# Interactive ruins Midsomer...



## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

Anyone else with Telewest have the last 1/3 of Friday's Midsomer ruined by the some ITV interactive menu filling half the screen?

I assume either TiVo managed (somehow) to send a 'red' remote code, or ITV messed up and popped-up the box (needing an 'ok' to remove it), or Telewest screwed up?

We are not amused.


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

I've now had this two more times - both times during an ITV Midsommer recording - the 'ITV Interactive' window appears top-right and requires an OK before it will go away and let TiVo change channel.

Has anyone ever had this or know what might be causing it?


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## terryeden (Nov 2, 2002)

I'd complain to ITV and Virgin (owners of NTL/TeleWest).

Or, buy a FreeView box which allows you to disable the "Press Red" facility (Daewoo Setpal for example).

T


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

terryeden said:


> I'd complain to ITV and Virgin (owners of NTL/TeleWest).
> 
> Or, buy a FreeView box which allows you to disable the "Press Red" facility (Daewoo Setpal for example).
> 
> T


Or get a Sky Digibox which also lets you turn off the red button staying on screen and never pops up interactive windows like this unexpectedly (or at least not in 23 months of Tivo recording use).


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

if you set the channel change to end "ok" at the end, you'll only ever lose one recording, not a whole day's worth...

I think all these silly "press ok" windows should be programmed to timeout on their own anyway in an ideal world.

The latest one is 
"the batteries in your remote are low, and this message will continue until you replace them, press ok"


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

I thought that TW (at least) *had* now got a time-out on these messages. Of course, interactive is a different thing and that was probably a mistake.


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## RichardJH (Oct 7, 2002)

I am on Telewest and bore my wife with my stupid obsession with Midsomer Murders BUT I have never had the problem with any interactive popups


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

Thanks all, I'll monitor to see if it happens again - but don't fancy calling Virgin or ITV, because I think the chances of me getting through to someone who knows what I'm talking about + who cares, would be nil.

BTW, I live in a flat and so aren't allowed a dish and I'm the last flat (of 16) on a shared aerial so freeview reception is full of glitches. So, cable it has to be.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

davisa said:


> Thanks all, I'll monitor to see if it happens again - but don't fancy calling Virgin or ITV, because I think the chances of me getting through to someone who knows what I'm talking about + who cares, would be nil.


Telephoning customer services gets you nowhere, which is why I usually email the managing director and relevant fellow board directors of a company with this kind of problem instead. Then there is at least an outside chance that one of the directors may see the email and actually write a memo to his IT manager demanding the problem is fixed.

The directors of most companies are usually tucked away somewhere in the depths of the shareholder or corporate and social responsibility parts of their website. Most of them have [email protected] email address formats.


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

I've just switched on to watch The Baker Street Irregulars to discover the BBC interactive menu obstructing the screen requiring a 'backup' command to switch it off 

First time this has happened on the BBC so at least that rules out a broadcasting problem. 'The Wife' assures me she wasn't playing Wii or messing around with the Uni-remote, so I'm ruling out a stray IR signal (for now!). Therefore, I can only assume my Telewest (Pace 4000 - no IR wand required) box is going faulty, or Virgin have a new bug in their software?

As I said in my previous post, I really cannot see Virgin understanding this problem or making an effort to resolve it - so I need to sort it myself - and that's where you lot come in!! 

Would 'irblast' be able to help me? I don't see any reference to cable boxes except NTL and channel changes - all I want the the 'backup' command to be sent before each programme record - so at worst I get one unwatchable programme.

Yours in desperation...


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

But not so desperate as to TRY calling NTL???


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

No one is ever desperate enough to want to face that trauma!


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

TCM2007 said:


> But not so desperate as to TRY calling NTL???


I Will be calling them today. I didn't think it was worth trying on a Sunday...

(if something has to go it will be Virgin, TiVo stays!)


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## smokie (Dec 27, 2002)

I'm away on business and Mrs S has just called to complain that instead of recording some thriller last night on ITV (9 pm I think), all TiVo has recorded is the TV guide. I'd accidentally left it on that earlier in the day but corected that at about 7:30. The box reboots each night on a timer plug.

We're having a number of niggly problems since going digital with VM which I've been slowly ironing out with help from the good folk here, but she is now seriously considering ditching TiVo in favour of the VM offering. Seems hasty to me, given that we've had a number of good years service from it, it has a lifetime sub, is networked and now has a 400gb disk. So I'll watch this thread with interest.

(btw my stb is a Samsung).


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

No such problems here, but then I don't watch much on ITV1. Only "The Bill" and I've only just started watching that again. Samsung box here too; see sig.


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## RichardJH (Oct 7, 2002)

> Originally posted by davisa
> Telewest (Pace 4000 - no IR wand required)


I suspect that if you are using the front IR blaster it is that which is giving trouble.
Try using the IR wands it should work ok as the pace 4000 responds to IR and IRDA signals.


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## davisa (Feb 19, 2002)

RichardJH said:


> I suspect that if you are using the front IR blaster it is that which is giving trouble.
> Try using the IR wands it should work ok as the pace 4000 responds to IR and IRDA signals.


Ah, I think I gave duff info! I use the wands, but not the IRDA->Ir converter (although I still have one just in case). That's which I meant to say!

A few over at Digital Spy have occasional issues with interactive menu's automatically appearing (I didn't mention TiVO as I though that would just confuse things), so I'm fairly sure it is either a bug or perhaps a stray IR signal.

Virgin are due to call me back today...


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

davisa said:


> Ah, I think I gave duff info! I use the wands, but not the IRDA->Ir converter (although I still have one just in case). That's which I meant to say!..


General advice from others on the forum is that those Virgin Media (nee NTL) boxes that support both conventional infra red and IRDA remote controls work better and more reliably with the IRDA signal. If your box supports both then you should start using the IRDA converter again. IRDA converter = better and not worse so far as reliability is concerned.


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## RichardJH (Oct 7, 2002)

I agree with Pete about the IRDA convertor (_cable dongle_). I have a Pace 4000 and it is much better behaved using the convertor. Certainly worth a try.


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