Hello, I just picked up a Phillips HDRW 720/17 for 199 and it seems to be alright. One thing i can't get to work is the Tv guide listing :confused: . I am in Southern Cali and using Time Warner cable. I connect the cable to the pvr and left it stand by for 24 hours yet it doesn't work. I don't have any cable box. What am i doing wrong? Any help would be apreciated. Thanks.

ozzzo

I just purchased one myself up here in Canada and have the same problem. After 3 days and no Guide. There are other threads in this forum that deal with the TV Guide but in other products like TV's from Toshiba.

According to other threads
Your unit must be turned off, (there are 4 updates throughout the day taking upto 3 hours at a time) to recieve an update. Your unit must be able to find your local PBS station.

The TV thread mention a code you could enter in the TV Guide setup screen to bring up a diagnostic menu to get more info.

"Open the TV Guide screen, go to setup, and highlight Change System Settings. While this is highlighted press 753159852"

This doesn't seem to work on my Philips PVR. Does anyone know the code for this system to access the hidden menus?

I've recently made the same purchase and I have Direct TV. I have not been able to get the TV Guide to function either. I can't get the blaster eye to work with my Samsung set top box either.

I have a request in to Philips but I have not received a response from them.

Has anyone had any luck yet?

I've got the same problem w/ my Directv Samsung SIR-TS160. Would be interested to see if Philips actually responds!

No response yet. I will call their support tonight if I get a chance. I know someone else that called and the support was pretty good.

Samsung - SIR-S310W

I'll post my findings.

d

I had trouble with downloading the TV Guide at the beginning but after a few days, it suddenly showed up. I am no the Cogeco cable system. I'm not sure how often the update is because some of my channels now have data but others do not. It's a bit frustrating.

I also have another problem. Quite often after turning the unit on and when I push the TV Guide button or the schedule button, nothing happens for a few seconds and then the unit's red record light and the red light around the DVD tray light up and then it shuts down. Turn it back on and everything seems okay.

Anyone experienced this?

I've had this lemon for about a year. Paid $500 when it came out. TV Guide will not load through a digital cable box. If you hook the direct cable into the Philips (circumventing the cable box) the guide data will load. this setup is useless however since you cannot record any premium stations, only basic channels 2-99. I now have a seperate issue with this piece of junk. It only now plays DVD R discs. Any DVD I now put in does not load and displays a "No Disc" Message. I've upgraded to the latest firmware, all to no avail. If you have time to return this piece of crap for a refund, do it now while you still have your sanity. Also, their "tech support" is utterly clueless regarding the TV Guide issue, so don't waste your time calling them. Good Luck!!

bkikkert - Same exact thing happens to me. I figured out that it only happens after the guide trys to update itself with listings. Most of the time after this happens when I turn the unit on and try to access the TV Guide the unit will hang and then reboot. It is very frustrating. I've only had actual listings about 3 times now.

After accessing the TV Guide hidden info screen it says that the listings are downloaded around 2:00pm ( a dumb time to get listings since my wife usually has the tv on at this time) and I am told (on this forum) this takes about 3 hours so I always leave the unit off till around 6 to be on the safe side and when I turn it on and try to access the guide it hangs and reboots. If I leave it off over night and turn it on the unit works find and I can access the guide with no problems (but no new listings)

I hope they fix this soon. I plan on calling support again when I get some time.

Does anyone know if the unit gets its TV Guide information from the PBS channel? The manual seems to indicate that but I'm not sure. TV Guide will load through a digital cable box but it does not seem to be consistant. I had the guide for a few days last week and now I have had no listings for three days.

I'll try the 2PM thing and see if it loads for me....

Does anyone know if the unit gets its TV Guide information from the PBS channel? The manual seems to indicate that but I'm not sure. TV Guide will load through a digital cable box but it does not seem to be consistant. I had the guide for a few days last week and now I have had no listings for three days.

I'll try the 2PM thing and see if it loads for me....

IN the states apparently it is the PBS Channel (I am in Canada) and in Toronto I am told it is Global (which is channel 3) but for me it is channel 67.

To find out what channel and download time it is for your listings it is best to enter the hidden guide screens to check.
For our PVR it is a little different than other units. Goto the messages menu in the guide and select the message that displays your guide ID (it is my only message).

Then type 753159852

A grey screen should come up that will allow you to access 30 pages of information. You can't change anything but it does allow you to view a few things.

The first page is most important. Your Host channel will display the channel # that is used to download the TV Guide information. This number is in hex. Mine displayed 0x43 which (when I use the windows calculator :-) tells me it is channel 67 (a french news channel of all things). If it displayes NA it means it has not found a channel yet. Make sure you have not turned off any channels in the guide because the guide will skip this channel when looking for info.

Further down the screen the next thing you want to look for is NEXT DL (or something like it). This will tell you the next time it will atempt to download some information. It seems to download stuff 3 times a day, but through try and error I figured out that my listings seem to get downloaded around the 2:00pm time. Unfortantly this usually doesn't work and my unit unsually crashes.

I talked to philips this morning and they gave me a number for a repair depot. I told them that I didn't think the unit was broken and it was probably a tv guide software issue. They are pretty brainless there. No word on when the next firm ware is do either.

I called up the Repair depot and they were pretty good. They agreed with me that nothing probably was wrong with my unit and it was something with the guide or the info sent to the guide. They have had lots of issues with the TV Guides in general especially with Toshiba.

Hope this helps and if anyone has had any successes please respond!!

I plan to call TV Guide and talk to them before I consider taking my unit in.

Does anyone know a phone number or email address I can contact TV Guide to try and get some answers. Of course there are no numbers on there site tv guide on screen com just a useless faq.

Thanks Jestermagic......I'll try what you suggest. I also found the people at Philips rather uninformed although they are polite.

Thanks Jestermagic......I'll try what you suggest. I also found the people at Philips rather uninformed although they are polite.


One question for you bkikkert,

In the TV Guide listing screen, you have 3 windows on the left. THe top one shows the current tv channel and at least for me the next 2 windows (or boxes) just have a tv guide graphic that I think if you click on it will take you to the features list or something.

I have seen a few screen captures of other people's tv guide screen and there are actual ads for tv shows displaed in the bottom 2 windows.

Does your tv guide have the ads?

I am wondering maybe this is we it is crashing?

I have noticed that it may take 1 - 3 days before it "learns" the TV Guide and then don't expect all your stations to appear either. I had this thing (HDRW720/17) working with my regular digital cable box (including TV GUide), then I recently upgraded to a HDTV cable box. Now I cannot get a TV Guide, been trying for 10 days now. I called Philips tech support and they said they can't get the Guide info from a HDTV cable box and that I would have to wire the cable directly from the wall to the Philips and then I have no digital cable channels!

Anyone got any comments or use with a HDTV cable box? Mine is a Motorola DCT6208, Adelphia Cable localed in Frederick, MD.

thx,
Styx

Message back to ozzzo :

Try re-setting back to Factory settings, redo the setup wizard and try again, may take 1 - 3 days.

azstyx I am surprised that if your regular digital box worked, I would of assumed your HD would work as well since you are getting all of the same channels before and now some new ones that are HD. I would try checking out Motorola site.

The one thing I do not like (beside the guide not working) is that I thought when I bought the PVR I could use my digital box as a second tuner within the PVR. as an example I should be able to click the tuner button and it would switch from the cable box to the internal tuner.

No I don't have the ads. I have determined that the TV guide will not download if you have a scheduled recording going. My next download was at 2:29 this morning and I moved a scheduled recording and sure enough, the listings were there today.

My download channel is 13, a CTV channel. It is on this channel or it switches to this channel when it does the shutdown thing.....intersting...

Hmm, your on cogeco right? What postal code do you use? Maybe that is my problem. I want to see if I can get it to download on ch 13. The current postal code I am using is L7N 1B6.

I only have scheduled programing in prime time.

Is your unit still crashing?

What firm ware version are you using?

Yes, I don't know why it would not work with a HD cable box since it worked somewhat ( the TV Guide did not pick up all my channels) with the my regular digital cable box. All Philips tech support said was that the HD box was filtering the guide signal....whatever that means.
I'm ready to box it up and take it back to Cosco.

As for the person that reported the "crashing", I experienced this on my first Philips HDRW720 I bought from Amazon. It had to ship it to Philips's repair center in Loiusville, KY 3 tmes!!. They replaced the main dig board and TV guide board and other stuff. But after all that..... it would still crash (picture freezes, lights go out in front, red light around dvd tray comes on, then it shuts down). I contacted Amazon and they let me ship it back and gave me back all my money too after 3 months of frustration with Philips tech support and so-called repairs.

Then I saw the same unit at Cosco for $199 (much less that what I paid for at Amazon). I decided to try another unit since Cosco has a customer walk in return policy for 1 yr.

Philips HDRW720/17
CF 3.2
Cable TV connected without a cable box

- Answer to question posed earlier: The two boxes below the live TV window on the TV Guide screen contain TV Guide information prior to obtaining the TV Guide schedule, but once the download completed they contained ads.

- I purchased two units at Costco and I have also noticed the rebooting/crashing problem, (picture freezes, lights go out in front, red light around dvd tray comes on, then it shuts down), on both units. When I got the DVR's I immediately upgraded the firmware to CF 3.2. While setting them up I had them stacked on top of each other and tested them by performing the same tasks on each. I had them both tuned to the same channel and after a period of time they both crashed within a few seconds of each other. My first thought was perhaps there was a small power glitch that I did not notice although it was night and I had lights on. I ended up plugging them into an UPS and the crash did occur again while on the UPS, although this time I only had one unit turned on. This sure appears to be a firmware issue and not a hardware issue. When I contacted Philips they said they were not aware of any known problem that would cause these symptoms. They recommended that I send the unit in for repair if the symptoms continued. I think I will just keep checking for another firmware update.

- Has anyone determined if there is a way to add channels to the TV Guide lineup? I know you can turn TV Guide listed channels off or on, but in my case there are 11 channels, several of which are local access stations, that are not in the guide. I would like to enable them so I can access them with the Channel +/- remote control buttons instead of having to enter the channel digits on the remote.

I don't think what is happening is a crash. I think it has something to do with the TV Guide download process. When mine crashes, it is on Channel 13 which is the download channel. I avoid recording on Channel 13 whenever there is a download period scheduled. I have two channels with this network so I schedule on the other one.

You cannot add channels to the TV Guide. It is up to the TV Guide source what channels they provide for your area. I have a channel guide from a different source on my computer and there are several channels missing from it also...

Hi Folks,
Anyone has experience/success getting the unit to download program nformation from a sat-cable through a Pansat 2500A. True that most programming is foreign, but is there service similar to TV Guide on T5 (Telstar 5) ?
No intention to hijack the thread, just was not sure where to post this. If an OP sess this, please move to appropriate thread. Thanks :)

Philips HDRW720/17
Version CF 3.2
Cable TV connected without a cable box

bkikkert, I tend to agree that something in regards to TV Guide On Screen (TVGOS) causes the unit to freeze and turn off from time to time. In my area the TVGOS information appears to be available from the major network stations. From looking at the diagnostic screens, one of my units is getting data on channel 4 (FOX) and the other is using channel 8 (ABC). Last night it was recording on channel 11 and approximately 1-minute prior to the end of the show I noticed DVD drive light up red and it turned off. After this crash it always defaults the tuner to the lowest channel, 2. Looking at the TVGOS, one days worth of scheduling was now showing no listings and two of my scheduled shows were no longer in the schedule list.

I am not sure there is much to do other than hope the next firmware revision resolves this issue.

Philips HDRW720/17

- Has anyone determined if there is a way to add channels to the TV Guide lineup? I know you can turn TV Guide listed channels off or on, but in my case there are 11 channels, several of which are local access stations, that are not in the guide. I would like to enable them so I can access them with the Channel +/- remote control buttons instead of having to enter the channel digits on the remote.

I just did this by assigning local access channel numbers to channels listed by TVG, but which aren't received, such as some digital channels to which I don't subscribe. The local access channels can now be browsed with the channel + button.

Wobbly

I bought my Philips unit about 18 months ago. I have updated the firmware every couple of months and its currently at 3.2

The TV guide has been working OK all this time except for about 3 power failures when i have to spend 30 minutes setting up the channel lists in the correct order.

About 30 days ago the TV guide stopped working. The local Comcast cable system had the guide downloads on the MSNBC channel (60) but for some reason the downloads stopped on channel 60. All of a sudden the PVR listings were empty and it crashed every day. When i went to the TV guide screen to check if i got the download it would crash the unit within 5 minutes. It ran ok just watching TV or any movie on the hard drive but as soon as i went into the TV guide it would crash. it crashed about 20 times while i was trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

After about 15 days of no listings and it crashing every 5 minutes i read about the trick to enter the string of numbers and found out that the host channel was now set to the PBS channel 9. So i went through the setup guide again and entered the 00000 zip code to reset the guide which allowed me to go to the channel scan add & delete option and i deleted channel 9 from the main channel list (not the TV guide list but in the main system channel list). I then re-entered the guided setup and put in my correct zip code (made sure channel 9 was still deleted) and shut the system down for the night. The next morning i had guide data for the first time in 15 days. I went into the debug screen and it now said the host channel is ABC channel 7.

It has worked perfect for 2 weeks now.

So heres what i think. the PVR locked into the wrong host channel (channel 9) when the MSNBC channel 60 stopped sending the guide. Channel 9 was downloading junk and crashing my unit. When i locked out channel 9 it found a second channel download on channel 7 and has worked perfect since.

I hope this helps someone else fix their problems downloading the TV guide in their area.

Question for you Pad: Is your Philips connected via cablebox? If so, what model box? Is it digital service you have? The problem I have been having for over a year is I cannot get Guide data through my Cablevision digital boxes. The guide listings load just fine when connected directly through the cable line. This setup is not optimal as it does not allow me access to all the premium channels. I have the latest firmware (3.2) installed and have tried 3 different Explorer cable boxes (4200, HD4200, HD8300). When using the direct cable input, the host channel was showing up as the local CBS affiliate (2). When connected to the cable box, it displays 0x00 as the host channel. It appears the unit cannot locate a channel to retrieve programing downloads from as it flips my cablebox's channels for days on end in a fruitless search for data. I've tried keeping the box locked on channel 2 and putting the Philips in standby in the hope it will eventually download from this channel, but it doesn't work. Why will no one (Philips, Cablevision, TV Guide On Screen) come clean and admit that certain cable providers are stripping the guide data from their digital boxes? Calling any of these company's and trying to get any info regarding this topic is like asking a Best Buy "Shopping Assistant" to show you where the Chamber Music section is. ??????????????

Tom

I have the Philips PVR connected directly to basic cable without a cable box.

After about 15 days of no listings and it crashing every 5 minutes i read about the trick to enter the string of numbers and found out that the host channel was now set to the PBS channel 9. So i went through the setup guide again and entered the 00000 zip code to reset the guide which allowed me to go to the channel scan add & delete option and i deleted channel 9 from the main channel list (not the TV guide list but in the main system channel list). I then re-entered the guided setup and put in my correct zip code (made sure channel 9 was still deleted) and shut the system down for the night. The next morning i had guide data for the first time in 15 days. I went into the debug screen and it now said the host channel is ABC channel 7.



How is the main channel list accessed?
Thanks

How is the main channel list accessed?
Thanks

A clarification: I have TVG and it's working except for a few channels. I thought that I would redo the auto search for channels. After resetting the zip to '00000' in the TVG set-up, the main menu has only the time setting highlighted under the installation item. In other words, I can't start from scratch and do the auto and manual channel search/addition.

On the Philips PVR to reset everything to the factory setting you do the following (I hope i remember this correctly) ...

1) Unplug the unit from the power
2) Wait 30 seconds
3) Hold in the "power on" button while you plug the power cord back in. Keep holding the power button while the unit is finished booting (about 30 to 45 seconds i think)
4) release the power button.

The above trick erases all the guide data and starts the unit in the "first run mode" where it asks you to scan for channels.

After scanning the channels go to the main menu and you can now manually add or delete any channel. As soon as you put the unit in standby mode and it gets its first TVG download you will lose the "Add & Delete menu items".

Just to make sure we are talking about the "main setup" screen, here is how to access it...

1) While you are watching any TV channel press the "System" button.
2) Select setup
3) Select installation
4) Now you should be at the "Add & Delete" menu items screen.

I had a freeze up and had to unplug the unit to get it operational again. When I checked the hidden page, I found that the 'next download time' had a n/a next to it as well as the two mapping times. That was yesterday and today there is no change.

Anyone experienced this? I assume it will attempt a download a some point and then get back on schedule....I hope. Everything was working fine with the guide until now.

It's been two nights and the hidden page info has still not changed. The host channel is also indicating Hex 0, so it's lost the channel as well. Has anyone figured out how it enters the channel and download time into the hidden page. I assume it does a search of some kind on the cable system.

Before I pulled the plug, I had at least two download times every day and yet now it has gone two days without even getting the host channel info. Perhaps the info is only available on certain days.

If nothing happens for several days, I may go back to a reboot and see what happens...

The guide is back. Last night it loaded 3 days of listings and the hidden page now has the host channel indicated and the next download time. I guess you just have to wait it out...

For those who can't get guide data updates through their digital cable boxes, but still wish to record premium content via the TV Guide and cable box, I've found a solution that works for me. The first thing you'll need to do is use a splitter that will split your cable feed. Take one of the outputs from the splitter and connect to your cablebox. The other out should go to the antenna in of the Philips. Now use the S-Video output of your cablebox to connect to the S-Video in(EXT2) of the Philips. Your connections are now set, now you only need to go into the TV Guide Setup Menu and toggle between the 2 Cablebox options.
Option 1 NO CABLE BOX
This will allow your Philips to download Guide Data by avoiding the Guide Stripping capabilities of your Digital Cablebox. Keeping the unit set to this mode during one or two overnights per week should have your Guide fully loaded with about a week's worth of programming. This setting will only allow you to record non-premium non-scrambled programming only. For recording of all content and channels available through your box, see........
Option 2 CABLE BOX W/EXT2 Connection (S-Video)
Once your Guide is loaded with Program data, switch to this option. Now you'll be able to use the TV Guide EPG to set and record ANY and ALL programs available through your cable service. Just make sure you keep your cablebox on at all times and your G-Link is able to switch the channels of your cablebox.

I've been doing this for about a week, and it works like a charm. On Monday and Thursday nights, before retiring to bed, I set the Philips to NO BOX mode to update listings. The next morning before work, I switch back to CABLEBOX mode, enabling the Philips to record anything it needs to record.

While this is not a perfect solution, and requires a little annoying extra attention, I believe this is a good way to get the most out of this unit.

With a digital cable box hookup, there is no way to access the two external inputs. I have to reprogram the guide and say 'no cable box' in order to use the external inputs. Has anyone figured out a way to access the two external inputs without disabling the cablebox?

I don't understand your question. The setup I outline above utilizes External Input 2 with the cablebox. Does your cablebox not have an S-Video or Component output? If it does,(and it should), you should be able to access the external inputs without disabling the cablebox. In fact, in my view, the cablebox is the only way to utilize them in the Guide setup. Channel 3 or 4 would be used in the no cablebox scenario. I hope this helps.

tbuick6...I was not responding to your post. I was describing a problem I have with my hookup. I have the cablebox connected and am receiving the TV Guide through it with no problem. With this hookup, however, the unit will only select the Antenna input (to which I have connected the cablebox output) and there is no way to select the other two external inputs.

I have a VCR connected to an external input and I am unable to access it with this configuration. The channel selector on the remote will only change the channels on the digital box and not the recorder. In order to allow it to select the recorder, I have to go into the TV Guide setup and disable the cable and the cablebox. Then I can access the two external inputs.

Perhaps I am missing something but if anyone can tell me how to select the external VCR with cable and cable box enabled in the TV Guide, I would be most pleased....

The Philips HDRW720 WILL NOT pick up the TV Guide if you have satellite. I just got off of the phone with Philips. I bitched them out because of their marketing. This should be said up front. It's a TV Guide issue, not a Philips issue.

If you have cable and a set top box it is a coin toss on iff it will work. It depends on where the cable channel broadcast the TV Guide signal. You have to find out what channel it broadcast on and then tell the HDRW.

satellite (Direct TV/Dish Network) does not broadcase the TV GUIDE signal.

If you use the tuner in the HDRW (no set top box) it will find the TV Guide broadcast channel for you.

-darryl

That's not true regarding a cable box. I have a digital cable box and it finds the TV Guide channel by itself. Besides there is no way of telling it what the channel is. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 nights to find it but it works...

What is the difference between the host channel and VB1?
How is the hex (?) number converted to channel number?
I turned off the HSN and QVC and now 'scheduled download" is NA.
If I turn them back on, assuming one is the "host channel", will the download occur, or must I redo the setup?

Thanks

Philips support is who told me that if you had a cable box you had to tell it the channel to get the guide from. That is obviously incorrect since it works for you. Sorry if I have misled anyone.

darryl

Philips support is who told me that if you had a cable box you had to tell it the channel to get the guide from. That is obviously incorrect since it works for you. Sorry if I have misled anyone.

darryl

Philip support must be contracted out to inmates of some institution. One of them told me that the software upgrade files had to be ISO files. He couldn't tell me how to convert the download files into an ISO file, though- and the ISO file I burned didn't work. Problem was that I didn't finalize the CD-Rom (as the manual clearly stated).

I purchased my Philips 6 days ago and within the first 3 days it downloaded the channel listings, it is not going through a cable box, it is a direct connection... (I am located within the Toronto area and have Rogers as my cable provider) I am able to see all my listings… in a previous post, someone was asking if the two boxes below the video picture are commercials, my two boxes are not, they are the TVGOS features/help screens. I have one question about the guide, how do I select to watch a show within the guide… for example, I am currently on channel 03, the video picture in the guide shows the channel 03 and I scroll down the guide to channel 08 and I would assume that I would press OK to see that channel (08), however, channel 03 is still displayed, I tried unlocking the video picture in the guide with no success… its great that I have a guide and it shows me what’s on, however, I should be able to go directly to that channel without manually going to it when I am out of the guide. Anybody else experience this issue or is it just me?

I think you will have to upgrade your firmware. I remember when I bought the unit last year, it shipped without the necessary update needed to use the TV Guide. Go here to download the latest firmware:
http://www.usasupport.philips.com/productDocuments.html?ProductGroup=HOME_AUDIO_VIDEO_GR&Categorey=DVD_PLAYERS_RECORDERS_CA&SubCategorey=DVD_RECORDERS_SU&Product=HDRW720%2F17&Submit.x=14&Submit.y=9&Submit=true

Good Luck!
Tom

Philips support is who told me that if you had a cable box you had to tell it the channel to get the guide from. That is obviously incorrect since it works for you. Sorry if I have misled anyone.

darryl

Did they tell you how to do it?

Thanks for the link... I will try it later this evening and advise.

____

I just confirming that the firmware upgrade worked. Thanks again for the link.

I just got this on the 18th, Im still learning its features, (not many features), a bit dissapointed in the editing capabilities.

I dont see much of a difference in recording in the m8 or m6 mode.

I saw on the Philips website, there was a firmware upgrade posted 11-7-05, has anyone upgraded? I havent tried yet, never upgraded a machine like that before. Has anyone here? Wondering if I should update or not.

Also from a post in here, posted a while ago, on how to check when the next DL time is, mine says 930 of today, anyone know if that would be pm or am? It dont say.

I am new here as well, so hi to everyone.

Welcome FusedOne!

The firmware upgrade posted as 11-7-05 is actually the same version that has been available since August (3.2). I found that out by downloading and burning a new upgrade cd-r only to find it to be the same version as the one I already had. You should definitely upgrade to this version as it does address quite a few bugs. As for the time, 930 would be AM. The Philips uses a 24 Hour clock. 9:30 PM would display as 21:30. Good Luck with your new toy!

Do you know of any reported mishapes after upgrading?

And thank you for the welcome and the info on it being am not pm. I appreciate that very much.

I just got this on the 18th, Im still learning its features, (not many features), a bit dissapointed in the editing capabilities.


Also from a post in here, posted a while ago, on how to check when the next DL time is, mine says 930 of today, anyone know if that would be pm or am? It dont say.


It think it means 0930 UTC (Greenwich Time). There's a conversion chart at:
http://setiathome2.ssl.berkeley.edu/utc.html

It think it means 0930 UTC (Greenwich Time). There's a conversion chart at:
http://setiathome2.ssl.berkeley.edu/utc.html

After looking at the message page, I see that the local time zone is coded. Mine is 0x44. Since the UTC was shown as 1515 and next download was shown as 1500, I assume that local time zone, not UTC, is used.

Can someone help me out in figuring out the 24hr thing on the TVGuide download? The update it was suppose to do this morning, seems it didnt get anything, past Mon I have No Listings on everything.

Says 0:15 is my next dl, I have no idea what time that would mean. And anyone know just around how long dl's take?

Thanks everyone for the help so far.

Can someone help me out in figuring out the 24hr thing on the TVGuide download? The update it was suppose to do this morning, seems it didnt get anything, past Mon I have No Listings on everything.

Says 0:15 is my next dl, I have no idea what time that would mean. And anyone know just around how long dl's take?

Thanks everyone for the help so far.

0015 is 15 minutes after midnight. Not sure how long the download takes. The your set must be on standby for the download to succeed.

Ah ok, thank you very much then. I guess I'll turn my machine off at midnight then.

I think that the way this TV Guide thing works is one of the biggest drawbacks of this machine. And another is a bit the quality of the rec. Ive seen other machines that rec in the 8hr mode isnt as bad as this machines 8hr, I still havent seen a difference in the 8hr and 6hr quality, but time will tell. The hard drive is a life saver.

Ok so I am still not able to get all my listings. How much does one download usually get? Like how many days of listings?

I am trying to work out the 24 hr time listings, so 6:00 would be am right? 6am, where 18:00 would be 6pm?

Does anyone know a phone number or email address I can contact TV Guide to try and get some answers. Of course there are no numbers on there site tv guide on screen com just a useless faq.

TV Guide support

1-800-386-7380

I found Sherry Robley in tech support the most helpful. She does return calls. She is Option 2 then Option 5 when you dial the above number.

I'm not sure if anyone is reading this area anymore judging by the last post date but just in case. My unit has been working great for the past few months except for one annoying fault. About half a dozen times now, I turn it on and the TV Guide has completely disappeared and the set-up screen is displayed. This is annoying because I have to reprogram all my movies, etc, into it again. There does not seem to be any sequence of events that causes this. I thought about a power bump but I have surge protection so have ruled that out.
Anyone else experiencing this problem....Any ideas?

Mine is doing the same thing. It was working OK for over 18 months then about 3 months ago it started rebooting once every 2 weeks. It started happening around the time that the guide download channel changed from MSNBC to ABC (Comcast cable in Northern Calif).

I haven't figured out why it reboots. Sometimes when it reboots it looks like its trying to get guide data from the local PBS channel. The problem with the PBS channel is that it changes to HDTV between 9pm until about 2am. Since the guide data only works on analog signals that could be the trigger that causes it to reboot. I tried locking out the PBS channel but it doesn't stay locked off.

Also about 3 to 5 months ago i upgraded the software to version 3.2. That also may have caused the rebooting problems.

I do 90% of my recordings now on my Tivo PVR so i haven't spent any time trying to fix the problem with my Philips unit. I now only use the Philips 6hr live recording feature. i watch tv on it and if i like the program i just watched then i backup the live buffer and then save it to the hard drive then once a week i transfer all my saved live recordings to DVD.

My download Channel is Channel 13 which here is the Canadian network CTV. That has not changed. My PBS channel is only in analog so I doubt that is the problem. How can you tell that it is trying to get the guide data from PBS? I updated to 3.2 right after I bought it. I sure wish they would come out with a new update and fix these problems.

Sometimes when the TV guide listings is empty and i enter the TV Guide information screen using the 753159852 trick, the host channel listing shows the PBS channel instead of the ABC channel. When the ABC channel is listed as the host channel the guide works and when the PBS channel is listed as the host channel the guide is empty.

Okay I get.....mine inserted another CTV Channel as the host one time but it has never done it again. When mine does reset and I set it up again, it always puts Ch 13 as the host and the TV Guide loads the first night. The only nuisance is that I have to reprogram all my movies and weekly shows that I had there before....

My unit has been working great for the past few months except for one annoying fault. About half a dozen times now, I turn it on and the TV Guide has completely disappeared and the set-up screen is displayed.

Anyone else experiencing this problem....Any ideas?

I have had my 720 about 18 months and it has always done that. I don't know how many times I have complained to Philips about the problem but, according to them, it is not a wide spread problem.

Last year, when I had the power supply fail (it would not power up), I had to send it in for repair. I told them about the "failure to power up" problem and I mentioned the loss of the TV Guide problem too. When I get it back (it took over a month for them to fix it) the power supply was fixed but the guide still disapears every so often. I have the extended waranty on my unit and I called Philips AGAIN about three weeks ago complaining about the TV Guide problem. The tech took a lot of information (from the TVG diagnostic screen) and promised that someone from TVG or Philips would call me back. So far, no one has. I'll give them until the end of this week. If no one calls, I'll call Philips again. I have a Sony HD DVR that has the TVGOS and it never has lost its guide. It gets its data from the same channel as the Philips box so I know its not a fault of the data provider (the local PBS station).

Bill...Let me know how you make out with Phillips. You might want to ask them if they are planning to put out another update to correct some of these problems. Ths trouble with these devices is as soon as another model comes out, they forget about the previous one and any updates....

I am also experiencing the same thing… the TV Guide has completely disappeared and the set-up screen is displayed… all of my scheduled recordings are also gone… started about a month ago and its reset three times… on the third time the guide information has not loaded up again… its been about 2 weeks now… does anybody know of a firmware upgrade coming to resolve this issue.

Bill R (# 2), I have two 720's and they both experience the problem you describe. I keep patietly waiting for the next upgrade to post in hopes they have resolved the issue.

Let's all hope that Phillips reads this forum....

Let's all hope that Phillips reads this forum....


Hi bkikkert. Just wondering if you got the VCR issue sorted out? I am having the same issue where it doesn't recognize a signal and there is no way to manually add EXT 2 as an active input

No I didn't resolve that particular issue. What I did was input the VCR to the Camcorder input jacks on the front. Once your VCR is running, press CAM on the remote control. To select the number one or two CAM inputs, use the Channel + and _ buttons. Don't forget to set the recording speed under the system preferences menu.

Just wondering if anyone in Toronto with digital cable was able to get the TV guide channels? What post code did you use.

Thanks.

I think you have to go to the "Messages" screen in the TV guide option and pick the unit identity selection before you input the code. I have the same code and unit, that process works for me. Good luck.

I just want to post a success story.

I have comcast HD digital cable in New Haven CT. My guide loaded after two or so days.

First the channel list and advertisements loaded, then the actual listings filled in a day or two later.

My Scientific Atlanta Box Is connected through composite video to Ext2, while an RF cable out (traditional 'cable' of 'cable tv') goes in to the phillips Antennae input.
The Sci-Atlanta 3250HD disables component and S-Video outputs since I use a DVI connection to my television, leaving only coimposite as an option.


Fox, channel 5 appears to broadcast guide data.

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask if anyone knows if for example the nextdl is 23:14 (I am assuming that would be 11:14pm, do you have to have the box off an hr or two BEFORE the listed time? Or can you have it on up to like 30min before or something?

Also it says for my timezone its 0x43 anyone know what does that convert too?

Thanks.

No response yet. I will call their support tonight if I get a chance. I know someone else that called and the support was pretty good.

Samsung - SIR-S310W

I'll post my findings.

d

I just got one and I can't get it to run my samsung Hd DTY unit. Did you have any luck with your?

I am a new user of this forum, so please bear with me.

Setup:


HDRW720/17 connected to digital cable box
Connected via standard coax
IR blaster interacting with cable box
No TV Guide data


I have had my HDRW720/17 for some time now. I used it very well for at least a year on standard cable. Now I am having trouble updating the TV Guide. I have turned off the HDRW720 for a few days with no apparent data population.

I do notice that the HDRW720 uses the IR blaster to change the channels. I am assumming from reading your postings that it is looking for the channel with the guide info. I have a motorola digital cable box.

I have not tried the code you all have mentioned regarding the data collection info from the message link within the TV Guide section. I will try this.

How do I tell it to use a certain channel for delivery of TV Guide info if I already know which one it is. BTW, I have Charter which uses an interactive TV Guide menu already by pushing the Guide button on the remote. There is no channel for this interactive menu, but there is a channel that the provider says is the TV Guide channel. If all else fails I can point to the PBS channel.

I hope someone can tell me what steps to take to change the guide channel.

Thanks in advance.

You realize that you need a analog channel to populate the guide from. If you have upgraded to digital cable and your cable company doesn't carry a analog channel for TVGOS guide data you are out of luck. You will have to downgrade and use analog cable again. The cable box also has to pass the data so a non-cable box setup would be perfered. The information that the TVGOS devices use is completely different the the Guide information that the cable operators send over for their set top boxes. The PBS channel will only work if it is analog and the settop box passes the analog signal exactly.

You can try to plug the 720 directly to the cable and scan for channels again and see if it receives the guide again.

I am a new user of this forum, so please bear with me.

Setup:


HDRW720/17 connected to digital cable box
Connected via standard coax
IR blaster interacting with cable box
No TV Guide data


I have had my HDRW720/17 for some time now. I used it very well for at least a year on standard cable. Now I am having trouble updating the TV Guide. I have turned off the HDRW720 for a few days with no apparent data population.

I do notice that the HDRW720 uses the IR blaster to change the channels. I am assumming from reading your postings that it is looking for the channel with the guide info. I have a motorola digital cable box.

I have not tried the code you all have mentioned regarding the data collection info from the message link within the TV Guide section. I will try this.

How do I tell it to use a certain channel for delivery of TV Guide info if I already know which one it is. BTW, I have Charter which uses an interactive TV Guide menu already by pushing the Guide button on the remote. There is no channel for this interactive menu, but there is a channel that the provider says is the TV Guide channel. If all else fails I can point to the PBS channel.

I hope someone can tell me what steps to take to change the guide channel.

Thanks in advance.

Also that TVGuide channel they gave you would work for a device like the SONY HDD500 that has a built in digital tuner with cable card support. This device doesn't need any cable box so it can tune analog and digital channels. It even as the ability to receive the guide from digital channels in the future after the 2009 analog cut off date (as some SONY customer service people have stated.)

You realize that you need a analog channel to populate the guide from. If you have upgraded to digital cable and your cable company doesn't carry a analog channel for TVGOS guide data you are out of luck. You will have to downgrade and use analog cable again. The cable box also has to pass the data so a non-cable box setup would be perfered. The information that the TVGOS devices use is completely different the the Guide information that the cable operators send over for their set top boxes. The PBS channel will only work if it is analog and the settop box passes the analog signal exactly.

You can try to plug the 720 directly to the cable and scan for channels again and see if it receives the guide again.

If you what to try something different, change your connection from the Settop box to SVIDEO, Composite, component. Then the RF cable from the cable system will go directly to the 720 allowing the analog TVGOS channel to decode.

Look a few posts back and you will see another user's success with this setup using a Scientific Atlanta Box.

I am a new user of this forum, so please bear with me.

Setup:


HDRW720/17 connected to digital cable box
Connected via standard coax
IR blaster interacting with cable box
No TV Guide data

Anyone talked to Phillips lately to ask about a fix for all these annoying bugs like the TV Guide info suddenly disappearing etc.?

I've sent several E-mails to Phillips asking when we can expect an update and they do not have the courtesy to reply. I've never seen such terrible customer service and lousy support for a product. Never will I purchase a Phillips product again...

My problem child, loved-hated, Philips HDRW 720 was suffering from empty TV guide syndrome since one month ago. After I found this lead, I tried the zip code 00000 trick to shock the system back to senses, and the TV guide is working again( my system is straight cable to antenna connection, no cable tuner box, comcast Northern California). When I was desperate, I almost wanted to buy another brand of dvd recorder. Further search of Toshiba, Panny, Pioneer, etc, they all have TV guide download problem, some new machines do not use TV guide no more. And according to one Amazon.com review, the
new Philips dvd recorder with hard drive is even worse then this problem child.
So i am going to keep it, and hopefully all it needs is periodic shock treatment.

TVGOS problems are almost never caused by the unit. They usually originate from the cable company or OTA station.

The Pioneer models that include it are the exception. Seems they they just didn't implement it right in the unit itself. Because of the bad rep they acquired, they just decided to drop it altogether, rather than try to fix it.

Please explain the zip code trick with all the zeros. Does this usually work? Another thing is I have a digital box ( 2-99) are analog though. The higher numbers are digital. Another thing is when the cable box is scanning the channels after setup, it always stops at ch 90 , which is by the way is a pbs digital channel. Does this matter? Ch 9 is the analog pbs channel. I have a Philips hdrw 720/17. A Motorola digital cable box. Thanks for any info.

The shock treatment is this
When do the tv guide set up, input zip code 00000.
And finished set up, turned off tv and wait overnight.
If it works . the tv guide would show up with the right channels.