Panasonic DMR-EH55s

The EH55 should work the same way as the EH75V which I have. I can schedule recordings manually without TVGOS, with no problem. Just go into the SCHEDULE screen and hit the MENU button to get a menu for the recording parameters on the left side of the screen.

When there's no TVGOS signal, the unit searches for one for several days and then gives up. In the meantime it may nag you with screens indicating its lack of progress, but you can simply dismiss them and go about scheduling recordings manually.

You'll probably need to set the unit's clock manually at some point when it either loses the time or drifts too far to be useful. Do a reset by holding down the < > buttons on the front panel until the unit reboots, then go through the initial setup again. At some point you'll be asked to set the clock. When TVGOS is available, it picks up the time from the TVGOS signal at some point, overrides your manual setting, and "grays out" the manual clock set in the SETUP menu. Without TVGOS, the manual clock set option remains available so you can adjust the clock when necessary.

jt is correct, I think it looks for 5 days and then gives up, so you shouldn't have much longer to wait. Note I'm not sure if it ever times out if it had TVGOS initially and then lost it, if that's the case you may need to do the CH up CH down reset and start from scratch. From the initial search you'll get a option in I think 2 days to cancel the searching or keep trying, after 3 more days it just quits by itself.
The EH-55's manual programming isn't nearly as easy to use as manual programming in a non TVGOS equipped Panny but it least it's something. IMO my last point is a big gripe, I wish if one chose to NOT use TVGOS that it would act like every other non TVGOS Panny I have, but alas it doesn't

jjeff mentions a point I get flamed to death for every time I bring it up here: TVGOS is lovely when it works, and a pill when it doesn't. The manual timer screen in my TVGOS-equipped Pio 531 is just horrible and counterintuitive to set, not to mention very small since it occupies only a fifth of the available screen real estate. While I'm certainly glad its there, because it makes the recorder viable in the absence of TVGOS, I really hate using it. People keep telling me the Toshiba and Panny manual TVGOS override is "wonderful" and I should just shut the hell up: my thanks to jjeff as a respected Panny owner for saying it ain't necessarily so. If you're an existing owner of an EH-55 or EH-75, all well and good, but if you're in the market for a new or replacement Panasonic you'll save yourself a lot of timer aggravation by opting for the new non-TVGOS DMR-EH-68 import model.

As Citibear said if you're only used to a TVGOS equipped Panny and it's manual override you're probably OK with. Myself coming from non TVGOS equipped Pannys I was quite bummed when I first got my EH-55 and found out how the manual programming worked. Now after I got my TVGOS working I preferred it to the old manual method, but since losing it OTA once again it would be nice if I could truly turn it off.
Luckily basically all of my events are first recorded to my Tivo where I offload to my EH-55's HDD, otherwise I'd feeling it more

I just set up a "new" EH55 (a Sept. 2007 model from Canada). It took less than a minute to bypass TVGOS.

Start from scratch, as described above.
Go through choosing English and your screen type, select OTA antenna, enter your zipcode, and let it search for channels WITHOUT the antenna connected. Once it fails to find any, press Return to exit that screen, go to Set Up and set the time manually. To set the timer manually, press Schedule and Sub Menu. You won't be prompted to set up TVGOS again.

All my recording is done through the 3 Inputs.

John

I don't recall you ever getting flamed for saying it sucks when it doesn't work. Other things, maybe - but not that.

I think everybody that's had a recorder with TVGOS would agree with that, to one extent or another. Check out the LG and Sony DVR threads if you want to see some real railing about that.

Now if some of those "DTVPAL DVR people" had one, they'd probably be raving about it in spite of the major flaw.

With my Sony RDR-HX900, all you have to do is press a button on the remote, and it directly brings up the timer setting screen.

Panasonic should've at least stuck with something like that (I believe my older E85H might be like that, too. Kelson?).

I'm wondering how long before the whole TVGOS system, nationwide, collapses. It seems that it's unlikely to be maintained too much longer. Maybe there are contractual mandates to maintain it for a while, but I sense its usefulness, and lifetime are just about done. I hope I'm wrong, but...

I can't even seem to find any newer Sony LCD's with the digital TVGOS anymore. I think even they gave up on supporting it.

That's assuming they ever supported it, which I was told they didn't
I've probably told the story before, but when I first got my Sony TV w/digital TVGOS it had several bugs. When I called Sony after much runaround I was finally told they didn't have a support number for digital TVGOS, only analog When I suggested maybe the same contact could take care of both I was put on hold for some time more only to be told NO, they were different:
All the CSR could say was to keep checking Sony's website for firmware updates
I guess I haven't noticed if the newer Sony LCDs have the TVGOS function, the easiest way to verify is a GUIDE button on the remote. Since Sams and Costco(the only places I get to now days) don't leave the remotes out and TVGOS was never mentioned on the outside, I guess I couldn't say.
I agree with Lukes thought, I just can't see TVGOS as we know it lasting much longer. Even the DTVPal DVR can be used without TVGOS so they wouldn't need to keep it around for that use.
My kids still use the Sony's TVGOS to check what's currently on and it works fine for their use, personally I use my Tivo's guide which goes out much further and is more accurate.

Ramm, does your Sony DVR have the ability to record only NEW programs? It's funny the TVGOS description can say NEW but you can't access that field for programming, although with TVGOS I wouldn't trust the NEW icon which seems to be only 50% accurate anyway. I don't believe my EH-50 w/V7 ever displays the NEW icon, only my V9 EH-55 and V9 digital Sony HDTV.

No (it does mention it, though).

I haven't found any Guide buttons on the remotes (or on the sides of the panels - and I've been checking closely) on any models in the stores (BB, Sears, Sam's, Wal-Mart) in the last year, and my Crutchfield catalogs, which list all the latest, top-of-the-line models, never mention it in the specs like they did back when your model was out. Even on the XBR's.

It does still drop recordings occasionally using PSIP, though, according to what I've been seeing in the thread.

My TVGOs here in the Philly area is fully supported by ads. Hopefully that signals continuation for a while.

Now if Comcast scrambles all the clear QAM channels...grrrrrr!

My TVGOS V7 Panasonic E-500 always did and still does does signal REPEAT programs with an arrow and R icon...it never signalled a NEW program.

The E500 and the EH50 both show a repeat program with the "R" and arrow.

The EH55 and EH75 how a NEW program with the word "NEW" in the TVGOS listing box, and show no icons for a repeat program.

15 replies and only JMas answered the question asked! Thank you, John.

After, and not until, TVGOS is disabled, does the SCHEDULE work as described on page 29. In fact, TVGOS must be disabled before the clock can be set manually, also.

Be advised that the schedule "daily" isn't; "daily" is Monday thru Friday only, and does not include weekends. This point is made clear in the EH75 manual. but not in the EH55 manual.

If the EH-50 has the R icon with a arrow? I sure can't find it. I looked over both new and old programs and my EH-50 does not show R or new
As you said though the EH-55 shows new, I don't have the E500.

Yeah, it does show that - at least on v8 and above.

I thought you meant does it "know by itself whether to only record new programs or not" - as the TiVo does.

Sure, if you want to check the guide every day and program it only to record the non-repeats, it'll tell you if each show is new or not.

Originally I was asking if any TVGOS recorder had the ability to only record new (or non repeat) programs (like Tivo does) which it sounds like is a no, but my last point was whether the EH-50 had the R icon, I really don't think mine does since I've never seen either the R or new. The EH-50 is V7, which I assume the E500 is also, so I can't explain why the E500 would have the R but not the EH-50 although the E500 is top of the line so maybe it had features not found on a lesser model like the newer EH-50.

I'm looking at the TVGOS grid on my EH50 as I type this. Believe me, there is an arrow with an R in the box displaying the station number right next to the box showing the show name and info. I'm looking at shows on CBS this Saturday night, CSI and CSI: Miami. Both are repeats and both are showing the arrow and the R.

To me, the TVGOS on the EH50 seems exactly the same as on the E500, and the E95 and E85, for that matter. For example, when you first do the setup process, the stations come in in no particular order, while on the EH55 and EH75 they come in listed numerically. Also, at the top menu on the TVGOS screen, there's a "Promotions" selection, which shows the ads, and the "Sort" selection. On the EH55/75, there's no Promotions and Sort was replaced by Search, although it does the same thing.

My point is, the only major change in the TVGOS I can see was between the EH50 (which looks the same as the E85/95/500 to me) and the EH55/75.

And until the Eh55/75 there was an arrow and R for repeat shows which was then replaced in the EH55/75 by the word NEW for new shows and no icons for repeats.

Thanks Breyean, I'll check it out further next week,I printed out your instructions where to look. My EH-50 is at a neighbors house (hooked to analog Comcast cable) which I can record the occasional cable only program that I care about. They're out of town for the weekend and I thought I looked everywhere last time I was over but your instructions should help.

I've never really noticed any differences in the TVGOS between models with the same version. Not in the actual guide, anyway.

Yeah, the first ones are all v7, and ought to be all the same. The last two are v9.

v8 was somewhere in between. The channels aren't initially in order, but there are some huge improvements over v7 otherwise. It's really closer to v9 - not so much in looks, but in the way it works.

Well you were correct After looking at probably 20 programs that I knew were repeats, I finally found a couple Law and Order programs on ION that showed the little R with the arrow.
Since I knew all 20 were repeats and on various channels this sure doesn't bode will for the accuracy of the R. Even on my Sony LCD with digital TVGOS and the new Icon I'd say it's less than 50% where something is new and it shows new so I'd sure wouldn't believe TVGOS as to whether something is new or not

I think you're right, but I wonder if it has more to do with the stations and what they are flagging as repeats. For the networks and some cable stations like USA and TNT they mark their new shows as such. But when it comes to repeats of shows that might have already aired on other networks (like Law & Order which is on all the time on some station) these don't seem to carry any flag.

I'll have to give this another try. That quote was from 6-27-2009.

Richard

That Procedure by Jmas worked. Thanks, J