# Channel Lag



## PatEllis15 (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm the happy owner of a new Bolt +. I migrated all my one passes and saved shows over the bolt, and got it connected with a new cable card. My old Premiere (2 tuner) changed channels pretty quickly, but the new Bolt has some significant lag (several seconds for each channel change).

Is this everyone's experience with the Bolt? Is the addition of all those extra tuners the issue? Is it a bad cable card?

So many of the features on the Bolt are far more snappy that they were on the premiere. It seems odd the changing channels would be a step backwards...

Pat E


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Maybe give it a bit for the Guide to finish indexing...

Like maybe 2-3 days, even?

-KP


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

PatEllis15 said:


> I'm the happy owner of a new Bolt +. I migrated all my one passes and saved shows over the bolt, and got it connected with a new cable card. My old Premiere (2 tuner) changed channels pretty quickly, but the new Bolt has some significant lag (several seconds for each channel change).
> Is this everyone's experience with the Bolt? Is the addition of all those extra tuners the issue? Is it a bad cable card?
> So many of the features on the Bolt are far more snappy that they were on the premiere. It seems odd the changing channels would be a step backwards...
> Pat E


I have the cable connected to my TV and TiVo. The same (<1 sec) delay on both. But like was mentioned, something may be making your box too busy. If it continues, there are some steps that can be done to diagnose the problem.

BTW, I have only two video modes selected: 1080i and 1080p (pass thru only). Also, find your System Information pages. All the important stuff is there. I also have a two-tuner premiere and there's no difference in channel changing time compared to my Roamio.


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## PatEllis15 (Mar 3, 2010)

JoeKustra said:


> I have the cable connected to my TV and TiVo. The same (<1 sec) delay on both. But like was mentioned, something may be making your box too busy. If it continues, there are some steps that can be done to diagnose the problem.
> 
> BTW, I have only two video modes selected: 1080i and 1080p (pass thru only). Also, find your System Information pages. All the important stuff is there. I also have a two-tuner premiere and there's no difference in channel changing time compared to my Roamio.


Hmmm... I believe on setup, the video output was set to 1080P (automatic) or some such. Of course, none of the signals from Comcast are 1080P... It sounds like you are suggesting that the up-scaling could be the culprit?

Pat E


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Yeah, I agree with KP. Often this works itself out after a little time has passed since all the updates, info loading, etc. I've had it happen, over the years, even with a restart of the Tivo for a short period.

Hope you love it! I don't have a '+' but I have two of the regular (ugly white - wish they were black but oh well) Bolts and I really like them so much over the previous Premieres they replaced.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Thanks, but I agree with Joe.

A (very) likely culprit is that the 'resolution' is changing (nearly) every time you change channel.

If the output resolution is set to a 'fixed' resolution, the TV doesn't have to 'hunt' for the resolution...

...maybe...

-KP


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

PatEllis15 said:


> Hmmm... I believe on setup, the video output was set to 1080P (automatic) or some such. Of course, none of the signals from Comcast are 1080P... It sounds like you are suggesting that the up-scaling could be the culprit?
> Pat E


That would be really bad luck. I use 1080i since that's the native resolution of 90% of my cable feed. My TV handles 1080p60 and 1080p24, which looks nice with Amazon. Sure, the TiVo can send 1080p, but let's not start a sub-topic on that idea please.

Also, I note that the channel banner on the bottom of the screen is almost instantaneous, with about a .5 second delay for the picture to build. TV is a Sony 40W600B, so it's not real new. If I switched between FOX, ABC and then 1080i channels AND had all video resolutions checked there would be a longer delay. So I don't do that. While watching TV press the UP key several times. I only see 1080i.

BTW, I only use the guide or the last key to change channels. I almost never enter the channel number. I get 220 channels. The guide shows my 19 favorites.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

PatEllis15 said:


> I'm the happy owner of a new Bolt +. I migrated all my one passes and saved shows over the bolt, and got it connected with a new cable card. My old Premiere (2 tuner) changed channels pretty quickly, but the new Bolt has some significant lag (several seconds for each channel change).
> 
> Is this everyone's experience with the Bolt? Is the addition of all those extra tuners the issue? Is it a bad cable card?
> 
> ...


New Bolt+ and it hangs on channel changes and pixelates recordings. No problems with Roamio Pro or 3 Premieres. Weird. Do we have lemons? I use 720P only on all my TiVos....


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## DerekSF (May 16, 2013)

Has anyone found a solution for this issue?

I'm having same issue, see a black screen for 3-4 seconds when switching channels.

Originally had pixelated recordings, but now it seems to jump a second, so maybe they did something in an update to hide the pixelation issue. Live TV works fine.

Bolt+ with LG 55" and Comcast using Motorola cablecars.


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

DerekSF said:


> Has anyone found a solution for this issue?
> 
> I'm having same issue, see a black screen for 3-4 seconds when switching channels.
> 
> ...


As mentioned in other replies to this old thread, this often happens when you set up a TiVo box to use multiple output resolutions. For example, if you have enabled both 1080i and 720p, and it just happens that every other channel you tune to is in the "other" resolution from the last one you were watching, you will get the long delay. If this is what is happening for you, a simple change to fixed output so that all channels are displayed at the same resolution (no matter how they are being received) will totally solve the issue.

Here is a super simple test for you: Before switching channels, hit the up arrow on your remote one time, and the screen will display what resolution is currently in use. Now change the channel and hit the up arrow again to see if the resolution used by the new channel is different than the last one.

You can also use the up arrow to check and see if your Bolt has more than one output resolution enabled for display - the first time you push it you will see the current resolution, but if you push it again before the display disappears, it will change the resolution to the next one available in the current configuration (each additional push of the up arrow just cycles through all the output resolutions that are enabled in the video setup). This is also a great way to test which output resolution looks best with your current TV.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

DerekSF said:


> Has anyone found a solution for this issue?
> I'm having same issue, see a black screen for 3-4 seconds when switching channels.


With my TiVo sending only 1080i, I found the following to be pretty accurate and repeatable:
Channel up/down
Channel bar displays immediately
Sound starts at 1 second
Video displays at 2.5 to 3 seconds.

Also see -> New Bolt+ Slow changing channels


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