Hey Brainer:
Just wondering... now that it's been 3+ months... are you still able to get all TVGOS listings, and all functionality that goes with it, via the method you employed?

Thanks!
Martin Lacoste

Martlaco:

Martin:

I see after I already posted a reply in your thread that you've already seen
my thread here.

Actually, I haven't tried getting listings off digital lately. A few months back, I had an outage of VBI data on the digital channel, and I had to harrass about 4 people at CBC and Rogers to get it fixed.

Ever since, I've stuck with connecting the box to analog, though I imagine that now that the signal is back online, digital still should work.

If you try it, please let me know how it works out for you.

Brainer

Hi Brainer (or anyone else who can possibly help me!)

I am new to this forum, and brand new to DVD recorders. I just got off the phone with Sony "tech support" and they told me that there is no way to watch TV (I have a Rogers Digital Cable Box) on another channel while recording on the Sony RDR HX 780. Is this true? I bought the machine thinking I would be able to record something and watch something else! For the moment, I have figured out how to hook it all up and record, but when I record TV and change the channel it records me changing channels. I'm a bit frustrated.

Is there a gleam of hope at all? or am I forced to go back to analog TV and lose the digital cable channels in order to record and watch at the same time? Do the TVGOS you speak of have something to do with it?
I am also in Toronto, so I am assuming my channel is also 812 or 12. hummm..

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Larie

You can record an analog cable channel (if still available) while watching another digital channel, but can't record a digital channel while watching another digital channel unless you have 2 Cable boxes. See this FAQ on How to Connect a VCR, or DVD Recorder and STB to achieve maximum functionality:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76077

Also read the following post and relevant links, useful for those new to the forum:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

Rick:

I have the same unit...recently, the TV Guide listings have stopped appearing on this unit (and others I have found out). Cogeco tells me that the TV guide listings are gone due to the analogue/digital conversion (which has not happened in Canada yet).

I have contacted Sony, and they can offer no solutions. Cogeco has offered me no solutions.

Save your $1000.00 and buy a digital PVR. Sony RDR-HX900 will not work as intended without the TV Guide listings.

What I have discovered through my research is that the TV Guide signals are "piggybacked" over regular cable signals by a couple of US broadcasters. The local cable company does not support this signal.


I am at a loss as to who exactly sends these signals for the TV Guide, and I am at a loss as to how to fix this problem. Any suggestions or expert help would of course be duly appreciated.

Do a search of this forum for TVGOS (TV Guide On Screen). These threads will enlighten you as to what is happening in this regard. I believe there's a recent one in the Cogeco forum.

Edit - the "how to connect" has is provided in the post 24 link.

As SF author Robert Heinlein wrote, "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch".

In this case you can easily do what you wish to do, but you may have to buy another piece of equipment (No Free Lunch).

First of all you don't explain to what you are connecting your DVD recorder and how you are making connections.

For example, I have never used TVGOS as I don't use the tuner in the DVD recorders I have. I input to the DVD recorders via S-video cable from a satellite receiver or two. My tuners are in the satellite receivers or in my Shaw boxes.

Recording is a bit more complicated, but I have maximized my video quality by using S-Video cables.

From you description it appears that you are using coaxial cable to input to your DVD recorder. This is the worst connectivity from a quality perspective.

If you have a cable box, it likely has some choices for video output. However, if your box has a single tuner, then you are stuck. If it is a dual tuner box, then simply connect one output to the DVD recorder and the other to your TV (or whatever). Output from the DVD recorder to a different input on your TV set.

If your box has only a single tuner, then all you can do is to watch a video while recording something else to the Hard Drive, or watch something on the HDD while recording something onto a blank DVD.

An alternative procedure would be to purchase an amplified splitter and put it between the wall jack and the set top box. One output goes to the STB and the other goes to your TV set. This setup would allow you to watch analogue channels on your TV while your STB is sending a different channel to your DVD recorder.

My own signal path is more complicated. I have 4 DVD recorders in the Living Room as wel as a satellite tuner and a Shaw STB. All my DVD recorders have multiple inputs and this allows me to connect both program sources to each DVD recorder. So, for example, I route my Shaw STB output (for SD programs) first to a device for removing the anticopy crap that Shaw puts on some channels, then to an ampified video distributor, then out from the distributor to each DVD recorder, then from the DVD recorders to an Audio Video Receiver which upconverts everything to 1080p, then to my TV set. I use the best quality of connection available for each connection - S-Video from the STB right through to the DVD recorders, then Component Video from the DVD recorders to the AVR, then HDMI from the AVR to the TV set.

If I haven't covered your particular setup, then precisely describe what you have and how everything is connected together.

I think that it might help to reduce confusion if we all understand the signal chain and where the TVGOS signal is inserted.

I find this article from dvdwplus.org particularly helpful.
Most notably, the diagram.

http://www.dvdplusrw.org/Article.asp?mid=-1&sid=-1&aid=79
This may be too technical for some.

It helps to know that the inserter for the TVGOS signal is usually at the station's HQ, but it can sometimes be at the Cable provider's location (though expect them to deny, deny, deny that or be clueless about it).
Also helpful is knowing that generally, you must at least connect your cable provider's coaxial cable to a TVGOS compatible device, as the signal is not transmitted through other interfaces. You can record through any compatible interface, but if you want guide data, you must use coax. This is why sometimes others recommend attaching an antenna, as well as cable, so that you can try getting the TVGOS data from an over-the-air antenna signal. Of course, many stations are s going digital now, so your experience may differ.

For something a little more understandable, see here:
Macrovision's TVGOS Support page:

http://www.macrovision.com/support/9464.htm


TVGOS Technical FAQ:
http://home1.gte.net/res18h39/tvgos.theabsolutenuts.com/techfaq.html

I hope this helps clarify things for some of you.

Brainer