Help!!!

[dwclay]

Is anyone else out there experanced the problem of the inputs being blowen on your VCR? I've bought 3 VCR's in about the last NINE months. If I hook the VCR to the RCA out puts on the TiVo in about 3 months the input is blowen. I got a new Tivo and this time hooked it to the coxial cable input again the same thing. Now it only takes out the input that comes from the TiVo. It's not affected anything but my VCR's. If anyone else has had this problem or knows about this problem I could sure use some Help. Direct TV said it was my problem but why would it only happen to VCR inputs and not the TV? People if you could help I'd be very grateful. Also I've never made any attempt to tamper with these units in any way. Thanks to any one who maybe of help.

[aztivo]

Is anyone else out there experanced the problem of the inputs being blowen on your VCR? I've bought 3 VCR's in about the last NINE months. If I hook the VCR to the RCA out puts on the TiVo in about 3 months the input is blowen. I got a new Tivo and this time hooked it to the coxial cable input again the same thing. Now it only takes out the input that comes from the TiVo. It's not affected anything but my VCR's. If anyone else has had this problem or knows about this problem I could sure use some Help. Direct TV said it was my problem but why would it only happen to VCR inputs and not the TV? People if you could help I'd be very grateful. Also I've never made any attempt to tamper with these units in any way. Thanks to any one who maybe of help.
what version of the direct tv dvr are you using?? I dont know why this is happening but the version will help people to help you

[litzdog911]

Why symptoms lead you to believe that the VCR inputs are "blown out"?

There's really no electrical reason why the Tivo could produce any voltages or signals that would physically damage your VCR's inputs. In fact, it pretty much takes direct application of a large voltage to cause physical damage.

Also, what brand/model VCRs have you purchased?

[dwclay]

I understand what your saying I was a cable Tech for more then ten years. But if nothing feeds the VCR but the TiVo what else can it be. In answer to your question it is a Sanyo. The first time it happend I thought it was the VCR and replaced it without question but thought it strange only the RCA inputs wouldn't work. I installed the new VCR the same way and about 3 months latter same thing. TiVo sent a new reconditioned unit. New VCR and this time I hooked it to the coxal cable input. Now 3 months latter that input has gone out. In cable if inputs are blowen we look for a power surge comming in on the cable from a outside sourse. In this case the only out side sourse is TiVo. Thats why I don't understand whats happening. It has to be a surge building up throught the Tivo from some where. I have no other cables or power comeing into the unit. The installer ran two lines into the Tivo. One goes to the VCR out to the TV.The other to the TV only. I've reversed the inputs to see if that changed any thing as this VCR showes it didn't. I've never seen anything like it up to this point.

[retnuh47591]

Do you have old wiring in your house? I had this same issue and found that there was a problem at my electrical panel and it somehow introduced voltage on my cable line. Not sure if it was from something else or coming through the VCR but it would occasionally spark when I hooked it up or grounded with something else. I went through a few VCRs myself before I figured it out. Turns out that the hot wire was switched at the panel. Call an electrician and have your wiring looked at, if you don't know how to do it yourself safely.

Hunter

[dwclay]

Thanks I'll check the wireing in the morning. The Tivo is a Samsung -- Sir-S4080R if its any help. Let you know tomarrow what I find on the wireing. Thanks

[litzdog911]

You may want to power your DVR and VCR using an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to isolate them from possible AC power problems.

[dwclay]

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you all quicker today but I suffer from a little problem I call Fiber and when it rases its ugly head it can be quite pain full. Ok here's what I did manage to do today. I took a voltage readiing at the input wires of the Tivo. I found 19.10dc at line 1 and .026 at the wall. On line 2 I found 13.10 and .002.. I went and used a tester I have that chects your outlets and found no problem. I also went out side dug up the groung wires to make sure they were coming into the home correctly. I went to the panel box and check all the grounds and bond grounds and there was no power between them. I did find a loose braker and reinstalled it. I just checked the lines 1&2 again and find no voltage. I also took a test of the RCA's and found no voltage. I'll check everything again tomarrow and let you know what I find. I'll also look into the power supply. I thank you all for all the help and I'll keep you posted as to the findings.

[sheilabriggs]

The electrical wiring may be a source of your problems. I have bad wiring in my rented home and run my Tivo from a UPS. A more mundane reason could have nothing to do with your Tivo or wiring. I went through three VCRs in one year until I discovered the problem was not the VCRs but their connection to the TV. This was especially sneaky since the problem was just one S-video connection on the TV and all other inputs worked fine. If you have multiple inputs on your TV, plug your VCR into different ones and see what happens.

[dwclay]

Thanks I'll give it a try. I'll also go down next week and get a ups. I talked to my brother-in-law last nigt and he said he had a simular problem and thats what he did to fix it. I'll get back on Wendsday and let you know what happens.

[dwclay]

Hay I'm back and do I have a story to tell. Direct TV sent a tech out today and this guy was so sharp he needed no test equipment and no input from me. He wants to know where the dish is after he does something that gives a error reading. I tell him its in the back of the house. He takes off through my kitchen me telling him all the time he can't get out that way. Does he lessen nooo not until he opened the door and the dogs jumped at him. Lucky for him he got the door shut and decided he couldn't get there from there. He finely quits doing what ever he was doing and says nothing wrong with the satellight you have a bad VCR. I tell him if you'd brothered to look at your work order you'd have knowen that from the start. I want to know why. He mumbles something and starts for the door saying I'll tell my supervisor. When I ask about the 1.30 dcvolts on the coxal no comment. Now it gets even butter I call Direct back, talk to a supervisor who wants to know why I want a VCR hooked up. Because I can. She tells me unhook it from our equipment and leave it unhooked and that will tell if my equipment or theirs. I tell her you know this problem takes up to three months to mansfest its self. So leave it unhook for three months. I ask to talk to her boss she says it will be a couple of hours. That was this morning and I'm still waiting. In the mean time I went and got a unintruped power supply and a TV/VCR DC block. I'll se what this does. Oh buy the way I did get a call back from the guys supervisors office. They'll send someone out thursday whos their top tech to look at it. I hope he can read its a VCR problem only. Buy the way I got a new VCR today also.

[sheilabriggs]

Do you have both your Tivo and satellite tuner hooked up to your VCR? If so, this could be the source of your blown VCR. It's the same principle behind the instructions for DVD players not to hook up two video outputs (say component and S-video) at the same time. Input/output connections send small electrical signals and the circuitry inside a television or VCR can only handle a certain signal level. The size of the electrical signals is very small but the circuitry is very delicate, so although it is only being overloaded by only minute amounts it will eventually fail. This could be why your VCR works for a few months and does not get blown as soon as you hook up. You need to hook up your satellite tuner to your Tivo and then your Tivo to the VCR. You can hook up a second VCR to the spare outputs on your satellite tuner, if you want to record directly from satellite to VCR.

[dwclay]

:) what version of the direct tv dvr are you using?? I dont know why this is happening but the version will help people to help you

Now this is something I'm not familiar with what your saying. So let me tell you what my hook up is and you can tell me the error.
I come in from the satellite into the Tivo. That is my receiver. I take one output leg using my s-video going to my TV set on Input 1 of the TV. The second outlet of the Tivo I run to mu VCR (I've tried both the coxal and RCA jacks) right now the only thing I have hooked up is the TV I haven't hooked the new VCR back up yet. Might say I'm a little gun shy one that one.
Mow when the new tivo guy was here yesterday I unhooked the cable we'll call line one input to the Tivo and had 13vdc feeding back on the cable. The same with input 2 out of the wall. When I checked the wall connection without any thing hooked up there was no voltage on it. Showing all dc voltage feed back was coming from the Tivo.
If I understand you correctly I should use RCA hook ups for the TV and VCR and not mix them at the Tivo.
But isn't 13vdc (and I've had as high as 19.3 vdc) a no no. In my past working with cable my understanding is you shouldn't have any kind of voltage AC orDC on coaxal or RCA jumpers either one.

[dwclay]

:)

Now this is something I'm not familiar with what your saying. So let me tell you what my hook up is and you can tell me the error.
I come in from the satellite into the Tivo. That is my receiver. I take one output leg using my s-video going to my TV set on Input 1 of the TV. The second outlet of the Tivo I run to mu VCR (I've tried both the coxal and RCA jacks) right now the only thing I have hooked up is the TV I haven't hooked the new VCR back up yet. Might say I'm a little gun shy one that one.
Mow when the new tivo guy was here yesterday I unhooked the cable we'll call line one input to the Tivo and had 13vdc feeding back on the cable. The same with input 2 out of the wall. When I checked the wall connection without any thing hooked up there was no voltage on it. Showing all dc voltage feed back was coming from the Tivo.
If I understand you correctly I should use RCA hook ups for the TV and VCR and not mix them at the Tivo.
But isn't 13vdc (and I've had as high as 19.3 vdc) a no no. In my past working with cable my understanding is you shouldn't have any kind of voltage AC orDC on coaxal or RCA jumpers either one.
************************************************************ *****Today is the 9th of may and I want to bring you all up to date. Yesterday the power co was out and went through the house and found nothing wrong with the house wireing. To I've written Samsung and ask if I should have the following voltages on the back of the Tivo. Satellite 1&2 41.4 volts ac and 19.11 volts dc and at the RCA video outputs .3 volts I'll let you know what they say if they get back to me. Thank you al for responding to my cry for help.