# problems with new Premiere XL (freeze..)



## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

Help need opinions!!

I got it from Tivo on the 29th and it seems ok but it froze up for the first time in many months last week. No TA, no external drive, no surge suppressor, . I'm on the latest software. Both red lights was on indicating it was recording two shows. I went to watch a pre recoded show then the remote was unresponsive during watching. I saw it was recieving the commands as the yellow circle was showing and then it rebooted. It did this a few times rebooting during play of recorded material. I unplugged the unit and let it do a cold restart and it seemed better. A few days later it did it again. I was fast forwarding thru section and then I could not stop it. I waited and it crashed and rebooted. The only other thing I have is a Tivo slide attached. 

What do you guys think? Software or hardware. 

Should I get it replaced?

I need to make this call in a few days to figure out if it needs to be replaced.

PS I'm using the HDUI.


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## caddyroger (Mar 15, 2005)

Switch to the SDUI and your problem most likly will go away. their is a lot of us that can not use the HDUI because of the slowness and freezing.
There is is a poll named "Do you use SDUI or HDUI" in this section that will tell how many are using the the HDUI or the SDUI.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

If caddyroger's suggestion doesn't help. Don't hesitate to send it back. I'd hate to see you on here in a month complaining that your Tivo isn't working and your return grace period has passed.


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## rahnbo (Sep 12, 2010)

Having recently switched to the SDUI menus I had my first remote lockout last night when one of my Premiere's became unresponsive to the remote. The yellow light would blink in response to the remote but not respond to any input. Waited 1/2 hour before rebooting to see if shows that were recording would actually record. After rebooting fortunately the 2 shows that were recording recorded just fine despite the lockup. Oddly enough I never had that occur with the HDUI but I don't think I'd switch back to HDUI until the performance is better. It is too good zipping through those SD menus without feeling like its stuck in mud.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Remote lockout issue seems to be pretty common with Premiere units, more so if you have Tuning Adapter attached. See following thread:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=456559
You may want to PM TiVoJerry about this issue and point him to above thread. I already did that but no response yet.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

moyekj said:


> Remote lockout issue seems to be pretty common with Premiere units, more so if you have Tuning Adapter attached. See following thread:
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=456559
> You may want to PM TiVoJerry about this issue and point him to above thread. I already did that but no response yet.


Thanks but as mentioned in my first post, there is no Tuning adapter. Looking for what others have done and what the likelyhood is of a hardware problem.


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## yuki-nagato (Nov 2, 2010)

richone52 said:


> Thanks but as mentioned in my first post, there is no Tuning adapter. Looking for what others have done and what the likelyhood is of a hardware problem.


disconnect the cable line and the cable card if there is one and reboot the box without them. see what it does. if it reboots in the SDUI without the line or the card, then have it replaced. if it doesn't freeze/reboot then either you've got a bad cablecard or the cable line is the problem. pop the card back into the cable card slot and exit the cable card menu when it comes up. go to tivo central > messages and settings > accoutn and system info > dvr diagnostics then when you are on dvr diagnostics, add the cable line. about half way down the page you'll be looking for three things: signal strength which should be between 80-95, SNR which should be 32-36db and RS corrected/uncorrected neither of which should be increasing too much. if any of these show as 0 or a dash then go to live tv and set two recordings on different three digit channels that you have video and go back to DVR diagnostics.

if the signal is below 80 or SNR is below 32db get an amplifier, if the signal is 95+ or SNR is higher than 36db get an attenuator. high RS values are caused by one of two things: a bad cable card or interference on the line, either way if an amplifier/attenuator doesn't fix it have the cable company fix it.


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## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

richone52 said:


> Help need opinions!!
> 
> I got it from Tivo on the 29th and it seems ok but it froze up for the first time in many months last week. No TA, no external drive, no surge suppressor, . I'm on the latest software. Both red lights was on indicating it was recording two shows. I went to watch a pre recoded show then the remote was unresponsive during watching. I saw it was recieving the commands as the yellow circle was showing and then it rebooted. It did this a few times rebooting during play of recorded material. I unplugged the unit and let it do a cold restart and it seemed better. A few days later it did it again. I was fast forwarding thru section and then I could not stop it. I waited and it crashed and rebooted. The only other thing I have is a Tivo slide attached.
> 
> ...


Are you doing any podcast downloads (blue light on). I, and many others, have had problems with freezes and reboots while watching shows when CNET HD podcasts were downloading. Tivo is supposedly working on this problem.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

shiffrin said:


> Are you doing any podcast downloads (blue light on). I, and many others, have had problems with freezes and reboots while watching shows when CNET HD podcasts were downloading. Tivo is supposedly working on this problem.


I do download some podcasts like Scam School but not CNET. Is it any podcasts or just this one. I have not noticed the light on when the freeze occurs but I have see the blue light come on every now and again..

I took the suggestion on switching to SDUI menus and have been there for one day now. So far I havent seen a freeze or lock (but only one day now). I am assuming from what most are saying here, that if it is working fine in SDUI then the hardware is most likely fine and I shouldnt replace it?


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

yuki-nagato said:


> disconnect the cable line and the cable card if there is one and reboot the box without them. see what it does. if it reboots in the SDUI without the line or the card, then have it replaced. if it doesn't freeze/reboot then either you've got a bad cablecard or the cable line is the problem. pop the card back into the cable card slot and exit the cable card menu when it comes up. go to tivo central > messages and settings > accoutn and system info > dvr diagnostics then when you are on dvr diagnostics, add the cable line. about half way down the page you'll be looking for three things: signal strength which should be between 80-95, SNR which should be 32-36db and RS corrected/uncorrected neither of which should be increasing too much. if any of these show as 0 or a dash then go to live tv and set two recordings on different three digit channels that you have video and go back to DVR diagnostics.
> 
> if the signal is below 80 or SNR is below 32db get an amplifier, if the signal is 95+ or SNR is higher than 36db get an attenuator. high RS values are caused by one of two things: a bad cable card or interference on the line, either way if an amplifier/attenuator doesn't fix it have the cable company fix it.


Sorry but I am not understanding your instructions on pulling the card and cable and seeing the reboot. WHat do you mean regarding if it boots in SDUI without the line or card sent it back?

As far as signal strenght goes right now it is above 80 and near 90-95.


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## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

richone52 said:


> I do download some podcasts like Scam School but not CNET. Is it any podcasts or just this one. I have not noticed the light on when the freeze occurs but I have see the blue light come on every now and again..
> 
> I took the suggestion on switching to SDUI menus and have been there for one day now. So far I havent seen a freeze or lock (but only one day now). I am assuming from what most are saying here, that if it is working fine in SDUI then the hardware is most likely fine and I shouldnt replace it?


For me, i was just 'All CNET HD podcasts' that was causing the problem,but I didn't download a lot of others. I tried changing from HD to SD menus and it ddin't help my problem.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

shiffrin said:


> For me, i was just 'All CNET HD podcasts' that was causing the problem,but I didn't download a lot of others. I tried changing from HD to SD menus and it ddin't help my problem.


Ph. Well not downloading those. Let me know how it goes if you find any answers.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

Well I have changed to SDUI menus and so far for the past 3 days I havnt seen any freezes or lockups.

Will see if this continues fut I guess if it sees to work ok, the hardware isnt the problem eh?

I have another week to wait before I swap out.


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## timetrips (Nov 17, 2010)

I've been reviewing other complaints in this forum and I see I'm not alone. I loved TIVO before getting the XL. I had four of the series 3 TIVO's and had one that I replaced twice in the three years I had them due to unit failure but other than that (and they were replaced quickly) no problem. Loved them and couldn't recommend them enough.

However after replacing three of the units with XL's I'm ready to call it quits. the units are unreliable, they freeze up, are slow to respond to the remote or just ignore the remote entirely. I know the remote is working, the activity light flashes but the TIVO unit just ignores it. I have to push the button 3 or 4 times to get a response. When using the menu system it is HORRIBLY slow, and then it will "catch up" which means it processes more than I intended so I have to back up. Tonight I got home and the unit wouldn't respond to the remote and no signal was getting to the TV. I had to pull the plug and then wait 20 minutes while it rebooted. I've had these new units about 6 months and I'm very disapointed. My cable company is comming out with a competing product and I'm seriously thinking of junking the TIVO's and switch, that is how fed up with I am (I have a lifetime subscription on one and year to year on the other two, I almost bought lifetimes on them and now I'm very glad I didn't). 

And another problem, one of the main selling points/features of the TIVO was the ability to transfer shows between boxes, now with the HD's it seems that well over half the shows (and we are talking about ABC world news, not a major programming event) won't transfer they all have the BIG READ no-no icon. Very annoying. Tivo says it is the cable company setting a copy protection, but I've talked to Time Warner Cable and they say it's not them (who do you belive) but Time Warner does say their new product will transfer HD shows.

Just my 2 cents, needed to rant after waiting 20 minutes for it to reboot, finding it missed one of my favorite shows (Stargate Universe) and the second copy of the show won't transfer from my alternate TIVO. Fortunately it replace at 11:00 tonight, hopefully TIVO can get it right later tonight.

James.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

richone52 said:


> Well I have changed to SDUI menus and so far for the past 3 days I havnt seen any freezes or lockups.
> 
> Will see if this continues fut I guess if it sees to work ok, the hardware isnt the problem eh?
> 
> I have another week to wait before I swap out.


well 2 more freeze and reboots after now using SDUI this monday night. guess im calling to replace it today!! will try again with a new one


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

timetrips said:


> .........Just my 2 cents, needed to rant after waiting 20 minutes for it to reboot, finding it missed one of my favorite shows (Stargate Universe) and the second copy of the show won't transfer from my alternate TIVO. Fortunately it replace at 11:00 tonight, hopefully TIVO can get it right later tonight.
> 
> James.


If it's taking 20 minutes to reboot there must be some problem with it. That is more than twice as long as it should take to reboot unless it applied a software update.


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## richone52 (Oct 26, 2004)

Ok. got my new box and seems I also found out some issues.

I was running a Windows WHS system and using the HP Tivo app and Tivo Publisher.

IT seems that one of thenm was making the box crash. I removed both apps from the server and am just running the tivo desktop on a regular PC for now. I havn't had a crash in at least 3 weeks now.

Guess my other box was fine but I was in the process of the change out so did it anyway. I wanted everyone to know that if you are running a WHS system with the HP TIvo app and Tivo Publisher you may see some problems.

I will be doing some more testing to narrow out which one was causing the problems or if it was a combo of the two.

Rich


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## jjh1935123 (Nov 13, 2010)

I am on my second Tivo Premeire XL Box

I am having the tivo pause, play 10 seconds, reboot issue.
I am running whs on an HP MEDIA SMART EX495 and wondering/ hoping the HP tivo extender add in is the issue. However I can not find a way of removing this add-in. Any advice would be appreciated. It does not appear in the add/remove add ins area but it is there because I can read the information from the tivo in the home server console.

Thanks


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## wwu123 (May 15, 2008)

jjh1935123 said:


> I am on my second Tivo Premeire XL Box
> 
> I am having the tivo pause, play 10 seconds, reboot issue.
> I am running whs on an HP MEDIA SMART EX495 and wondering/ hoping the HP tivo extender add in is the issue. However I can not find a way of removing this add-in. Any advice would be appreciated. It does not appear in the add/remove add ins area but it is there because I can read the information from the tivo in the home server console.
> ...


Jjh1935123, thanks for posting this which finally gave me the right clue to stop my endless reboots! I disabled home network applications at the bottom of the Showcases and Extras menu, which disconnected my Mediasmart EX 470, and the reboots stopped.

My symptoms sounded similar to yours, a very distinctive play, pause, play, pause, reboot. This was only when playing recordings, not during live buffeting, and not triggered by any remote commands. Towards the end I couldn't get through a half-hour show without at least three reboots, which was pretty much killing any use if the Tivo period.

Things I tried that didn't work: tuning adapters ( cause we don't have one), changing the hard drive, turning off closed captions, switching to SD menus. Although I think switching to SD changed the reboot symptoms from pause play pause to the more familiar unresponsive remote....

Now have watched five recordings without a reboot!


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## timetrips (Nov 17, 2010)

moyekj said:


> Remote lockout issue seems to be pretty common with Premiere units, more so if you have Tuning Adapter attached. See following thread:
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=456559
> You may want to PM TiVoJerry about this issue and point him to above thread. I already did that but no response yet.


I've had nothing but trouble with mine (and I unfortunately bought 4 of them). Two of them seem to be ok, menus slow on all, but only two of them keep Freezing up. Those problems and the fact that almost NONE of the HD shows I tape will transfer between machines has led me to replace all my tivo's. Tivo blames the HD transfer problem on Timewarner Cable and TC says they don't know what I'm talking about (because they don't "support" Tivo's). The whole point of having multiple Tivo's was to watch my show's on any tv. Now TimeWarner has come out with the whole house DVR and I'm going to give it a try. It is unfortunate I LOVED the Series 2 (had 4 of them) but very disappointed with the new ones.


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## timetrips (Nov 17, 2010)

aaronwt said:


> If it's taking 20 minutes to reboot there must be some problem with it. That is more than twice as long as it should take to reboot unless it applied a software update.


Yea, that ones seems to have been the longest, the last couple of times it has been taking just under 10 minutes to complete. Still this has gotten to be to big a headache. As I said in another post 2 of my XL's work great (other than slow menu's) at least my Wife and Daughter using them in their rooms haven't noticed my problems, but the other two (my office) and the family room seem to expierence the Freeze problem once or more a week. I have waited it out and had it recover but most of the time I have to pull the plug and start over. Really annoying when it's taping a show I want, but is stuck on the other tuner.


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## MikeNColo (Mar 22, 2002)

I'll add my experience to the list, maybe it will help someone.
My box just received the 14.7 update 2 days ago, and I experienced a lockup last night.
This issue is new since 14.7 was installed on my box - never happened before.
I have the HD menus turned on, a Comcast cable card installed, but otherwise nothing special.
I had 2 programs recording and was trying to watch a pre-recorded program - any program.
I could get as far as the initial list of programs, but when I tried to play a program or open a folder of programs, the green donut would appear and not go away and dispite the yellow light flashing on the unit, no keys on the remote would work, save one.
The only button that would work was "Live TV" which would bring me back to one of the programs I was recording. 
Tried this several times over the period of an hour with no luck. A few times upon returning to live TV, the screen froze and pixelated badly, but the program recording was not affected.
While watching live TV, the buttons worked fine, pause, FF, play... etc.
After the 2 programs finished recording, I tried again, and the condition was still there.
I ended up unplugging and restarting the box to clear it.
Hope this helps someone.
Mike


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