# Tivos not seeing each other on network



## scoovky (Jun 4, 2004)

I'm having a problem in which my Living Room Tivo (Humax DVD) "sees" my other 2 Tivos (SA in office & Humax DVD in BR), however, the SA in the office and the BR Humax do not see the LR one. 

All of this occured after I replaced my cable modem. No other changes were made - same router and switch extension. Since I only changed the modem I wouldn't think that would affect the Tivos from seeing one another. 

Anybody got any clues?

Thanks in advance.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Maybe check the Advanced Troubleshooting screen (Message & Settings - Troubleshooting - Transfering Recordings - Enter, or 0 Thumbs down on the NPL) to make sure transfers are enabled on all the boxes and they can all "see" each other on that particular screen?


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## scoovky (Jun 4, 2004)

All show Transfers allowed. They were transferring and seeing each other prior to the modem switch.


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## dirtypacman (Feb 3, 2004)

Do a simple restart/reboot of each unit and see if it comes back... they may have lost connection when the modem was switched- or IP changed.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Also, make sure you can hit the http/https interface on each box from your PC's browser. Sometimes the web server will crash or hang and stop accepting requests (which will break TTG and MRV).


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## scoovky (Jun 4, 2004)

Rebooting each Tivo worked. I should have thought of that. I tell my coworkers when their computers mess-up "when all else fails - reboot".


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

Sorry to re-open this thread; it was the closest thing to what I'm seeing. I also apologize for the length, but I have no idea which if any of the details are relevant.

I have two TiVos that can see each other in Now Playing but which won't transfer shows.

TiVo 1 is a 540 Series 2 connected to the network via USB to wired ethernet to wireless-G bridge. In Now Playing for TiVo 1, TiVo 2 shows up as "nnnn DVR," where nnnn are the last four digits of TiVo 2's TiVo Service Number ("TSN"). Selecting TiVo 2 from Now Playing on TiVo 1 causes a lengthy pause followed by a blue error screen suggesting the MRV troubleshooter.

TiVo 2 is a 649 dual-tuner S2 connected to the network via a TiVo Wireless Adapter. In Now Playing for TiVo 2, TiVo 2 shows up with the correct TiVo Central Online DVR name. Selecting TiVo 1 from Now Playing on TiVo 2 also causes a lengthy pause followed by a blue error screen suggesting the MRV troubleshooter.

Under TCO "Manage My Account," both TiVos are listed with their correct TSNs and both show "Transfers ALLOWED." I have rebooted each TiVo without result. I can reach the webserver for each TiVo from this computer using the same MAK and Now Playing is correct on each.

Thanks for your attention, and I would appreciate any suggestions.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Try disabling transfers on TCO for each box, and then force two calls. Check the TiVoToGo line on the System Information screen and it should say "i,i,i." Then re-enable tranfers and force two calls on each box again. TiVoToGo should then read "a,a,a." See if that helps.


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

windracer said:


> Try disabling transfers on TCO for each box, and then force two calls. Check the TiVoToGo line on the System Information screen and it should say "i,i,i." Then re-enable tranfers and force two calls on each box again. TiVoToGo should then read "a,a,a." See if that helps.


Thanks for the input. I disabled transfers for each box in TCO and forced a couple of calls over a period of about three hours. The calls completed normally, but the TiVoToGo line never changed on either box. (Each box has read "a,a,a" throughout the process.)

One other tidbit: over the past day and a half, the 540 went from 7.2.2 to 7.3.1 and the new 649DT went from 7.2.5 to 7.3.1. (My wife has been warned not to turn KidZone on. Not even to check it out. Not even as a joke...)

Thanks again for your attention.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Ok, what about the Advanced Troubleshooting screen? I think you can get to that through the normal Troubleshooting menu option, and you used to be able to enter 0 + Thumbs Down from the NPL. 

And just curious, why the warning about KidZone? Turning that on/off won't hurt/break anything.


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

windracer said:


> [W]the warning about KidZone? Turning that on/off won't hurt/break anything.


If reports here are to be believed, KidZone s...l...o...w...s down the interface to a painful degree, especially for a 540x.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

7.3.1 is definitely slow in general ... I don't think enabling KidZone slows it down any more (at least in my experience, and I have it on a 565, which is one of the slower boxes already).


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

windracer said:


> Ok, what about the Advanced Troubleshooting screen?


Had no idea there was such an animal. Here is a shot from the 540 (LR-TiVo1) showing the 649DT (BR-TiVo2DT). Everything looks copacetic to me...


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

And everything looks the same on the other end as well (BT-TiVo2DT)?

Strange ... I agree, everything looks fine. You've tried rebooting both boxes, right?


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

windracer said:


> And everything looks the same on the other end as well (BR-TiVo2DT)?
> 
> Strange ... I agree, everything looks fine. You've tried rebooting both boxes, right?


Everything looks the same on the other end, and both boxes have been rebooted. I even reran Guided Setup on the new 649DT just for kicks. No joy.

One other oddity, the TiVo system information screen lists the last successful VCM connection as December 31, which I assume is a dummy for never. I have, of course, no idea what the VCM connection is.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

People have speculated the VCM is the "video content manager" which checks for updated video content used for the video downloads like Rocketboom, Heavy, and the Product Watch stuff. They are usually scheduled to run every 6 hours.

If yours still says 12/31, there definitely seems to be something screwed up. This might be something you need to call tech support about. I'm stumped.


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## ohone (May 7, 2006)

I had this same problem awhile back. I tried the re-booting thing and it did not work either. What I finally did was go online and changed both of the DVR Name's and everything started working again.



SMWinnie said:


> Sorry to re-open this thread; it was the closest thing to what I'm seeing. I also apologize for the length, but I have no idea which if any of the details are relevant.
> 
> I have two TiVos that can see each other in Now Playing but which won't transfer shows.
> 
> ...


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## lonewoolf47 (Nov 16, 2001)

windracer said:


> People have speculated the VCM is the "video content manager" which checks for updated video content used for the video downloads like Rocketboom, Heavy, and the Product Watch stuff. They are usually scheduled to run every 6 hours.
> 
> If yours still says 12/31, there definitely seems to be something screwed up. This might be something you need to call tech support about. I'm stumped. :co nfu
> 
> My two TiVos have the VCM showing 12/31 and I don't have any problems.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

gunnar007 said:


> My two TiVos have the VCM showing 12/31 and I don't have any problems.


Ok, maybe if you don't subscribe to any of the video content that date never changes. It's always "current" on my three boxes.


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

ohone said:


> I had this same problem awhile back. I tried the re-booting thing and it did not work either. What I finally did was go online and changed both of the DVR Name's and everything started working again.


I changed the names in TCO/MYO and forced a call on each box. Each box picked up the new name, each "sees" the other with the new name and transfers still don't work.

Maybe another clue?:
Just for fun, I moved one of TiVoShanan's intro videos from the new 649DT to my office PC via TTG. Then I grabbed it from the office PC and put it on the 540. When played back, it appeared to be full of skipped frames and the elapsed time bar at the bottom was kaflooie. The MRV-by-PC-by-TTG trick worked just fine for a show recorded on the new box, so maybe Shanan is just unwelcome on my 540.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

SMWinnie said:


> Just for fun, I moved one of TiVoShanan's intro videos from the new 649DT to my office PC via TTG. Then I grabbed it from the office PC and put it on the 540. When played back, it appeared to be full of skipped frames and the elapsed time bar at the bottom was kaflooie.


That's actually a known problem with those delivered videos on the DTs:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4264918&&#post4264918


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

Well, I finally broke down and called TiVo.

After a fifteen minute wait, I got through to a very polite technical support rep who asked me two or three questions and then put me on hold for the networking technical support rep.

Half an hour later, the networking technical support rep answers, looks up my account and tells me that the problem will fix itself in a day or two.

Our 649DT is a new box. Apparently it takes a couple of days after adding a new box to the account for some switch to get flipped and allow MRV.

Interestingly, the networking tech support rep indicated that the 649DT went in the queue on the 25th, which was when I tried the disable/force-force/enable/force-force pattern.


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

Glad you got an answer ... let us know if this works itself out in a few days.

I've never had to call tech support, but I've heard that long hold times are the norm.


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## SMWinnie (Aug 17, 2002)

SMWinnie said:


> Well, I finally broke down and called TiVo.
> 
> After a fifteen minute wait, I got through to a very polite technical support rep who asked me two or three questions and then put me on hold for the networking technical support rep.
> 
> ...


Epilogue: Finally got MRV to work. Problem appears to have been the Motorola 802.11g bridge. After this weekend's CAT5-through-wall fiesta, I was able to ditch the bridge. The 540 is now wired and the 649 is connected using the TiVo wireless adapter. MRV has been slow but works.


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