Video signal not present?

G

Guest

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Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

My cable service provider (Charter) sent me a notice that the plan I was on
would be discontinued, so I had to pick another one. They had a special
where I could get all of the premium movie channels for $5 more per month
than I was paying for extended basic, so I signed up. Up until now, I had
the TiVo connected directly to the cable feed without a cable box because I
didn't access any channels over 99, and didn't need the decryption. The
movie channels start at 500, so I needed the box. I hauled it out and tried
to set it up, but it was a General Instrument model that isn't compatible
with Series 1 TiVos (the IR blaster won't change the channels on the box).
So, I took the box down to Charter to swap it out.

The people at Charter had heard of TiVo, but weren't familiar with it.
After much discussion and some searching of Tivocommunity.com, they gave me
a Motorola DCT2224 box to replace the one I had. They weren't sure if it
would work or not.

I set up the box using code 10006-Slow to change the channels, and that
seemed to work. I apparently need to do some hacking of the TiVo software
to enable the serial connection between the TiVo and the DCT2224, and I
regarded that as a last resort.

All seemed to be well until I checked tonight's recording history. "Alias"
was supposed to record at 9:01, but was not recorded because "Video signal
not present." I don't think there were any outages of service this evenig.
To add insult to injury, "Law and Order" didn't record, either, because it
conflicted with "Alias."

So now, after all that, my question: is this a common problem with these
cable boxes, or cable boxes in general? If so, is there anything I can do
to keep it from happening again?
 

kishin

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In article <_Imee.9921$cZ6.3571@fe02.lga>,
"Copwriter" <claymore20@hotmail.com> wrote:

> All seemed to be well until I checked tonight's recording history. "Alias"
> was supposed to record at 9:01, but was not recorded because "Video signal
> not present." I don't think there were any outages of service this evenig.
> To add insult to injury, "Law and Order" didn't record, either, because it
> conflicted with "Alias."
>
> So now, after all that, my question: is this a common problem with these
> cable boxes, or cable boxes in general? If so, is there anything I can do
> to keep it from happening again?

I think there may have been a problem with ABC. Here in Atlanta, "Lost"
had a bad picture throughout the episode, and after it was over (during
"Alias," I think), I saw a message like the one you saw about video not
being present. I turned channels, and the others were okay. I thought it
was a local problem, but maybe not.

Kishin
 

kishin

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Nov 3, 2003
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In article <_Imee.9921$cZ6.3571@fe02.lga>,
"Copwriter" <claymore20@hotmail.com> wrote:

> The people at Charter <snip>

Oh, I'm on Charter, too. More proof that we experienced the same problem.

Kishin
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

>> The people at Charter <snip>
>
> Oh, I'm on Charter, too. More proof that we experienced the same problem.

Maybe just a coincidence, then. Thanks for the reply.