Sony DHG-HDD250/500: Official Thread - Page 679

I'm getting those as well, mostly on CBS.

I'm also still getting the first episode of Cops on Saturdays on Fox dropping out of the schedule (the 2nd one never drops out), I have a manual recording set as a backup. Anyone else losing scheduled recordings?

After several weeks, I finally got pictures of this. The VBIState only stays at 0x01 for less than 10 seconds, so it is hard to catch. If it hadn't been for Possumgirl pointing out that the host channel blanks a little over 3 days and 6 hours after it sets, I never would have tried to get these pictures.

Picture1: The VBIState is at 0x07 (it had been at 0x07 for several hours). This was taken less than a minute before the host channel blanked.

Picture2: Seconds before the host channel blanks, the VBIState changes from 0x07 to 0x01. Notice the GMT time is 2:51.

Picture3: Less than 10 seconds after going to 0x01, the VBIState goes to 0x03, NumSearch goes from 7 to 8, the HostSUFlags clear, and the LastSrchSt field fills in with the current time. All of this happens at the same time. Notice the LastSrchSt field shows GMT is 2:51:06. Which means picture 2 was taken less than 6 seconds before the host channel blanked.

Mark

Thanks for the pics Mark; so now when the VBIState leaves 0x05 and goes to 0x06 the HostChannel is set again along with 0xff8?

glad you caught it, sometimes it takes me an hour to find the camera LOL

Sometimes I think the "screens" are not really reporting what are going on when you look at them...........sometimes if you just page forward and back it will "update" with more current information.

While watching the ATSC Slicer page, have you noticed when data comes in, it will update say about every 2 seconds (or more). BUT while you are watching it - each time you hit the "right arrow" on the remote it will update the information instantly.

Maybe, but that would happen when the host channel sets. These pictures show the host channel blanking.


I was prepared. I started planning for this when I saw that my host channel had set during the day Wednesday. The same thing happened last weekend, but I had something else that I had to do, and I wasn't home when the host channel blanked. This was actually the second time that I took pictures of this happening. On March 1st, with my camera ready, my host channel blanked, but I wasn't paying enough attention when it switched to 0x01 (I didn't know it would only stay there for a short time), and I just missed that picture.


I have seen this also. The data itself doesn't come in faster doing this, but the screen just updates faster (Instead of updating 10 counts at a time it will update date two counts at a time).

Mark

My hdd250 will not let me manually delete recordings. Has this happened to anyone else? If so,is the problem with the hard drive or in the electronics?

My 250 has suddenly stopped tuning my channel 7 digital subchannels. I'm on comcast cable with no card, not ota.

It still tunes the analog version, and the digital versions of the other channels that I've checked, just not this one. Anyone have any idea what the problem is? Thanks.

Turn on your DVR. On the DVR's remote press this key:

Menu (this brings up the menu)

Now press these buttons in sequence. As each button is pressed there is nothing on the screen that changes, so just keep pressing each button one after the other. There is no time constraint either, you can wait several seconds between each button press if you want.

Screen/Mode (this is a single button on the upper left side of the remote)
9 (the 9 key)
0 (the 0 key)
1 (the 1 key)
2 (the 2 key)

The menu should now have changed to a different menu. The top item is "Demo Mode". Select this item, and in the next screen verify it is set to off. If Demo Mode is set to on, you will have the symptoms that you are describing.

Mark

There exists a high probability that they are gone (temporarily or forever) or have moved. Do you have a second source of digital information, like a TV? A shot in the dark would be to email the station and ask them since a cable company can't send what's not there. You didn't specify if it's an OTA network or cable only channel. And are you saying 7.1 is ok, but 7.2 is gone? Last week my cable company moved QVC and made it 1080i. I'm so happy I could......

A complete rescan might be needed, but that's a lot of work unless you can be really sure it's the Sony.

Go to the UserCP tab and add your location. There are a lot of people on this thread and maybe one is near you.

It looks like the ATSC tuner has died in one of my Sonys. It gave me the "No Signal" message on all the digital channels that were coming in strongly on the other Sony. I did a re-scan and it picked up only the single low-power analog station that I still have. I also swapped the antenna connections from the splitter. No go.

Is a "restore factory defaults" (which would of course wipe out all the recordings) likely to change anything, or should I just go ahead and submit a repair request? Entering the model number on the Sony support site indicates that it's eligible for out-of-warranty repair at a Sony factory repair center, for a flat rate of $150.72.

JT -

I really don't know if it would help or not, but I think I would try the "restore" before I would ship it off for "repair".

Yes I had this happen to me too. Do a reset and then another rescan, mine came back.

Thanks! The "restore factory default" did the trick. Whew. I re-installed 1.2.21, so now I just have to wait a couple of days to get TVGOS back.

I decided I didn't want any of the recordings badly enough to take the time to dub them with my Hauppauge HD PVR.

I realize that it's too late now, but, for future reference, the Restore factory default was a much too drastic measure. I believe others have resolved this issue with a soft front panel reset (Pressing TV Guide, and Exit on the front panel). Another thing I would have tried first was reset user configuration which also retains all the TVGOS information. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier.

Here are three messages that address this problem:
The Symptom
The suggested fix
The fix worked


Mark

Sorry, I guess I didn't give enough info. I'm in Illinois, I get the Chicago local channel broadcasts from my Comcast cable with the qam tuner in my dvr, as well as my other basic analog cable channels.

No, I'm saying analog channel 7 is ok, but 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 are gone. I turn to any of those channels and I get a "Now Tuning" message followed by "No Signal."

My first thought was that they may have been moved or removed, but this seems unlikely to me as 2.1, 5.1, etc. are still being picked up by the same unit, and these are your basic network stations.

Thanks for the help so far, guys.

Your 7.1, 2.1 & 5.1 are 'virtual' channels, not physical numbers. They are renumbered to a number that reflects the OTA stations old analog channel number so the general (lame) public can remember what is what as opposed to using the actual channel number. Making things more confusing and adding needless complexity to a already complex equation.

I would say what is happening, since there is already a analog channel seven, the tuner isn't allowing a a digital channel seven when it already has a analog channel seven for some unknown reason. Try a full rescan.

So first, add your city & state to your UserCP. I use my zip code since I live in the middle of nowhere. Use www.noaa.gov and put my zip code in the box to see what I mean and where I live.

You seems to have said that the Sony DHD is the only digital device you own. As was stated, analog 7 is a physical channel number and 7.1 is a virtual channel number. You stated that you do not have a cable card. That means that the TVGOS grid shows only analog channels correctly. It shows digital channels AS IF you had a cable card. In my Sony DHG reality, channel 3 is WBRE analog, channel 76.6606 is WBRE SD 480i and channel 84.1401 is WBRE HD 1080i. But that's just me. All my QAM looks that way to Sony, Panasonic, Magnavox (mostly) and a few tuners. BTW, a small HD digital TV is really cheap. I have one in my bedroom. I think it was under $200 new (15" and 4x3 display).

Just for fun, go to channel 8. Then on the remote hit 7. Wait until the channel displays, then hit 7 again. The click is your DHG going to its antenna for OTA 7. You will get nothing. So hit 7 again and you will be back to cable 7. I can enter 84 on the remote and get nothing. Then I do channnel up to receive 84.1401, but I usually use the Favorites functionality. I have all but one analog channel disabled (my host channel, C-SPAN).

What was 7.1 and have you looked for it after a channel rescan? You seem to think that all your TV channels get together and decide on their channel assignment. I doubt they know (or care) what other channels are doing. If you really want to do something "unlikely" and waste some time, call Comcast and ask them where channel 7.1 went to. My ABC HD was 87.1 last year, now it's 106.1.

Yeah, with 20/20 hindsight I realized that I should have at least tried the "Reset User Preferences" first. But it looks like the unit will be back to normal soon. Both of the TVGOS software patches came through overnight, so maybe I'll have the grid back by dinner time.

[update, 8:00 PM] I did get the grid back, and mostly-complete listings, less than 24 hours after a factory reset. Hard to beat that!

Houston person,
I noticed two things that is wrong with your guide.
1: Your EPP, DPP, and time zone packets should be the same count all the time. The time zone packets can be a few packets ahead or a few packets behind the EPP, DPP number.
2: You have almost 300 TVG1 drops in 5 minutes. It takes my version 9 about 2 months or more to get to that number. In the other picture you have either tens of thousands or hundred of thousands of drops. That means that the TVG1 data is being discarded.

Take a look at your VBIDL. There should be one type 70 download, one type 27 down load, one type 81 down load, and eight type 97 down loads every day.

I noticed some of the pictures that mabuttra has posted has very large number of TVG1 drops and his EPP, DPP, and time zone packets are out of sync also. My version 8 running off of analog has even numbers and my version 9 running off of TVG1 has even numbers.

The patch that sony gave you isn't functioning right and you are trying to tune in a high band VHF host channel. If you are to far from the transmitter and don't have good line of site then you will always have problems.
Are you properly set up to tune in VHF OTA signals?
If there is tall steel buildings with glass windows between you and the transmitter then you are going to have some bad multipath problems. And the farther in distance you are from the tower the more severe the multipath will become.

There are a lot of antenna issues in addition to electrical interference issues at my house, virtually all confirmed by various testing completed over the last three months. I might be able to do some additional testing in the next month, will just have to see how that turns out.

Videobruce - this question is on the unit you had repaired at Sony. Can you tune to your host station - whatever it may be? And then post pictures of these screens.

Section Statistics
ATSC Slicer
VBI Info
VBI Stats


mabuttra and jtbell are you able to do the same?



Thanks


I do have a hundred questions buried in that request - one of those is: Skipped TVG1 was running 50% of TVG/Tot Sections when turned on this morning.

I doubt they were removed, but most likely moved. There is also a possibility that they are now encrypted although that is unlikely for local broadcast channels. You can punch your zipcode in the link below and see the listing of clear-qam channels for your provider. Do you just have basic cable? Some providers install filters on the line to your house to only allow certain analog channels which is why your still getting your analog 7. The 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 qam channels may have moved to a frequency that is being blocked by the filter.

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

Another problem I am seeing from the pictures you and mabuttra have posted is your host state should be 0xA0 on your system statistics page. Both my version 8 and two version 9's change from 0x80 to 0xA0 when the guide finds a host channel. I checked this on both the analog and digital insterters.

My TVG1 drops on my downstairs version 9 is 906 after 4 months and my upstairs version 9 is 620 after 3 months. I also get twelve clocks sets every day on both version 9's.

I have received only 3 HostChannel sets since the transition, so I am not surprised by that.

I just have basic cable in the room where this box is located. I have digital and high def with a cable box in another with no problems there.

I think a rescan sounds good because some of my other channels are showing up a little funny in the guide now. How would I go about doing that?

I should have worded my last comment differently. I did not mean that the clock set channel resets 12 times a day.
On the version 9 there is a third page in the clocks menu that shows each time the clock was adjusted for clock drift. The clock is adjusted for drift 12 times each day using TVG1. When the version 9 is getting analog data the clock is adjusted for drift at least 6 times each day.

I never have the host channel blank out at all on my version 8 or my two version 9s. I have lost data for a day or two a couple of times in the past year but never had I had the host channel blank out in my diagnostics menu.

By the way I had a 800a reset occur this morning on my downstairs version 9. This is the second one this year we had the power go on and off for about three hours in early January and I got a 800a reset shortly after that. I am going to do a full reset of the guide tonight and start fresh. This always resolves the problem that occured with the data for the guide.

Menu > CH +/- List > Auto Scan > Auto Scan Cable

This is what makes me think that comparing V9 to V8 data is like comparing apples to oranges. My DVR (as well as others that I have seen, based on the download schedules they have posted) has eight type 70 downloads, four type 27 downloads, four type 81 downloads and eight type 97 (not type 96) downloads every day.


The timezone packets are always the weakest link here. They are currently "zooming" in at an average of about two per day LOL. That's much better than six months ago when I was averaging about one every three days. My TVG1 skips are about 25% of the total. The problem with pointing out the problems with my data, is that there is nothing wrong with the data here. My DVR can build a grid in less than three days, which isn't the greatest, but it is much faster than the reports of two weeks, to a month, to never, that I have seen here. Building a grid in less than three days is no fluke. I have reset my DVR over ten times in the last year, and have gotten a grid every time in three days or less (usually less). My point here is that if there was a software problem that prevented the DVR from consistently getting a grid (like HoustonPerson has experienced), I would have seen it at some point. That is why I blame the TVGOS data, rather than the Sony, for these problems.


My host channel situation is very similar to HoustonPerson's. His host channel is channel 11, mine is supposed to be channel 12 (I'll explain what I mean by that in a moment). His is 36 miles away, mine is 37 miles away. Here's the "supposed to be channel 12" explanation. My host channel was on UHF channel 19, then on June 11, it moved to channel 12. Immediately people started complaining that they couldn't get them any more. So Channel 12 filed with the FCC to move their signal back to channel 19, and a couple of months later they did. Despite being High VHF for a while, my TVGOS data didn't suffer at all when they were on channel 12. If you look at the two recovery pages I made, the 08.01.42 recovery was done when they were on channel 12 (Host channel shows as 0:12-0), and the 08.01.71 recovery was done after they moved back to channel 19 (Host channel shows as 0:19-0).

The problem I have with blaming signal strength for HoustonPerson's problem is that it seems to me that if he is losing TVGOS data due to signal strength problems his audio and video would also suffer dramatically (constant dropouts/pixelating). If you don't see dropouts in the picture then I don't see how the TVGOS data could be damaged. I haven't asked him about this, but maybe he does have visible reception issues, that he hasn't mentioned.

Mark

This could explain the 3 day blanking of the host channel. I don't believe I've seen anything but 0x80 after the host channel sets. It may look for something that takes it to 0xA0. If it doesn't see it in 78 hours, it blanks the host channel and starts over. This blanking of the host channel is quite harmless, and most people don't even know it is happening. The DVR gets data whether the host channel is set or not. I don't know if this is how all the digital devices work, or just how the DHG works, I know with analog data a blank host channel means no data. It's possible that the sony engineers couldn't get this working quite right, so they force the DVR to accept data even without a host channel set.

Mark

12 clock sets per day may be normal for your device, but not all devices. According to the information here, the clock set is based on the clock drift in the device (which will vary from device to device). Specifically the last paragraph says this:
When I watched the host channel blank the other night, it took less than 30 seconds for the first clock set to happen afterwards. Setting the GMT clock has never been an issue with these DVRs.

Mark