# TiVo Pauses on Its Own During Playback



## John Hafer (Dec 21, 2001)

Recently, and it seems ever since my Premiere received the latest SW, my TiVo will just pause during playback of a recorded program. When it occurs, it is just like I hit Pause but the Green status bar on the screen still shows it is in Playback. If I backup a little and then hit play again, it will play until the exact spot again and then will pause. The only way I can get it to continue is to Fast Forward the paused spot a second or two and then press play again. Then it will work fine again. This happens about twice per day.

This never occurs when just watching a live program and when I am caught up to real time. It only occurs when playing a recording or watching a program delayed in the 30 minute buffer.

Any idea or thoughts? If it was a failing HDD, wouldn't I also see this happening even during "live" viewing?

Thanks in advance for any reply.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

Sorry can't help but I have the exact opposite problem. I usually pause the Nightly News on NBC so that I have some buffer. But at 5:30pm MST, the TiVo will unpause so that I need to pause again. If I pause too soon after it unpauses it will unpause again. I need to wait a few seconds before it will let me pause again. I've called TiVo support about this and they just say that it must be something in the broadcast stream so they have not been able to help. I'm wondering if you may have a similar problem in the way it is being broadcast? Does it only happen on a particular program?


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

There is a 30 minute buffer. If you pause for 30 minutes, you have no more buffer. That's normal and impossible to change, unless TiVo makes the buffer larger.

If you are going to watch the same show every day and want to skip commercials, why wouldn't you set up a season pass/onepass to record it for you? You can always tell it to only keep one episode.


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## worachj (Oct 14, 2006)

It happened to me too. I've only seen the problem on my premiere, which I run with the old SD menus. Last week was the first time I noticed it and it happen to me again this week. I don't think it&#8217;s a hard drive problem. Seems to be some kind of recording glitch, maybe signal or tuner problem.


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## Phil Broughton (Sep 25, 2004)

John Hafer said:


> Recently, and it seems ever since my Premiere received the latest SW, my TiVo will just pause during playback of a recorded program. When it occurs, it is just like I hit Pause but the Green status bar on the screen still shows it is in Playback. If I backup a little and then hit play again, it will play until the exact spot again and then will pause. The only way I can get it to continue is to Fast Forward the paused spot a second or two and then press play again. Then it will work fine again. This happens about twice per day.
> 
> This never occurs when just watching a live program and when I am caught up to real time. It only occurs when playing a recording or watching a program delayed in the 30 minute buffer.
> 
> ...


and it seems like this hasn't happened in the past.

???


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

the freeze has been reported by myself and other premiere users beginning with the 20.4.5 software update. my pxl improved with 20.4.5c (it's only happened twice since, and it's been a while). i solved it like you, ffwd, then rwd back.

i ran kickstart 54 when my trouble started, it passed, and since it's basically stopped, i'm hoping there's a fix in 20.4.6 that addresses the issue (the priority sign up list is active and premieres begin updating next week).

running kickstart 54 would be a good next step. are you using an external drive? are you having any other issues such as pixelization during playback or loss of audio?


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

John Hafer said:


> Recently, and it seems ever since my Premiere received the latest SW, my TiVo will just pause during playback of a recorded program. When it occurs, it is just like I hit Pause but the Green status bar on the screen still shows it is in Playback. If I backup a little and then hit play again, it will play until the exact spot again and then will pause. The only way I can get it to continue is to Fast Forward the paused spot a second or two and then press play again. Then it will work fine again. This happens about twice per day.
> 
> This never occurs when just watching a live program and when I am caught up to real time. It only occurs when playing a recording or watching a program delayed in the 30 minute buffer.
> 
> Any idea or thoughts? If it was a failing HDD, wouldn't I also see this happening even during "live" viewing?


My Premiere started doing the same thing a month or two ago, but only once or twice a week. I can usually get past it by FF'ing, and sometimes using the 30-second-skip works too (but not always). I had recently upgraded to a new 2TB Hard Drive from DVR_Dude and it had been working flawlessly, but it suddenly started freezing randomly after a software update.

Hoping a future update fixes it !


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Just adding to the list. Mine do it too. 1 more than the other, and I also do the same "Fix" as stated above.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

Arcady said:


> There is a 30 minute buffer. If you pause for 30 minutes, you have no more buffer. That's normal and impossible to change, unless TiVo makes the buffer larger.
> 
> If you are going to watch the same show every day and want to skip commercials, why wouldn't you set up a season pass/onepass to record it for you? You can always tell it to only keep one episode.


I realize there is a 30 minute buffer but I pause it only a few minutes before the program is going to begin. I already have a ton of season passes and scheduled recordings and didn't want to set up another but suppose I could. In any event, it's not working like it should.


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## John Hafer (Dec 21, 2001)

Just to update on my "pausing" issue, it seems to only occur when I am doing a recording. If I am not recording, I do not have the issue, even if I am watching the program delayed (up to the 30 min. buffer). If I am watching the program while it is recording, and I am not caught up to real time, that is when I seem to have the issue.

I have also not noticed the issue (at least yet) if I fully record a program and then watch it later

Again it is random and may occur once per day or a couple of time per week. I also feel this issue started happening after the last SW update as I never had this issue before the update.

To answer an earlier question, I do not have any pixelization or other issues and I do not use an external HDD. My Premiere is a standard model. Signal strength is in the 90s.


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## seattlewendell (Jan 11, 2006)

I am also having this issue. I ran kickstart 54 so I know its not the drive. At this point I'm waiting for the February update to see if it fixes it. I found that if you last forward pass the sticking point and rewind a few times it will play.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

There could be some sort of glitch in the stream itself that the TiVo can't get past. These TiVo record the stream directly from the cable signal, so if there is a glitch due to a signal issue or even just an encoding glitch introduced by the cable company I could see something like this happening. Depends on how robust their error correction is.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> There could be some sort of glitch in the stream itself that the TiVo can't get past. These TiVo record the stream directly from the cable signal, so if there is a glitch due to a signal issue or even just an encoding glitch introduced by the cable company I could see something like this happening. Depends on how robust their error correction is.


Actually i don't think it's being caused by the cable company because for me it's only happening on antenna - typically when i'm watching local news or GMA which i only watch over the air (i don't even have the cable version of my local channels in my channel list - OTA only so i get the better picture quality). It's happened on CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX- all OTA.

It happened again last night while watching the NBC Nightly News while it was recording - it suddenly stopped and i had to hit the 30-sec skip to get past it. I rewound it and let it play again several times and it always stopped at the same spot. I let the recording end then later i played it and it still stopped at that same spot so it's not just happening while watching it live in the recording buffer - it's actually in the recording.

I'm trying to remember if it ever happened while recording or watching anything on a cable channel but nothing is coming to mind. I'll keep an eye out.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Even with OTA it's recording the digital stream directly, so it could still be a glitch in the stream causing the issue. Perhaps you have a signal issue with your antenna?


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> Even with OTA it's recording the digital stream directly, so it could still be a glitch in the stream causing the issue. Perhaps you have a signal issue with your antenna?


Naw, i have a good strong signal. I'm using a Channel Master roof antenna which has line-of-site to the broadcast towers on Mt. Wilson 29 miles across the L.A. basin. I can see the towers from my roof!

FWIW, i've never had this self-pausing issue with my Series3 (over 8 years of daily use now). It only happens on my Premiere.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Weird. You should try transferring one of these shows to your PC and see if it completes. If it does then try playing it and see if there is a noticeable glitch where the pause occurs.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> Weird. You should try transferring one of these shows to your PC and see if it completes. If it does then try playing it and see if there is a noticeable glitch where the pause occurs.


Interesting idea. I think i may still have last night's recording, and i think i still have Tivo Desktop on my PC. I haven't used that in years since TWC started copy-protecting all their cable programming a long time ago. I'll see what i can do and report back.


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## Jed1 (Jun 18, 2013)

This is an old issue. I mentioned this back in October in this thread, post 22, as I noticed this with the winter update:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10294174#post10294174

I also sent this to Margret along with the HDMI output stops working issue but I never heard back from her so I just left it go. I do believe I had not had this happen since October.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

randywalters said:


> Interesting idea. I think i may still have last night's recording, and i think i still have Tivo Desktop on my PC. I haven't used that in years since TWC started copy-protecting all their cable programming a long time ago. I'll see what i can do and report back.


Bah, that news program has self-deleted by the time i went to check it, but i remembered it freezing on Saturday's TMZ on Fox 11.1 OTA when i was watching it while recording and i still have that recording on my Premiere. I remember backing it up and letting it play a few times and it always got stuck at that exact point so i ended up skipping past it and finishing the show.

Well i just replayed that recording and now instead of stopping at that point, the video glitches out at that spot and two words are dropped from the audio, but this time it recovers quickly and plays through it now. I went frame-by-frame and the glitch starts with a few macro-blocky squares with the first frame, more and more squares appear over the next 6 frames till about half the image is covered in random squares on frame 7, then by frame 8 it suddenly clears up and plays perfectly. I replayed this recording several times behaves the same every time i play it back.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

So it does seem to be a glitch in the recording causing the pause. TiVo should still do a better job of moving past these glitches though.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

randywalters said:


> Well i just replayed that recording and now instead of stopping at that point, the video glitches out at that spot and two words are dropped from the audio, but this time it recovers quickly and plays through it now. I went frame-by-frame and the glitch starts with a few macro-blocky squares with the first frame, more and more squares appear over the next 6 frames till about half the image is covered in random squares on frame 7, then by frame 8 it suddenly clears up and plays perfectly. I replayed this recording several times behaves the same every time i play it back.


Ok i now downloaded this TMZ episode to my PC via Tivo Desktop and when i play it back on my PC, the video ends an instant before it hits the glitch spot (the 33 minute mark in the 60 minute program). The remaining 27 minutes of the 1-hour show didn't download, the transfer ended at the 33 minute mark and the video is only 33 minutes long (3.27 GB). On my Premiere's online Now Playing List it shows the file size of the whole 1-hour show is 6.19 GB.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

That's common when there is a glitch in the file. It's less likely to hapoen with the TS format, but it still happens. TiVo has to remux the file from their internal format to a PC based format (either PS or TS) and when that process hits a bad glitch in the stream it just stops.


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## tlphipps (Jul 3, 2002)

Just wanted to say thanks to the OP and everyone else that has posted. I've been seeing the same issue and assumed my drive was getting flaky. It's several years old. Glad to know that's not the issue and hopefully it'll be fixed in future updates. 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## RonH (Apr 19, 2002)

Just stumbled across this thread, also now glad to know it's probably not a flaky drive. Only seen it on my Roamio though. Random and very seldom. So much so that I can't remember if I was watching live or a recording.


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## Cep (Aug 20, 2008)

I started having this problem about a month ago, the picture would freeze. i dealt with the ff option. Maybe mine was a coincidence, but On Superbowl Sunday i turned on the Tv and had the start up screen. hard drive failure, now my tivo is over 4 years old, so I guess that it is to be expected. Ordered a hard dive from weaknees, showed up 3 days later and Tivo was back 15 minutes later. It took me 3x the time to get everything back up with Fios. Thanks to this site, I knew of the manual re-validate issue. I think my wait on hold was longer than the install and work with the rep.


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## austinpike (Oct 25, 2008)

randywalters said:


> ...but i remembered it freezing on Saturday's TMZ on Fox 11.1 OTA when i was watching it while recording


My parents have a unit that has been doing this occasionally. I hadn't seen it myself until last night - I had it paused (on TMZ - coincidence?) then hit record in case the buffer ran out. When I went back to play the show, it froze up at the point I had it paused. Rewind, FF got it over the glitch. I have two Premieres of my own and haven't seen this happen. FWIW my parents and I both have Comcast, but they are in a different service area.

Their unit was due for an HD upgrade anyway so I brought it home and put in a 2TB WD Green, it now plays back the recording without pausing. You can see a few artifacts in the frame where it was freezing. I transferred the recording from their unit to one of mine and it played OK there too. All are on the new update 20.4.6a and all are running SD menus.

So we will see if the fix "sticks" with the new HD.


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## severe (Dec 12, 2009)

I'd recently given my Premier to my mother and just days after her subscribing to the service, she had the exact same experience the OP reported. 

It began as she was watching the Oscars, so that didn't go over well when it came to my suggestion she go with TiVo service. She gave up quickly that night and continued watching from another TiVoless room. 

It's happened at least once since. I was eventually going to contact CS, but inadvertently came across this thread. 

I'm hoping the issue is resolved soon.


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## John Hafer (Dec 21, 2001)

Well got the update but still have the same issue. Twice this week (different days) while watching the ABC Evening News (using the OTA feed) and into 15 minutes of the buffer, the TiVo paused on its own for no reason. This happened about 7 minutes into the program (about 15 minutes into the buffer). I jumped ahead a few seconds and then it continued OK.

As a test, I rewound the program to just before the pause spot and played it again. It paused in the exact same spot.

So, the update did not help or fix the issue.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

I also got the update several days ago but sadly it didn't fix my mystery pause issue either. Yesterday i was watching CNN while recording when it suddenly paused itself. I hit 30-sec skip but that didn't advance it (sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't). I rewound a bit then hit Play but it still paused at the same spot. I rewound again then hit 30-sec skip and that jumped past it and it resumed playing normally. I later deleted that recording but just now i recovered it from my Recently Deleted folder and it now plays through that spot without pausing but the video and audio hiccups at that spot but it no longer pauses there. I tried it a half dozen times and it plays through the hiccup. 

This is the first time it's paused on a cable channel - up till now i've only caught it doing it on OTA programs so apparently it's not an antenna-only thing.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

John Hafer said:


> Well got the update but still have the same issue...So, the update did not help or fix the issue.





randywalters said:


> I also got the update several days ago but sadly it didn't fix my mystery pause issue either.


unfortunately, same here, but it has calmed down since the initial software update a month ago. recorded programs have paused while playing about half a dozen times since the update (it's never happened while watching the live tv buffer), most incidents occurring during the two weeks immediately following the update, infrequently since.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

I got another pause this afternoon while watching a buffered live recording in progress (local news on OTA ch 4.1). 

So i tried a little experiment - after it was done recording i replayed that segment and it still paused at the same spot the half dozen times i tried to play it, so i deleted the show, then immediately recovered it and now it plays through that spot but the video and audio hiccups (i went frame-by-frame and counted 20 frames of random pixelation before it cleared up). 

This pause thing on my Premiere never ever happened on my old S3 in the 7+ years of daily use. It's getting annoying.


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## rjrustia (Sep 3, 2005)

I've had this happen a couple of times in the last week. Most of the time, you can jump past it and try to figure out what you missed in the last 39 seconds. Today was different. While watching a recording, it paused. I tried to jump past it, no result. I tried watching a different recording, black screen. I tried live tv, black screen. TiVo interface still works, but can't watch anything. Rebooted, and TiVo performs normally, no pause in the recording I was watching. Weird bug.


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## SDNick484 (Mar 14, 2008)

Are other folks still seeing this issue? I have a launch premiere running 20.4.7a-01-2-746 and am still seeing the pause described in the original post as recently as yesterday (7/6/15).


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

SDNick484 said:


> Are other folks still seeing this issue? I have a launch premiere running 20.4.7a-01-2-746 and am still seeing the pause described in the original post as recently as yesterday (7/6/15).


It just happened to me a half hour ago while watching local news recording in progress. Mine has been doing it a few times per week just like before, there has been no change over the past several months.

Like a zit on a tit, i'm trying not to let it otherwise ruin the enjoyment of using my Premiere


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## SDNick484 (Mar 14, 2008)

randywalters said:


> It just happened to me a half hour ago while watching local news recording in progress...


Thanks for confirming and nice analogy.


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## RonH (Apr 19, 2002)

Have not seen it in many weeks, UNTIL just about 30 minutes ago while about 45 minutes into recorded CNN broadcast that I'm pretty sure was complete. Backed up a couple of times and it hung every time at the same point. Touch FF then Play to get past the hang. 

Reminds me of bumping the record player back in the 70's when it would hang on a spot


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

randywalters said:


> It just happened to me a half hour ago while watching local news recording in progress. Mine has been doing it a few times per week just like before, there has been no change over the past several months.


same with my pxl, always when watching recordings in progress, 1-2 times each week.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Ok it's suddenly happening a lot more frequently now, once or twice per day for the past week or so. My software was recently updated to 20.4.7a-01-2-746 (apparently happened sometime before i checked it on July 17th) so that may be why it's gotten worse.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

randywalters said:


> Ok it's suddenly happening a lot more frequently now, once or twice per day for the past week or so. My software was recently updated to 20.4.7a-01-2-746 (apparently happened sometime before i checked it on July 17th) so that may be why it's gotten worse.


bad news, it's happened once since my pxl upgraded to 20.5.2 in the past week or so, don't expect a fix with the latest update.


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## pcbobsledder (Jul 19, 2005)

I've been having the same issue for a few months now. Unfortunately, I just had it happen 3 times in the last hour while watching a recording in progress which led me to this thread. Trying to find a solution. It's quite annoying. 

So, I guess I'm just adding my name to the list.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

I've noticed this happening a few times per week and occasionally it will not come out of the pause requiring a reboot. It happens most when either the program is long (2+ hours) and/or I'm watching the program while it is still being recorded.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

rahnbo said:


> I've noticed this happening a few times per week and *occasionally it will not come out of the pause requiring a reboot*. It happens most when either the program is long (2+ hours) and/or I'm watching the program while it is still being recorded.


my tivo hasn't required a reboot to resume playback. have you tried the 30 sec skip, followed by pressing replay to back up? if i go back too far (before the start of the pause), mine will pause again at the same spot.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

NorthAlabama said:


> my tivo hasn't required a reboot to resume playback. have you tried the 30 sec skip, followed by pressing replay to back up? if i go back too far (before the start of the pause), mine will pause again at the same spot.


Yes, I was totally locked out. Waited 15 minutes so the show would complete recording (it didn't) and after rebooting it froze at exactly the same spot but didn't lock me out and was able to do the FF trick to get past it.


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

I've been having some hangs on one of my Premieres. I don't recall it happening on my second Premiere, but it's possible it has. I took it as an opportunity to order a couple of 1 TB drives from Weaknees. I guess it might still happen even with the new drives? Well, I'll still have lots more capacity.


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## sheshechic (Apr 14, 2012)

I just moved from Roamio to XL4 and it's happening on both of them. I notice it when I'm watching buffered material. I'm not sure if it happens while watching recorded material. Hubby has been using an XL4 longer than I, so I'll have to ask him how long this has been going on and if it happens with recorded material. This is almost as irritating as the emergency warning test.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

So it would be safe to say that this happens mostly when watching either from the buffer (which technically is a recording) or when watching a show that is being recorded...and I suppose you could call that a buffer too.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

randywalters said:


> Ok it's suddenly happening a lot more frequently now, once or twice per day for the past week or so. My software was recently updated to 20.4.7a-01-2-746 (apparently happened sometime before i checked it on July 17th) so that may be why it's gotten worse.


I'm having the same issue too. And it seems to have gotten worst over the last few months after another update like you mentioned. Before I was able to just FF through the issue so it didnt bother me as much. But now it freezes so bad that I have to sometimes unplug the tivo and have it reboot. It gets me really frustrated.

I really wish Tivo would fix this issue.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Gifted1 said:


> I'm having the same issue too. And it seems to have gotten worst over the last few months after another update like you mentioned. Before I was able to just FF through the issue so it didnt bother me as much. But now it freezes so bad that I have to sometimes unplug the tivo and have it reboot. It gets me really frustrated.
> 
> I really wish Tivo would fix this issue.


Have you opened a case with TiVo support?

Scott


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Gifted1 said:


> I'm having the same issue too. And it seems to have gotten worst over the last few months after another update like you mentioned. Before I was able to just FF through the issue so it didnt bother me as much. But now it freezes so bad that I have to sometimes unplug the tivo and have it reboot..


 I don't think you have to reboot it when you get a stubborn stoppage, you should be able to clear it by stopping the recording (if you're recording), or if you're just watching Live TV in the buffer and you can't get past the stoppage try changing channels then come back to your channel.

Usually i can just hit 30-second-skip while it's stopped and that jumps past it, then i hit Replay like 3 times to see what i missed during that 30 second skip.

If that doesn't work, then i hit Replay once to skip back a bit to get a running start, then i can FF through the stoppage.

In some rare instances when it happens while watching a recording in progress, i cannot advance through the stoppage with any method so i stop the recording, then i hit record again to continue recording from that point forward. This way i at least get my whole show, it's just split into two parts.

It's become so commonplace on my Premiere that it doesn't really bother me much anymore. I think it bothers me more that this never ever ever ever happens on my clunky old Series 3. Don't understand why our fancy Premieres continue to do this after all these months since Tivo is aware of it.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

randywalters said:


> I don't think you have to reboot it when you get a stubborn stoppage, you should be able to clear it by stopping the recording (if you're recording), or if you're just watching Live TV in the buffer and you can't get past the stoppage try changing channels then come back to your channel.
> 
> Usually i can just hit 30-second-skip while it's stopped and that jumps past it, then i hit Replay like 3 times to see what i missed during that 30 second skip.


I do all of that and most times it works but about 25% of the time it doesnt and I have to just unplug the Tivo.

Does anyone know if this issue happens with the Roamio?


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

Sometimes it will just flat out freeze. It will not respond to to any input, can't be seen on the network, etc. Waiting it out doesn't help. It clearly freezes occasionally under these live show recording/buffer watching circumstances. Nothing will work except rebooting. It does seem to be an issue that didn't exist that long ago and is getting worse (for me across two Premieres) probably since the last one or two updates. Everyone affected should log a ticket.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

rahnbo said:


> Sometimes it will just flat out freeze. It will not respond to to any input, can't be seen on the network, etc. Waiting it out doesn't help. It clearly freezes occasionally under these live show recording/buffer watching circumstances. Nothing will work except rebooting. It does seem to be an issue that didn't exist that long ago and is getting worse (for me across two Premieres) probably since the last one or two updates. Everyone affected should log a ticket.


I've had this problem as well. If you happen to have a TiVo app running on an iPad or Android device, you should be able to control the TiVo and get back to the TiVo Central screen. Once there, you normal remote will work again.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

snerd said:


> I've had this problem as well. If you happen to have a TiVo app running on an iPad or Android device, you should be able to control the TiVo and get back to the TiVo Central screen. Once there, you normal remote will work again.


Funny you mention that as it was my old trick for virtually every type of Tivo freeze but it doesn't work under that specific type of lockup. It can't be seen on the network at all. It is a good method to get Tivo Premiere unstuck in a number of situations though. :up:


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

rahnbo said:


> Sometimes it will just flat out freeze. It will not respond to to any input, can't be seen on the network, etc. Waiting it out doesn't help. It clearly freezes occasionally under these live show recording/buffer watching circumstances. Nothing will work except rebooting. It does seem to be an issue that didn't exist that long ago and is getting worse (for me across two Premieres) probably since the last one or two updates. Everyone affected should log a ticket.


this has happened once to my pxl, five days after the 20.5.2a update. if it happens again, i'll log a ticket with support.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

Ugh, after a bit of a wait here is the response I got from Tivo Support after taking great care in detailing the issue including a link to this page: 

"If the freezing only occurs on recordings, then delete those recordings, then try new recordings. If the issue persists, then that TiVo may have a problem."

Redacted are the even less relevant portions of the response.


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## Jed1 (Jun 18, 2013)

rahnbo said:


> Ugh, after a bit of a wait here is the response I got from Tivo Support after taking great care in detailing the issue including a link to this page:
> 
> "If the freezing only occurs on recordings, then delete those recordings, then try new recordings. If the issue persists, then that TiVo may have a problem."
> 
> Redacted are the even less relevant portions of the response.


Yep, after a 3 hour phone call they came down to just keep replacing my two units until I got two that did not do this. I just had both my units replaced in the spring.


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## sheshechic (Apr 14, 2012)

Is there a way to report this without going through the csr led troubleshoot? I have two XL4s- one up & one down. I really don't want to go through running up and down those stairs to unplug, etc.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

Great. Now I have a green screen after a reboot that says "The TIVO box has detected a serious problem and is attempting to fix it". and says it will take 3 hours. This ***** is driving me crazy now. If it's happening with the Roamio as well then I might as well just skip upgrading to that and go back to getting the cable DVR.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

Ok... besides my green screen on reboot yesterday, it seems like since Sunday, my Tivo has been working pretty well while playing back recordings. Usually 75% of the time I would play back a recording, it would always freeze at a certain point but since Sunday I haven't had that issue and I've watched back maybe about 15 shows. Has there been an update on Saturday or something?


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## Jed1 (Jun 18, 2013)

I was reading the new TiVo Bolt manual and I came across this interesting paragraph in the troubleshooting section.



> MY TIVO BOLT WAS WORKING, BUT NOW THE
> PICTURE IS FROZEN.
>  Try changing channels several times.
>  Press PAUSE, then PLAY .
> ...


This is on page 74 of the manual.
http://assets.tivo.com/assets/resour..._31AUG2015.pdf

This is how the black screen starts for me. The picture will freeze up and stay that way until I try changing channels or go to the TiVo menu. Once you do that then the video will be black.
It is apparent that TiVo can't fix this issue so the proper procedure is just to reboot the box. So even if we get the Bolt we will run into this same problem.


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## debikk (Jan 21, 2011)

I have been having problems with the blue circle when I go to select a show to watch that I had recorded. It spins for about 10-15 seconds. This just started about a week ago. I have restarted several times and it works for a couple shows immediately going to the show, then the blue circle starts up again when I try to view the 3rd-4th show. Anyone else having issues or how to fix this? Is this a problem with version 20.5.2a? Appreciate any help. Very annoying.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

debikk said:


> I have been having problems with the blue circle when I go to select a show to watch that I had recorded. It spins for about 10-15 seconds. This just started about a week ago. I have restarted several times and it works for a couple shows immediately going to the show, then the blue circle starts up again when I try to view the 3rd-4th show. Anyone else having issues or how to fix this? Is this a problem with version 20.5.2a? Appreciate any help. Very annoying.


That issue is something completely different than what this thread is about.

See if there is an existing thread about your blue circle issue, or maybe start a new thread about it.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

Well... my little week and a half vacation from my Tivo f'ing up and freezing is over. It started back doing it again today. I'm wondering what it was that made it work good for that time?


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

Gifted1 said:


> Well... my little week and a half vacation from my Tivo f'ing up and freezing is over. It started back doing it again today. I'm wondering what it was that made it work good for that time?


I think its just one of those things. Plus it could be happening while you're not actually watching so we miss the fact that it happens and corrects itself. Sorta like a tree falling in the forest not making a sound thing.


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

rahnbo said:


> I think its just one of those things. Plus it could be happening while you're not actually watching so we miss the fact that it happens and corrects itself. Sorta like a tree falling in the forest not making a sound thing.


Nah. If the show is playing, I'm always in the room lol. I did notice that it didnt mess up while I was watching back the Walking Dead last night so who knows what determines when it messes up or not now.

I've learned one thing though... never watch a recorded show or play back a show still currently recording if you only have 2 tuners and both of them are recording a show. It will always mess up and you can't correct it by FF or skipping to the end of the show and you will have to reboot your Tivo. At least that's how it is for my Tivo. smh


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

my neighbor called me panicked last night during the patriots/colts game, she was watching on a slight delay while it was recording, and her premiere froze. 

this was her first time she's seen this, the 30sec skip, replay back solution worked.


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## Christopher Roy (Nov 1, 2015)

Are the idiots at TiVo going to answer this question or do we just sit here for the next year with our thumbs in our mouths?


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

Christopher Roy said:


> Are the idiots at TiVo going to answer this question or do we just sit here for the next year with our thumbs in our mouths?


Are you under the illusion that this forum is some sort of direct line to people at TiVo?

Personally, I wouldn't wait with my thumb in my mouth for more than 6 months, tops.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Christopher Roy said:


> Are the idiots at TiVo going to answer this question or do we just sit here for the next year with our thumbs in our mouths?


The actual TiVo customer support forum is here. Replies from TiVo are very rare on TCF.

Or you could call 877-367-8486.

Thumb placement is at your discretion.


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## Christopher Roy (Nov 1, 2015)

*Reboot it! Just turn the DVR off and then on again. It sure worked for me. I hope it works for you.*


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## Christopher Roy (Nov 1, 2015)

REBOOT your DVR!


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## TIVO_GUY_HERE (Jul 10, 2000)

Christopher Roy said:


> REBOOT your DVR!


This is not a solution. I've rebooted my DVR many many many times over the year or so this has been happening.

( don't you think people would of tried this?)


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

TIVO_GUY_HERE said:


> This is not a solution. I've rebooted my DVR many many many times over the year or so this has been happening.


exactly, rebooting is not an option at the time of the freeze, unless you want to lose 5 minutes of every recording in progress at the time of the freeze. yes, if the 30s skip method doesn't work, and you can't navigate to another tuner or recording to watch in the mean time, then sure, reboot *after *your shows have finished recording.

since this issue started, my tivo has been rebooted several times, and even received 2 software updates. fortunately, only once did the freeze completely lock up tivo requiring reboot, the other times using the 30s skip worked.


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## Christopher Roy (Nov 1, 2015)

Sorry, I naïvely assumed that the people at TiVo might occasionally monitor the postings on this community website to see what was going wrong with their product. I did not assume that the solution that worked for me would work for everyone. I did assume that people would be interested in the easiest potential solution. Once upon a time, many years ago, I learned from William of Ockham (Ockham's razor) that the most obvious and easiest solution is often the right one. Rebooting the TiVo worked perfectly for me, and it continues to do so. I wish you all good luck in finding a solution. Goodbye.


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## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

I've had problems with my Premiere freezing so that all buttons on the remote only cause the orange LED to flash on the front of the TiVo, but no change on the screen.

I've been able to get the TiVo back to a functioning state by using the TiVo Android app to control the TiVo. After that, the proper function of the remote is restored. No reboot required.


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## Jed1 (Jun 18, 2013)

Christopher Roy said:


> Sorry, I naïvely assumed that the people at TiVo might occasionally monitor the postings on this community website to see what was going wrong with their product. I did not assume that the solution that worked for me would work for everyone. I did assume that people would be interested in the easiest potential solution. Once upon a time, many years ago, I learned from William of Ockham (Ockham's razor) that the most obvious and easiest solution is often the right one. Rebooting the TiVo worked perfectly for me, and it continues to do so. I wish you all good luck in finding a solution. Goodbye.


Unfortunately just rebooting the box doesn't fix the problem as it is the same as rebooting your computer.
If there is a fault in the coding of the UI then only TiVo can fix it, but they have to be informed that there is an actual problem.

If you are having an issue were the unit freezes up then the best route is to call TiVo Support and complain about it. The more people that complain to TiVo then the more likely it will get on their radar screen.


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## randywalters (Oct 21, 2003)

Christopher Roy said:


> .... I did not assume that the solution that worked for me would work for everyone. I did assume that people would be interested in the easiest potential solution.


But for the vast majority of the roughly 2 dozen owners in this thread that are having the Pause issue, the easiest solution is simply presssing Skip or FF to jump past the glitch whereupon we resume watching our show, and a reboot is completely unnecessary and is a much bigger interruption and inconvenience then just pressing Skip or FF.

As already discussed, rebooting doesn't fix the core problem with the software anyway. There are a few guys in this thread who's Pause problem is much worse than the rest of us and for them the Skip / FF trick doesn't work - but i think their Tivos have a bigger problem then our little Pause/Skip issue.



> Once upon a time, many years ago, I learned from William of Ockham (Ockham's razor) that the most obvious and easiest solution is often the right one. Rebooting the TiVo worked perfectly for me, and it continues to do so....


So are you unable to jump past the Paused point by using Skip or FF? If this doesn't work for you, and you have no choice but to reboot like the other few guys here, then your problem is likely a lot worse than most of the other guys in this thread who simply Skip or FF.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

it happened for the first time last night while not recording a show, i was watching the buffer "live" (with a small time shift). the 30s skip, replay solution still worked.


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## tpm (Dec 28, 2007)

Mine will freeze intermittently at certain points, freeze than go, freeze. There is nothing I can do until it starts playing again and than I quickly ff. I will then rewind and it will sometimes play correctly over that trouble spot. I am using an external hard drive expander.
I occasionally get pixilation playing live tv as well, just happened. I checked signal strength and it was at 90%
Not sure how to diagnose


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## Gifted1 (Oct 3, 2010)

i'm using an external hard drive extender too and I was thinking that it may be the problem. I'm looking to buy a new one and see if I have the same issues.


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## tpm (Dec 28, 2007)

First try another esata cable


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## brholl (Aug 21, 2009)

I am kind of having the opposite issue. When I push pause my premiere un-pauses instantly. I sometimes have to push the pause button two or three times before it will actually stay paused.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

That sounds more like you are watching live TV and have filled the 30 minute buffer (except that you are finally able to pause it).

Scott


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## brholl (Aug 21, 2009)

Yep, that's exactly what it feels like. But it happens while I'm watching recorded shows (no buffer) or during live shows where I'm basically caught up (almost 29 minutes of buffer to go). I've gotten used to it, unfortunately.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

brholl said:


> Yep, that's exactly what it feels like. But it happens while I'm watching recorded shows (no buffer) or during live shows where I'm basically caught up (almost 29 minutes of buffer to go). I've gotten used to it, unfortunately.


Remote issues perhaps (sending the pause twice?). Batteries new?

Scott


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## tse54re (Jan 1, 2003)

I had this same problem. Tivo told me my signal was too strong for the machine. Their level 1 support sucks.. THey had me add splitters in the line to decrease the signal - stupid me followed their advice - it didn't work.

Here is what worked - Completely power the machine off (NOT standby mode). Rebooted the device and the problem hasn't occurred in several months now ,..,


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> Even with OTA it's recording the digital stream directly, so it could still be a glitch in the stream causing the issue. Perhaps you have a signal issue with your antenna?


ive had this happen with shows i uploaded with pytivo. i'm going to try to keep a mental log of what other shows do it.


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