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IR Blaster Problem?

624 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by rm -rf *.*, May 9, 2006

skbrown

Discussion Starter · May 9, 2006

Recently my RTV 5080 frequently doesn't change the channel on my cable box (Scientific Atlanta) for a scheduled program recording. The IR Blaster plug is seated firmly in the jack of the RTV, both "emitters" are attached firmly to the front panel of the cable box. Have had the RTV for 3+ years and this cable box for 2+ years without this problem. This happens in 1 out of 4 or 5 recordings. The remote control always will change the channel either by direct entry or channel up/down. Am at a loss. All responses greatly appreciated.

SKBrown

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rm -rf .

· #2 · May 9, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by skbrown
... both "emitters" are attached firmly to the front panel of the cable box. ...

Both? The second ir-emitter is for a second box. Pull it off the front of the cable box and coil it up and stuff it somewhere out of the way. With two emitters attached, there's no guarantee that both the IR signals will arive at the same time.

Second - it's possible that your cable provider pushed out a firmware update which has changed the ir code libray on your box. Comcast did that about a year ago and it was havoc, pure pandamonium, riots in the streets, people even torched Comcast service trucks - it was ugly. Well, no, not really that's all BS actually, but it was mildly annoying and did temporarially mess-up a lot of RTVs out there. Take a look at www.replaytvupgrade.com - I think Gary has some notes up there about what the new codes are that you should use.

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skbrown

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 9, 2006

The emitter or blasters are both connected to the one jack. i.e., the IR Blaster is a dual-headed device. Since the signal is sent to both blasters simultaneously, the IR "reader" or "receiver" in the cable box should receive an identical IR signal from both blasters.

My cable company is Time-Warner. Has there been any comments recently about updated firmware for their General Instrument (previous post was in error) cable boxes?

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rm -rf .

· #4 · May 9, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by skbrown
The emitter or blasters are both connected to the one jack. i.e., the IR Blaster is a dual-headed device. Since the signal is sent to both blasters simultaneously, the IR "reader" or "receiver" in the cable box should receive an identical IR signal from both blasters.

No kidding. Really? Wow. I've owned ReplayTV's for 6 years and never noticed that. Thanks for enlighting me. I didn't say that the emitters sent different signals, I said that they might not get there at the same time... 1-2-3 being transmitted from two IR emitters could come through as 1-2-3 or 1-1-2-2-3-3 or 1-21-23-3 or ...
Quote:

Originally Posted by skbrown
My cable company is Time-Warner. Has there been any comments recently about updated firmware for their General Instrument (previous post was in error) cable boxes?

Are you using the GI codes or the Motorola codes? GI was accquirred by Motorola at some point. Some of the Comcast GI boxes had to be shifted over to Motorola codes to work correctly after the updates (or was it the other way around? - same difference)

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l8er

· #5 · May 9, 2006

There may be a reason why every user's guide from the 3000 series to the 5500 series has the following note regarding the IR Blaster:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReplayTV 3000 User's Guide
Note: If you only want your ReplayTV to control one device, hide the unused emitter behind the equipment, away from any detectors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReplayTV 4000 User's Guide
Note: If you only want ReplayTV to control one device, hide the unused emitter behind the equipment, away from any detectors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReplayTV 5000 and 5500 User's Guide
â€¢ If you only want ReplayTV to control one device, hide the unused emitter behind the equipment, away from any detectors.

ReplayTV User's Guides/Manuals

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skbrown

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 9, 2006

Jeez, RTFM - huh? Will give it a try. Although, RTV had been changing channels as scheduled flawlessly until recently. What could have changed?

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rm -rf .

· #7 · May 9, 2006

Sunlight hitting the front of the cable box, firmware update, failed IR emitter, an IR emitter got moved by as little as a milimeter and now the signals aren't arriving at the same time, IR reflections, the list goes on and on and on...

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