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The Official AVS Dish DTVPal DVR Topic! - Page 460

post #13771 of 17068
1/25/12 at 8:56am
Greetings,
This is a quick followup to my previous posting.

As I mentioned, the TVGOS guide was there after I did the Factory Default. However, I see now that most of the sections have 'information unavailable'. But maybe they would have been populated as time goes by. However, I then changed my zip code from 00000 to 20190. Before I had it as 20194, which is more accurate, but I made this slight change just to see what would happen. I made the change to 20190 and expected to not be able to set the time manually, as before. However, now I am still able to set the local time manually...I am not locked out as before. So I am really wondering what is going on. I am hoping that, over the next few hours or days, the TVGOS will populate as before and I will be able to set/re-set the local time if it goes off track again. Any explanations for this???
Gary
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post #13772 of 17068
1/25/12 at 9:15am
There can be a delay of several hours to even a day or two before TVGOS locks the clock.
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post #13773 of 17068
1/25/12 at 10:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken H View Post

A current link for the F208 Firmware has been added to the very top of the first post.

Thanks to AVS member P Smith for the suggestion and link.

The link for the new firmware brings me to zippyshare.com and has a weird file name for the file. When I download it and put it in a update folder. I plug in the usb stick. The dvr see's the usb drive but nothing happens. Can you check the file please? Or can someone please email me the firmware for F208?

Emdev2@aol.com

Thanks
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post #13774 of 17068
1/25/12 at 10:33am
Make sure you did not enter anything under "Alternate Zip Codes." is something that I see in the first post with all the info on the PALDVR for making sure you get TVGOS. I'm scratching my head on this one as I never have found anything in the menu that says Alternate ZIP codes. I have only found one spot where it asks for a ZIP code. Are there 2 areas in the menu that ask for zip codes?

Can anyone shed some light on this?
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post #13775 of 17068
1/25/12 at 10:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

Make sure you did not enter anything under "Alternate Zip Codes." is something that I see in the first post with all the info on the PALDVR for making sure you get TVGOS. I'm scratching my head on this one as I never have found anything in the menu that says Alternate ZIP codes. I have only found one spot where it asks for a ZIP code. Are there 2 areas in the menu that ask for zip codes?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Alternate Zip codes is ONLY for feeding TVGOS data to an analog device.
It disables most features in the Pal DVR.
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post #13776 of 17068
1/25/12 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

There can be a delay of several hours to even a day or two before TVGOS locks the clock.

======================
Chuck44,
Yes, I understand. And I just noticed that the ability to change the local time is now locked-out and the local time is now creeping to be more incorrect--its already 2 minutes off.

So I repeated the Factory Default and kept the zip code at 00000. I will leave it alone for a while to see how the guide gets populated. I also notice that the little TVGOS icon is not shown in the program guide anymore. So it must be that the 'PSIP Guide' is populating the program guide. But I still don't know what the difference is between the PSID and the TVGOS results will be. Can you explain what the difference will be? I am going to let the program guide (whatever I have at this point) to populate.
Gary
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post #13777 of 17068
1/25/12 at 11:11am
You may have to 'visit' each station of interest to get its PSIP guide info.

Donald1800
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post #13778 of 17068
1/25/12 at 11:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

Alternate Zip codes is ONLY for feeding TVGOS data to an analog device.
It disables most features in the Pal DVR.

OK but where in the world is it in setup? I don't think I ever saw this in going into the menu of options. I have only found one place for zip code and it did not say alternate zip code. I just want to make sure I don't have alternate zip code valued.
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post #13779 of 17068
1/25/12 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

Can you explain what the difference will be? I am going to let the program guide (whatever I have at this point) to populate.
Gary

TVGOS usually has 7 or 8 days of program info. PSIP only has a few hours.
TVGOS (TV Guide Onscreen) is supplied by a national network, while PSIP info is supplied by each local station.
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post #13780 of 17068
1/25/12 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

OK but where in the world is it in setup? I don't think I ever saw this in going into the menu of options. I have only found one place for zip code and it did not say alternate zip code. I just want to make sure I don't have alternate zip code valued.

Setup, System Setup, TV Guide and Guide +
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post #13781 of 17068
1/25/12 at 12:59pm
to : Emdev2
Rename that file you downloaded to : TR50_F208_0HUC00.upd
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post #13782 of 17068
1/25/12 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparkman386 View Post

How does the tuner do with weak signal levels say 65 or lower? Where I live we have several low power, semi-locals and a couple fringe signals. I have the DTVPAL Plus converter with the new enhanced digital tuner which will hold and lock a signal 90miles away, signal level most of the time is around 60 with very little drop out. How does DTVPal DVR compare?

It goes beyond signal strength to signal quality etc. I have a DB-8 with a high gain amplifier. With the amplifier unplugged I get a higher signal strength indication on local channels than when I plug in the power supply. I assume this is because the added signal drives the AGC down or the pre-amp is noisy.

Below an indicated strength of about 60 or so I have problems with severe dropouts.
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post #13783 of 17068
1/25/12 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mabuttra View Post

The only way I know of to get manual control of the time back, is to do a Factory Default from the menu (this is not the same thing as holding the power button for 10 seconds, or unplugging and replugging the DTVPal). After doing the Factory Default, do not set a zip code (leave it at 00000). You will now have full manual control for setting the clock, however you will no longer receive TVGOS data, and you will only see the PSIP guide on your DTVPal.

About a month ago I suggested this fix to someone here, and they claimed that this didn't work for them, but they also said that after the factory default they changed the zip code to 00000. If you do a real factory default it will already be 00000, and you don't need to change it. This lead me to believe that he didn't do the Factory Default, but only did the "hold the power button for 10 seconds" reset. I have since verified that this does in fact work.

Mark

Sometimes just doing the soft reset (10 sec button) works for me. It keeps the TVGOS guide data but uses PSIP time until the box reacquires TVGOS so it is good for an evening if I am lucky.
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post #13784 of 17068
1/25/12 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

This is strange indeed. I am still missing TVGOS and have run out of ideas short of unplugging for a week.

This goes back more than a year but I did notice that when I got my second one it picked up TVGOS right away. My first one had problems but when I put a new HD in it it picked up TVGOS right away. So I am wondering if it may be HD related. That maybe reformatting the HD might wipe some settings for TVGOS that have been stored that are no longer valid?

LenL,

I have 2 different types of DTVPal devices, in different usage modes, neither of which has resumed population of TVGOS data since CBS recently "resumed" transmitting it. One is the DTVPal DVR, which I admit I have not yet tried the Factory Reset method to spark repopulation. The reason I have not yet tried on the DVR is because the other device is a DTVPal+ set to TVGOS mode & connected to an LG LST-3410A DVR to populate its TVGOS data, and since I repowered the DTVPal+ last week after reading that transmission was resumed, I have been unable to receive any TVGOS data from this unit.

With the 3410A, there are maintenance commands which take you to screens where all sorts of TVGOS data statistics are displayed. When TVGOS data is being received, the data numbers can be seen updating in real time. So far, nada. The Host station ID & Channel refuse to be identified. I am very familiar with all the hoops that can be used to jump start this process & none of them are currently amounting to success. Prior to the start of the CBS TVGOS outage in late November, I never had any difficulty kickstarting this process even though it might fail for a day or two on occasion (usually Sundays into Mondays.) If I lost the Host ID & Channel for some reason, it was usually reacquired within a few hours of a "reset".

Because this process was so reliable prior to last November, I have my doubts about current transmission when I can't see any data packet updates on the DTVPal+ feed to the LG.

I'm right across the river from NYC & have a good rooftop antenna with a strong CBS signal, so that's not an issue.
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post #13785 of 17068
1/25/12 at 4:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by WillN937 View Post

Sometimes just doing the soft reset (10 sec button) works for me. It keeps the TVGOS guide data but uses PSIP time until the box reacquires TVGOS so it is good for an evening if I am lucky.

It has been mentioned here several times that in areas where the TVGOS clock loses time, that it catches back up in the evening (I seem to remember it takes about 10 minutes after the last TVGOS download ends at 6:15pm for it to get caught back up). After a soft reset, your DVR is not reverting to PSIP but is still getting the (now corrected) time from TVGOS. This reset forces the DVR to resync with the TVGOS time. If you go in and try to set the clock manually during this time, it will still be grayed out, and indicate that it was set by TVGOS.

Mark
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post #13786 of 17068
1/26/12 at 7:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

Setup, System Setup, TV Guide and Guide +

Well this makes sense then .....as this is where you use your other devices to receive TVGOS. I think the info on page one of this thread needs to be reworded as it is misleading or confusing.
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post #13787 of 17068
1/26/12 at 7:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rChaz View Post

LenL,

I have 2 different types of DTVPal devices, in different usage modes, neither of which has resumed population of TVGOS data since CBS recently "resumed" transmitting it. One is the DTVPal DVR, which I admit I have not yet tried the Factory Reset method to spark repopulation. The reason I have not yet tried on the DVR is because the other device is a DTVPal+ set to TVGOS mode & connected to an LG LST-3410A DVR to populate its TVGOS data, and since I repowered the DTVPal+ last week after reading that transmission was resumed, I have been unable to receive any TVGOS data from this unit.

With the 3410A, there are maintenance commands which take you to screens where all sorts of TVGOS data statistics are displayed. When TVGOS data is being received, the data numbers can be seen updating in real time. So far, nada. The Host station ID & Channel refuse to be identified. I am very familiar with all the hoops that can be used to jump start this process & none of them are currently amounting to success. Prior to the start of the CBS TVGOS outage in late November, I never had any difficulty kickstarting this process even though it might fail for a day or two on occasion (usually Sundays into Mondays.) If I lost the Host ID & Channel for some reason, it was usually reacquired within a few hours of a "reset".

Because this process was so reliable prior to last November, I have my doubts about current transmission when I can't see any data packet updates on the DTVPal+ feed to the LG.

I'm right across the river from NYC & have a good rooftop antenna with a strong CBS signal, so that's not an issue.

I feel better knowing there are others in the same situation as I am in! Still according to others (at least Keyboard21) they are receiving TVGOS with their PALDVR. So I wonder if they are getting it from CBS or they are in an area where they can get it from another source like PBS.

Very strange!
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post #13788 of 17068
1/26/12 at 7:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

TVGOS usually has 7 or 8 days of program info. PSIP only has a few hours.
TVGOS (TV Guide Onscreen) is supplied by a national network, while PSIP info is supplied by each local station.

=============================
Chuck44,
Yes, I am getting the hang of it. I am now getting the PSIP guide info. Since I changed from TVGOS to PSIP, the times have been right on target. I see that, depending on the station, the programs will populate for up to 7 or 10 hours ahead. It really is a shame we have to choose between correct times and the full TV Guide programming info. I will stick with the PSIP to see how it goes for now. I just can't set the DVR for programs too far into the evening unless I use my paper TV Guide to check the times they are on. But if there is 'no available information', its blocks of time are set for an hour so I am not sure yet what will happen if I want only one of the half-hour programs...will it record both or just one or which one? I'll find out tonight.
How difficult can it be for TVGOS to get its time function to work??????
Gary
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post #13789 of 17068
1/26/12 at 8:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

How difficult can it be for TVGOS to get its time function to work??????
Gary

It might be helpful to know where you are located.
In my area TVGOS has the correct time.
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post #13790 of 17068
1/26/12 at 8:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

It might be helpful to know where you are located.
In my area TVGOS has the correct time.

============================
Chuck44,
I am in the Washington, DC metro area. Check out my #13813 posting. The local CBS WUSA puts out the TVGOS info but the station's Director of Technology & Operations seems to be well aware of the problem and is frustrated, too, that the TVGOS guys (whoever they are and wherever they are) just don't have there stuff together, apparently. My TVGOS time will start out correct but immediately starts to drift to the point that recordings starting 10 minutes after the shows have started.....
So far the PSIP clock time has been accurate and does not drift. I wish I know who/where the TVGOS gods are so I can send them an email!
Gary
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post #13791 of 17068
1/26/12 at 8:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

I wish I know who/where the TVGOS gods are so I can send them an email!

The company is Rovi, and somewhere back in this thread is their contact info,
but AFAIK nobody has ever gotten any satisfaction from them (they always blame someone else, such as our DVRs).
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post #13792 of 17068
1/26/12 at 9:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

The company is Rovi, and somewhere back in this thread is their contact info,
but AFAIK nobody has ever gotten any satisfaction from them (they always blame someone else, such as our DVRs).

=======================
Chuck44,
You made a bell ring in my head when you mentioned "Rovi". I remembered that I had sent an email to them back in May 2011 about the same problem. They seemed to be concerned back then, and I think the time might have been corrected...or it might have just been a coincidence. Here is the email address I used:
ROVI CE Support

I found this as a site for 'support'.
http://www.rovicorp.com/support/8459.htm

I just sent them another email about the time drifting. We'll see what happens.
Thanks... Gary
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post #13793 of 17068
1/26/12 at 9:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

=======================
Chuck44,
You made a bell ring in my head when you mentioned "Rovi". I remembered that I had sent an email to them back in May 2011 about the same problem. They seemed to be concerned back then, and I think the time might have been corrected...or it might have just been a coincidence. Here is the email address I used:
ROVI CE Support

I found this as a site for 'support'.
http://www.rovicorp.com/support/8459.htm

I just sent them another email about the time drifting. We'll see what happens.
Thanks... Gary

Good luck.
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post #13794 of 17068
1/26/12 at 9:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck44 View Post

Good luck.

====================
Chuck44,
Ha... no luck!
After replying to the old email from them, the email was bounced back with:
An email was received for a very old closed case. Due to the age of this case, no further action will be taken on this case. In order to receive support for an existing or new case, please contact Rovi Support at www.rovicorp.com.


I sent two more emails after changing the Subject to remove any indication of an old case number. Same thing. So I called their 800-386-7380 tech support number and waited for a real person, which never happened, and I left my name/number at the end of their recording.
Gary
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post #13795 of 17068
1/26/12 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

=============================
Chuck44,
Yes, I am getting the hang of it. I am now getting the PSIP guide info. Since I changed from TVGOS to PSIP, the times have been right on target. I see that, depending on the station, the programs will populate for up to 7 or 10 hours ahead. It really is a shame we have to choose between correct times and the full TV Guide programming info. I will stick with the PSIP to see how it goes for now. I just can't set the DVR for programs too far into the evening unless I use my paper TV Guide to check the times they are on. But if there is 'no available information', its blocks of time are set for an hour so I am not sure yet what will happen if I want only one of the half-hour programs...will it record both or just one or which one? I'll find out tonight.
How difficult can it be for TVGOS to get its time function to work??????
Gary

Keep an eye on the clock. In my area, SW Florida, time is set by PSIP and can be as much as 5 minutes slow to 5 minutes fast.
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post #13796 of 17068
1/26/12 at 3:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

====================
Chuck44,
Ha... no luck!
After replying to the old email from them, the email was bounced back with:
An email was received for a very old closed case. Due to the age of this case, no further action will be taken on this case. In order to receive support for an existing or new case, please contact Rovi Support at www.rovicorp.com.


I sent two more emails after changing the Subject to remove any indication of an old case number. Same thing. So I called their 800-386-7380 tech support number and waited for a real person, which never happened, and I left my name/number at the end of their recording.
Gary

I could stop by at the company building with a stack of your requests printed on paper and ask to accept them some legal way. Not sure - you would give me some ideas for that.
Perhaps hard copy could do that push ?

Actually certified mail should be used, but I'm willing to cut your expenses, guys.
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post #13797 of 17068
1/26/12 at 5:21pm
FYI, the ROVI time in SoCal seems to be fairly accurate today, within a second or two.
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post #13798 of 17068
1/26/12 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LenL View Post

I feel better knowing there are others in the same situation as I am in! Still according to others (at least Keyboard21) they are receiving TVGOS with their PALDVR. So I wonder if they are getting it from CBS or they are in an area where they can get it from another source like PBS.

Very strange!

From what people have been saying on the Sony forum, TVGOS has been out for several days now in NY. Apparently it was only turned on for a couple of days, but seems to have been shut off again ever since. This would explain why you can't get the listings. I would have mentioned this sooner, but the first guy who reported having problems with listings is on cable, and someone else who is OTA said at the same time that he had partial listings. Apparently now though they are both without, and have been for several days. I think it has been almost a week since keyboard21's aunt claimed to have full listings, so I suspect that her listings are probably gone by now also.

Mark
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post #13799 of 17068
1/26/12 at 8:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by goddi1 View Post

============================
Chuck44,
I am in the Washington, DC metro area. Check out my #13813 posting. The local CBS WUSA puts out the TVGOS info but the station's Director of Technology & Operations seems to be well aware of the problem and is frustrated, too, that the TVGOS guys (whoever they are and wherever they are) just don't have there stuff together, apparently. My TVGOS time will start out correct but immediately starts to drift to the point that recordings starting 10 minutes after the shows have started.....
So far the PSIP clock time has been accurate and does not drift. I wish I know who/where the TVGOS gods are so I can send them an email!
Gary

If you can't live without TVGOS, then here is something to try. First go in and set your correct zip code, so TVGOS will take over. Now here is a link to my analysis of a log file posted by Nitewatchman. The log is from WHIO in Ohio, but I believe that Washington DC has this same problem. Here is how I would attempt to fix it.

Turn on the DTVPal, and bring up the menu. Once in the menu, select Setup (3), and then Updates (7).

Select 'Enable', and enter a time of 5:30pm. Turn off the DVR.

Tomorrow, about 5:20pm, turn on the DVR, and see how far off the clock is, then turn it back off.

At about 5:45pm (15 minutes after the update "reboot"), turn the DVR on, and see how far off the clock is. If the clock is correct, this may be the fix. However, you should turn off the DVR again, and wait until about 6:30pm to check the clock again. If the clock is correct at 6:30pm, then it should stay correct the rest of the evening. Now if you leave the updates on, and set to 5:30pm, it should always be correct during the evening. If this worked, but you sometimes are recording at 5:30pm, then try setting the update time to 3:10pm instead.

If the clock is off at 6:30pm, report how far off it is. We may need to tweek this a little bit to get closer to the point that the time is correct.

Mark
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post #13800 of 17068
1/27/12 at 6:45am
This is the text of a message I received Thursday from ROVI regarding my issues receiving TVGOS in the NYC area:

Data was back for a few days, but does appear to be down again. Engineers are
investigating, and we are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon. This ticket is
being moved to our escalation queue, and once an update is received here we will contact
you. Your patience is appreciated.

CE Technical Support
Rovi
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