# Emergency Alert



## kturcotte (Dec 9, 2002)

Just got this on my Roamio. Was in the middle of watching a recording and it kicked into this. Is there anyway to disable this? What happens if something is scheduled to record when this happens?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

The only way to disable it is to put the Roamio into standby mode. If there is a recording during an EAS broadcast and the Roamio is not in standby mode, it will record the EAS broadcast.


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## kturcotte (Dec 9, 2002)

What happens if something is in the middle of recording? Does it always happen at a certain time (I'm not usually awake at this time)?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

kturcotte said:


> What happens if something is in the middle of recording? Does it always happen at a certain time (I'm not usually awake at this time)?


It usually happens about once a week in the early morning hours (1-3 am). The recording will be interrupted by the EAS message if the unit hasn't been set to standby mode.


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## kturcotte (Dec 9, 2002)

tarheelblue32 said:


> It usually happens about once a week in the early morning hours (1-3 am). The recording will be interrupted by the EAS message if the unit hasn't been set to standby mode.


Will recordings automatically resume?


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## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

kturcotte said:


> What happens if something is in the middle of recording? Does it always happen at a certain time (I'm not usually awake at this time)?


There are 5 other tuners, so unless you're recording 6 shows at the time it happens, it'll pick a free tuner to display the EAS.

--Carlos V.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

There are apparently dozens of different implementations of EAS or EAS-like things. Some of them clobber everything, some of them jerk you off to a special channel. TiVo certainly doesn't implement them very competently whatever is going on. If I'm watching a recording, it always jerks me to live TV then never returns me to the recording at the end of the message. Why it can't put the EAS message on top of the recording, I have no idea. This morning, there was a test message that just had to list the name of every state in the union as pertaining to the test. It took about 20 minutes to stream the whole thing. I've often been tempted to try and get a remote switch that could disconnect the cable that I could use when watching recordings so the EAS messages couldn't get through.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Time Warner Cable in this area does the worst of all options: everything all at once.
1) They send the digital EAS message to the digital cable device, triggering the crawl
2) They trigger the digital cable device to change channel to QVC (why that channel? Haven't a clue.)
3) They superimpose the text output from the EAS receiver over all channels
4) They play the audio EAS message

Infuriating when it happens. I guess the thought is that if they do all of them, they're covered even if one doesn't happen to work.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

LoadStar said:


> Time Warner Cable in this area does the worst of all options: everything all at once.
> 1) They send the digital EAS message to the digital cable device, triggering the crawl
> 2) They trigger the digital cable device to change channel to QVC (why that channel? Haven't a clue.)
> 3) They superimpose the text output from the EAS receiver over all channels
> ...


My feed is bad too. A Mini gets activated, so there goes a tuner for four hours. No crawl, mine is full screen and +99 dB audio. But only one channel is affected, so I'm blessed.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

LoadStar said:


> 2) They trigger the digital cable device to change channel to QVC (why that channel? Haven't a clue.)


When TWC went all digital in my area and encrypted almost all channels, they left 2 channels unencrypted and QVC was one of them (I think the local ION channel is the other). Maybe they intentionally leave QVC in clearQAM and switch the channel to QVC in case people are having problems decrypting channels at the time an EAS message is sent out and they want to make sure that even people who can't decrypt channels can still receive the message. In addition to the 2 unencrypted digital channels, my TWC service also left 1 analog channel as a test pattern. Potentially during an EAS message, that analog test pattern will also display the EAS message.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Unbeliever said:


> There are 5 other tuners, so unless you're recording 6 shows at the time it happens, it'll pick a free tuner to display the EAS.
> 
> --Carlos V.


??? When it's happened here, every recording has the alert on it. Whether I'm using two, three, six tuners, etc. At one point FiOS was doing the EAS testing during prime time. FOrtunately it only lasted a few days like that. All my recordings were messed up when the alert was broadcast.


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

If you can find a filter to block the downsteam OOB carrier (for SA/Cisco it is probably 75.5MHz), you will just need to unblock it every few weeks so the CableCARD can receive the Refresh Hit. I know on SA/Cisco once the CableCARD loses the DAVIC FDC (OOB) Lock, it will not display an EAS Test, and the CableCARD Sub Expiration date is usually 30+ days from the last Refresh Hit.

I am lucky.
The EAS test just scrolls overlaid across the LiveTV channel, no audio, whichever channel you are on. It does not effect recordings at all.

It takes me to LiveTV from any other current activity, recording playback, Netfilx, etc. and when it is done you can just go back. If tuners are available, it will also send a LiveTV Tuner to each Mini, but if they are recording, the recordings takes priority.

Over a year ago, Cox also implemented HUB specific EAS suppression, so I only get the test for my area of the county, once a week, and once a month. I used to get one for every area/county served by Cox in Arizona.


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## generaltso (Nov 4, 2003)

If this is affecting your recordings, blame your cable company not TiVo. They're the ones with the botched implementation. The EAS messages in my area are a separate digital signal, and don't affect recordings at all. If you're watching a recording, the TiVo will drop you out to live TV to watch the EAS (as required by the FCC), but you can go right back to your recording where you left off. Things that are recording during the EAC message will go right on recording and will not see the EAS message at all. As far as I'm concerned, TiVo's EAC implementation works perfectly, and I wouldn't want to see it change.

If EAC messages are disrupting your recordings, write to your cable company and ask them to switch to a system that doesn't.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

generaltso said:


> As far as I'm concerned, TiVo's EAC implementation works perfectly, and I wouldn't want to see it change.


If it worked perfectly, I wouldn't have to "go back" to the recording I was watching, the TiVo would do it for me. In fact, if it worked perfectly, the TiVo wouldn't jerk me out of the recording in the first place, it would just pause it and put the EAS message on top of it instead of insisting on a live TV channel to stick the message on.


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## generaltso (Nov 4, 2003)

tomhorsley said:


> if it worked perfectly, the TiVo wouldn't jerk me out of the recording in the first place, it would just pause it and put the EAS message on top of it instead of insisting on a live TV channel to stick the message on.


Good point. Okay, I concede that that would be better.


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## BrettStah (Nov 12, 2000)

Do EAS messages also impact OTA only TiVos? I'm considering getting the 4-tuner OTA Roamio, but I'm really not liking what I've read about how they handle emergency alerts.


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## belfert (Nov 15, 2007)

How is any of this Tivo's fault? This summer the emergency alert system has been activated by Comcast several time due to weather warnings. Comcast broadcasts the alert on all channels and it gets recorded by Tivo since it is technically part of the program.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

belfert said:


> How is any of this Tivo's fault? This summer the emergency alert system has been activated by Comcast several time due to weather warnings. Comcast broadcasts the alert on all channels and it gets recorded by Tivo since it is technically part of the program.


Umm, are you SURE it's really being broadcast on all channels?

That I think is one of the "types" of EAS, but it can also just be a signal that changes the tuner to some other channel.. and it's embedded in your program, so it's *effectively* the same but *technically* different.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

belfert said:


> How is any of this Tivo's fault? This summer the emergency alert system has been activated by Comcast several time due to weather warnings. Comcast broadcasts the alert on all channels and it gets recorded by Tivo since it is technically part of the program.


Being forced to handle them isn't TiVo's fault. Doing things like dumping you out of a recording you were watching, then not sending you back where you left off when the alert is over *is* TiVo's fault. I've had it not even remember the recording current playback position so when I manually restarted the recording, I had to fast forward to get back where I was.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

tomhorsley said:


> Being forced to handle them isn't TiVo's fault. Doing things like dumping you out of a recording you were watching, then not sending you back where you left off when the alert is over *is* TiVo's fault. I've had it not even remember the recording current playback position so when I manually restarted the recording, I had to fast forward to get back where I was.


I think there is a difference in how this EAS works between cable co.s I have Comcast CT and never had a EAS recorded into any program I was recording at the time of an EAS, when I am taken out of a recording I was watching because of an EAS, TiVo does keep my place for me when I go back, but I have to go back on my own.


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## hillyard (Nov 1, 2011)

comcast here.

I can be watching netfliz and it goes to live tv and not sent back.

Does the same with recorded tv.

Just poor lazy programing on tivos part


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

lessd said:


> I think there is a difference in how this EAS works between cable co.s I have Comcast CT and never had a EAS recorded into any program I was recording at the time of an EAS, when I am taken out of a recording I was watching because of an EAS, TiVo does keep my place for me when I go back, but I have to go back on my own.


There is absolutely a difference and it's been posted here many times. On our archaic alert system it force tunes you to the local C-SPAN channel to show the alert and then leaves you there no matter what you were doing before (usually watching a recording, but I've also seen it happen while watching YouTube). Also trashes any recording in progress. Others have a much better system that just scrolls a banner and doesn't trash recording (IIRC).

Sucks and is entirely Tivo's fault to not take you back. But you see the same problem when watching a recording and then scheduling something from the guide, it bombs you back out to live TV instead of your recording when done.


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## DG3 (Apr 7, 2015)

And is it just me, or are those EAS recordings always some of the worst you've ever heard? You can barely understand them. Sounds like they're coming over a PA system inside a clothes dryer.


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## sjmagy (Aug 28, 2016)

Comcast XFinity in San Francisco, EAS test will sometimes get recorded into the show (haven't been able to figure out why it does sometimes and other times not). Typically occurs around 1 am PT Saturday mornings.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

sjmagy said:


> Comcast XFinity in San Francisco, EAS test will sometimes get recorded into the show (haven't been able to figure out why it does sometimes and other times not). Typically occurs around 1 am PT Saturday mornings.


If you were recording on all tuners on the TiVo at the EAS time then that may be the reason as the EAS does use one tuner.


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## delgadobb (Mar 6, 2004)

Also posted this in a thread over in the Coffee House area, but it's probably more appropriate here given the thread ... 

Is it common for these to run more than once when they are the equivalent of a form letter?

Last night, I was watching a recording from the Tivo, nothing to do with live TV. It kicked me out with a "required weekly test" during which time (2-3 minutes) I lost control of the TV. Although I think that's too long, I get what they're trying to do & understand. Fine. You broadcast your message.

That said, isn't once enough? Do they need to repeat it not 2 times, not 3 times, but 11 (ELEVEN!) times in less than 2 hours? This isn't an emergency message about a natural disaster. It's a freakin' required weekly test. Once you've done your duty be done with it! ELEVEN interruptions in less than 2 hrs (each of which took over the TV for 2-3 minutes) made watching my recording unbearable. Is there anyone to contact to request a "one & done"?

If it matters, I am on Cox Communications cable in Las Vegas. The message said it originated from ONENET1. I plan to complain to Cox; in the past, they've passed the buck to the other guy in situations like this. In other words I expect to get a response like "We're required by law to do the test & we have no control over it." That's been SOP until now.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

sjmagy said:


> Comcast XFinity in San Francisco, EAS test will sometimes get recorded into the show (haven't been able to figure out why it does sometimes and other times not). Typically occurs around 1 am PT Saturday mornings.


Happened this morning at 1AM. Yeah, I've seen it happen Saturday at 1AM too.. (AFAIK, only once per week.. Maybe they have to do it EITHER Friday or Saturday).

it was at least partially in spanish this time.. argh.. Often even if I'm watching something, if I remember, I put it in standby around 1AM just to make sure it doesn't mess up a recording..


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## PauLSkywarN (Oct 2, 2017)

EAS test is the only real NEGATIVE i can say about TIVO and pops in the daytime too 12:45-1:15pm
Very Very annoying I have Atlantic Broadband for my Cable system.


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