# Loss of Signal



## rogmatic (Sep 17, 2009)

Before I shell out $1k for a Tivo (which I probably don't need, given that I already have an Elite, Premiere and HD), does anyone know if the hardware improvements would have fixed the signal loss issues that have plagued the Elites? It seems like going from 4 to 6 tuners would just make the problem worse, but maybe they finally fixed the underlying cause. I am also in the process of moving to a new location, so maybe that will help me.


----------



## brianm729 (Jul 11, 2013)

What is this signal loss issue? Sorry, I am new to this board. Sounds like it could be the issue I have been dealing with.


----------



## rogmatic (Sep 17, 2009)

On my four tuner Elite, I periodically lose signal so that no recordings happen and it requires a reboot or reset of the cable card to fix. I have tried all sorts of combinations of signal boosters and attenuators (all of which appeared to do more harm than good) but nothing seems to work. As far as I know, TiVo has not announced any solution despite the fact that many people have been affected by this.


----------



## curiousgeorge (Nov 28, 2002)

rogmatic said:


> On my four tuner Elite, I periodically lose signal so that no recordings happen and it requires a reboot or reset of the cable card to fix. I have tried all sorts of combinations of signal boosters and attenuators (all of which appeared to do more harm than good) but nothing seems to work. As far as I know, TiVo has not announced any solution despite the fact that many people have been affected by this.


Welcome to the "new" TiVo, where we don't fix anything important - we just release new hardware and move on.


----------



## brianm729 (Jul 11, 2013)

rogmatic said:


> On my four tuner Elite, I periodically lose signal so that no recordings happen and it requires a reboot or reset of the cable card to fix. I have tried all sorts of combinations of signal boosters and attenuators (all of which appeared to do more harm than good) but nothing seems to work. As far as I know, TiVo has not announced any solution despite the fact that many people have been affected by this.


Sounds similar to my Series 3 HD, channels will randomly disappear on one of the tuners. Rebooting or waiting it out will bring them back. Hopefully my ne Roamio will fix it.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I believe the theory is that this problem is caused by the specific tuner chips they used in the Elite/XL4 platform. So in all likely hood this problem will not occur on the new units. However no one will really know until they've been in the hands of users for a while.


----------



## tivogurl (Dec 16, 2004)

Dan203 said:


> I believe the theory is that this problem is caused by the specific tuner chips they used in the Elite/XL4 platform.


I thought I read somewhere that the Roamio uses the same _brand_ of tuners. If true that raises the risk of the problem still being there.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think the75 hour 2 tuner units used the same brand as well, but they were a different model and didn't have the problem.

But as I said this is one of those things we wont really know until they're in the wild and people start reporting their experiences with them.


----------



## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

Dan203 said:


> I believe the theory is that this problem is caused by the specific tuner chips they used in the Elite/XL4 platform. So in all likely hood this problem will not occur on the new units. However no one will really know until they've been in the hands of users for a while.


That's one of the theories. There is supposedly a confirmed bug in old Scientific Atlanta cable cards (which I have), but the TiVo 20.3 update made it an order of magnitude worse. Possibly comcast will be rolling up updates "soon" (we all know how loosely that word is tossed around) and that will include new firmware which might fix the problem for me.


----------



## brianm729 (Jul 11, 2013)

I've given up on trying to fix mine. Was just about to buy a premeir. Glad I waited and now the Roamio came out. Hopefully this will get fixed.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I've only hit this like 2-3 times in 2+ years. Sucks when it happens, but not a huge deal for me.


----------



## brianric (Aug 29, 2002)

I had that problem on my XL4 on one channel, CBS HD. Replaced cable card, problem resolved.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

brianric said:


> I had that problem on my XL4 on one channel, CBS HD. Replaced cable card, problem resolved.


That's not the same issue. The one we're talking about randomly causes the TiVo to be unable to tune any channels until you reboot it. When it's in this state any scheduled recordings are missed, so if you don't catch it right away you could end up losing a days worth of recordings.


----------



## rogmatic (Sep 17, 2009)

It has happened to me 50 times. Maybe 100. Eventually I moved my elite into my exercise room where it doesn't matter if I miss some recordings. It seemed to work better without the cable card installed but that wasn't a complete fix either.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

That's terrible, I'd be frustrated too. I wonder if it's that specific unit or some conflict between the platform and your cable company?

If you do try a Roamio let us know if it fares any better for you. You seem to be an extreme case, so if it's going to happen with the Roamio then you'll probably be one of the first to know.


----------



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

rogmatic said:


> It has happened to me 50 times. Maybe 100. Eventually I moved my elite into my exercise room where it doesn't matter if I miss some recordings. It seemed to work better without the cable card installed but that wasn't a complete fix either.


I put mine in my office. Its done better since the last update, but at least 2 or 3 times a week I have to unplug everything, reboot the tuning adapter, and get it all back up and going again. I dont dare trust it with the big media room TV where I relax and watch all my shows. I have a 2 tuner Premiere and an HTPC in the media room where I record everything that really matters.


----------



## rogmatic (Sep 17, 2009)

It seemed like TWC in Dallas had a lot of issues. It isn't the unit - I switched mine out. I just moved to Pennsylvania Comcast so maybe I will fare better.


----------



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I can pull the tuning adapter and just run it off the cable card alone and it never has a problem, but once that tuning adapter is hooked up then failure isnt far behind. But I never have these issues on the 2 tuner model or my HTPC or a cable box, just that 4 tuner Premiere, and this is the 4th one to do it.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

I think it's important to find out what tuners are being used in these new units. The Elite/XL4 used Maxlinear tuners and I believe those need pristine conditions to work properly. I personally never had issues with 2 tuner units that were not Maxlinear tuners, but my Elite gives me trouble periodically, so I believe at least part of the problem was the Maxlinear tuners or firmware. Hopefully TiVo got enough reports of problems they chose a different tuner supplier. Otherwise, if 4 tuners were problematic, 6 tuners would be a nightmare. I'll find out soon enough...


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

So how soon before someone opens one up and gives us a parts list?


----------



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I hope someone does soon, I'm dying to see inside one. I wonder if they mounted the hard drive upside down again


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I wonder what type of 3TB drive they are using?


----------



## MeInDallas (Jul 31, 2011)

I would say a WD30EURS but it could be a Seagate, they have up to a 4TB now in the Pipeline HD, and I know some of Premiere 4's were reported to of had Seagates in them.


----------

