# Mini issues thread - collect them here



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

I think it might be helpful to have a list of Mini issues that can possibly be made as a sticky in this forum, as I have observed several issues with the Mini that are not going to get sorted anytime soon.

1. Sometimes Mini starts playback from host Elite, you see a spinning wheel, and it won't playback. Reboot is the only thing I've found that sorts this.

2. With some TVs (like my 42" Panasonic) the Mini seems to have a resume/handshake issue with the TV on occasion when switching from another input back to the input the Mini is on. The result is a black screen on the TV. I have been able to sort this by unplugging the HDMI cable and plugging it back in. Annoying.

3. On two occasions recordings that were started from the Mini could not be played back on either the host DVR or the Minis.

If anyone has any other ones I will go ahead and add them to this list.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

1. I had the issue once where a few minutes of buffer was stuck and would not disappear. Only a reboot of my Elite fixed it.

2. Also if I start watching a recording while it is already in progress. Then I will get an error within the last few minutes of watching the program. So I have to go back into My Shows, but when I hit play it continues playing fine where it left off.

3. And a few times I've run into an issue, again when watching a recording that is in progress, where the scrub bar will not continue to fill up on the right. So when I get to the recording at the time I started watching it thinks it's at the end of the program. So the screen comes up asking if you want to keep or delete the show. So I go back into My Shows and start the program again(it starts from the beginning) and then the scrub bar will fill up like it should. No idea what causes this because it has only happened a few times.

Otherwise I have not run into the issues listed in the first post in the thread.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Mini internal MoCA doesn't seem to work with older MoCA 1.0 standard such as the Motorola NIM100 units that are pretty popular among TCF users. Looks like you need MoCA 1.1 or later.

Also, it looks like deleting season passes from the host unit doesn't (always) work. I've not tested it thoroughly but there have been occasions when I thought I deleted a Season Pass from the host via the Mini and feedback indicates it worked, but then going back and checking host unit it is still there.


----------



## todd_j_derr (Jun 6, 2000)

* If I let 3xFF go for a long time (say, over an hour of recording time) sometimes the mini gives an error that it has lost connection with the host.
* (minor issue, but hard to explain) when paused, if you press REW to step back, it doesn't display the frame you stepped back to. If you press REW again, it shows the frame it should have shown after the previous press. if you press FF it does show the stepped-back-to frame + 1, so the position is updated properly on REW, the display is just wrong.


----------



## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Once in a while when starting a recorded program, I will get a blank screen with the progress bar as if it is fast forwarding. Hit the skip back and it starts playing from the beginning. Not a big problem, just a surprise when it first happened.


----------



## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

comcast ondemand authentication often requires a refresh at the master tivo premier XL or XL4 in order to work. Requires ondemand to be attempted and confirmed on the host premier in order to be able to stream ondemand again on the mini via MoCa


----------



## neilc (Sep 26, 2006)

I get 'lost connection with the host' a fair amount on my Mini on MOCA. It happens on both live TV and playlist. At times I have to go back in to settings and select the host Premiere DVR to get things to work again.

Not sure why this shows up, but I bet I see it 3-4 times a week.

neil


----------



## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Seeing the "TiVo service is unavailable" message on the Minis periodically.


----------



## doctord (Dec 17, 2004)

I purchased a mini last night at Best Buy at a store 1 1/2 hours away (was in the area). Went online and purchased lifetime service added to my account. 
Followed the instructions and waited and then did a call-in on my elite.
Once plugged in, the mini would start up and then I would get a message on my TV that the signal was not supported and that would then change to no signal. I could turn the TV off and then back on and get a signal for awhile and then it would go away again. I did this enough times to get through the setup process. Once I finished, I noticed that I had no sound and the picture was choppy and I still would get the no signal after 30 seconds. I thought it might be HDMI cable (changed it) or TV (tried it on my main TV). No love. 
Finally after frustration kicked in, I have determined that it is a bad Tivo unit.
I am torn between replacing it or returning and cancelling the service on it.
If I take it back to my local Bestbuy, a new one will have to be ordered.
I currently have a lifetime Tivo in the bedroom and I bought this because my better half can hear it and the mini should be silent.
What a hassle.


----------



## DFWDave (May 17, 2004)

Haven't seen a post yet about this issue yet. I had issues previously with Bonjour and TTG and also with other WLAN/LAN issues at home when I used to use the FIOS/Actiontec as my WLAN radio. I solved that issue by using a Netgear router behind it for only the WLAN functionality, leaving the FIOS router to connect to VZ and also for the VZ STBs of COAX. All of my Tivos have always been Ethernet connected because of how I wired my house, so I only previously had issues when I was wireless.

Anyway, enough background. Tivo Mini would only fully connect to XL4 over Ethernet. Using Moca (into Actiontec router) it could get live TV, but no guide or visibility to recorded programs on XL4. 

I think the answer lies with IGMP setting, after talking with Tivo tech support who only solution was to send me to Verizon, I asked probing questions about protocol and the like and when bonjour was mentioned a light bulb went off about my prior problems and it not traversing interfaces on the Actiontec box. 

Will tinker with this more when I get home.


----------



## todd_j_derr (Jun 6, 2000)

Yeah, when I was having problems they suggested disabling IGMP proxy... it's buried in the Actiontec settings somewhere. It wasn't the problem in my case, but it could be for you.


----------



## DFWDave (May 17, 2004)

DFWDave said:


> Will tinker with this more when I get home.


Yup - fixed my issue. Initially tried leaving it on and setting "IGMP Allowed" for all of my Tivos, but that didn't do it. Turning it off completely did. Seems like the only thing it would impact is Verizon's Multi-room DVR, which I don't use (for obvious reasons  ). Still hanging on to a couple of VZ STB because of ON DEMAND programming.


----------



## HDRyder9 (Aug 2, 2007)

My mini will not connect to a gigabit switch. Very annoying, since my entire network is gigabit. I have to add an Actiontek moca adapter just for the mini.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

HDRyder9 said:


> My mini will not connect to a gigabit switch. Very annoying, since my entire network is gigabit. I have to add an Actiontek moca adapter just for the mini.


Have you tried a different switch? My two Minis had no problem connecting to my Dlink Gigabit switches.


----------



## whynotthisname (Dec 12, 2011)

Hi,

I too have the issue mentioned above (and quoted below):

2. Also if I start watching a recording while it is already in progress. Then I will get an error (mine says "lost connection" within the last few minutes of watching the program. So I have to go back into My Shows, but when I hit play it continues playing fine where it left off.

I logged on to TIVO support and carefully crafted an email with as many details as I could. I also noted that I could easily recreate the problem. TIVO support emailed a reply, saying to call support.

I called and referenced my email. The TIVO rep claimed to "look" at my mini and see that it was connecting via wireless N, thus the loss of connection. I explained that my mini was connected via MOCA and had always been connected that way.

After some time on hold, the TIVO rep said, "this is the first time" anyone had reported this error. I pointed out that my email referenced this thread and at least one other TIVO mini user had the same problem.

After more time on hold, the TIVO rep came back and asked for more details about my setup (which were already in my email) and then said he was entering a bug report for engineering. I thanked him, feeling that was all I had hoped for; get TIVO to look at the issue.

The next day I got an automated email from TIVO stating something like, "it seems your issue is resolved, TIVO is closing this support question."

Wow!

I remain confused as to what TIVO has/is doing. I still have the problem with "watching a recording in progress." I do hope TIVO engineering is looking in to it.


----------



## HDRyder9 (Aug 2, 2007)

aaronwt said:


> Have you tried a different switch? My two Minis had no problem connecting to my Dlink Gigabit switches.


I'm a Cisco guy and my entire network is built on quality Cisco components. I have a 48 port managed switch. C'mon Tivo, your components should work with switches from an outfit like Cisco. How annoying to have to add a 10/100 switch between my network and a Tivo just for the Tivo.


----------



## martyscholes (Apr 29, 2009)

HDRyder9 said:


> I'm a Cisco guy and my entire network is built on quality Cisco components. I have a 48 port managed switch. C'mon Tivo, your components should work with switches from an outfit like Cisco. How annoying to have to add a 10/100 switch between my network and a Tivo just for the Tivo.


Sorry, but I can't stop myself...

Have you tried Procurve switches instead?


----------



## HDRyder9 (Aug 2, 2007)

martyscholes said:


> Sorry, but I can't stop myself...
> 
> Have you tried Procurve switches instead?


I'd rather not use product from a company that is considering pulling out of PCs altogether.


----------



## tivoboy (Jan 14, 2002)

mine does the same thing.


----------



## Kingpcgeek (Feb 6, 2012)

HDRyder9 said:


> I'd rather not use product from a company that is considering pulling out of PCs altogether.


Oh give me a break. Way to perpetuate false information. The comment that HP was thinking of getting out of the PC business was made by a CEO that has since been fired almost 2 years ago. HP is the largest PC manufacturer in the world, PC'c are not going anywhere.


----------



## martyscholes (Apr 29, 2009)

HDRyder9 said:


> I'd rather not use product from a company that is considering pulling out of PCs altogether.


To follow on Kingpcgeek's comment, Cisco never made PCs in the first place, but none of that really matters. I made the Procurve comment tongue-in-cheek because HP and Cisco are competitors in the switch market. They both make excellent gear.

All of that aside, my home network is wired primarily with Procurve managed switches and I will be getting a Mini soon (possibly today), so I will be able to make a comment on how well my Procurve switches handle the Mini.

Kingpcgeek, I certainly do not want to start a war or fan the flames, but all indications are that the PC market has seen its zenith and is in long term decline. If I were in charge at Intel or Microsoft, I would be concerned. Future growth is in other markets, not PCs.


----------



## martyscholes (Apr 29, 2009)

martyscholes said:


> All of that aside, my home network is wired primarily with Procurve managed switches and I will be getting a Mini soon (possibly today), so I will be able to make a comment on how well my Procurve switches handle the Mini.


The interoperability question was about a direct gigabit connection, which I do not have, but I did successfully install a Mini last night to a Procurve 2424M and the networking side works flawlessly. In case this helps the next guy, the network path is:

Mini (100mb copper) -> HP 2424M (1gb fiber) -> 4000M (1gb fiber) -> HP 1700 (100mb copper) -> XL4

Since this is an issues thread, we did run into a problem connecting the Mini to a non-HDMI TV since the Mini requires a (not included) breakout cable. That was a bummer to discover late on a Friday night. Fortunately, even though the connector colors were wrong, a breakout cable from an old Nokia N95 phone worked well. I am glad one of my sons hordes old gear.


----------



## sfm (Oct 3, 2006)

Here's a stupid "feature" I ran into... We have a tivo xl4 (living room) and a single mini (home theater) with 1 tuner allocated for live tv on the mini. So tonight nobody is using the mini (nor have been for over 24 hours) and the xl4 is recording 3 programs (meaning no tuners available for live tv)... so I want to watch the hockey game in the living room... no problem I figure... I'll set the # of tuners allocated to the mini to 0 so I can watch the hockey game on the recovered tuner... I go to do that and the interface warns that it will stop all recordings! WTF? I figure that certainly can't be the case but sure enough, I set the # of tuners to 0 and it stops (for no good reason that I can think of) all recordings! Good grief... dynamic tuner allocation can't come soon enough.


----------



## HeatherA (Jan 10, 2002)

I am having troubles getting my Mini to allow me to stream shows from 2 out of my 4 TiVo Premieres. My main machine is my 4 tuner (of course), the other I'm able to stream from is my TiVo Premiere XL. The two regular Premieres are showing up but I am unable to choose them and see their NP lists. Any thoughts?


----------



## martyscholes (Apr 29, 2009)

HeatherA said:


> I am having troubles getting my Mini to allow me to stream shows from 2 out of my 4 TiVo Premieres. My main machine is my 4 tuner (of course), the other I'm able to stream from is my TiVo Premiere XL. The two regular Premieres are showing up but I am unable to choose them and see their NP lists. Any thoughts?


From what I understand, the Mini can only attach to 4 channel Tivos.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

martyscholes said:


> From what I understand, the Mini can only attach to 4 channel Tivos.


 That's not correct. The Mini host machine must be 4 tuner but you can MRS to Mini from any series 4 DVR.
HeatherA I assume you've tried rebooting all machines including the Mini already?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

sfm said:


> Here's a stupid "feature" I ran into... We have a tivo xl4 (living room) and a single mini (home theater) with 1 tuner allocated for live tv on the mini. So tonight nobody is using the mini (nor have been for over 24 hours) and the xl4 is recording 3 programs (meaning no tuners available for live tv)... so I want to watch the hockey game in the living room... no problem I figure... I'll set the # of tuners allocated to the mini to 0 so I can watch the hockey game on the recovered tuner... I go to do that and the interface warns that it will stop all recordings! WTF? I figure that certainly can't be the case but sure enough, I set the # of tuners to 0 and it stops (for no good reason that I can think of) all recordings! Good grief... dynamic tuner allocation can't come soon enough.


It's been that way since that option was added to the four tuner boxes. Anytime you change the number of tuners allocated to the Mini, anything recording will stop. I tried it out a few months ago. So now if I make changes I make sure I am not recording anything. But this isn't really an issue or bug. It was designed to do this.


----------



## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

aaronwt said:


> It's been that way since that option was added to the four tuner boxes. Anytime you change the number of tuners allocated to the Mini, anything recording will stop. I tried it out a few months ago. So now if I make changes I make sure I am not recording anything. But this isn't really an issue or bug. It was designed to do this.


??? So if is intended or designed to be a problem, it is not an issue or bug? I don't think it HAS to be that way.

By the way, is it the same in reverse, i.e., if you have no turners assigned to the mini and you want to assign one, but you are recording on one or two channels, do the recordings stop?


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

UCLABB said:


> ??? So if is intended or designed to be a problem, it is not an issue or bug? I don't think it HAS to be that way.
> 
> By the way, is it the same in reverse, i.e., if you have no turners assigned to the mini and you want to assign one, but you are recording on one or two channels, do the recordings stop?


Yes. It stops recording in that situation too.


----------



## sfm (Oct 3, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> It's been that way since that option was added to the four tuner boxes. Anytime you change the number of tuners allocated to the Mini, anything recording will stop. I tried it out a few months ago. So now if I make changes I make sure I am not recording anything. But this isn't really an issue or bug. It was designed to do this.


Oh I get that it behaved as (stupidly) designed... it did, after all, warn me that it was going to stop the recordings... even then I couldn't believe they would be so stupid to implement it this way that I went ahead and did it and was still surprised that it actually terminated all the recordings 

Seems to me the only time it should be terminating recordings is if, after changing the # of tuners allocated for the mini, the # of available tuners for recording is less than the # of tuners actually recording at that moment.

Regardless, hopefully if dynamic tuner allocation ever arrives (doubtful) this "issue" will go away as a side effect.


----------



## HeatherA (Jan 10, 2002)

martyscholes said:


> From what I understand, the Mini can only attach to 4 channel Tivos.


True, it can only attach to the 4 tuner, but then it can watch from any of the networked TiVos via the home screen on the main TiVo. It's working properly for me now, it seems to have just taken several hours for it all to gel.


----------



## fjc (Apr 30, 2013)

HeatherA said:


> True, it can only attach to the 4 tuner, but then it can watch from any of the networked TiVos via the home screen on the main TiVo. It's working properly for me now, it seems to have just taken several hours for it all to gel.


So, if i have two Premiere XL4's (let's call them Living Room and Study), and I connect my Mini to the one in the Study, I can still watch shows using that Mini that were recorded on the Living Room TiVo?

I had thought for some reason I was restricted to only recordings that are on the XL4 that the Mini is connecting to.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

fjc said:


> So, if i have two Premiere XL4's (let's call them Living Room and Study), and I connect my Mini to the one in the Study, I can still watch shows using that Mini that were recorded on the Living Room TiVo?


 Yes.



> I had thought for some reason I was restricted to only recordings that are on the XL4 that the Mini is connecting to.


 No.


----------

