Sony DHG-HDD250/500: Official Thread - Page 486

The local PBS in my area of CT (CPTV) is retaining the TVGOS because the local CBS affiliate isn't CBS owned & operated. An employee of CPTV on the Hartford, CT HD broadcast forum stated that Macrovision/Gemstar just contacted them a few days ago to tell them that they had stopped transmitting analog data on the national level. So, he explained that the local affiliate (CBS or PBS) has to install new digital TVGOS equipment for OTA and cable. Then they need a dedicated DSL connection set-up. Then they have to wait for MV/Gemstar to start sending them the data.

CPTV should have the DSL up any day now. But who knows how long it will be before MV/Gemstar finishes things on their end and begins sending CPTV the data. So, my point is that this could take a while and we will just have to be patient.

FYI, he was also informed by MV/Gemstar that local cable companies can install a device that will take the digital ATSC guide and convert it to VBI for basic tier customers. That doesn't mean they will, just that they can.
Also, supposedly, the DTV PAL converter box can accept digital ATSC OTA data and convert the TVGOS data to VBI for legacy devices hooked up to it.

As I read through some older posts, I see that 'cheneyp' already posted the info I just posted above. Sorry to duplicate, but from the frantic posts I've been reading it sounds like people need to be reminded that many people are working hard on getting the guide data for our DVRs. Be patient! Or...you could flood ebay with super-cheap Sony DVRs that I'll gladly snatch up.

I don't know about Comcast, but with TIme Warner i've yet to find a cable channel with either clock or guide data. I get that data from a UHF antenna. PBS used to provide it but now its CBS HD and Fox 11 analog. Last night, after I reset my 500 unit, I got the clock back within seconds by running the g-test while tuned to CBS HD.

With regard to the cable cards, I suggest you get tech support from Comcast. My 500 unit has a cable card, and I get all the cable channels.

Ray

Ok, its simple..........what are you hinting at in your link? I do not see it?

I do know the local PBS station died.

And the local CBS has "absolutely no idea" what they are doing (with or without TV Guide).

Left the unit "on" all night. That basicaly lock it up again; except I could at least turn it on and off; but could not change channels, bring up guide, or anything else. clock never fixed itself either

You may remember when PBS died last week.........the box went semi "crazy" again and would lock up fairly quick (just like it did with the pre transition phase in January). It keep locking up until I eliminated the "scheduled" recordings so we could watch most of what was "recorded"

So last night with what ever ailment previous week; it must have locked up with the zillions of data packets received since it was never turned "off".

Soft boot done this am.............no clock..........unit is un-frozen.......info screen says back to 00.00.00.

I probably should have been a part of the "sit tight" crowd; except the unit did acquire the lock problem from what ever this "pre-transition" crap creates here in Houston.

My wife said last night...................How did we ever watch TV without this thing? We are missing about 80% of our shows, and lose a lot of life due to hours of commercials.

I think you should sit tight and see what happens, I'm having the same problem in Detroit with nothing filling in and no time update, Not getting lockups, Just no data. It does suck having to go back to a crappy VCR at this point to tape my shows.

The Power On field is an indication that the DHG (or TVGOS more specifically) has not come completely out of reset. Granted, once the field is set it is useless to look at, but after a reset (either performed by the user, or spontaneously), if that field is N/A, then the VBI data will never start getting processed by the DHG, until a G* Test (or some other method that hasn't been determined yet) has been run. The fact that HoustonPerson's unit was a brick for a week, proves this. He runs a G* Test, and his unit shows life again. I don't think I mentioned this before, but I noticed in the first pictures he posted back then that his Power On field was N/A, and thought to myself, he needs to run a G* Test or nothing is going to happen. He was getting so much help and advice at the time that I didn't chime in. Also, his declarations that he had tried everything to get it working again, left me with the assumption he had done this simple test, which IMO should be the first thing anyone attempts before doing any more troubleshooting. Because if you aren't getting packets off your host channel, you aren't going to get anywhere, no matter how many resets you perform. The reset should be an absolute last resort, and should never be performed if there is no VBI data found on any channel. Of course I'm just speaking to the choir now.

Mark

Complete the full reset about one hour ago and turned it off. Did this because of the "two" pre transition lockups - this has been the "only" thing to un-lock the unit in this DMA.

I did leave on CBS digital when turned "off".

Clock has come back in one hour; however, it is still exactly 1 hour off. When I did the Full Reset under analogue, it took the clock 4 hours to come back..........but it was correct.

Already know the sw went back to 00.00.00; but I checked and the unit was receiving something........and many screens looked promising.

First G test failed...........second G Test passed. I think this is normal because no mapping had been completed.

As some have said clock could remain wrong until it gets the latest sw (never got there yet) OR our local CBS gets up to par............still have a couple of emails pending there........but they could be completely clueless.

My goal is to leave it off for a long time - have not yet decided how long. I did this on the other Full Reset back in January........and it became 100% perfect again; until PBS died last week.

Please refer to post #14564 above and pictures 6938 thur 6941:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...37711&page=486

Those four pages are the digital download schedule AFAIK?

This first line item on page one has a start time of 07:49 Is that EST or CST?

I will assume it is CST that my box would use for Houston; and not have to go through conversion from EST to CST?

I think my brain is going to explode with all this great information. But my feedback on recent posts:

My cable company also started sending every non-premium channel in clear QAM on or about 3/1/09. I don't have a cable card. I do have an MS Word document showing the 70+ channels and their channel numbers. Using the "Favorites" function has helped too.

You don't get guide updates or ads with the unit off but recording. I used the wrong times for a manual recording, which made day 8 have a no-listing screen. It all filled in after a one hour power off this morning.

Packets are always displayed on my host channel. When TVGOS data is present the packet rate is very fast and the host channel is a valid number. Guessing that the slow rate is V9 or SAP or Closed Caption data the DHD doesn't use, and the packet rate is low. Haven't found a V7 host yet, so my LG is still a high quality VCR. But it does have an indicator that shows when TVGOS data is being received. The LG knows it's TVGOS data, it just doesn't understand it.

An update of the TVGOS version does reset most counters and other information. I had to do that last week. It took three days to recover from a complete wipeout to 100%.

My VCR tapes (from PBS last year) were useless during the rebuild. No packets, no PSIP data, no nothing. I'm now worried what will happen if I lose my analog host since I have no digital host.

Hope this information helps someone.

Based on the info provided in this post, I would have to believe that my two HDD500's and my Mits LCD (with TVGOS V-9.x) must have switched over from analog PBS to digital CBS as the host channel, since I still have full listings on all 3 units. I have received listings in the past from my CBS digital channel by doing the G*test. I have not looked in several weeks to see what my current host channel was, but I will look tonight to see if it has changed since that would serve to confirm the info that cheneyp has provided.

IMTheOne - You stated you have one unit on digital host and one on analog host. Is that still the case?

On the first possibility, it doesn't explain why the 250 is getting data from Cablevision on that same Channel 14 perfectly.

I did a front panel reset on both 500.

As I mentioned yesterday. On one of the 500, I attempted a digital download OTA and it worked. So it's not the state of my 500's, it's what Cablevision and/or TVGOS are transmitting.

Further proof is found here:

In a post that has nothing to do with our SONY's, but just with the TVGOS from Cablevision, comes this post:

Downloaded TV guide seems not to be working

"Has anyone else noticed that the TV Guide (not the cable box guide, the one downloaded by the TV) seems not to be working? It's not working on 2 TV's with this feature. I had this problem once before. It's supposed to come down, I believe, on Channel 13 or 14. But it seems not to be working. Anyone else who has a TV that can receive the Guide notice this? When it is received, it seems to be incomplete. I don't know if Cablevision just doesn't care or if its temporary.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r220...-to-be-working

The Big Question remains. Whatever is happening - at least in the Cablevision area- is effecting my 500's, it's effecting other people's TV, why is it not effecting my 250?

How nice of them to turn the analog signal off nationwide before the digital signals were ready nationwide. What knucklehead was in charge of that?

Good thing I still have clock data, I guess I'll have to set up some manual recordings then.

This is incorrect. We are still getting Onscreen data today from Fox 23 analog in Tulsa and our local PBS still doesn't have the digital onscreen up yet. They were supposed to have that up by last week, so I guess they are still having problems integrating the Onscreen equipment with theirs.

But for a couple 3 outages on the past 3-4 weeks - also still getting guide data in Phoenix via analog PBS KAET 8 (I assume this since KPHO CBS 5 will NOT be the host channel for digital TVGOS).

Gonna be up to Macrovision to sign an agreement with some other PHX station to provide digital TVGOS. Hopefully us TVGOS customers won't be 'Twistin' in the Wind'...

Your logic is faulty. This is not the first time that you have taken two completely unrelated things and claimed one is dependent upon the other. The Power On field is set to N/A during a reset. This is one of many indications that the recorder has completed the reset. The recorder can and does receive TVGOS data while the Power On field is set to this value. If you doubt this, do a reset, then turn your recorder off and leave it off overnight without running a G* Test. The fact that HoustonPerson's unit was a brick for a week in no way proves any of your statements. I hope that you are not offended, because I have no doubt that you mean well and are trying to be helpful, but I am wasting my time debating with you about how the recorders work.

Aside from the actual problems HoustonPerson is experiencing, one additional problem is that he is trying to apply the advice of several people and things that one person is telling him to do may interfere with things that another is telling him. The sequence of actions taken during a recovery is important and can cause or prevent additional problems.

Yes, I've been waiting to see how long the digial host will stick before continuing with my testing. The first time I forced a digital host channel I used a modified version of Frank70's procedure, but the recorder reverted to an analog host after a few days. It looks like the PBS stations in my area may have stopped carrying TVGOS data (I need to run some G* Tests again to verify that this isn't temporary). To the best of my knowledge, that will leave only one analog source if this is permanent. At this point I am about to pass my previous record for length of time with a digital host. Also, the recorder seems to be downloading from the digital host channel when turned off overnight.

Ok, yesterday was futile. Today may be the same?

Did Full Factory Reset early this morning (unit locked up etc) see previous post for actions taken, testing, etc.

Turned unit off after that, and notice clock came back in about an hour; but was off exactly one hour (just like yesterday). This would imply that with the unit off it still got from 00.00.00 to 08.05.40; but that was not confirmed. I left it off to see if it would get correct time within the 4 hours. It did not; it was still off by 1 hour.

In attempting to read the digital download schedule it appeared I had the opportunity to peak between 10:45AM and 10:55AM so that is what I did, these are the observations:

1. Clock still wrong by exactly one hour
2. Power ON was NA of course; but after G Test it had a date-I don't think that is important to me?
3. First G Test failed, second and subsequent pass
4. Look at all screens sw is now 08.05.40 - various data coming in on various screens some the same as yesterday some of it different..nothing outstanding that I could see.

I left the unit on digital 11-1 local CBS and turned it off at 10:54AM should have been two minutes to spare HA!

Assumptions on my part:

I think TV Guide On Screen Houston will not work until the unit gets passed 08.05.40. I do not think that will happen until the clock is correct. Since the unit got to 08.05.40 and a clock at just 1 hour off within an hour of being turned off - it should be able to fix itself with correct time within 4 hours and certainly 24 hours. I do not think that is going to happen because I do not think CBS local is sending out the correct stuff with the correct time, to make it function correctly.

In other words, I think it is dead until Macrovision and/or the local CBS fix it.

I think you need 08.06.44 first then your clock will correct itself.

Silly me. Clearly it was too late at night when I responded and my brain was asleep.


This is truly puzzling, especially that your 250 isn't affected. I can't think of any reason that a 250 would behave differently than a 500 with respect to TVGOS data. I'm sure that you've already checked that all of the recorders are on version 08.06.44 of the TVGOS software. And I know that the firmware version differences are only supposed to affect HDMI compatibility with certain displays, but it wouldn't hurt to see if they are the same or different versions. I don't have cable so I can't run any tests to try to help out.

I wrote previously that they are different. The only obvious difference between the units, other then the size of the hard drive of course.

The version on the 250 is .06
On both 500's, it's .05

Your 250 has newer firmware and it is the only one of your 3 units that is currently working?

I would upgrade one of your 500's to the .13 firmware and see what happens...............

This might be a strange question- if I can even articulate it properly.

It always seemed to me -since the ads showed up a couple of years ago- that when I clicked on TV Guide or the Recording screen, if I saw ads, it meant a successful data download. If I saw ads and moved to the 8th day, it was always filled.

Yesterday, I connected an antenna and downloaded OTA the almost complete listings that I was not able to get from Cablevision. As I mentioned previously, although I had listings, I had no ads.

Over night I removed the antenna, ran the G-test on cable channel 14 (passed) and shut down the machine.

So I turn on the Sony this morning and I'm greeted by ads. I think that a happy development- presumingly meaning it downloaded data.

No such luck. The eighth day is missing.

Could yesterday's OTA download have stored ads to show today and further out even though they were not visible yesterday.

Or more plainly. Is the appearance of ads NOT proof of a successful data download.

Also: If just a random occurrence, or because of the download yesterday from a source that is not my Host channel, I had a freeze (in one instance) of playing while recording. It caused a spontaneous reboot. Did a G-test to get the clock back to correct time immediately [the test is on the same channel 14 that is not downloading the data properly for the 500's].

I know. I've been thinking about doing just that.

The only thing is that the units are usable and I am very weary of doing anything that might change that status.

With so many having issues with TVGOS, maybe the prudent decision is not to do anything for a while and see if the vendors fix what's wrong.

I've update the firmware in both of mine. The first one (that I bought new) came with .05 firmware, and I updated it quite a while back. The second one I bought used from someone here a few months ago. It had old firmware when it arrived, and I updated it after I had it a few days. I actually have a third 500 in shipment to me now, again purchased from someone here on the forum. If it doesn't have .13 firmware, I'm sure I will update it quickly.

The update procedure is really simple, and no recordings or other settings are lost in the process.............

Well, I'm still without a channel linup, but overnight my received zipcode packets went from 700+ to 1400+. Thus, with correct time and TVGOS advertisements coming through, I figure I'm setup correctly. It is just a matter of waiting for TV Guide to send my zipcode with the channel lineup choices.

I gave in yesterday and made a schedule of manual recordings.

I should have programmed manual recordings as soon as I achieved correct clock time some days ago.

I update firmware when necessary. On these DVR's the assumption has always been that it really made no difference.

The problem doing it now is that as the freeze evidenced last night I have no way of knowing if and how the bad data and other download may have effected the units.

I don't want to possibly turn it into a brick.

I don't think I will do anything until the data is fixed by TVGOS/Cablevision or I know definitely that this status is permanent.

I am only posting my experiences in case it helps anyone smarter and more knowledgeable then me concerning these issues get some idea that may help us all.

I was wondering if many people people still use their DHG with a cable card? I have TWC, use a cable card with the system and have found that I can't get most of the new HD channels since they use the switched video. And as I see other people posting, I am now having issues with the time not being accurate, I think I lost my host channel. I am thinking it sadly maybe time to retire the old Sony and get a HD DVR from TWC as much as a I dread it. But I want to get all my HD channels!

Absolutely yes. There is a section in the 753... screens that have an ad schedule. Most of it is in hex values that probably describe where to place the ad, but the start date for the ad and the length of time to display it are readable. Whenever I've looked at it I see current day and next day in the date column.

Generally, I leave it alone when its not broken. But I thought that you had indicated that all three of your DHG's were hooked up to the same signal source, and one of them was getting listings while the other two were not. And since the one that was getting listings had newer firmware . . .