Please help - no grid data (Greater Los Angeles Area) - need service menu help !

[gadgetzilla]

Hello All,

The past few days, I've been reading as much as I can regarding the issue I face, which, it seems a lot of folks are having the same issue - no grid data

What have I done so far ?
--Read this forum as much as I can and tried to understand what maybe required to fix the issue
--Applied the latest firmware

In reading a different post, it is my understanding that in the greater los angeles area, CBS (analog) channel (channel 2) carries the TVGuide info.

My issues: I'm having a HELL of a time trying to get into some of the system menus listed in the other posts. Perhaps, it is something obvious but its not working for me.

Here's what I do:

Unplug the unit - wait 60 sec
on TV screen - I see big letters SONY
on the unit - a few secs later, I see the 'welcome' words
At that point, on my remote, I'm holding the "menu" and "screen mode" buttons simultaneously - the unit eventually turns off. I don't get the opportunity to enter 9012 or 1234 to get into the service menus

What am I doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance for your patience in helping this newbie.

[mabuttra]

Hello All,

The past few days, I've been reading as much as I can regarding the issue I face, which, it seems a lot of folks are having the same issue - no grid data

What have I done so far ?
--Read this forum as much as I can and tried to understand what maybe required to fix the issue
--Applied the latest firmware

In reading a different post, it is my understanding that in the greater los angeles area, CBS (analog) channel (channel 2) carries the TVGuide info.

My issues: I'm having a HELL of a time trying to get into some of the system menus listed in the other posts. Perhaps, it is something obvious but its not working for me.

Here's what I do:

Unplug the unit - wait 60 sec
on TV screen - I see big letters SONY
on the unit - a few secs later, I see the 'welcome' words
At that point, on my remote, I'm holding the "menu" and "screen mode" buttons simultaneously - the unit eventually turns off. I don't get the opportunity to enter 9012 or 1234 to get into the service menus

What am I doing wrong ?

Thanks in advance for your patience in helping this newbie.

Does your Sony come up normally if you don't press any buttons on the remote? It sounds to me like it may be shutting itself down prematurely. You don't get to the 9012 menu by pressing buttons during the welcome screen. You also don't press the buttons simultaneously. You get to the 9012 menu by turning the Sony on with the power switch, just like you are going to watch TV (don't unplug it first). Once you see the channel the Sony is tuned to, then you can press the "menu" button (don't hold it). You should see the menu on the screen. Now press the "Screen Mode" button (don't hold it). Now press and release each button 9, 0, 1, and 2. The menu should change to a different menu with these entries:
Demo Mode
Restore Factory Default
Format Hard Drive
Reset User Configuration
TV Guide

That is the menu you are looking for.

Mark

[gadgetzilla]

Mark - Thanks a million for the steps. I was able to access the service menu. I'm currently now resetting the sony DVR. I will post my next questions shortly.

It is amazing to read how many people are having data/grid related issues and that Sony has not stepped in to provide support (or maybe they have and I just don't know about it)

Nonetheless, I'm glad to have found this site and plan to continue my efforts. Hopefully, I'll get the data/grid back, as I once had prior to the official changeover.

I'd be interested in knowing if there is anyone on this forum, in the greater Los Angeles area, on Charter Communications cable system and got the Sony DVR working.

Thank you

[mabuttra]

Mark - Thanks a million for the steps. I was able to access the service menu. I'm currently now resetting the sony DVR. I will post my next questions shortly.

It is amazing to read how many people are having data/grid related issues and that Sony has not stepped in to provide support (or maybe they have and I just don't know about it)

Nonetheless, I'm glad to have found this site and plan to continue my efforts. Hopefully, I'll get the data/grid back, as I once had prior to the official changeover.

I'd be interested in knowing if there is anyone on this forum, in the greater Los Angeles area, on Charter Communications cable system and got the Sony DVR working.

Thank you

There was a new version of firmware released last April. You can go here to get it. If you don't load the new firmware, then this page may help you to get your grid back. The key is patience, it may take up to a week, but hopefully not more than 3 days, for the grid to come back.

Mark

[gadgetzilla]

Mark - Thanks again for your feedback.

I have additional info.

Based on the ability to access the system menu, I initiated a factory reset, which took a few mins to complete. The process then allowed me to scan the available channels (analog and digital) from the charter communications cable. In the end of the process, I also re-entered my zipcode as well. As of last night, I had no clock being displayed.

This morning, I noticed I have the clock, and the time is displayed correctly. However, in checking the grid, there is no data.

Prior to initiating the factory reset, I had installed the latest available firmware, which is suppose to allow the use of the sub channels, if the TV guide data is being sent on it. Originally, it was analog channel 28 which my PBS channel that carried the TVGuide info. With the digital change over, as I read in other posts, it moved to CBS (analog channel 2)

In summary, with the factory reset, I just noticed that my firmware returned to 1.2.13 level. Given the fact that I don't need to rely on a digital subchannel (example 2.1) for my TVGuide info, does it make sense to reapply the latest firmware ?

I will patiently wait a few days and see if the grid reappears...if not, I'll have to get recommendations of my next steps.

Thank you

[mabuttra]

Mark - Thanks again for your feedback.

I have additional info.

Based on the ability to access the system menu, I initiated a factory reset, which took a few mins to complete. The process then allowed me to scan the available channels (analog and digital) from the charter communications cable. In the end of the process, I also re-entered my zipcode as well. As of last night, I had no clock being displayed.

This morning, I noticed I have the clock, and the time is displayed correctly. However, in checking the grid, there is no data.

Prior to initiating the factory reset, I had installed the latest available firmware, which is suppose to allow the use of the sub channels, if the TV guide data is being sent on it. Originally, it was analog channel 28 which my PBS channel that carried the TVGuide info. With the digital change over, as I read in other posts, it moved to CBS (analog channel 2)

In summary, with the factory reset, I just noticed that my firmware returned to 1.2.13 level. Given the fact that I don't need to rely on a digital subchannel (example 2.1) for my TVGuide info, does it make sense to reapply the latest firmware ?

I will patiently wait a few days and see if the grid reappears...if not, I'll have to get recommendations of my next steps.

Thank you

If you are receiving analog TVGOS data, then it doesn't matter whether you re-install the new firmware. However if you are receiving digital TVGOS data, then I would recommend that you do install the new firmware. The best way to tell, is to go into the 753159852 menu, and go up two screens. That will take you to the Reception slicing screen. This screen has 3 columns of numbers on it. If all three columns are filled with zeroes, then you are receiving digital TVGOS data, however if some of the columns have numbers that aren't zero, then you are receiving analog TVGOS data. The reception slicing screen is used by analog TVGOS. The ATSC Slicing screen is used by the digital data. Also, if you are recieiving analog data, you should have your grid back in 24 hours. The digital TVGOS data usually takes longer to get a grid.

Mark

[gadgetzilla]

Mark - In trying to understand what you wrote, here's what I understood it as....

First, I was able to locate the Section-Reception-Slicing screen, yes, it does have three columns (since cold, HostChan and CurrChan)

The "Since cold" column has data in first three rows. Starting with "NoBufs" to AErrs, it is all zeros
The hostChan column also has data in first three rows. It also has Zeros starting with "NoBufs" to "AErrs"
The CurrChan - it has zeros all the way down for every row

So, based on your reply, this states that my 'host' channel is analog - hence there is no need to install the firmware - is my understanding correct ?

Also, in the Section-System-Statistics, for the 'Host Chan- - it shows as 1:0-2
Which also validates that I'm on cable (not OTA) and my host channel is analog channel 2 which is CBS.

Tonight will be night #2, the clock is still keeping accurate time, however, there is no grid/data.

Thank you

Thanks,

[mabuttra]

Mark - In trying to understand what you wrote, here's what I understood it as....

First, I was able to locate the Section-Reception-Slicing screen, yes, it does have three columns (since cold, HostChan and CurrChan)

The "Since cold" column has data in first three rows. Starting with "NoBufs" to AErrs, it is all zeros
The hostChan column also has data in first three rows. It also has Zeros starting with "NoBufs" to "AErrs"
The CurrChan - it has zeros all the way down for every row

So, based on your reply, this states that my 'host' channel is analog - hence there is no need to install the firmware - is my understanding correct ?

Also, in the Section-System-Statistics, for the 'Host Chan- - it shows as 1:0-2
Which also validates that I'm on cable (not OTA) and my host channel is analog channel 2 which is CBS.

Tonight will be night #2, the clock is still keeping accurate time, however, there is no grid/data.

Thank you

Thanks,

The host channel is an easy way to tell whether it is analog or digital data. With digital data the host channel is the last thing to set before you get a grid, so that is why I suggested looking at the reception slicing screen. Since your host channel is set (and yes, it is analog), your grid shouldn't be far behind.  I would leave it off as much as possible especially overnight.

Mark

[gadgetzilla]

Mark - This AM (Wednesday), in turning on the DVR - looks like I have some success.

I now see the grid.  I also saw the screen which offers the option of selecting which cable provider I'm subscribed to.

I've selected the appropriate one so I would imagine that the data shouldn't be too far off.

I plan to keep the DVR off for the rest of day, I'll check in the evening and see if the grid is populated.

Thank you

[mabuttra]

Mark - This AM (Wednesday), in turning on the DVR - looks like I have some success.

I now see the grid.  I also saw the screen which offers the option of selecting which cable provider I'm subscribed to.

I've selected the appropriate one so I would imagine that the data shouldn't be too far off.

I plan to keep the DVR off for the rest of day, I'll check in the evening and see if the grid is populated.

Thank you

Sounds like you're on your way.

Mark

[gadgetzilla]

Mark - wanted to provide final feedback.

The grid/data is back -all is well, thank you for all your feedback

In summary - after the digital changeover, a factory reset was needed to get everything back.

Regards.

[jhernandez86]

I am also in Southern California.  I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 with a cablecard from Time warner cable.  I lost my DPG about 3 months ago.  I just update the firmware to 1.2.21.  I reset the Guide,  and i am hopping I too will get my grid and dpg soon.

[ListenToThis]

...

Also, in the Section-System-Statistics, for the 'Host Chan- - it shows as 1:0-2
Which also validates that I'm on cable (not OTA) and my host channel is analog channel 2 which is CBS.

Tonight will be night #2, the clock is still keeping accurate time, however, there is no grid/data.
...

I've been following the steps outlined by mabuttra as well.  However, after reading "Post Transition-Full Factory Reset and Sony .21 Software " June 29, 2009 by HustonPerson, I wasn't sure whether I should perform a factory reset.    My problem was different from the many many posts I've read in that I was getting grid and I was able to use the DVR features except for the annoying problem that the tuner was only able to get a subset of the channels.  In particular some of the major network HD channels would not show up if selected (would get "no signal").  To be sure I was getting grid and all (I got that after the 1.2.21 firmware upgrade several months ago).  I just couldn't tune to some selected channels.

Long story short: I decided to take the plunge and performed a factory reset.  After that I followed the instructions and scanned the available channels, added zip code, etc.   Lastly, just to be sure, I reinstalled the 1.2.21 firmware. That was a couple of weeks ago.  At this point I diverge from gadgetzilla in that I am not getting a host channel and I still have no grid.  I've left the unit on channel 2.1 but turned it off (but plugged in).   Is there anything more I can do other than waiting for a month or more to see if it will work? Perhaps I missed some subtlety within all the posts I’ve read here and on the AVSforum thread.  I admit it’s been confusing to me in trying to unscramble the many threads from different time periods. Any advice from the many smart people on this forum will be greatly appreciated.

Some additional information: 1) Input is OTA only; 2) Section-Reception-Slicing screen is all zeros in the three columns (so it appears my host channel is digital - though "Host Chan" is blank); 3) ATSC slicing is active (I do get live TV); 3) My unit's clock has been keeping the correct time.

Thanks

[mabuttra]

...

Also, in the Section-System-Statistics, for the 'Host Chan- - it shows as 1:0-2
Which also validates that I'm on cable (not OTA) and my host channel is analog channel 2 which is CBS.

Tonight will be night #2, the clock is still keeping accurate time, however, there is no grid/data.
...

I've been following the steps outlined by mabuttra as well.  However, after reading "Post Transition-Full Factory Reset and Sony .21 Software " June 29, 2009 by HustonPerson, I wasn't sure whether I should perform a factory reset.    My problem was different from the many many posts I've read in that I was getting grid and I was able to use the DVR features except for the annoying problem that the tuner was only able to get a subset of the channels.  In particular some of the major network HD channels would not show up if selected (would get "no signal").  To be sure I was getting grid and all (I got that after the 1.2.21 firmware upgrade several months ago).  I just couldn't tune to some selected channels.

Long story short: I decided to take the plunge and performed a factory reset.  After that I followed the instructions and scanned the available channels, added zip code, etc.   Lastly, just to be sure, I reinstalled the 1.2.21 firmware. That was a couple of weeks ago.  At this point I diverge from gadgetzilla in that I am not getting a host channel and I still have no grid.  I've left the unit on channel 2.1 but turned it off (but plugged in).   Is there anything more I can do other than waiting for a month or more to see if it will work? Perhaps I missed some subtlety within all the posts I’ve read here and on the AVSforum thread.  I admit it’s been confusing to me in trying to unscramble the many threads from different time periods. Any advice from the many smart people on this forum will be greatly appreciated.

Some additional information: 1) Input is OTA only; 2) Section-Reception-Slicing screen is all zeros in the three columns (so it appears my host channel is digital - though "Host Chan" is blank); 3) ATSC slicing is active (I do get live TV); 3) My unit's clock has been keeping the correct time.

Thanks

All you can do is keep waiting. Others in LA have been able to get a grid, so it is just a matter of time. Meanwhile, since your clock is correct, you can setup manual timer recordings until your guide comes back.

Mark

[ListenToThis]

In case anyone does a search on this...

My unit has regained grid and works fine now.  I now get HD channels as expected.

Thank you Mark for the time you've spent here and on AVS to help so many users.

Earl