# Only One Channel on Bolt gets V53 Error



## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

Had my TiVO Bolt for a couple of years connected to an Insignia Roku TV. Replaced the Roku TV with a Samsung Smart TV over this past weekend. With TV selected as the input, I get the ABC affiliate in Dallas (Ch. 8) just fine. Same with my HD HomeRun tuner. But, the Bolt, gets one of the following: 1) A blank black screen; 2) "Problem with the signal on this channel. Trying again (V53)" or 3) Channel not available through your cable provider. I don't have cable, just OTA.

Calling TiVo tech support is useless. They've taken me through all the same steps I've already tried including rescanning channels and Guided Setup. I've replaced the coax cable. I've connected directly to the wall (currently have a splitter going to both the TV and the Bolt). Changed Network from Ethernet to WiFil. Nothing has helped.

Any suggestions are wanted and welcome. Thanks in advance.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Do any of the sub-channels work?

WFAA - Wikipedia


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

When I redo the Guided Setup, the TiVO doesn't even see the main or sub-channels. One thing tech support mentioned was a signal booster, what doesn't make sense to me as why every other device with a tuner gets the channel but the Bolt will not (suddenly).


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> Please don't get me wrong, but when you perform a guided setup the TiVo gets the data about where your channels are located and their frequencies. Any chance WFAA is having problems?


Help me understand a bit better. If WFAA were having problems, why would I be able to get it on EVERY other device with a tuner, including an HD HomeRun?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> When I redo the Guided Setup, the TiVO doesn't even see the main or sub-channels. One thing tech support mentioned was a signal booster, what doesn't make sense to me as why every other device with a tuner gets the channel but the Bolt will not (suddenly).


TiVo's support is stupid. Do you have the ability to compare the frequency between your devices? I saw nothing that your station moved, but if it did, TiVo won't know.

I deleted that post since it was pretty stupid.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> TiVo's support is stupid. Do you have the ability to compare the frequency between your devices? I saw nothing that your station moved, but if it did, TiVo won't know.
> 
> I deleted that post since it was pretty stupid.


I'm not sure I can get the frequency from the other devices. I know that our local channel 5 changed frequencies and I had to re-scan to keep that working. I'd heard the other channels would be changing frequencies at some point, but haven't seen anything about channel 8 doing so recently. BTW, beside the Guided Setup, I've also re-scanned the channels multiple times.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> I've also re-scanned the channels multiple times.


That should have found the channel even though it would not have guide data. Sorry, I'm out of ideas.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

Doing more research, I see this is not an isolated TiVO problem it has happened before. Reading this thread: no signal on OTA channel it appears it might be a BAD_ROVI thing.

So two (2) questions: 
1. What is a BAD_ROVI
2. How the heck does one fix it?


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## CIR-Engineering (Sep 24, 2017)

Look up the stations actual transmission frequency and try entering that actual station frequency with the remote directly. Example 17-1.

craigr


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

CIR-Engineering said:


> Look up the stations actual transmission frequency and try entering that actual station frequency with the remote directly. Example 17-1.
> 
> craigr


Newbie here. Not sure how to do either the look up or the entering of the actual station frequency. Would you please elaborate?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Newbie here. Not sure how to do either the look up or the entering of the actual station frequency. Would you please elaborate?


8-1 (the "-") is above the "D").


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

WFAA. Please teach me how to look that info up.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Look at the link in post 2.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

What's interesting here is it DOES show as frequency 8. It's simply barfing when trying to load it. Only channel with a problem on the Bolt. Suddenly!


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

So far we haven't tried to test all tuners. Tune to channel 8.1 then restart the Bolt. When it's finished all tuners will be on 8.1, so hit the Live TV button four times and verify all are dead.

If you can find Diagnostics (Menu, Help, Account & System Info, Diagnostics). Check that all tuners are the same and have a signal strength of 0%.


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## CIR-Engineering (Sep 24, 2017)

dreh0605 said:


> What's interesting here is it DOES show as frequency 8. It's simply barfing when trying to load it. Only channel with a problem on the Bolt. Suddenly!


Are you entering 8-1?

What station is it and what's your zip code? I'll check for you.

craigr


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

I never use the #-# codes. I memorize the frequency and use that. For example, our channel 5 is either 5-1 or frequency 24. I enter 24 to go to it. Works every time. Same was true for WFAA in 75201. I’ve always just entered 8 as that’s the frequency.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> I never use the #-# codes. I memorize the frequency and use that. For example, our channel 5 is either 5-1 or frequency 24. I enter 24 to go to it. Works every time. Same was true for WFAA in 75201. I've always just entered 8 as that's the frequency.


A TiVo doesn't care about PSIP. Enter 24 on your TV and you get 5? KFAA is both physical and virtual 8.

TiVo has a guide. No need to remember frequency or channel numbers.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> So far we haven't tried to test all tuners. Tune to channel 8.1 then restart the Bolt. When it's finished all tuners will be on 8.1, so hit the Live TV button four times and verify all are dead.
> 
> If you can find Diagnostics (Menu, Help, Account & System Info, Diagnostics). Check that all tuners are the same and have a signal strength of 0%.


Tuned to 8.1. Bolt restarted. Live TV hit four times. No joy. Diagnostics: All tuners on 8.1. All show a Signal Strength of 32%. All show Program Lock: No.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Tuned to 8.1. Bolt restarted. Live TV hit four times. No joy. Diagnostics: All tuners on 8.1. All show a Signal Strength of 32%. All show Program Lock: No.


Then 32% is too low. Try a good channel. Signal level of 72% is best. How about channel 5?


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> A TiVo doesn't care about PSIP. Enter 24 on your TV and you get 5? KFAA is both physical and virtual 8.
> 
> TiVo has a guide. No need to remember frequency or channel numbers.


Not understanding how the PSIP fits in here. Please elaborate. But, when I use the Tivo remote, I enter 24 for 5-1. Always works. Yes, with WFAA, 8-1 I always enter just 8. Worked until Sunday, then this problem started with the V53 crap. I use the guide when I need/want to. Faster for me to know the code like 24 for Channel 5.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> Then 32% is too low. Try a good channel. Signal level of 72% is best. How about channel 5?


Channel 5-1, shows Signal Strength 60%. Works fine. 11-1 is 67%. Once again, 8-1 works on three TVs no Tivo. Straight TV. Also works on HD HomeRun Connect. Simply doesn't work on Tivo


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Not understanding how the PSIP fits in here. Please elaborate. But, when I use the Tivo remote, I enter 24 for 5-1. Always works. Yes, with WFAA, 8-1 I always enter just 8. Worked until Sunday, then this problem started with the V53 crap. I use the guide when I need/want to. Faster for me to know the code like 24 for Channel 5.


TiVo doesn't know PSIP, so when you enter the physical frequency, it doesn't care. On your TV, you enter 24 it stays at 24 but displays 5.1 and I guess you don't watch sub-channels.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Channel 5-1, shows Signal Strength 60%. Works fine. 11-1 is 67%. Once again, 8-1 works on three TVs no Tivo. Straight TV. Also works on HD HomeRun Connect. Simply doesn't work on Tivo


Call the station. Ask them if they have reduced power. They are pretty weak already.

I hesitate to suggest an amplifier since it may overload the tuner on good channels.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

At this point, if 8 doesn't come back, I can always record if I want to, with the HD HomeRun & Plex. It's just very annoying that 8 worked and now doesn't. Did you read the post on no signal on OTA channel ? That person had the same problem and ultimately seemed to be saying it was BAD_Rovi. Still wondering what the heck that is and how to fix it.


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## Mr Tony (Dec 20, 2012)

What kind of antenna re you using? You dont mention that
Indoor or outdoor?

Here is something goofy to try. Can you get channel 52? (KFWD) which is a religious station. Reason I say that is both WFAA and KFWD are on VHF whereas all the rest of your stations are on UHF. Yeah I get the TV works but remember the Bolt splits the signal 4 times internally so if the signal isnt strong enough it may not work


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

unclehonkey said:


> What kind of antenna re you using? You dont mention that Indoor or outdoor?


This is an outdoor antenna. Don't remember the brand. KFWD wasn't even in the channel list on the Tivo, as WFAA wasn't either. I had to check them both to show in the guide. KFWD works on the TV not the TiVo. I'm guessing, before Sunday it worked fine. It also shows Signal Strength 32%. I understand the split signal. And...before Sunday, it worked on the TiVo. Oy![/QUOTE]


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

KFWD 13KW physical 9. KFAA 55KW physical 8.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> KFWD 13KW physical 9. KFAA 55KW physical 8.


What does this tell us??


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## Mr Tony (Dec 20, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> This is an outdoor antenna. Don't remember the brand. KFWD wasn't even in the channel list on the Tivo, as WFAA wasn't either. I had to check them both to show in the guide. KFWD works on the TV not the TiVo. I'm guessing, before Sunday it worked fine. It also shows Signal Strength 32%. I understand the split signal. And...before Sunday, it worked on the TiVo. Oy!


Do you have a signal meter on the TV to check how strong those signals are for 8 & 52?


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## Mr Tony (Dec 20, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> What does this tell us??


Beside the fact the 8 is much stronger than 52 I really don't know. The only reason I asked was some folks have UHF only antennas and wonder why VHF stations dont come in at all or not very well.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

unclehonkey said:


> Do you have a signal meter on the TV to check how strong those signals are for 8 & 52?


Not sure where to find that on the TV (You do mean the actual TV, not anything to do with the Tivo?)


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

unclehonkey said:


> Beside the fact the 8 is much stronger than 52 I really don't know. The only reason I asked was some folks have UHF only antennas and wonder why VHF stations dont come in at all or not very well.


I keep harping on this: But, take the Tivo out of the mix, it works. Prior to Sunday, it worked.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

TV Fool


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

Here's my TV signal strength info


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Here's my TV signal strength info


What does KTVT look like?


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

JoeKustra said:


> What does KTVT look like?


Signal strength KTVT


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I sent KFAA an email asking they were working on their transmitter. It's not logical that a 55KW channel is so close to a 1MW channel and the signal is almost the same.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I had not bothered to look at this thread before this morning, but your problem with reception of channel 8 is clear - you said the Bolt only reports signal strength of 32 - that is simply too low to ever produce a picture on the Bolt.

As for why the signal is so low, there are two primary possibilities: First, as I told you in another thread yesterday, if I remember correctly, the WFAA tower is located in the mid-cities area along I-20, and this is a totally different location that most other DFW transmitters. This means that a good directional antenna cannot be optimized for all stations if you live inside the metropolitan area. You solution may require a different antenna or some advanced efforts with antenna pointing and configuration.

Second, your TV says that 8.1 is a VHF channel, and most other channels these days are UHF channels. It is possible that the antenna you are using is NOT for both VHF and UHF. Once upon a time, VHF was the dominate frequency band for OTA, and virtually all antennas were made for both VHF and UHF, but not any more. You can generally tell with an external antenna just by looking at it: a UHF antenna usually has only a bunch of very short elements, all parallel to each other and straight across the main beam (look up antennas on the internet to find pictures). A VHF antenna usually has a lot of very LONG elements, shaped in a V, with the length of each element getting shorter as they advance to the inside of the V. An antenna that hadles both frequency bands will have a combination of both types of elements.

Finally, just for clarification, your posts in this thread seem that you may not fully understand what the term "frequency" means with OTA channels. Existing TV stations in America have three different terms that are used to define them - 1) The display channel (AKA virtual channel), such as KTVT 11.1. This is often the very old original channel that the station used in prehistoric times; even though it can now be confusing, they keep it just because so many people still remember it. 2) The actual digital channel number on which the signal is being broadcast, such as 19 for KTVT. And finally, the third number is the actual broadcast FREQUENCY - this is the actual frequency used by the digital channel - generally shown as either KHz or MHz. You should not need to know both the digital channel number AND the actual frequency, but sometimes you can only see one or the other. For example, in the TiVo channel list, you can see the virtual channel and the digital channel numbers, but not the frequency. But unfortunately, if you go to the system diagnostics to check what the tuner is set to, you can only see the virtual channel number and actual frequency! Many people, and even TiVo itself use the terms digital channel and frequency interchangeably, even though they are technically different things.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

V7Goose said:


> I had not bothered to look at this thread before this morning, but your problem with reception of channel 8 is clear - you said the Bolt only reports signal strength of 32 - that is simply too low to ever produce a picture on the Bolt.


@V7Goose Thanks for your reply. One of the puzzling parts of this development is that until this past Sunday, WFAA, 8-1, 8, worked just fine with the Tivo. While it is possible the antenna moved with the recent rains, a visual inspection from the ground does not appear that is true.

I believe my antenna is a Clearstream. https://amzn.to/2CECeVc If not this one, one very similar. And, as I have said previously, WFAA comes in on all three TVs using just the TV input and also on a HD HomeRun Connect. Everything connects thru the coax outlets in the house, all feeding back to the Clearstream.

So, for me, the question that begs is why is the Tivo only getting a 32% signal and why has it stopped working.

Thanks for the clairification around frequency, et. al. I'm sure I used that term because it appeared somewhere since switching to OTA. I stand corrected.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I know you are hung up on the question about why this problem only started on the Bolt after you switched TVs - while I would want to know that too, you may never get a complete answer. I can only speculate on the available information, and the most likely answer is that your signal has always been weak for that channel, and maybe just barely strong enough to work with the Bolt, so any change could have pushed it below the edge.

It sounds like you probably have lots of splitters in your coax, and every one of those is a potential problem, along with every single coax connector. If you have a splitter connecting the same coax line to both your Bolt and the new TV, then it is quite possible that the tuners in the new TV are somehow causing a greater degradation of the signal strength on the other output of the splitter. In that case, just using a better splitter with an isolation diode might fix your problem.

The best solution is to simply start by verifying you have an antenna designed for BOTH VHF and UHF. Then connecting your incoming antenna lead DIRECTLY to just the Bolt, with NO splitters of any kind in the line. Check the signal strength on the Bolt and fine tune the antenna direction until you get a suitable signal strength on ALL channels you want to see. For the Bolt, that signal really needs to be above 45%, although a really clean signal can often work clear down to 39% (but if you have issues with multi-path signal reception, even a strong signal in the 60s can have pixelation and macro-blocking problems).

If your house is located where you have transmitter towers in different directions, then you might even be better off with a good omni-directinal indoor antenna instead of an external type, but that type of antenna can also increase multi-path problems.

Once you are happy with the Bolt reception, you can start re-adding any desired splitters to the incoming coax while monitoring the signal strength on your weakest channel. Every splitter/new device connected to the same coax will cause the signal strength at the Bolt to drop, but if any single device causes a much larger drop than others, you have found a problem.

There are some reasonably priced signal amplifiers that might help; although, if you are in a major metro area like DFW, I would not think you should need one - probably other problems you need to find and fix. If you add an amplifier while those other problems are still in your antenna/coax system, the amp will just make things worse.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I know I am about to piss off about a zillion people, but I personally think that antennas of that type are garbage. They were designed to sucker people into thinking that they needed to buy a new different type of antenna just for digital or HD TV - a total lie.

I PERSONALLY prefer a good yagi-type antenna - here is an example I offer for PICTURE only - I do not personally have that antenna, nor am i particularly recommending it!
https://www.amazon.com/Channel-Mast...540480379&sr=1-21&keywords=tv+antenna+outdoor

One possible problem with a new antenna of that type is that they are quite directional (a yagi antenna, not the kind you have), so if you are between towers, it could be a problem. I would start testing as I have described with what you have to see if you can make it work again. If you do decide to buy something else, just remember you need one rated for ALL bands, including VHF Low.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

V7Goose said:


> I know you are hung up on the question about why this problem only started on the Bolt after you switched TVs - while I would want to know that too, you may never get a complete answer. I can only speculate on the available information, and the most likely answer is that your signal has always been weak for that channel, and maybe just barely strong enough to work with the Bolt, so any change could have pushed it below the edge.


Your discussion had me think about one thing I had not tried. Connecting the Tivo directly to a different antenna. In my case, I have a Mohu which I don't use except for testing. (BTW, I had removed the splitter from the TV/Tivo and connected the Tivo directly to the internal coax outlet with same results). The Mohu also produced same results. 32% signal on WFAA while other channels were substantially higher.

Here's why I've been using the term Frequency (directly from the Tivo antenna strength screen)


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

I sent KFAA an email. Still no response.

KXAS 925KW.

What does it show for KFWD physical channel 9?

KFWD - Wikipedia


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

dreh0605 said:


> Not understanding how the PSIP fits in here. Please elaborate. But, when I use the Tivo remote, I enter 24 for 5-1. Always works. Yes, with WFAA, 8-1 I always enter just 8. Worked until Sunday, then this problem started with the V53 crap. I use the guide when I need/want to. Faster for me to know the code like 24 for Channel 5.


I frankly have no idea what you saying here, but I strongly recommend that you stop doing that! When selecting any channel on the TiVo, use ONLY one of these three options:

1. Just use channel up/down - this will guarantee that the TiVo only tunes to something in your selected channel list, and tunes to it correctly.

2. Use the Guide and select a program from there. Same guarantee as above.

3. If you want to type in the channel number from the remote, enter the EXACT virtual/display channel number, including the -. for example, 11-1.

There are often HUNDREDS of bogus channels in your TiVo lineup, channels that you cannot receive. And if you try to type in strange numbers, the results on the TiVo are unpredictable. For example, I did some odd testing this morning trying to type in various channel numbers using the physical broadcast channels instead of the correct virtual channel. At one point, the Bolt SAID it was tuned to 8-1 (a channel I do receive), but there was no signal. I rolled through the four tuners with Live TV button, and another one was also on 8-1, and it worked fine, but the one I did some strange channel selection to get 8-1 still did not work.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

dreh0605 said:


> Here's why I've been using the term Frequency (directly from the Tivo antenna strength screen)


Yes, I noted that TiVo itself tends to use the term "frequency" interchangeably with the broadcast channel number. It is wrong, but they do it anyway, so you should understand what it means.

As for testing with your external antenna, you need to start by NOT using the coax jack in the wall - run a cable directly from the Bolt to the antenna. You probably have no idea just how many different coax devices or damaged cable connectors are hidden behind that wall between the jack and the antenna!

Testing with a totally different antenna was a good idea (but the one you used is still a garbage antenna!). At least it confirms that your location is not ideally situated in the broadcast pattern for the WFAA tower. An amplifier may be called for, but do realize that if you have multi-path issues or noise-generating coax connections in your house, the amplifier will make things worse.

Here is a very cheap amp that I DO absolutely recommend - works unbelievably well for the price, and I live in a fringe mountain area where I do not even have direct line-of-site path to any of the super low-power translator towers hidden away in the mountains (no antenna can produce ANY signal strong enough to display on any TV here without an amp)!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C5ILO9K/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The amp should be installed in the coax as close as possible to the antenna, BEFORE any other coax connection or device that might be generating noise on your line.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

dreh0605 said:


> Here's why I've been using the term Frequency (directly from the Tivo antenna strength screen)


24 what? CPS, Hertz? Here's a list of channels (what should be the label) and frequency: North American television frequencies - Wikipedia

Like, what's the frequency of the ac power you receive? 60? As for the 67, 67 what? These are all just numbers picked by some engineer to fit their circuits.

Still no answer to my email. Maybe I'll try Twitter.


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## Daddio1949 (Dec 8, 2007)

I had a similar problem. I have 4 Tivos: 2 Bolt OTA and 2 Roamios. Over a weekend both Bolts lost channel 9-1 but not the Roamios. When I switched the Tivos around, the Bolts would not display the lost channel, 9-1. 

I believe that the tuners in the Bolts are inferior to the tuners in the Roamios.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Daddio1949 said:


> I believe that the tuners in the Bolts are inferior to the tuners in the Roamios.


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

Well, guess what decided to show up last night with a signal strength of 37%?


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## dreh0605 (Sep 24, 2017)

And, just as quickly, is gone this morning.


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