I recently switched my cable provider from Comcast to Verizon Fios, but have not been able to get my DMR-EH75 to work with the new provider. The TVGOS programming info has not been able to download. For a week the machine has been searching for the programing information, with no success. This makes it difficult to watch the set the DVR is attached to, since the unit keeps changing the channel as it continues its endless search for the lost programming feed.

I'm assuming this is happening because FIOS is an all digital system, and the TVGOS reads an analog feed to get the programming information. I set the unit up by telling the machine that I had an RF antenna as well as cable (even though I don't really have an RF antenna), so that my television might be able to get the feed OTA, but that has not worked.

Does anyone know if FIOS can work with the EH-75? There are a few threads where people have hypothesized that it should (or should not) work, but does anybody have actual experience with getting the TVGOS to work with FIOS? Or definitively knows that it can't be done? Panasonic tech support is worthless on this point. They promised that a real tech who had researched the question would get back to me in 24 hours, but that was 5 days ago.

If there is no way the TVGOS can receive the programing info over the FIOS cable, is there some device (preferably small and cheap) that I can attach to the unit that may be able to pick up the signal OTA. I'm not sure how you would then input it into the EH-75, since the unit only has a single cable/RF antenna input.

Any help would be appreciated. While I know I could get a FIOS DVR, I have this 80 gig DVR and I'd like to use it if I can. Thanks.

Michael

Does FIOS provide the locals in analog? If they're on the incoming line, you can try splitting the signal, one end directly into the recorder, and the other to the cable box, which then is hooked up to a line input on the recorder. As far as setting it up, if the list doesn't include FIOS, I'm not sure what to tell it. Probably digital cable, if you need to enter in channel numbers more than two digits, I'd guess.

FIOS provides the lower 50 channels in analog so you can split the cable from the wall and attach one lead directly to the EH75 and use it's built-in analog cable tuner. This will allow the EH75 to work the way it was designed to and pick up the TVGOS information if Verizon is transmitting it. I have been interested in FIOS for some time now, but have seen nothing in their information or FAQ lists that indicates they transmit the analog TVGOS signal. You should try to call Verizon to find out if they do or don't.

If that doesn't work then you could try using an indoor antenna to obtain the TVGOS info OTA. You may have to go into the channel editor and turn those channels on, though.

Then just leave the cable box hooked up through a line input.

If that doesn't work then you could try using an indoor antenna to obtain the TVGOS info OTA. You may have to go into the channel editor and turn those channels on, though.

I think that's what I may have to do. I hadn't thought about hooking up the cable box as an input.

Panasonic tech support finally got back to me and want to do some diagnostics before they "escalate" my call to TV Guide itself. If they actually can get this thing working, I will report back. I don't think anyone has ever definitively stated whether TVGOS can work with FIOS, and hopefully I can answer the question so someone else doesn't have to scan the internet for hours trying to find the answer.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I seem to remember most people around here saying no, but I also remember one or two saying they did get it to work with FIOS.

Here is the definitive answer to the question of whether FIOS will work with the DMR-EH75: No. And Yes.

After speaking with 5 different Panasonic technical support reps who supposedly specialized in DVRs (and after receiving a voice mail from a second level tech who supposedly researched my question specifically), the fifth representative, who was preparing to report my situation directly to TV Guide, thought to check Panasonic's database regarding FIOS. After checking for a minute or two, he stated that the official Panasonic position was "No", the unit cannot work with FIOS, no way, no how. When I asked if there was any kind of work around, the company line was "NO" it doesn't work. When I told him I now had a $400 paperweight on my hands, he said he was sorry. When I asked why Panasonic (or TVGOS) did not inform anyone that the unit did not work with FIOS, he said that FIOS was a pretty recent product.

Well, at least this representative actually listened to me and looked for an answer to my question.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, he is wrong. And Rammitinski is right. You can hook up a cheap RF antenna to the DMR-EH75 antenna input while also running cables from the Motorola cable box into the DMR-EH75's IN3 inputs. You will get the TVGOS listings OTA (including the cable listings), and you will have the complete ability to access all of the cable stations through the TVGOS. The key is to set the TVGOS up for both an RF Antenna and a Cable Box. But this will work (at least through Feb 2009, when they are scheduled to cease analog OTA signals).

I used the cheapest indoor TV antenna I could find at my local Radio Shack (and there are even cheaper ones on the internet) and it did the trick. I'm in the Boston suburbs, and the PBS station that broadcasts the TVGOS signal is only 10-15 miles away. If you are in a more remote location, you may have to use a better antenna. But it will work.

Thank you Rammitinski, for your suggestion. Now all I have to do is figure out what I'm going to do in 2009 if they really do stop analog OTA.

Michael

The 9th generation TVGOS in the EH75V (and EH55V) is said to be upgradable to work with digital when it's all switched over. At least with OTA and cable. It already supposedly gets guide info digitally from Direct.

Matabb, I have a similar situation trying to get TVGOS via FIOS but on a new TV, wanted to see if you could provide some more info on how you got this to work. After many days receiving no TVGOS data over FIOS I've just found this forum . I've now tried attaching an antenna in the AntB input and in TVGuide set up indicated i receive signal from Antenna (instread of cable) and this morning I see for the first time I have channels listed & tv programming info loaded. My channel lineup isn't accurate of course , but in the Channel editor I can at least see all the cable channels listed , though in the Off position.
The problem is when I attempt to turn a channel ON and edit the Channel # to the correct channel I'm finding it will only accept a 2 digit channel when many of my cable channels are actually 3 digits. Did you have this same problem ? If so , how did you solve it? Thanks

Here is the definitive answer to the question of whether FIOS will work with the DMR-EH75: No. And Yes.

After speaking with 5 different Panasonic technical support reps who supposedly specialized in DVRs........the company line was "NO" it doesn't work. When I told him I now had a $400 paperweight on my hands, he said he was sorry. When I asked why Panasonic (or TVGOS) did not inform anyone that the unit did not work with FIOS, he said that FIOS was a pretty recent product.

Well, at least this representative actually listened to me and looked for an answer to my question.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, he is wrong. And Rammitinski is right. You can hook up a cheap RF antenna to the DMR-EH75 antenna input while also running cables from the Motorola cable box into the DMR-EH75's IN3 inputs. You will get the TVGOS listings OTA (including the cable listings), and you will have the complete ability to access all of the cable stations through the TVGOS. The key is to set the TVGOS up for both an RF Antenna and a Cable Box. But this will work (at least through Feb 2009, when they are scheduled to cease analog OTA signals).

I used the cheapest indoor TV antenna I could find at my local Radio Shack (and there are even cheaper ones on the internet) and it did the trick. I'm in the Boston suburbs, and the PBS station that broadcasts the TVGOS signal is only 10-15 miles away. If you are in a more remote location, you may have to use a better antenna. But it will work.

Thank you Rammitinski, for your suggestion. Now all I have to do is figure out what I'm going to do in 2009 if they really do stop analog OTA.

Michael

A while back I was considering switching from Comcast to Verizon FIOS and had the same question (will TVGOS work with FIOS).....

Does FIOS Support TVGOS (Long Island) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=796230

FIOS and TVGOS http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=666930

The answer I got from Verizon was "we have a DVR that gives you a program guide!!!" (Duh). The answer I got from the knowledgeable people on these forums was basically "NO", so I didn't switch.

Are you saying now that TVGOS will work with FIOS? I have Toshiba RD-XS34 (not a Panasonic model as you do) and I don't think you can configure TVGOS to accept input from both Cable and OTA as (I think) you described. Any idea whether it would be possible to to the same a Toshiba unit to make it work? This might be a (really) dumb idea, but perhaps some kind of splitter to combine OTA and cable signals in to the unit?

Steve

By the way - I am in the Boston area (suburbs) as well.

Unless I'm missing something, all the discussion seems to be begging the question as to whether or not Verizon even transmits the TVGOS information over their FIOS network. I seem to remember it does not but that memory is sketchy.

Not a whole lot Panasonic can be blamed for if there is no signal for it to receive. And also not a whole lot you can do.

You can obtain the cable channel's info over the air. You will probably have to go into the "channel editor" and turn the cable channels on, though.

You don't necessarily have to have a really strong signal from the host channel to get it. Usually a somewhat snowy signal will be sufficient, as long as it's steady.

You can obtain the cable channel's info over the air. You will probably have to go into the "channel editor" and turn the cable channels on, though.

You don't necessarily have to have a really strong signal from the host channel to get it. Usually a somewhat snowy signal will be sufficient, as long as it's steady.But now how would you do that? As I recall, when you initialize the TVGOS you select OTA or cable but not both. If you go OTA with an antenna, you will populate the channel listings with the OTA offerings whose channel numbers will most likely differ from cable. Moreover, you would be set to receive and record OTA not cable. Could you then change the setting to cable without wiping out the TVGOS information. If you could you would still have to set it back to OTA every night to update TVGOS.

What am I missing.

I don't know if it'll work, but maybe with the EH75V having the 9th gen. guide, which is different from all older ones, it might.

You can choose more than one source with it (unless you're using Dish).

But if gecrump above actually does have the EH75V (or EH55V - he doesn't say - he just says he has TVGOS and FIOS), and he can't enter in more than 2 channel numbers, then it doesn't sound too promising. Unless there's some kind of workaround.

I suppose I could set mine up with OTA right now and let the guide download overnight, but I've currently got it set up with Dish, and it's set to record a lot of stuff tomorrow that I won't be home to watch live.

Maybe on the weekend I can hook up an antenna and fool around with it.

Update: I was able to download the complete FIOS channel line up & tv listings via antenna ( simple rabbit ears) . Second day when I looked in Settings it told me multiple line ups available in my Zip & one was Verizon. After selecting I now have the fios line up including 3 digit channels.
In my case I'm getting TVGOS on a Pioneer Plasma ( not dvd recorder) but i'll add my experience here in case it helps you. ( In another room I also have a Pana DMR-E95H dvd recorder that I haven't figured out how to get TVGOS on yet with my FIOS Set Top box setup)
For my tv I use a cable card ( no STB) and i hooked cable into ANT A & Rabbit Ears to Ant B. In TVGOS set up I set it to look at both Ant A & B. (My older dvd recorder doesn't let me specify multiple inputs in TVGOS setup , i guess it's the pre gen 9 version Rammitinski refers to)

Interestingly when I'm watching TV and use TVGOS to select a different channel it doesn't switch me to Ant B (rabbit ears) where it got the lineup from , it's keeps me on Ant A which is FIOS cable input.

So I believe we are not able to actually get TVGOS data downloaded via FIOS , but with a simple antenna hookup we can get the fios lineup via our OTA transmission from PBS. I've got the rabbit ears hidden behind the plasma but will probably invest in a better antenna to get PIP working as well.

Yeah, they did a major overhaul with the 9th generation TVGOS, for sure. It's a lot more pleasurable to work with in general, also.

That's one of the main reasons I grabbed an EH75V while I still had the chance.

Does the EH75 (or 55 for that matter) have dual A-B antenna inputs? If not, I doubt you could duplicate the functionality of gecrump's plasma TV.

Update:

Well, my preliminary findings are that as long as you set up for both the service you have AND antenna (which is what they specifically say in the manual that you do with certain services), and as long as the service you are using is indeed included in the "second round of choices" in the setup (such as "FIOS" when set up for "cable with a cable box"), you absolutely can get the guide data and schedule recordings through the TVGOS.

So, according to what's all stated in the manual, as well as my actual experiences, it is designed to do just that - that is, get the guide info OTA when it can't get it from the main service. You just need to hook the antenna up to the RF input and the box to a line input. And you can change the channel numbers and the source from "antenna" to "cable" on the bulk of the channels in the editor list - at least all of the important, standard ones. There are still a ton of OTA, "air"-listed channels listed at the end of the list (as usual) that you can't change.

So - bottom line: if you have FIOS in your area, it should come up after the "cable" setup, as it did for the above poster, and the TVGOS will definitely work with it if you are also set up for and using an antenna. The caveat is that the Panny either has to contain the code for the IR blaster to work your box, or you at least have to be able to program the timers independently on the cable/satellite box.

I see references to 9th generation as opposed to 8th generation. How can I tell which generation I have? I have an EH75VS I got in late 2006. I have only Comcast cable, analog coming in with no cable box and might switch to Fios when we get it here(no date yet, but it is coming).

I was getting the TVGOS for the EH75VS for a while and then all of the sudden about a month or two ago it stopped. I am sure it is coming through the lines though as I have a Pioneer 50" plasma and it is getting updates and I run the cable to it through the EH75VS. I have gone through the setup several times and it always says it will do it at 7:31am the next day and never does update.

Thanks...

The Panasonic EH75VS and EH55VS both have the 9th generation TVGOS.

Depends on what year model the Pioneer plasma is. My last year's Elite has the 8th generation guide. This year's probably has the 9th, I'm guessing.

Gemstar is now inserting their data in CBS channels. My units switched over from PBS to CBS for the data a few months back. Make sure your analog CBS channel is turned on in the guide. And if you haven't already, do a front panel reset on the Panny by holding down the "channel up" and "channel down" buttons at the same time. Maybe unplug and replug the unit back in for good measure. Then reset the guide. See if that helps at all.

The Panasonic EH75VS and EH55VS both have the 9th generation TVGOS.

Depends on what year model the Pioneer plasma is. My last year's Elite has the 8th generation guide. This year's probably has the 9th, I'm guessing.

Gemstar is now inserting their data in CBS channels. My units switched over from PBS to CBS for the data a few months back. Make sure your analog CBS channel is turned on in the guide. And if you haven't already, do a front panel reset on the Panny by holding down the "channel up" and "channel down" buttons at the same time. Maybe unplug and replug the unit back in for good measure. Then reset the guide. See if that helps at all.

Thanks, I tried setting it up last night to stop any and all manual recordings, hoping that may have been blocking the timing of the downloads. If that does not work, I will give the reset a try. The Pioneer is 5070 bought in late 2006, so it sounds like an 8th gen, but since it still works, I got to believe it is the timing thing. The Analog CBS channel is definitely turned on.

The Panasonic EH75VS and EH55VS both have the 9th generation TVGOS.

Depends on what year model the Pioneer plasma is. My last year's Elite has the 8th generation guide. This year's probably has the 9th, I'm guessing.

Gemstar is now inserting their data in CBS channels. My units switched over from PBS to CBS for the data a few months back. Make sure your analog CBS channel is turned on in the guide. And if you haven't already, do a front panel reset on the Panny by holding down the "channel up" and "channel down" buttons at the same time. Maybe unplug and replug the unit back in for good measure. Then reset the guide. See if that helps at all.

I tried the suggestion to hold both Channel Up and Channel Down at the same time on the unit and it reset, I went through the menus and presto, the next day, I had some TV Guide listings. Not all, but that was because it did not have all the channels defined. I defined the rest and this morning all the listings are there. All my previously recorded things are still there as well as all previously programmed ones.

Thanks a lot, Rammitinski