# Roamio Pro issues with black screen



## AE1360 (Jun 23, 2013)

Hey guys, hoping somebody here could help me narrow down my problem I am having so that I can get a better idea on what to do. I can get video of it if it helps but basically here is the problem:

Watching TV (doesn't matter what channel apparently) the screen will go black suddenly. Then about 5 seconds later, the Tivo bar at the bottom will show up followed a second or so later by the picture returning. Then it happens again. And again. I never had this problem for years with my Premiere, and for the first week of having this Roamio. 

Signal strength is near perfect. Doesn't matter what channel it is on, SDV or not. I originally noticed it only on ESPN but apparently it is on every channel (I don't watch enough TV thus why I had delayed buying a Roamio for so long). 

Anyone have any solutions? Bad DVR? Bad tuning adapter? Bad Cablecard? Those are my only options I believe. Both cablecard and tuning adapter are the same one I have always had. 

Appreciate any help!


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

Are you using a fixed video resolution ?
Does it happen in the middle of a show or only when commercials are on ?
What Tuning Adapter and what Firmware is it ?


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Can you try with another type of connection to your TV? e.g. composite or component instead?

I don't _think_ it's a HDCP issue, especially with the time bar showing up.. but trying another connection type MIGHT show it being connection related.


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## spidrw (Dec 12, 2014)

This just started happening to me yesterday too. Time Warner. Unplugging it did not fix the issue.

The whole Tivo seems to get wonky when it happens. Channels won't change, guide sticks, Tivo menu inaccessible, etc. When the picture comes back, the info bar is at the bottom of the screen. 

It happens during the show, and during commercials.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

Everything slowing down sounds a lot like a pc when there is a sudden network slowdown. Maybe next time the TiVo is slow, try using a pc to connect TiVo.com, see if it is slow also.


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## pshivers (Nov 4, 2013)

AE1360 said:


> Hey guys, hoping somebody here could help me narrow down my problem I am having so that I can get a better idea on what to do. I can get video of it if it helps but basically here is the problem:
> 
> Watching TV (doesn't matter what channel apparently) the screen will go black suddenly. Then about 5 seconds later, the Tivo bar at the bottom will show up followed a second or so later by the picture returning. Then it happens again. And again. I never had this problem for years with my Premiere, and for the first week of having this Roamio.
> 
> ...


I am having the exact same issue with my Roamio Pro, I am on Charter Cable.

In addition to all that is described above, any recording that were active at the time of the black screen stop and do not restart unless they are manually restarted. If the screen blacks out again, then all recording stop once again....

I have a Roamio Basic also on Charter in one bedroom and it appears to be unaffected by this weirdness.

It does seem I can trigger the "Blackouts" by requesting a "Box Refresh" signal from Charter to reload my Cable Card. When I called for the "Refresh" (Two times) Charter did mention in a recording there was a problem in my area and they were working on it, they gave no explanation what the problem may be.

I did get a message (once) on screen about a possible "Bad Cable Card" when the problem first became noticeable, but it was a very brief display and I was unable to capture the message or any additional information.

The problem seems to have subsided in the past few days, just watching and waiting...


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## spidrw (Dec 12, 2014)

spidrw said:


> This just started happening to me yesterday too. Time Warner. Unplugging it did not fix the issue.
> 
> The whole Tivo seems to get wonky when it happens. Channels won't change, guide sticks, Tivo menu inaccessible, etc. When the picture comes back, the info bar is at the bottom of the screen.
> 
> It happens during the show, and during commercials.


Still happening. NOT happening on any of the Minis hooked to this Roamio. Also not impacting non-Tivo functions like Amazon or Netflix.


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## pshivers (Nov 4, 2013)

Problem is still going and I can invoke by requesting a "Box refresh" signal from Charter.

This CableCard error message came up again on the TiVo while the problem was trying to correct itself, I was able to catch it this time!

20141214_095710 by Big Kalbo

I'll call Charter and get the CableCard replaced, hopefully I won't have to go through all my previous BS to get the CableCard I need with 153.1101 firmware for all 6 tuners to work... 

*Update:


Never got around to replacing the CableCard, My Roamio Pro rebooted itself last night and never came back to full functionality. It hangs up at the "Almost There... Just a few minutes more." screen.

Contacted TiVo Support and they are sending a replacement unit via UPS.... So much for all my saved shows and Season Passes! I do have the majority saved via Tivo Desktop, so it won't be a total loss of saved programming...*


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## gfgray (Mar 14, 2004)

This sometimes happens to me and I am OTA. It usually happens coming out of a menu or some kind of screen where it wasn't already displaying video. It feels like the Tivo is so busy, it forgets to turn the video on. If I remember right, changing the channel fixes it. This problem didn't occur until within the last few months.

Edit - Disregard, my problem is different than yours.


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## pshivers (Nov 4, 2013)

I've received and setup my replacement TiVo Roamio Pro. It took calling Charter Cable twice and a truck role along with a lot of instruction from me to get the CableCard reconfigured properly by Charter Tech Support, Charter Support is still incompetent for TiVo support. 

My Roamio Pro is now functioning perfectly once again only needing the TiVo box to be replaced, CableCard itself seems to be in proper working order...


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## pshivers (Nov 4, 2013)

Two days after replacing my Roamio Pro, the original problem that is the topic of this thread came back. Black screens, lost recording and the error messages as mentioned before....

Tried to get Charter to fix it but the guy that came out knew nothing about TiVo, had no replacement CableCards and insisted it was "Signal Problem"... 

All he managed to do was remove my POE filter for MoCA and break my MoCA network by separating my in-house coax onto two separate line drops to the pole... MoCA still worked but was very unstable... Grrrrrrrr!


Black screens continued....

So the next day I went to the Charter Store to get a new CableCard on my own, No Dice, they had none in stock and would not be getting any for a few weeks! They offered to schedule a truck roll with a "Tivo" Tech as he might have a CableCard available. Next day the TiVo Tech from Charter shows up, but no CableCards... but at least he doesn't argue with me that it isn't a CableCard problem. He calls around for about 20 minutes and finds someone with the correct card in his truck, 30 minutes later the "New" CableCard is installed and properly paired with my Roamio Pro.

The Roamio Pro has been working for about 24 hours now with no black screens that I have seen or lost recordings.

I just went outside to the Cable Box and reworked the wiring so the POE filter is back in place and my COAX is connected as one system again. No more tuning problems in my other rooms where I have my Tivo Mini's setup...

Dealing with Charter can be very frustrating, but at least my system is back in working order again!


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## rare (Jan 1, 2015)

I am having the exact same problem. Skip to 30 seconds is also very slow to operate. This seems to start happening after the winter software update. Called TiVo Support and they're replacing the device.

Service provider: Time Warner Cable
Cable card: Scientific Atlantic
Tuning adapter: Cisco


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