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Tivo goes blank before menu

1558 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Dr_Diablo, 
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I'm horrible at searching forums, so maybe I missed this one...but is it fairly common that when watching either SD or HD channels on the TivoHD, and you hit the Tivo button, the menu briefly pops up, the screen goes blank for a second, then comes back up.

Almost seems like a resolution issue, and I'm wondering if it is my TV doing it, not the Tivo. I wonder if the resolution from the channel, to the Tivo is different, so the TV flickers. Thoughts?
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Do you have a native output or hybrid mode set in Settings -> Video?

If you have a hybrid or native output mode set, the Tivo sends different channels in their original resolution, and displays must resync every time the resolution of the input signal changes. Some displays can resync in less than a second, while others can take four seconds or more.

If you set TivoHD to Fixed 720p or Fixed 1080i, it will convert all channels to that format so there is no display resyncing necessary.
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Hmm...well I have it set to Native right now...I guess I assumed that would be the best way to do things...is it better to run it at one of the fixed resolutions? What do most people run the resolution at? (I've only the box a few days!)
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boonie45 said:
Hmm...well I have it set to Native right now...I guess I assumed that would be the best way to do things...is it better to run it at one of the fixed resolutions? What do most people run the resolution at? (I've only the box a few days!)
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If you have a 1080p TV, it is preferable -- at least in terms of picture quality -- to use native. When you set the TivoHD to fixed 720p, 1080i channels are converted to 720p, and that is lossy. Similarly, when you set the TivoHD to fixed 1080i, 720p channels are converted to 1080i, and that is also lossy. Some newer displays will also produce a better picture with SD channels when native output mode is used.

The difference in PQ between native and fixed modes will vary from display to display, depending on the quality of the built-in video processor. You'll have to decide if that PQ improvement is worth the extra display resync time when switching between SD (480i), 720p HD, and 1080i HD channels. As noted above, display resync time also varies from display to display -- the ~4.0 second resync time on some displays is more annoying than the <1.0 resync time on some others.

If virtually all your television viewing is of recorded or timeshifted programs (as in my case), then the resync delay may be tolerable. However, if you like to channel surf, you'll probably want set the TivoHD to fixed 720p or fixed 1080i to eliminate those delays.
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boonie45 said:
I'm horrible at searching forums, so maybe I missed this one...but is it fairly common that when watching either SD or HD channels on the TivoHD, and you hit the Tivo button, the menu briefly pops up, the screen goes blank for a second, then comes back up.

Almost seems like a resolution issue, and I'm wondering if it is my TV doing it, not the Tivo. I wonder if the resolution from the channel, to the Tivo is different, so the TV flickers. Thoughts?
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I am experiencing the same as you are in that when attempts to return to Tivo Central screen, for a brief second the screen appears to go black with the highlights of the menu in white, then quickly appears in the normal red color, no matter what the resolution is set to, 1980i or 720...

More software issues to be addressed in future updates one can only hope.
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The issue is with the TV more so than with Tivo. Re-synching is smoother with some TVs, but is bad with most.

I have a 1080p TV and solved this problem by using 1080i fixed and can see no difference in the video PQ. It definately cleared up the re-synching problem.
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Dr_Diablo said:
I am experiencing the same as you are in that when attempts to return to Tivo Central screen, for a brief second the screen appears to go black with the highlights of the menu in white, then quickly appears in the normal red color, no matter what the resolution is set to, 1980i or 720...

More software issues to be addressed in future updates one can only hope.
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Are you sure you are using Fixed 1080i or Fixed 720p?
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what is the resolution of tivo central??
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dtivofan23 said:
what is the resolution of tivo central??
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720p
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rainwater said:
Are you sure you are using Fixed 1080i or Fixed 720p?
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Set at 1080I fixed, now I get a "Poor Signal Quality" on my plasma set every 15 seconds or so, even though the signal strength meter indicates 97-100 percent...
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Dr_Diablo said:
Set at 1080I fixed, now I get a "Poor Signal Quality" on my plasma set every 15 seconds or so, even though the signal strength meter indicates 97-100 percent...
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Is your Tivo Series3 still using 8.0.1?

Most common issues issues were addressed with 8.1.x back in February, and a few more were resolved with 8.3.x back in April. You should probably upgrade to that before posting about any further issues because most no longer exist.

Dr_Diablo said:
I just had a software update this AM...

V8.0.1a-01-2-648
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That version is about a year old.

The Tivo will download 8.3.1 the next time it connects to download guide data, which could be a few days from now.

If you don't want to wait, open Messages & Settings -> Settings -> Phone & Network and force update ("Connect now") until that screen says "Pending restart." It may take a few of these connections before it downloads the software.

Once that Phone & Network screen shows "Pending restart," you can force the immediate install by selecting Messages & Settings -> Reboot. The update installation will take up to 90 minutes -- during which the box may not appear to be doing much -- so don't do it when you have important recordings scheduled. Do not interrupt the update in that time or the Tivo may revert back to 8.0.1.
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The update was at 2 AM ,,, ver 8.3.1

When I got home from work it was installed... But now I only get the analog feeds 2 thru 99

Glad to hear that the "Poor Signal Quality" was software related and not a new issue for me to deal with...

This makes the fouth upgrade since purchase Sunday past...

Gonna hook up the ED this weekend, by then the software should be complete
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