Ditto on that. I've had a very frustrating time with Channel Master, and won't be buying their products again.

Schlerpy and Jaze88

Don't abandon the CM7000 that fast. Sure it has its problems but when you work to resolve it, you don't need any software updates (although it would be nice to have support).

I personally find the idea of having my computer powering TV recording and programing not appealing, never mind more wires all over the room (I have enough already). Switching to another device which is unproven (by me) is also not appealing. Better to get to know whatever you've got before abandoning ship.

Once I reviewed the timer schedules and deleted a couple of items that was set to record for November (reviewed this in June) and disalbed the automatic software update feature, all the quirkiness disappeared.

I have no idea how some items were set to record 6 months into the future, but deleting them put the recording cycle and reliablity back on track, and eliminated the very puzzling over-night warm reboots.

I haven't abandoned the CM7000Pal. I actually do like this product.

What I'm displeased about is Channel Master's lack of support. They never return calls or emails. They never offer fixes for known bugs. I shudder to imagine what it would be like to seek warranty service from Channel Master!

While it's great that you've found a work-around to some of the issues, the responsibility for fixing issues is that of the manufacturer.

I'm getting tired of the random CM7000PAL bugs too. The latest one is that it only tunes the audio for TVO (in the Ottawa-Gatineau market), no video. My TV is still able to tune both, but not the DVR.

When tuning this channel with the 7000, the temporary status message says "AUDIO SERVICE" and a pair of musical note images are made to dance across the screen to entertain me.

Anyone ever seen this? Any remedy? I've tried re-adding the one channel...no luck. Now trying broader measures...will let you know later.

Had a blank screen only once but on all channels not just TVO, but have never seen musical notes dancing around (except when drinking heavily, eyes closed and the TV turned off).

Try doing a warn boot (hold down the power button for 15 or so seconds) and it will reset with the picture restored.

NormLyon, see this thread about TVO - looks like it's TVO's issue (I know they still are having some DTV issues - I bet something is wrong in the PSIP when it falls back to 480i)

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=144969&page=4

BTW, the CM7000PAL is discussed in a separate thread rather than the generic ATSC recorders thread.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95820&page=34

So anyone can just design a tuner with TVGOS?

I was looking into this the other day while writing a PSIP parser. It looks like TVGOS VBI waveform is covered in CEA-2020 (http://www.ce.org/Standards/ANSICEA-2020_Preview.pdf) (TVG1x and TVG2x) but not the payload data format. Still trying to find that.

MonopolyBuster, I went further...Reset to Factory Defaults. No joy, and now I get to reprogram my timers.

El Gran Chico, ahhh yes. Thank you. Misery loves company.

For those that are comparison shopping DVRs, I will point out that this is not solely a TVO issue, since my TV can decode the signal fine. I'm a little worried that there might even be a copy protection flag in play, but if not, the CM7000PAL tuner has an issue that my TV's does not.

The CM7000PAL has a "rough around the edges" design. Further on that, while it was recording TVO audio in this state, it refused to use the 2nd tuner to let me surf to other channels. Stop the recording and I could surf. Start it again, no surf (stayed locked on the channel being recorded). I double checked that there weren't two shows being recorded.

Coming from a VCR, my requirements were low in acquiring a DVR. I can manage without the guide info, but the other problems keep coming at a low rate. (I've had a few problems with timers changing the programming on their own. The worst was before I turned off auto updates, but after, I've had a few that seem possibly tied to DST.) I never had a VCR with such weak firmware.

Anyways, enough ranting. This is a great forum and I've been meaning to register (ie lurking) for a long time. :)

I have to agree with El Gran Chico, this is a TVO issue as it is their bad PSIP data that is causing the problem, the date and time are wrong, program 1 is flagged as DCII video rather than the MPEG2 stream that it is (at least that is what TSReader is saying), no guide data etc. if I knew more about PSIP I could likely find other things wrong with it.

Both of my TVs are able to view the video as well but that just means they are better able to handle the mess that TVO has made of the PSIP data when they fall back to 480i in Ottawa.

I sure hope they get it fixed before Saturday Night at the movies tomorrow. This happened a week or so ago as well and that time it only took them a few hours to fix it, this time it has been over a day now and it is still messed up.

Anyway this is in the wrong thread so I won't say anymore here.

There are many reasons to be frustrated by the 7000 pal but in this case, it's not the device's fault. These things happen sometimes when TV broadcasters mess-up their broadcast stream and it's the luck-of-the-draw which brand of tuner will or won't continue to work. Contact TVO and let them know what tuner you have and wait it out.

Laurie in Ladner BC with a CM4228 and now a CM7000PAL

I just got the CM7000PAL and the guide on it seems great except for the missing Canadian information (about half of the stations).
Till September, I used the TV as a tuner and it had the analog TVGOS built in.
I have the G Link cable and I was wondering if there is any point in trying to get the TVGOS back as the Panasonic TVGOS is analog. But it did give me Guide information for all the stations until the switchover.
I am now favoring the tuner on the CM7000PAL as it is slightly more sensitive than the one built into the TV.
It doesn't seem to make sense to me that the CM7000PAL could populate the analog TVGOS on the TV and still use it as the guide for the DVR.
laurie

Laurie:

You can only use the CM7000PAL to get TVGOS to one device at a time. Once placed into the state which passes along TVGOS to the analog device, the CM7000 no longer works as usual - there are no TV listings to populate (and no ability to record shows or view previous recordings).

The only way to get listings on both devices is to keep switching the CM7000 in and out of regular mode. I set mine to TVGOS mode during the day to populate the analog listings (on your TV), and then back to regular mode at night for regular viewing and recording (which also allows the CM7000 to get its own TVGOS listings).

It's a pain and not convenient at all, but it does work and the analog TVGOS listings are much more complete than the CM7000's.

Where I live we reveive OTA digital signats by way of being rebroadcast. I recently returned a Channel Master CM-7000PAL DVR as it would recognize only the promary channels ( 32-1, 34-1, 36-1, etc ) but not the secondary or sub channels ( 32-2, 32-3, 34-2, 34-3, etc. )
I could not get any help from Save and Replay or Channel Master, which is a shame as it was a nice unit. And I could not access an EPG, I suspect due to the signals being rebroadcast.
And yes, NormLyon, I also had that "AUDIO SERVICE" thing, and it was on those sub channels.
I am still searching for a solution, but not having much luck. FYI

ReallyOldGuy: Which city/town are you located near? That's an odd issue that I've not heard of as yet.

You may wish to consider a Home Theatre Personal Computer (HTPC), as discussed here (http://digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=31). HTPC's can link with online EPG services to populate your guide. Or, if you're more interested in a standalone DVR, check out the Tivo (http://digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=95819).

The latest DVR from Channel Master, the 7400, apparently has the ability to work with a subscription-based EPG from Channel Master. Though I'm not certain if this will work in Canada or not. CM's support for the Canadian market is--unfortunately--lacking. The 7400 is available soon, if not already.

Engadget has posted a review of the CM 7400 here (http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/14/channel-master-tv-review/), for anyone interested.

They don't seem to be impressed with the quality of the hardware, the VUDU integration, or the lack of other available streaming services. They go on to say that it has "potential to be the right fit". Much like many of us feel about the current DVR, the CM7000-PAL.

One note caught my attention: It seems that without a $50 (US) annual subscription for the Channel Master TV guide service, your only access to guide info is via PSIP. Looks like there may not be any TVGOS access with this DVR?

"Potential" ?

Expecting firmware updates to improve Channel Master products in the future is like betting your life savings on a pipe dream.

Yes, my thoughts as well: Without ongoing firmware support/releases, this product will never reach it's potential. Just like the 7000.

I should also mention--for those considering this device (it's currently available on pre-order)--that VUDU won't work with a Canadian address/account. Same goes for CM TV.

Well that review surely put a damper on my expectations. :(

I guess the search for a decent OTA DVR continues. Sure wish Sony would have jumped on this with their PS3.

I've noticed hiccups in recorded programs where the image jumps 2 to 3 seconds ahead. It happens randomly and only occasionally. Is this a hard drive problem?

The CM7000 stops recording when there's no signal present. It could be that the channel reception itself was intermittent, and thus you're getting the skipping.

I sometimes notice skipping or clipping audio when the channel has presented dropouts.