TV doesn't like TiVo ...

3830 Views 45 Replies 19 Participants Last post by dvdfever, Jul 23, 2007

Boo

Discussion Starter · Jul 7, 2007

Hi all,

I've been using my TiVo with my old TV for some years now - no problems at all.
Recently my girlfriend moved in & we've switched to her TV - a 28" widescreen Toshiba CRT.
All seems fine as long as the TiVo is switched off. When I turn TiVo on, then after a few minutes the picture reduces to a line at the bottom of the screen. If you turn the TV off at the switch (i.e. not the remote), then on again, the picture is fine for a few more minutes.
We've taken the TV to a repair guy, who replaced something, but the problem is still occurring. So he's going to have another look, but ...

This couldn't be something to do with the TiVo could it?
After all, it's just a SCART output, so I don't see why that would cause a problem.

I know - I'll plug the TiVo SCART into the other socket on the TV.
Failing that, it might be time to get a new TV (TiVo is obviously 1st, 2nd, & 3rd priority)

Any ideas would be gratefully received ...

PS. after 5-7 years of TiVo ownership there still isn't a day goes past that I don't think how fantastic it is...

1 - 20 of 46 Posts

BrianHughes

· #2 · Jul 7, 2007

This is most likely the teletext bug. Some TVs object to the teletext signals that Tivo sends out. There is a fix. Contact Tivo support and tell them you've changed your TV and now you need version 2.5.5a of the Tivo software. In a day or two you should be upgraded as part of your daily call and then all will work again.

Boo

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 7, 2007

Excellent - I'll give that a go
Thanks

blindlemon

· #4 · Jul 7, 2007

Be careful if you have an upgraded drive > 120gb as requesting the upgrade in that case will cause serious problems!

dvdfever

· #5 · Jul 8, 2007

Boo said:
All seems fine as long as the TiVo is switched off. When I turn TiVo on, then after a few minutes the picture reduces to a line at the bottom of the screen.

Why would anyone switch the TiVo off? It's designed to run 24/7 with the hard drive recording all the time. Switching it off (presumably you mean unplugging it) could result in a hard drive failure at being switched off when writing to the disc, surely?

Prat77

· #6 · Jul 8, 2007

dvdfever said:
Why would anyone switch the TiVo off? It's designed to run 24/7 with the hard drive recording all the time. Switching it off (presumably you mean unplugging it) could result in a hard drive failure at being switched off when writing to the disc, surely?

By "off", I think he means standby. And it's used to release control of the scart socket, and to allow Tivo to tape suggestions immediately.

In addition, powering off Tivo from the plug is something the machine is designed to cope with - it shouldn't cause problems with the file system. Turning disks on and off regularly may shorten their life however - but this is something that happens every days with PCs!

dvdfever

· #7 · Jul 8, 2007

Prat77 said:
By "off", I think he means standby. And it's used to release control of the scart socket, and to allow Tivo to tape suggestions immediately.

In addition, powering off Tivo from the plug is something the machine is designed to cope with - it shouldn't cause problems with the file system. Turning disks on and off regularly may shorten their life however - but this is something that happens every days with PCs!

Phew! If I turned my TiVo off at the socket each night, I'd expect it to be sprouting trolley wheels and heading off to TiVo HQ to complain that it's not being used to its true purpose

That's a good point about PCs. I never turn mine off but I know lots of people who do, including one couple who put it on for 5 minutes use, then turn it off again, and so on for whenever they need it. I've tried telling them that's not a good idea, but do they listen?!

AMc

· #8 · Jul 9, 2007

dvdfever said:
That's a good point about PCs. I never turn mine off but I know lots of people who do, including one couple who put it on for 5 minutes use, then turn it off again, and so on for whenever they need it. I've tried telling them that's not a good idea, but do they listen?!

It depends if you think it's a good idea to possibly preserve your hard disk at the expense of burning electricity 24/7. If you use your PC infrequently then turning it off is the environmentally responsible thing to do.

My Dell system uses about 200W running with the monitor and 100W without. I use it for 8 hours a day most week days and turn it off when its not used for more than an hour. I've had one disk failure in about 7 years which died in the first 6 months so probably wasn't 100% to start with and didn't fail on boot either.

If I were to run my PC 24/7 with the monitor off when I was away I'd use 3.2KW each week day and 2.4KW each weekend day = 20.8KW a week compared to the 8KW a week I use.

If you let power save spin down the disk then you might as well turn the whole thing off anyway - it's the same effect. If you think leaving a PC on means you don't need to archive and back up then you are probably going to get a rude awakening one day!

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Boo

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 11, 2007

What I meant by 'switch off' is hit the Standby button on the remote - I don't pull the plug.
Computers & hard disks are pretty resilient so leaving them powered up or powering them down is pretty much fine. I leave mine powered up 24x7 but that's mostly for convenience, overnight backup scripts, etc.

A couple of guys at Google did a study on hard disk life (Google uses [a lot of] standard EIDE/SATA hard disks). What they found is that a few fail pretty quick (basically the duds) & the rest keep going pretty much indefinitely even if you never spin them down. So leaving hard disks powered all the time doesn't reduce their life.

So I guess the conclusion is that the choice is up to you - power down or leave yuor PC going all the time.

As far as the TiVo goes - why power down?!
I called TiVo support as suggested & now have software 2.5.5a. This meant TiVo had to restart to apply the new software - probably the first time it's restarted in 5-7 years.

Now all is fine & the Toshiba TV isn't getting upset - I'm back in TiVo heaven.

re. someone's warning on upgraded drives - I upgraded ages ago to 120GB, so I guess I get away with that one. Still got the original 40GB drive safely tucked away in the back of a drawer, just in case ...

Thanks for the help - it meant I got the TiVo back & running pronto rather than stressing over this whole issue

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dvdfever

· #10 · Jul 11, 2007

AMc said:
It depends if you think it's a good idea to possibly preserve your hard disk at the expense of burning electricity 24/7. If you use your PC infrequently then turning it off is the environmentally responsible thing to do.

My Dell system uses about 200W running with the monitor and 100W without. I use it for 8 hours a day most week days and turn it off when its not used for more than an hour. I've had one disk failure in about 7 years which died in the first 6 months so probably wasn't 100% to start with and didn't fail on boot either.

If I were to run my PC 24/7 with the monitor off when I was away I'd use 3.2KW each week day and 2.4KW each weekend day = 20.8KW a week compared to the 8KW a week I use.

If you let power save spin down the disk then you might as well turn the whole thing off anyway - it's the same effect. If you think leaving a PC on means you don't need to archive and back up then you are probably going to get a rude awakening one day!

I'm not saying leaving a PC on all the time doesn't mean you don't need to back up as I do that anyway, but I use it regularly as it is.

The environment's got nothing to do with it, as any contribution mankind might be able to make when it comes to the world heating up has got nothing on Mother Nature itself, regardless of the nonsense pumped up by the media and the government with all their 'carbon footprint' nonsense that just leads to more stealth taxes.

AMc

· #11 · Jul 12, 2007

You're right global warming is clearly a myth - silly me.
Enjoy your electricity bill anyway.

dvdfever

· #12 · Jul 12, 2007

AMc said:
You're right global warming is clearly a myth - silly me.
Enjoy your electricity bill anyway.

Never said it was a myth, but the world heats up over a 150-year period and cools down over the next 150 years. It's warming up at the moment but it's part of a natural cycle. The planet is not dying, and it does not need saving.

But that isn't the kind of news that the overhysterical government and media circus want to hear, is it(!)

SilkMan

· #13 · Jul 12, 2007

That's right, compared to cows, I contribute next to nothing to the hydrocarbons in the atmosphere, but that won't stop me from trying

Don't let cattle win the battle - [email protected] for Britain :up: :up:

SilkMan

· #14 · Jul 12, 2007

dvdfever said:
Never said it was a myth, but the world heats up over a 150-year period and cools down over the next 150 years. It's warming up at the moment but it's part of a natural cycle. The planet is not dying, and it does not need saving.

But that isn't the kind of news that the overhysterical government and media circus want to hear, is it(!)

That's what we need - informed debate from a leading environmental scientist.

DVDfever.co.uk - the climatologist's favourite website.

dvdfever

· #15 · Jul 12, 2007

SilkMan said:
That's what we need - informed debate from a leading environmental scientist.

DVDfever.co.uk - the climatologist's favourite website.

It's pretty obvious when you think about it. If there really was a problem with the planet, New Labour would've made a fuss far sooner about it, but, now they've realised it's a moneyspinner with the taxes...

Live Earth? Do me a favour. If all those pop stars were really 'environmentally friendly' then they wouldn't have jetted round the world for Live 8, never mind Live Earth.

Climate change? At this point I'd use Paul Calf's catchphrase but the swear-filter would probably asterisk it out

SNJpage1

· #16 · Jul 13, 2007

I have 3 PC's running 24/7 and have never lost a hard drive. The monitors are set to go into stand by after so many minutes of no activity. I just replaced a monitor 6 months ago that had been running 24/7 for 4 years. Only problem I have found with 24/7 is the amount of heat that builds up in the room. But in the winter it helps to heat the room which is on the same thermostat as the bedroom which we keep lower than the other rooms in the house.

AMc

· #17 · Jul 14, 2007

Scientists have been warning governments about the impact of massive increases in carbon dioxide emissions on the global climate since the 70's - ask Al Gre he's quite informed on the subject. The fact that it has taken 30 years to even start to reach the popular consiousness and make it to the global political agenda is not evidence of its insignificance but evidence of its mind blowing importance. It has been politically inconvenient as we need to make major socioeconomic changes now. As politicians live on a 4-5 year life cycle they have been hoping it will happen to the next guy but even they have finally realised that it's happening right now.

All my electricity is renewably sourced (www.good-energy.co.uk) but I don't believe wasting it is a good idea anyway so I turn things off that aren't in use.

dvdfever - that you don't believe in it doesn't mean it's not happening - I fully appreciate I'm never going to change your mind but hopefully I can at least offer a counter point to your posts.

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6022tivo

· #18 · Jul 14, 2007

Boo said:
Now all is fine & the Toshiba TV isn't getting upset - I'm back in TiVo heaven.

re. someone's warning on upgraded drives - I upgraded ages ago to 120GB, so I guess I get away with that one. Still got the original 40GB drive safely tucked away in the back of a drawer, just in case ...

Yep, you will be ok with a 120gb.

I don't know why TiVo don't stick the new kernal (I understand it is already in the US software) into our Uk 2.5.5a??

Has anyone asked them?

b166er

· #19 · Jul 14, 2007

dvdfever said:
the world heats up over a 150-year period and cools down over the next 150 years.

You're right, check out this chart that confirms your 300 year cycle (oh wait, no it doesn't):

dvdfever said:
If there really was a problem with the planet...

If there was a problem then it would show up in something like the antarctic ice core which has recorded the atmospheric conditions in the ice layers (like the rings on a tree) going back hundreds of thousands of years. It shows the CO2 levels and how they've risen and fallen with the numerous ice ages in the last 400,000 years. Check out the red line on this chart. We're now 25% higher than it's been in 400,000 years and that's through 4 ice ages:

The key phrase here is "Tipping Point". You see examples of this concept when you watch racing drivers lapping a track on the limit. Once they go over that tipping point that's too far to be able to counter the oversteer, they spin off in spectacular fashion. It only takes an effort of 0.5% more than you gave on the last lap to go over that point. That's why man's extra contribution to CO2 levels can cause dramatic effects.

I recommend you watch The Inconvenient Truth and take off the blinkers.

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b166er

· #20 · Jul 14, 2007

blindlemon said:
Be careful if you have an upgraded drive > 120gb as requesting the upgrade in that case will cause serious problems!

I've seen this line at the bottom of my Sharp 26" Aquos LCD TV occasionally. My TiVo is never on standby. What I usually do is switch the TV back off and on and it goes away. It's a horizontal bright line at the bottom of the screen and the rest of the screen is black.

Considering that it happens once in every 50 times I turn on the TV, and I have a 250GB drive, I guess it's safer to live with it than get 2.5.5a.

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