I have an xs32 and there are 2 ways to make sure your chapter marks are precise. The first one is to do a rate conversion, and keep the same bit rate. That is time consuming. There is another way. When you make a playlist, before dubbing it into an actual file, go into chapter editing and merge all chapters. After dubbing you should be all set, but it will hang on that set point for about a second. Normally though the screen is black since you in between commercials so it is not an issue. This works on my xs32 so I am assuming it will work on the xs34.

:-)
Rob
Rob, I have re read this about 6 times and am a little confused about what you are saying. What do you mean exactly about precise chapter marks? Last night I recorded "The Sum of All Fears". I then used Chapter function/Chapter editing to put chapter marks in the black area at the front and end of each commercial. Then used the Edit function to make a play list. I used the play list to copy to a DVD-RAM. All worked fine, good movie with no commercials.

What difference would I see if I merged all of the chapters in the play list prior to copying to DVD-RAM?

This brings up another question. I do a lot of taping of radio controlled model airplanes. I have found that when editing, removing a scene, the final product has very brief stop action spots where I removed a chapter. Is there any way to prevent these little stop action spots?

Ken

Only by restricting your edits to key frames (every half second) can you avoid that symptom. This would be described in various user manuals as High-Speed Dubbing-compatible editing, or GOP-based editing, and other similar terms, depending on the DVDR model.

Thanks a lot Bob. I found GOP editing in the XS-34 manual on page 93. Now to go read it and start tinkering.

Ken

Rob, I have re read this about 6 times and am a little confused about what you are saying. What do you mean exactly about precise chapter marks? Last night I recorded "The Sum of All Fears". I then used Chapter function/Chapter editing to put chapter marks in the black area at the front and end of each commercial.

Yikes, why would you record a theatrical movie off of TV with commercials?? Totally hacked up/edited.

BTW, you don't have to use the 'chapter function' to put chapter marks in. Just hit the chapter button on the remote (while you're playing or while you have it paused at the point you want the chapter mark).

Rob, I have re read this about 6 times and am a little confused about what you are saying. What do you mean exactly about precise chapter marks? Last night I recorded "The Sum of All Fears". I then used Chapter function/Chapter editing to put chapter marks in the black area at the front and end of each commercial. Then used the Edit function to make a play list. I used the play list to copy to a DVD-RAM. All worked fine, good movie with no commercials.

What difference would I see if I merged all of the chapters in the play list prior to copying to DVD-RAM?

This brings up another question. I do a lot of taping of radio controlled model airplanes. I have found that when editing, removing a scene, the final product has very brief stop action spots where I removed a chapter. Is there any way to prevent these little stop action spots?

Ken

Ken,

I thought the problem was for precise chapter marks. I have noticed when recording a TV show and doing the chapter marks in between commercials and then doing a playlist and then dubbing to DVD, when watching the DVD, I might noticed a tiny bit of the end of a commercial because sometimes there is not that much time in between the commercials and the start of a show. So my 2 solutions correct that. Most of the time, I do not have an issue, but sometimes there is only .10 seconds of "black" and it is next to impossible to not get a little bit of the commercial in the end product eventhough I set the chapter mark in the "black."

As to your model airplane video, it sounds like the rate conversion method would work for you. I had the same problem trying to do my own edits of the Red Sox/Yankees ALCS from 2 years ago. I was grabbing a bunch of spots and I had those stop action spots, but instead of doing the high speed dubbing from the playlist, I did the rate conversion (keeping the bit rate the same as what I had it on originally).

:-)
Rob

Yikes, why would you record a theatrical movie off of TV with commercials?? Totally hacked up/edited.

Wow, I never thought of recording it from somewhere else since all I have is OTA. However, if you have another source then let me know.

Thanks Rob, I'll try that.

Ken

Maybe he's suggesting just getting the DVD . . .

Well they have the XS34 on sale for 150 off Cdn. It's between this and the Pioneer 533/633. But the XS34 is the better deal now. 130 less than the 633. What are the Toshiba owners thoughts? Will I not regret getting the 34? Most of my recording will be off satellite using Line1 and from the A/V receiver using Line2 or 3, whatever is on the back panel.
Thanks
Joe


Well they dropped another 50 off now it's down to 399 cdn. Still on the fence between this and the Pioneers but the price is very tempting.

Get the RD-XS34. It is a great unit especially for that price. I paid $450.00 at London Drugs 15 days ago and will be getting them to price match the $399.99 BB price tonight. :)

Thanks for the price reduction notice.

Get the RX-XS34. It is a great unit especially for that price. I paid $450.00 at London Drugs 15 days ago and will be getting them to price match the $399.99 BB price tonight. :)

Thanks for the price reduction notice.

Ordered it from Best Buy. Will be picking it up tomorrow. What would be the best media for this recorder? Racing season, here I come!!!!! :D

Ordered it from Best Buy. Will be picking it up tomorrow. What would be the best media for this recorder? Racing season, here I come!!!!! :D
I have had great success with Maxell DVD-R and Panasonic DVD-RAM disks.

I have had great success with Maxell DVD-R and Panasonic DVD-RAM disks.
I'll second that. Congrats on the 34! It's a fantastic unit. By the way... read the manual. It's big... but this is one very robust unit.

Good choice Joe, I think you will really like the XS-34. I've had really good luck with Sony DVD-R and Panasonic DVD-RAM.

Ken

Good choice Joe, I think you will really like the XS-34. I've had really good luck with Sony DVD-R and Panasonic DVD-RAM.

Ken
Interesting. My experience with Sony DVD-R media has been rather spotty. I've used about 19 or 20 discs of a 25-piece stack, and I've gotten about 4 coasters so far -- a 20% failure rate. :( I also had another disc which produced an error during finalizing (error #14 -- "DVD disc access error", whatever the heck that is). The result is a disc that appears to be finalized (i.e., it has a properly working menu), but can only be played on the Toshiba. When I try to play it on another machine (in this case, a Panasonic portable DVD player), it can't read the disc. (Have other XS34 owners here used Sony DVD-R media? If so, what have your experiences been?)

On the other hand, I've had very good results with Verbatim 16x DVD-R discs. Used a stack of 50 without a single failure.

Thanks guys. It's in my possession now. :) Didn't buy any media yet because I had to check back to see what you all recommended!!! :eek: I'll install it tomorrow as it would of had plenty of time to reach room temperature. So if there are anymore recommendations for media, I'm all ears. I have a week and a half to play with it to get it setup and accustomed to it before all the racing starts.

I have a week and a half to play with it to get it setup and accustomed to it before all the racing starts.

What racing are you talking about? The Daytona 500 starts today. :) :) :)

Formula One . . .

What racing are you talking about? The Daytona 500 starts today. :) :) :)

F1, ALMS, SPEED GT and TOURING series, Rolex Grand Am and Grand Cup, LeMans24hrs and any other road racing type series.
:D

Love that Speed GT and Touring Car series, a friend of mine used to race in the Touring Cars. But I digress . . .

My connection is standard cable from wall right to rd-xs34 then to Sony xbr-800 monitor. Adelphia cable. Buffalo NY area. Time of day clock getting VBI ok. Time has always been right on. VBI ch here is WNED PBS (ota 17, cable 3)

After days of the "rebuilding" message and the "no data for this screen", I decided to try the TVGOS hard reset. The code is 653274147. I entered this code AFTER I was in the diagnostic screens (code:753159852). I have read that you do the reset from the setup pull-down. I have also read that you can enter the reset code while in the diag mode. Anyway, I was in the diag mode when I tried it. Here's what transpired and after I was done, TVGOS started populating:

After entering reset code, screen froze. I waited 10 minutes with no change. Then, after reading what the manual said if screen were to freeze, I held the power button (on the unit not the remote) in for 11 secs. This forced a power cycle. Then machine then went into normal standby-off mode. I then powered up and the word "wait" was displayed in the display window of the machine. After about 2 minutes, "wait" disappeared and normal clock displayed. Correct time, too. I then entered the TVGOS set-up and went through initial set-up. Zipcode screen still had my zip from previous set-up but I typed over it anyway. I also re-selected other options too even though they were highlighted from previous set-up.Then exited setup and powered machine off. I left it alone for 24 hours with not one peak. I then looked to see results and alas, nothing. BUT, 12 hours later when I returned home, TVGOS was starting to populate. Moral for my story is that it took 3 things to get TVGOS working for me. Hard TVGOS (653274147) reset. Hard machine reset (hold power button in for at least 11 secs). Wait for at least 36 hours.

Interesting. My experience with Sony DVD-R media has been rather spotty. I've used about 19 or 20 discs of a 25-piece stack, and I've gotten about 4 coasters so far -- a 20% failure rate. :( I also had another disc which produced an error during finalizing (error #14 -- "DVD disc access error", whatever the heck that is). The result is a disc that appears to be finalized (i.e., it has a properly working menu), but can only be played on the Toshiba. (Have other XS34 owners here used Sony DVD-R media? If so, what have your experiences been?)
I've had no problems with SONY 8x media on my XS34. Maybe you had a bad batch???

When EPG is downloading, is there a way to tell it's doing it? With the Pioneer 533, the EPG sign comes on.

I've had no problems with SONY 8x media on my XS34. Maybe you had a bad batch???

Well, I dunno. I suppose it's possible, but a big name like Sony should perhaps be more careful not to put out "bad batches". All I can say is what my experience has been.
___________________________

When EPG is downloading, is there a way to tell it's doing it? With the Pioneer 533, the EPG sign comes on.

Nope. (Would've been nice if the Toshiba engineers had thought to include some kind of indicator, huh?)

When EPG is downloading, is there a way to tell it's doing it? With the Pioneer 533, the EPG sign comes on.
If you listen carefully you will hear a very faint chatter from the hard drive while it is receiving EPG data. Otherwise I don't know of any other indicators. :)

OK. It's really not a big deal. And on second thought, I don't really want to know when the data is being downloaded. All I care about is that it works. The EPG sign on the Pioneer has become a dreaded symbol for many! Ha ha!!

So if there are anymore recommendations for media, I'm all ears. I have a week and a half to play with it to get it setup and accustomed to it before all the racing starts.

I have had very good success with Verbatim 16x DVD-Rs (16x regular parts 95058 25pack or 95101 50pack and 16x inkjet printables 95153 @ $41 per 100). I have never burned a coaster after about 50 burns. I think only once did the XS34 object to a disk and I just unloaded it and reloaded it and it took the second time. They also should have a longer archival life. I am using them to archive all my VHS and 8mm videos. The Verbatims are typically more expensive than low quality stuff but I think they are worth the extra cost for important burns. I also don't want to worry about lost time with bad burns so the extra cost is not an issue for me. Look for them on sale and you can get some good deals.

(updated the part numbers above)

Help!
I came home to see the TV Guide display nothing but "No Listing". This was the first time setting up the XS34. This was exactly the same problem I had with the Pioneer 533.

The way I set it up was straightforward: cable into digital box, out from box to DVR on RF IN. I told TVGOS where the box was hook up. And left it for 24 hours. Well, that did not work.

But, my question really is this: if I take cable from the wall into the DVR and hook up Line 1 IN from the digital box, I can't set the manual timer for anything on Line 1. I just want to have the TV Guide download data from the analog signal, and be able to record from either the RF in or Line 1 in where the digital box is. But I can't figure out how to do this?

Anyone have experience with setup options and what works??

I have had very good success with Verbatim 8x and 16x DVD-Rs....The Verbatims are typically more expensive than low quality stuff but I think they are worth the extra cost for important burns.

Yeah, Verbatim is good stuff. The only thing I don't like about it is that the reflective silvery surface [top side] doesn't work as well when writing on it with a marker. (i.e, harder to see/read because it's not a nice plain white background.) Like writing on a mirror. The white surface on other brands provides a better background that makes whatever you're writing on the disc (titles, descriptions, etc.) clearer and easier to read.

A minor complaint, I know, but still....

Yeah, Verbatim is good stuff. The only thing I don't like about it is that the reflective silvery surface [top side] doesn't work as well when writing on it with a marker. (i.e, harder to see/read because it's not a nice plain white background.) Like writing on a mirror. The white surface on other brands provides a better background that makes whatever you're writing on the disc (titles, descriptions, etc.) clearer and easier to read.

A minor complaint, I know, but still....

I know what you mean about the silvery surface but I use a Sharpie blue or black permanent marker and the surface takes it very well with good contrast. I have written on CD-Rs before that did not take permanent markers well but the Verbatims have never been that way.

When I set up the 34, I clicked on "don't remind me again" for the TV Guide feature. I also use an Audio/Video Rack timer with a master switch to turn off the unit completely so that the fan doesn't run continuously. Now when I turn on the unit, will it try to load a TV guide? I didn't notice it trying. My feed is only through Line1 from the satellite, no coax hookup. Just wondering since when I plan on using timer record that's when I'll turn the unit on. Oh and the firmware is Y1200, it was manufactured Oct.2005.
Thanks

My XS34 has V1200 firmware and manufatured in Sept. 2005.

Continuing my TVGOS saga. I reset it again last night. Blocked one of the channels on my digital terminal that was suspect, and woke up to find TV Guide data had populated. So, we'll see how this goes.

Does anyone know how to skip a day forward when in the TV Guide menu?

Does anyone know how to skip a day forward when in the TV Guide menu?
Yes, they made this feature quite easy to use. While in TVGOS (In the Listings Screen) just use the number keys on the remote to enter the number of hours you want to go ahead or back and a menu will appear on the left side asking you what you want to do. You can choose to go ahead or back. Works well.

Download the Pioneer DVR-533 manual if you want to get good instructions on how to use TVGOS. Toshiba and Panasonic kinda dropped the ball in this area in their manuals.

On the Pioneers, the two "rocker" type buttons move day-to-day and scroll page-by-page...buttons names may be diff.?

PREV/NEXT = scroll day's listing by page, up/down.

STEP/SLOW = jump from day-to-day, fwd/back

I also use an Audio/Video Rack timer with a master switch to turn off the unit completely so that the fan doesn't run continuously. Now when I turn on the unit, will it try to load a TV guide? I didn't notice it trying.

My understanding is that if you shut off power completely from the unit, you will lose all your TV guide listings (your setup info will still be there). This means you will have to wait for it to download again and repopulate all the days again. This only occurs when your XS34 is plugged in but in standby mode. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

My understanding is that if you shut off power completely from the unit, you will lose all your TV guide listings (your setup info will still be there). This means you will have to wait for it to download again and repopulate all the days again. This only occurs when your XS34 is plugged in but in standby mode. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
You are correct.

What does the HDD Auto Off do in Management Settings? I notice it's defaulted to off.

What does the HDD Auto Off do in Management Settings? I notice it's defaulted to off.
Turn that ON asap. You hard drive will thank you. The HDD will power down if there is no activity for 5 minutes. It's a great way to extend the life of the HDD. The only downside is that you may have to wait a few second for the HDD to spin up. Not an issue as far as I'm concerned.

What does the HDD Auto Off do in Management Settings? I notice it's defaulted to off.

I have never changed it to ON but the purpose is to shut down the hard disk drive (HDD) when the recorder is not active for more than 5 minutes. It will save some energy but I am not sure how significant (I would suspect somewhere between 5-15 watts). Of course, there is also debate on whether it will also increase the life of the drive by shutting it down when not in use. Some say it is better to run all the time because cycling on and off is not good. Others say otherwise arguing that bearing life can be increased by shutting the drives down. But note that if you turn this option to ON then if the hard disk does power down due to inactivity, then when you do something that needs the HDD, then you will have to wait a few seconds for it to power up again. What the wait is I do not know but if you are interested you can figure it out. Turn the option to ON, wait a few minutes (I would suggest 10 minutes to be sure it powers down), then hit PLAY or Content List and see how long it takes to respond. If you listen carefully you should be able to hear the drive start to spin up to speed. You might also compare the response time for PLAY or Content List when the HDD is already powered up for comparison.

I have another quesiton. Why is it when I'm watching TV through the DVR, I'll see occassionally flashing on the top right hand side of the screen the number 3 and Stereo, in a box? What does this mean?

I have another quesiton. Why is it when I'm watching TV through the DVR, I'll see occassionally flashing on the top right hand side of the screen the number 3 and Stereo, in a box? What does this mean?
I get than when I am watching the SPEED channel. What is happening is the TV channel is switching from stereo to mono over and over again. :eek:
You will only see this when watching a live channel. When you play back a recording of the channel the channel flashing does not appear. It's not the recorders fault, the probem is in the audio signal being sent to the DVR.

the probem is in the audio signal being sent to the DVR.Any way of turning this indicator off in the settings?

Any way of turning this indicator off in the settings?
Nope, the only way to get rid of it is to use TimeSlip when watching a live TV show.

There was a nice feature on the Pioneer which was Optimize Disk. I can't find a defrag option on the Toshiba! Is that actually true? If so...man that sucks.

What kind of quality are you folks getting on your recordings to the HDD?

I have analog cable connected to my Tosh34 and record in XP mode to the HDD. I notice that I have a little bit of "waviness" particularly on skintones when person's face moves a lot. Still images are pristine. It looks like it's struggling for bandwidth. Is this an inherent problem with a digital piece of equipment trying to record an analog signal? Would I be better off connecting my recorder to my digital cable box so it's receiving a digital signal? I see this when I am watching TV through the Tosh even when I am not recording too.

Would I be better off connecting my recorder to my digital cable box so it's receiving a digital signal?It would still be receiving an analog signal. The only way to send a DVD Recorder a digital signal is via the DV input.

It would still be receiving an analog signal. The only way to send a DVD Recorder a digital signal is via the DV input.

Yeah I understand. It just seems like the digital box "cleans up" the signal soomewhat. For instance I get a cleaner picture on my TV from the digital box as compared to the same station received through the coaxial cable straight from the wall.

Well it's certainly worth a try. The bottom line is the results.

There was a nice feature on the Pioneer which was Optimize Disk. I can't find a defrag option on the Toshiba! Is that actually true? If so...man that sucks.
It is true but not a big deal. Just delete everything from the HDD on a regular basis or format the HDD if you want to defrag it. It's not like you are going to see a performance hit like on a PC. Shows will be recorded as long as there is space on the HDD.

Help!
I came home to see the TV Guide display nothing but "No Listing". This was the first time setting up the XS34. This was exactly the same problem I had with the Pioneer 533.

The way I set it up was straightforward: cable into digital box, out from box to DVR on RF IN. I told TVGOS where the box was hook up. And left it for 24 hours. Well, that did not work.

But, my question really is this: if I take cable from the wall into the DVR and hook up Line 1 IN from the digital box, I can't set the manual timer for anything on Line 1. I just want to have the TV Guide download data from the analog signal, and be able to record from either the RF in or Line 1 in where the digital box is. But I can't figure out how to do this?

Anyone have experience with setup options and what works??
My connection is standard cable from wall right to rd-xs34 then to Sony xbr-800 monitor. Adelphia cable. Buffalo NY area. Time of day clock getting VBI ok. Time has always been right on. VBI ch here is WNED PBS (ota 17, cable 3)

After days of the "rebuilding" message and the "no data for this screen", I decided to try the TVGOS hard reset. The code is 653274147. I entered this code AFTER I was in the diagnostic screens (code:753159852). I have read that you do the reset from the setup pull-down. I have also read that you can enter the reset code while in the diag mode. Anyway, I was in the diag mode when I tried it. Here's what transpired and after I was done, TVGOS started populating:

After entering reset code, screen froze. I waited 10 minutes with no change. Then, after reading what the manual said if screen were to freeze, I held the power button (on the unit not the remote) in for 11 secs. This forced a power cycle. Then machine then went into normal standby-off mode. I then powered up and the word "wait" was displayed in the display window of the machine. After about 2 minutes, "wait" disappeared and normal clock displayed. Correct time, too. I then entered the TVGOS set-up and went through initial set-up. Zipcode screen still had my zip from previous set-up but I typed over it anyway. I also re-selected other options too even though they were highlighted from previous set-up.Then exited setup and powered machine off. I left it alone for 24 hours with not one peak. I then looked to see results and alas, nothing. BUT, 12 hours later when I returned home, TVGOS was starting to populate. Moral for my story is that it took 3 things to get TVGOS working for me. Hard TVGOS (653274147) reset. Hard machine reset (hold power button in for at least 11 secs). Wait for at least 36 hours.

What kind of quality are you folks getting on your recordings to the HDD?

I have analog cable connected to my Tosh34 and record in XP mode to the HDD. I notice that I have a little bit of "waviness" particularly on skintones when person's face moves a lot. Still images are pristine. It looks like it's struggling for bandwidth. Is this an inherent problem with a digital piece of equipment trying to record an analog signal? Would I be better off connecting my recorder to my digital cable box so it's receiving a digital signal? I see this when I am watching TV through the Tosh even when I am not recording too.
Make sure you have the three Play DNR settings turned off. When on, they create noticable distortion.

It is true [that you can't defrag the Toshiba's hard drive] but not a big deal. Just delete everything from the HDD on a regular basis or format the HDD if you want to defrag it.
But what if you don't WANT to delete all your shows off the hard drive??? :(

But what if you don't WANT to delete all your shows off the hard drive??? :(
Then don't worry about it. Just remember, the HDD is meant for temporary storage, they point that out very clearly in the manual.

Then don't worry about it. Just remember, the HDD is meant for temporary storage, they point that out very clearly in the manual.

Yup, and I'm an example of one who didn't heed that warning. Well, I truly ran into a BUG in their software.. but if I didn't have so much on the hard drive I wouldn't be so annoyed.

Yup, and I'm an example of one who didn't heed that warning. Well, I truly ran into a BUG in their software.. but if I didn't have so much on the hard drive I wouldn't be so annoyed.
What :eek: BUG :eek: are you talking about?

Yup, and I'm an example of one who didn't heed that warning. Well, I truly ran into a BUG in their software.. but if I didn't have so much on the hard drive I wouldn't be so annoyed.
What software is on your machine???

Quick Question:

Is the recent RDXS34 firmware available online?

Appreciate the help,

TSXKid

Is the recent RDXS34 firmware available online?



Not available online that I have heard. It is not on the Toshiba website either. You have to contact Toshiba and they will send it to you on a DVD if they decide you need it. I believe the number is 800-319-6684. You should have it in 1-2 weeks when they send it.

What :eek: BUG :eek: are you talking about?

I have explained it in excruciating detail before.. But I was recording (the Conan O'Briend show where U2 was on), and I knew that my hard drive was almost full..
So I went through and marked out a chapter of a previous show I knew I wanted to save (so that I could hopefully quickly stop the recording, delete a show, then start recording again).. When I put in a blank disc, the machine completely hung.. no "loading" on the screen, no reaction to remote, anything.. I left it for many minutes.
Finally I force rebooted it, and the hard drive was corrupted.. So I lost all of my previous recordings.

I don't remember at the moment for sure what screen I was at when I put in the disk.. I think it was probably the high speed dubbing page.

I keep meaning to try to repro it again, but UNfortunately I have already recorded a ton of stuff onto the hard drive again.. mostly stuff I won't be _too_ POed at losing.. (I copied the original drive to another drive with the very rare hope someone figures out the hard drive format.. since I think 99% of the data is still there.)

Correct me if I'm wrong. On the XS34, the RF out is not a pass through. Which means that if I take the out from this to the TV, it will show whatever the DVR is recording. So, if I have hooked up through a cable box, the only way to watch another channel while recording another is to put a splitter before the hookup and take a feed directly into the TV?

I'm concerned because I'm currently shopping around for a Plasma. But if I get one without a tuner in it, then I'm kind of screwed if I want to watch another station when something else is recording right? Is there anyway around this? Any suggestions?

Correct me if I'm wrong. On the XS34, the RF out is not a pass through. Which means that if I take the out from this to the TV, it will show whatever the DVR is recording. So, if I have hooked up through a cable box, the only way to watch another channel while recording another is to put a splitter before the hookup and take a feed directly into the TV?

I'm concerned because I'm currently shopping around for a Plasma. But if I get one without a tuner in it, then I'm kind of screwed if I want to watch another station when something else is recording right? Is there anyway around this? Any suggestions?

What you said is not correct. The XS34 has a pass-through RF circuit. Everything going in the RF in goes out the RF out. In fact, what the XS34 is monitoring or recording never goes out the RF out. This is typical of many other recorders today. If your TV does not have a "line in" input, you will have to purchase a RF modulator so the "line out" signals from the XS34 goes into the modulator and the modulator output (now RF) goes to the TV. What is recommended is that your cable box or antenna feeds the RF input of the XS34, the RF output of the XS34 goes to the TV, and also the "line out" from the XS34 also goes to the TV (or to the RF modulator that in turn feeds the TV). This will allow you to watch TV independently from the recorder if you chose the RF input on the TV or watch what the recorder is doing by choosing the "line in" on the TV. Hope this makes sense.

I just picked up a unit that has firmware v1000 (manuf. date Aug06). What do I gain by upgrading the firmware? Better burning strategy or speed? New features? What do I tell Toshiba to convince them to send me a disc?

I just picked up a unit that has firmware v1000 (manuf. date Aug06). What do I gain by upgrading the firmware? Better burning strategy or speed? New features? What do I tell Toshiba to convince them to send me a disc?

When I talked to Toshiba, they did not get too speciific. Not sure why but one feature that is useful in the latest v1200 level is the reset clock and TVGuide Onscreen feature. Normally after the clock is set by TV Guide, you cannot set it again. The upgraded firmware allows you through the setup menus to reset the clock. The reset feature puts the TV Guide Onscreen into the initial setup mode where it asks for setup info like zipcode. I would think this is better than putting in the reset code talked about in this forum. There is at least one other fix for TVGOS where error correction or something like that is improved. I believe they also told me that there is a fix to help recognize more blank DVDs. If you tell Toshiba that you want to be able to set the clock with TVGOS (especially if having problems) they will send you the update.

Thanks for the comments. Knock on wood, I haven't had any TVGOS problems yet. I think I like the sound of "more disc support" and will use that as the reason.

Edit: Just called and ordered. No questions asked, not even a serial number. They did ask where I bought it from and I answered "the internet". We'll see how long it takes.

Thanks for the UPDATE epsilon!

TSXKid

Good thread here. I've had this unit for awhile now and no TVGuide issues for me so far really. Well, it likes to 'lose' my keyword searches regularly I'll give you that. :confused:

Anyways, question for those who have a cable box setup. Currently, I'm splitting the cable from the wall, so one feed to the Toshiba and the other to my cable box. This allows me to record 'regular' channels (i.e. don't need the digital box to descramble), and keep the TVGuide up to date BUT how do you record things above channel 125? :confused:

For example, let's say my cable system puts some good stuff on channel 200. I could setup a manual recording session on the Toshiba to pickup the input from INPUT1 (and feed it from the digital box), but I assume it won't see this? How do you guys with satellite make this work then? That's got to have hundreds of channels too. Thanks!

After recording a show with commercials, I wanted to cut the commercials out. I went into the Chapter Function and started dividing the title into chapters. Then I selected the chapters without the commercials into a playlist. My problem is this, when I play the playlist back, the picture pauses for half a second everytime it changes chapters. Why is this happening? Has anybody else come across this problem? When I dub to a DVR, will it copy these pauses? :(

After recording a show with commercials, I wanted to cut the commercials out. I went into the Chapter Function and started dividing the title into chapters. Then I selected the chapters without the commercials into a playlist. My problem is this, when I play the playlist back, the picture pauses for half a second everytime it changes chapters. Why is this happening? Has anybody else come across this problem? When I dub to a DVR, will it copy these pauses? :(
I have noticed the very small pause but don't see it as a problem. After all, these are just TV shows with the commercials cut out. :)

After recording a show with commercials, I wanted to cut the commercials out. I went into the Chapter Function and started dividing the title into chapters. Then I selected the chapters without the commercials into a playlist. My problem is this, when I play the playlist back, the picture pauses for half a second everytime it changes chapters. Why is this happening? Has anybody else come across this problem? When I dub to a DVR, will it copy these pauses? :(
In the Pios, there is an Initial Setup setting for "Seamless Playback." Its default selection is Off, which makes the playback pause at edit points. Changing that to On makes playback smooth, but "with a trade-off against the accuracy of the edit points."

Maybe your Tosh has such a setting in its Setup options?

I have noticed the very small pause but don't see it as a problem. After all, these are just TV shows with the commercials cut out. :)
Well, if I'm taping a sporting event, and want to save it to DVR, and want to cut out the commercials but it pauses at every chapter, that is annoying. Also, I tried merging the selected chapters but the pauses are still there. There is really no way around it? I wonder if other DVRs have the same problem. Pioneer, or Panasonic.

In the Pios, there is an Initial Setup setting for "Seamless Playback." Its default selection is Off, which makes the playback pause at edit points. Changing that to On makes playback smooth, but "with a trade-off against the accuracy of the edit points."

Maybe your Tosh has such a setting in its Setup options?Thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a look and see what I can find. It is annoying. There is really no reason for it to pause. I mean, with it being digital and on the HDD, you would think that the playback would be seamless to begin with.

There is really no reason for it to pause.There is a reason for it to pause though. If you always make your cut points on key frames (every half second) there would be no pausing. The MPEG format used in these machines only has a complete frame every half second. Between those frames, there is only information for how to create the next frame based on changes to the previous frame. This is part of how MPEG compression saves space over uncompressed video. If you cut between those key frames, there is a problem because when you rejoin the program after the cut, you are dropped into the middle of those frames that are just changes from the previous frame. So it has no way of knowing what to display without going back to the previous key frame (to get a complete frame) and "playing" those frames between it and where the cut ends. But it doesn't show anything during that time (because that's part of what you wanted cut out), just a freeze frame of the last good frame, the one right before the cut, until it can pick up with the frame you told it to end the cut on. Hence the pause of up to 14 frames, just under half a second. Often it will be less than that, it just matters how many frames it has to silently/invisibly play through to get to the end of the cut point from the previous key frame. If those invisible frames could be played at faster than their real-time rate (instantaneously would be perfect, but nothing's instantaneous), that would help with this problem, or alternatively, if the cutting process itself was able to make new key frames, it could add one at the cut-end-point so this problem goes away. But those cures are more trouble for the software engineers to develop, so no doubt they have chosen not implement them for cost-saving reasons.

In fact on my Panasonic it does not have this pausing problem if the cuts are spread out enough in time, which implies to me that it has the ability to fast-forward through the lost frames to get back to the cut-end-point quickly, UNLESS there are too many cuts very closely spaced together, then it starts to fall behind, and the pauses start to show up.

On my Pioneer I always try to make sure the start of my cuts is on a black frame (or as near as I can find one), so when it freezes, it's not obvious due to it being a black frame.

(I may have the exact details of how the lack of key frames is dealt with during these kinds of cuts, but I'm probably close in my explanation, bottom line is that these pauses are because there are only complete frames every half second, and cutting between them leaves the playback at a slight loss, for up to just under a half second.)

Yeah, the brief freeze-frames are slightly annoying, but I've gotten used to it. I try to look at it this way: if I have to "endure" a half-second freeze to eliminate four minutes of commercials, that's a price I'm very willing to pay! :)

Does anybody know if you can get some software that will allow you to download videos off of the DVR via the 1394 (firewire) port onto a PC? I realize that perhaps the Toshiba DVR does not have the proper protocals built in but I was just wondering if anybody has investigated this.

From the HDTV Recorders Forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695

When dubbing titles that have been edited for chapter marks and thumbnails (i.e., playlists), I notice that sometimes the thumbnails for the titles are different, and the chapter marks are gone on the targeted DVD-R which has been finalized. Instead of several chapter thumbnails, there is one blank thumbnail. Page 90 of the manual refers to chapters being unable to be created while in dubbing mode and says a title of a DVD-R/RW cannot be divided into chapters, but this does not appear to always be the case.

What exactly are the factors which determine whether or not chapters and correct thumbnails will survive the dubbing to DVD-R process? Rate conversion maybe?

What is recommended is that your cable box or antenna feeds the RF input of the XS34, the RF output of the XS34 goes to the TV, and also the "line out" from the XS34 also goes to the TV (or to the RF modulator that in turn feeds the TV). This will allow you to watch TV independently from the recorder if you chose the RF input on the TV or watch what the recorder is doing by choosing the "line in" on the TV. Hope this makes sense.

If you have a cable box you still cannot watch something different from what's being recorded because the box can only be tuned to one channel at a time, correct? It seems to me the above setup would only be beneficial if not cable box was involved

Well, if I'm taping a sporting event, and want to save it to DVR, and want to cut out the commercials but it pauses at every chapter, that is annoying. Also, I tried merging the selected chapters but the pauses are still there. There is really no way around it? I wonder if other DVRs have the same problem. Pioneer, or Panasonic.

The Panasonic E100 and E85 allow seamless playback, but the edit point may not be exact. The dubbing must be in Real Time, which involves re-encoding to re-establish the key frame reference described by bobkart. Also, real time resets any chapter markers you may have set.

For most of my work, getting freeze-free playback is well worth the compromise.

Richard

Ok, here is one for you TV Guide On Screen experts. My TV Guide listings are very erratic at best. I have done some messing around and have not seen much improvement. Here is what I see:

I am in the Rochester, Minnesota area. I found out from Toshiba that the host stations in my area are channels 5, 6 and 9. I have been monitoring the TVGOS diagnostic screens throughout my problems. When I get listings I notice that the host channel and Clock Set Chan is typically 9. When I do not get a listing most times (if not all), the host channel and Clock Set Chan is 5. I tried an experiment. I went into the TVGOS channel editor and turned off channels 5 and 6 thinking maybe channels 5 and 6 are not passing the TVGOS data correctly. The same day I started to get listings. The host and clock set chan was now 9. I got listings for two consecutive days but on the 3rd day I got up and I did not have listings again. Even with channels 5 and 6 turned off, the diag screens said my host channel and clock set chan was again 5. When outside of the TVGOS screens, when I do CH ^ channels 5 and 6 are skipped so they are not programmed. Why is channel 5 still being picked up. by TVGOS Is there any way to force TVGOS to not pick up channel 5? Is there anyone in the Rochester, Minnesota area that is getting listings ok? I have the latest 1200 version of the firmware. I have gone through the reset procedure to no avail. Any ideas?

OTA Channel 9 should be your PBS station KAWE, but PBS also has a station KAWB OTA Ch. 22. Not sure if you have KAWB in your channel list, probably in the OFF section of the list down below your ON channels? Channels 5 and 6 should be commercial stations? (I assume these channel #s are also the ones you actually tune to. If cable, they may be diff.)

I'd make sure only Ch. 9 was ON, and I'd tune Ch. 5 and 6 to Channel 0 (zero) and make sure they are OFF. Also, make sure KAWB is OFF.

If that doesn't fix things, try turning KAWE OFF in Ch. 9 and turning KAWB ON in Ch. 9. (KAWE may have a problem, as mine did, and substituting PBS stations works when they are "simulcast" as KAWE and KAWB probably are since they're from the same station/broadcaster.)

P.S. You should still be able to tune channels you turn OFF and tune to Ch. 0 using the # buttons on your remote, and you will be able to record them as well. (I know this works for PBS channels, haven't tested it with comm. channels.)

You cannot "turn off" the TVGOS host channel by turning it off in the EPG. TVGOS is programmed to search for EPG data by scanning all channels until it finds one with the EPG data. Turning off a channel in the EPG only prevents downloading of program data for the channel.

You might want to change the channel number (say to 0, or some other non-working channel) for the channels you do not want to get the EPG data from. But if you do that, you will not be able to record any programs from that channel.

Others will chime in...

OTA Channel 9 should be your PBS station KAWE, but PBS also has a station KAWB OTA Ch. 22. Not sure if you have KAWB in your channel list, probably in the OFF section of the list down below your ON channels? Channels 5 and 6 should be commercial stations? (I assume these channel #s are also the ones you actually tune to. If cable, they may be diff.)



KAWE and KAWB are not in my cable lineup. I do not use OTA. Based on this, are your suggestions different? All the host channels for my areas are not PBS but are commercial stations.

I will have to check if KAWE and KAWB are in my cable lineup. I do not use OTA. Based on this, are your suggestions different? All the host channels for my areas are not PBS but are commercial stations.
I hope we're talking about the same "channels." Over-the-air (OTA) Ch. 9 is KAWE and Ch. 22 is KAWB, and they are definitely PTV/PBS stations, unless you're talking about CABLE channels, which may be diff. If diff., we'll have to refer to Station Call Signs to keep it straight?

In fact, if your Ch. 9 is NOT KAWE, then we have to find out what your PBS/PTV stations/channels are. They definitely send TVGVOS signal so they could actually be interfering with the Tosh TVGOS system?

Assuming Ch. 9 is KAWE and Ch. 22 is KAWB, both of your PBS/PTV antennas are FAR from Rochester. Ch 9 KAWE is near Blackduck, NW of Grand Rapids. Ch 22 KAWB is closer, at Pillager, but still pretty far. Your channel list probably has ch 22 in its OFF section...look way down your list to the OFF section (all channels grey), it should be there.

I can see why you may be having trouble with TVGOS...too many possible signals, from both PBS and comm. stations, and your PBS antennas far, far away. You can try my suggestions above, esp. switching KAWB (OTA ch. 22) in your cable channel 9 slot. Turn off KAWE already in that slot and tune it to 0 (zero). Make sure ch. 5 and 6 are also OFF and tuned to 0.

(Tuning channels to 0 cuts off their EPG connection but their video signal is still being received and you can watch and set recordings for those "0" channels. Tuning must be via the # buttons on the remote, however.)

Let's see what that gives you in a few days. You'll get an "inkling" after the first night with the unit off. It will be "promising" if you get days 1, 2 and 8 after the first night.

If that doesn't fix things, try turning KAWE OFF in Ch. 9 and turning KAWB ON in Ch. 9. (KAWE may have a problem, as mine did, and substituting PBS stations works when they are "simulcast" as KAWE and KAWB probably are since they're from the same station/broadcaster.)


Additional info, For my area Charter cable lineup is: Channel 5 KSTP ABC, Channel 6 KAAL ABC, Channel 9 KSTP FOX.

BTW, what does setting a tune channel to 0 do? If I set more than one station to channel 0, how can I record all of them?

(Tuning channels to 0 cuts off their EPG connection but their video signal is still being received and you can watch and set recordings for those "0" channels. Tuning must be via the # buttons on the remote, however.)

Let's see what that gives you in a few days. You'll get an "inkling" after the first night with the unit off. It will be "promising" if you get days 1, 2 and 8 after the first night.

So setting a channel to 0 is different than turning it off? I will try setting the channel to 0 at noon. I should be able to catch one download slot this afternoon to see what happens. That is what happened the first time early this week. I made a change at noon and had listings that evening from the afternoon download. If not, I will check again in the morning.

Inieto, I see that your designated "Host" channels/stations are all commercial, not PBS.

If tuning 5 and 6 to 0 doesn't do the trick...and it has a chance that it will help...you still have to find and turn OFF and tune to 0 your PBS channels since they are also sending TVGOS info.

You should be able to tune them in the same menu you turned them OFF. On Pios, it's in the TVG >SETUP > Change channel display menu; hopefully, you turned your channels OFF in a similar TVG menu, not an Initial Setup or other channel setup menu. You only want to turn them OFF for purposes of the TVG system using a TVG menu.

Also see how many PBS, PTV or "Edu" stations (check for logos) are turned ON in your cable channel lineup. Those may be "interfering" and you may have to turn them OFF and tune them to zero also. You could potentially have many such channels in your area, even some from other states.

In fact, if your Ch. 9 is NOT KAWE, then we have to find out what your PBS/PTV stations/channels are. They definitely send TVGVOS signal so they could actually be interfering with the Tosh TVGOS system?

Assuming Ch. 9 is KAWE and Ch. 22 is KAWB, both of your PBS/PTV antennas are FAR from Rochester. Ch 9 KAWE is near Blackduck, NW of Grand Rapids. Ch 22 KAWB is closer, at Pillager, but still pretty far. Your channel list probably has ch 22 in its OFF section...look way down your list to the OFF section (all channels grey), it should be there.


The PBS channels in my cable lineup are: 2 KTCA and 13 KSMQ. I never see any sign of them in the diagnostic screens as picking up data from them. I did set to OFF channels 5 & 6 and set them both to tune channel 0. Waiting for next download. Is setting them to 0 and OFF both needed? It is not clear to me what the difference between setting them to OFF and tune channel 0. It would be nice if there was a technical explanation somewhere. Thanks.

The PBS channels in my cable lineup are: 2 KTCA and 13 KSMQ. I never see any sign of them in the diagnostic screens as picking up data from them. I did set to OFF channels 5 & 6 and set them both to tune channel 0. Waiting for next download. Is setting them to 0 and OFF both needed? It is not clear to me what the difference between setting them to OFF and tune channel 0. It would be nice if there was a technical explanation somewhere. Thanks.
It's a pragmatic thing...it just works. I have my own "theory," but writing it down could easily shift your problem/solution exercise from pragmatic to solely theoretical, i.e., the solution might never be tested.

I've found thru actual experiments in a Pioneer 531 that turning ALL Host channel(s) OFF AND tuning them to zero cuts off the data download activity of the TVG system. The rest of the TVG system remains active, including an 8-day "No Listing" schedule and all other TVG menus and functions.

My thread on "Hostectomy" (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=651494) explains how that might be used by those who actually DO NOT want their "sick" or not-needed EPG download function to be active.

I also found that, when I had more than one potential Host, leaving only one of them ON and tuned to its "natural" channel helped stabilize my TVGOS system. Others have confirmed this since my original tests (after much "discussion" of its theoretical improbability).

Tuning to zero does NOT prevent tuning the channel(s) (via # buttons) or recording them either manually or by timer.

All my experiments and results have been with PBS channels, so I can only "ass-u-me" it should work the same way with commercial channels/stations. You might actually be the first to try this with comm. stations?

P.S. If this doesn't work for you, you should probably next turn off those two PBS channels and tune them to zero. You've still got options even after that, such as leaving ON only one of the PBS channels, and turning off your Ch. 9? I'm not sure of the role/relationship of PBS stations in the Tosh system, which seems to be set (via firmware or some Gemstar magic dust) to look for comm. stations instead...same with Panasonics, I think. If so, a solely PBS "solution" might not work?

The PBS channels in my cable lineup are: 2 KTCA and 13 KSMQ. I never see any sign of them in the diagnostic screens as picking up data from them. I did set to OFF channels 5 & 6 and set them both to tune channel 0. Waiting for next download. Is setting them to 0 and OFF both needed? It is not clear to me what the difference between setting them to OFF and tune channel 0. It would be nice if there was a technical explanation somewhere. Thanks.

Just as a point of reference, on my Panasonic E-500 and E-65, both with TVGOS, here in the Philly area, I also had more than 1 commercial non-PBS host channel (the ABC and CBS stations here). THe TVGOS on my Panasonics would switch back and forth between them as host channels. This was without any input from me. The switch was invisible to me (unless I checked the diagnostic screen). I did not have to turn any channel off, nor tune it to 0, in order to get the TVGOS is work, it just does, and quite well. I saw no interruption in the EPG while this "switching" was going on.

This shows that the TVGOS when operating on a DVD recorder in which the TVGOS is implemented properly can easily handle receiving EPG downloads in an area with more than 1 host channel. As an added point, the last time I checked the TVGOS diagnostic screen, the host channel changed to the local PBS station!! So there you go, the TVGOS managed to select the correct host channel out of 3 possibilities, all with no input from me.

If your recorder is having problems selecting the proper host channel, I suggest that it might be caused by an incomplete or corrupt transmission of the EPG data, and not necessarily a problem with the TVGOS operation.

If your recorder is having problems selecting the proper host channel, I suggest that it might be caused by an incomplete or corrupt transmission of the EPG data, and not necessarily a problem with the TVGOS operation.


I believe you are correct. Toshiba is trying to work with TV Guide on determining if this is a data transmission problem. It would be nice if someone out there in my area (Rochester, Minnesota zip 55904) could tell me if their unit works around here. I am hoping it is not a XS34 problem but was thinking maybe there was a way around the problem on the XS34 until the data transmission problem is corrected. I am still working on trying to disable two of my possible host channels. I thought I did it yesterday but this morning I noticed one of them was ON again. I am not sure if I messed up or it was turned back to ON by itself or through some other mechanism.

BTW, the other info you posted on the multiple hosts was useful too. Good to know that multiple hosts works. This makes sense. I am just hoping that one of them (I am suspecting KSTP channel 5) is the problem.

P.S. If this doesn't work for you, you should probably next turn off those two PBS channels and tune them to zero. You've still got options even after that, such as leaving ON only one of the PBS channels, and turning off your Ch. 9? I'm not sure of the role/relationship of PBS stations in the Tosh system, which seems to be set (via firmware or some Gemstar magic dust) to look for comm. stations instead...same with Panasonics, I think. If so, a solely PBS "solution" might not work?

Well, unfortunately, no success yet. I went into the diagnostic menus and it indicated the host channel was still 5 (I assume KSTP ABC which was channel 5 before) even after I set it to OFF and to tune channel 0. I was asked by Toshiba to go through a reset procedure so they can get some clean numbers off the diagnostic screens to pass on to TV Guide which is trying to help figure out what is going on. I don't expect any success there except to give them what they want so I will probably continue with your suggestions in a few more days. If you have any other info in the mean time, I am all ears. Thanks.

Well, unfortunately, no success yet. I went into the diagnostic menus and it indicated the host channel was still 5 (I assume KSTP ABC which was channel 5 before) even after I set it to OFF and to tune channel 0. I was asked by Toshiba to go through a reset procedure so they can get some clean numbers off the diagnostic screens to pass on to TV Guide which is trying to help figure out what is going on. I don't expect any success there except to give them what they want so I will probably continue with your suggestions in a few more days. If you have any other info in the mean time, I am all ears. Thanks.
It won't matter that you turn OFF a Host channel. It will still show up in your debug screens.

Since your Tosh unit seems to key in on Ch. 5 as THE Host, I would turn THAT channel ON and tune it to its natural ch. 5, and turn OFF those others (6, 9?) and tune THEM to zero.

It's worth a try, anyway?

After recording a show with commercials, I wanted to cut the commercials out. I went into the Chapter Function and started dividing the title into chapters. Then I selected the chapters without the commercials into a playlist. My problem is this, when I play the playlist back, the picture pauses for half a second everytime it changes chapters. Why is this happening? Has anybody else come across this problem? When I dub to a DVR, will it copy these pauses? :(
Pitman, here is the way that I've found to make the pause as short as possible. Select a program that you want to create chapters in. From the quick menu button select chapter create. Press the quick menu button again and select Chapter Break Edit Mode. Now select by GOP (Video Mode). Create the chapters and save. In the edit (playlist) save the chapters that you want. Notice that the delay will be much shorter than a half second. At least it is on my 34. Let us know how it works for you.

Ken

I have been trying to create a DVD title with multiple chapters but have been having difficulty. Here is the history. The chapters that I want were originally separate titles that I recorded from a DVD that I own. I used Line-U dubbing to create those titles (6 in all). I created chapters in each of those titles of which I only wanted one chapter to be used in each title. I then created a playlist that pulled in the single chapters that I wanted from each title and I used this playlist to create a new original title. It showed that I had 6 chapters. I then did a DVD creation from that title but it has multiple titles that it creates on that DVD. How can I get rid of the individual titles and have chapters instead?

I have been trying to create a DVD title with multiple chapters but have been having difficulty. Here is the history. The chapters that I want were originally separate titles that I recorded from a DVD that I own. I used Line-U dubbing to create those titles (6 in all). I created chapters in each of those titles of which I only wanted one chapter to be used in each title. I then created a playlist that pulled in the single chapters that I wanted from each title and I used this playlist to create a new original title. It showed that I had 6 chapters. I then did a DVD creation from that title but it has multiple titles that it creates on that DVD. How can I get rid of the individual titles and have chapters instead?
I'm not sure what you did wrong but I printed out your post and followed it exactly. You did not say what picks you used from the menu during DVD creation but instead of Title+Chapter I selected Title. For the play list I used the first chapter (5 min) of 10 episodes of the series 24. Of course, going back and fourth with the blue star button. For this test I created an intentional coaster. After the DVD-R was finished I plugged it into my Panasonic player and it showed only one title. While playing I used the skip button to jump to the next chapter in the title. I don't have a clue as to why yours does not work this way.

By the way, if anyone has 24 Season 5 #7 then I sure would like to get a copy. The power went off about 10 minutes before it was scheduled to start.

Ken

I'm not sure what you did wrong but I printed out your post and followed it exactly. You did not say what picks you used from the menu during DVD creation but instead of Title+Chapter I selected Title. For the play list I used the first chapter (5 min) of 10 episodes of the series 24. Of course, going back and fourth with the blue star button. For this test I created an intentional coaster. After the DVD-R was finished I plugged it into my Panasonic player and it showed only one title. While playing I used the skip button to jump to the next chapter in the title. I don't have a clue as to why yours does not work this way.

Ken

Thanks Ken so much for taking the time to do your test. It looks like your process did what I did in mine. Do you know if my title contains only chapters why it does not give me the option to create just a chapter menu (this is what happens on a normal title with multiple chapters)? When I run my DVD on my laptop DVD player software, the chapter skip does not skip to the next title. I am able to choose which title I want by pulling up the title menu but after I choose the title I cannot skip to the next one. On the DVD create, I do not choose the Title+Chapter option - I don't like the way it looks and the way it works. But it still comes to the same question: If my title I am trying to use to create a DVD video only contains chapters, why do they become titles again on the burned DVD? Is it because they were titles originally? If I can recall I even tried combining titles with the same result (but I have to do this one again to make sure).

But it still comes to the same question: If my title I am trying to use to create a DVD video only contains chapters, why do they become titles again on the burned DVD? Is it because they were titles originally? If I can recall I even tried combining titles with the same result (but I have to do this one again to make sure).
I have no clue as to why the original title on HDD becomes individual titles on the DVD when you do a DVD creation. If I'm understanding you correctly the DVD now has 6 individual titles (as in your example) representing the 6 original chapters. These are independent of each other. When you look on the HDD you see only one original title made up of these 6 chapters, yes? When you look at the completed DVD-R disk while it is still in the recorder you see 6 individual new titles, yes? If this is the case, I'm lost. It's now time for a GURU to hop in here.

Ken

I have no clue as to why the original title on HDD becomes individual titles on the DVD when you do a DVD creation. If I'm understanding you correctly the DVD now has 6 individual titles (as in your example) representing the 6 original chapters. These are independent of each other. When you look on the HDD you see only one original title made up of these 6 chapters, yes?
Correct.

When you look at the completed DVD-R disk while it is still in the recorder you see 6 individual new titles, yes?

If I hit "Content Menu" for the DVD after creation, it shows what were originally chapters in the original title are now individual "Original" titles. If I hit the * button on one of these titles they each have one chapter.

On my Sony DVD player I can go from title to title with the chapter skip buttons so at least I can access all the chapters.

I am still baffled why when creating the DVD the XS34 lets me choose what kind of menus I wanted. I could choose either "Title+Chapter" or "Title". What has happened in the past was I would have to choose between "Title+Chapter" or "Chapter". The fact that what I am given here are choices that always include Title must mean it must think there are multiple titles. There wasn't before. I don't want multiple titles. I even tried combining the titles into one before creating the DVD. Each title became a chapter. However, I got the same result when burning the DVD. Please someone explain.

I am still baffled why when creating the DVD the XS34 let me choose why kind of menus I wanted. I could choose either "Title+Chapter" or "Title". What has happened in the past was I would have to choose between "Title+Chapter" or "Chapter". The fact that what I am given here are choices that always include Title must mean it must think there are multiple titles. There wasn't before. I don't want multiple titles. I even tried combining the titles into one before creating the DVD. Each title became a chapter. However, I got the same result when burning the DVD. Please someone explain.


Ahaa! I just found something interesting. I tried burning another DVD. When I was selecting the items to add and chose the title with my 6 chapters (the chapters individually created originally by the Line-U recording and were titles), I got the following window that popped up for about 5 seconds "Selected items include non-standard properties. Content will be divided into multiple titles on the DVD". Did the fact that I created the titles originally from a Line-U recording cause the "non-standard properties"? Does anyone know?

I think you hit on the problem. I have never used Line-U dubbing. I just got through reading about it and it keeps talking about recording pictures with Line-U. Not sure I understand it yet. Why did you use Line-U and can you go back and use another method? Can't you do a straight copy to HDD from the DVD?

I think you hit on the problem. I have never used Line-U dubbing. I just got through reading about it and it keeps talking about recording pictures with Line-U. Not sure I understand it yet. Why did you use Line-U and can you go back and use another method? Can't you do a straight copy to HDD from the DVD?
Line-U dubbing is a special dubbing we must use if the XS34 did not create the DVD. The way the manual describes things it is pretty confusing but basically after my testing it allows copying a DVD to the HDD. So the answer to your question, no, I cannot use the normal dubbing method from DVD to HDD because the requirement for that is that the DVD was originally created by the XS34. Maybe someone else has another idea on how to copy excerpts from a non-XS34 created DVD.

Looks like we have this thread all to ourselves. I guess you could use A/V out from a player to A/V in to the XS-34. I doubt that you would loose much resolution. You could then set chapter breaks. I have a DVD+R that plays fine on the XS-34 but I wasn't able to copy it. I think I'll play around with Line-U and see if I can copy it.

Ken

Looks like we have this thread all to ourselves. I guess you could use A/V out from a player to A/V in to the XS-34. I doubt that you would loose much resolution. You could then set chapter breaks. I have a DVD+R that plays fine on the XS-34 but I wasn't able to copy it. I think I'll play around with Line-U and see if I can copy it.

Ken
I believe in essence Line-U is a built-in internal DVD player to HDD recorder hookup with equivalent A/V internal connections. I would think there would be less signal loss with the internal connections that the external hookup.

Well, I did another test. Previously, I had done 6 separate Line-U recordings which created 6 titles which I later combined into chapters using a playlist. When I created the DVD, the XS34 said this was non-standard. I now did another recording of the same items with one large recording so they were in one title. I then put in chapter marks in that one title to set apart the parts I was interested in and created a playlist that pulled them out into one title with those chapters. When I created a DVD the chapters remained this time.

So right now, it is not clear if the non-standard behaviour I had before was due to me combining Line-U titles or just any titles and creating chapters from them. I will have to play around with that. But at least I was able to get the results I wanted - not without lots of extra work.

Anyone out there worked much with Line-U recordings and edits?

Congratulations, you figured it out. Now you can help me. I put in a DVD-Video, recorded on another system, and selected Line-U. I then pushed the EZ Nav button and couldn't find a way to dub it to HDD. It plays fine. What steps do you go through to get it to dub with Line-U? The manual wasn't much help to me. I have it in pdf so it is very easy to do a search for Line-U.

Congratulations, you figured it out. Now you can help me. I put in a DVD-Video, recorded on another system, and selected Line-U. I then pushed the EZ Nav button and couldn't find a way to dub it to HDD. It plays fine. What steps do you go through to get it to dub with Line-U? The manual wasn't much help to me. I have it in pdf so it is very easy to do a search for Line-U.
It is pretty easy. Not sure if you can use the Easy Navi button. Select Line-U input mode. Hit the HDD button to go to the HDD mode. Hit record. Record starts immediately. Hit the DVD button. Hit play and whatever plays is recorded. When done playing back, hit stop. The DVD playing stops. Hit the HDD button so you are again controlling HDD functions. Hit stop to stop recording. The new title you just recorded appears on the HDD when you hit Content Menu or the Easy Navi. Note you will have blank space from the time you start recording and start playing the DVD and another blank space from the time you stop playing the DVD and when you stop recording. You can edit them out if you want. Note, EVERY thing you do on the DVD playback after you start recording will be recorded including pausing, fast forward searches, etc. This is indentical to what would happen if you played from another DVD player with cables into the XS34 through line inputs. I would suggest you find the point you want to start recording at on the DVD by playing and hit stop. When you start play again (after starting recording) it will start in that same spot immediately. Hope this explanation is clear enough.

Looks like we have this thread all to ourselves. I guess you could use A/V out from a player to A/V in to the XS-34. I doubt that you would loose much resolution. You could then set chapter breaks. I have a DVD+R that plays fine on the XS-34 but I wasn't able to copy it. I think I'll play around with Line-U and see if I can copy it.

Ken

There's a few more of us XS-34 owners lurking out here. You guys are just light years ahead of where we are and the things we try to accomplish with this gadget. We appreciate your info nevertheless. :)

Yes it was very clear. Thanks. I'll try it tomorrow and let you know how it worked.

Searay, I beg to differ with you on the "light years" part but thinks any way. I have really enjoyed the learning experience that the XS-34 has afforded me and it makes me feel good when going through an exercise like this that someone also finds it interesting.

Ken

Just to chime in, a bit off topic. I've owned the 34 now for almost a couple of months and I'm quite happy with it. Great recordings and ease of use, once you get used to it and used it a fair amount of times. Used the manual regularly in the beginning but not anymore. 2 thumbs up from my experience. :D

Joe, glad you like the XS-34. I've been using mine since the middle of last July and am still very happy with it. Like you, I almost never resort to the manual. The following is a rather strange experience that I had with it.

inieto, I finally got around to using Line-U to copy to HDD an otherwise un copyable DVD+R video. I did it exactly as you said above and it worked perfectly. Here is the big HOWEVER. When it finished I stopped the playback and then the record. I looked at the content on HDD and it recorded fine. It also played back fine. Then I remembered that I wanted to record a program using TV Guide. When I clicked the button the channel listings came up and now L-U was the top or first channel listed. I knew that it should not be there. Out of curiosity I moved the cursor up to it. At that point the DVD shut down and went to the standby mode with "wait" in the window. I waited about 10 minutes and nothing happened. No buttons were active. I unplugged it, waited about 10 seconds, and plugged it back in. After about 3 minutes the "wait" went away.

I turned it back on and TVG came up. Evidently TVG had completely reset itself because there were no channels or listings present. I checked the settings and the correct zip code was there along with "air" First time that ever happened. I put the recorder in standby and waited over night. The next morning the channels and listings were all back but I had to rearrange all of the channel positions and turn some of them off. It seems to be working correctly now.

I would put this all to coincidence with the use of Line-U except for two things. The fact that I saw L-U in the channel line up and the problem that I experienced a few days earlier. Not knowing how to record with Line-U (you told me how to later in a post) I watched the DVD+R video while in Line-U. After I finished, I ejected the disk and put the recorder in standby (off). Later, when I tried to turn it back on, all of the buttons were non functional and it would not come on. I unplugged it and went through "wait" and then it worked fine and TVG was OK. However, I had not accessed TVG after Line-U playback before I turned it off.

On my XS-34 Line-U seems to have a bug and do bad things. I think I'll stay away from it. Have you experienced any of these problems?

Ken

On my XS-34 Line-U seems to have a bug and do bad things. I think I'll stay away from it. Have you experienced any of these problems?

Ken

The other day I was in the TVGOS and suddenly the recorder shut down and went to the standby mode with "wait" in the window. I left it for a couple minutes and was able to press Power and it turned on. A message appeared saying all of my data on the HDD may be lost due to a problem that had occured. I freaked out for a second but luckily nothing was deleted and all appears to be OK. I did have to reset my custom settings in TVGOS though... :confused:

Another problem I have had randomly is that the recorder doesn't power itself off after a timer recording somtimes. There will be a message on the screen saying it is powering down but it never does. I click OK and the message goes away but the recorder stays on. I can then manually power it off. :(

The other day I was in the TVGOS and suddenly the recorder shut down and went to the standby mode with "wait" in the window. I left it for a couple minutes and was able to press Power and it turned on. A message appeared saying all of my data on the HDD may be lost due to a problem that had occured. I freaked out for a second but luckily nothing was deleted and all appears to be OK. I did have to reset my custom settings in TVGOS though... :confused: :(I can certainly understand the panic.

Another problem I have had randomly is that the recorder doesn't power itself off after a timer recording somtimes. There will be a message on the screen saying it is powering down but it never does. I click OK and the message goes away but the recorder stays on. I can then manually power it off. :(
On rare occasions I have noticed that it doesn't power down after a timed recording. Most of the time it does.

Ken

On my XS-34 Line-U seems to have a bug and do bad things. I think I'll stay away from it. Have you experienced any of these problems?
Ken

Haven't tried LINE-U yet. Haven't had a need to yet. But should give it a go to experiment.

I know this is probably a dumb question..but I'm getting a firewire cable to go from my camcorder (Sony hc32) to the xs34.. It is 4 pin to 4 pin I get, correct?? I could spend a while looking into this, but thought all you video geeks (compliment) might be the best route :)

Ashley

I know this is probably a dumb question..but I'm getting a firewire cable to go from my camcorder (Sony hc32) to the xs34.. It is 4 pin to 4 pin I get, correct?? I could spend a while looking into this, but thought all you video geeks (compliment) might be the best route :)

Ashley
Not a dumb question. I use a Sony HC-42 with a 4 pin to 4 pin cable. Works really well. High quality copy.

We haven't heard from you in a long time. Glad you are back.

Ken

Thanks so much Ken for the info. Good to see you again too. I come back to this thread at least every couple weeks to see the latest topic going on. Sometimes it's just a little too "techy" for me to get in on :)

I don't want to change the thread to camcorders (but hey, they work WITH the xs34, right? :) .. but the Sony hc32 that I got.. I am sending back. It's making a buzzing noise (just got it today). I am upgrading to the hc36 instead anyways, 'cause I don't care for this model.

Anyway......

I really have enjoyed the HC-42. It's the prime reason that I bought the XS-34. One minor drawback though. When you display date/time on the camcorder while in playback and recording through firewire, the date/time doesn't get recorded. The only way to record date/time that was generated when the mini DV was recorded is to record through the A/V inputs. To me this is a waste when you can go digital to digital through firewire. So, when I record using the camcorder I usually announce the date/time when I start the recording on the DV tape.

Being a minor league tech-ie I really enjoy using the touch screen on the HC-42. A lot of folks would rather push buttons but not me.

Ken

Not available online that I have heard. It is not on the Toshiba website either. You have to contact Toshiba and they will send it to you on a DVD if they decide you need it. I believe the number is 800-319-6684. You should have it in 1-2 weeks when they send it.

I got an update firmware DVD from Toshiba like 6 months ago. This was the one that allowed you to re-gain control over setting the clock. This became necessary back then DST ended, and all of us who never got TVGOS working, couldn't set our clocks back 1 hour. :eek:

Was that the one and only update ever offered by Toshiba for the XS34? Or is there a newer one?

I guess I am still hanging onto the hope that Toshiba/Gemstar will find a "whoops" in the unit's firmware, and suddenly, with an update, everyone's TVGOS will suddenly start working. :rolleyes:

I called Toshiba customer service yesterday to order the clock fix firmware disk. The guy told me that there is no other upgrade available, this one only fixes the clock bug, and it will only work in an XS34.

Well, I did another test. Previously, I had done 6 separate Line-U recordings which created 6 titles which I later combined into chapters using a playlist. When I created the DVD, the XS34 said this was non-standard. I now did another recording of the same items with one large recording so they were in one title. I then put in chapter marks in that one title to set apart the parts I was interested in and created a playlist that pulled them out into one title with those chapters. When I created a DVD the chapters remained this time.

So right now, it is not clear if the non-standard behaviour I had before was due to me combining Line-U titles or just any titles and creating chapters from them. I will have to play around with that. But at least I was able to get the results I wanted - not without lots of extra work.



Well, I finally completed my testing. I originally had 6 separate titles created by the Line-U recordings. When I added all of them together for a create of a DVD video I got the "non-standard error." I kept trying to create a DVD video but each time I did not add one of the titles until I pinpointed one title that caused the non-standard error behavior. I rerecorded that title and now do not have the problem. I was able to create the DVD with no more problems. I am still not sure what caused the problem with that one title that created the error. I might never know. Oh well.

I have archived a few VHS and 8mm video tapes. I typically record them at the maximum (9.2) record quality so I don't lose any quality from the original. I then rate change them to a lower number (usually 4.6) to fit 2 hours on a DVD. For a two hour original tape, I burn two 9.2 DVDs are archiving and one 4.6 DVD for daily viewing. However, I am wondering if originally recording at 9.2 is overkill. I have not done exhaustive testing to determine what is the slowest (lower rate) I can go without losing quality. Does anyone know what minimum rates I should use for recording VHS tapes before I am just wasting data rate and HDD and DVD space? The XS34 might be sampling at a much higher rate than the VCR VHS is putting out. How about for 8mm Hi-8 tapes? And while we are discussing this, what rate are pre-recorded DVDs recorded at?

I know some people just say to test until I like what I see but I am wondering what other's experiences are and also if anyone knows the technical limitations of VHS and 8mm data rates. I would rather just set the XS34 for those rates in case I might think the results are ok but others viewing the created DVDs think they look sub-standard.

Unfortunately there are no easy answers to your questions. Taking the easy one first, prerecorded DVDs are recorded at varying bitrates, whatever the DVD producer decides to use, constrained of course by the length of the material and the size of the DVD. They also typically go through a much more intensive compression process than standalone DVD recorders.

Regarding bitrates for capturing VHS material, the higher the better is still true, although there will be diminishing returns somewhere along the line. What I don't believe is true is that there is some less-than-maximum bitrate, that, for VHS material, no further increase in Picture Quality is possible by going above. But on the other hand the differences between SP and XP might be negligible for certain material, with either a sufficient lack of detail or a lack of movement or both. Where this line is is anybody's guess though.

To consider minimum DVD "recording speed," two important factors come into play.

1. At some point, for every brand and model of DVD recorder, there is a drop in picture resolution from 720x480 to some lower resolution, for example, 352x480. Since a VHS tape recording has a limited bandwidth to begin with, this drop in DVD resolution may not matter much, if any.

2. The bandwidth requirement for DVD recording is very much driven by the amount and speed of content change in the video being recorded, since MPEG-2 tends toward sending more delta information than full frame information. Ideally, variable bit rate (VBR) recording enables the DVD recorder to throttle speed/bandwidth based on need driven by content change rates. The end result is some average bit rate with deviations that go higher for more delta and lower for less delta. Depending on the recording device, the user may have some means of setting parameters to attempt to optimize recordings.

All that said (in a deliberately simplified description), there is no simple answer for what minimum speed is best for dubbing VHS or S-VHS tapes to DVD recordings.

IMHO, experimentation and practice is still the best way to determine usable settings that preserve the available quality of the VHS source.

Has anyone used 16x media on this recorder? I recently ordered a 100 pack of 16x TDK from amazon since it was on sale. Lately, I've come across posts indicating that 16x media is not recommended and could potentially damage the burner of the dvd recorder. I really would hate to go through all the hassle of returning. Should i be worried or will 16x work just fine/same quality as 8x?

Yikes.. that's all I've used (16x) - they've always WORKED great. I sure hope they won't damage anything. I've only used Verbatims so far, but I have 2 - 100pks of TDK waiting (they were buy one, get one free at Costco) ..

Yeah, the best results I've gotten so far are from 16x media. The same Verbatims that Ashely recommend a long while back. (Thanks, Ashley! :)) They're a bit pricey (40 bucks for a stack of 50 at Best Buy [80 cents a disc]), but I've burned about 55 of 'em so far without a single failure.

TDK, on the other hand.....I've had bad results with them. I bought a 50-pack of TDK printables at Costco several months ago (8x speed, I think), and had about a 90% failure rate. No kidding. I would've returned them had I not lost the receipt. Just about every burn that used more than about 2/3 of the total space on the disc resulted in an error of some sort. :mad:

here is the procedure for setting up a toshiba rd-xs34 to work with satellite,
i have not bothered w/ the g-link as the different boxes
make figuring this out a nuisance.
for the time, we are using a bell expressvu (echostar) 3100
but will probably be switching due to bell canada's inability
to progress w/ technology.

update: please note the step regarding the antennae has been changed,
when "No" is chosen, the "Input Select" and "CH/Page' functions
for changing input behave erratically;
ahhh the fallible human condition

the procedure:

1. Notes regarding this procedure:
a. All steps were accomplished and documented utilizing the Toshiba ‘SE-R0144' Remote Control
b. The options following the dot leaders are my selections which may change for your configuration
c. Presumption is that only a satellite system is connected
d. The firmware is “YG1200" which must be obtained on a proprietary disc from Toshiba
e. ‘Guide and Clock reset’ has been performed

2. The ‘Time and Date’ settings MUST be set (‘Setup’ | ‘Initial Settings’ prior to configuring the ‘TVGOS’.

Use an accurate clock, preferably a computer connected to the internet which is set to ‘Automatically

synchronize with and Internet time server’ or a mobile telephone.

3. First time after ‘Guide and Clock reset’ has been performed:
a. “What would you like to do now?”
b. Select “Setup TV Guide On Screen now”
c. Press ‘Enter’
d. Press ‘Enter’

<<<<< OR >>>>>

4. If “Remind me to set it up later” or “Don’t remind me again” was selected on first ‘Boot’ after reset:
a. Press the ‘TV Guide’ button
b. Press ‘Enter’

<<<<< Then >>>>>

5. “Which country is your DVD Recorder located in?” “Canada”

6. Press ‘Enter’

7. “Please enter the 6-Character postal code where your DVD Recorder is located” “Z 9 Z 9 Z 9"
a. This may be anything as is simply populating the field

8. Press ‘Enter’

9. “Do you have cable service connected to this DVD Recorder?”

10. Select “Yes”

11. Press ‘Enter’

12. “Is a cable box connected to this DVD Recorder?”

13. Select “Yes”

14. Press ‘Enter’

15. “Please indicate which DVD Recorder input the cable box is plugged into” “Line 1"

16. Press ‘Enter’

17. The ‘G-Link’ information screen appears next (the G-Link device does NOT need to be pugged in)

18. Press ‘Enter’

19. “What brand of cable box is connected to this DVD Recorder?”

20. Select “Not listed”

21. Press ‘Enter’

22. Press ‘Enter’

23. Screen displays “Code testing in progress...**” while testing, then displays:

24. “Is your cable box now tuned to channel 9?”

25. Select “Yes” (even though nothing happened in the testing step)

26. Press ‘Enter’

27. “Do you have an antennae connected to your DVD Recorder?”

28. “Yes”

29. Press ‘Enter’

30. “Are the above settings correct?”

31. “Yes, end setup”

32. Press ‘Enter’

33. Screen with TVGOS information displays

34. Press ‘Enter’

35. More TVGOS information displays

36. Press ‘Enter’

37. You should now be at the screen displaying whatever signal your are either sending (internal source) or

receiving (external source) or a blank screen (no source). There may (probably will) be a delay while the

configuration information is being saved.

:end

you are now ready to record,
you will have to set your stb to auto tune
and your xs34 to manual record
which will now work as documented by toshiba.

enjoy
;r

p.s. this is a workaround
anyone who has need for this should email toshiba
to express disappointment in their failure to
configure the product to be compatable with current technology.
if you do so,
please be polite and articulate;
so the feedback can not be easily dismissed.

I was thinking of replacing my XS34 hard drive. Has anybody been able to do this? Also is there a site with some good hacks around perhaps unlocking some extra features? BTW the TV Guide interface is slow - is this normal?

It could probably be replaced, with one of the same size, is that what you want? Is the old one not working right?

I was thinking of replacing my XS34 hard drive. Has anybody been able to do this? Also is there a site with some good hacks around perhaps unlocking some extra features? BTW the TV Guide interface is slow - is this normal?
Why? Did yours fail or is it just not big enough? I have never thought of the TVG interface as being slow. It's faster than I am.

Ken

Why do you want to replace it? Is there something wrong with it? Or do you just want a bigger one? (Either way, I wouldn't mess with it.)

As for the TV Guide OnScreen, yeah, it's a bit on the slow side. I think that's normal.

No there is nothing wrong with the HDD. It is just that I want a bigger one. Is it 3." or 2.5" (laptop) size?

The TV Guide thing is majorly laggy and slow. Come on am I the only one that sees this?

Just as I thought (wanting a bigger one). Well you can't. Or more precisely, you can replace it with a larger HDD but the system will only use 160GB of it anyway. At least that's what I've read around here every time someone tries it or asks about it.

If it don't stink, don't stir it.

...TV Guide thing is majorly laggy and slow. Come on am I the only one that sees this?

Many of us have learned how to use it. Things like entering a number of hours to move forward or backwards in the listing, going directly to channels, page up and page down, etc. make life easier and faster in TVGOS. Like any software, tips and tricks make thing easier to use.

Is it perfect? Heavens no! But I have no problem living with it. By the way mine has worked flawlessly after that first week of it 'settling in.'

I was told by a Toshiba tech (for what it's worth) that the TVGOS and the hard drive are two separate things anyway..he said TVGOS listings are not affected by the hard drive.

It doesn't sound like he expects the TVGOS to be "fixed" by a new HDD. Two separate questions I believe.

I was thinking of replacing my XS34 hard drive. Has anybody been able to do this?

Both mattack and I have tried other HDDs on an XS32 with no success. The units just lock up with an error display. At least you can hook the original HDD back up with no loss of content.

Well, after five plus months of virtually flawless operation, the XS34 had a major hiccup yesterday. Here are the symptoms and how I rectified it.

The first thing I noticed was that the on screen display (Loading, Play, etc. icons) were missing. Hmmm?? Next I noticed that in 1.5X playmode, the Timebar wasn't displaying.

OK, go into Setup and see if it got turned off somehow. No, On Screen display is ON. I then set it to OFF, played some content and went back to Setup to re-enable it. Still no On Screen display or Timebar. Curious.

Manually turning on the timebar displayed a blank bar. Hmmm? Turning on the Bit Rate meter was also blank. This can't be good. I tried to go back to Setup to see what else it might be. No go. Setup no longer worked. Hmmm? Definately bad! Try TVGOS... now no data!

OK, this thing is really a computer. Time to reboot.

Thinking a hard reset would be my last resort, I simply turned off and unplugged the unit for five to ten minutes. I plugged it in and the WAIT message appeared and within a couple of minutes, the correct time appeared. I turned on the unit and all was normal. All on screen displays worked, all past settings and recorded content were there (as they should be since they are on the hard drive... however, I was a little concerned as to whether the 34's software would lose it's pointers to the recorded content).

This morning I checked the TVGOS listings and all is populating as it should.

Strange... anyone else have this problem? Well, if not, now you have a quick and simple fix if it should happen to you. :)

I had my first XS34 hiccup. My TVGOS lost all its listings yesterday morning and I have not gotten them back yet. I says it will only take 24 hrs when I go to view the listings. It has worked great ever since I purchased it 3 months ago. Now I have to set recordings manually while I wait for the listings to come back. :(

I had my first XS34 hiccup. My TVGOS lost all its listings yesterday morning and I have not gotten them back yet. I says it will only take 24 hrs when I go to view the listings. It has worked great ever since I purchased it 3 months ago. Now I have to set recordings manually while I wait for the listings to come back. :(

Same problem here. Yesterday morning my Xs34 lost all its listings too. This morning (24 hrs later) still no listings. Since I am also in Calgary, and we lost our listings at the same time, this looks like a TVGOS problem rather than an XS34 problem. Please post when you get your listings back.

Same problem here. Yesterday morning my Xs34 lost all its listings too. This morning (24 hrs later) still no listings. Since I am also in Calgary, and we lost our listings at the same time, this looks like a TVGOS problem rather than an XS34 problem. Please post when you get your listings back.


Well, I feel a bit better knowing it's not just me. Hopefully it is a problem with Shaw or the TV Guide host and they know about it. I will let you know if it starts working.

Well, guess what, folks.....

I have the exact same problem. I turned my machine on yesterday afternoon and all my TVGOS listings were gone, with the same "24 hour" message in its place. And like you two, it's now 24 hours later and I still have nothing. (And since I've come to rely on the TVGOS system, I'm gettin' a little annoyed. :mad: )

Unlike you, however, I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. Could this be a nationwide glitch? (But even if there were some kind of problem with the TVGOS server, why would it delete data already on the recorder?)

Anybody else having similar problems?

Well, add me to the list. My TVGOS went blank three days ago, and I haven't been able to get it back. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone called toshiba (My next step)?

Let us know what you find, and I'll call the cable company (TW in Cincinnati, OH) and Toshiba, and I'll post what I hear.

Later,

Ken

Mine did this also yesterday, I unplugged it for several hours reentered settings and several hours later listings were back, by 4 pm.

I want to report that TVGOS is working fine as of five minutes ago. So, this is not a universal problem. The only time that TVGOS failed was right after using Line-U. Since then no problem. See post 612 on the previous page.

I use TVGOS every day to record some program that I'm unable to watch in real time. I'm really curious about this rash of new problem reports.

Ken

Wow, come to think of it, I used Line-U recording on Tuesday, the day before the failure. Dubbed a movie onto my HD. Ended up leaving it recording for over 7 hours (Forgot to press stop). Sounds like that may have had something to do with it. I'll unplug mine for a few hours and see what happens.

Also, I called Toshiba, and they were very nice. They referred my case to the TV Guide specialists. The only bad thing was that they said it could take up to 7 days for them to get back to me. They did say, however that they could send an update or test data or something to my unit from their end. Didn't know they could do that.

I'll keep you posted....

Ken

(I also happen to fly RC)

Ken, I'm convinced that recording with Line-U can do bad things to TVGOS. Fortunately after doing unplug, wait, plug routine and leaving the XS34 in standby for 24 hours there seemed to be no lasting problems with TVGOS.

RC is my primary hobby. All Giant Scale gassers with a couple of electric foamies for back yard flying.

Ken

Well, my TVGOS is BACK!

I unplugged the unit, and about 2 hours later plugged it back in. After 3 hours turned off, it had my channel line up back in, and this morning all the shows were right there!

Line-u dub must have messed it up.


Thanks for all the help.

Ken

PS. I have a 1/4 scale cap 232, a 1/12 scale corsair, and two foamies for flying in my yard. Also have a Cherokee. Lots of Fun!

Hi All,

It is interesting that my post revealled that a large number of TVGOS drop out happened pretty much simultaneously. My guess is that this behaviour is likely revealled in the Panny threads and such too.

The real point of the the post though was the disappearing on screen display and eventually to the point even the setup utilities themselves (which are all run as on screen displays) would not appear on the XS34.

Anyone else ever run into this?

Hi All,

It is interesting that my post revealled that a large number of TVGOS drop out happened pretty much simultaneously. My guess is that this behaviour is likely revealled in the Panny threads and such too.

As a Panny owner, yeh it has happened to me. No warning, just bam- lockup-unplug-reset-Goodbye TV Guide.

As it may be use of a particular function with the Tosh, I have no idea what triggers it for the Panny. As post earlier in this thread said "IT IS A COMPUTER" An entirely correct assessment.

The nice thing with the Toshiba is that the TV Guide seems to recover quickly. My Panny takes days, sometimes up to 5 to repopulate the listings. Don't know if this is the recorder or the my cable system though. Anybody else have ideas on this?

My TVGOS has blown up spontaneously, in a similar fashion to the previous posts. At first, I noticed the channel list had regressed to its original scrambled mess that you get when first setting up. I immediately went through the tedious, ridiculously cumbersome process of manually repositioning and turning on all the dropped channels. A day after this, all of this painstaking effort proved futile, as all channel information disappeared, and the following message appeared:

"Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The Guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change."

"My setup change." Like it was my fault for trying to restore my original settings!

Obviously, this meltdown of TVGOS is universal, affecting many areas and many brands besides our beloved XS34's. From what I can tell, the problem is 100% Gemstar's.

This little piece sheds a little light:


The Trouble with TV Guide

by Gary Merson
Illustration By Jack Gallagher
December 2005

"CableCARD, a PC card-like device that slips into the back of most new big-screen HDTVs, lets you tune standard- and high-definition cable channels (even premium ones) without a digital cable box. But today’s CableCARDs are one-way devices that can’t access on-demand video services or, more important, display your cable provider’s onscreen interactive program guide.

To get around the latter problem, TV manufacturers are turning en masse to TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS). It’s a free interactive program guide developed by Gemstar TV Guide, a company controlled by News Corporation (the same people who bring you the Fox TV networks and 20th Century Fox movies). TVGOS works by sending program data to your TV on a hidden portion of the analog signal from your local PBS station that’s known as the vertical blanking interval (VBI). But if you’ve been reading Sound & Vision’s HDTV reviews lately, you know that all is not rosy with the system.

The problem is that the guide is neither as user-friendly nor as reliable as the typical cable-box guide. To start with, the nature of VBI data delivery means slow loading: it takes six days for the entire eight days worth of guide data to load after initial setup. And when it does load, you might not like what you see. Ad panels alongside the grid take up about 20% of the screen. And the channel order bears no resemblance to your local cable lineup, instead following an order based in part on Gemstar’s arbitrary groupings and its agreements with stations that formerly carried guide data on their VBIs. You can manually reposition channels one at a time, but it’s a clunky, time-consuming task.

You may also find, depending on your cable carrier, that the guide won’t load some channels — or anything at all. For example, because of technical issues, Cablevision subscribers in the New York City metro area who use CableCARD (including me) typically don’t get any listings (though there’s a workaround for some TVs). Thanks to another technical glitch, consumers who bought one of several Toshiba DLP rear projectors from the 2004-05 line also got an empty TVGOS. (Toshiba now offers a firmware upgrade to correct the problem.)

Add to these issues sluggish navigation and limited search functions that render this feature nearly useless, and you have to wonder why TV makers have flocked to TV Guide On Screen. The answer, as always, seems to be money: it’s both an affordable add-on for manufacturers and, unlike TiVo or even Microsoft’s new guide, the only true no-pay service for consumers. But according to sources at TV manufacturers and Gemstar, set makers who license the technology from TV Guide relinquish control of the look, feel, and operation of the onscreen guide. So except for the ability to alter minor details like background color, what you see is what they get.

That leaves it up to Gemstar to fix what ails TV Guide On Screen. Although the company theoretically has as much incentive as your average monopoly, some help may be on the way. A TV Guide spokesperson promises that its next-generation guide, available in 2006, will provide the proper channel order and be easier to use. Unfortunately, current versions will not be upgradable, so today’s set buyers may still want to think twice before trading in their cable boxes."

Source:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com

Same problem here. Yesterday morning my Xs34 lost all its listings too. This morning (24 hrs later) still no listings. Since I am also in Calgary, and we lost our listings at the same time, this looks like a TVGOS problem rather than an XS34 problem. Please post when you get your listings back.

My TVGOS started working again this AM after being MIA for 3 days. :)
I have all the channels back but very few listings. It should populate the channels with listings in next few days...

Note: I did not do anything with Line-U at all before this problem started.

Yeah, mine seems to be back, too. I unplugged my XS34 at about 5:45 a.m. this morning and left it unplugged for about 45 minutes. After plugging it back in, I just left it alone for about 8 hours, and when I turned it on this afternoon, the channel lineup was back, along with today's and tomorrow's listings. (But no listings after that.)

For what it's worth, I haven't used Line-U either.

"viewer" said: ...the following message appeared:
"Updated information will be available within 24 hours. The Guide is rebuilding your channel list based on your setup change."

"My setup change." Like it was my fault for trying to restore my original settings!
Yeah, I got the same message, and I hadn't done ANYTHING with the setup function.

I wonder what the hell caused all this?

Add me to the list of lost TVGOS listings (in Atlanta this time). Happened sometime the middle of this week. No Line U recording done for months, it just went away. So far I've not gotten any info back (been at least 3 days) and it's been left off as much as possible.

Haven't unplugged it yet..does that seem to help the reset process along?

My TVGOS started working again this AM after being MIA for 3 days. :)
I have all the channels back but very few listings. It should populate the channels with listings in next few days...

Note: I did not do anything with Line-U at all before this problem started.

Mine's back too. After waiting 48hrs, I unpluged mine, and this morning, its back. I, too, have not used Line-U at all.

A quick search of the forums revealed a bunch of Panny E85 owners had TVGOS problem starting on and around the same 22/4/06 weekend as well. One person had both his Pio633 and his Tosh TV (yes TV, not recorder) both lost their TVGOS listings at the same time. The problem is very likely Gemstar's.

Moral of the story: If there is a program you MUST record while not at home, do not depend on TVGOS. Setup a manual recording instead.

A quick search of the forums revealed a bunch of Panny E85 owners had TVGOS problem starting on and around the same 22/4/06 weekend as well. The strange thing is I [also] have a Panny E85, and it exhibited no problems with its TVGOS.
Moral of the story: If there is a program you MUST record while not at home, do not depend on TVGOS. Setup a manual recording instead. Yeah, I'm kinda bummed out 'cause there was a program I really wanted to record on Wednesday (the day the TVGOS went south), and of course it didn't get recorded. And it was a repeat, which means it's not going to be repeated again. So I'm S.O.L. :(

My TVGOS started working again this AM after being MIA for 3 days. :)
I have all the channels back but very few listings. It should populate the channels with listings in next few days...

Lucky you, mine hasn't repopulated yet after being down for a few days as well. :mad: According to the RDSX34 thread on DigitalHomeCanada it's a Gemstar problem that is causing problems all over the place. :rolleyes:

Panasonic at least notified their customers about it but it applies to us as well -
panasonic.ca/english/customercare/notice2.asp

[damn post restrictions, I can't post the URL yet. :rolleyes: ]

My listing started repopulating yesterday. Unplugged it for a while, then did a TVGOS reset Saturday night, then left it off for almost 24 hours and had 2 days of programming back last night. I guess the rest will fill in over the next few days.

Well, I finally completed my testing. I originally had 6 separate titles created by the Line-U recordings. When I added all of them together for a create of a DVD video I got the "non-standard error." I kept trying to create a DVD video but each time I did not add one of the titles until I pinpointed one title that caused the non-standard error behavior. I rerecorded that title and now do not have the problem. I was able to create the DVD with no more problems. I am still not sure what caused the problem with that one title that created the error. I might never know. Oh well.Non-standard means your playlist has titles with different audio modes and/or different resolutions (ie: LP/352x480 and SP/XP/720x480)

I had the same problem with the TVGOS dying. I did the reset and got channels back but after a couple days of it being off still no listings.

Should I unplug, reset and wait again? Or just wait to see if it comes back anytime soon?

Not sure which type of "reset" you're talking about, but I got mine working again by unplugging it for a little while (in my case, about 45 minutes), then simply plugging it back in and waiting about 8 or 9 hours for the TVGOS to re-populate its data fields. It's worked fine ever since.

Panny told me to factory reset and wait. which Is what I did and nothing has changed. I'll unplug tonight and try your way and see if that helps.

Thanks. :)

I bought my XS34 about a year ago. I connected to the cable and my TVGOS came up within a few days and I never had a problem with it. Early September I got rid of cable and hooked up to an outside antenna and changed my TVGOS settings accordingly. TVGOS never came back. Every once in a while it would tease me by saying it would be back in 24 hours. I would turn off the recorder for a day or two but then I would have a screen telling me there's no new information. Today, eight months after I lost my TVGOS, it suddenly reappeared again. I've gotten so used to manual recording I'm going to have to figure out how to use the TVGOS again.

Non-standard means your playlist has titles with different audio modes and/or different resolutions (ie: LP/352x480 and SP/XP/720x480)

Thanks. This makes much sense and could explain what happened with what I was trying to do. I will watch out for that next time.

I just purchased a DV camcorder that supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspect recordings. I am a little confused by some of the XS34 settings to support both. Fox example, what effect does the Aspect ratio settings in the DVD Recorder operation setup screens compare with the "Set Aspect Ratio" button choices when I am doing a DVD-Video Creation operation? I understand that you cannot have a single title that has both aspect ratios and I watch out for that.

The way I see it the set aspect ratio in the DVD-Video creation menus allow me to keep or force an override of the aspect ratio. If I record in 4:3 mode, what happens if I choose 16:9 fixed, or if I record in 16:9 and choose 4:3 fixed, what happens then? Does the setup operation choices compare, compliment or conflict with the menu choices when I create a DVD video?

And of course there are also the setup "Display settings" for TV Shape with the 4:3 LB, 4:3 normal, 16:9 wide and 16:9 shrink settings. I played around with this a bit and it appears it only affects the displaying of the images and does not affect what is actually recorded. Does someone with experience here know for sure? I want to make sure I archive my DV tapes to DVD correctly. Thanks.

TV shape has no effect on recordings, only on playback. If you say you have a 16:9 TV then 4:3 material will play back with bars on the side, 16:9 material will fill the screen. If you say you have a 4:3 display, then 16:9 material will play back with bars above and below, 4:3 material will fill the screen.

When recording, the material always fills the "screen" (what gets recorded), i.e. no bars are added then, only at playback time depending on the difference in aspect ratio of the material being played back and your declared TV shape.

TV shape has no effect on recordings, only on playback. If you say you have a 16:9 TV then 4:3 material will play back with bars on the side, 16:9 material will fill the screen. If you say you have a 4:3 display, then 16:9 material will play back with bars above and below, 4:3 material will fill the screen.

When recording, the material always fills the "screen" (what gets recorded), i.e. no bars are added then, only at playback time depending on the difference in aspect ratio of the material being played back and your declared TV shape.

Thanks. An excellent explaination of the TV display settings and modes. Now, can anyone explain the DVD recorder modes and options when burning the DVDs?

FYI
I was messing around with my XS34 burning different aspect ratios and tried using a DVD-RW that was formatted on my PC DVD drive. I forget the exact message but the XS34 basically said it could not write to a non-recordable disk. I figured this was due to the fact that the DVD-RW had been finalized. I tried doing a format on the XS34 but could not. Sometime later I tried creating a DVD-R disk and the drive would not recognize the blank disk. In fact, I tried about 5 different disks (I usually use Verbatim 16x with no problems) and instead of recognizing them in about 20-30 seconds I would get the following message in about 2-4 minutes "Check the Disc, it might be physically damaged or require cleaning." I thought the DVD drive had died. I called Toshiba and they recommended a "hard reset" which required pulling the power cord for 3-5 minutes. I balked at that because I did not want to lose my TV Guide On Screen listings. I instead did a "soft reset" which is done by pushing and holding the power button until it powers down and then the XS34 says "Wait" on the display. Within 1 minute it is operational again in the normal power off state at which you then hit the power on button as normal (or use the remote). The problem was gone. So if you ever get the DVD drive locked up. Try doing a soft reset to clear the problem.

BTW, I was told on 6/6/06 by a Toshiba tech support person that if I get a unrecognized DVD error, it could cause more unrecognized DVD failures with other DVDs inserted thereafter. The firmware apparently does not realize another DVD was inserted after the first error. The fix is to push and hold for a few seconds the "DISPLAY" button on the remote. This is the same key you hit if you get an error code displayed and you want to clear it.

I bet if you simply powered down then powered back on normally (without holding down power button, which does a FORCE power down -- and is what caused me to hose my XS32's drive back in October), it would have fixed it.

It has worked around some similar DVD issues I've seen. Basically, I think that the Toshibas have a memory corruption bug where DVD problems can cause it to get into a weird state that only rebooting the machine can get it out of.

I bet if you simply powered down then powered back on normally (without holding down power button, which does a FORCE power down -- and is what caused me to hose my XS32's drive back in October), it would have fixed it.

I believe I had done a normal power off and power on cycle and the problem was still there. Note, I was not saying that you should force the power off when the XS34 is on. If I was not clear, what I meant to say was to power off the XS34 normally and then push and hold the power button to cause a reboot. It might be possible that you can hose up the hard drive contents and make you have to do a HDD reformat if you force it off when in the middle of something.

Well then, I guess we can then sum it up this way for users out there. If you have DVD drive problems, do the following before pursuing things as if a hardware problem with Toshiba (they will definitely require you to do step 3 before they will do anything else):

1. Power off then on and retest (note powering off and on does not cause a reboot),
2. Power off and then push and hold the power button until you see the XS34 reboot and get the "wait" display (this forces a reboot of the unit). Power on and do a retest of the DVD drive,
3. If you still have a problem, power off and then unplug the XS34 for about 5 minutes. Plug it back in and after the "wait" display (this forces a reboot of the unit- called a "hard reset" by Toshiba), power on as usual and do a retest,
4. If still a problem, call Toshiba.

I have been doing many TV Guide On Screen scheduled recordings since my guide finally started getting consistent listings a few weeks ago - I have had with no problems. Before that, I did manual recordings. No problems here either. However, I am doing simple 1-2 hour recordings with no "start early" or "end late" overrides. I have been reluctant to do anything like that because of previous users indicating they have missed recordings or had them stop early. Has anyone out there recently seen this problem? And if so, what version of firmware do you have? (go to Setup and choose Management Settings and then Software Version). I have the latest firmware (YG1200) as far as I know and want to start using the advanced features of TV Guide On Screen but am afraid to lose something important. I just started to do testing of the feature for programs I don't care about to see what happens but want to also see what is the current experience right now with this. The problem might have been fixed since the last complaint. Maybe the fix is in YG1200. Thanks.

Is there a "Delete after..." feature on the XS34? I guess you may call this an auto delete function.

Is there a "Delete after..." feature on the XS34? I guess you may call this an auto delete function.
You lost me. Delete after what?
The Dubbing under the Easy Navi button has a feature to copy from the HDD to the HDD to create a new title and delete the old title automatically. Other than that I am Clueless in Texas.

You lost me. Delete after what?
The Dubbing under the Easy Navi button has a feature to copy from the HDD to the HDD to create a new title and delete the old title automatically. Other than that I am Clueless in Texas.

That's good to know. I have been baffled as to how to rename the titles that automatically are given to my recordings, like 3-16-06 line 2, etc. So I can go to Easy Nav, rename it and the old one will go away?

That's good to know. I have been baffled as to how to rename the titles that automatically are given to my recordings, like 3-16-06 line 2, etc. So I can go to Easy Nav, rename it and the old one will go away?
Sea Ray we aren't on the same page. Using the quick menu you can rename any title. That doesn't delete anything. The information is in your manual.

If all you want to do is rename a title, simply select the title in "Content Menu", hit the "Quick Menu" button, and choose "Title Information". Then hit the "Quick Menu" button again and choose "Edit Title Information". You can then change the title name to anything you want.

If all you want to do is rename a title, simply select the title in "Content Menu", hit the "Quick Menu" button, and choose "Title Information". Then hit the "Quick Menu" button again and choose "Edit Title Information". You can then change the title name to anything you want.

Eye, eye Captain. Thanks a million! That did it. Hitting the Quick Menu button a second time was the step I was missing. I may have missed it somewhere in those 180 pages but for the life of me, I found this info nowhere. On p86 it mentions how to check info on a title but it stops at the "title information" step. On p98 it tells about editing a title on a playlist but for the life of me I never did see anywhere the info you gave me. Heck even the title info page on the screen didn't mention editing an original title by hitting quick menu again.

Thanks again...

Yarrrr, glad I could help! :)

Hi Guys

I haven't even looked in the manual for this one, but I thought one of you might just know.

You know how you can take an image, save it, and use it as your background when making a DVD? Well, how do you delete a background. I pressed the quick menu button on them, but the option surprisingly didn't come up.

Thanks :)

AshleyinVA

You probably just put another image in there. There's no reason to delete it, asuming you can tell the Finalization not to use it. But I don't have that model so I can't be sure.

Well, you might want to delete it so it doesn't clutter up your pallette of menu backgrounds. (Especially since a "custom" background like this would likely only ever be used once.)

I'll look into that issue when I have time....probably later this afternoon or this evening. (I vaguely seem to recall running into this same situation several months ago, but I don't remember how -- or even if -- I took care of it.)

Oh there is a whole pallette of these custom backgrounds? Well that's different then. If there was just one custom background that you could just change when you needed a different one, then there'd be no need to delete it, but clearly if you can add many such custom background images, then there's a need to delete them, or you have too many after a while, and possibly run up against space limitations, not to mention making it hard to find the one you want (the cluttering you mentioned).

Exactly. :)

I just received an email from Toshiba
tech support and they stated that the fan on the XS34 does NOT constantly run.The debate goes on.

:eek: Oh yes it does! It constantly runs and runs.

Has Toshiba come out with any new firmware since YG100U_S?

Sorry, didn't notice this post:
I have the latest firmware (YG1200)

Where did you get YG1200 inieto?
Does that fix the stupid clock resetting where you lose all scheduled recordings?


firmware code: zoom, 195, zoom

I bought my XS34 about a year ago. I connected to the cable and my TVGOS came up within a few days and I never had a problem with it. Early September I got rid of cable and hooked up to an outside antenna and changed my TVGOS settings accordingly. TVGOS never came back. Every once in a while it would tease me by saying it would be back in 24 hours. I would turn off the recorder for a day or two but then I would have a screen telling me there's no new information. Today, eight months after I lost my TVGOS, it suddenly reappeared again. I've gotten so used to manual recording I'm going to have to figure out how to use the TVGOS again.

I just leave a pre recorded show on pause and that has done the trick for a year now! All scheduled shows record fine. The unit will not automatically shut down and start up the TVGOS searching when on pause. The TVGOS won't go searching for channels on the cable box and won't mess with updating the clock. One time it set it to the year 2069! What a mess that was! :eek: Some scheduled shows wouldn't record on the correct channel, because of the cable mini guide getting stuck on when TVGOS flips to a channel that I don't subscribe to.

:
Where did you get YG1200 inieto?
Does that fix the stupid clock resetting where you lose all scheduled recordings?


firmware code: zoom, 195, zoom

I got the latest firmware from Toshiba when we were debugging some other issues. I am not sure what problem you are describing so I cannot say whether the problem is fixed. I have had a couple crashes only when working with TV Guide where my machine shut down and rebooted. Come back with more description of what problem you are having.

I got the latest firmware from Toshiba when we were debugging some other issues. I am not sure what problem you are describing so I cannot say whether the problem is fixed. I have had a couple crashes only when working with TV Guide where my machine shut down and rebooted. Come back with more description of what problem you are having.

Well when the clock needs to be changed, the entire unit shuts down, reboots and returns to factory specs. All scheduled recordings get wiped clean. The TVGOS needs to be resetup as well. I hate to have to reprogram all scheduled recordings over just to change the stupid time on the XS34's clock! :mad:

I've had my unit for over a year now and have never had all my scheduled recordings erased. I've also never had issues with the clock on the unit..I have had other issues, just not these. Are you sure your unit is not defective? If it were me, I would have probably sent it back or taken Toshiba up on their warranty.

Ashley

Well when the clock needs to be changed, the entire unit shuts down, reboots and returns to factory specs. All scheduled recordings get wiped clean. The TVGOS needs to be resetup as well. I hate to have to reprogram all scheduled recordings over just to change the stupid time on the XS34's clock! :mad:

Does your firmware version allow you to reset the clock from the XS34 setup screens? Not sure what you meant by "when the clock needs to be changed". What screens or menus were you going through when you got the shut down?

I've had my unit for over a year now and have never had all my scheduled recordings erased. I've also never had issues with the clock on the unit..I have had other issues, just not these. Are you sure your unit is not defective? If it were me, I would have probably sent it back or taken Toshiba up on their warranty.

Ashley

I believe my unit is ok but I have had my scheduled recordings lost once. About a month ago I was adding/editting a manual recording through the TV Guide screens when it suddenly shut down the system and went to "wait." I repeated the sequence to get the job done but the second time it shut down and lost my scheduled recordings AND my listings. Really strange. I told Toshiba but the one tech rep was not much help. They usually are but that guy just said sometimes the unit will do that. Not much comfort. I love my XS34 but once-in-a-while it does something strange. There are a few firmware or TV Guide bugs still out there.

I believe my unit is ok but I have had my scheduled recordings lost once. About a month ago I was adding/editting a manual recording through the TV Guide screens when it suddenly shut down the system and went to "wait." I repeated the sequence to get the job done but the second time it shut down and lost my scheduled recordings AND my listings. Really strange. I told Toshiba but the one tech rep was not much help. They usually are but that guy just said sometimes the unit will do that. Not much comfort. I love my XS34 but once-in-a-while it does something strange. There are a few firmware or TV Guide bugs still out there.

Does your firmware version allow you to reset the clock from the XS34 setup screens? Not sure what you meant by "when the clock needs to be changed". What screens or menus were you going through when you got the shut down?


Okay I press the setup button (inside the remote cover) and scroll over to Intial settings. The Time & Date setting is ghosted out. Below that is Guide and Clock reset. After choosing this a prompt comes on screen and says "The Time can be changed by resetting the Guide. Resetting the Guide will require the Guide Setup procedures to be redone. Proceed with Guide Reset?" After yes is chosen the unit shuts itself off and goes into the WAIT mode. When the wait is over and the unit powers back up everything reverts to the factory conditions. All the scheduled broadcasts have to be re-entered and the TVGOS needs to be setup all over again.

It will not erase the hard drive contents. They luckily stay intact. Only a format would erase them, having to do this once after the hard drive became corrupt and losing about 60 hours of recorded shows! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Hopefully you've understood this time around.

Okay I press the setup button (inside the remote cover) and scroll over to Intial settings. The Time & Date setting is ghosted out. Below that is Guide and Clock reset. After choosing this a prompt comes on screen and says "The Time can be changed by resetting the Guide. Resetting the Guide will require the Guide Setup procedures to be redone. Proceed with Guide Reset?" After yes is chosen the unit shuts itself off and goes into the WAIT mode. When the wait is over and the unit powers back up everything reverts to the factory conditions. All the scheduled broadcasts have to be re-entered and the TVGOS needs to be setup all over again.

There is no facility for setting the time manually. The time is set automatically every day by receiving a clock signal that is being delivered OTA or via cable (usually on the PBS station.)

If your clock is wrong, it indicates that you are not receiving correct data either. The only way that the unit can (at least at present) correct this problem is to do a reset and try to determine if there is a better clock channel from which it can receive the signal. Since this signal is inevitably using the TVGOS data stream it also dumps current guide data to also find a better source for that at the same time. If the clock is wrong, it is likely that the data is wrong also.

Question,

Why do you need to reset the clock?

If it is that far off in your estimation, I would not trust the channel listing either- and if that is true, then the scheduled recording are also potentially bogus and would need to be re-entered anyway.

First I want to say hello to all, this is my first post.

This is my issue
first.
I have noticed that when my unit starts up and the splash screen comes up the music or sound that it normally plays is gone.

Second, ever since this started to happen my TVGOS info is all gone.

Toshiba has sent me the new firmware (YG1200) but this did not resolve the issue, I plan on calling them on Monday.

But my question to all is, do think my hard drive may be the issue, I do hear a few ticking sounds when it goes to HDD mode?

Thanks

I have noticed that when my unit starts up and the splash screen comes up the music or sound that it normally plays is gone.

But my question to all is, do think my hard drive may be the issue, I do hear a few ticking sounds when it goes to HDD mode?

Mine has never played music or sound when the logo is on during startup.

The ticking sounds from the hard drive are normal. That is just the hard drive spinning up and the heads positioning themselves.

Really, well mine did for 8 months then stopped. That is strange. So I guess my only issue is the TVGOS. I dont know if I should contact Toshiba about this again or just sit tight for some more weeks.

BTW thanks for the reply.

I got the latest firmware from Toshiba when we were debugging some other issues. I am not sure what problem you are describing so I cannot say whether the problem is fixed. I have had a couple crashes only when working with TV Guide where my machine shut down and rebooted. Come back with more description of what problem you are having.


Okay I've just ordered the YG1200 firmware from Toshiba. I'll see if this will solve my problems. :rolleyes:

The ticking sounds from the hard drive are normal. That is just the hard drive spinning up and the heads positioning themselves.

It's a computer and you hear those sounds when the hard drive is accessing or writing data.

There is no facility for setting the time manually. The time is set automatically every day by receiving a clock signal that is being delivered OTA or via cable (usually on the PBS station.)

If your clock is wrong, it indicates that you are not receiving correct data either. The only way that the unit can (at least at present) correct this problem is to do a reset and try to determine if there is a better clock channel from which it can receive the signal. Since this signal is inevitably using the TVGOS data stream it also dumps current guide data to also find a better source for that at the same time. If the clock is wrong, it is likely that the data is wrong also.

Question,

Why do you need to reset the clock?

If it is that far off in your estimation, I would not trust the channel listing either- and if that is true, then the scheduled recording are also potentially bogus and would need to be re-entered anyway.

I haven't got the TVGOS to work since last summer. The clock is not the most accurate one in the world and needs to be resetted now and then. Otherwise I'll miss (albeit slight) portions of the recordings.

I wouldn't trust the TVGOS to set the clock anyway. In previous posts I've mentioned that it sent my clock into the future to the year 2069! What a mess that was! Not only was the date wrong but the time was set back from the actual as well! I had to do a lot of time converting to get the recorder on a the right time then. :mad:

I just received an email from TVGOS it states:

"There is a known problem in your area (Tucson, AZ) for consumers with TVGOC version 8 and above (what we call G4). So the first thing we need to know is what version you are running via the diagnostics"

So I provided the info they requested and lets see what happens.

**RESOLVED**

Well it's like magic, woke up this morning and all my TVGOS data is back and it's correct.

I guess if you have an issue with TVGOS the best thing to do is contact them via email.

_______________

Rick

This thing... :mad:! I had a scheduled program to start and it never did! Even after the fact, the prompt came up said scheduled recording to begin. I just did a hard reboot and now it seems to have cleared it up. Recordings are working again! :) I just hope that the new firmware fixes this major problem as it has happened before.

Question...

When playing from the hdd, does position memory work should you decide to turn unit off? Will it return you to the point at which you were watching when you stopped play, or does it, like the Panasonic hdd models, lose position memory, when power is turned off? I would like to get my mother a hdd model, but I know she won't like having to go thru the menu to find the show she was last watching, and then ff to get to the point where she left off....

I'm 99% positive that it (or at least my XS32) does remember when you turn it off.

Though really, if it's something for your mother (not trying to imply that she's not technically capable), you're probably better off just getting a Tivo.

Yes it does remember.

I'm just starting to work my way through this thread, but it seems like the Toshiba is a decent unit, with a few bugs. I am looking for my first recorder and have been looking in the $200-$300 range. I started with the Wal-Mart Polaroid unit but it seems folks are reporting problems with usability. I saw an open-box X34 at a local electronics store and was wondering if this is worth picking up at $200?

Okay I've just ordered the YG1200 firmware from Toshiba. I'll see if this will solve my problems. :rolleyes:

Just as I suspected! You still have to reset everything to change the system clock! Once the unit reboots there are no shows scheduled and have to re-enter them again!:mad:

Anyone know what firmware YG12 fixes? :confused:

Why doesn't the XS34 have a setting for Daylights Savings Time???? :confused: Now I have to reset and start ALL OVER AGAIN!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

Toshiba should have added this to their YG12 update! My VCR changed the time just fine!

My XS35 switched over automatically last night.

Why doesn't the XS34 have a setting for Daylights Savings Time????...

Because it doesn't need one. The clock signal is carried in the data stream and will change automatically just like mine did overnight. There is nothing to change. Just let the machine do its thing.

By the way, last spring I scheduled a recording right at the time change to see what would happen. It recorded the show properly. Don't make things harder then they are. Life is hard enough already. ;)

I had something to record at 3:30am last night and it did flawlessly.

Yeah, my xs32 changed automatically and I was actually kind of surprised.

Because it doesn't need one. The clock signal is carried in the data stream and will change automatically just like mine did overnight. There is nothing to change. Just let the machine do its thing.

If I cannot receive the stream from the TV Guide On Screen, then how will it change the time for me! :confused: Stupid thing has not worked since summer 2005! :mad: So in order to change the clock (ghosted out until reset) everything has to go back to default which erases ALL scheduled programs! I add in about two to three weeks ahead because my memory is not too good! When I see it is recording I think "oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Too bad this isn't a TiVo! ;)

If I cannot receive the stream from the TV Guide On Screen, then how will it change the time for me! :confused: Stupid thing has not worked since summer 2005! :mad: So in order to change the clock (ghosted out until reset) everything has to go back to default which erases ALL scheduled programs! I add in about two to three weeks ahead because my memory is not too good! When I see it is recording I think "oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Too bad this isn't a TiVo! ;)

This is my 1st post. Hope i'm doing it right.

I've had my XS34 for about 8 months with pretty good success. The TVGOS has worked, as advertised. However, about a week ago, I went to schedule a show and the schedule was completely gone. I tried a hard boot, but nothing. I tried going through set-up to reset the time and schedule, but still no schedule.

I live in the suburbs of Vancouver, BC, Canada and I use standard cable from Shaw. Is it worth calling them?

Does anybody have any other ideas?

Thanks

This is my 1st post. Hope i'm doing it right.

I've had my XS34 for about 8 months with pretty good success. The TVGOS has worked, as advertised. However, about a week ago, I went to schedule a show and the schedule was completely gone. I tried a hard boot, but nothing. I tried going through set-up to reset the time and schedule, but still no schedule.

I live in the suburbs of Vancouver, BC, Canada and I use standard cable from Shaw. Is it worth calling them?

Does anybody have any other ideas?

Thanks

Hey Bob your doing fine. The TVGOS (http://www.tvguideonscreen.com/support/2004/default.asp) is controlled by Gemstar. Your cable company may help you out as it doesn't hurt to try. They may refer you to Toshiba who would say it would be Gemstar's problem. Gemstar's number is 1-800-386-7380. Good luck! :cool:

I loved my XS32 but the next year I wanted a unit with 160 GB so I bought a XS34. I was surprised to find out the nice recording menu was gone and I got this awkward TVGOS! Also some functionality such as end time and time bar were missing! I hated the fact that the fan was on all the time as I wanted to put it in my bedroom. After testing it and having programs not recording when they were supposed to I quickly returned the unit. I was very disappointed with these new features and deletions.

Since then I tried the Pioneer and Panny units but their editing features do not even come close to the Toshibas! I opted for a Pioneer 640H reluctantly as I wanted a 2nd recorder. It hae great PQ but lacks some user friendly stuff that the Toshiba XS32 had.

Overall, I am quite disappointed on all the models as there is not one that has all the features and versitality of the old XS32. I really hope Toshiba gets rid of the TVGOS system or with the advent of digital tuners we will not have to put up with the TV Guide at all (yay!)

I loved my XS32 but the next year I wanted a unit with 160 GB so I bought a XS34. I was surprised to find out the nice recording menu was gone and I got this awkward TVGOS! Also some functionality such as end time and time bar were missing! I hated the fact that the fan was on all the time as I wanted to put it in my bedroom. After testing it and having programs not recording when they were supposed to I quickly returned the unit. I was very disappointed with these new features and deletions.

Since then I tried the Pioneer and Panny units but their editing features do not even come close to the Toshibas! I opted for a Pioneer 640H reluctantly as I wanted a 2nd recorder. It hae great PQ but lacks some user friendly stuff that the Toshiba XS32 had.

Overall, I am quite disappointed on all the models as there is not one that has all the features and versitality of the old XS32. I really hope Toshiba gets rid of the TVGOS system or with the advent of digital tuners we will not have to put up with the TV Guide at all (yay!)

You need to look for a RDXS52. This will give you everything your "32" gave you but with a 160GB drive (and no TVGOS). It also offers HDMI. You can still find them new in the box from many retailers. I have the "50" model which offers an 80GB with HDMI (HDMI is why it is a "50" and not a "32"). It is great.

edit - I should not have said "many retailers". Go do a search at shopping dot com and there is one retailer selling one for $305 delivered.

Toshiba link here:

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvr/archivedmodels.asp

I am in the process of archiving my home videos to DVDs and all is going well. I create my own menu backgrounds using the "saved captured images" function. But there are some DVDs that I did not create enough copies for. I have long ago deleted the DVD image off of the HDD. Does anyone know how to create an exact DVD copy of a XS34-created DVD? What I have done is do a high speed dub from DVD to HDD but it does not copy the menu that the home video DVD had. When I do a DVD video creation I need a menu background that is identical to the original (which I get by a recapture of the image from the video). It is usually hard to find the exact image I used before on the original video DVD. Is there a better way to copy DVDs using the XS34? (using a PC for copying is not an option)

I am in the process of archiving my home videos to DVDs and all is going well. I create my own menu backgrounds using the "saved captured images" function. But there are some DVDs that I did not create enough copies for. I have long ago deleted the DVD image off of the HDD. Does anyone know how to create an exact DVD copy of a XS34-created DVD? What I have done is do a high speed dub from DVD to HDD but it does not copy the menu that the home video DVD had. When I do a DVD video creation I need a menu background that is identical to the original (which I get by a recapture of the image from the video). It is usually hard to find the exact image I used before on the original video DVD. Is there a better way to copy DVDs using the XS34? (using a PC for copying is not an option)
Some "shots in the dark" here (I don't have an XS34):

Have you tried a real-time copy (if you can stand the slight PQ loss from one re-encode)?

Does the XS34 have a "disc backup" feature like the Pio 640, which re-creates copies of discs in high-speed...it only allows transfer to HDD, then copying back to additional DVDs (mirror images only, no viewing or editing on the HDD)?

Some "shots in the dark" here (I don't have an XS34):

Have you tried a real-time copy (if you can stand the slight PQ loss from one re-encode)?

Does the XS34 have a "disc backup" feature like the Pio 640, which re-creates copies of discs in high-speed...it only allows transfer to HDD, then copying back to additional DVDs (mirror images only, no viewing or editing on the HDD)?

No, the XS34 does not have a "disc backup" feature. There is a high speed dub function available but it copies the video but not menu information.

'Fraid I can't help you there, but I do have a quesiton for you.....

....I have long ago deleted the DVD image off of the HDD.

How do you do that? (I've tried using the "Delete" button under the lid, and that doesn't work. And the "Quick Menu" doesn't have anything that works, either.)

'Fraid I can't help you there, but I do have a quesiton for you.....



How do you do that? (I've tried using the "Delete" button under the lid, and that doesn't work. And the "Quick Menu" doesn't have anything that works, either.)

I hope I understand your question. If it is how to delete a title (which is what I was referring to) hit the HDD button then the Content Menu button. Locate the original title you want to delete and then hit the Quick Menu button. Look for the Title Delete function and press ENTER. You will see a confirmation message and select Yes. It will be gone. See page 52 in the manual for more info. Hope I answered your question.

Hope I answered your question.

Uh, no, I'm afraid not -- but thanks for trying, anyway. :) I know how to delete a title (I do that all the time!)....my question was how do you delete a background image that you've captured and used as a menu background when finalizing a DVD-R? Once you have the image, there seems to be no way to delete it.

Uh, no, I'm afraid not -- but thanks for trying, anyway. :) I know how to delete a title (I do that all the time!)....my question was how do you delete a background image that you've captured and used as a menu background when finalizing a DVD-R? Once you have the image, there seems to be no way to delete it.

Sorry I misunderstood your question. You can delete the background images as follows: Go to "Saved Captured Image" on the Quick Menu on any title in the Content Menu. You will see all your saved images below. Hit the down arrow to
to be able to select the saved images below. There, use the left and right arrows to select an image. Then do Quick Menu and select the delete menu from the pulldown. There you can also name your menus as necessary using "Enter DVD-video menu name". The procedure is found on page 129 of the manual. Hope I did a better job this time answering the proper question.

Can anybody tell me if you can hook up the XS34 to HDTV?
Earlier today I went to RadioShack and bought a Monster Video 3 RCA's gold HDMI cable, however I cant seem to be able to connect it. I noticed there was also another one which looked kinda like the computer USB cables. Is that the one I need? My TV is a Sharp 37'' LCD HDTV.

Can anybody tell me if you can hook up the XS34 to HDTV?
Earlier today I went to RadioShack and bought a Monster Video 3 RCA's gold HDMI cable, however I cant seem to be able to connect it. I noticed there was also another one which looked kinda like the computer USB cables. Is that the one I need? My TV is a Sharp 37'' LCD HDTV.
You should connect via component cables: 3 RCA-jack wires color-coded red, green and blue.

This thing has let me down yet once again! I lost everything on the hard drive just like in the summer (http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7792531#post7792531) ! I didn't even have any warning this time around. Toshiba really put out a piece of crap! I'm looking to replace this thing! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm currently having a "situation" of my own, although it doesn't appear to be Toshiba's fault. A week and a half ago, I suddenly lost almost all of the TVGuide Onscreen data -- all listings and the channel lineup. And nothing has been re-populated since. (My scheduled recordings at the time, however, were still intact.)

However, this appears to be a problem with the broadcasting of the data, either by Comcast or perhaps TVGuide itself. I say that because my Panasonic (E-85) has the same problem -- no listing data. So it doesn't appear to be the machines' fault.

I've been too busy lately to call Comcast and see what's going on, but I'll do that later today.

Anybody else in the San Francisco mid-peninsula area having this problem?

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm currently having a "situation" of my own, although it doesn't appear to be Toshiba's fault. A week and a half ago, I suddenly lost almost all of the TVGuide Onscreen data -- all listings and the channel lineup. And nothing has been re-populated since. (My scheduled recordings at the time, however, were still intact.)

Thanks Capt. Shirk. I lost about 60 hours of videos. I have since formatted & rebooted and am starting over again. This hard drive gets fragmented and there's nothing we can do about it. Don't save things on the hard drives I guess. I had movies from cable on it which couldn't be transferred to removable media, so they all were wiped clean. They have tags on them that say "Copy Never" so we have to leave them on the drive. Anyway I'm pretty bummed out over all of this. :(

:eek: I just noticed this morning that the TV Guide has repopulated itself after being dormant for a year and a half! Now the cable service has changed hands since then, so maybe something has to do with that. Anyway, how do you turn off the auto tuning inside of the TVGOS listings? I check to see something in it and the channel changes each time.

FYI: :D I just figured it out by setting to lock which will not tune the cable box when viewing listings.

This thing has let me down yet once again! I lost everything on the hard drive just like in the summer (http://archive2.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7792531#post7792531) ! I didn't even have any warning this time around. Toshiba really put out a piece of crap! I'm looking to replace this thing! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Willie, I would be quite upset too if I lost my entire hard drive before when I had recorded many hours of programs on TV and when archiving my tapes. I have had my recorder for about a year and use it all the time recordering and burning. In fact, I have burned over 500 DVDs over this last year but never have lost any hard drive data.
I am curious, do you ever have any power problems at your home? For example, do you have power glitches? Once-in-a-while we lose power for about a second. I have my recorder on a small battery backup to assure that this does not affect my recorder. In fact, I have been watching TV when we had a 30 minute power outage and my recorder and TV never skipped a step. I have always been concerned that a power glitch would cause the hard disk directory to get corrupted even though Toshiba says it should not be a problem. This especially can be a problem if your recorder happens to be recording and updating the hard disk when the power outage/glitch occurs.

Willie, I would be quite upset too if I lost my entire hard drive before when I had recorded many hours of programs on TV and when archiving my tapes. I have had my recorder for about a year and use it all the time recordering and burning. In fact, I have burned over 500 DVDs over this last year but never have lost any hard drive data.

I had things which will never be shown again like the Macy's 4th July Fireworks & Hollywood Christmas Parade. Both of which I never saw! :mad: What's the point of having such a large hard drive if you cannot save shows on it? If they knew it would get fragmented, why isn't there a defragmenter like computers have? :confused:

I am curious, do you ever have any power problems at your home? For example, do you have power glitches? Once-in-a-while we lose power for about a second. I have my recorder on a small battery backup to assure that this does not affect my recorder. In fact, I have been watching TV when we had a 30 minute power outage and my recorder and TV never skipped a step. I have always been concerned that a power glitch would cause the hard disk directory to get corrupted even though Toshiba says it should not be a problem. This especially can be a problem if your recorder happens to be recording and updating the hard disk when the power outage/glitch occurs.

Hardly ever do brownouts or surges occur. I was thinking of putting it on a UPS which probably is a good idea.

I've just discovered after resetting the unit back to its default (zoom-701-zoom) the input select button will not work. It did before setting up TVGOS. Now it will only switch the channel on the cable box to 00. Anyone know what's up with that? :confused:

Thanks Capt. Shirk. I lost about 60 hours of videos. I have since formatted & rebooted and am starting over again. This hard drive gets fragmented and there's nothing we can do about it. Don't save things on the hard drives I guess. I had movies from cable on it which couldn't be transferred to removable media, so they all were wiped clean. They have tags on them that say "Copy Never" so we have to leave them on the drive. Anyway I'm pretty bummed out over all of this. :(

Willie, when the tags say "Copy Never" that means you can only move the video to a DVD-RAM disc, correct? It doesn't have to stay on your HDD.

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm currently having a "situation" of my own, although it doesn't appear to be Toshiba's fault. A week and a half ago, I suddenly lost almost all of the TVGuide Onscreen data -- all listings and the channel lineup. And nothing has been re-populated since. (My scheduled recordings at the time, however, were still intact.)

However, this appears to be a problem with the broadcasting of the data, either by Comcast or perhaps TVGuide itself. I say that because my Panasonic (E-85) has the same problem -- no listing data. So it doesn't appear to be the machines' fault.

I've been too busy lately to call Comcast and see what's going on, but I'll do that later today.

Anybody else in the San Francisco mid-peninsula area having this problem?
For over a week I had not looked at TVGOS on my XS34. Been very busy. Yesterday I turned it on and the TVGOS said No Data. The channels were in sequential order on the non TVGOS and not in my normal order 4,5,8,11,13 etc. I turned it off with the hopes that it would receive data over night. Again, no data today. I then unplugged it, waited about 30 seconds and plugged it back in. It indicated WAIT. I came back in about 15 minutes, turned it on, and TVGOS had data with all of the channels back and in the right order. ----Beats me what happened. I'm in the Dallas / Ft. Worth area and receive over the air programming.

:eek: What a coincidence; the exact same thing happened to me yesterday: no TVGOS data. I too hoped it would come in overnight, but it didn't. So just as you did, I unplugged the unit for thirty seconds and got a WAIT message when I replugged it. When I turned it on about fifteen minutes later, all the TVGOS data was there again. WTF?

A couple of things to note:

1. Even while the TVGOS data was gone, it kept recording all the programs I had scheduled it to.

2. Perhaps one of these events caused a disturbance in The Force.
I unplugged and replugged another device from the same power bar yesterday and heard a little electrical pop.
We've had some people over for the holidays and some of the kids were playing where the analog cable runs under the carpet dangerously close to some carpet tacking. Upon inspection, I had to pull a tack out of the cable it had pierced.

OK, there's something going on out there. My unit has worked flawlessly for almost a year and now my listings are gone as well. I've waited the 24 hrs, still nothing. I re did my setup last night and if it doesn't repopulate tonight I was prepared to come on here and ask what's up. Now it sounds like I'm not the only one and that unplugging it is what's needed. I was concerned that unplugging it would screw up my HD recordings. I'd prefer not to lose those. I take it unplugging your unit for 30 secs had no ill effects? I may try that tonight.

I have analog cable connected to my unit, Time Warner.

I had the same problem yesterday. I shut it off and unplugged it for 30 seconds. Plugged it back in and it said WAIT for about 30 seconds and then the display went blank. I powered it on and my TVGOS listing were all back and correct.

There must have been something going on at the TVGOS side because the problem seems to have happened all over the world...

That's pretty amazing. Apparently Toshiba isn't the only brand that has been hit.

I didn't loose any recorded titles by unplugging and replugging. We need a conspiracy theorist to come up with a good story as to why TVGOS is doing this to our recorders.

OK, sure enough the 30sec unplug brought back my listings as well.

Good work folks!

This is a wonderful example of what's right about the internet, computers and sites like this this. Those folks who don't do computers, sites etc would be left with calling Best Buy or Toshiba and hoping they got a decent English speaking person who could help without being on hold for an hour.

This site is great for solving issues like this.

OK, sure enough the 30sec unplug brought back my listings as well.

Good work folks!

This is a wonderful example of what's right about the internet, computers and sites like this this. Those folks who don't do computers, sites etc would be left with calling Best Buy or Toshiba and hoping they got a decent English speaking person who could help without being on hold for an hour.

This site is great for solving issues like this.
I agree. I would have a hard time getting along without my internet.

TVGOS must have sent out a software command to do the reset for some reason. Since they have that capability it would seem that could have sent out a text message explaining what needed to be done to get the listings back. It is a little scary to think of what capabilities they might have to mess with our recorders.

Ken

OK, there's something going on out there. My unit has worked flawlessly for almost a year and now my listings are gone as well...

Just the other day I was thinking the same thing and then -- BAM the listings were gone. Oh well, they'll repopulate in the morning I (incorrectly) figured. OK, one more day (as of 15 minutes ago) still nothing. I was glad to see this post... unplugged it... clock and listings back in five minutes.

Thanks guys. I wonder what in the world TVGOS inserted in that data stream??? GEEEZ! :rolleyes:

I have a Tosh at home AND two at the township television station: The home unit would not finalize a DVD-R disc and would not allow me to access another DVD movie's menus. I unplugged it, waited 30 secs., and voila! she was good as new.
A unit at work had the same problem & solution; only the unit with no cable tv going into it had no problem...my guess is something passed through the cable signal to the units.

Mike

Mike, it passed over the air to my XS34. I don't have cable.

Ken

Has anybody tried firewire out of an stb into the firewire port on the Tosh? Does this work?
I'm thinking of replacing my Explorer 4200HD stb with a 4250HD: it has hdmi out as well as two firewire ports- hdmi to my plasma and firewire to my toshiba?

Willie, when the tags say "Copy Never" that means you can only move the video to a DVD-RAM disc, correct? It doesn't have to stay on your HDD.

Hmmm interesting! Wish I knew that before!:o Thanks for the info!

Has anybody tried firewire out of an stb into the firewire port on the Tosh? Does this work?
I'm thinking of replacing my Explorer 4200HD stb with a 4250HD: it has hdmi out as well as two firewire ports- hdmi to my plasma and firewire to my toshiba?
FireWire on DVD Recorders only works with DV. STBs and displays typically use MPEG Transport Stream on their FireWire connections.

Yeah, I figured as much. Got the 4250HD stb anyway, and it's an improvement over the 4200HD.

Thanks,
Mike

For my home videos, I like to create a DVD with a chapter menu. I am trying to create a DVD based on a playlist that has chapters taken from two different titles (originally recorded on the XS34 from two different mDV tapes). When I try to do the DVD Video Create and use the playlist, I get a message indicating that I have non-standard parts and they will be separated into separate titles. It then gives me a title menu and a chapter menu. I don't want a title menu. There is no way to select just getting a chapter menu. Has anyone ever had this problem and found a way around it?

BTW, I tried using the playlist to create a new original title but when I try to create a DVD from the combined title I got the same results.

I get that "non-standard" error message sometimes as well, albeit under somewhat different circumstances. Did you record the two titles at different bitrates? If you do that, you can't combine them into one title. (Although I think you could get around that by using the real-time "rate conversion" dubbing function.)

On another subject, I recently had a catastrophic failure that I will mention in a separate post.....

You have to record the separate parts at the exact same bitrate/audio settings for it to combine cleanly... did you check that?

Otherwise, you could use a rate conversion dub on the playlist in order to make it all the same bitrate, but then you'd be going through another quality stepdown...

[Edit: I swear I didn't see Shirk's response! Geez, I look like I may as well have copied and pasted his response...]