Really odd problem

Hardware · 07-08-2005, 05:23 PM

Hi all, I have a really strange problem and was wondering if anyone can shed any light on it.

I've been a TiVo owner for about three years and everything has been working A-OK. Recently I upgraded from a Sony 31" CRT TV to a Panasonic 42" Plasma TV. When I did so, TiVo started behaving oddly - it randomly locks up (it always does it if you cancel an "in flight" recording".

Strangely, if I use the television remote control to switch from the TiVo input channel (AV2) to the Sky input channel (AV1), TiVo "wakes up" and starts working again.

I've tried using either the internal IR transmitter or the external ones, I've turned on and off SCART control but it makes no difference at all - the problems remain. I've rebooted the Sky box and the TiVo box but no difference.

So, if I cancel a recording, TiVo hangs. It'll stay hung until either I reboot or I change inputs on the TV - TiVo will happily sit there for 30+ mins completely unresponsive, but as soon as I turn over the TV input, it springs back into life again.

I'm really confused and would really welcome any thoughts.

Cheers,
Paul.

sjp · 07-08-2005, 05:28 PM

sounds like it might be the teletext bug... call CS and ask for the 2.5.5A software to be downloaded.

blindlemon · 07-08-2005, 05:40 PM

Not so fast there! It doesn't sound like the teletext bug to me. I have a Panasonic plasma and it doesn't suffer from the teletext bug.

What happens if you connect your TiVo on AV4 instead? IIRC, AV2 is the default SCART for the TV's recording output.

Hardware · 07-08-2005, 05:54 PM

I don't have an AV4 - just AV1/2/3 & component input. I set "Q-Link" from the AV2 to AV3 on the television.

I just tried changing the TiVo connection from AV/2 to AV/3 - but it didn't help.

I noticed the following, when I pressed the "channel up" on the TiVo remote, I got the following two lines in /var/log/kernel...

Jul 8 21:55:39 (none) kernel: tivoblaster.C::ReadTivoFormatKey(), Line : 356,
Jul 8 21:55:39 (none) kernel: Key does not exist.

but at this point, the Sky box didn't turn over. Then when I changed the TV input, the Sky box received the IR commands, and the following appeared in the /var/log/kernel file...

Jul 8 21:55:58 (none) kernel: Done with this packet

Any more thoughts? I assume that if I ask for the v2.5.5a patch, I lose all my ethernet/custom settings.

Cheers,
Paul.

blindlemon · 07-08-2005, 06:37 PM

I really doubt that it's the teletext bug - if it was you'd be seeing the TV going crazy, locking up, switching to standby etc. And yes, you would lose all your network setup etc. - and possibly your /var as well by 'upgrading' to 2.5.5a

Are you using STB code SKy/20016?

Have you tried re-doing Guided Setup, or changing the STB selection/code to something else and back again?

Have you tried a "hard" reset - ie. unplug the TiVo and leave it powered off for a couple of minutes....

sjp · 07-09-2005, 12:48 AM

I stand, actually sit, corrected

Hardware · 07-11-2005, 02:35 PM

Hello, I've tried a few more things to try and fix it and here are the results.....

I'm using 20016/fast - I've tried changing to other numbers and back again, and using medium and slow - no difference.

I've re-done guided setup - no difference.

I've turned the whole lot off for 10 minutes - no difference.

The problem does not occur if the TV is switched off - if it's off, TiVo will happily change channels to it's heart's content.

I've tried covering up the TV's IR socket but it makes no difference, so I thought it might be something to do with signals that the TV is sending down the SCART cable. I tried a different (only minimally wired) SCART cable but no difference again.

I've tried turning on or off SCART control, both on TiVo and the Sky box, but to no avail. I'm running out of ideas now so would really welcome any other thoughts from anyone.

Cheers,
Paul.

KiNeL · 03-11-2006, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardware

Recently I upgraded from a Sony 31" CRT TV to a Panasonic 42" Plasma TV. When I did so, TiVo started behaving oddly

I think you nailed your problem in your first post, clearly the Panasonic is radiating something which the TiVo doesn't like and short of separating them by some distance, which may well be impractical, I'm not sure how you're going to solve it.

You could perhaps try getting it exchanged for another just in case it's faulty.

There's pretty tight regulations covering emissions from electronic devices and it does surprise me a bit that you are having this problem.

Automan · 03-11-2006, 05:01 PM

Some Panasonic TV have Q-Link
I would make sure this is not set to output on the AV that Tivo uses

Other cause maybe stray IR from another remote but that seems unlikely if the problem goes away if you turn the TV off.

EDIT:
Sorry, you have already tried changing QLINK

Which Actual Model TV do you have this problem with?

Automan.