My 250 (Long Island) seems to be working ok and I use strictly OTA

Are you still getting an OTA Analog Host on LI or have you somehow transitioned to a Digital Host seamlessly?

Turns out we had a power outage and my HDD250 did more than a soft reset.
Geezzz, I have a spare UPS that I should have kept attached to it.
Well, now I'm forced to see what it will do on its on.

If anyone has any suggestions on what to do to help it along, Thanks!
But I think just letting it sit off is the only option. If I don't get my grid back, I will either put up an OTA Antenna or....

Cw

Turns out we had a power outage and my HDD250 did more than a soft reset.
[...]
If anyone has any suggestions on what to do to help it along, Thanks!
But I think just letting it sit off is the only option. If I don't get my grid back, I will either put up an OTA Antenna or....

Cw

After any kind of reset, I always tune to the VBI channel, and run a G* Test. I have found that after a reset my VBI "engine" doesn't start automatically for some reason, and I run a G* Test to get the data flowing (if the data isn't flowing, my unit does nothing, until I do this). You can also go into the 753 menu, and check the various screens and verify that data is coming in. I'd also note what firmware/patch version your unit has (this is shown on the first screen of the 753 menu). If your firmware shows as 08.01.42/00.00.00, then your unit needs to download 2 patches before it will do much of anything. The reason I mention this is that after each patch version loads (first /08.05.42, and then /08.06.44), it resets the DHG again, and you have to run a G* Test to get the VBI data flowing again, in order for it to get the next patch. After it gets version 08.01.42/08.06.44, then you can turn off the DHG and let it sit.

Mark

If your using a cable card, unplug it wait for the time to reset and then plug it back in.
Worked for me.

Gregg

Here in the Philly area (Host channel KYW-DT, 3.1 OTA), things are a little bit different, but follow the same pattern:

Day 6: Complete listings

Day 7: Complete up to 8PM, then partial (2 or 3 channels out of 15 turned on)

Day 8: Partial listings up to 8PM (continue from day 7), then all "No Listing"

So there's something magical about 8PM. In the not-too-distant past I had noticed a cutoff (between listings and no-listings) around 4AM of day 8, when the day 8 listings were missing (which wasn't always.)

So apparently, if we don't mind having only 5-6 days of semi-reliable listings, things are dandy. I say "semi-reliable" because right up until showtime Thursday night TVGOS listed a new episode of Bones on Fox, but what should appear but Dancing With the Stars instead! Sigh...

I'm in Media, PA, but on Comcast. I have the same basic 6-day guide that you describe. with about 50% listings for Day 6 and about 10% for Days 7/8.

I do notice the same 8PM cutoff as well.

The annoying thing about this is that many cable channels no longer have descriptions for the shows. Just about all of the Nickelodeon shows have no descriptions ... just cast. Network shows are A-OK!

As for the Bones/DWTS ... do you have that right? Bones is on Fox and DWTS is on ABC. That would be a real bad guide-bug.

ft

That sounds like a good plan...I did run the G* test this morning to make sure I was getting VBI across the cable. I figured I would keep checking the firmware....to see if it updates. I will run the G* each time.
Even though I have reading these posts daily for the last month, my head can be dizzy with all the info, conspiracy theories, hyperbolie....and daily drama. I think we should pitch this to the networks for a movie of the week...or maybe at least a 4 hr mini series. I don't know if the would rate it as Drama, Comedy, XXX or Horror. It certainly has the elements to be any and all of those.

So, I wait and see what my little box does!!!

Cw

Did the TVGOS restore default (in the TVGOS menu, not the one that wipes recorded content).


If your TVGOS software was set back to the default 08.01.42/00.00.00, then you will need to go through 2 software patch updates (08.05.40 and 08.06.44). This can be done by tuning the recorder to a channel that has TVGOS data present, running the G* Test, and leaving the recorder on (you may need to run the G* Test a second time after the first software patch downloads). Or, after your recorder finds a host channel, you can just leave the recorder off and you will receive the software patches (I'm not sure if you can receive them with the recorder off and no host channel because I have never done this).

I had a clock in the morning, but no grid/guide/or option to pick a cable system.

I've tried re-resetting, unplugging, everything, leaving the thing on G*Test on the digital host for hours. I get a clock but nothing else.


You need to receive a time zone packet in order to get the clock set to the correct local time and you need to get the TVGOS software patched to version 08.06.44 in order to get DST to be set correctly for the new DST schedule.

Both WFYI-20 (analog) and 20.1 (digital) pass the VBI test, and either can be used to set the clock in my experience. Could it be that the Sony is seeing just enough activity on the Analog side that it's sticking there, but there's no real data on that due to Macrovision's idiocy?

Even if the recorder has a host channel (which yours doesn't at the moment), in less than three days time it will look for another host channel if it is isn't receiving sufficiently good data from that channel. Without a host channel, it should be looking for one. In order to find out where to look, it needs to receive zip code packets and find one that matches the one you entered during setup.

And if so, why wouldn't leaving it in G*Test mode on digital fix me up?


You can only get so far leaving the recorder on. In order to get listings, you must first get a channel lineup. In order to get a channel lineup, you must first get a host channel. In order to get a host channel you must first get zip code packets and you must leave the recorder off. Your recorder will not search for a host channel while it is on.

Mine has been having fits all day.......really cannot tell what is going on.

It has reset itself about 4 times today; but still a brick LOL

Ok, the fits here yesterday (about a half dozen times of resets), was turning back on PBS analogue for downloads.

This morning has days 1,2, 5 and partial 8 filled in 100%. Clock and host is back to 8-0.



This is fine with me. A 100% working box again.

Already scheduled about 8 shows.

The line up (listings) are a lot more on target now (more accurate), only two channels need a number reassignment - no biggie.

Seriously, I do hope Sony and Macrovision do all that is necessary to make these work "correctly" in a 100% digital environment.

Follow-up: This morning I have partial program information: many, but not all, titles, some program information. I didn't do anything since last night when I peeked at the guide. And the channel I left it on was not the Host Channel.l

My situation has deteriorated. I never got full listings. In fact I only have a few days' listings, and they're not complete. Worse still, my DHG has lost its Host Channel. Still worse, it's behaving erratically, like not responding to buttons on the remote. So, for example, when I do the Menu-Screen-9012 thing, I don't get a new menu. The menu just goes away. Makes it hard to run a G* test! Looks like I may have a reset in my (near) future.

Dave Kristol

This is fine with me. A 100% working box again.
.


Me too sweet!!!

As for the Bones/DWTS ... do you have that right? Bones is on Fox and DWTS is on ABC. That would be a real bad guide-bug.My error - t'was American Idol, not DWTS. Fixed.

Ok, after being left on all day...I took a peak.
Clock is back, one hour behind on standard time...so patch #1 is in already.
And!!!!!....i now have a host channel 1:0-96
and the VBI channel is 1:0:705

I did a G* test and will leave everything off again until either tomorrow am, or when I see that the time is correct.

I'm excited that I may get this back on a normal track....tired of G* everyday!

Cw

and this is for comcast cable card setup

Are you still getting an OTA Analog Host on LI or have you somehow transitioned to a Digital Host seamlessly?

A few months ago I used the instructions from http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php and I was able to go to 2.1 as host channel. A week or so ago for some reason it reverted back to channel 13. I went through the procedure again and while it didnt show 2.1 as host (it's now blank) it showed VBI host (dont remember exact field) as 2.1 and I AM getting guide info

time off by 1 hour
1 firmware update to go...

Cw

So my question remains what is Host ID 315???I'm going to attempt this one more time. I replied and when I clicked "Submit Reply" I was told I wasn't logged in.

Go here (http://tvgos.custhelp.com/) and create an account (if you don't already have one), look through the answers. It used to be there, but appears they removed the PDF file listing the GBA's (Host ID's) and what stations transmitted what versions of TVGOS data.

And where did you see anything about G4...was it the manual YOU referred to?See above

To the Washington DC area folks:
I apologize in advance if this has already been posted. As you can tell, I'm a lurker not much of a poster.
So, has anyone in the DC area got their listings yet? If so, what host channel are you using? I've been without listings since March 6. My clock is always 24.5 hours ahead. I've done all of the procedures listed here and nothing has worked. Honestly, I'm really tired of this.
And I'm using a cable card from Comcast. Thanks.

This is going fast...Time is now correct, firmware 8:06:44 is onboard
Just need the grid to fill...
Hopefully Christmas comes in the morning!

Cw

To the Washington DC area folks:
I apologize in advance if this has already been posted. As you can tell, I'm a lurker not much of a poster.
So, has anyone in the DC area got their listings yet? If so, what host channel are you using? I've been without listings since March 6. My clock is always 24.5 hours ahead. I've done all of the procedures listed here and nothing has worked. Honestly, I'm really tired of this.
And I'm using a cable card from Comcast. Thanks.

I have fios cablecard and tuned to channel 513 (digital channel 13) ran the factory G VBI test and left the sony powered on with VBI test running. Checked back several hours later and listings were there (but clock still off one hour). My host channel still remains blank.

At this point, I'm not sure if I can power off the unit at night or keep it running 24/7 and manually run the G VBI test daily to update the guide.

Can someone who has a digital host tell us if the unit can be powered off to receive updates automatically? Thanks.

To the Washington DC area folks:
I apologize in advance if this has already been posted. As you can tell, I'm a lurker not much of a poster.
So, has anyone in the DC area got their listings yet? If so, what host channel are you using? I've been without listings since March 6. My clock is always 24.5 hours ahead. I've done all of the procedures listed here and nothing has worked. Honestly, I'm really tired of this.
And I'm using a cable card from Comcast. Thanks.

I live in Fairfax. I have two 500s. I have Cox with no cable cards. Both of my units show PBS WNET 26 as my host and CBS WUSA 39 as my clock set channel. I have a complete guide through Thursday, spotty guide for Friday, and nothing yet for Saturday or Sunday. My clock is correct and I have had no reboots or any of the major problems being discussed.

For Houston, the TV Guide source began its change back to analogue source last Friday March 27th. Since we have company, I will not be able to take pictures - so explanations will be very thin at this point.

On the VBI error traking page there have been 12 resets (over two weeks), but only "two" of those (0) were completed by me (front panel soft). The other 10 resets (-1) were executed from downloads. ALL are date time stamped; but of particular importance, close to mid-night on March 27th "reset" the date back to 01/01/04. About 4 hours later there were two more resets and have not been any more since.

On the Sch VBI download there are various STID's but that really appears to identify the "type of device" being download to (the Sony Box). Finally, you have a "matching" page of actual downloads, and there you are able to match by pattern which "STID" is the one that goes to your box. In my case it is "only" the second strain of ID's, the other 4 or 5? are ignored by my Sony.

More later when picture can be made - about 1 day away.

Some of the day 8 stuff is missing in listings; HOWEVER, the last two nights our local PBS was off the air - that data will fill in AND the next two nights they should be on 24/7.

To fastep and hednic, thanks for your replies. When I got home from work this morning, I decided to try channel 26(WETA) again. I performed the G* test and took a picture of it to show everyone what I've been getting all this time.

To fastep and hednic, thanks for your replies. When I got home from work this morning, I decided to try channel 26(WETA) again. I performed the G* test and took a picture of it to show everyone what I've been getting all this time.Like most analog stations that had been transmitting TVGOS previously, it clearly isn't now (assuming it ever had.) The presence of an incrementing VBI count would have meant that the station may be transmitting TVGOS data; the absence of such indicates that it definitely is not, at least in your case through Comcast. The other guys are on Cox and FIOS who may be handling TVGOS differently. You need to call Comcast.

My - up to now- good 250 locked up when playing while recording. A front panel reset caused the clock to be an hour behind and the TVGOS software version to be reset at .00

Strangely grid is still there even with the same listings it had before the incident- now off by an hour.



Amazingly it came back in 24 hours.

I don't get it, after 12 hours the clock was back to the correct time in the grid- but was off by a minute on the front panel.

Even more mysteriously, it was back to version .44.

I almost have to believe that when it was showing .00 it was hiding its true state. Could it have gotten from .00 back to .44 in just a few hours?

Also very strange was that the front panel clock would not sync with the internal grid clock- nor the 500 sitting next to it- it was off by about a minute. Even this morning it was still off.

Then, this morning, I did a G-test on the host. Left it on for a couple of minutes and then turned it off. A few minutes ago it had fixed the off minute and is now in sync with the 500.

Listings are another thing. I see no ads and from the various screens I looks like it recieved no listings overnight.

At worst I have a HD VCR while being terrified that every command may lead to another freeze with worse results.

And on it goes.

From Analogue, March 9th; to almost digital, and back to Analogue on Friday March 27th. Short story details:


Pic 6993: New ID Line; completely different from Digital – this will be different I believe for each DMA

Pic 6995: Stored, Matched, Expired now as they should be. “Changed” reflects the show changes for “one” day (just beyond 24 hours), after the Sony box has rotated one day out and a new day in. All but 3 days filled in.

Pic 6996: Section Reception – Slicing; as it should be w/ the Host Channel column finally filled in.

Pic 6997: Total resets since Full Factory Reset back around March 11th? (details on another screen).

Pic 6998: Reads from bottom to top. My first soft reset (front panel) (0) on March 17th. The two lines above is a system self reset a few hours later. For 9 to 10 days – attempted digital yada yada yada – never did obtain Grid or Listings – basically only ads and clock.

On March 26th did another soft reset – (0) in an attempt to wake it up on digital yada yada yada. Then on Midnight the 26th through just before Midnight Friday the 27th the system went through a series of “self resets” (-1). During the Day on Friday I could tell the box was doing all sorts of wild crazy things, so I pretty much just left it alone. At Friday night basically midnight, that one line tells it all – the reset to 01/01/04 – About a year before the box was made! Looks like it took the box 32 seconds to record at least the date time stamp LOL. Then there have been “only” two more self resets “both” about 4 hours later. Generally, the box has been back to 100% operational again.

Pic 7002: Section Reception – VBI Stats – as it should be.

Pic 7003: Section VBI Data – Packet – as it should be.

Pic 7004: Page one of VBI Schedule (to be downloaded). This only goes 2.5 pages now, instead of 3(or 4?) full pages plus the one line. Of particular importance is identification to the Sony Box (StID). This 2.5 pages has FOUR groups (StID) of downloads – 2428, 2687, 4505, and 5319. It is grouping “2687” that goes to MySonyBox. IMO the other groupings go to other devices?

Pic 7007: Shows the actual DL to the box. Notice “only” the second matched area (aligns to 2687) are the ones downloaded.

Pic 7008: Shows the second half of the download to MySonyBox (group 2687). At the beginning of the third group (page 2) with DL ID 70 there are no downloads (does not match MySonyBox by group 2687).

The above information in pictures 7004, 7007, and 7008 are assumptions on my part. Grouping ID could be different from DMA to DMA, AND this covers just over ONE 24 hour period of time. Over several more days – I suppose all groupings could be used? But at this time it does not look like it.


Pic 7014 Section Memory – Channels. Ok my Sony Box is set up for OTA only for Houston market. Unlike digital for this screen, which never filled out correctly; this shows there are 516 channels available (both OTA and cable); BUT I have “only” 22 of those turned on for the OTA digital channels I want to receive. Those 516 channels match the list under TV Guide “Channel Editor” ALL are “off” except the 22 I want “on”

Pic 7016: ATSC Slicer is -0- as expected.

remaining pictures

I can't believe it or explain it- I haven't touched the unit and now a couple of hours later AGAIN the clock is off by one minute on the front panel.

How strange is that?

No More Crazy Red Dots

Side Note: As you can tell the above series of pictures were taken just before noon Sunday - Houston time. The box re-built itself from Friday at midnight with a start system date of 01/01/04; completed two more self resets 4 hours later - - and Turtle has been dancing fine ever since.

You're experiencing the same thing everyone else on here is, and theres really not much you can do about it.

Good news... after most of a week in brick mode (no grid/listings) my unit reawakened and asked me to confirm which cable system I'm hooked up to. I've now got listings for days 1,2,5, 7(partial), 8(partial) apperently via analog TVGOS.

I'm not going to fuss with it for a while. Let's see in a few days how fully populated the listings get.

Marc

What about on digital CBS 9.1? I'm on fios in arlington without a cablecard and mine is still receiving updates every night (it's off overnight).

To fastep and hednic, thanks for your replies. When I got home from work this morning, I decided to try channel 26(WETA) again. I performed the G* test and took a picture of it to show everyone what I've been getting all this time.

2 500's - OTA only
Here's my saga over the last week.

1 500 has been using CBS 0-2 as host and clock set.
In order to keep listings I have left it on, set to 2-1 about everyother day.
Like everyone else, day 7 from 7 Pm through day 8 are no listings.
I now think this will be the norm for Digital VBI data.

1.) I have a DVD/VHS recorder which I used to record 2 nights of VBI from
CBS 0-2 analog. 1 night was 4 hours and 1 was 5.
I wanted to see if the 2nd 500, after a reset, would get the VBI data from
the tape and at least update the software version to 44 and maybe set the clock
to some time related to the recordings.
(As it turned out there may have been a problem with the recordings which I will
explain later).

After a "Reset to Factory Default" and a "Warm reboot" my 2nd 500 had software 42 and
no grid, or clock. All the clock info was gone and all the important 753 screens
basically had zero data.
I reinstalled the zip and did a channel scan for OTA only.
I disconnected the antenna from both the 500 and the VHS and connected the VHS output directly to the antenna input on the 500.
After ten hours of playing the tape I had no change in the 500. I am assuming the
DVR should have been searching for VBI continually since it has no concept of time
without the clock and needs VBI data to operate and I've come to the conclusion
this is always true, that's why it will get data from Digital during the day
when left on.

2.) On Saturday morning I gave up and reconnected the antenna to the 500.
CBS 0-2 was pumping out VBI at an impressive rate of 250 packets per minute.
At 1:30 PM I set the 500 to 0-2, ran a G*test and turned the unit off.
By 5:00 PM I had my clock back but one hour slow.
I repeated the above and by 2:00 AM the clock was correct but no grid.
I ran the G*test on 0-2 again and saw something I had never noticed before,
VBI showed Good - 178, Fixed - 145, Bad - 35 with the numbers increasing as
I watched. I don't recall ever seeing Fixed or Bad data on a VBI channel.

I switched to CBS 2-1 and did the G*test and it passed just fine so I shut
the unit off overnight.
By 11:30 AM Sunday, I had listing through 7:00 PM on day 7.
Host showed 3.0 (Which I've been told is CBS digital and which others in this
area have said their units switched to), Clock set was at CBS 2-1, so
my total reset from start was less than 24 hours.

Also, before doing the second G*test, I looked at the 753 menu and had
zipcode pkts 37, timezone pkts 3, station pkts 10, schedule pkts 2260, and
show pkts 5563. What's interesting is after the clock updated to sw 44 and
the correct time my timezone pkts remained at 3.

The unit when turned off, ignored the analog (maybe because of the bad data)
and used the Digital to get the final info. required to finish even though
it had been using 0-2 for the data earlier.

3.) I'm left wondering if this could be why the VHS recordings didn't work.
Perhaps this occurs every night on analog.

I may try recording data again from 0-2 if I see a packet count like before
and with no errors.

I hope this info. is good news from the stand point that it appears when analog data
is bad or gone, the unit will search and use Digital.

Now I'm off to re-arrange my channel line-up which by the way is a lot cleaner than it used to be.
Most of the channels I normally turn on and use are right at the top were they used to be scattered all up and down the listings.

I'm in San Jose, about 45 miles fromt the transmitting tower, the Sutro tower.

I lied to the DVR giving it a zipcode in the residential area of San Francisco, very near the tower. I installed a minimal OTA VHF antenna that got me clean VBI from CBS, but VBI with errors from PBS. I left the DVR on through the day on the CBS analog station and then turned the DVR OFF through the night. In the morning the DVR asked which cable company I have. I now have a lineup with several days of listings for the OTA channels.

Back before the troubles I had a problem that the OTA listings were not including PBS 32.1 to 32.5 and PBS 60.1 to 60.5. I receive these channels in San Jose, but TV Guide apparently thought my zipcode could not receive them. With the San Francisco zipcode I get full OTA listings.

My host channel is 1:78.0 What the hell is that? My guess is that would be the host in San Francisco. Maybe it doesn't matter if I have an incorrect host. The important thing may have been having an assigned a host, even if it is not there. (My cable analog 78 has no station.)

From Analogue, March 9th; to almost digital, and back to Analogue on Friday March 27th. Short story details:
[...]
Pic 6996: Section Reception – Slicing; as it should be w/ the Host Channel column finally filled in.
[...]

For pic 6996, you should really say "as it should be for an analog host". Using a digital host this page is always zeros on my unit. Someone else in a digital environment can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never seen counts here since switching to a digital host channel.


Pic 6997: Total resets since Full Factory Reset back around March 11th? (details on another screen).


Interesting info on the resets. I had never wandered into the history section of those screens. Looks like the 0x102 resets happen after a patch download. So you can see how long it took for each patch to be received after the reset.

Mark

[...]
Back before the troubles I had a problem that the OTA listings were not including PBS 32.1 to 32.5 and PBS 60.1 to 60.5. I receive these channels in San Jose, but TV Guide apparently thought my zipcode could not receive them. With the San Francisco zipcode I get full OTA listings.
[...]


This is interesting info. My unit, after coming up from a reset, only downloaded listings for 2 out of 11 channels. As if it thinks those are the only 2 channels I can receive. I'm going to see if macrovision can help track down this problem and fix it. I left the unit tuned to my host channel, and left it on for a couple of hours today, and all those channels filled in.

Mark

To fastep and hednic, thanks for your replies. When I got home from work this morning, I decided to try channel 26(WETA) again. I performed the G* test and took a picture of it to show everyone what I've been getting all this time.

When I have run the G* test on 26 over the past few weeks it failed VBI just like your picture. On the 753.. menu 26 has remained as my host channel. The one thing that did change was that 26 was until a month ago, always my clock set channel also, but now that has changed to 39. 39 passes the G* test where before it never did. Very strange, but then again our cable providers are
different.

This morning...grid filled out 5 days, that seems the norm the past week!
I all came back in 24hrs...and now has a host channel 1:0-96.
comcast and cablecard.

Cw

When I have run the G* test on 26 over the past few weeks it failed VBI just like your picture. On the 753.. menu 26 has remained as my host channel. The one thing that did change was that 26 was until a month ago, always my clock set channel also, but now that has changed to 39. 39 passes the G* test where before it never did. Very strange, but then again our cable providers are
different.

What station is channel 39?

Good news... after most of a week in brick mode (no grid/listings)

Brick mode- trust me I know- is not having a clock. Did you have a clock at all?

Noticed that I was missing a few recordings... only to find out that ALL of my listings are missing. Did some web poking around, and found out that my unit is missing a HOST CHANNEL all together. My zip is 44202.

Going to try a WARM RESET to see what happens.

Attention eBay buyers; If you are considering spending the average $400 for a used HDD250, used meaning the seller could not make it work. Consider renting the Cable Co’s DVR. At $10 a month it will take you 3.33 years to spend your $400 and the HDD250 still might not and probably won’t work by then.

It might take you 3.33 years just to understand the info here. Just a simple power failure can take .33 years to recover from. My wife is having the carpets cleaned next week and I have to move the TV stand, meaning I will have to unplug my HDD250, oh God what will I do?

Although, if you watch to much TV as I do and are trying to cut back your viewing, indeed buy one. It just accrued to me that I’m spending less time watching TV, trying to fix something that will let me watch more TV… but there’s nothing I can do, I still have 3.33 years left on my contract and it‘s sort of fun...

Gregg

Attention eBay buyers; If you are considering spending the average $400 for a used HDD250, used meaning the seller could not make it work. Consider renting the Cable Co’s DVR. At $10 a month it will take you 3.33 years to spend your $400 and the HDD250 still might not and probably won’t work by then.

It might take you 3.33 years just to understand the info here. Just a simple power failure can take .33 years to recover from. My wife is having the carpets cleaned next week and I have to move the TV stand, meaning I will have to unplug my HDD250, oh God what will I do?

Although, if you watch to much TV as I do and are trying to cut back your viewing, indeed buy one. It just accrued to me that I’m spending less time watching TV, trying to fix something that will let me watch more TV… but there’s nothing I can do, I still have 3.33 years left on my contract and it‘s sort of fun...

Gregg
I have my listings back, for now, but I'm planning to stick with manual timers.

Where I am, in addition to $15 per month for the cable co. DVR, I would have to upgrade to a digital package, which is about $30 more than basic.

Also, my OTA reception keeps getting better. The transmitting tower is undergoing engineering upgrades through to the end of the year. The digital transmitters are mostly at the bottom of the tower and often running reduced power due to nearby analog channels. By the end of the year the digital transmissions will be from the top of the tower and at full power. At that point I might get rid of cable, except for my interest in CNBC. (CNBC is available over the internet, but the streaming picture quality sucks, for now.)

What about on digital CBS 9.1? I'm on fios in arlington without a cablecard and mine is still receiving updates every night (it's off overnight).

I have Comcast, not FIOS. And I've tried both CBS channels 212(digital) and 9 (standard/non-HD/etc). Nothing worked.

What station is channel 39?

CBS analog that Cox passes through its cable to people with cable ready equipment. (no STB)

39 is CBS analog for cable.
9 is CBS Standard definition digital cable with STB
709 is CBS HD digital cable with STB.
9.1 is also CBS HD digital clear QAM No STB
9.1 I believe is also CBS HD OTA (I Don't use OTA)

Well, my Sony only has 3 days of listings as of today, but at least it shows a host...back to PBS 9. (Same as my LG3410a, which is ALSO back on 9, switched from CBS 5...)

I hope the number of days increases by at least a couple...makes things easier...but 3 is better than 2, which is what I had as of yesterday...

Brick mode- trust me I know- is not having a clock. Did you have a clock at all?

Hi Opinionated,

OK, maybe I shouldn't have said "brick mode." I had a clock somewhere between 12 and 24 hours after the resets I did. Normally, I get the clock back within 2 minutes of the front panel reset completion.

At this point, after 2 full downloads of recovery, I've got days 1-5 fully populated, about 10% of listings in day 6, and the occasional listing here and there in 7-8. Maybe 1% or less. Strange.

Marc

This is after two full days of being back on Analogue PBS for downloads.

Days 1 through 5 - Monday through Friday, are 100% filled in and accurate. Day 6 (Saturday) is about 10% filled in, and not very accurate. Days 7 and 8 (Sunday and Monday) are less than 2% filled in and not accurate.

Currently, have programs scheduled to record for Days 1 through 5 - Monday through Friday of this week.

There have been no additional "system resets". The last pair of resets, just after midnight last Friday, in picture 6998 above has been it.

What is the deal with the 500 version regarding TVGOS? There is a different issue with those over the 250?

Tried the "Warm Reboot" last night by pressing <EXIT> and <TV GUIDE> buttons on the front of the unit simultaneously. Unit clearly rebooted...

Now I have a CLOCK - but the time is off by about 40 minutes (slow.)

TV GUIDE is showing all "No Listing" for each 30 minute time block.

Anyone else in the Cleveland, OH area with the same issue??
Does anyone have a SONY Web Address or E-Mail or Phone Number that we can all "complain" to??

Thanks...

What does DMA stand for? Where in the NY area are you and what is your source?

On one 500 in Northern NJ on one of the Cablevision systems, I am in the same situation.

The source is OTA. I've got a very strong signal 100% on most, 85% on a few, and 70% for the known weak PBS channel. I'm up the Hudson river 45 miles, but almost line of sight with NYC due to the river.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but this my 3rd try to post this reply...

Yes, I am in Dallas. Should have made that clear. I googled this problem and see I'm not alone. w w w.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=29.0;prev_next=next#new

Well, it does seem as though CBS11 is NOT broadcasting TVGOS data. I had a power failure on Friday due to the storms and all three of my units lost their clocks. Two of them came back with their clocks about 6 hours off, the third one does not have a clock at all, but the grid is advancing (if that makes sense).

G* Test confirms no packets on 11.1 or analog 13, and obviously there have been no guide downloads.

This had to have happened around last Tuesday, as I had been using the G* Test screen to recover my clock after some freeze ups.

I'll shoot an email over to CBS11, too. Hopefully they'll respond.

What is the deal with the 500 version regarding TVGOS? There is a different issue with those over the 250?

Having a 250 sitting side by side next to a 500, I've said that since this thing began.

DMA = Demographic Market Area

In the way we use it in thir forum; but it can also mean all of these as well:

http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/DMA


For example the major cities listed here are considered the major DMAs in the USA:

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php

And if you click on the "rank" number you will find the geographic area associated with that DMA - generally, about as far as a OTA signal will reach.

(as others have pointed out Marcrovison uses another term - but means about the same thing).

Having a 250 sitting side by side next to a 500, I've said that since this thing began.

I have sort of followed your thread, but not in great detail. There are all sorts of reasons the two boxes could be responding differently - almost impossible to indentify over the forum.

If your areas as started back up analogue TV Guide - then maybe a soft reset on both boxes at the same time might make both the 250 and 500 work together again?

Before you do that, look at your history screens for error tracking closley. See my pictures 6997 and 6998 above - are there details to be gained there as to what is going on? there is a LOT of information on those two screens, so take your time looking at them and study very closley - there may be a clue(s) there? For example have they been dormate for a long time OR have they recently been going thru a set of "self resets"? Are you able to track "any" of the soft resets "you" on done on those two screens?

If your areas as started back up analogue TV Guide - then maybe a soft reset on both boxes at the same time might make both the 250 and 500 work together again?



At my particular area, the feed has continuously been analog. Maybe Cablevision is converting it from digital but both boxes have received the same feed from the same Host.

I have needed to reset both units and they behaved differently. The 250 reset its TVGOS software to .00 but reacquired it back in one day with the correct time. The 500 showed no difference.

The diagnostic screens are different.

The sad part is that since what we can do is limited just looking at the diagnostics doesn't help us -or me at least- fix anything.

Considering that I also have another 500 at my mother's with no clock and no way of getting data - antenna is unavailable and for some reason the Cable company is not sending a feed either- if at all possible I will avoid reseting my two working ones again under any circumstances unless I must to get out of a freeze.


...........................

Added: So not an hour after I write the above I turn on the 500 to check if it has Tuesday's listings, which it didn't have yesterday, and it freezes solid.

Took a few tries - I thought I would have to pull the plug- and it finally did a front panel reset.

Leaving it on after the G-test to see if it picks up something this afternoon. for some reason this one has more luck when left on.

Still getting the same pattern of listings; full for days 1-5, then partials for 6 & 7, nothing for day 8.
On another listings/no host problem at my girlfriends; Cable only with cards, one in the other out. Shows no host and can not find any channel which passes the VBI test. North Cobb Comcast channel 97 had been the host. Stopped sometime last week. Anyone know if Comcast has quit passing TVGOS, or if they changed the host channel?
I did setup an antenna to get the ota host-channel 2, analog for the time being for one of the dvrs, but have no easy way to get an antenna line to the other. No digital host in the area yet since CBS 46.1 quit transmitting because of equipment problems.
Also, had to do a wipe on the unit without antenna because it just kept on cycling through the welcome screen. After the wipe and format,etc.. an message came up on the screen and stated that a hard disk error had been repaired. This unit has all zeros in the software version, no front panel time, but the internal clock is set a number of hours off as well as the date of 01/01/2004. If Comcast can not get the TVGOS, I guess I will have to get an antenna line to it.
Michael

Brick mode- trust me I know- is not having a clock. Did you have a clock at all?
You should still have a clock. It is internal and may not be correct, but you can still set up manual recordings.
Michael

You should still have a clock. It is internal and may not be correct, but you can still set up manual recordings.
Michael

If worse comes to worse- I am still praying Cablevision resumes the feed which is still on in their other systems- even if it works, it won't be easy or convenient.

Need a spread sheet to help convert its internal off kilter back to the future clock to reality.

At my particular area, the feed has continuously been analog. Maybe Cablevision is converting it from digital but both boxes have received the same feed from the same Host.

I have needed to reset both units and they behaved differently. The 250 reset its TVGOS software to .00 but reacquired it back in one day with the correct time. The 500 showed no difference.

The diagnostic screens are different.

The sad part is that since what we can do is limited just looking at the diagnostics doesn't help us -or me at least- fix anything.

Considering that I also have another 500 at my mother's with no clock and no way of getting data - antenna is unavailable and for some reason the Cable company is not sending a feed either- if at all possible I will avoid reseting my two working ones again under any circumstances unless I must to get out of a freeze.


...........................

Added: So not an hour after I write the above I turn on the 500 to check if it has Tuesday's listings, which it didn't have yesterday, and it freezes solid.

Took a few tries - I thought I would have to pull the plug- and it finally did a front panel reset.

Leaving it on after the G-test to see if it picks up something this afternoon. for some reason this one has more luck when left on.


regarding the 500: At this point with it not working, and freezing, etc etc etc. (which mine did end of Jan pre transition, and then again about March 11th fake transitions).

Then I would do a full factory reset again on the 500, answer all the questions on set up etc. TV Guide zip code etc............and leave it off overnight. I suggest NOT doing the G test (because you are 100% analogue right?), AND it should not matter what channel you are tuned to when you turn it off.

On the 500 at your house, that is cable vision only? No OTA on that one? And which major city or DMA are you in?

IMO G test will mess up an analogue self system reset.........in other words IMO leaving it alone (if you have a 100% pure analogue source). at least that is what all the self resets in my pictures was telling me.

:)Like most analog stations that had been transmitting TVGOS previously, it clearly isn't now (assuming it ever had.) The presence of an incrementing VBI count would have meant that the station may be transmitting TVGOS data; the absence of such indicates that it definitely is not, at least in your case through Comcast. The other guys are on Cox and FIOS who may be handling TVGOS differently. You need to call Comcast.

Sorry for the late reply, frank. I've dealt with Comcast this past December when my 500 did the same thing it's doing now. That time it only lasted 2 weeks. Their response was talk to the manufacturer, this is not a Comcast signal problem. It's hard to find someone at Comcast that knows anything about their own products, let alone another company's stuff.

I'm not fussing at you.:) It's just whenever I have to deal with Comcast....:eek:

regarding the 500: At this point with it not working, and freezing, etc etc etc. (which mine did end of Jan pre transition, and then again about March 11th fake transitions).

Then I would do a full factory reset again on the 500,

There are two 500.

On one I did a full reset but almost simultaneously Cablevision in that location stopped transmitting the data - so to date it is sitting like a brick with 4 dashes.

For the other 500 that just froze, over the past week I have been able to get data when doing the G-test and leaving it on. I won't do a full reset - unless I have absolutely no choice- because I can't take the chance that it too will turn into a brick.

Maybe a full reset will become safe again when this settles out somehow.

There are two 500.

On one I did a full reset but almost simultaneously Cablevision in that location stopped transmitting the data - so to date it is sitting like a brick with 4 dashes.

then on the unit above (since it is a brick), I suggest doing a full factory reset, answer all the questions, do not do a G test, and leave it off for over 24 hours


----------------------------------------------------------

For the other 500 that just froze, over the past week I have been able to get data when doing the G-test and leaving it on. I won't do a full reset - unless I have absolutely no choice- because I can't take the chance that it too will turn into a brick.

the freeze indicates it has conflicting sw (from downloads), but you can wait on it, till you get the other one workind.
----------------------------------------------------------

Maybe a full reset will become safe again when this settles out somehow.

Do either of the machines show system errors? Basically, based on how they are perfroming they both should have error lines on system.

CBS analog that Cox passes through its cable to people with cable ready equipment. (no STB)

39 is CBS analog for cable.
9 is CBS Standard definition digital cable with STB
709 is CBS HD digital cable with STB.
9.1 is also CBS HD digital clear QAM No STB
9.1 I believe is also CBS HD OTA (I Don't use OTA)

I am OTA only so I can't speak to which channels are carried by the various cable companies or how they get their source signal, but the following stations still broadcast TVGOS data in the Washington DC metropolitan area:

9.1 CBS digital (Washington)
13 CBS analog (Baltimore)
22 PBS analog (Annapolis)
67 PBS analog (Baltimore)

26 PBS analog used to broadcast TVGOS data, but stopped a few weeks ago and 9 CBS analog does not broadcast it. Analog PBS 32 and PBS 62 also do not broadcast it. It is unlikely that your cable company would add TVGOS data to a station that does not already broadcast it, so I would look for TVGOS data on those stations mentioned above that your cable company carries. Your cable company may also insert this data into other channels that it carries such as the TV Guide channel for example. Again, I'm no cable expert.

I appreciate you trying to understand and help. I will check for errors but it won't do me any good. I'm sure there are errors.

On the one that sits like a brick, I can do full resets every hour on the hour - if I were at that location- it wouldn't make a difference until Cablevision -if they ever do- start again to retransmit the TVGOS data.

After ten hours of playing the tape I had no change in the 500. I am assuming the DVR should have been searching for VBI continually since it has no concept of time without the clock and needs VBI data to operate

Unless you already have analog channel 3 or 4 in your scanned channels and have the VCR output set to the corresponding channel, this won't work. Try doing an auto-add channel scan while the VCR output is connected to the Sony antenna input and the VCR is sending out a signal. Then, with the Sony turned on and tuned to the channel the VCR is using, run the G* Test and leave the Sony on. You should get the software patch updates and TVGOS downloads if they are on your tape. You may have to restart the G* Test after the first and second patch updates since these reset the Sony and (in some cases) stop the G* Test.

and I've come to the conclusion this is always true, that's why it will get data from Digital during the day when left on.

It will get TVGOS data when turned on and tuned to any analog or digital channel carrying the data (i.e. your VBI channel is set to that station). If you are still tuned to the station and your VBI channel changes (e.g. you run a G* Test and the VBI channel changes to fffffffd) you will stop receiving data until you retune (tune to another station and then tune back to the original station) your TVGOS source station. When receiving TVGOS data with the Sony turned on, a TVGOS software patch update can stop reception of TVGOS data, but running a G* Test and retuning the channel will correct this.

and saw something I had never noticed before,
VBI showed Good - 178, Fixed - 145, Bad - 35 with the numbers increasing as
I watched. I don't recall ever seeing Fixed or Bad data on a VBI channel.

I've seen this a few times, usually on windy or rainy days.

Also, before doing the second G*test, I looked at the 753 menu and had zipcode pkts 37, timezone pkts 3, station pkts 10, schedule pkts 2260, and show pkts 5563. What's interesting is after the clock updated to sw 44 and the correct time my timezone pkts remained at 3.

This is the same problem that I encountered during my testing.:( If you can't get a time zone packet after a reset, you won't be able to get the clock set.

I appreciate you trying to understand and help. I will check for errors but it won't do me any good. I'm sure there are errors.

On the one that sits like a brick, I can do full resets every hour on the hour - if I were at that location- it wouldn't make a difference until Cablevision -if they ever do- start again to retransmit the TVGOS data.


Ok, that is fine. If Cablevision does resume analogue, then the full factory reset would fix it (or should unless there is something wrong with the box). The freeze (ing) is usually caused by conflicting errors in sw downloads (those errors can be caused by a zillion different things). However, if solid good analogue downloads are received, the Sony box "will" correct those errors - if it is left alone for a period of time (about 24 hours).

The freeze (ing) is usually caused by conflicting errors in sw downloads (those errors can be caused by a zillion different things).

I don't know on what screen specifically I'm supposed to look for errors. The screens are very strange. If I'm looking correctly I'm not getting time packets. But my time is correct.

BUT, as I mentioned earlier I ran a G-test and left it on (analog cable) and it loaded the listings that were blank for Tuesday and Friday and some Thursday.

Anybody want to venture a guess why this particular unit is updating the grid but only when running a G test [on its host channel] and leaving it ON.

I don't know on what screen specifically I'm supposed to look for errors. The screens are very strange. If I'm looking correctly I'm not getting time packets. But my time is correct.

BUT, as I mentioned earlier I ran a G-test and left it on (analog cable) and it loaded the listings that were blank for Tuesday and Friday and some Thursday.

Anybody want to venture a guess why this particular unit is updating the grid but only when running a G test [on its host channel] and leaving it ON.


Cant you take picture of these two screens and post them or send them in PM? That may shed some light. Running G test and leaving it on is "not" what you would want to do for analogue (assuming analogue is working correctly).

2-500's-OTA only
ImTheOne- Your suggestion about channels 3 and 4 was probably the problem but I did try add from antenna while the VHS was sending data and it didn't help. I'm guessing that having 3 and/or 4 turned on might have made the difference though.

However, since the reset, with the antenna connected again, it is definatly using a digital host and clock. My listings are more complete than my other 500 using CBS 0-2.
They are the same as when I leave the first 500 set to 2-1 and turned on.
Only 7:00 PM on day 7 through day 8 aren't listed.
I would try the VHS again but since it seems to be lock on digital as of now I don't feel like messing with it any more in the near future.
I have both units on battery back up so hopfully only a major power failure will be a problem.

Anybody want to venture a guess why this particular unit is updating the grid but only when running a G test [on its host channel] and leaving it ON.

Have you looked to see if possibly the VBI flow is getting "turned off" when the unit is off? The next time you've had it off overnight and find you have no listings, take a look on the 753 screen at the number in brackets following GMT date/time. It should be [3]. If it is [2], that means VBI is not being received. Just a guess really, but I can't think of any other reason why you wouldn't get downloads from the host channel.

Have you looked to see if possibly the VBI flow is getting "turned off" when the unit is off? The next time you've had it off overnight and find you have no listings, take a look on the 753 screen at the number in brackets following GMT date/time. It should be [3]. If it is [2], that means VBI is not being received. Just a guess really, but I can't think of any other reason why you wouldn't get downloads from the host channel.
hmm...I've going to have to check that myself, because - even though my unit is back to showing a host channel (analog PBS) - it didn't do any downloading last night, and I'm down to only 2 days of listings!

hmm...I've going to have to check that myself, because - even though my unit is back to showing a host channel (analog PBS) - it didn't do any downloading last night, and I'm down to only 2 days of listings!

Is the S.F. digital TVGOS working now? If so, you can fill in your missing days by tuning to that channel and leaving the unit on (may have to G* test first). That won't change your host. I've got both my units back on analog host now, but I can still fill in from digital if I want to.

FWIW
2-500's OTA only
My latest reset is now using a digital host and clock channel. I left it off last night and it retained the digital host and updated the listings just fine (7PM to day 7).
My other 500 uses analog and it was down to 5 1/2 days.
It now seems if it's set to digital it will update when turned off just like the analog when set to digital and turned on.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, but this my 3rd try to post this reply...

Yes, I am in Dallas. Should have made that clear. I googled this problem and see I'm not alone. w w w.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=29.0;prev_next=next#new


JSFERG got us an answer. CBS11 equipment failed; should be fixed by 4/3. Info posted it at:
http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=141.0

I am OTA only so I can't speak to which channels are carried by the various cable companies or how they get their source signal, but the following stations still broadcast TVGOS data in the Washington DC metropolitan area:

9.1 CBS digital (Washington)
13 CBS analog (Baltimore)
22 PBS analog (Annapolis)
67 PBS analog (Baltimore)

26 PBS analog used to broadcast TVGOS data, but stopped a few weeks ago and 9 CBS analog does not broadcast it. Analog PBS 32 and PBS 62 also do not broadcast it. It is unlikely that your cable company would add TVGOS data to a station that does not already broadcast it, so I would look for TVGOS data on those stations mentioned above that your cable company carries. Your cable company may also insert this data into other channels that it carries such as the TV Guide channel for example. Again, I'm no cable expert.

First of all I am not looking for anything. I have no problem getting guide data. My host has always shown to be PBS WETA 26, on both my 500 units through the the 753... screen. That has not changed. Even today, my host is listed as analog PBS 26.

Secondly, the channels you list above mean nothing to me as they are in your market, not my market in Fairfax, and my cable company doesn't carry Baltimore area channels. Moreover, it's CBS analog WUSA 39 through Cox cable in my area that now passes the VBI packets along as evidenced through the (G* Test) not 9.1 clear QAM digital and therefore I choose to believe it's this channel (39)that gives me the guide data whether you do or not, especially since WETA 26 has recently stopped passing the G* Test although it still shows as my host.

By the way you're right, OTA and cable are two completely different beasts and your reality is different than mine.

Is the S.F. digital TVGOS working now? If so, you can fill in your missing days by tuning to that channel and leaving the unit on (may have to G* test first). That won't change your host. I've got both my units back on analog host now, but I can still fill in from digital if I want to.
That's what I will do, if I don't get a normal download tonight, but - when I tried that a couple of days ago - I still only had 3 days of listings...we'll see ?:confused:?

First of all I am not looking for anything. I have no problem getting guide data. My host has always shown to be PBS WETA 26, on both my 500 units through the the 753... screen. That has not changed. Even today, my host is listed as analog PBS 26.

Secondly, the channels you list above mean nothing to me as they are in your market, not my market in Fairfax, and my cable company doesn't carry Baltimore area channels. Moreover, it's CBS analog WUSA 39 through Cox cable in my area that now passes the VBI packets along as evidenced through the (G* Test) not 9.1 clear QAM digital and therefore I choose to believe it's this channel (39)that gives me the guide data whether you do or not, especially since WETA 26 has recently stopped passing the G* Test although it still shows as my host.

By the way you're right, OTA and cable are two completely different beasts and your reality is different than mine.

The post wasn't directed at you personally. You and two other members in the DC area have been posting back and forth about this and I just replied to the latest post with some information that I thought might be of some use to one or more of you. While I am OTA, I have a friend in Fairfax who has Comcast and does get most (but not all) of the stations I mentioned in my post. I am surprised to hear that you still have 26 as a host channel. My recorders both switched to another host shortly after 26 stopped broadcasting TVGOS data. I clearly stated in my post that I didn't know where your cable company got its source signal so I wasn't trying to tell you which cable channel carried your data. We are not in different markets as you state. All I was trying to do was provide some reference information. You can choose to believe whatever you want.

Since I live in Woodbridge, I appreciate all of the info provided by ImTheOne and hednic. I wanted to know which channels everyone in the DC area was using to get their data signals. Maybe I could find the equivalent in Comcast and get the data from there.
Unfortunately, my theory didn’t work. So I’m done. I’m putting this thing on ebay asap.
Peace.

Anyone else in the Atlanta area with Comcast cable having TVGOS problems? No VBI and no host at all. Plus no clock set channels. This has been going on about a week now. So far have not been able to get to anyone with Comcast who has any sense. Same old song--not our box, you need to unplug..etc...., you know the drill.
Thanks,
Michael

1. What are your StID’s for your area?

Mine are 2428, 2687, 4505, and 5319


2. Which StID’s actually download to your Sony Box?

Mine are downloaded to 2687 only; but only “one” of the 180 min downloads occur about 7:30 GMT. The other (3) 180 – have no date and time stamp? How many of the 180 min download to your box each 24 hour period? (only one here)


3. I am downloading “analogue”, which is yours analogue or digital DLs?


4. I have had (2) of the 5319 downloads show up as “backlisted”. Do you have “backlisted” downloads?

pic 7004: page 1 of 2.5 pages of analogue DL schedule - How many total pages do you have in this section?

pic 7007: page 1 of actual DL map to MySonyBox - notice only 1 of 4 of the 180 min Downloads occurred for the Guide Schedule.

(both pictures about 2 days ago)

After three full days of being back on analogue, only receiving a 6 day schedule. Day 6 is new each night, the others (Days 1 thru 5) are always filled in and corrected if need be. Days 7 and 8 are 98% blank. That process has not changed in 3 days.

Houston Person -

Have you heard any more from your friend at Sony about the upcoming firmware upgrade? :D

Cant you take picture of these two screens and post them or send them in PM? That may shed some light. Running G test and leaving it on is "not" what you would want to do for analogue (assuming analogue is working correctly).

I took a couple of quick cell phone pictures this morning- after an overnight where again it didn't download except for a few lines here and there.

You will see - sorry about the quick lousy quality- that info on these screens is sparse.

JSFERG got us an answer. CBS11 equipment failed; should be fixed by 4/3. Info posted it at:
http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=141.0

Thanks for the update! :)

It should be [3].

It is [3].

Having the 250 with firmware .06 downloading overnight and the 500 with firmware .05 next to it not downloading, I took a chance in this unsettled environment and a few minutes ago [successfully it seems] I upgraded the firmware to .13.

I have no choice but to wait and see if it made any difference.

Is the S.F. digital TVGOS working now? If so, you can fill in your missing days by tuning to that channel and leaving the unit on (may have to G* test first). That won't change your host. I've got both my units back on analog host now, but I can still fill in from digital if I want to.

The question is whether downloading from a digital host, or even an analog host, for one session to fill a grid- while leaving it on- as I am also doing- will cause subsequent lockups (I've had a few).

Houston Person -

Have you heard any more from your friend at Sony about the upcoming firmware upgrade? :D

Nope. I can only guess Sony is not wanting to make a public statement until they figure out how to make it work. That is just my opinion.

If they only hear from a hundred or so people, they may very well to decide, not to do anything at all.

I took a couple of quick cell phone pictures this morning- after an overnight where again it didn't download except for a few lines here and there.

You will see - sorry about the quick lousy quality- that info on these screens is sparse.

I assume this is on the machine that is a dead brick?

Both the pictures are on the same Sony Box?

First pic: All three of you system lines show no activity? It looks that way hard to see.

Second pic: there are no date lines that say 01/01/04? very hard to see.

is there a date line that says 01/01/90?

(I am trying to tye the "codes" from picture 1 back to picture 2)

I took a couple of quick cell phone pictures this morning- after an overnight where again it didn't download except for a few lines here and there.

You will see - sorry about the quick lousy quality- that info on these screens is sparse.

Also.

This top three lines in picture 2............with the zero -0-.

Those are date and time stamps wherre you did a Front Panel Reset (or unplug); is that correct?

I took a couple of quick cell phone pictures this morning- after an overnight where again it didn't download except for a few lines here and there.

You will see - sorry about the quick lousy quality- that info on these screens is sparse.


From May 25, 2008 to May 28, 2008. Were there several power interruptions or front panel resets during those days?

After May 31, 2008 did the box work ok for a month or two? No lock ups?

I assume this is on the machine that is a dead brick?

Both the pictures are on the same Sony Box?

First pic: All three of you system lines show no activity? It looks that way hard to see.

Second pic: there are no date lines that say 01/01/04? very hard to see.

is there a date line that says 01/01/90?

(I am trying to tye the "codes" from picture 1 back to picture 2)

No. This one is not the brick.

This one has a correct clock and fills the grid when I leave it on - usually for the afternoon download- like I did yesterday.

This one is playing and recording - with occasional lockups.

This is the one that is less then a foot away from a 250 [feeding off the same source] and mostly operating properly.

This is the one that makes no sense.

The Brick at least makes sense- it currently has no data source.

.....................

Correct on both date observations.

No. This one is not the brick.

This one has a correct clock and fills the grid when I leave it on - usually for the afternoon download- like I did yesterday.

This one is playing and recording - with occasional lockups.

This is the one that is less then a foot away from a 250 [feeding off the same source] and mostly operating properly.

This is the one that makes no sense.

The Brick at least makes sense- it currently has no data source.

ok, the lockups are cause by the sw conflicts, and that will continue on that machine, until full factory reset.

list your machines for me and where they are? 2 or 3? 2 at your house, one at moms? I have not been able to follow...........which one specifically are you calling a "brick"?

From May 25, 2008 to May 28, 2008. Were there several power interruptions or front panel resets during those days?

After May 31, 2008 did the box work ok for a month or two? No lock ups?

I did a the reset last year to cure the lock up issue. I don't remember the date but May seems about right.

Until the recent issues that everyone has suffered, the unit has performed perfectly since that reset last year.

ok, the lockups are cause by the sw conflicts, and that will continue on that machine, until full factory reset.

list your machines for me and where they are? 2 or 3? 2 at your house, one at moms? I have not been able to follow...........which one specifically are you calling a "brick"?


A 250 at my home
A 500 at my home

A 500 at my mother's -
Problem there is that cablevision is not suppying TVGOS data for the past 10 days or so and getting OTA reception is nearly impossible. This is the obvious Brink because I did the full TVGOS reset just before I found out Cablevision had turned off the TVGOS data.

ok, the lockups are cause by the sw conflicts, and that will continue on that machine, until full factory reset.



Lock ups are not the major issue. The issue is why it is not downloading while OFF but can download when it's ON [after G-test].

You should still have a clock. It is internal and may not be correct, but you can still set up manual recordings.
Michael

You're right Michael, I tried that.

I turned on the Brink and the date was Janurary 7, [2004] at 10 PM

I manually set it to record on Janurary 8, [2004] at 1AM on channel 5.1.

It recorded last night's 24.

It's like time travel.:cool:

A 250 at my home
A 500 at my home

A 500 at my mother's -
Problem there is that cablevision is not suppying TVGOS data for the past 10 days or so and getting OTA reception is nearly impossible. This is the obvious Brink because I did the full TVGOS reset just before I found out Cablevision had turned off the TVGOS data.

Ok, the screen shots came from which box?

A 250 at my home
A 500 at my home

A 500 at my mother's -
Problem there is that cablevision is not suppying TVGOS data for the past 10 days or so and getting OTA reception is nearly impossible. This is the obvious Brink because I did the full TVGOS reset just before I found out Cablevision had turned off the TVGOS data.

The 250 works perfectly?
The 500 is the one with the screen shots?

Both are hooked up the same way at your house? Cable only?

Your mom's 500 we have not yet talked about?

did I get that correct?

Ok, the screen shots came from which box?


The 500 in my home. Not a brick. We are recording and watching it and getting listings when leaving it on.

In the past two weeks it has locked up three times. Once a few of hours after I did an OTA digital download as an experiment.

Each time it locked a front panel reset got it right with immediate correct time after doing a G-test on the Host for a few seconds.

The 250 works perfectly?
The 500 is the one with the screen shots?

Both are hooked up the same way at your house? Cable only?

Your mom's 500 we have not yet talked about?

did I get that correct?

That's it

Perfectly for the 250 within the new normal.

Lock ups are not the major issue. The issue is why it is not downloading while OFF but can download when it's ON [after G-test].


that is perfectly understandable to me, the unit will not function correctly with the sw conflicts.

that is perfectly understandable to me, the unit will not function correctly with the sw conflicts.

sw?

Quote:Originally Posted by videobruce
What is the deal with the 500 version regarding TVGOS? There is a different issue with those over the 250?Having a 250 sitting side by side next to a 500, I've said that since this thing began.I wasn't referring to any one person, but overall from eariler posts, I thought I read there was some difference in firmware version numbers and there were some issues with TVGOS.

Since I live in Woodbridge, I appreciate all of the info provided by ImTheOne and hednic. I wanted to know which channels everyone in the DC area was using to get their data signals. Maybe I could find the equivalent in Comcast and get the data from there.
Unfortunately, my theory didn’t work. So I’m done. I’m putting this thing on ebay asap.

WUSA-DT (CBS 9 HD digital) is passing the TVGOS info digitally in the DC metro area. A few of us have been solid with it for months with other cable systems (FIOS, Cox, OTA.) The problem is Comcast seems to be screwing it up somehow. Best bet would be to get an antenna tune in CBS 9.1 and run the G* test. No reason it shouldn't work and you'll be happy. Have no idea why Comcast seems to be screwing up the WUSA-DT feed.

Opinionated sw?

yes the internal software is mess up..........any number of reasons........multiple downloads resets timing etc.

Opinionated sw?

yes the internal software is mess up..........any number of reasons........multiple downloads resets timing etc.

I see, by SW you meant software.

To which software are you refering? The entire system's or the TVGOS?

By full reset you meant TVGOS or a full wipeout- reformat.

sw?


Ok we are making a little progress (not that there is any solution). When you get a chance post the same two pictures of the 250 unit.

When you say the 250 is normal...........is there anything wrong or incomplete with its operation?

Ok we are making a little progress (not that there is any solution). When you get a chance post the same two pictures of the 250 unit.

When you say the 250 is normal...........is there anything wrong or incomplete with its operation?

It's mostly OK. Downloads overnight and has listings through Sat. Had one lockup, after soft reset reverted TVGOS to .00 but was back to .44 within 24 hours.

I see, by SW you meant software.

To which software are you refering? The entire system's or the TVGOS?

By full reset you meant TVGOS or a full wipeout- reformat.

the internal software that runs the TVGuide system inside the box......generally upgrades come via downloads. It can crash and burn; sometimes it can correct errors and sometimes it cannot.

Look closley at the two screen shots posted above on my unit -specially the system error lines and how the box went about correcting them, with the 01/01/04 date set etc. and the two download patches it got within 4 hours to correct itself. This is because of all the software conflicts created by attempting to change to a digital souce - which was NOT successful in Houston. Hence we are back to analogue.

By Full Factory Reset - I mean the whole enchilada.......top line reformat etc. HOWEVER, do not do that just yet until I get more info as to WHY your 250 is working correctly. Let's see if we can find out why it works?

as to WHY your 250 is working correctly. Let's see if we can find out why it works?

I don't know what there is particularly to find out. It works. It always worked.

Even last year when many of us where experiencing the locks up- when I was forced to do the reset on the 500- the 250 may have experienced a lock up or two but corrected itself and no reset was necessary.

It just works- considering especially the recent TVGOS changes. I have changed nothing since the first day I turned it on and it found a host and went on to do what it's supposed to do. I just hope it stays that way.

Maybe it's the .06 firmware.

The malfunctioning 500 was .05 which I changed just this morning to .13.

Maybe it's the .06 firmware.

The malfunctioning 500 was .05 which I changed just this morning to .13.

Yes the 250's .06 could be the item. It will be interesting to see the two screen shots tomorrow.

Taking the 500 from .05 to .13 may have some effect, wont hurt really.
However, expect the software conflicts to remain. More on that later.

Are both your 250 and 500 cable source only? And are they digital download only? or do you still have analogue available?

Are both your 250 and 500 cable source only? And are they digital download only? or do you still have analogue available?

They are literally side by side on the same stand.

They both get the same feed from a split cable. Signal strength the same.

The feed is analog. The Host channel is the same.

Obviously TVGOS sent some bad data starting a few weeks back that has effected many of us.

The big question is why the 500 was so effected -that it became corrupted -while the 250 was mostly immune.

Was it the different firmware version? What is something that only SONY would know? Was it a coincidence?


............................

I should add something important.

Before my mother's 500 turned into a brick [after I did the TVGOS full reset and the data stopped] it was acting exactly like my 500 (both are from the Twitter $250 special).

So miles apart on different Cablevision systems the two 500 acted similarly while the lone 250 acted differently.

still nothing here in NY. The 250 I reset TVGOS and then a warm reboot still has not found time in the last four-five days.

I will be hooking up the other unit, the "do nothing" unit and see what happens. I had to move it from it's current location so I had to pull the plug. The "do nothing" unit was working 100% with listings and such prior to the stupidity.

It will be interesting to see if the clock comes back on that one. I'm not resetting this one.

Will advise. Meanwhile, anyone else in NYC area OTA only dealing with this ?

Will advise. Meanwhile, anyone else in NYC area OTA only dealing with this ?

I know the couple of times I tried that CBS Digital 2.1 from NYC passes the G-test.

Is it not passing the test for you or is it passing but still doing nothing to give you a clock, etc?

They are literally side by side on the same stand.

They both get the same feed from a split cable. Signal strength the same.

The feed is analog. The Host channel is the same.

Obviously TVGOS sent some bad data starting a few weeks back that has effected many of us.

The big question is why the 500 was so effected -that it became corrupted -while the 250 was mostly immune.

Was it the different firmware version? What is something that only SONY would know? Was it a coincidence?


............................

I should add something important.

Before my mother's 500 turned into a brick [after I did the TVGOS full reset and the data stopped] it was acting exactly like my 500 (both are from the Twitter $250 special).

So miles apart on different Cablevision systems the two 500 acted similarly while the lone 250 acted differently.

You are sure the feed is 100% analogue on both units, and does not have access to digital downloads?

Looking forward tomorrow for the next two pictures. Perhaps there will be a solution.

You are sure the feed is 100% analogue on both units, and does not have access to digital downloads?



Absolutely.

I can't highlight this enough.

The two 500- miles apart- started acting in the exact way at the same time.

The big question is why the 500 was so effected -that it became corrupted -while the 250 was mostly immune.



............................


Well in addition to the .05 vs .06 item (which may not be that big of an issue). The single biggest item I see if the frequent resets while the unit is attempting to correct itself - which it could not do because of the resets combined with various downloads. Too many cooks in the kitchen. There have been less cooks in the 250 kitchen (there are some because you said it did lock up once). (Will know more when I see the pics)

And I assume you have also attempted Digital downloads with G Test and/or items like forced digital host? Any way not too important at this point; since the real goal (I think) is to get a working box again with a analogue source?

Splitters: I have come across a whole batch of the things "bad" from MonoPrice and Radio Shack..........I have found some that have worked for me from Home Depot? Of all places. Apparently QA is not very good on those things AND some will only let part of the signal(s) pass through, and some ports can be itermintant.

I know the couple of times I tried that CBS Digital 2.1 from NYC passes the G-test.

?

I assume this is the 500 unit at your house? not mom's house?

I assume this is the 500 unit at your house? not mom's house?

Yes

But this happened only recently after the trouble and the current status already was occurring, ie, it wasn't downloading when OFF.

One [digital] download was successful in populating the Guide for about a week. It downloaded in one afternoon with the unit ON.

I wrote originally that it seems to be able to download - both analog and digital- but only with the unit ON.

Which is how we are continuing to use it and don't intend to do anything drastic as long as this system of getting listings - and if no serious lockup occur- continues to work. At least on this one 500.

Can anybody refresh me on the whether on not the FCC has a mandate that requires the cable companies to carry the TVGOS information. My girlfriend has been going round and round with Comcast since she lost the host station. Those people at the cable companies are nothing but morons... unplug your unit,take the cable out,etc..
They act like they have never heard of TVGOS and the we should not even be getting it. I think consumers should be paid for the time these companies make us waste.
Michael

Can anybody refresh me on the whether on not the FCC has a mandate that requires the cable companies to carry the TVGOS information.It does not.

Remember, TVGOS is a proprietary, commercial service. CE manufacturers pay to use the TVGOS software and they pay for access to the TVGOS information. Cable providers are not required to pass commercial services offered by local broadcasters.

Cable companies are required to pass the PSIP information that is free for everyone. Unfortunately, the Sony does not support PSIP information. PSIP is what the DTVPal DVR uses to provide limited program information (typically 12-24 hours worth) when TVGOS is not available or does not have information for a certain channel.

It does not.

Remember, TVGOS is a proprietary, commercial service. CE manufacturers pay to use the TVGOS software and they pay for access to the TVGOS information. Cable providers are not required to pass commercial services offered by local broadcasters.

Cable companies are required to pass the PSIP information that is free for everyone. Unfortunately, the Sony does not support PSIP information. PSIP is what the DTVPal DVR uses to provide limited program information (typically 12-24 hours worth) when TVGOS is not available or does not have information for a certain channel.
Thanks, From what I could gather through the FCC you just confirmed it. So that begs the question; How long will the manufacturers continue to make a TVGOS device when the cable companies refuse to pass the TVGOS information? And what happens to all the existing devices out there? From all the trouble as of late and the sell of Gemstar to Macrovision the future looks dark.
Michael
Guess I will try the MOXI next time around.

Why are cable companies telling Macrovison that they are passing it, when they are not.

See here to check your area: http://digitaltransition.macrovision.com/

And where it particularly baffles me, why would a cable company pass it on one of their systems and not on another just a few miles away?

Why are cable companies telling Macrovison that they are passing it, when they are not.

See here to check your area: http://digitaltransition.macrovision.com/

And where it particularly baffles me, why would a cable company pass it on one of their systems and not on another just a few miles away?
Thanks for the quick link. Had forgot about this. It says that it is known to be working, but I know otherwise. Still can not get to anyone at Comcast who has any desire of sense to help. We really need some real compentition out there. So tired of having to play these games with the monopoly cable companies.
Michael

Still can not get to anyone at Comcast who has any desire of sense to help.

I believe we have to get word somehow to Macrovison. In having the cable company carry it, we and they share a mutual interest.

:rolleyes:I just got off the phone with Sony. This guy said everything would be just great after June 12th. Oh yea!!! I first lost the guide last month. Then I had some problems with getting sound etc on comcast with the cable card in. Had a tech out and of courst these guys on Whidbey island are not up to date on anthything about the Sony DVR. He was suppose to replace the cable card. Still didn't get it to work finally asked me to power off the DVR. "Well I knew I was in trouble". However, after about 20 mins, I was able to get all the channels that should be accessable from the card. However, I still have no guide. I have done reset on the TGVOS guide at least 2-3 times with all the other things I have read on this site. I can get to correct clock (44) on the TGVos U/G and no guide. The other thing I cannot get is a host channel. Comcast channel 107 get many pakets and passed test. So here is where I am in "island county" WA. Anyone in WA getting the guide? on their DHG Sony
Ralph

I forced mine to digital, ran the G*test overnight and it D/l'ed the guide and everything all 8 days overnight last week. I just was programming in some movies to record and the unit froze on me, rebooted 3X in order and now I have no guide, trying G*test again.......

So that begs the question; How long will the manufacturers continue to make a TVGOS device when the cable companies refuse to pass the TVGOS information? And what happens to all the existing devices out there? From all the trouble as of late and the sell of Gemstar to Macrovision the future looks dark.I doubt we will ever see another TVGOS device for cable.

CE manufacturers (Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc) are focused on true2way. These products run the cable company's true2way (Java) EPG software, which uses the cable co's own guide data and VOD. Using the cable company's EPG eliminates the need for CE manufacturers to pay separate EPG patent licensing fees to Macrovision; it also eliminates the need to pay a fee for TVGOS, since guide data is supplied by the cable company for free.

true2way effectively renders TVGOS obsolete as a digital cable solution. TVGOS still has some merit for basic (analog) cable, but its value is diminished as more and more cable systems transition from analog to digital over the next few years. Moving forward, I question whether basic cable + ota solutions can be competitive on the market, price-wise and feature-wise, given (a) the need to license the EPG patents + TVGOS, (b) the added cost of analog support, (c) the current limitations of the TVGOS software, i.e. single-tuner, and (d) expected sales volume.

There must be sufficient savings over a TivoHD (with lifetime) for someone to settle for inferior functionality, and that may not be attainable with the number of units that a CE manufacturer could reasonably expect to sell.

Anyone in WA getting the guide? on their DHG Sony
Ralph

I am in WA (Kitsap County) getting guide updates through Kiro-DT (CBS Digital). Both OTA and cable pass the G* test. KCTS9 (PBS analog) is no longer passing the TVGOS data in our area so we are stuck with only a digital host. Your DHG is without listings like many others who have had to reset their box. You can only get listing from a digital host if you already have a listing grid, but you need a analog host to build the grid. I am dreading the day we have a power outage, and my box will be without listings like yours. Until this gets squared away, it would be nice if PBS enabled TVGOS again, as has been reported in other areas, but I'm not sure if that is going to happen.

I am in WA (Kitsap County) getting guide updates through Kiro-DT (CBS Digital). Both OTA and cable pass the G* test. KCTS9 (PBS analog) is no longer passing the TVGOS data in our area so we are stuck with only a digital host. Your DHG is without listings like many others who have had to reset their box. You can only get listing from a digital host if you already have a listing grid, but you need a analog host to build the grid. I am dreading the day we have a power outage, and my box will be without listings like yours. Until this gets squared away, it would be nice if PBS enabled TVGOS again, as has been reported in other areas, but I'm not sure if that is going to happen.

Several of us on this forum have recovered from a TVGOS reset with only a digital host and are back up and running.

Yah, I'm in NYC metro. Did full wipe/reset, still no clock after 4 days. But I didn't have a factory remote so couldn't do a G test. Should have the remote tomorrow.

FYI - some freezing is unrelated to TVGOS problems. The cooling in these boxes
is weak at best; feel the top. If it's very warm, the simple thing to do is get a
cheap clamp on small AC fan and blow it over the top. Or you could take it apart, drill some holes, mount a fan, etc. You can get a reading on the HD temperature(s) in one of the maintenance screens. Anything over 140 and you're getting hot.

Thanks for the quick link. Had forgot about this. It says that it is known to be working, but I know otherwise. Still can not get to anyone at Comcast who has any desire of sense to help. We really need some real compentition out there. So tired of having to play these games with the monopoly cable companies.
Michael

Comcast has had agreements in place with TVGOS for some years now. Back in 2005, when I had big problems as one of the early cablecard users with the Sony, a manager showed me internal documents that spelled out the problems and solutions of passing TVGOS data. Once the various departments learned what to do, things were fine.

Here in Chicago, Comcast began passing data on CBS-HD immediately when the local station started to send it. I think most of the trouble is simply with TVGOS right now. They should have had everything solved by February 17. When you speak to any knowledgeable people there, their first reaction is always defensive. I suppose that is because there are do few of them and so many of us. But it's their own fault for providing an inferior product.

I don't know what the current agreements are between Comcast and TVGOS, but from what I see, Comcast fully intends to continue passing data.

YEA! OTA+CableCard. Lost everything about Mar. 6. Did everything posted here
after factory reset and format. It worked 1 day, then bricked again. Did lots of Gtests
and forced host for days and nothing worked. No clock, grid or anything. Last Fri.
tuned the cable HD CBS channel and left it on. Sometime during the day it shut
itself off (not at the normal nighttime shut off). Was unable to do anything with it
until Mon. morning and when I turned it on I had a good clock and full listings!
Guaranteed no analog here.
We`ll see how long it lasts.

I know the couple of times I tried that CBS Digital 2.1 from NYC passes the G-test.

Is it not passing the test for you or is it passing but still doing nothing to give you a clock, etc?

I get pass from the Gemstar test and it sees packets on 2.1 reliably. I've even left it on over night on 2.1 to see if there is any clock set...nope.

For some reason it is not doing anything with that information. I'm going to go hook up the other unit (need a splitter-don't know if one's in the "cables box" or not) and see what, if anything happens.

I used to read this forum and wonder why everyone had such problems.....my turn now !

Total wild ass guessing here...Gemstar is off line, as we know. The sony is set up to look for analog first. I have a very strong analog signal, unfortunately, still, here in NY. There is no Gemstar on analog, hence, no information.

The Sony will only look to digital for information in the absence of analog, so I'm not getting it to read the time stamps in the digital signals. I'm 40 line of sight miles from NYC, so I have a consistent, strong but not overwhelming signal.

I may have to wait until the alleged new analog shutoff date. All of this is guessing.

To the employee of Sony and/or Macrovision reading this forum, we are tired now. Some information would be nice-not that anyone ever liked Macrovision, but if you are going to make products people buy, take note-now that analog is basically dead, that blanking pulse trick you figured out years back won't cut it anymore. Try talking to the customers.

That's what I will do, if I don't get a normal download tonight, but - when I tried that a couple of days ago - I still only had 3 days of listings...we'll see ?:confused:?

Well, I tried the G* test/leave on, but all I have today is listings for today (Tuesday) and Friday...day 4? Maybe it had been there before, and I hadn't noticed yesterday...but not even having tomorrow!? (My LG 3410a has been consistently giving me days 1,2,3 and nothing else lately)

Little joy (for me at least) in the way of TVGOS downloads...:(

I'm getting 5 days of downloads each night....this am I checked my grid, and it was filled out through Saturday.

My host channel is 1:0-96
that is a PBS broadcast I believe...but it is digital, correct?
Since I got my host channel back, I've been doing nightly auto updates...
No G* tests or leaving the unit on. So Far, I'm happy with that.
Kind of afraid of rocking the boat right now.

Just trying to confirm what 1:0-96 is. It isn't on my lineup, but I can tune to it and it has broadcast content.

Thanks,

Cw

In my area, TVGOS data was turned off on PBS lost all grids. I downloaded the latest firmware, and tuned to the CBS digital channel. Packets were coming in and my guide has data in it. No glitches or freeze-ups. I'm only using OTA, no cable. Then I confirmed that analog PBS is still not sending data, just to be sure my guide is getting it's data from the digital.

The saga continues. I have two units, one wiped and reset and one untouched.
The wiped unit has sat, hooked up for about a week. It has not found time, programming or grids...a brick.

I just hooked up the untouched unit. It is showing the time I disconnected it, 2:30 pm, and counting off that. (9:00 pm or so when re-powered).

I'm not touching this one, and we'll see if it catches the correct time. Since it is unwiped, it has whatever was the last G* software download is.

We can then rule out or confirm if the G* software means anything. Otherwise, my WAG is that all of our hdd's are searching the analog signals and not finding anything.

NYC DMA, OTA only.

In the meanwhile, the family is learning to use the decent Dish DVR 612. I still need the HDD though, for a big flat screen Trinitron SD set which still has some good use left, and gives a wonderful 480i picture when fed RGB from a digital source.

I have been using the listings to find programs, and then making a manual timer for anything I want. IMHO we will have more TVGOS trouble through to the summer. Manual timers should be safe, as long as I still have my clock.

(My DVR is on a UPS.)

http://www.macrovision.com/company/contact_us.htm

I found this page. I sent to macrovision a polite note, with my market and how I get their product, and asked when we may expect service in the NY DMA again.

I suggest anyone else having problems also go to this page and send a polite query.

Well, I tried the G* test/leave on, but all I have today is listings for today (Tuesday) and Friday...day 4? Maybe it had been there before, and I hadn't noticed yesterday...but not even having tomorrow!? (My LG 3410a has been consistently giving me days 1,2,3 and nothing else lately)

Little joy (for me at least) in the way of TVGOS downloads...:(

As posted before, I have 4 of these units. 2 of them I use, my kids have 1, and my wife has the other. I never mess around with my wife's or my kids machines and they always have guide data (ota). Sometimes their down to 2 days of guide data, but it always comes back. Mine on the other hand started the analog downloads last week, then both stopped. Both have grids but no data. I could force and G test until I'm blue, but no data. I really don't think these machines like to be forced or G tested.
So I reset both to factory defaults and formatted the drives (not the TVGOS reset, the big one) before I went to work. When I came home, bingo! Lots of guide data on both:D. My advice....reset, format, and leave it alone.

This reply from Macrovision on the listings issue:
Response (Mike Greene) - 03/31/2009 04:24 PM
We are working on an issue at the broadcast station, we expect to have it resolved by May 1st if not sooner. We thank you for your patience as we try to resolve this.

Thank you.
So it looks like a couple more weeks to a month before we are more or less back to normal.
Michael

This reply from Macrovision on the listings issue:
Response (Mike Greene) - 03/31/2009 04:24 PM
We are working on an issue at the broadcast station, we expect to have it resolved by May 1st if not sooner. We thank you for your patience as we try to resolve this.

Thank you.
So it looks like a couple more weeks to a month before we are more or less back to normal.
Michael

O.K.....Thanks Michael

This reply from Macrovision on the listings issue:


How did you contact Macrovision? A week ago I tried the form Speedlaw linked to and received a token response that the contact is for their business customers only and for me to contact the device manufacturer.

My advice....reset, format, and leave it alone.

My advice - that I wish someone had given me- before you do the reset make absolutely certain- and then certain again- that you have a possible Host channel that passes the G-test.

... I really don't think these machines like to be forced or G tested.
So I reset both to factory defaults and formatted the drives (not the TVGOS reset, the big one) before I went to work. When I came home, bingo! Lots of guide data on both:D. My advice....reset, format, and leave it alone.
may have to do that eventually, though I will wait and only do it as a last resort, until I have a chance to catch up and watch the half hard drive full of PBS high-def programs that I've been saving for a period when there aren't the more immediate kinds of things (like dramas of various sort) being broadcast...

So I'd hate to have to wipe my hard drive before summer...and then, of course, there might not be any analog TVGOS to get...catch 22, huh?

And I don't understand why a complete TVGOS reset wouldn't solve any problem related to TVGOS...?:(?

I really don't think these machines like to be forced or G tested.

So I reset both to factory defaults and formatted the drives (not the TVGOS reset, the big one) before I went to work. When I came home, bingo! Lots of guide data on both:D. My advice....reset, format, and leave it alone.

Yes, I absolutely agree, the G Test and also the Force Digital Host can make matters worse.

IF ?? your area is sending out correct reliable TVGuide data (without sw flaws), then use The Full Factory Reset and leave the box alone! for 24-25 hours is the best action a person can take.

1. This will work if you still have a analogue reliable source.
2. This will work if you have both analgue and digital source - it will hunt the analogue first and lock in.
3. It might work if you have only a digital host - 50/50 chance?

The reason #3 is not reliable - correct DL from Macrovison are just not there yet AND the unit will still need a firmware correction from Sony to take out the analogue "hunt" (and the zillion other corrections it requires).

The reason #2 will not work is running the G Test and/or Force host, like so many have done, will mess up the internal tv guide sw big time.......to many conflicts created inside the unit. Those can only be eliminated with Full Factory Reset.

My advice - that I wish someone had given me- before you do the reset make absolutely certain- and then certain again- that you have a possible Host channel that passes the G-test.

Looking forward to the pics on the 250 unit at your house.

Also, if you consider the unit at your mom's a brick?.........would you be willing to bring to your house connect it to the location your 250 is at now. Do a Full Factory Reset (start between 6PM to 9PM), leave it off 24.5 hours. Turn it on around 6-9PM the next day (30 min later then when you did the reset).........and see what you got; then leave it off another 24 hours.

I noticed that I'm getting TVGOS information again. When I checked, I discovered it's coming in on PBS (13) analog. I also have packets on 13-1 (90-1), but the DHG has 13 as its host channel.

Dave Kristol

Well, since last nights wipe of my guide info I have time back (1 hr off), I have a FULL guide, only the time issue, all this over night. I did force a VBI search on my 19.2 PBS channel. Later.

Why are cable companies telling Macrovison that they are passing it, when they are not.

See here to check your area: http://digitaltransition.macrovision.com/

"We have confirmed with your cable provider that you should receive TV Guide/Guide Plus+ listings after the digital transition. If you are not receiving listings or if your listings discontinue, please contact your cable provider for more information."

This is what the link tells me for Charter in my area. Currently, as of about 3 weeks ago Charter has not been passing any TVGOS data here. But the Macrovision link only states that I should receive the data after the digital transition , presumably June 12th? :rolleyes:

How did you contact Macrovision? A week ago I tried the form Speedlaw linked to and received a token response that the contact is for their business customers only and for me to contact the device manufacturer.

I used the same form twice, first time I got the token response. Then in my next request I asked who I needed to contact about the listings problem. That's when they sent me the reply that I posted. It took several days for all of this.
Michael

Looking forward to the pics on the 250 unit at your house.



First the news. The 500 still shows no ads but it DID download overnight and picked up Thursday and Sunday. Maybe a fluke. Will See tonight if it picks up Monday.

Could my upgrading the firmware yesterday from .05 to .13 have made a difference.

Here are the pictures of the 500 this morning, they look identical to yesterday.

Looking forward to the pics on the 250 unit at your house.



The 250

"We have confirmed with your cable provider that you should receive TV Guide/Guide Plus+ listings after the digital transition. If you are not receiving listings or if your listings discontinue, please contact your cable provider for more information."



It was probably written when assuming the original date and doesn't mean to say much except that they intend to furnish the data and the rest is up to your cable provider.

Problem is that for the cable providers, they don't give a damn, it doesn't accrue to their benefit to care and their low level support don't have a clue about any of this.

First the news. The 500 still shows no ads but it DID download overnight and picked up Thursday and Sunday. Maybe a fluke. Will See tonight if it picks up Monday.

Could my upgrading the firmware yesterday from .05 to .13 have made a difference.

Here are the pictures of the 500 this morning, they look identical to yesterday.

Please look at the top line of your picture #2 from today and yesterday; yes both pictures are exactly the same as best I can tell.

Please convert the date time stamp on the top line to your correct time.......was the upgrade from .05 to .13 done before the time or at the time of that date time stamp..........in other words did the .05 to .13 create a "soft reset" or did you do a "soft reset" or unplug at that time? thank you

The 250

Best I can tell there were several "soft resets" on this unit as well, towards the end of May 08; is that correct?

Please look at the top line of your picture #2 from today and yesterday; yes both pictures are exactly the same as best I can tell.

Please convert the date time stamp on the top line to your correct time.......was the upgrade from .05 to .13 done before the time or at the time of that date time stamp..........in other words did the .05 to .13 create a "soft reset" or did you do a "soft reset" or unplug at that time? thank you

Four hour offset. I took the pictures just before and after 9AM this morning.

If it shows a reset yesterday morning - as far as I recall it must have been the firmware upgrade.

Best I can tell there were several "soft resets" on this unit as well, towards the end of May 08; is that correct?

Possibly. I think it was a time many of us were having lock ups.

Four hour offset. I took the pictures just before and after 9AM this morning.

If it shows a reset yesterday morning - as far as I recall it must have been the firmware upgrade.


Ok, very good.

Ok, very good.

It could all be a fluke or a coincidence and nothing is certain yet about whether it will continue to download- and it still shows no ads- but up to now the assumption has been that the firmware version made no difference except for some HDMI connection issues.

Yet both 500 with version .05 acted badly while the 250 with .06 acted well.

Maybe firmware version does make a difference as to how the units react to TVGOS data troubles.

Four hour offset. I took the pictures just before and after 9AM this morning.

If it shows a reset yesterday morning - as far as I recall it must have been the firmware upgrade.

Ok, generally I do not see a Full Factory Reset on either 250 or 500 at your house - Unless it would be the very strange 01/01/90 dates.........one at the end of May and the other unit during Sept 08?

Anyway, back to the quesiton above............would you consider a Full Factory Rest on any of the three units? If your Mom's unit is the "most" dead, then bringing it to your house would be best I think?

Your 250 seems to be working best........and your 500 just a mess up schedule with a few lock ups...........so perhaps you mom's unit is the best choice?

so perhaps you mom's unit is the best choice?

I did the full TVGOS update which unfortunately made it a brick.

The reason being that I had done a passing G-test just the previous day there, and I am passing G-tests at my home so I had no reason to even imagine that Cablevision had turned it off literally - almost just immediately - prior to the reset.

It seems to be in good shape - upgraded to .13- just without a data stream.

I am attempting to contact Macrovision about the situation.

I am hoping Cablevision restores the data stream in that location- I shudder to think of the alternative that they are shutting it down everywhere in stages.

I will wait for a while and hope for that restored stream and hope for the best, if nothing happens in several weeks I intend to bring it to me to see what happens here- if I still have a Cablevision stream.

Unless it would be the very strange 01/01/90 dates.........one at the end of May and the other unit during Sept 08?

I don't remember the exact dates, but when I think about it, Sept is very possible for a time I had to unplug both units to get to a TV repair.


.......and your 500 just a mess up schedule with a few lock ups...........

If by chance the 500 has indeed reacquired an ability from the firmware upgrade to download when off, would several days of successful downloads cure the mess of the schedule and resolve any causes for lock ups?


I'm probably jumping ahead. First I need to see a string of successful downloads and the ads to reappear.

The reason #3 is not reliable - correct DL from Macrovison are just not there yet AND the unit will still need a firmware correction from Sony to take out the analogue "hunt" (and the zillion other corrections it requires).

As someone pointed out a week or so ago, people who have a cable provider that passes TVGOS through on an analog channel would not want an "analog hunt" taken away! Secondly, hunting for a host channel (and preferring analog) is a function of TVGOS software, not the CE product in which it's installed.

The reason #2 will not work is running the G Test and/or Force host, like so many have done, will mess up the internal tv guide sw big time.......to many conflicts created inside the unit. Those can only be eliminated with Full Factory Reset.

Running the G* test in and of itself should not mess up anything. Its function is to verify the presence (or not) of VBI on the channel being tested. Whether issues are created by using the "force host" procedure is unclear at best. People seem to be reporting wildly different results, but there are so many variables in the mix it's impossible to determine what causes what at this point, IMO. :)

My host channel on my HDD250 w/card v8 reads 1:0-12.
My host channel on my Toshiba w/card v9 reads 1:84-0.

My local channel (12) CBS/Comcast Chico/Redding CA. is sending TVGOS in all formats, OTA,
Digital and I think Analog over the cable if host 1:0-12 means analog?

My Toshiba TV host 1:84-0 is digital but I thought the last digit could not be a 0 ?

Please Reply Gregg

Could my upgrading the firmware yesterday from .05 to .13 have made a difference.



I know it's a widely held belief that the firmware version doesn't affect TVGOS, but I'm not so sure about that. :D If not the firmware itself, there may be something in the process of updating that clears out a few cobwebs. I know my 500 began behaving better after updating it from .05 to .13.

As someone pointed out a week or so ago, people who have a cable provider that passes TVGOS through on an analog channel would not want an "analog hunt" taken away! Secondly, hunting for a host channel (and preferring analog) is a function of TVGOS software, not the CE product in which it's installed.



Running the G* test in and of itself should not mess up anything. Its function is to verify the presence (or not) of VBI on the channel being tested. Whether issues are created by using the "force host" procedure is unclear at best. People seem to be reporting wildly different results, but there are so many variables in the mix it's impossible to determine what causes what at this point, IMO. :)

except that the analogue will go away on Cable, and digital in the mean time should be the priority..........i am trying to keep it simple for everyone.

what you said about G test is generally true; except, when peeps leave the unit "on" attempting to get downloads from digital- often conflicting sw is the result; typically full factory reset is the only recourse to solve the problem. For me anyway, I have already proven that running G test attempting to lock on to digital did not work. It works only to the point of making the box partial or non-functional.

Also, keep in mind each area is different..........curently each day in Houston is a new story.....only days 1-5 are being received for downloads, days 6,7,and 8 are now "no listing".

IMO the solution for Opinionated is fairly simple; but that is up to him. That is no guarantee; but at least "trying" the obvious is a very simple thing to do, and nothing is lost, and there may be a good deal to gain? No one knows until it is tried.

Again, no one is out of the woods yet: IMO there still has to be firmware from Sony, and Macrovision has to get their act together..........if neither one does that, then we all have bricks.

One of the Big Odd things in Houston is that we only get 1 of 4 180 min downloads per 24 hour period? I posted this question before, but no one has responded. (this may be why part of the downloads are missing). This may due to issues at our local PBS; but does anyone else have this problem?

You can see the three lines missing in this picture.

I know it's a widely held belief that the firmware version doesn't affect TVGOS, but I'm not so sure about that. :D If not the firmware itself, there may be something in the process of updating that clears out a few cobwebs. I know my 500 began behaving better after updating it from .05 to .13.

I remember statements from way back in this thread that the Sony firmware version does in fact affect the TVGOS. I've managed to find the post I linked to below, but I haven't yet been able to locate the post that the linked post refers to...............

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7063798&highlight=atsc+firmware+tvgos#post7063798

Also, keep in mind each area is different..........curently each day in Houston is a new story.....only days 1-5 are being received for downloads, days 6,7,and 8 are now "no listing".
Right now, an analog host is only providing days 1-5 because there is no day 8 on either analog or digital. Analog only did days 1, 2, 5 & 8, which is why it took 3 days to get a full 8 days of listings. With day 8 gone, it only downloads days 1, 2 & 5. Digital is different because it had 8 full days. Now it has 6 full days and most of day 7 (that seems to vary depending on where you are).


One of the Big Odd things in Houston is that we only get 1 of 4 180 min downloads per 24 hour period? I posted this question before, but no one has responded. (this may be why part of the downloads are missing). This may due to issues at our local PBS; but does anyone else have this problem?



You're only supposed to get one! It's always been that way.

Edit: What I mean is that the 4 DLs per day are duplicates. You only need to receive 1 of them in order to get everything.

My Toshiba TV host 1:84-0 is digital but I thought the last digit could not be a 0 ?

Please Reply GreggI believe that your cable company is passing digital TVGOS through channel 84-0. It's not a tuneable channel, probably just a few bps to allow the VBI data to get through. Last month, my Sony was picking up the host on 1:93-0. There are no analog channels on RF 93, and I wasn't sure if there were any encrypted digital in the 93.1-xx range.

Note - I am no longer receiving Host ID from 1:93-0. It's changed to 1:0-2, which is the analog feed for CBS. I can tune to RF 2 and it passes VBI data, however, the guide is no where near as good as it was under 1:93-0, but that's probably just a result of the overall crappiness of TVGOS these days.


except that the analogue will go away on Cable, and digital in the mean time should be the priority..........i am trying to keep it simple for everyone.Not every cable system is dumping analog anytime soon. Sure, they'll likely migrate all of the extended basic channels to digital only, but the locals and cable access are likely to stay analog for a long while in my area.

If TVGOS-digital is reliable on these Sonys, then I won't care about losing "analog hunting", but if analog TVGOS remains better, then you can bet that I'll b*tch and moan about losing analog hunting.

I've been toying with the idea of dropping the Sony out of my entertainment set-up and replacing it with a Mac mini and EyeTV device. Not sure if this is well known, but EyeTV has begun transitioning to TVGOS (previously TitanTV) for it's guide data (14 days), downloaded over the internet.

Anyways, I just took a look over at the ElGato forums and there are many folks that have been having problems with TVGOS, starting around mid-Feb. Most of these issues involve not being able to download the guide data or downloads that "hang".

I'm not insuinating that these issues are related to the TVGOS issues that the Sonys are having, but it's kind of interesting.

ft

I remember statements from way back in this thread that the Sony firmware version does in fact affect the TVGOS. I've managed to find the post I linked to below, but I haven't yet been able to locate the post that the linked post refers to...............

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7063798&highlight=atsc+firmware+tvgos#post7063798

I seem to recall reading a very long time ago that the Sony firmware updates were to correct HDMI problems associated with specific display devices and did not have any relationship to TVGOS. I don't think that the post where I read this quoted any authorative source however.

FWIW, my 250s have .06 and .13, and both behave in the same manner.

What I think I recall, and again I haven't found any "proof", is that the original .05 version had no support for digital TVGOS.

What I think I recall, and again I haven't found any "proof", is that the original .05 version had no support for digital TVGOS.

This is anecdotal only I know, but....

Late last year after reading all the good info here and on Spiff's space I decided to try the force digital host (which in retrospect may not have been a good idea :(). Both my units were using an analog host. My 250 had the .13 firmware. Its previous owner had sent it in to Sony for the upgrade. My 500 was on the original .05 firmware.

The 250 accepted the change to digital host on the first try. The 500 did not. Nor did it change on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th try. I decided to upgrade the 500's firmware just because I figured it would be good to have it on the latest version. After the upgrade, I tried the change to digital host again. It accepted it on the first try!

Does that mean anything? I have not a clue. :D

What I think I recall, and again I haven't found any "proof", is that the original .05 version had no support for digital TVGOS.

I was under the impression that the only prerequisite for digital TVGOS was a TVGOS software version that is 08.01.65 or higher.

This is anecdotal only I know, but....

Late last year after reading all the good info here and on Spiff's space I decided to try the force digital host (which in retrospect may not have been a good idea :(). Both my units were using an analog host. My 250 had the .13 firmware. Its previous owner had sent it in to Sony for the upgrade. My 500 was on the original .05 firmware.

The 250 accepted the change to digital host on the first try. The 500 did not. Nor did it change on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th try. I decided to upgrade the 500's firmware just because I figured it would be good to have it on the latest version. After the upgrade, I tried the change to digital host again. It accepted it on the first try!

Does that mean anything? I have not a clue. :D

FWIW, I have successfully forced a digital host under .06 and .13 firmware. I believe that many, many pages back at least one poster claimed to have forced a digital host with .05 firmware (I don't have the time or inclination to go search for the post).

I was under the impression that the only prerequisite for digital TVGOS was a TVGOS software version that is 08.01.65 or higher.

And you may well be correct. :) I was just repeating what I remembered reading way back when. In any case, we all know that there is a great deal of useless information, as well as downright mis-information floating around regarding TVGOS and the Sony's in particular. OTOH, Possumgirl's post above seems to possibly confirm the lack of digital TVGOS support in the .05 firmware.

I really wish that both Sony and Macrovison would come visit this forum and give us the facts, for better or worse........................... :eek:

This is anecdotal only I know, but....

Late last year after reading all the good info here and on Spiff's space I decided to try the force digital host (which in retrospect may not have been a good idea :(). Both my units were using an analog host. My 250 had the .13 firmware. Its previous owner had sent it in to Sony for the upgrade. My 500 was on the original .05 firmware.

The 250 accepted the change to digital host on the first try. The 500 did not. Nor did it change on the 2nd or 3rd or 4th try. I decided to upgrade the 500's firmware just because I figured it would be good to have it on the latest version. After the upgrade, I tried the change to digital host again. It accepted it on the first try!

Does that mean anything? I have not a clue. :D

Yes it is more than just anecdotal. Generally most of Sony's firmware upgrades have centered around improvments for cable reliability - up to this point with .13. Maybe only 1 or 2 small fixes for OTA? I do not recall. Assuming Sony continues with the firmware upgrade process, I would expect to be significant to address the digital analogue issues; which are major issues IMHO.

MySonyBox is still on .05, and i was only able to get ads, and clock via Digital CBS OTA............and that was a joke for 2 weeks, until Macrovision got the analogue PBS back "on", with software corrections to make my Sony functional again.

.


Not every cable system is dumping analog anytime soon. Sure, they'll likely migrate all of the extended basic channels to digital only, but the locals and cable access are likely to stay analog for a long while in my area.

If TVGOS-digital is reliable on these Sonys, then I won't care about losing "analog hunting", but if analog TVGOS remains better, then you can bet that I'll b*tch and moan about losing analog hunting.

Guess it depends of def of "soon". I expect some cable companies to do this just a few short months. I expect the majority to be completed within 2 years. Keep in mind that goes hand in hand with Macrovision.........there will be a time they have no interest in analogue TV Guide either, and then it would be up to the cable to maintain the TV guide down convert from digital back to analogue. Really, do not see that picture lasting too many years?

Hello I am new to this forum. I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 I have lost my host channel and tv guide list connection 03/30/2009. I have tried to do the g test and I cannot get any vbi packets. I live on Long Island New York and wonder if anyone else is having the same problem or can direct me to another host channel where I can download vbi packets.

The following is the reply that I got from a Comcast supervisior in response to my TVGOS host problem:
"I’m not familiar with channel 97 the only TV guide I know about is on channel 27."
This from someone who had been out to the house to get the cable cards installed and working. Who saw the TVGOS on the Sonys. So either he is very dense with a short memory or Comcast has really drummed into them that only the Comcaast box is real and nothing else is. Plus, I keep forgetting what a wonderful job government education has done in turning out non-thinkers and automs for the workplace.
I did send them a detail response explaining exactly what a host station is and does and what it is not. Will let you know when of if I get any reply.
Michael

Hello I am new to this forum. I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 I have lost my host channel and tv guide list connection 03/30/2009. I have tried to do the g test and I cannot get any vbi packets. I live on Long Island New York and wonder if anyone else is having the same problem or can direct me to another host channel where I can download vbi packets.
Are you on cable or an antenna? I think pretty much throughout the country there are similar problems, some more severe than others.
Michael

Hello I am new to this forum. I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 I have lost my host channel and tv guide list connection 03/30/2009. I have tried to do the g test and I cannot get any vbi packets. I live on Long Island New York and wonder if anyone else is having the same problem or can direct me to another host channel where I can download vbi packets.

I'm not from your neck of the woods, but based on rabbitears, WCBS (OTA 2.1) should be passing TVGOS. If you are using cable only you could try the G* test on WCBS. If it doesn't pass, hook up a antenna, perform "auto add antenna" channel scan, and try the G* test on channel 2.1.

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=tvgos

What I think I recall, and again I haven't found any "proof", is that the original .05 version had no support for digital TVGOS.That's what was reported a long time ago, way way back in the earlier days of this thread (when it was reasonably calm and easier to follow).

Originally Posted by WS65711
What I think I recall, and again I haven't found any "proof", is that the original .05 version had no support for digital TVGOS.

That's what was reported a long time ago, way way back in the earlier days of this thread (when it was reasonably calm and easier to follow).

Ha! Well no wonder! LOL

I hope the software upgrade helps with the tuning, I had an old (OLD) Samsung HD tuner and it was pretty bad, updated it over serial to a newer software and it has much better reception after the upgrade.

What was the modal number of the tuner, and where did you get the s/w update?

My host channel on my HDD250 w/card v8 reads 1:0-12.
My host channel on my Toshiba w/card v9 reads 1:84-0.

What do the host numbers mean x:xx-xx, salve for x. I know it's posted on the forum but it's getting hard to search.

Thanks Gregg

YEA! OTA+CableCard. Lost everything about Mar. 6. Did everything posted here
after factory reset and format. It worked 1 day, then bricked again. Did lots of Gtests
and forced host for days and nothing worked. No clock, grid or anything. Last Fri.
tuned the cable HD CBS channel and left it on. Sometime during the day it shut
itself off (not at the normal nighttime shut off). Was unable to do anything with it
until Mon. morning and when I turned it on I had a good clock and full listings!
Guaranteed no analog here.
We`ll see how long it lasts.

Well, the fun and testing continues. The 250 was working perfectly when
I decided to unplug everything and install a surge protector-battery backup.
Now everthing is gone again, no clock or grid. I am not going to try force
host or Gtest. Just leave it on until auto-off, then leave it alone for 24+
hours and see what happens.

Well, the fun and testing continues. The 250 was working perfectly when
I decided to unplug everything and install a surge protector-battery backup.
Now everthing is gone again, no clock or grid. I am not going to try force
host or Gtest. Just leave it on until auto-off, then leave it alone for 24+
hours and see what happens.

How long did you have it unplugged while connecting the battery backup? Does anyone know if you can safely unplug the DVR for any amount of time without losing your grid? I would like to install a UPS but afraid to unplug the DVR.

Anybody else lose a day (actually 28 hours) of the TVGOS listings on your HDD250/500? I'm in Tampa and I've got an HDD250 attached to an amplified antenna in my attic. I'm using it strictly OTA. I survived the TVGOS data transition from WEDU's channel 3 to WTSP's channel 10.1 on Feb 17th. In fact, WTSP was a more reliable provider of TVGOS data than WEDU was! But a few weeks ago, I stopped getting listings for day 8 and day 7 after 8pm. Today is Wednesday and I've got complete listings up to 8pm next Tuesday. After that, everything says NO LISTING. Weird, huh? Tomorrow (Thursday) it will list everything up to 8pm next Wednesday. And so on. It's still usable but really irritating to lose a chunk of the schedule!

I emailed WTSP and got this response:

"Thanks for contacting us. WTSP is not in control of nor do we have any specific knowledge about TVGOS data, we simply transmit it. You'll need to contact TVGOS about this issue. Regards, Jerry Michel, Director of Technology, WTSP-TV"

Anybody else lose a day (actually 28 hours) of the TVGOS listings on your HDD250/500? I'm in Tampa and I've got an HDD250 attached to an amplified antenna in my attic. I'm using it strictly OTA. I survived the TVGOS data transition from WEDU's channel 3 to WTSP's channel 10.1 on Feb 17th. In fact, WTSP was a more reliable provider of TVGOS data than WEDU was! But a few weeks ago, I stopped getting listings for day 8 and day 7 after 8pm. Today is Wednesday and I've got complete listings up to 8pm next Tuesday. After that, everything says NO LISTING. Weird, huh? Tomorrow (Thursday) it will list everything up to 8pm next Wednesday. And so on. It's still usable but really irritating to lose a chunk of the schedule!

This is a nationwide thing. Actually, is anyone getting full 8-day listing grids? It is irritating to lose some of the guide, but definitely better than no guide at all. The new version 9 TVGOS devices only hold 24 to 48 hrs of listings anyway. The 6-7 day guide may be around to stay. Anyone contacted macrovision specifically about this issue?

Randynoble....I have sent you a private message via this forum to contact be directly to discuss the Tampa Bay broadcast TVGOS situation.

Everyone else: A number of months ago it was suggested to make a VCR tape of the local TVGOS analog host. I failed to do that, but found in my old archives a lengthy tape made of my same host several years ago. I tried to use it to restore grid to my one ailing OTA Sony 250. No go....I could not find any info packets in the broadcast, so naturally, that was filtered out during the passage through the VCR. The same 250 has gotten the correct time from a digital only source (CBS) and advertising, but getting the grid is hopeless. I even tried to tie it to a DTVPal+ which receives TVGOS for our area, but again no luck. Our local prior analog host has gone off the air, so our area is Out-Of-Luck if you loose the grid. Thankfully my other Sony 250 continues to update its grid.

My host channel on my HDD250 w/card v8 reads 1:0-12.
My host channel on my Toshiba w/card v9 reads 1:84-0.

What do the host numbers mean x:xx-xx, salve for x. I know it's posted on the forum but it's getting hard to search.

Thanks Gregg
1:0-12 I think? that means cable and RF 12 analogue

1:84-0 def cable and RF84 but most likely digital

For the "little bit of digital" I did get two weeks ago; for OTA in came in one of two ways:

0:31-0 The RF to digital CBS
0:11-1 the display channel to digital CBS

My analogue PBS OTA comes in like this:
0:0-8

Hello I am new to this forum. I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 I have lost my host channel and tv guide list connection 03/30/2009. I have tried to do the g test and I cannot get any vbi packets. I live on Long Island New York and wonder if anyone else is having the same problem or can direct me to another host channel where I can download vbi packets.

From your location I assume you may be on Cablevision.

They have stopped transmitting the data on at least one NJ system and may have on yours too.

If so, complain to Cablevision, complain to Macrovision.

As a third alternative attempt to connect over the air to CBS Digital 2.1.

And then complain to Cablevision again.

I am cable based. Yeah I have been reading up noticed a lot of people are having the same problem.

[QUOTE=teeitup;16172782]I'm not from your neck of the woods, but based on rabbitears, WCBS (OTA 2.1) should be passing TVGOS. If you are using cable only you could try the G* test on WCBS. If it doesn't pass, hook up a antenna, perform "auto add antenna" channel scan, and try the G* test on channel 2.1.



Thanks for help will give rabbit ears a try if no updates happen by tomorrow.

From your location I assume you may be on Cablevision.

They have stopped transmitting the data on at least one NJ system and may have on yours too.

If so, complain to Cablevision, complain to Macrovision.

As a third alternative attempt to connect over the air to CBS Digital 2.1.

And then complain to Cablevision again.

Yes i am on cablevision I believe they have stopped broadcasting will give them a call to complain.

Are you on cable or an antenna? I think pretty much throughout the country there are similar problems, some more severe than others.
Michael

I am going through cable others have suggested that I try rabbit ears. Might give that a shot.

Main host here is analog CFTO-Cable 13 Toronto. Also getting supplementary listings from analog hosts CKCO-Cable 40 Kitchener and WNED-Air 17 Buffalo.

Days 1-5 are being completely 100% filled.
Days 6,7,8 are sporadic with only random channels filled up to 8 PM EDT Day 8. No discernible pattern.

MySonyBox is still on .05, and i was only able to get ads, and clock via Digital CBS OTA............and that was a joke for 2 weeks, until Macrovision got the analogue PBS back "on", with software corrections to make my Sony functional again.

My 500 has .05 firmware and my two 250s have .06 FW. All are receiving digital TVGOS data.

I'm seeing the similar pattern as others have where day 1-6 are filled, Day 7 partially and nothing on Day 8.

[QUOTE=teeitup;16172782]I'm not from your neck of the woods, but based on rabbitears, WCBS (OTA 2.1) should be passing TVGOS. If you are using cable only you could try the G* test on WCBS. If it doesn't pass, hook up a antenna, perform "auto add antenna" channel scan, and try the G* test on channel 2.1.



Thanks for help will give rabbit ears a try if no updates happen by tomorrow.

How do I perform a auto add antenna channel scan

Does anyone know how to find out your clock set channel.

Hmmm... an interesting development here in CT.

We have two '500s, each on a different Comcast franchise... one on the shoreline system in our Madison home (Branford/Madison/Guilford system) the other in our Hamden condo (New Haven/Hamden system). Both lost Host info etc about two weeks ago, but we regained it on the Madison unit several days ago (still no go on the Hamden setup).

RE: the working (Madison) unit, analog CPTV CH 14 was the Host Channel before lossage. Subsequently, a Host was found on digital CPTV CH 24.1 and the new grid has filled.

Here's the interesting part: the Host has migrated toCH 83.0, an otherwise unused channel. The "753..." diagnostic shows clockset also from that channel. Interestingly, CH 83.0 was never included on the channel list (neither manually selected or from auto-scan), so I'm not quite sure how the system found it. IIRC, the TVGOS manual mentions that a Host channel cannot be selected if it is disabled/not listed it in the CH+/- list... and this channel was not included in the list.

BTW, 24.1 and 83.0 each now show VBI PASS indications from the G* test.

PS: Chatted with Comcast and sent them a link to the TVGOS "Delivering Data to TV Guide Consumer Electronic Devices" (SCTE 127 Specs etc) in hopes it might expidite recovery (perhaps they've misplaced their copy... sigh!)

PPS: I would not expend too much energy trying to revive a system with "voodoo magic". I'm gonna' go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe (just maybe) some of our units show no Host data simply because there is no Host data to find just yet. Thumping the unit on the chest in countless different scenarios (hmmm was it "G*, G*, 953..." or "G*, reset, rest 24hrs, leave on 24 hrs G*, G*..." that worked for the guy in Hoboken?) may have been fruitful simply because the Host data was gone but has now resumed transmission and not due to some cryptic dance steps we perform (doh!) If you feel the need to release some energy, hammer on the cable operators to get their stuff together.

I'm getting data from Comcast on a non-tunable channel here in the Hartford system as well. I think it's 1:92-0. Also get it on OTA 24-1

How long did you have it unplugged while connecting the battery backup? Does anyone know if you can safely unplug the DVR for any amount of time without losing your grid? I would like to install a UPS but afraid to unplug the DVR.

Less than 2 minutes.

Finally got a host channel (29, PBS) on one of my 2 500's. The other one still shows blank. 29 is the digital PBS here, but it maps to 8.1. Maybe there is some hope after all.

How do I perform a auto add antenna channel scan

Menu > Preferences > CH +/- List > Auto Add from Antenna

Does anyone know how to find out your clock set channel.

It's on the TV Guide Service Menu (instructions to activate here (http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=32.0)) ). Find the clock info screen by going right, down, down, right and looking for the Clock Set Channel (or something like that).

Right after running the G* test you might get some hex codes. But after a day or two the raw station number shows up (39 in the Seattle area, aka Digital CBS at 7.1)

I cycled power on my setup without thinking so I could reset a DVD player. Lost the time on the recorder right before 'Lost' was to come on!

I tried the VBI search on the host channel and got a wrong time. It wandered a bit after a couple of hours. But then I tried the G* factory test with the digital host channel selected. After packets started receiving (it took longer than usual, 20 seconds or so) and exiting the guide (I may have powered off), the correct time popped right up. Good news, G* test saves the day! Bad news, I missed recording Lost.

OTA in Seattle, and totally digital TVGOS now with CBS (PBS stopped last month)

I don't even want to turn mine on today........at the very least it may only be down to 4 day schedule...........or it may have murdered itself again.

My wife did manage to get it to freeze last night (to be expected with no resets, multiple attempts to digital, and the it's own automatic reconfigure back to analogue-so it does have conflicts-and the error tracker recorded them).

She was chasing American Idle live - fast forward, rewind, pause; all at the same time of 9PM when the prescheduled show to be recorded was changing channels from 26-1 to 2-1. I took the remote out of her hand - set it aside and got it un-froze a couple of minutes later.

I have almost lost track of all the TV Guide changes in Houston since the first of the year.

1. About third week of January - total crazies

2. After Full factory reset (about Jan28th) it worked 100% perfect until March 9th; then total crazies - was lucky to get digital clock - but never seemed to last more than 5 days? Otherwise a brick. This also included a full Factory reset about Mid March with still no analouge available and attempting digital for about another week.

3. Then last Friday the unit reset itself back to analogue (no full factory reset for this-so it does contain errors-hence the freeze). Generally, appears to work ok with one freeze so far; but as of yesterday - only a 5 day schedule (only one day of the last week did it have a 6 day schedule)

I am leaving it off for a couple more hours this morning to let it finish this mornings set of downloads - maybe that will make it a little happier?

For those of us that are OTA only and have no interest in Cable or Sat - our choices are basically nil. The Tivo HD XL is the closest to the Sony Box; but it cost $1,000 and has its own drawbacks; extra cables to run and clumsy interface, and the "spy" feature is not too nice - why does everyone have to "spy"?

There is the DTVpal PSIP thingy.........it's just not ready for prime time IMO, and with PSIP don't think it ever will be?

There is build your own - just not for me.

The handwritting says HD DVR OTA will not be here much longer. And now that the Cable, Sat, and Wireless companies have full control of the FCC we may not have high quality HD OTA much longer. Broadcasters are finding better ways (more profitable) to get the signal out than OTA because of the FCC regulations.

I'm getting data from Comcast on a non-tunable channel here in the Hartford system as well. I think it's 1:92-0. Also get it on OTA 24-1I can't even imagine how many times it's been said, but I'll say it again just in case everybody forgot how it works: The format 1:24-1 means the cable channel who's PSIP mapped channel number is 24.1; the format 1:92-0 means the cable channel who's RF channel number is 92. I have no idea about your cable provider, but I'd be willing to bet they are the same channel. The Sony sometimes displays the host channel one way, sometimes the other.

I cycled power on my setup without thinking so I could reset a DVD player. Lost the time on the recorder right before 'Lost' was to come on!

... Good news, G* test saves the day! Bad news, I missed recording Lost.


Even with no valid VBI info, you should still be able to set manual recordings:

Exit any TVGOS menu screens etc.
Tune to the channel you wanr to record
Press the "Record" button to enter the Express Record menu
Add whatever length the show has remaining to the current display time (irrespective of the time that is indicated)

To set up a future recording, do as above but use a little math to determine the necessary "adjustment" for incorrect time. IE: if it is currently 8:00PM but the clock thinks it is 10:15 PM, you must add 2 hours and 15 minutes to the times you enter into the Express Record menu. Scroll down to set the frequency (once, daily, weekly). If the system day-of-week is also incorrect (a reset puts the calendar back to 1/1/2004), keep in mind that "day of the week" may also be shifted.

To put additional recordings into the schedule, exit all menus and plonk in as above. Of course, Program Title and other info is not listed and, if the clock performs more corrections, the record table will be incorrect.

Menu > Preferences > CH +/- List > Auto Add from Antenna

Thank you did channel scan correctly unfortunately still not picking up channel 2 might have to get more powerful antenna.

It's on the TV Guide Service Menu (instructions to activate here (http://www.spiffspace.com/forum/index.php?topic=32.0)) ). Find the clock info screen by going right, down, down, right and looking for the Clock Set Channel (or something like that).

Right after running the G* test you might get some hex codes. But after a day or two the raw station number shows up (39 in the Seattle area, aka Digital CBS at 7.1)

Thanks for the instructions will give it a try.

My 250 continues to get TVGOS from CBS digital 4.1 here in the Twin Cities. While there were a few days right after 2/17 that PBS was a little screwy, it has been rock solid since then.

I'm convinced the Sony is fine - any issues that are occuring must be the fault of the broadcasters/carriers in your areas. I'm amazed how many posts are going up in this forum day after day.

I wish you all well, but, as I've seen nothing relivant to me in ages, I'm signing off this thread - at least for now.

For those of us that are OTA only and have no interest in Cable or Sat - our choices are basically nil. The Tivo HD XL is the closest to the Sony Box; but it cost $1,000 and has its own drawbacks; extra cables to run and clumsy interface, and the "spy" feature is not too nice - why does everyone have to "spy"?

There is the DTVpal PSIP thingy.........it's just not ready for prime time IMO, and with PSIP don't think it ever will be?

There is build your own - just not for me.

The handwritting says HD DVR OTA will not be here much longer. And now that the Cable, Sat, and Wireless companies have full control of the FCC we may not have high quality HD OTA much longer. Broadcasters are finding better ways (more profitable) to get the signal out than OTA because of the FCC regulations.

Tivo is offering the Tivo HD XL 150 hours of HD for $600.00 and can record 2 shows at once which is a plus. The sony had it's advantages though one big advantage is that there were no annual fees for the service unlike Tivo. I hate to say this though but if keep having problems with my sony, and updates are not being recieved because it's not being broadcasted anymore the box is pretty much useless. I might have no choice but to bite the bullet and purchase a tivo unit.

So, after wiping one unit, and not wiping the other,

The wiped unit has not acquired time in about a week. The untouched unit has incorrect time, which has not corrected itself. I only unplugged the untouched HDD because I had to move some furniture.

At this point, I'd say if you have clock, don't unplug under pain of Bricking-the unit was fine as a "VCR". Since the fully G Tested and reset unit and the untouched unit (has grids, all of which say "no listing") are acting the same, I'm going with there is no "information" out there to catch.

I've managed to migrate the family over to the Dish DVR's but am leaving the HDD's hooked up, figuring based upon posters from elsewhere that things will "come back".

I know here in NY where everything is expensive that the aborted analog shutoff caused mayhem for broadcasters, most of whom are very carefully set up atop the Empire State Building.

Tivo is offering the Tivo HD XL 150 hours of HD for $600.00 and can record 2 shows at once which is a plus. The sony had it's advantages though one big advantage is that there were no annual fees for the service unlike Tivo. I hate to say this though but if keep having problems with my sony, and updates are not being recieved because it's not being broadcasted anymore the box is pretty much useless. I might have no choice but to bite the bullet and purchase a tivo unit.

I have (5) Sony DVRs. I love them.

But a year ago - I bought a TiVo HD for $199 and Immediately
upgraded the Internal HD to 1TB for 144 hours of HD recording. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160)
The Upgrade was a Piece of Cake and the Total was $300.

I only bought the TiVo as a BACUP Strategy in case my Sony
DVRs STOP working with the Digital Switch Over. I still LOVE
my Sony DVRs and Hopefully when the Switch Over Happens
they will be as good as they were in the Analog Days.

But TiVo does have some SLICK Features the Sony does not.
I'm must HAPPY NOW - Having Both :p

I can't even imagine how many times it's been said, but I'll say it again just in case everybody forgot how it works: The format 1:24-1 means the cable channel who's PSIP mapped channel number is 24.1; the format 1:92-0 means the cable channel who's RF channel number is 92. I have no idea about your cable provider, but I'd be willing to bet they are the same channel. The Sony sometimes displays the host channel one way, sometimes the other.

frank70,

While your response may be true sometimes, I can tell you that it's not always true.

The 1:92-0 is not a typical channel that is tuneable on Cable systems. The clue is the "0". I'm not aware of any channel using the -0 subchannel.

In my situation, I had Comcast pass the Host ID as 1:93-0 for a few weeks. channel 93 is/was not tuneable in either analog or digital. Another forum member mentioned that Comcast was passing the TVGOS on a digital subchannel without any video/audio, just the TVOGS data.

ft

I have (5) Sony DVRs. I love them.

But a year ago - I bought a TiVo HD for $199 and Immediately
upgraded the Internal HD to 1TB for 144 hours of HD recording. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5616160#post5616160)
The Upgrade was a Piece of Cake and the Total was $300.

I only bought the TiVo as a BACUP Strategy in case my Sony
DVRs STOP working with the Digital Switch Over. I still LOVE
my Sony DVRs and Hopefully when the Switch Over Happens
they will be as good as they were in the Analog Days.

But TiVo does have some SLICK Features the Sony does not.
I'm must HAPPY NOW - Having Both :p

Only three hundred dollars that's pretty cheap maybe I will consider doing the same if my Sony doesn't start working by the end of next week. Thanks for the information.

So, after wiping one unit, and not wiping the other,

The wiped unit has not acquired time in about a week. The untouched unit has incorrect time, which has not corrected itself. I only unplugged the untouched HDD because I had to move some furniture.

At this point, I'd say if you have clock, don't unplug under pain of Bricking-the unit was fine as a "VCR". Since the fully G Tested and reset unit and the untouched unit (has grids, all of which say "no listing") are acting the same, I'm going with there is no "information" out there to catch.

I've managed to migrate the family over to the Dish DVR's but am leaving the HDD's hooked up, figuring based upon posters from elsewhere that things will "come back".

I know here in NY where everything is expensive that the aborted analog shutoff caused mayhem for broadcasters, most of whom are very carefully set up atop the Empire State Building.

I am from Long Island ny and am experiencing the same problem my box stopped recievin information 03/30 I did a factory reset and ever since have had blank time and no listings bricked out the unit. I believe you are right there is no more info. out there to catch. Hopefully signals will come back I have been reading other posts as well and people are starting to catch signals again but there units had been blank for weeks. Hpefuly this problem resolves itself since my unit is pretty much useless now. Will start setting up manual recordings for now and adjust for wrong time.

So I see this is a huge problem. I had the same thing on my two tivos but they are straightened out now. I am in central Illinois and have had no guide at all on my hdd250 since 3-23-09. I use all of my dvrs ota, so is there any hope at all of getting it back on my 250, or am I just outta luck? Does anyone know who I should contact? Any help is greatly appreciated.

At this point, I'd say if you have clock, don't unplug under pain of Bricking-the unit was fine as a "VCR".

Words to live by.

My home 500 again did not download last night.

I am so tempted to do a reset but I'm controlling myself because a resultant brick at any time is a very real possibility.

Thank you did channel scan correctly unfortunately still not picking up channel 2 might have to get more powerful antenna.

Before your post, I was hoping that Cablevision's lack of transmission in [at least] one system in NJ was a fluke that will be corrected.

I'm also on Cablevision and my area still has TVGOS transmission.

That it is off on LI also makes me wonder if I'm the fluke- that it's still on here. Maybe they are shutting it off in stages.

Still, being optimistic, I would advice you to just wait- to contact Cablevision to get some specific answers on whether the stream will return- before you start messing with attempting to get a digital OTA host from CBS.

Only three hundred dollars that's pretty cheap maybe I will consider doing the same if my Sony doesn't start working by the end of next week. Thanks for the information.

After having SONY DVRs for three years - this TiVo
Subscription fee BOTHERS me - but I can program
my TiVo to record from anywhere in the World. I
do use that feature a lot.

Having both SONY and TiVo is having the best of both worlds ;)

Only three hundred dollars that's pretty cheap maybe I will consider doing the same if my Sony doesn't start working by the end of next week. Thanks for the information.
Tivo - 200.00
Hard drive upgrade - 300.00
= 500.00

You're probably better off to spend the extra 100.00 on the Tivo HD XL 150 hours of HD unit and save yourself the worry of voiding the warranty.

Hard drive upgrade - 300.00


That is ONLY TRUE if you PAY someone else to do it.
You can buy a 1 TB HD for Under $100 and DIY ;)

Before your post, I was hoping that Cablevision's lack of transmission in [at least] one system in NJ was a fluke that will be corrected.

I'm also on Cablevision and my area still has TVGOS transmission.

That it is off on LI also makes me wonder if I'm the fluke- that it's still on here. Maybe they are shutting it off in stages.

Still, being optimistic, I would advice you to just wait- to contact Cablevision to get some specific answers on whether the stream will return- before you start messing with attempting to get a digital OTA host from CBS.

I am still hoping as well that service will return and that they are not shutting it off in sections. I am going to give it a couple of weeks before I consider buying a alternative. The situation looks kind of bad as now since my friend has the same unit and his service went out the same day as mine. Atleast it clears up one thing that it is not the unit but the lack of a signal.

Also should have known this was going to happen when I reset the box and entered my zip code didn't give me a selection to provide which cable service I have. The 3 services were Brookhaven Cable, IO and something else I forget. That tells me that since I entered the zip code and didn't get a selection that no cable provider in my area is offering the tvgos signal at this time.

Also should have known this was going to happen when I reset the box and entered my zip code didn't give me a selection to provide which cable service I have..

Mine never gives me that OPTION until it does
a Download overnight.

When you do a full RESET - the Zip code info
does not know anything about OPTIONS until
the dowload happens ;)

Mine never gives me that OPTION until it does
a Download overnight.

When you do a full RESET - the Zip code info
does not know anything about OPTIONS until
the dowload happens ;)

Thanks never knew that. That is why it isn't giving me those options anymore.

Thanks never knew that. That is why it isn't giving me those options anymore.

It should after you get some Guide Data.

Of course without Guide Data - then that is another dilemma :o

Tivo is offering the Tivo HD XL 150 hours of HD for $600.00 and can record 2 shows at once which is a plus. The sony had it's advantages though one big advantage is that there were no annual fees for the service unlike Tivo. I hate to say this though but if keep having problems with my sony, and updates are not being recieved because it's not being broadcasted anymore the box is pretty much useless. I might have no choice but to bite the bullet and purchase a tivo unit.

The way I have read it: is $600 plus the $400 fee to make it work.........until such time the box "dies" then you have to buy another?

Ok, turned the unit on this morning. Still just days 1-5; except now the day 5 CBS shows "no listings". And days 6-8 are "no listings"

Over the last three nights, even though mine has stayed with analogue; it appears that another change may be in the works via the actual downloads occuring. It has shown a couple of the downloads via StID #5319 which I believe is intended for digital?

Other than that, 100% of the downloads are coming in on #2687 - the ID tagged to MySonyBox. It appears it is hunting for a digital replacement for the analogue. It did this same odd procedure (all on its own) last week when changing itself back to analogue?

After having SONY DVRs for three years - this TiVo
Subscription fee BOTHERS me - but I can program
my TiVo to record from anywhere in the World. I
do use that feature a lot.

Having both SONY and TiVo is having the best of both worlds ;)

The Tivo does have a lot going for it. But the $1,000 and the additional cables is a pain. Both our phone service, net, and cable service are so sub standard here; both are really a joke, and outrageously expensive because of Texas Law Tier Rate Schedules

The way I have read it: is $600 plus the $400 fee to make it work.........until such time the box "dies" then you have to buy another?

Yeah I know what you mean and the 400 dollar lifetime service fee is only good for the life of the box anyway you look at you will have to pay tivo again and again because I am sure those boxes don't last forever so you will be paying for the unit and the service fee again.

Yeah I know what you mean and the 400 dollar lifetime service fee is only good for the life of the box .

That is what you are led to believe :rolleyes:

But I just upgraded to Lifetime and before I did
I called TiVo directly and SAID: What if my BOX
dies after 1 Year. TiVo Said - they will transfer
a Lifetime subscription to my NEW BOX whenever
my old one dies. That is the KEY Language. You
have to say your OLD DIED ;)

That is what you are led to believe :rolleyes:

But I just upgraded to Lifetime and before I did
I called TiVo directly and SAID: What if my BOX
dies after 1 Year. TiVo Said - they will transfer
a Lifetime subscription to my NEW BOX whenever
my old one dies. That is the KEY Language. You
have to say your OLD DIED ;)

Old one died got ya. Has a box ever died on you?

Old one died got ya. Has a box ever died on you?

OH YA - I have (5) Sony DVRs - one is Dead the other four are fine.

When Sony STOPPED making the DVRs - I bought a 5th one as a
Spare. I thought I would NEVER need it. I was WRONG.

I'm sure it is a HD failure in my SONY.

Thank you did channel scan correctly unfortunately still not picking up channel 2 might have to get more powerful antenna.

Channel 2.1 (WCBS) is actually broadcast on UHF frequency assignment Ch 56 and will move to UHF 33 on June 12th. Since it is UHF, you will probably need a UHF antenna to receive the digital channel. You mentioned trying rabbit ears, which are VHF. You can enter your address in www.antennaweb.org and it will help make a antenna selection for your area. Are you able to receive WEDW (49). You could try the G* test there too.

I'm a TWCinci customer with their standard cable. Several months ago, I bought one of these DVRs used (heavily?). It was rather beat up and when I first tried to test it, I couldn't get it to power on. I got kinda busy and left it in a corner until last night. I gave it another try and I got it to power on. The front bezel was heavily beat up and I actually took it off before I could get it to work with the remote (there were some plastic pieces of the bezel that had broken off and may have obscured the IR sensor).

Anyway I put in my zip code in the TV Guide (TVG). I also did a channel scan for cable only and it claimed that it found several channel. I couldn't view them, but I have the impression that that it is expected behavior until the TVG is updated. I followed instructions that I found on spiffspace and determined that my VBI host channel was 1:0-753 (if that makes sense; it doesn't to me since my channel list doesn't go that high) and I powered it off so that it could download the guide. This morning, I found that the guide had not downloaded overnight and my clock is an hour behind. I had seen that the cable channel 8 (WCET) should be the correct channel so I followed spiffspace's instructions to change it to channel 8 and powered it off.

My questions are:
1) Are the Host Channel and the VBI Host channel the same thing? It is not that clear to me. Is WCET channel 8 still the correct channel to pick? or do I now have to pick the CBS channel?
2) how do I fix the clock? Is there a different channel to pick? is the channel selectable?

OH YA - I have (5) Sony DVRs - one is Dead the other four are fine.

When Sony STOPPED making the DVRs - I bought a 5th one as a
Spare. I thought I would NEVER need it. I was WRONG.

I'm sure it is a HD failure in my SONY.

Do you still have the dead one for parts?

Channel 2.1 (WCBS) is actually broadcast on UHF frequency assignment Ch 56 and will move to UHF 33 on June 12th. Since it is UHF, you will probably need a UHF antenna to receive the digital channel. You mentioned trying rabbit ears, which are VHF. You can enter your address in www.antennaweb.org and it will help make a antenna selection for your area. Are you able to receive WEDW (49). You could try the G* test there too.

Thanks for the update I think I am just going to wait it out and see what happens with the sony if the problem is still not corrected will switch over to tivo. A antenna is sort of hassle to deal with and would rather just pay the extra money. The sony did very well though had it for almost 5 years and this is the first problem I am ever having with the unit.

Also should have known this was going to happen when I reset the box and entered my zip code didn't give me a selection to provide which cable service I have. The 3 services were Brookhaven Cable, IO and something else I forget. That tells me that since I entered the zip code and didn't get a selection that no cable provider in my area is offering the tvgos signal at this time.

The good news is that if you can find a new host channel, you can still select one of the other cable providers to build your channel grid. Then you can manually remap the channels in the EPG. This method should work unless you are using a cablecard.

The good news is that if you can find a new host channel, you can still select one of the other cable providers to build your channel grid. Then you can manually remap the channels in the EPG. This method should work unless you are using a cablecard.


Actually I am using a cable card so unfortunately this method will not work for me but thanks for the suggestion.

Actually I am using a cable card so unfortunately this method will not work for me but thanks for the suggestion.

You're using a CC from Cablevision? I assume it's a Scientific Atlanta card.

Did it work for you without getting the 161-6 error and needing the Sony fix?

You're using a CC from Cablevision? I assume it's a Scientific Atlanta card.

Did it work for you without getting the 161-6 error and needing the Sony fix?

What sony fix?
Gregg

Do you still have the dead one for parts?

Sure Do http://www.rx8web.com/smilies/bouncy.gif