lysander

Hi

We have the standard 70 hour DirecTVTivo unit (I think it is Hughes). The color went away yesterday on our picture. Everything still functions- menu, remote, recording, etc., but the picture is in black and white. I tried our DVD player and the picture is fine, so it is not the TV. I swapped out video cables and ports, tightened satellite lines, but nothing worked.

I called DirecTV and they had me reboot the unit, but that did nothing. The guy told me there must be something wrong with the receiver and that I need to get e new one. He said he had not seen this before though and wasn't sure what the problem could be.

My questions are: 1)Has anyone here experienced this problem and know what the source is?

2) If I do get a new receiver, can I transfer my recorded shows over to the new receiver. Even if I can, is it unwise to do so if there is a software issue in the original receiver?

Thanks

crankyman

hmm. that's a weird one.

search and post here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/

if you haven't already. some smart f-ers over there.

Groucho

My unit occasionally goes b&w, but it always fixes itself after a few minutes.

I don't think it's happened since the latest update (the one that added folders and such).

lysander

Thanks for the link. I found a thread that is exactly on topic. Apparently hundreds of people are having the same issue and the nobody, including DirecTV knows why this is happening.

Septemberbaby

I believe that Best Buy is offering FREE 80 hr Tivo's to new and EXISTING
customers. CC did it a couple weeks ago. That's where I got mine.
They charged me $99 +tax and will get a rebate of $99 on my DirecTV bill.
I had to agree to a one year subscription.
I don't think there is any way to transfer what you have on your Play list to another tivo. You can maybe transfer to VHS or DVD before you disconnect it.
You also have to redo your entire season pass list.

I also think you can get one through DirecTV. I don't know if you have to pay for shipping and handling.

I wasn't having any problems with my existing TiVo.. I just wanted to upgrade from a 40 to 80. I then put the old TiVo in another room.

Deftones

Yeah, you can get the R10 for free after MIR, even if you are an existing customer. It's a smoking deal.

My gf's dad Tivo did that same thing when I first hooked it up. Turns out it was the TV not the TV. Anytime you hooked a new component into this TV (Proscan 80" projection), you have to turn the TV off then on so it recognizes it. It was bizarre.

lysander

Thanks for the info. Since I had the warranty on the unit through Circuit City, I brought it in. Instead of replacing it, they are sending it out to their service center for 10-14 days.

So I bought the same receiver for $99, brought it home and activated it last night and deactivated my other unit.

When I get the original back form CC, I will return the unit I bought and get my money back, then deactivate that card and reactivate the original.

Seems like a lot of trouble considering I could get a $99 rebate on the one I bought last night, but this way, there is still a chance that I can save the 50+ hours of programs saved on the current hard drive. If they say it has to be replaced, hopefully I can just get them to refund my money I spent on the unit last night.