TiVo HD - All Video Vanishes - Page 6

CrispyCritter · 11-18-2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpmclaugh33

OK, first thing. This thread and this one - http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=372716 are basically the same thread. Maybe somebody can combine the two. It seems this problem is relatively common or at least not uncommon.

I had the black screen, only menus working again last night. Third time its happened in 2 weeks. 2 of the three times it happened were when I was looking at system info/diagnostic info. Here is a question for everyone having this issue:

Is anybody having this issue NOT using an HDMI connection? What I noticed last night is when the problem occurred, in the system info screen HDMI status said nothing instead of HDCP Enabled. after the reboot it said HDCP Enabled and worked fine. If you are using HDMI, do you have a "cheap" HDMI cable or a "good" one? I would consider mine to be a cheap cable. For people who have swapped out HDMI cables to a better one, has the problem gone away? I am inclined to think this issue is HDMI related. Everything else seems to function except displaying video. Recordings still record and if you change the channel, the tuner reflects the channel change.

Lets post some HDMI related info here and see if we can find some commonality between those of us having this issue.

I'm quite unconvinced it is the same problem. I suspect there are at least two causes of the related problems, if not more. I would guess there are correlations to
1. Initial installation of a new OS
2. Heavy ethernet usage
3. HDMI
4. exit from standby mode.

Which of these are causes, and not correlations, I don't know.

For the record (as I said earlier), I had the problem with no HDMI, no component, no cable cards, and analog signals, all connected to an SD TV.

RickNY · 11-18-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpmclaugh33

Lets post some HDMI related info here and see if we can find some commonality between those of us having this issue.

Its not HDMI related -- I'm using component video, and its happening to me.. Others have reported the same.

lessd · 11-18-2007, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickNY

Its not HDMI related -- I'm using component video, and its happening to me.. Others have reported the same.

When it happened to me i even went to composite outputs and the problem was still there, a soft re-boot fixed it and it never happened again for me anyways so i never called TiVo about it.

njdtivo · 11-18-2007, 08:44 PM

I spoke with Tivo tech support today and the HD specialist told me that they are aware of the problems and that they are HDMI related. She told me she didn't know when there would be a fix.

Graymalkin · 11-18-2007, 09:40 PM

I had this problem today, but none of the usual suspects seem to be involved.

Unmodified TiVo HD, 9.2a-01-2-652 software, analog cable (no CableCards), 480i fixed, S-video connection (it's an old TV).

A soft reboot fixed the problem, but I still get one second's worth of black screen when changing channels.

lessd · 11-19-2007, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by njdtivo

I spoke with Tivo tech support today and the HD specialist told me that they are aware of the problems and that they are HDMI related. She told me she didn't know when there would be a fix.

They (TiVo) may have a HDMI problem but its not the one on this thread that we are talking about, the blackout comes from all outputs, I know because i tried all four. The problem may be that when the HDMI thinks its being cheated (by error of some sort) it shuts down all outputs.

boettcht · 11-19-2007, 10:07 AM

I just set up an HDT for my parents on Friday night (cablecards installed on Sat) and the Tivo went into this mode 7 times since turning it on, 3 of them before the cable cards were installed.

I could not figure out what was casing it, I saw it go to the black/gray screen once while watching live tv, during a channel change, & browsing tivo menus.

Called tech support late Sat. night and they had me do a 57 kickstart and let me go while it did the kickstart, 20 minutes after booting up the tivo went back tot the gray screen.

Called tivo back on Sunday and they are replacing the box, they did not give me any explanation of the issue. What is the likely hood that this is going to be an issue on the new box?

The screen is present on component & composite outputs.

Islanti · 11-19-2007, 01:41 PM

I'm not even using HDMI on the box and have seen this happen twice on only one of my 3 Tivo HD boxes.

TomRaz · 11-19-2007, 07:16 PM

I had the same problem with one Tivo HD unit that I purchased from Amazon and Tivo advised me to send my original unit back to Amazon and get it replaced.

I decided to get a refund from Amazon and purchase one directly from Tivo. And the same thing happened with that unit. It doesn't seem to matter what version of software you are running or what output mode you are using.

Tivo support has told me they are aware of the issue and are working on the problem.

Hopefully they will have a fix soon

dslunceford · 11-19-2007, 07:42 PM

Did guided setup on two THDs this evening in anticipation of install Wed.; wanted to be certain to get 9.2 on the box before my cc install. Just did a quick hook up using composite/RCA jack and the wireless Ethernet for connectivity. No TV signal at all coming in to the box

First box, no issues, took 5 forced calls to get 9.2. Second box, guided setup was fine, after first forced call, background screens went away and there was just gray screen, otherwise menus worked. Forced call again, got 9.2, restarted and backgrounds are back.

The only thing i did differently was I selected "no cablecard" on first box (as I didn't have them yet); on second box, I selected "yes, cablecard" in GS, then simply skipped the install step.

hartebeest · 11-19-2007, 09:27 PM

I've just had the same problem for the first time.

TiVoHD with no mods, installed about 2 months, CC installed about 6 weeks ago
9.2a-01-2-652
multicast CC
component
native
Comcast cable (in Arlington, VA)

I initially had the ESPNHD/ESPN2HD problem about a week ago - ESPNHD worked, ESPN2HD was black, but all other channels that I tried were working. Later, ESPN2HD was working again. Then several days later, I noticed other HD channels missing, but non-HD still looked fine. Then today, I lost all non-HD channels and the only channels that worked were the local HD channels. I called Comcast and while I was on the phone I was going through the CC diagnostics menus and got the black background behind the menus and then all channels were gone. I then rebooted and after the "few more minutes" screen came up, it froze. Stayed there for almost 40 minutes. I unplugged the box and after it rebooted everything works.

When I was in the diagnostic menus, both cards had 100 for signal strength and appeared to be tuning properly. SNR was about 36dB for both. But when I tried to test channels, I got "No Channels Available."

Since my problem appeared to occur in phases over about a week, I can't remember if there was a common denominator to the occurrence of problems (e.g., using menus, live TV button, network connection etc. as others have reported).

steinercat · 11-20-2007, 01:44 AM

I've experienced the sqame problem on an unmodified THD.

Philips 1.3a HDMI cable.

the black screen freaked me out as I just got this thing hooked up last Friday.

Could it be the quality/type of the HDMI cable? I doubt that as the Philips HDMi cable is pretty darn good.

pjhartman · 11-20-2007, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steinercat

Could it be the quality/type of the HDMI cable? I doubt that as the Philips HDMi cable is pretty darn good.

Folks not using HDMI have also experienced the black screen problem.

uforia · 11-20-2007, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomRaz

I had the same problem with one Tivo HD unit that I purchased from Amazon and Tivo advised me to send my original unit back to Amazon and get it replaced.

I decided to get a refund from Amazon and purchase one directly from Tivo. And the same thing happened with that unit. It doesn't seem to matter what version of software you are running or what output mode you are using.

Tivo support has told me they are aware of the issue and are working on the problem.

Hopefully they will have a fix soon

I had this issue with my original box and had it replaced by Tivo a few weeks ago. I have not seen this issue with the new box at all, although I've not purposely tried to make the issue reoccur. I have gone in and looked at system info, diagnostics, forced some updates, and have copied shows via MRV and have not had the problem again.

I was very skeptical that the new box would not have the same problem. Since I had both the new one and bad one at the same time while doing the swap, I popped the hoods on both and tried to see a if there was any difference. There were actually 2-3 chips that had later version numbers on them. None were obviously an MPEG decoder or anything that'd lead me to think it could fix the issue, but I've not had the issue occur again.

So, if Tivo wants to replace the box, I say let them. Just hopefully you can copy your shows off to another Tivo or PC so you don't lose them. We cannot, in any way, say they've fixed the problem on newer boxes, but it may just be the luck of the draw.

ajcadoo · 11-21-2007, 03:53 PM

so i got a tivo hd last week and plugged it in to my cable. i was only able to recieve the first 100 channels because they are not digital. i find out that it is only possible to watch digital channels with two S-CARDS or one M-CARD. a cox installer came to my house today to install the multistream card and after a couple of problems he finally got it to work. He then tests the channels, but every single one is BLACK! he tells me, "if there are no channels in the next couple hours, call tivo." so i do call tivo and they tell me, "have your cable provider to 'reactivate' the card." so i call back my installer and he says, "nope, thats not a problem. the card has already been activated and it is ready!" my installer suggests to get a new box. do i need to? are there any ways to fix it? HELP PLEASE! this box, by the way, was purchased brand new from amazon.com.

expletive · 11-21-2007, 04:35 PM

Same problem for me, brand new box from amazon with 2 cablecards and latest software. Using component cables. For me i can reproduce it with some regularity by going into the setup menus and then trying to return to video. This is definitely not an HDMI issue unless, as some suggest, HDMI is looking for a handshake when one is not necessary. I get all the menus but no video playback or menu backgrounds, just grey (which is what my letterbox color is set to). Very annoying. I know this issue is slightly different than those with absolutely NO video but they do seem to be related.

FWIW, my video output setting is 1080i Hybrid.

Marc421 · 11-24-2007, 08:18 PM

Same problem. Brand new TiVo from Amazon this week. Two cable cards installed yesterday and twice now, black screen.
Running with HDMI out. 1080i fixed. Screen goes black menus stay, no live TV with menus.

AZrob · 11-24-2007, 10:54 PM

I had the blackout menu again tonight, a week since the last time. Of note this time: I have been trying to get TTCB to work this week, with very little success. All day I tried to get it to work, and then finally a transfer successfully started. But when I actually tried to go to the screen to see the show that was being transferred to Tivo - bam, got the black screen. So maybe there is something to this idea that increased network traffic and/or decoding of a show being transferred is correlated with this issue.

Has anyone had this problem while in Native format mode? That was suggested to me by Tivo this week, but I never got around to switching to it.

Rob

wokNroll · 11-25-2007, 01:12 AM

I experienced this same problem with my new (unmodified) Tivo HD. No cablecards yet. I am using 1080i fixed output via HDMI. It has only happened once so far and a restart of the Tivo box fixed the problem.

lessd · 11-25-2007, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZrob

I had the blackout menu again tonight, a week since the last time. Of note this time: I have been trying to get TTCB to work this week, with very little success. All day I tried to get it to work, and then finally a transfer successfully started. But when I actually tried to go to the screen to see the show that was being transferred to Tivo - bam, got the black screen. So maybe there is something to this idea that increased network traffic and/or decoding of a show being transferred is correlated with this issue.

Has anyone had this problem while in Native format mode? That was suggested to me by Tivo this week, but I never got around to switching to it.

Rob

This is a known problem, it does not depend on anything you the owner does as it will happen when using the composite outputs also. After it happens a soft re-boot will fix the problem and for the 15 units my friends and I own it does not happen again (yet), again do a soft re-boot don't unplug the TiVo. I do hope TiVo will fix this problem.

Marc421 · 11-25-2007, 11:30 AM

Sorry, but it absolutely happens again after a soft reboot as documented in 6 pages of posts here and my own experience. You and your friends are very lucky.

I only hope it is a temporary software issue. Seems to happen when I am playing around in system settings or accessing photos/music from my macs.

CrispyCritter · 11-25-2007, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc421

Sorry, but it absolutely happens again after a soft reboot as documented in 6 pages of posts here and my own experience. You and your friends are very lucky.

I disagree. That's only true if you believe that there is only one cause for the problem. There's absolutely no evidence for that belief. I certainly believe that for you (and many others) it will happen again after a soft reboot. But that is not true for everybody.

TiVo Troll · 11-25-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NaperTiVo

Two THD's, has happened on both of them. They are both 3 days old. One happened pre-cablecard the other post-cablecard. Each time happened when pressing Live TV. Version 9.1. Is there anybody who has had a THD up for more than a couple weeks and not had this happen to them?

PLEASE BE A SOFTWARE BUG! And please fix it soon!

It is likely a s/w related glitch or bug.

I experienced the HDTiVo blankscreen problem on two occasions, first right after initial running Guided Setup. There was no pix on analog channels but then they started coming in intermittantly. At first I thought it was caused by a bad a/d encoder, but a soft reboot fixed it.

Then, a few weeks later, right after installing an 'M' CableCARD (and then rerunning Guided Setup) the same thing happened. Again a soft reboot fixed it. It hasn't recurred.

mpmclaugh33 · 11-25-2007, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZrob

Has anyone had this problem while in Native format mode? That was suggested to me by Tivo this week, but I never got around to switching to it.

Rob

I use Native format and its happened to me 3 times.

Marc421 · 11-25-2007, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrispyCritter

I disagree. That's only true if you believe that there is only one cause for the problem. There's absolutely no evidence for that belief. I certainly believe that for you (and many others) it will happen again after a soft reboot. But that is not true for everybody.

So for some it only happens once and a soft reboot fixes the problem forever?

And to be clear I was responding to Lessd's assertion "After it happens a soft re-boot will fix the problem".

TiVo Troll · 11-25-2007, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

When it happened to me i even went to composite outputs and the problem was still there, a soft re-boot fixed it and it never happened again for me anyways so i never called TiVo about it.

I use two outputs simultaneously, HDMI and Component (to a DVD recorder), and blank screens appeared on both, both times it happened.

Since my HDTiVo was brand new the first time it experienced the blankscreen issue, even though a soft reboot 'fixed' the problem, I called TiVo Tech Support the very next day to initiate a Case Number, to protect my warrantee rights in case blankscreen became a sleeper issue.

lessd · 11-25-2007, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc421

So for some it only happens once and a soft reboot fixes the problem forever?

And to be clear I was responding to Lessd's assertion "After it happens a soft re-boot will fix the problem".

Forever is a long time, I have seen the problem on about 6 of the 15 units I helped friends install and when the video goes it goes from ALL outputs as i tried them all I also tried changing resolution to every one TiVo had, still no video, with a soft re-boot the problem went away for good as of now for the 15 units i know about (I now do a one soft re-boot on HD-TiVos that don't show the problem). The problem could come up again tomorrow or 5 years from now, I can't answer that question but TiVo should. I had one fail in the first guided setup but I completed the setup (even the start-up video would not play, only a blank screen for that time). Again a soft re-boot fixed the problem. My sample of HD-TiVos is small compared to this board but large compared to any one person on this board. (anyone need a 160Gb SATA new Hard Drive as i have about 15 of them)
Don't get me wrong, this is a problem TiVo should be addressing, they know about it and i hope it can be fixed by software. V9.2a does not fix the problem.

AZrob · 11-26-2007, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lessd

Forever is a long time, I have seen the problem on about 6 of the 15 units I helped friends install and when the video goes it goes from ALL outputs as i tried them all I also tried changing resolution to every one TiVo had, still no video, with a soft re-boot the problem went away for good as of now for the 15 units i know about (I now do a one soft re-boot on HD-TiVos that don't show the problem). The problem could come up again tomorrow or 5 years from now, I can't answer that question but TiVo should. I had one fail in the first guided setup but I completed the setup (even the start-up video would not play, only a blank screen for that time). Again a soft re-boot fixed the problem. My sample of HD-TiVos is small compared to this board but large compared to any one person on this board. (anyone need a 160Gb SATA new Hard Drive as i have about 15 of them)
Don't get me wrong, this is a problem TiVo should be addressing, they know about it and i hope it can be fixed by software. V9.2a does not fix the problem.

Thank you, Les, for your helpful observations, since none of us has access to a larger sample of Tivo's. If you do start to hear of repeat occurrences I'd appreciate knowing about them...I'm talking to a couple of 2nd Tier techs at Tivo, and they can use all the data on this issue we can give them. It's obviously not such a glaring problem that it has risen to the top of their list yet, but the more we report it, the more likely it will receive proper attention.

Rob

Mars Rocket · 11-26-2007, 01:24 PM

I've only seen this problem twice: once on 10/19, when I was installing the Cable Cards, and once more on 10/22 while browsing through the menus. I haven't seen it since then. I have repeated Guided Setup once in the interim to add OTA channels, and I think the unit has been rebooted once or twice for other reasons since then (drive upgrade).

So now I'm at the 4+ weeks mark with no black screens.

Isprex · 11-26-2007, 03:46 PM

This has happened to me on multiple occasions and I've only had the unit for a few days. Hope they come up with a fix soon.