S3 Remote Response Unacceptable

snappa · 03-02-2007, 07:49 AM

Hello,

I have an S3 that was put in service on 2-14-07. The remote control response time seems to have degraded. This is experienced using the TiVo remote directly as well as the Universal Remote (MX-850). I use the IR emitter with the MX-850. The MX-850 sends RF and the repeater transmits the IR.

The problem is there in all configurations.
- No emitter over the TiVo IR receiver and using only TiVo remote (fresh batteries)
- Emitter directly over the TiVo IR receiver with MX-850
- etc

Is there a known problem in the TiVo box itself related to slow IR response times? I own a series 1 and a series 2 and have NEVER experienced anything like this. Those machines were in the same environment that the new S3 is in.

I bought the S3 because I was tired of burning up Moto HD DVRs. The Moto DVRs also had less than predictable remote performance at times but the TiVo is consistently poor. I did notice that after a reboot it was responsive (I did not test this more than once so take it with a grain of salt). I am seriously considering returning the S3 and going back to the Moto DVR. I will miss the picture and sound quality of TiVo but this is ridiculous.

Thoughts/info?

Thanks in advance.

GoHokies! · 03-02-2007, 08:18 AM

No problems here, maybe you have a bad unit.

Haven't heard this complained about much.

Edmund · 03-02-2007, 09:06 AM

How about with mrf250 or 300 whatever one you have completely unplugged?

yunlin12 · 03-02-2007, 09:52 AM

Do you have a plasma TV, they are known to cause IR interference with Tivo S3.

TiVolunteer · 03-02-2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yunlin12

Do you have a plasma TV, they are known to cause IR interference with Tivo S3.

I also had a problem with IR interference caused by another IR emitter in the room (my daughter's dancepad for the playstation -- it was folded in a corner and some of the contacts were touching).

Try the old "IR hood" trick. As a test, put a double thick blanket over the S3 and the remote. See if your remote performance improves under that condition. If it does, you are dealing with an IR interference problem.

Also, when you are testing with the TiVo remote only, have you completely unplugged the RF-IR repeater for the MX-850? If I remember correctly, one of those models has a IR repeater mode as well. It could be creating a double IR hit (slightly out of phase) which would be just as bad as the interference from another emitter.

snappa · 03-02-2007, 11:07 AM

The IR repeater is setup so it does NOT receive any IR. It will only receive RF and turns that into IR. (good question though).

I did run the test with the mrf disconnected.

There is a plasma but it has never interfered with any other IR in the room (and there are 6 devices). Maybe TiVo is a bit more sensitive so I will definitely try covering the unit up to see if this is the issue. There is a large picture across from the Plasma that could be reflecting. It's worth a shot.

Thanks all. I will report back tonight after I get to experiment with this.

TiVolunteer · 03-02-2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappa

The IR repeater is setup so it does NOT receive any IR. It will only receive RF and turns that into IR. (good question though).

I did run the test with the mrf disconnected.

There is a plasma but it has never interfered with any other IR in the room (and there are 6 devices). Maybe TiVo is a bit more sensitive so I will definitely try covering the unit up to see if this is the issue. There is a large picture across from the Plasma that could be reflecting. It's worth a shot.

Thanks all. I will report back tonight after I get to experiment with this.

If it turns out to be the plasma, there is a whole 'nother thread dealing with that issue.

If it turns out to be something else in the room, you can use a camcorder in IR mode to find the other source. In a dark room in IR mode, the playstation dancepad shone like a beacon.

GoHokies! · 03-02-2007, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TiVolunteer

If it turns out to be something else in the room, you can use a camcorder in IR mode to find the other source. In a dark room in IR mode, the playstation dancepad shone like a beacon.

Also the LCD of a regular digital camera works for this too, it shows up as a white light. Pretty cool!!!

snappa · 03-02-2007, 02:20 PM

FYI, I called TiVo support. Wow, totally clueless and in complete denial. I explained the problem and they asked me to unplug the TiVo, blah blah blah. I told them I had done this and it did not work.

They said that they would swap the remote out. I explained that the problem was present with three remotes. I proceeded to explain the problem and the relationship to plasma interference and asked if I could talk to someone in engineering. I maintained a very calm tone. It was not angry, not accusatory, just stating the facts as I knew them. They hung up.

Great customer service. Now I'm on a mission to figure this thing out or send the unit back to TiVo. I can say I'm not willing to modify the unit as good as that procedure is. It's a matter of principle. I am a developer and we all make mistakes. The key is how you handle correction of a mistake and TiVo is not handling it very well.

YupYup · 03-02-2007, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappa

I have an S3 that was put in service on 2-14-07. The remote control response time seems to have degraded.

Did you note if the degradation occurred before you received the 8.1.1 software, or did it possibly occur just after receiving it?

Remote responsiveness on my S3s did degrade after receiving 8.1.1. It was very noticable, but not unacceptable, as the remote responsiveness on my S1s is generally much worse, and I'm used to that. My guess is that the S3 is doing more work now than it did before, so it doesn't sample the UI as often or as regularly as it did in the earlier release.

yunlin12 · 03-02-2007, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappa

FYI, I called TiVo support. Wow, totally clueless and in complete denial. I explained the problem and they asked me to unplug the TiVo, blah blah blah. I told them I had done this and it did not work.

They said that they would swap the remote out. I explained that the problem was present with three remotes. I proceeded to explain the problem and the relationship to plasma interference and asked if I could talk to someone in engineering. I maintained a very calm tone. It was not angry, not accusatory, just stating the facts as I knew them. They hung up.

That sucks, when I first got my S3, it had a problem with my leapfrog IR sender. I had to play with the location of the IR sender and the S3 to block the interference. I've since gotten rid of the IR sender, it used to do crazy things on its own, back in the days when I still had the Hughs DTivo. I don't know how vulnerable my S3 would be to a plasma (I have LCD), or how bad Tivo's customer service is, and I'm glad I never had to find out.

CheezWiz · 03-02-2007, 07:51 PM

I too have some odd issues with the remote on the S3. My biggest problem is that it seems to send a single button press twice sometimes. It certainly responds slower than the S2, but like others, I do not find it to be a deal breaker.

Just an FYI, Irobot Roomba home bases throw out a crap load of IR that wipes out all remotes.. Another source to add to the list.

mattack · 03-02-2007, 08:54 PM

I do notice some issues with the S3 remote receiving compared to the receiving on my S1s.

For example, I often have to wait a bit between doing page ups or page downs, rather than just wham wham wham wham and the Tivo buffering up the keyhits. (I realize I can hold down the button too, and that usually works..)

I originally thought it might be the remote itself, but it does seem to be the receiving end, even tough the IR receiver light goes off.

tivochiguy · 03-02-2007, 10:22 PM

As of 8.1.1 my remote performance has been terrible.

snappa · 03-03-2007, 11:14 AM

FYI, I tried covering up the TiVo last night and the remote was responsive. I took the cover off and it was less responsive.

Tried the remote during the day with light in the room and the problem barely noticeable. This is very strange.

Firmware revision of the box is 8.1.1-01-2-648

I do not know if this is what the box shipped with or if it was updated since I installed it (2.5 weeks ago). Is it possible this is related to the firmware rev?

Seems really odd. Never had any issue with my series 1 or series 2. The series 2 was connected to the plasma for a while and it "just worked" as you would expect from TiVo.