S3 Video Blackout / Darkening

[bmgoodman]

A few days ago, while watching a program from my Now Playing list of my 9 month-old unmodified S3, the picture suddenly flickered several times and then went completely black. I could still hear the audio. I hit the "Tivo" button, which took me back to the main menu. All seemed fine until last night. While watching a show, the picture suddenly got dark and the colors seemed a bit off. This time, going back to Now Playing showed me a dark, slightly discolored list. I found that putting the Tivo into Standby (I have this programmed with one remote control button) and turning it back on resolved the problem immediately. However, several minutes later, the behavior returns. This back-and-forth went on for several hours last night. It got dark about a half-dozen times. Standby and Power On resolved each time.

My S3 Tivo is connected to my standard 32" CRT TV via S-video switcher box. Neither of my other 2 Tivos, which are also connected to the same switcher box, are having problems.

I've never heard of this type of problem before. I'll probably try connecting the Tivo directly to the TV to rule out the switcher box. I'll also try the other S-Video output on the S3, if there is one, plus the component out. Any other ideas?

I'm glad I spent $75 to buy one of those 3rd party extended warranties (online)! Should be interesting to see if they live up to their end of the bargain.

[jrm01]

Eliminating the switch would be a good test to eliminate that.

You said you tv is "standard crt". By that do you mean SDTV rather than HDTV? If so, does it actually have component inputs?

[bmgoodman]

Yes, it is SDTV, but it has component inputs that I'm currently using for my DVD player. Of course, even if component output on the Tivo works 100% fine, I still want to repair the s-video output while the extended warranty is in effect.

Thanks.

[bmgoodman]

Will the Series 3 Tivo output 480i from the component video connection? I tried connecting component to my SDTV and I am getting no signal at all. (Yes, my SDTV does have component video input & I've used it with my DVD player for years.)