Sony DHG-HDD250/500: Official Thread - Page 887

Name's Dave, not Bud. I'll wait for the pictures, but I won't hold my breath . . .

Give this a try instead... TV Guide - Setup - Listings - Menu on Remote - edit channels. Good luck.

PS - When getting the menu on remote, just stay at the point where the word "Listings" is highlighted on the top list. If you move down into the empty screen, you will just see the TVGOS help screen.
Edited by cxgy - 1/25/13 at 7:57am

Sorry Dave. My frustration came from trying to help someone out, while it seemed to me you were telling them not to bother, it won't work.

Forget what I said above about your DHG already having a grid. I was confusing you with someone else.
It can take much longer than 6 hours to get a grid. You can go to my TVGOS pages, and follow along with the DHG as it builds a grid (follow the 08.01.71 link).

Mark

He is right though, if you turn off all your channels, the grid is gone. This is because the grid is only made up of channels that are turned on. If you turn them all off, then there is nothing to display on the listings screen.

If you get bored, disconnect the rf input for a while. Then try the red button. But lack of red button function may be due to NO rf rather than no TVGOS. I guess I will find out by April.

I would have done a cable+OTA scan. Since you seem to get data OTA, if you go back to cable a new scan will be needed. Even if you feed cable to both inputs, only channels 2 to 13 will be duplicates.

I really wish I lived where I could get an OTA signal.

It would be a lot of work to turn off the channels. My channel list goes past 600, but only 200 are "on", including the OTA channels I never will receive. I could take a picture, but just trust me.

I never said that it wouldn't be a lot of work. In fact I never even suggested that anyone should do this. I was just acknowledging that what cxgy said is true, and maybe it would save someone from wasting time trying it.

You actually have 200 channels turned on in your grid, some of which (the OTA channels) aren't even valid for your situation? Why don't you turn them off? I only keep about 12 channels turned on in my grid, but I'm OTA only, and that is all the major stations in my area.

Mark

I do on my working unit. On my test unit I only move the host channel to channel 1 position. I save wear and tear on my remote by leaving the list alone. I have seen on many occasions that the OTA channels get turned on without my help. I guess the Sony wants to mess with me. I usually leave them alone but move them out of sight. Like you, I only have a dozen or so enabled. I wish I could pay only for those I watch, but that's another dream. I could ask for my lineup to be updated but it may be too late for that. It still thinks I have a cable card and the year is 2008.

 

[1] I did redo the Guide setup for Cable and Air with a YNG zip (44510).  I'll check later today to see if anything is there.   Recordings are scheduled to start at 5pm EST. Gotta watch/skip through the local news.

    (Also have a weekend of programming to record and watch.  So, will continue the Guide Data Quest Sunday night and through the week if nothing shows up sooner.

 

[2] Data? What data? I'll believe it when I see it.   Clock is the only thing I have now.  Guide data?  We'll see. 

     (Before December, I was getting Listings... not a grid - that was 'blank' - but under SEARCHes! (And with my long, long list of Keywords.) I dunno where it was coming from.

 

[3] No OTA?  Wow.  Not even ONE station?

Ah... geesh.  I touched-up a pic of the 250 and cannot read the display on the Avatar.  It gets knocked down to 80x80.   Here's what it looks like:

 

 

 

 

I have two S-VHS VCRs; I think they are both JVC. The older one is from the mid '90s, newer one circa 2000.

I would resist trying a full build with tapes made outside of my area, because of the different channel line-up. Unless my CableCard would neatly override the inserted channel line-up data. (or am I misunderstanding something?)

- Kerry

Cable card should give you a lineup that nothing can hurt. The front panel clock needs more help. A tape of just a clock may not do that. I'll have to test. What's your zipcode?

I have a digital JVC VCR. It strips the VBI data.
Edited by JoeKustra - 1/25/13 at 10:23am

Plug my zipcode into www.noaa.gov and check my location. I live in a valley with hills to the south and north. If I had a 1000 foot tower I might get NYC and Harrisburg. There are more isolated places to live though. My borough is .9 sq miles in size. We have 3 traffic lights but two just flash. Only problem bigger than loss of TVGOS is hitting a deer at night.

Last night, I discovered that all of the channels I use for weekly recordings work fine with the non-grid manual scheduling method. That makes a big difference when I reset my clock backward another weekday by pulling the plug (something I expect to do at least once per week). Using the grid is very cumbersome for rescheduling 6-8 weekly recordings back one day, while the process is very quick using the left-side menu for manual recordings. Whew.

But my favorite movie channel (TCM-HD) still gives me the pink error. I remember tricking the menu into accepting that channel long ago, but I think the same trick did not work again later. I will eagerly try your method next time, though.

- Kerry

11961. (Cablevision, Brookhaven iO)

Getting the front panel clock back would be nice, but it's a much lower priority than correct internal time and weekday.

- Kerry

I'll test it tonight. I'm using a Mitsubishi HS-U746. It a shame we can't do the date too. Oh well.

Ok, I guess you guys are just gonna have to show me then. I've made a video, complete with my deep resonant (not!) voice, as I attempt the cxgy method as detailed in the first post quoted above. Be aware that the video is a Quicktime .MOV file of about 230Mb, so it take several minutes to download.

My setup for the DHG in the video is Cable only, no CableCard, no OTA. It has had no Grid since I reset it over two weeks ago. In the video I unsuccessfully attempt to make the Grid appear by the cxgy method.

Edit: It looks like it takes about 4-5 minutes to download the file. My suggestion is to save it to your computer and then run it . . .
Edited by WS65711 - 1/25/13 at 11:56am

I watched the video.

To be clear, I never "guaranteed" that my method would bring up a grid. I stated that it "may" bring up a grid if you are caught in the no-mans land where a channel lineup has been captured by your box but for some reason the box has yet to turn any channels on (thus no grid & no working channel editor).

In your case, your box has probably not downloaded any channel lineup info from a working host yet. Do you have a confirmed working analogue or digital host on your cable system? (I'm assuming so, but just want to make sure before I comment further).

A grid should've appeared by now after 2 weeks. My recent "hidden grid" event was when testing recovering from a reset by playing an analogue videotape recording (made from an analogue cable host). For me, the videotape didn't complete the whole job as I had to manually "unlock" the hidden grid myself using the "cxgy method".
Edited by cxgy - 1/25/13 at 11:43am

Oh no no no . . .

As is the case for most of us in the U.S., I no longer have a working Host. That went away for me on December 6th. Those that still have it will lose it soon. I guess I TOTALLY misunderstood what you were saying then from the outset. I thought you were trying to say that you could prompt (force) a Grid to appear (from a no-Grid situation) by doing your procedure. But it's now obvious that your procedure will work only when there is still TVGOS data being broadcast in your area, and for some (unknown) reason your Grid has not appeared during the normal "Guide building" course of events. Or, if you're using tapes to try to get a Grid.. but it didn't quite get there.

So all is good if you have TVGOS data in your area. If not, nothing has changed.. you're still SOL.

I see you're in Canada. It don't think it was ever made perfectly clear by Rovi whether you guys are going to lose TVGOS also or not. Time will tell, I guess.
Edited by WS65711 - 1/25/13 at 1:47pm

OK.... now we're on the same page! Yes - no host - no videotape = no grid. Sorry that you weren't able to make a tape using your particular VCR.

Rovi says North America. Sony Canada doesn't say anything since they never sold the DHG (I bought mine in Buffalo). I've yet to see the "End Times" message. I'm not holding out any hope, but for once I'm HOPING that a U.S. company ignores Canada. Like you say, we'll find out.

^^
Actually I have a couple of tapes that I made several years ago. But my day-to-day usage is now all on my TiVo's. I just have two DHG's set up as tuners, where I can stick a CableCard in them short-term if need be (like when my son is home from college). I sold the third DHG about a year ago when I bought the Tivo's. But I still pay close attention to this thread, watching for developments with clock-setting, Grid-getting, teeth-gnashing, etc. . . . .

 

Oooooh.  I just checked it, flying down at a low angle and doing a 360 of the hills with GiggleEarth. 

 

No relays nearby?

Canada's TVGOS will be discontinued. I wasn't sure so I emailed CIVT in Vancouver, BC. Here is their reply:

RE: TVGOS OTA inserter equipment
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 5:06 PM
From:"BC OTA (website)"
To:"'Russell'"

Hi Russell,

Yes you are correct.

On April 14th we will no longer be inserting the ROVI TVGOS data stream in our OTA signal.

Rob.


From: Russell
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 7:51 AM
To: BC OTA (website)
Subject: TVGOS OTA inserter equipment

Hi CIVT techs;

As you probably are aware, ROVI Corp. is in the process of discontinuing OTA TVGOS in the United States and is requesting that USA broadcasters return the inserter equipment to them. ROVI has not been forthcoming about details of its plans to end users of TVGOS.

I live in Bellingham, WA and receive your OTA signal on Ch. 32.1. Has ROVI informed you that its Canadian TVGOS will be discontinued and the inserter equipment should be returned to them? Is there a date by which this will occur?

Thanks for any info.

Regards,

Russell

To the south, but no TVGOS. Add 500 feet to my location and Jed1 can get a CBS station with the guide from Harrisburg. Not worth the cost for me. Everyone here has cable or a dish. Only antenna in town is my FM. I can get several stations, including some RDS and HD. Right now the hills are not visable due to the snow. With a good antenna I might get the CBS station 50 miles NE of here, but it dropped TVGOS when it went digital. No FiOS either.

Oh well. With TIVO being useless here in Canada (CableCards not issued nor supported), looks like we'll have to make due with what's left of the DHG.

Hello - The Sony DHG models are single tuners correct? And should work with comcast no problem with cablecard? I don't use OTA at all.

Looking for a simple HD DVR. Was looking at the Moxie and Tivo as well, but those prices are a little outta my budget right now.

I think you might want to save your money for a while and buy a TiVo. The DHG depends on TVGOS for its clock. TVGOS is due to end in April. If HD is your primary feature, I have no other suggestions. The Comcast DVR might be cheap enough to let you save money for something else in the near future.

The DHG does work with or without a cable card, just not without TVGOS very well. Read the last three or four pages for more insight.

You would definitely need a zipcode packet, and then a timezonepkt to set the front panel clock. On the tape that I made of the 10:31pm ID81 download (I started recording at 10:26pm), there was a zip code packet at the 19 minute mark (which would be 10:45pm), and a timezonepkt at the 36 minute mark (which would be 11:02pm).

Mark

Thanks. I'll factor that into making a tape to test. Everyday I wake wondering if there is data. But then, it's too cold outside.