RTV and FIOS TV - Page 2

kno1uknow, I am considering a similiar setup to yours, were you able to resolve the issue?

We got FiosTV the week before the superbowl. Finally! Very nice, biggest downside for some will be that only local channels are in analog - you pretty much need to use a STB for every TV. Went from 3 STBs (one HD, one SD, one HD-DVR) to 5 (one HD, one HD-DVR, one "whole-house" HD-DVR, two SD), with all sports and movies, and we still save $10/month - would have been $35 if we'd stuck with 3 STBs.

The "whole house" DVR can feed shows to several SD settops - but oddly, not to other DVRs or HD settops. I imagine that will change. A bit like networked Replays, but over coax.

Both DVRs are dual-tuner, and unlike Comcast's, they don't bother your foreground watching when a recording starts.

Channel-switch time is MUCH faster. Guide and STB setup (and DVR setup) are also much better, with one exception - no page up/down on remote.

Still not up to Replay standards on responsiveness DVR-wise, though - but better than comcast, and better control scheme.

Got FiOS installed, very happy except that Bit T0rr3nt seems to kill the internet connection or make it extremely frustrating to use. I've read that it's something in the ActionTek router that causes this. If you download over night and kill it in the morning it should be fine though.

Anyway, what I'm wondering is this: Do the serial port or IR port on the QIP 2500 work with a Replay 5k? I currently have the QIP 2500 connected to my Media Center PC using IR blasters and changing the channels is flakey as all get out. I'm thinking of dropping the Media Center PC for SD shows and going back to my reliable Replays. I'm wondering if I can avoid some hassles with IR blasters and provide a wired connection. Anyone have any luck with this? I read on another page that someone in Acton, MA got the serial port to work with a Tivo so that's encouraging.

I've had fios for awhile now, and the only thing i notice is that sometimes channel changes get messed up. Specifically and most frequently, changes to 170. It will, lets say 1 in 10 times, change to channel 17, and then fail at an attempt to change to channel 0, and record what is on 17, instead of 170. (this information coming from the cable box banners that display when channel changes occur.)

I've fortressed my cable box, contemplating that it may be that the problem was occurring because i was operating a remote at the same time as the channel change - did not help.
I switched the recording to a different unit in a different room, connected to a different cable box, same problem.
I have two 5040s hooked up to the standard def fios box.

It is almost as if the remote transmissions are just a tiny tiny bit too far apart time-wise, and it sometimes decides the box meant 17 and not 170 (given that it goes to 17, and then thinks it wants 0).
I have tried all of the remote codes that work at all.
Whenever i change manually, the problem does not seem to occur. So it is extra hard to fix, as i have to try something, then wait days for it to screw up again.

I have been thinking of toying around with customizing a remote code for the box, but haven't had the time to do the research.

anyone else have this problem?
thanks!
Eric

We have problems with channels like 116 (going to 16). Normally this is a classic sign of a too-short (I think) inter-action delay. I tried slowing the custom timings down, but it still happens.

Does anyone have "good" custom settings for the SD Verizon/Motorola QIP box? (Note that HD box settings may well be different.)

I start with standard Motorola Digital then fine-tune ("Zones" when on the "did the cable box turn off" screen). Usually I set code 0476, 3 digits, don't send Enter (send Enter is the default!), circa 200ms for inter-command delay. I forget the exact settings, and you can't easily check the values (going back there resets everything). Smaller numbers (particularly on inter-action) speeds up channel change, which is a Good Thing if you ever watch live TV (and my wife loves to channel surf on the Replay).

So what are the "Best" safe settings for the SD and HD Fios TV boxes?

Sounds like you have the same problem as me! Do you notice any change in frequency of the problem based on your custom settings?

I wonder if there is something we can do on the cable box side to help things out. I never looked into how much control you have over things from the cable box side - some boxes let you change things...

Also, i wonder if the IR jack in the back of my cable box would make things better or worse. Haven't tried one of those in years. (it sucked back then with time warner, i think)

I tried the IR jack in the back with my 5040 and a mono cable. It didn't work at all. I'm not even sure that the IR jack on the QIP is even for input, it might be to control other things, meaning output only. I would love to have a hard wired connection for sending channel change signals. Tried the serial cable as well, no love. Do I have to do anything in the Replay to make serial work? I didn't see an option for it.

I know in my Replay 2000 series box there is a setting somewhere in Setup where you specify IR Blaster or Serial connection. Not sure about your 5040.

sooo... does anyone have good custom timing settings for verizon fios boxes?
thanks!

Any ideas... I just bought an ir blaster off ebay to control the Motorola decoder box that came standard with FIOS

Unfortunately RTV IRblasts triple... so if I try to go to channel 123 it becomes channel 111 222 333.

Thanks for your ideas!!

- Daniel

Direct from the source:

http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/sup....asp?docID=228

I've had to use this myself. I found it to be written a little poorly but once you figure it out it does work. Good luck!

Just got FiOS yesterday. Here are my settings and they seem to work just fine: In order and from the fine tuning setup here are the values (I didn't write down the labels and I don't recall them):

Yes
0276
Yes
3
400
200
400
401

BTW, even the SD content looks waaaaay better than the RCN cable I had before this.

I got my FIOS TV last week. I hooked up my replay 5040 unit and set the IR Blaster code to 1476 which works great on the Verizon STB (Motorola 6200 QIP)

Is anyone here unhappy with their FIOS TV or Internet service?

I have a ReplayTV 50xx. I signed up for Verizon FIOS and a Motorola QIP2500-2 set top box. When you do ReplayTV's Network and Input settings and select the input that the QIP2500-2 is connected to, it gives you a choice of Motorola, General Instruments, or Other. Selecting Motorola automatically set the IR Blaster code to 4476. Select "yes" on the screen that asks if your set top box turns on and off (which it will do). Note that the 4476 code is NOT the correct code for the QIP2500-2 because it sends channel codes in triplicate (123 is IR blasted out as 111 222 333) which the QIP2500-2 cannot handle properly. Nonetheless, accept this 4476 temporarily by selecting Save Settings. Otherwise ReplayTV may end up having trouble downloading the program guide for FIOS from the ReplayTV service. If you did this properly, ReplayTV will automatically connect to ReplayTV service to get program guide. Wait for this to finish.

After the program guide is downloaded, go back to network and input settings and select the input that the QIP2500 is connected to. Select Motorola again (not Other). When ReplayTV displays the Yes/No screen that asks you to push -> to see if set top box is turned on, do not push the -> and select "No". ReplayTV then displays the IR Blaster codes. Highlight 0476. Push the -> (right arrow to the right of select on the ReplayTV remote) two times. Then push the select button in the center. It will take you back to the Network and Input Settings screen. Push Save Settings. You are good to go.

Hi,
I have a replayTV 5508 and a Motorola QIP2500-3 FiOS STB and I've also had the oh so common problem with the channel number being sent in triplicate. I have followed the method you laid out above as well as the procedure as explained on the ReplayTV website and at least a half-dozen variations described on the avsforums, planetReplay, etc. and I've not been able to get one to work.

I've used 0276, 0476, 1476, 4476, 0810 and at least a dozen other codes. I've tried adjusting the numbers being sent from 1 to 3; I've tried fooling with the timing of the signals (though I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with it). Is there anyone out there who has the QIP2500-3 that has gotten the IR blaster to work?

How?

Answers to many of your questions:
obi5kenobi: No, the replay will not talk to the QIP 2500's serial. 100% not possible with replay. tivo, yes. Replay, no. grrrrr.
Jessup: You have the same problem i have. No amount of tweaking custom ir will work. It is a problem with the difference in the pace of the digits, not the overall time.
Toruki: what model box do you have?!
Scallica: I hate Fios's billing practices (abhorrent), their cable box sucks, and the internet is no faster than what i had. When my contract is up, i'm out!
Spectp: I think yours is working because you have a different box. Is your box High def or standard def or both?

For those of you who are having the problem where occasionally the cable box tunes to two or one of the three digits replay wanted, go see my other post about this in the main forum. I've "kinda" fixed the problem with a little bit of hardware.

I recently upgraded to FIOS TV and now can not get my ReplayTV 5516 to work. The RTV was working fine when I had Comcast Digital installed with a similar Digital TV tuner. The day FIOS went in is the day it stopped working - I now only get the blue screen "No video signal detected."

After the switch to FIOS I did all the obvious things:
- I changed the RTV settings from Comcast Digital to FIOS
- All the cabling remained the same (more on that below)
- I even did the Clear channel guide twice and then downloaded the FIOS channel guide again

NO LUCK

I have the RTV 5516 and the Verizon Motorola QIP 6200-2 digital set-top box. The Motorola gets input from the coax on the wall and has a coax going out to the RTV. The RTV uses the ANT/CATV coax in from the Motorola and I use S-Video + a red/white/yellow cable for video/audio out to the TV.

I can display the RTV menu and play previously recorded shows on the TV but when I try to use channel guide to switch to live TV I get the blue screen.

I tried to work with both Verizon and RTV support but they are pretty useless. Any suggestions would be MOST appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know why or how this worked for me, but it did (i had the same problem)
Go to Menu
Go to Setup
Go to replaytv input
click left and right a few times. If you had the same problem as me, this may fix it.

This is all assuming you've got the correct cables in the correct places. If you simply can't get it to work, break out an old VCR to input in to the replay to see if the replay is coincidentally busted, or if the cable box isn't working.

did you try cable box right into the tv?
Eric

a) Don't use coax from the HD Fios box to the Replay. That's the *worst* possible connection - even the RCA jack (baseband) would be better. If at all possible, use SVideo from the Motorola box to the Replay - MUCH better source (and that really can help since the Replay has to MPEG-encode the video, which is easier if the source is 'clean'.)

b) If you're telling it you're directly hooked up to the cable, the Replay will try to tune the "local" channels directly. Make sure it knows you have a Motorola box, but better yet dump the coax.

c) make sure the coax works *and* is on the channel you think it is (3 or 4) by hooking it directly to the TV. Make sure the Replay knows the channel also - but better yet, dump the coax. :-)

The numbers available should be enough to control the pace of the digits - you have a lot of control there, though perhaps there are timings involved that aren't under control. It happens only rarely for me. One possibility: a mirror or equivalent (window? even a wall) facing the box might cause enough reflection to confuse it. Testable by putting tape or cardboard, etc in front of the ir repeater. Another possibility: placement of the repeater.

Link?

Did you sign up for a faster package than what you had before? If so, do some experiments with your firewall settings. I found that the Sunbelt Personal Firewall and Symantec firewall both did not keep up with the 20mb service to my PCs.

I now use just the Windows firewall and it does keep up. I've heard of a Komodo (or Comodo) firewall that might work if you want more than just the windows one...

"The numbers available should be enough to control the pace of the digits - you have a lot of control there, though perhaps there are timings involved that aren't under control. It happens only rarely for me. One possibility: a mirror or equivalent (window? even a wall) facing the box might cause enough reflection to confuse it. Testable by putting tape or cardboard, etc in front of the ir repeater. Another possibility: placement of the repeater."

This is not a signal issue. I can prove it to you. Find a few half-hour shows on the same 3 digit channel (a good example would be one with a zero at the end, say 170). Have replay record 5 shows in a row (doesn't matter if they're trash or not, you're not going to watch them). So go to channel guide, press record once on each show consecutively. no gaps, no chance to go to another channel. do this at 3am so it doesn't interrupt your shows if you must.
Now don't touch the replay. Don't watch any prerecorded things on it, don't use the menus, don't touch a thing. I found that using it in any way can actually make this problem not happen sometimes.
Set your watch for 1 minute before the end of shows. Still without touching the replay, watch the window on your cable box. Watch the pace of the digits as replay sends them.
it will send the first two very fast. It will then wait more than a second to send the third digit. So the cable box will change to channel 17, and then fail to understand a change to channel 0, and stay on 17, when you wanted 170.
It may take until the second or third show for this to happen.
After all 5 shows are recorded, go watch the first second of them (this requires saying "play from beginning" and then "instant replaying" back to the real beginning. You'll see the change to the 2 digit channel, then to the 1 digit! plain as day. giant space between digits.

No amount of tweaking the cusom parameters will fix this. I have two boxes, and i tried every working code and every permutation of short and long waits between digits on the boxes, recording what i'd done and what i hadn't. Every single one of them screwed up a change at one point.
I tried moving the IR blaster further away.
I tried fortressing/tenting the box (making it so that no light other than the IR blaster could get in).
none of this works.
The device i built to take in the IR from the replay, clean it up, and pace it out to the STB works perfectly. every.single.time.
Here's the link:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=912532

It is as simple as this: There is a bug in the replay transmission code. Sometimes it takes too long to send a digit. The motorola boxes do not wait long enough to get all the digits, and there is no changing that.



Jdibb: I have signed up for a faster package than i previously had with optimum online. I pay more money. It does not go faster, even on speed test sites. I do not have a software firewall, as i don't think they're of any use.

Eric

That's strange. I've got the 20/5 package and on the speakeasy speed test, it gives me 19.xxx and 4.8xx -- after I got the firewall out of the way.

Good luck to you...

Please keep in mind that now that net neutrality has been abolished (and, in my experience, even before this happened), priority is given to speed test sites by ISPs. The results you receive from the big speed test sites are not going to be consistent with the speed you receive from other equally piped but less often measured sites. For instance, try downloading a large file from microsoft or a local university's linux distro, and see how fast it *actually* goes. Also try it at various times of day.
That aside, i am not disappointed with fios' speed. It is plenty fast. It simply isn't faster than the cheaper service i was experiencing from optimum online. I recognize that half the time, i will not be downloading a file from a site that can afford to max out my connection.
my problems with fios are:
1) their billing practices SUCK. i get no paper bill. they charge me when they feel like it.
2) their customer service is TERRIBLE. When i call, they don't know who i am, and take a long time to find my account. Their hours are very limited.
3) replay and their STB simply don't get along!
4) when i first got them, their channel lineup constantly changed numbers of channels. Replay does not appreciate this!
5) their DNS servers are very....slow....
I could go on and on and on!
I am just happy that i was able to fix #3, and get my replay working happily again.

Eric

With 15/2 FIOS, I've seen real-world tens-to-hundreds-of-megabytes downloads (like video driver packages, SP2, OpenOffice, etc) running at ~1900KB/s (15Mbps). Not often (rarely can the other side offer that speed), but I do see it often enough.

Also, while Optimum Online can challenge FIOS speeds, most other broadband providers don't (Comcast, etc). Often not even close. Comcast gives a "burst" of speed at download-start and then throttles you (helps with small stuff; big stuff runs at 6 or 8 Mbps max).


We get a paper bill - you have the choice I think; you don't have to sign up for electronic statements or automatic payments.

Check your DNS settings; I've found their DNS to be *far* better than Comcasts (which would go out for hours at a time). Normally all the DNS traffic is handled by the router (ActionTec 424 normally if you have TV), and the ActionTec's DNS settings are set via DHCP. Older FIOS customers may be on PPPOE - if so, that might be part of the problem (or if you played around by making the ActionTec a slave to another router, or forced DNS settings on the router (or on the PC)).

Try "nslookup" and type a server name, and see the response time (google.com, etc), and what server it's using (should be 192.168.1.1 probably). If it's slow, try pinging the server the ActionTec says is the primary DNS - see if it's up, or use nslookup direct to that server ("server xx.yy.zz.qq" in nslookup).

Ok, that sounds definitive, thanks. Probably higher-priority tasks (probably saving the previous show's info, maybe a disk retry, etc) shut out the IR task for a bit, and the delay is just a little too long for the Motorola. Note the Disk-retry issue - in theory, it *could* be retries when writing updated info to the recorded-shows database, etc. Probably not, though.

About the IR blaster issue: What really gets my goat is that the problem seems to occur 99% of the time when you're changing to the same channel, and then, only if the replay initiates the record automatically, not if you change to the channel manually. it NEVER happens when you change manually.
if it is recording on channel 170, and the next record is on 170, it will most likely screw up.
If the next record is on any other channel, it will work nearly all the time!

This suggests one or more things:
1) replay has some weird special code/condition that changes the pacing/stalls out a little if and only if the current channel is equal to the next channel. Why would this exist? It, however, seems to be the most likely cause
!
2) the cable box sees 1,7, and thinks "what idiot would change from the channel he is on to the same channel? he must be done typing" and doesn't wait as long for the third digit. This makes less sense, as the user may have wanted channel 178.

I can't think of any other reasons for this to happen. Even if we knew why it happened, we couldn't fix it (unless we could get motorola to include a firmware update allowing us to turn on a "require enter for channel changes" option. this would be awesome. Since i don't think they care, i made my device.

If people are interested, i am considering making my device able to "learn" codes, such that while you would always tell replay your cable box was a [whatever code set], my device could learn from your current remote (whatever service you have) and do the translations. This would work for future cable boxes that replay doesn't know codes for, and for cable boxes now that don't exist in replays database. It would be a bit of work, so if nobody cares, i'm just going to put my black boxes in and forget this problem ever existed...

Regarding the DNS stuff, yes, i have the actiontec, and i am running DHCP all around. The actiontec does function as my DNS server, but when it doesn't have a list for something (due to expiration or never having seen the request), it asks fios' DNS servers, and *that* is when things start to suck.
I was not very clear about my distaste of fios versus cablevision - I was never comparing fios to comcast/cox/whomever everyone is complaining about these days. I'm sure there's plenty worse than fios. Fios simply isn't better than cablevision, which is available everywhere that fios is (and more) on long island. Their ads, posted everywhere, bashing cablevision for having lousy this and that, are simply untrue. there is nothing they do better than cablevision (except maybe the picture quality on tv). Even their phone service is more expensive!

Eric

Probably when there's some code in the Replay having to do with the live-TV buffer that causes something different to happen (timing-wise) between a change to the same channel or a different one. Normally a channel-change dumps the live buffer and so it's already gone when record starts, but on a record of the same channel there's probably a delay (in starting recording) that's "missing", and the interaction of these may be the issue (and other random housekeeping). Real-time systems can have complex interactions if you don't choose your priorities well, and sometimes high-priority items that usually complete quickly might run long in unusual combinations.


I suspect Verizon uses "local" or regional DNS servers, so yours may be worse than mine. I've never had a problem with mine (that I noticed). Comcast had switched to a few national DNS servers (and boy, did that go poorly).

How do the FIOS DVR features compare to the ReplayTv? My brother-in-law got a Time Warner DVR and says it lacks many features so, I'm assuming this is probably true with a FIOS DVR.

Thanks