[hddude55]

Any idea why almost every day I have to unplug and plug back in my 810 or else I only have a blank screen. This started about a month ago. I have looked at the front of the TiVo and it looks like commands are received but for some reason picture isn't being transferred to my TV unless I reboot.

 

[Arcady]

Are you still on the original hard drive? It's probably about time to replace it.

 

[robomeister]

Is the Pioneer in Standby mode? What happens if you press the TiVo button on the remote?

I agree with Arcady, sounds like your hard drive need to be replaced. Are you experiencing any studdering or video freezes during playback?

robomeister

 

[hddude55]

Is the Pioneer in Standby mode? What happens if you press the TiVo button on the remote?

I agree with Arcady, sounds like your hard drive need to be replaced. Are you experiencing any studdering or video freezes during playback?

robomeister

It appears that the TiVo executes commands from the remote based on what I see on the front of the TiVo. One time I left the blank TV screen for a minute or two and the picture suddenly emerged but it doesn't usually do that. Of course, I normally just plug and unplug the TiVo rather than sitting around watching a blank screen.

It is the original hard drive but do those symptoms really sound like the hard drive is bad? The TiVo records and plays flawlessly after I reboot it. The only issue is that it often won't produce a picture on my TV unless I unplug/plug in. One other thing I have noted: We have a second series 2 and always are able to transfer programs from the Pioneer 810 to the other series 2, so wouldn't that suggest no hard drive issue with the 810 or else why would it still talk to the other series 2?

 

[robomeister]

I had one experience that kind of relates to your problem. One of my Pioneers seemed to have no problems, little to no pixelating, playback was fine on most programs, etc. But when I played a specific program, the TiVo would freeze. I'd have to reboot the TiVo. If I played the same program and fast forwarded over the suspect portion of the recording, it would play just fine.

The TiVo would also let me burn shows to discs, but not all of them. For some strange reason, when I tried to burn the suspect shows to disc, they would not finish and would lock up the machine.

I eventually replaced the hard drive, and haven't had any problems since.

When your Pioneer goes to a blank screen, is it unresponsive to the remote? Usually, when you are in a menu or not using the TiVo for long periods of time (>30 minutes), the TiVo will go into "screen saver" mode and drop to Live TV. It is possible that the channel it goes to is not a channel you receive? I'm just guessing now.

How is the TiVo connected to the TV? Directly or through a A/V stereo system? Do you use a cable set top box (STB) to get channels? If so, is the STB going to sleep (i.e. turning itself off or going to a blank screen)? Does you TV have a sleep mode where it blanks the screen after a while? or a timer that turns off the screen?

Sorry for the long list, I'm just trying to eliminate all the possible problems.

Good luck,
robomeister

 

[hddude55]

Thanks for the suggestions. I just spoke with Weaknees. They don't think it is a hard drive issue and believe the most likely culprit is a power supply but they weren't supremely confident that was the issue either. I don't think it's cost effective to start buying replacement parts when the problem seems to be a mystery. I may check with Pioneer but believe that's not going to be cost effective either. I'd probably be smarter to buy a reconditioned Humax for $200 from Weaknees than to start spending money on parts for an undiagnosed problem.

 

[Arcady]

If you decide to sell the broken 810, shoot me a PM. Good luck.

 

[hforman]

The only thing we noticed, after the version 9.1 update was the "sleep mode screen". It used to be black. That is, when you went into sleep mode it posted the message about pressing the Tivo or the Live TV key... and then went dark. Now, it turns a "shifting" blue with the familiar three-sided rectangle and no text, icons or anything else.

If I look at the 810-HS front panel, it's all dark but, if I turn the TV on, the screen is that blue with the box. I guess we can live with it.

Could be hitting a bad spot on the disk while it does "maintenance" (like defrag)? There is a "Kickstart 57" or 58 mentioned elsewhere that runs disk diagnostics but nobody said it would work on a Pioneer. Try searching for kickstart but I'm not sure its a good idea to try it or not. I'd like to know what happens if you do try though. My problem just isn't worth it. Good luck to you.

Howie

 

[brn2rnjk1]

I had a similar problem, but the more common would freeze daily (clock froze). Decided it was an HD problem. Troubleshooting was too hard. But, I did get my electrician to monitor the flow from that plug for a few days and I went to a UPS for my new one. You might try UPS and checking the power surges/drops also?

 

[tnitty]

I have the same Pioneer unit and it had the same problem (needed to reboot / unplug daily). But now it's just completely out. When I plug it in, it just continues to say "Just a few more minutes" or something like that, and never finishes. It's useless now.

Anyone know where I can send it to get fixed? I have a lifetime subscription and don't want to trash it.

 

[brn2rnjk1]

Tnitty- That is what happened to me, and ultimately, I decided it was a HD problem. I spoke to many people and that was the best we could come up with (tried plugging in in different locations, disconnecting internet, disconnecting from tv etc). You might try Weaknees for help. There may be a way to replace HD and keep the software.

 

[robomeister]

tnitty,

It sounds like your Pioneer's hard drive has failed. If you see "Just a few minutes more" and then it reboots, that is a clear indication of a failed hard drive. Since you have a lifetime sub on the unit, it is worth it to get it fixed. You have a several options:

1. Buy a pre-configured drive from one of this sites sponsors (weaknees, dvrupgrade, 9thtee, etc.)
2. Buy a blank IDE drive larger than 80GB from anywhere and Instant Cake from dvrupgrade.com ($20). Be sure to get the right version for your Pioneer. Then you can "bake" your new drive in a PC (install the TiVo OS onto the drive) and then install it into your Pioneer. This is usually the least expensive option.
3. Arrange to send the Pioneer to one of this sites sponsors for hard drive replacement. This will probably be the most expensive option, but it will get fixed.
4. Find a local TiVo fanatic to help you fix/upgrade your TiVo. If they have a Pioneer, they can provide you with a working image that can be put onto a new drive for your Pioneer.

Hope that helsp. Good luck.
robomeister

 

[Motard76]

not sure if anyone still looks at this thread or not, but I have the same problem.It has recently been compounded by not being able to open the downloaded file from tivo... did a "clear and delete everything" by the recommendation of pioneer(who by the way did not seem very friendly on the phone)and now its frozen. I have a series 2 tivo DVR that is just sitting around. Can i do a direct swap of the hard drives without "Baking" ? I am new to all this but know a tiny bit about replacing computer parts. I believe it will take more, due to the fact that my pioneer is a dvd player/burner. Thanks in advance for any help. Motard

 

[robomeister]

Motard76,

Nope, you cannot move the drive from the S2 to the Pioneer without "baking." The TiVo software is specific to the model of TiVo. In order to be able to swap drives, the first 3 digits of the TiVo Service Number (TSN) must match.

For help on how to get your TiVo working again, check out my post above.

Hope that helps,
robomeister

 

[JPWahl]

My Pioneer 810 was rebooting every 10 min, when I unplugged the inputs I got more time. But the reboots got closer togather, the longer it was up, after it was powered down for at least an hour it would last about 20 min with no inputs. This made me think my problem was heat and the power supply, I ordered a power supply and hard drive from weakness. I put the power supply in first and no luck, but replacing the hard drive did work. I hope this helps other users.