fault twice in a row! Heaven forbid....

So I'll just keep pinging them and if I don't get the right words/solution by end of next week, I'm going to ask to return it for some $$$. :eek:

You're right, those are odd numbers. dB? My Sony TV will show signal strength and my problems occurred when HD stations' signal strength was around 28dB or less -- cablecard would lose sync and I would lose access to digital stations. After Comcast made some improvements to the overall system, signal strength is now at 32dB. The HDD500 registers a % for signal strength rather than a dB number, and mine shows the digital stations are in the mid-80's. Does this compare with yours?

Yes, I have to schedule them each week. Have not tried the "weekly" (vs. regularly). I may do so just to see if that also causes dropped scheduling. I do know that not a single scheduled recording has been dropped so long as I use "once" exclusively. (Note that, in my case, the scheduled recordings disappeared from the "scheduled" list prior to the time of the program. To my knowledge, the recorder has never failed to record a show as long as it was actually in the scheduled list at the time the program started.) Hope this helps.

I definately had missed/dropped recordings when I routinely set up recordings as "regularly" rather than "weekly". I believe "regularly" is intended for shows which show several times a week at the same time like Letterman at 11:35 on weeknights. When two "regularly" recordings conflict, I think the unit drops one silently.

I've been setting recordings as "weekly" for most shws and I haven't had a "regular" recording silently drop off of the list.

You're right, those are odd numbers. dB? My Sony TV will show signal strength and my problems occurred when HD stations' signal strength was around 28dB or less -- cablecard would lose sync and I would lose access to digital stations. After Comcast made some improvements to the overall system, signal strength is now at 32dB. The HDD500 registers a % for signal strength rather than a dB number, and mine shows the digital stations are in the mid-80's. Does this compare with yours?

Yes, WHEN I can get a digital channel to show up (usually requires a reset), the HDD250 will show usually 88-percent signal strength.

So, just to clarify, with Comcast, a CC (what manufacturer?), an HDD500 and a signal strength of 32 dB, your digital tier (encrypted) comes in all the time? No 161-6 msg?

I ask so I can consider whether to call TWC out AGAIN and check dB versus the 10/13 ratio they gave me last time.

Cable provider is Comcast. CableCard is a Motorola v4.05. 3 weeks ago I got Comcast's "digital classic" which I needed to pickup a CableCard to receive, which I did and took a technician visit to get the CableCard to work.

Ok, no problem there, but Friday I was doing some electrical work and turned off the DVR for an hour. When I turned it back on, I had no premium channels anymore.

The tech support people over the phone at Comcast are only allowed to send an "HIT" signal, which didn't unlock the CableCard. And went through this issue when I first installed the CableCard, too...

A technician is stopping by tomorrow, but I'm sure the same thing will happen again. He'll get here, make a phone call, then the CableCard will unlock in 10 seconds just like it did before.

So the questions I have are, if anyone has gone through this..

1) What are the actual signals by name sent by Comcast to unlock a CableCard so I can let them know when this happens again?
2) Why does the CableCard lose its conditional access provisioning when powered down?

Yes, WHEN I can get a digital channel to show up (usually requires a reset), the HDD250 will show usually 88-percent signal strength.

So, just to clarify, with Comcast, a CC (what manufacturer?), an HDD500 and a signal strength of 32 dB, your digital tier (encrypted) comes in all the time? No 161-6 msg?

I ask so I can consider whether to call TWC out AGAIN and check dB versus the 10/13 ratio they gave me last time.

I'm afraid my post was a little confusing. When I jousted with the cable company over the cablecards, they were in my Sony TVs, not the HDD500. I dropped digital cable and the cablecards many months before the HDD500 was available. (Still get broadcast network HDTV over the cable on both the TVs and the HDD500, since they are not scrambled.) While I had the CC in both TVs, my best signal strength was ~30dB on the TV which never lost sync, ~28dB or less on the one which repeatedly dropped sync and gave me the error message you mention. I was hypothesizing that my experience with cablecard/signal strength and dropped sync on the TV with poorer signal strength might well apply to your experience with the HDD500 since both TV and recorder are recent Sony products and may have very similar (or even identical) tuners and software. Sorry for the confusion. My CC was Scientific Atlanta.

My DHG-HDD250 just dropped the FOX weekly recording of House and Prison Break for no reason. Last night they were both on the schedule, this morning, they were not on the schedule. There was no red circle on the guide either. I added them both again and they now show up. This happened once before for both shows about a month ago, so perhaps it's a FOX guide issue in my area? It seems like others here who are having the problem have seen the problem be specific to one particular network as well.

The problem this unit has with adding random channels to the guide is just annoying, but randomly removing scheduled recordings is a pretty serious bug in my opinion. It's pretty sad that I have to check the scheduled recordings every morning.

On another note, has anybody had audio problems with their units? Every once in a while the audio will just skip for about a second - it sounds like turning the mute button on/off quickly. If I rewind back to where it skipped, it doesn't skip when playing back the second time, so it appears that the problem isn't with the recording. I'm just trying to determine if it's a problem with the unit, or if I should try a new optical cable for digital audio.

Any responses are appreciated, thanks.

The problem this unit has with adding random channels to the guide is just annoying, but randomly removing scheduled recordings is a pretty serious bug in my opinion. It's pretty sad that I have to check the scheduled recordings every morning.

Any responses are appreciated, thanks.

Are you using OTA, cable via coax, or cable card?

It seems to me that the large majority of people reporting problems are using cable card. It leads me to believe that most are experiencing early adopter issues.

I use my DHG for OTA viewing only and have not had any problems with lost recordings, phantom channel additions or removals, etc.

-phil

Are you using OTA, cable via coax, or cable card?


I am using OTA and cable via coax - no cable card. I'm tempted to redo the setup to get guide data from the OTA PBS channel since it's currently using the cable PBS channel.

I've noticed an occasional sound drop-out as well. It seems to be most common right
after I've fast forwarded through the commercials. I don't remember noticing it when
I used "advance" to get past commercials, but now that I'm using FF, it seems to
happen occasionally. Of course, I may just be imagining the correlation.

Dan (Woj...)

On another note, has anybody had audio problems with their units? Every once in a while the audio will just skip for about a second - it sounds like turning the mute button on/off quickly. If I rewind back to where it skipped, it doesn't skip when playing back the second time, so it appears that the problem isn't with the recording. I'm just trying to determine if it's a problem with the unit, or if I should try a new optical cable for digital audio.

Yes, this audio glitch occurs at random times. It probably has something to do with a processing delay when reading from the HDD.

I've also seen playback hang for 15 seconds to over a minute when punching FF two to three times rapidly. For instance, if I hit FF three times quickly to get to 30x, the picture may freeze with 9x displaying. It stays that way for a random amount of time before it finally resumes normally. This seems to happen most often when playing from the beginning of a currently recording program, but can occur at any time. It's seems like a delayed reaction while the unit is trying to do too much at once.

On the good side, I have not experienced any loss of scheduled programs.

...
The tech support people over the phone at Comcast are only allowed to send an "HIT" signal, which didn't unlock the CableCard. And went through this issue when I first installed the CableCard, too...

So the questions I have are, if anyone has gone through this..

1) What are the actual signals by name sent by Comcast to unlock a CableCard so I can let them know when this happens again?

The answer is INIT followed by HIT

2) Why does the CableCard lose its conditional access provisioning when powered down?

Jury still out on this one..

Well I just watched the unit skip my scheduled Boston Legal recording set to weekly on OTA. I was watching ABC already and 10:00 struck and the recording light didn't come on. When I pushed the up directional button I noticed it said No Listing for the title instead of Boston Legal. Well I went into the TV Guide and everything looked fine there. I deleted the recording and added it again. It now started recording from 10pm. However in the "status bar" when you push the up button it shows the first two minutes as one color "No Listing" and from then on it says Boston Legalin a different shade of gray.

Could this missing recording have something to do with missing or incorrect PSIP data? I'm not eevn sure I know what that is I just hear it talked about a lot on here. I find it funny that the Guide would have everything correct, but the title of the program when you hit the info button or the up arrow would show No Listing. I thought that came from the TV Guide info.

It would appear that the Sony doesn't use PSIP at all, beyond the initial scan to determine the virtual channel number. I know any changes to virtual channel mapping or the addition of subchannels is NOT reflected until you scan again, and that has to be a complete antenna scan, not an auto-add scan.

However I have seen many instances where the information bar that pops up automatically at the beginning of shows to tell you what it is is INCORRECT - usually referencing the previous show, even thought the clock is correct. This tends to happen after being on the same channel for a couple hours. Switching to the guide shows everything correct, going back to the info bar still shows the wrong information. Changing channels usually corrects it.

Well, I just had a couple of infuriating experiences with my DVR.

First, while trying to edit the tune channel for a couple of channels, the unit insisted on changing the tune channel for adjacent channels as well. I was not too fond of this. Then when I went to change the tune channel for the channel that was automatically changed for me, the unit changed the tune channel for the channel I had just edited. So, for some reason the unit thought that these channels should be tied together. A front-panel reset had no effect on this behavior.

So, to fix this, I moved an out-of-area channel (KOKH, Oklahoma City's Fox) in between the two channels that were being tied together. Then I fixed the tune channels for both channels without them automatically changing each other. Problem solved.

This leads me to my second issue. When I tried to move KOKH back to its original location (300 something) TV Guide would only let me put in a two digit number for the channel's location number. So I was forced to move KOKH to 99 and then move the channels over 100 that I actually use down one by one until KOKH was pushed back over 100 with the rest of the stations that I don't receive.

I then played around with some of the other Fox channels to see if they were also limited to typing in two-digit numbers. Only one of them that I tried was, another KOKH listing. The reason I thought it might be a Fox thing is because of a recent article in Sound and Vision that stated that Fox is usually listed near the top of the listings in TVGOS. (Fox and TV Guide are both owned by News Corp.) I didn't try all of the Fox listings, though.

First point: I'm not exactly sure what you're taking about... I had no problem remapping any of my channels, but it sounds like you may be talking about HD subchannels, and no HD channel mappings are provided for my area (so I ended up remapping the antenna versions).

Second point: you are aware that, in the channel editing screen, if you move the cursor LEFT it highlights the channel number, and then you can use the up/down arrows to move it freely around the list? And you can even use Chan+/Chan- to move it a whole screen at a time.

None of this silly typing-in-position-number stuff. :-)

I didn't have any trouble remapping channels on initial setup. And these are not HD subchannels.

Cox has a digital channel and an analog version of the local stations to prevent ghosting.

While trying to remap the analog channel to the digital (non-HD) cable version, TV Guide kept changing the tune channels for the adjacent channels.

It would appear that the Sony doesn't use PSIP at all, beyond the initial scan to determine the virtual channel number. I know any changes to virtual channel mapping or the addition of subchannels is NOT reflected until you scan again, and that has to be a complete antenna scan, not an auto-add scan.

However I have seen many instances where the information bar that pops up automatically at the beginning of shows to tell you what it is is INCORRECT - usually referencing the previous show, even thought the clock is correct. This tends to happen after being on the same channel for a couple hours. Switching to the guide shows everything correct, going back to the info bar still shows the wrong information. Changing channels usually corrects it.

Oh well, I tried :) It is odd how the indicator bar said No Listing though. Maybe this is why the recording did not start. Maybe sometimes there is a delay like you said with the information synching up with the TV Guide data and the clock. Somehow it falls behind it seems.

I have an HD front projection setup, and use it to watch DVD movies, and OTA HD broadcasts, if the show is deemed "bulb-worthy." Otherwise I use my DirecTV Tivo that is hooked up to a big old RPTV.

With the increasing number of HD broadcast shows on the networks, and the increasing glut of commercials on the popular shows, I decided to get this unit to time shift and skip commercials.

I have DirecTV service, and decided against HD service from them, since I would have to get the locals OTA, anyway, which I can do with no problem. The Sony unit looked attractive, with OTA and Cable support, and with no fees for the guide.

After checking Ebay, and learning that the best deal you can get on a new unit was only about $50 less than the best deal online, I ordered it online last Thursday, and it arrived on Monday. I thought purchasing off of Ebay would be a very bad idea for a unit that I might want to return in a few days.

Connecting it was no problem, since I was replacing a Samsung OTA set top box with this one.

It found all the analog and digital stations, and first look with the projector showed the PQ to be great for HD. Here the TVGOS comes in on local channel 13, and after 24 hours I had about 3 days worth of schedule. I edited the channel list, and the Guide, and put the HD channels in numerical order. This procoess was a little tricky. After reading a post above, I knew to separate duplicated (analog and digital) channels before editing them. Also, the guide does not provide digital listing info for some of the independent channels, so I edited the tune channel for those, and deleted all the other analog channels from the guide, except channel 13, placing it at the end of the list.

The result was a guide with just the OTA HD channels I cared about, and able to get listings for all of them.

Last night I time shifted NCIS and House, and started watching NCIS while House was still recording. It worked perfectly. I used the 30 advance to skip commercials, just like on my DirecTV Tivo unit. It all worked like a charm.

I guess time will show just how useful this unit is. But I am optimistic. With April 2009 as the new analog TV cutoff date, I have three and a half years to amortize the cost of this unit, assuming it becomes useless after that, which I doubt. Information on some of the diagnostic screens leads me to believe that the guide data could be broadcast on an ATSC data stream and read by this unit with no serious changes.

HD OTA channels in use on my setup (Richardson-Dallas, Texas):
4.1 (Fox)
5.1 (NBC)
8.1 (ABC)
11.1 (CBS)
13.1 (PBS)
21.1 (UPN)
27.1 (Ind)
33.1 (WB)

There are a slew of Spanish language, and religious digital stations, but I do not watch those.

Just for grins I hooked up the unit to my A-side cable (used for Internet service) on Richardson Comcast:

In case you can use this info, here are the HD channel mappings, without a cable card for this cable plant:

46.1 -> 13.1
46.2 -> 8.1
49.1 -> 11.1
49.2 -> (TNT HD)
49.3 -> 21.1
53.1 -> 4.1
53.2 -> 5.1
99.3 -> 33.1

There were several other SD digital channels, but I don't watch SD on this FP system. (It is not worth the bulb hours to me).

Note that 27.1 is not provided by Comcast. I have never seen any true HD content on 27.1. It has always been upconverted SD programming. I also checked and verified that analog channel 13 on cable was brodcasting the VBI packets.

If you wanted to just use the Cable, I bet you could edit your guide with the above actual channel numbers, and do just fine. That way you could have the locals in HD (save one), with no cable card, and just a Basic cable subscription.

For piddling around with all of this stuff, I connected a standard TV via the composite output of the unit, so I could play around without firing up the projector.

Hope you find this informative.

I tried doing a search but found nothing, so as owner of a DHGHDD250 and a Sony TV with QAM tuner I will bring the subject up here.

I work at an independent AV specialist in Denver. We had some manufacturer training this morning and one of the salesman said he had read that cable would eventually move to the MPEG4 standards that the satellite services will soon be using. This shocked me, as the standards for Cablecard and Cable HD were just implemented less than 2 years ago. If this is true, all of these devices, as well as TVs with QAM tuners would become obsolete.

So, does anyone know if any cable companies have announced plans to go to MPEG4? I have emailed a contact at Comcast on this subject, but don't know how much he will know or tell.

I don't want to start a rumour or squelch people's plans for purchase of the Sony DHG DVR's, but with a new MPEG standard already being implemented by the DSS companies, this subject needs to be addressed anyway. Lew Black

I heard back from a source at Comcast and he said he didn't know of any plans to go to MPEg4, that it would be too expensive. Man, that was good news. He said he will contact me if he hears anything different. Hope I didn't alarm anyone, though I don't think there is harm in bringing up future possibilities. Lew

Well I just watched the unit skip my scheduled Boston Legal recording set to weekly on OTA. I was watching ABC already and 10:00 struck and the recording light didn't come on. When I pushed the up directional button I noticed it said No Listing for the title instead of Boston Legal. Well I went into the TV Guide and everything looked fine there. I deleted the recording and added it again. It now started recording from 10pm. However in the "status bar" when you push the up button it shows the first two minutes as one color "No Listing" and from then on it says Boston Legalin a different shade of gray.

Could this missing recording have something to do with missing or incorrect PSIP data? I'm not eevn sure I know what that is I just hear it talked about a lot on here. I find it funny that the Guide would have everything correct, but the title of the program when you hit the info button or the up arrow would show No Listing. I thought that came from the TV Guide info.

Welcome to our little (lack of recording) nightmare :(

I concur with Daniel Tonks However I have seen many instances where the information bar that pops up automatically at the beginning of shows to tell you what it is, is INCORRECT - usually referencing the previous show, even thought the clock is correct. ... Switching to the guide shows everything correct, ...

I normally find that I get an information bar with "the last show title", that pops on the hour, and then shortly after (10 seconds or so) I get another information bar showing the correct title. I have not connected this to missed recordings ...

Oh ... and it has just turned 2000 here, E-Ring started, and guess what ... no record started. I almost thought that I was over the problems!!! Silly me :mad:

If I can't get an answer soon, I am going to have to return the unit ... Assume that this one has a bug ... this is not good.

Hmm, I've never had two come up - I ether get the correct one, or one with the title of the show that just ended.

Just starting my initial research into this box and have a few questions....

Does selecting "native" output format bypass the scaler ? Does anyone know what scaler, interlacer, de-interlacer the box uses ?

Are there any known issues with HDCP and/or using a HDMI to DVI converter ?

Just starting my initial research into this box and have a few questions....

Does selecting "native" output format bypass the scaler ? Does anyone know what scaler, interlacer, de-interlacer the box uses ?

Are there any known issues with HDCP and/or using a HDMI to DVI converter ?


Selecting Native output sends the signal to your monitor without converting to a predetermined scan rate. I assume it effectively bypasses any scaling or de-interlacing cicuitry in the unit.

I do not know what the technology in the box is.

I use the HDMI to DVI adapter that came with the unit. My setup is with an Panasonic PT-L500U front projector. It works just fine as long as I set the format mode on the unit to "720p." The default mode when you have an HDMI cable connected is "HDMI Auto." It did not look right to me, so I set the format to 720p. After that it was perfect.

HTH

I use the HDMI to DVI adapter that came with the unit. My setup is with an Panasonic PT-L500U front projector. It works just fine as long as I set the format mode on the unit to "720p." The default mode when you have an HDMI cable connected is "HDMI Auto." It did not look right to me, so I set the format to 720p. After that it was perfect.

HTH

Does using the HDMI to DVI adapter effect the format mode "native" ?

Where are people buying these units ?

...Where are people buying these units ?They're available many places online -- Crutchfield, Dynaco, Fotoconnection, Central Digital, Abes of Maine, Buy Rite, Park Avenue, Inoax, OneCall, Radar City, Best Buy....blah blah...

Frys Electronics had it in stock at the store here in Phoenix.

They're available many places online -- Crutchfield, Dynaco, Fotoconnection, Central Digital, Abes of Maine, Buy Rite, Park Avenue, Inoax, OneCall, Radar City, Best Buy....blah blah...

You quoted me properly but didn't answer my question. I didn't want to know who is selling the DHG....I wanted to know where people are buying them. A subtle difference but a significant one because I am assuming people here are looking for good deals on them.

BTW - bestbuy.com doesn't sell them, are the B&M stores a different story ?

Got mine from J & R Music World..

1a) Pretty much... if it comes in as 1280x720 or 1920x1080 or 480i, it leaves the same way...
1b) No idea.

2) As long as your DVI device is DVI/HDCP or DVI/HDTV then you should be fine. Also, it works fine through my HDMI switcher (unlike a certain popular Scientific Atlanta product). There is one GOTCHA: if you use HDMI/DVI the box will keep resetting to AUTO mode when you power it on and you were previously on a specific output mode, such as always 720p or 1080i. "Auto" is essentially native - it'll put out any resolutions that your device accepts (for example, some will not accept 480i over HDMI/DVI).

Does using the HDMI to DVI adapter effect the format mode "native" ?

Where are people buying these units ?


No it does not efect the native output mode. I keep my unit at 720p. When it comes out of standby, it remains at 720p. I believe that as long as you do not unplug or externally switch out the HDMI cable, it will remember the last format you selected for the HD modes.

I do not know where other people are buying. I got mine at onecall.com. They had the best price for a new unit online, from a reputable dealer.

I searched bizrate.com and shopping.com to scan for best prices.

You quoted me properly but didn't answer my question. I didn't want to know who is selling the DHG....I wanted to know where people are buying them. A subtle difference but a significant one because I am assuming people here are looking for good deals on them.

BTW - bestbuy.com doesn't sell them, are the B&M stores a different story ?

I bought mine at Tweeter in the store.

I bought mine from Sammans.com in late August.

-phil