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tivo w/ DTV sony B50 stops changing channels
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Posted by: dood

i have a 20hr phillips tivo box upgraded to 103hours with software version 2.5.1-01-1-000. i have read all the posts i can find on the issue, i'm using a serial cable. like most people, my tivo worked fine for about 6 months. i've double checked the cable, they are not loose. i've unplugged both the dtv box and the tivo. i've read that they just have to be booted seperately. anyway, when i reboot the sony sat-b50, the tivo can change channels for a few minutes, then its back to being stuck on whatever channel its on. so the cable isn't bad becuz it works for a couple of minutes. so i think the serial ports work fine too becuz it obviously can communicate w/ each other. but after a couple channel changes, it can't change anymore. the tivo changes channels but the dtv box stays on the same channel. it tries to change but can't. i don't want to use the ir blaster. serial is better, when it worked. i've had so many problems with my tivo. no wonder they have only a 90 day warranty. cuz they sorta suck.

Posted by: Dan203

This is a known problem with the B50, and is usually caused by dips or brownouts in the power. Most people with these receivers can prevent it by putting both the TiVo and the receiver on a UPS, but it may not help if the port is defective like many B50 serial ports. A better solution might be to sell your B50 and pick up a cheap RCA receiver w/serial port (~$100) to replace it. From everything I've read they work flawlessly with the TiVo serial connection.

As for your comment about the quality of the TiVo hardware... I have 3 standalone TiVos that I've had for over a year each (one is almost 2 years old) and I've never had one single problem, so maybe it's just you.

Dan

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Moderator: TiVo Coffee House, Help Center & Happy Hour
3 PHILIPS TiVos running 2.5.1

Posted by: dood

well, its not me and its not my b50. rca's aren't as cool as the b50's anyway, i've had them as well. my tivo and b50 are both on a ups so a power outage won't take them down. when i reboot both units, the tivo can change the channel about 3 time before it gets stuck again. so the serial port on the b50 obviously works just fine. but am i going to reboot the b50 and the tivo after every 3 channel changes?? hell no. just do a search on here and find out about all the other people having the same problem. my first tivo worked for about a month then it wouldn't even boot up anymore. it would get to the almost there screen and then turn off and try to boot again and would just be stuck. do a search on here for all the other people who have had the same problem as that!! there's tons. tivo's are a good concept but the hardware and software definately need some work. in other words, they suck. except for the ones that actually work. sounds like u are one of the lucky ones dan203. so i'm gonna stick with my b50, which works fine except for the tivo stuff. and sell the tivo and go with replay or sonic blue.

Posted by: dgh

You'll find that any help forum is full of people needing help. That's what they're for. However, among my friends, TiVos have been reliable.

I've read that Sony will repair or replace some B50s due to their serial port problems. You might want to give that a try. If you have one of the ones with the defective ports then changing the PVR won't help.

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Dave Hicks
(Just 33 years until I'm allowed to be opinionated too.)

Posted by: Dan203

quote:
Originally posted by dood:
well, its not me and its not my b50. rca's aren't as cool as the b50's anyway, i've had them as well.

1) I guarantee your it's the B50 and NOT the TiVo! In fact, as dgh pointed out, Sony has even offered to repair/replace some B50's because of a known defect in the serial port!

2) Why do you need all the cool receiver features with TiVo? Once a receiver is connected to TiVo you're basically using it as a DSS tuner.

3) The problem you described is hard drive failure, which is a common problem. However it's a common problem with ALL devices that use hard drives! This includes computers, TiVos, ReplayTVs, UltimateTVs, X-Boxes, etc... Hard drives fail, it's a fact of life, and there is nothing TiVo, or any other company, can do about it.

Dan

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Moderator: TiVo Coffee House, Help Center & Happy Hour
3 PHILIPS TiVos running 2.5.1