[Disney Gal]

My 88 yr old dad has a Series2 Tivo. That remote doesn't have the ABCD buttons. His CC has worked for many years, started being intermittent. Older Tivo doesn't have the CC in display and his older peanut remote doesn't have the ABCD buttons. Troubleshooting says use TV remote to toggle CC on /off. According to TV remote they are on.

Can anyone give me an accurate answer as to whether the newer remote WITH the B Button to toggle CC on/off can even work with the older Tivo. ( Ie button may be on remote but Tivo won't actually get "activiated" to toggle CC on?) -- All of our newer Tivos have the CC on/off in the display menus.
He doesn't have WIFI nor does he want it.. so for now we need to stick with the older Tivo and phone line dial up for programming.
I would really appreciate any help.

 

[ggieseke]

I don't think a Series 2 will recognize button codes like ABCD from later remotes, but I could be wrong if they updated the software without telling anyone. The screen prompts like "Press B" definitely aren't there even with the latest software (9.3.2c) for those models. I still have the equipment to test that theory but it would take me a few days to reprogram.

Since S2s are analog and most CC data is digital these days and contained in alternate streams I'm not surprised that CC is getting intermittent. They depend on "line 21" CC coding, which may be left out since the conversion to digital.

 

[V7Goose]

I do not remember anything about my old S2 box (and I never tried to use closed captions in it anyway), but I do still have a S3 to check - maybe the UI is the same?

My peanut remotes do not have any button for CC toggle at all (at least not labeled that way). The only way I know to turn the CC display dynamically on and off is from the Info screen - just arrow down and hit select. In fact, this is the only way I know to do it even with a Bolt.

Of course on the older box, the CC settings in the display menu still must be set correctly to get an actual CC display - maybe those got screwed up somehow? Try resetting both standard and digital captions (if available) to option 1 and other settings to default. Another thought is that since everything is digital now, maybe they are just stopping the transmission of the type of CC that old box needs?

 

[scandia101]

An S2 Tivo doesn't have CC at all. What the older Tivos did was simply pass the CC signal through to the tv for the tv to handle. If your dad has CC issues, it's the tv not the Tivo.

 

[ThAbtO]

Only Premiere and above has the ABCD button functionality.

The only way to toggle CC is to go into the menu settings. I don't remember if S2 even have digital CC and it might be what you need, or both regular CCs.

 

[Disney Gal]

Many thanks.. I thought it might be the TV—but a tech rep told me to hit the “info” button and scroll down to cc on the far right to toggle on/off. There IS no cc option there or in the main menu. Software was up to date. Told my dad to pick a station that wasn’t high def—but I think it’s all digital . may have to convince him to get WiFi and finally upgrade to a newer Tivo( or learn a dvr box from the cable company :-(

 

[Disney Gal]

I don't think a Series 2 will recognize button codes like ABCD from later remotes, but I could be wrong if they updated the software without telling anyone. The screen prompts like "Press B" definitely aren't there even with the latest software (9.3.2c) for those models. I still have the equipment to test that theory but it would take me a few days to reprogram.

Since S2s are analog and most CC data is digital these days and contained in alternate streams I'm not surprised that CC is getting intermittent. They depend on "line 21" CC coding, which may be left out since the conversion to digital.

 

[Disney Gal]

I knew when high def first came out they were fighting for the coding/line. My dad has insisted it’s intermittent so I was hopeful that it might be signal strength and not a failing tv. Can you clarify what “alternate streams” means with the cc coding?

 

[ggieseke]

I probably shouldn't have said streams, although they can be encoded separately from the video and audio streams in some cases like DVDs.

Series 2s support the old CEA-608 (line 21) standard, but not the newer CEA-708 standard that puts the captioning in the user data portion of the video stream even if it was available in the original broadcast. I think both standards are still required by the FCC, but I can see some sources leaving out the 608 data these days.

 

[krkaufman]

Series 2s support the old CEA-608 (line 21) standard, but not the newer CEA-708 standard that puts the captioning in the user data portion of the video stream even if it was available in the original broadcast. I think both standards are still required by the FCC, but I can see some sources leaving out the 608 data these days.

So if a station isn't broadcasting the required CC signal, a complaint Re: the station could be filed to the FCC...?

 

[ggieseke]

So if a station isn't broadcasting the required CC signal, a complaint Re: the station could be filed to the FCC...?

It's probably not the original broadcaster's fault although I wouldn't be shocked to find a few subchannels broadcasting in ATSC without consistent 608 captions. The retirement center where my Dad lives still has a fairly good analog lineup, but they convert DirecTV on the premises and you can't complain about that. If the OP is on antenna there would have to be a coupon box involved and it could be the problem. If it's straight cable you might get some traction with an FCC complaint.

He doesn't get CC data on every channel or show either, which is a shame because he's deaf as a post. Series 2 TiVos WILL pass 608 captions on to the TV, but it's up to the TV from there (scandia101 was correct on that).

I think Disney Gal's best option is a newer DVR even if it's a sucky cable company version. I have four S2DT TiVos with 500GB hard drives and lifetime if anyone's interested, but they're so obsolete I don't know where you could find a signal for them to record.

 

[Mikeguy]

I think Disney Gal's best option is a newer DVR even if it's a sucky cable company version. I have four S2DT TiVos with 500GB hard drives and lifetime if anyone's interested, but they're so obsolete I don't know where you could find a signal for them to record.

Presumably, as with my Toshiba Series 2 TiVo box, they'll work with the OTA signal (the S2DT TiVo box does OTA, doesn't it?), used in conjunction with an analog-digital OTA signal conversion box (those boxes available for free or low cost at the time of the U.S. analog-digital OTA signal transition) and an infrared zapper cable between the TiVo box and the converter box.

Edit: Inapplicable, as the S2DT TiVo box doesn't do OTA (thanks, @ThAbtO). A good idea otherwise, LOL.

 

[ThAbtO]

(the S2DT TiVo box does OTA, doesn't it?)

No, it doesn't, cable only.