3am - channel changes and TiVo stops responding temporarily

[Tha*Lunat!k]

I've got a TiVoHD in my living room. At 3am the unit changes from whatever channel we're watching over to channel 2, then stops responding to any commands from the remote for about 3 minutes. I can see the orange light on the unit blink when I push a button on the remote, but no response from the unit.

After these few minutes pass the unit returns to the channel it was on and responds to commands again. Oddly enough, the "cache" for the channel we're watching remains unharmed, while rewinding or fast forwarding over that section of it will display the contents of channel 2 for the few minutes it did it.

Last night when it happened we were behind on the programming, so when 3am rolled around we were only at about 2:35am in terms of the show we were watching. The unit changed to channel 2, stayed there and unresponsive as usual for a few minutes, then changed back to the channel we were on and skipped ahead to the current real-time programming on the original channel. I was able to rewind back to 2:35am and resume watching what I had been watching, though once getting to 3am I had to fast forward through 3 minutes of the unwanted channel 2 content before the regular programming on the actual selected channel resumed.

What could possibly cause this? I can't imagine it's the cable system feeding incorrect data through the line because the TiVo itself stops responding. I also don't think the TiVo is actually "changing channels" in that it retains the entirety of the real-time playback cache, which normally would be lost if we weren't recording the channel and changed channels ourselves. Any ideas?

[LADYBUGBLUE2002]

Tivo usually connects to the network in the middle of the night. 3am sounds about right, maybe that is what is going on.

[scandia101]

Tivo usually connects to the network in the middle of the night. 3am sounds about right, maybe that is what is going on.

TiVos don't just connect in the middle of the night, they can and do connect at any time of day. They also do not connect at the same time, the connections rotate around the clock with about 12 - 30 hours between connections.

[WhiskeyTango]

TiVos don't just connect in the middle of the night, they can and do connect at any time of day. They also do not connect at the same time, the connections rotate around the clock with about 12 - 30 hours between connections.

The middle of the night is the time when Tivo connects to download the ads and star data. It sounds like this may be the case.

To the OP, what channel is channel 2 in your area?

[Tha*Lunat!k]

The middle of the night is the time when Tivo connects to download the ads and star data. It sounds like this may be the case.

To the OP, what channel is channel 2 in your area?

Channel 2 is CBUT out of Vancouver, BC. I'm down here in Seattle, WA.

[scandia101]

The middle of the night is the time when Tivo connects to download the ads and star data. It sounds like this may be the case.

:rolleyes:
Uhm, no.
The video ads are recorded from cable, ota, or satellite not downloaded from a connection to Tivo. Any graphics or text that may go along with an ad are downloaded during the regular daily calls, which as I've already stated, occur at any time of day.

To the OP, what channel is channel 2 in your area?
CBUT is CBS, not a channel that Tivo buys time on for teleworld.



The first thing to do any time your Tivo isn't acting correctly is restart it. Restarting corrects many of the glitches that occur.

[wmcbrine]

This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. Had this been an actual emergency, they would've said something about it, instead of just dumping you into whatever was on channel 2 at the time.

No, really. What you're seeing there is the force-tuned version of the Emergency Alert System. That's the only thing that makes the TiVo behave that way. It's kind of surprising that they're testing it every night, but I went through something similar on Fios a while back. Eventually they started putting up a text screen during the tests, and after a while they stopped testing all the freaking time.

[jstrazz]

This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This is only a test. Had this been an actual emergency, they would've said something about it, instead of just dumping you into whatever was on channel 2 at the time.

No, really. What you're seeing there is the force-tuned version of the Emergency Alert System. That's the only thing that makes the TiVo behave that way. It's kind of surprising that they're testing it every night, but I went through something similar on Fios a while back. Eventually they started putting up a text screen during the tests, and after a while they stopped testing all the freaking time.

If your TiVo is connected to cable, it's the cable company's EAS testing that causes that problem. I used to be up late at night watching TV when that would happen. What really stinks is when you're recording a program at that time... it disrupts the recording. And, oh yes, it also disrupts OTA if you have antenna and cable connected to TiVo. These tests are supposedly required by Federal law, but that doesn't make me any happier.

I now use my TiVo for OTA only. I got rid of cable and have satellite. Now, I don't have that problem. The individual OTA channels conduct the test once a week at random times and, so far, I have not experienced any disruption of satellite due to EAS testing.

[mattack]

At least according to others, if you put your Tivo in Standby, it will NOT automatically change channels to the emergency alert. That (as well as supposed sooner ability to start recording suggestions) is a reason to put your Tivo in standby.

[WhiskeyTango]

:rolleyes:
Uhm, no.
The video ads are recorded from cable, ota, or satellite not downloaded from a connection to Tivo. Any graphics or text that may go along with an ad are downloaded during the regular daily calls, which as I've already stated, occur at any time of day.


CBUT is CBS, not a channel that Tivo buys time on for teleworld.

I know, that is what I meant, just poor wording. That's why I asked what channel it was.

[jayfest]

Is there any way for the TiVo to be aware that the recording was killed by an EBS test and let you know in the "Recording History" the reason the show was not recorded? I must admit I'm not very hopefulthat it can. When I am watching a recorded show and an EBS test pops up, I get thrown out of the recording to live TV and when the test is over, I believe I have to go back into the TiVo menus myself - it doesn't jump back to where it came from.

[wmcbrine]

I don't think it kills the recording anymore (?), although it still messes it up.