# "wont record"



## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Any help guys?

My TiVo hasnt recorded anything for a day or so... looking into the TO DO/HISTORY every programme has next to it "WONT RECORD due to another showing is/was available". I havent changed anything and it used to record these items regularly.

Any help guys?

ps - I only tend to do a call once a week?


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## Pugwash (May 23, 2003)

Why isn't it calling automatically once a day?
If you have TiVoWeb, I find the explanations for recordings missed makes more sense.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Dont have TiVoweb am afraid - just a bog standard 40gb TiVo

The TiVo isnt anywhere near the phone line so need a long extension that trails across the front room, hence only periodic updating. Its been ok updating once a week for 4 years and never a problem apart from an odd missed recording due to late schedule change.

I have done a daily call since I first posted and it has completed the loading of data - still the same.

Have checked the recording settings of season passes etc and it says to record repeats.

Just wondering if anyone else is having this issue. Its as if the episode data isnt right and it is seeing every episode of each programme as the same. Its on all programmes on all channels.

Seems to have been like this since the call 2 days ago - same time we lost Inside TiVo and Channel Highlights from the main menu.

Any helps guys - please - Im lost without my TiVo! hehe


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> Any help guys?
> 
> My TiVo hasnt recorded anything for a day or so... looking into the TO DO/HISTORY every programme has next to it "WONT RECORD due to another showing is/was available". I havent changed anything and it used to record these items regularly.
> 
> ...


I suggest re-running Guided Setup to see if that resolves the issue as quite a few Tivos seem to have had problems with database corruption lately. You won't lose any Thumbs or Season Passes by re-running Guided Setup.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Thanks - will I lose programmes in Now Showing by doing that?

If so, will watch a few before I do it.

hehe


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> Thanks - will I lose programmes in Now Showing by doing that?
> 
> If so, will watch a few before I do it.
> 
> hehe


Rerunning Guided Setup doesn't lose any Season Passes, Wishlists or programs in Now Showing or any thumbs data but it does rebuild all the Tivo program EPG database which may have become corrupted on your machine.

Quite a few forum members have re-run Guided Setup successfully recently to resolve an issue with their Daily Call not working any more. The problems you are getting make it sound like the database is in a mess, although as you are one of very few Homechoice platform users I suppose its possible Tivo could have somehow messed up program flags in just that part of the database. There really is no harm in re-running Guided Setup other than that your Tivo won't be able to record anything for 2 or 3 hours while it is reindexing following Guided Setup.


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## blindlemon (May 12, 2002)

Pete77 said:


> it does rebuild all the Tivo program EPG database


Not if you re-run it with the same options. In that case it just uses the guide data it has from before.

If you want to fully clear out the guide data - eg. to remove some corruption - then you need to do "Clear programme guide and ToDo list" which, unfortunately, also removes your SPs (and possibly wishlists also, although I'm not sure about that) 

As a halfway house, you could try swapping to a completely different TV source and a postcode from the other end of the UK to invalidate as much of the old guide data as possible. However, whether that will clear the corruption is obviously a matter of chance.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

blindlemon said:



> As a halfway house, you could try swapping to a completely different TV source and a postcode from the other end of the UK to invalidate as much of the old guide data as possible. However, whether that will clear the corruption is obviously a matter of chance.


Well I would give this changing to another platform and back option using Guided Setup a go first if I was Daz as its a pain to lose all your SPs and thumbs etc.

The best bet Daz would probably be to rerun Guided Setup for Aerial only and then wait for it to finish reindexing etc, which on aerial only probably takes less than an hour.

Then reboot the machine using the Tivo System Reset menu and then rerun Guided Setup again changing back to HomeChoice. The reindexing then probably takes 2 or 3 hours to complete until everything is working fully.

Let us know how you get on.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

P.S You could also call Tivo customer services and see if they are aware of any specific issues affecting HomeChoice users but I doubt that they will have any such info.

I can't imagine there are more than say 50 or 100 Tivo owners using the HomeChoice platform in total and most of them won't be contributing to this forum.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Thanks for the help so far!

ok - changing to another provider seemed to sort out the database issue - I know this as it started recording off Analogue Terrestrial things from the TO DO list.

However I have now tried putting back to HomeChoice and it wont recognise the RF signal from the box. I have ensured there is a signal and that the UHF channel is 21, however despite sweeping all channels on Guided Setup it wont recognise any input from HC. (HC only connects via SCART)

Just a bit of info - if I hit AUX on the remote - HC flashes up for less than a 2nd then it is lost and goes to white noise.

Any help guys?


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> However I have now tried putting back to HomeChoice and it wont recognise the RF signal from the box. I have ensured there is a signal and that the UHF channel is 21, however despite sweeping all channels on Guided Setup it wont recognise any input from HC. (HC only connects via SCART)


You say on the one hand that HomeChoice only connects via SCART and then on the other that you have been trying to set Homechoice up on UHF channel 21. The two things do not seem to correlate.

The Homechoice should be being fed from the box to the Tivo Aux Scart socket and thus there shouldn't be any UHF channel numbers involved. A UHF channel number would only be relevant for a secondary source live a Freeview box on a dual Sky and Freeview box installation.

Just to clarify you went through Guided Setup selecting Aerial and got the box to a state where it could record existing Season Passes from Ch 1 to 5 off the equivalent analogue channels? At this point the plan was to reboot the box again using System Reset and then do another Guided Setup picking HomeChoice + Aerial as the source. So how does this come out with you saying Tivo cannot find HomeChoice on Ch21? Signals sent down the Scart cable do not have a UHF channel involved.

There appears to be confusion here on how the HomeChoice box is meant to be configured. Can you provide further details on why you were attempting to reconfigure the box for HomeChoice in the manner you describe.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Thanks for your input Pete77

In order to get anywhere with HomeChoice and TiVo you have to choose Aerial + Analogue Cable (it doesnt appear anywhere else - whats interesting is that even though when you go back to the begining of Guided Setup Aerial + Digital Cable is always selected?!!???!)

The HomeChoice box sends a signal out via SCART and UHF (currently set to CH21), even though there is only a SCART connection at the back of the box. I have a SCART lead connecting the HC box into the AUX on TiVo.

When you go through Guided Setup it scans all channels showing analogue terrestrial along the way. The next stage is to select your set top box (HomeChoice make is selected). It then takes you to a screen with CH21 to CH69 as options and you have to go down each until you get the signal from the box. It used to come up on CH21 however I cant get anything now.

I cant get past this screen as the next stage is to set up the remote and it says "No input from your set top box" and wont let you continue.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> The HomeChoice box sends a signal out via SCART and UHF (currently set to CH21), even though there is only a SCART connection at the back of the box. I have a SCART lead connecting the HC box into the AUX on TiVo.


If the HomeChoice box sends out a signal via Scart and UHF then where is it sending out the UHF signal to the aerials socket on the Tivo? UHF signals are not sent down Scart leads, only Composite and RGB signals are.

If Homechoice can only be configured as analogue cable this must surely be because Tivo expects to receive the output from the HomeChoice box via the coaxial aerial out socket on the back of the HomeChoice box plugged into the Aerial in on the Tivo? Presumably Tivo then just tunes the HomeChoice channel in like another UHF aerial channel?

This other thread appears to suggest that a single HomeChoice box outputs via a Scart lead to the Aux socket on the Tivo?

www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=309236&highlight=homechoice

If you do need to find an aerial signal from the Homechoice box and Tivo isn't finding it on the channel number chosen then presumably you aren't searching on the right channel number? Either that or the Tivo is confused and you have to unfortunately do a Clear and Delete everything as blindlemon suggested and then run Aerial only Guided Setup again and then Aerial + Analogue Cable (if that really is the correct choice and not Digital Cable for HomeChoice).


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

HomeChoice do provide an RF adaptor that you plug into the SCART socket for those people trying to hook up the box to an older TV that doesnt have a SCART socket - this may explain the UHF output. As I havent ever had cause to use this adaptor I aint got a clue where that is hiddent (hehe)

I have tried redoing Guided Set up under Digital Cable/Digital Terrestrial but you still come to a "Set top RF Output" screen and you are asked to select a Channel from 21 - 69. The same screen whatever service option I choose (ie digital or analogue cable etc) and this is before HC is mentioned.

I have managed to get into the System Info screen from one of helps options and it is showing both Source 1 (HC)and Source 2 i(Aerial) as inputs as RF via COAX this used to show SCART for HC. 

This seems to be the crux. How do I change this? I havent been given any option so far.

(ps tried calling TiVo c/s and after the initial options it just rang and rang - gave up in the end)


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

You want to put your conventional coaxial aerial from the rooftop in the aerial socket on the back of the Tivo and then just pick any channel number that you know is used by BBC1, BBC2, ITV, CH4 analogue tv (eg 23 or 26 on Crystal Palace for the London area) etc so that the confused Tivo will be happy to carry on with Guided Setup. 

Its because you have Homechoice down as an analogue cable box though that its expecting a set top box on the aerial socket. If you could select Homechoice as a digital cable box then it wouldn't be expecting the box to have RF in signal on the coax socket. It would be looking for it on the Scart socket.

Perhaps someone else who has HomeChoice can help Daz out here and tell him what the normal HomeChoice configuration with Tivo is.

Daz it might even help if you also called Tivo customer services as I'm sure they have notes on how a HomeChoice box is meant to be configured with a Tivo. Unfortunately its not something that most of us here have experience of although I think Cyril could help you on this one as one of his many Tivo setups involves a Homechoice box.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

But even if you go to Digital Cable it asks you to set the RF output of the STB. Will try Aerial only then go back to Digital Cable or Analogue cable see what happens.



Thanks for all your help Pete77


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> But even if you go to Digital Cable it asks you to set the RF output of the STB. Will try Aerial only then go back to Digital Cable or Analogue cable see what happens.


I will confess that I haven't done Guided Setup for 20 months when I changed from Freeview and Aerial to Freeview and Sky Digital so I don't remember the full sequence of the process now.

However to the best of my recollection with just a Freeview box Guided Setup only looks at what's coming down the aerial socket to scan for the aerial UHF channels and doesn't look for the RF output of a Digibox there. Obviously with my dual Sky and Freeview setup it does ask for the RF output channel of the Freeview box as there is no other way for it to use the Freeview box as a second program source, although thinking about it further I'm sure with a Scart combiner from two sockets to one and hacking of Tivo setup of the Sky radio channels kind that a dual Sky and Freeview setup could be made to also get the Freeview signal via the Scart socket (using the same principles as are now used for getting the Sky radio channels via Scart rather than aerial).

On your Guided Setup the Tivo should scan the aerial input but only for aerial UHF channels though surely?


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

'tis sorted!

Re-running GS did sort out my corrupt database.

The further issue of re-adding HomeChoice was resolved by rebooting the TiVo after setting to just Aerial then adding HomeChoice through another GS. Then rebooting yet again. This meant I didnt get the dreaded STB RF page!

Thanks Pete77 for your help!

YAY - back in TiVo world! hehe


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

Dazbear said:


> The further issue of re-adding HomeChoice was resolved by rebooting the TiVo after setting to just Aerial then adding HomeChoice through another GS. Then rebooting yet again. This meant I didnt get the dreaded STB RF page!


Rebooting as often as possible both powering off as the Tivo hits the Powering Up Screen (cold reboot) and then time round without pulling the plug at Powering up (warm reboot) in between these Guided Setup operations also seems to help as the cold and warm reboots seem to fix different things in the Tivo's database configuration.

There have been a lot of people having problems with their Tivo refusing to update properly in the last month due to some kind of database corruption which all these Guided Setup operations appears to have fixed in every single case. I wonder what Tribune or Tivo have been doing to the database that might have caused this.

Having said that my Tivo has been running sweetly here for daily calls via broadband for 18 months with no issues at all. I think having the big swap file that blindemon recommends as part of upgrading to a larger hard drive seems to protect against a lot of database corruption issues and even against having your /var partition containing Tivoweb wiped out for those of us who have Tivoweb.

Daz you seem like a keen Tivoer so I hope you will still be going ahead with the large hard drive and/or Cachecard upgrade in due course.


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## Dazbear (Aug 24, 2001)

Yeah I am - a bit frustrated by the cost of upgrade though, especially as it wont give me a 2nd tuner (hehe).

Looking out for one on ebay to help out with cost.


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