# Sky "There is a technical problem with this channel"



## PhilG (Jan 15, 2002)

Hi all

I just got back from a trip to find 2 weeks of "There is a technical problem with this channel" banner message

Is this a box issue or did Sky mess up an OTA update?

I'd like to "prove" it's their fault so I can haggle for a partial refund.......

Any suggestions on what causes these?

Thanks

Phil G


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

It certainly _won't_ be a Tivo fault


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

Its quite a common issue - just a channel change resolves it.

Its a box thing.


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

Or a power cycle of your sky box

Automan.


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## PhilG (Jan 15, 2002)

ozsat said:


> Its quite a common issue - just a channel change resolves it.
> 
> Its a box thing.


Nope - A channel change just gave me the same error on the new channel

Sure enough, a power cycle DID fix it, but that's no consolation after the event

I was sort of hoping Sky had screwed up somehow so I could winge at them


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Happens often enough to be annoying!


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

The only box I never get it on is the 100&#37; TiVo controlled one.


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## mesaka (Sep 27, 2002)

I only get this on my really old Pace satellite receiver - its, in my case, something to do with the switching between satellites as it only does it (occasionally!) when channel changes from non Astra 2d channels to 2d channels. I switched the satellite receiver from my TiVo based one to my MCE one and vice versa and the problem is the same using MCE so it definitely is the SKY box rather than the TiVo. 

My Grundig box does not have the same issue using the same satellite dish / dual LNB and that is what now feeds the TiVo......


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

One thing's almost 99&#37; certain - there is NO technical problem with the channel. Sadly it's an all too common ocurrance with the Sky Digital since it was first launched and it seems they still haven't licked it. Even my reasonably new Sky+ box (just over a year old) does it occasionally - in fact it was worse than the first generation Pace Sky box it replaced which always resolved the problem itself within 2 minutes (yay for end-pad). The Sky+ box just stays in that mode when it happens until a channel change happens.

And yes, every so often only a power cycle fixes it.


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## Automan (Oct 29, 2000)

My Sony one does it about once a month.
My Panasonic one, now dead, replaced by a new Pace one has never done it.

Automan.


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## TonyW (Mar 26, 2001)

Mine does this if the sky box hasn't been connected to the phone line for a while (because I share the phone line between Tivo and sky box). I used to have a phone line for each before I moved and never had this problem.

As long as I swap the phone line over regularly it never happens.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

All of which goes to show why having your Sky Box, Freeview box and Tivo on a timer that shuts them off once a day at 5am for 2 minutes is the thing to do if you never want to lose 2 weeks of recordings while you are away.

I used to get these sort of problems with my Sky box occasionally when it was left on 24/7 but never since it is now shut down once a day on a timer.

Basically if the Sky box is left on forever a memory overflow condition presumably occurs sooner or later. Whereas powering off once a day restarts it in clean condition and a 24 hour cycle seems to be too short a period for this problem to ever occur in that time frame.


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> All of which goes to show why having your Sky Box, Freeview box and Tivo on a timer that shuts them off once a day at 5am for 2 minutes is the thing to do if you never want to lose 2 weeks of recordings while you are away.
> 
> I used to get these sort of problems with my Sky box occasionally when it was left on 24/7 but never since it is now shut down once a day on a timer.
> 
> Basically if the Sky box is left on forever a memory overflow condition presumably occurs sooner or later. Whereas powering off once a day restarts it in clean condition and a 24 hour cycle seems to be too short a period for this problem to ever occur in that time frame.


I would not risk shutting down the tivo every night to be honest..

I once picked up a Dixons demo tivo (For £40) (Sold on ebay for £250)... Sorry..

He had sold it as faulty as the demo vid, that woman with the huge peanut.. was jumping and skipping like mad, and it looked knackered.

A reimage fixed it, and the reason for the skipping and jumping like mad was... The dixons units are on a store time, shut off every night and back on in the morning, the hard shutting down of the tivo knackered the data of the hard drive..

I have never used a timer (even when it was recommended for the virgin boxes), but I have never had problems with leaving the tivo, and sky on 24hrs.


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## kitschcamp (May 18, 2001)

Automan said:


> My Panasonic one, now dead, replaced by a new Pace one has never done it.


Strangely, Panasonic is one of the worst affected for this bug. The way they switch high and low band is notoriously buggy.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

6022tivo said:


> A reimage fixed it, and the reason for the skipping and jumping like mad was... The dixons units are on a store time, shut off every night and back on in the morning, the hard shutting down of the tivo knackered the data of the hard drive...


That is just your assumption.

More likely the hard drive was on the way out and your re-image fixed the problem long enough for you to dispose of the Tivo on to some other poor unfortunate owner on whom it then failed.


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## 6022tivo (Oct 29, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> That is just your assumption.
> 
> More likely the hard drive was on the way out and your re-image fixed the problem long enough for you to dispose of the Tivo on to some other poor unfortunate owner on whom it then failed.


No it checked out fine, I always surface tested the drives.
I brought and sold 10-20 units brought this way at the time, always offered a cost price upgrade to a 120gb (popped the old 40gb in the packaging) which most people took up anyway. I sold the tivo's at the going 2nd hand value at the time, I wouldn't dream about ripping people off with faulty gear.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> That is just your assumption.
> 
> More likely the hard drive was on the way out and your re-image fixed the problem long enough for you to dispose of the Tivo on to some other poor unfortunate owner on whom it then failed.


Sensitively put 

Way to make friends and influence people Pete


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> All of which goes to show why having your Sky Box, Freeview box and Tivo on a timer that shuts them off once a day at 5am for 2 minutes is the thing to do if you never want to lose 2 weeks of recordings while you are away.


Sky box, yes. Tivo, no. It's _not_ a Tivo problem!


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

Pete77 said:


> All of which goes to show why having your Sky Box, Freeview box and Tivo on a timer that shuts them off once a day at 5am for 2 minutes is the thing to do if you never want to lose 2 weeks of recordings while you are away.
> 
> I used to get these sort of problems with my Sky box occasionally when it was left on 24/7 but never since it is now shut down once a day on a timer.
> 
> Basically if the Sky box is left on forever a memory overflow condition presumably occurs sooner or later. Whereas powering off once a day restarts it in clean condition and a 24 hour cycle seems to be too short a period for this problem to ever occur in that time frame.




I would not recommend powering things off every 24 hours.

I don't have any problems with my Sky box (a fairly old Pace box) which is 100% allocated to TiVo - and is never touched via remote, power or anything! Hasn't been powered off for months.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

ozsat said:


> I don't have any problems with my Sky box (a fairly old Pace box) which is 100% allocated to TiVo - and is never touched via remote, power or anything! Hasn't been powered off for months.


I suppose you must be lucky with your particular Sky box.

The Pansonic Tu-DSB20 definitely falls victim to the "No Signal is being received" bug sooner or later if left on 24/7 and 365.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Yes. My dad has the Panny DSB30 and suffer the same problem occasionally


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