sparc21: Regarding the black streaks, I'm guessing you are getting only one of the two interlaced fields. You probably know this, but I'll try to summarize (and all of you out there in tech land correct me if I'm wrong). Video is 30 (actually 29.97)"frames" per second, but these "frames" are actually two fields -- one made up of the odd scan lines and the other of the even. Since the image is a "still" of data, I would imagine that you can get rid of the black streaks with a shutter speed slower than 1/30 of a second. That is, the shutter needs to be open longer than 1/30 of a second so both fields can be exposed. With the shutter open longer you should also be able to close down the iris which should give you better depth of field and make it easier to focus. I can't tell you how bummed I am to hear that you can't record and watch in server mode.
Well, I finally SAW the display on the E85H change to U99. About 1010pm, I had decided to take a peek at the dignostic pages of TVGOS, since I had seen earlier the progression of numbers on the associated cable box. To start with I had to choose between lineups (no problem) and the TV GUide displayed all the channels, with NO listings however. On dignostic page one I saw a Download scheduled at 0400 on October 9 (still late 8 Oct here). So I calculated that the download would start at 1100pm, so I stood by and started watching a few minutes before 11pm. At almost precisely 1100pm, my cable box was sent channel 05 (our local PBS station), and within a few seconds, the display on the E85H went from normal standby to U99. I cleared the U99 with the power button, then went back and looked at page one of the TVGOS and the scheduled download said N/A as did the other 3 lines in that area of the screen. So there you are. Any ideas?
I've been following the thread from the beginning - divide U99 - Things were looking good for a while. We have started to get the TV Guide U99 cronically as with everyone else. (Amherst MA Comcast analog) just updating the U99 timing we get one in the middle of the night (sometime between 12:30am and 1:10am today and early in the afternoon. We are fully updated as of friday early eve. I haven't been watching too closely for patterns as I only hear complaints as GF clears the U99 or misses a show - her schedule corresponds better with the error timing- will keep better track and will be calling Cheryl soon to give her information to hopefully fix it.
I tried turning off the Guide updating using the instructions starting in post 22. September 2005 @ 10:41" on page 7. Is it normal that it still asks you to put in your zip code, etc. information in order to even use manual timer recording? Unfortunately, got home tonight to discover the U99 error again, meaning no recording of the PSU-OSU game. Now I'm really pissed, b/c have also missed two episodes of Lost (actually got the one on a VCR I borrowed tonight for the repeat)! Anyway, checked the thing out, and Guide still seems to be off and has no data. Does this problem only occur when the machine is turned completely off, rather just in HDD Sleep mode? Is it possible to just let the thing on all the time by increasing the delay before shut off, and thus get aroudn the problem? Will it help us all if I call that poor woman at TVGuide? What should I tell Panasonic if I call them? Had this just under 11 months, so still some warranty left. Any other suggestions? Thanks. -- My problem also started within the last ~month. I once got a message that something had updated when I turned on the device, probably 2 months ago. I'm in Atlanta and have Comcast.
psujmatt: Sorry you missed the game. Your guys looked good during the parts I saw. Handled OSU more competently than Texas did, in my burnt orange opinion. I'm currently using manual timer record and just making sure the DMR is on a bit before primetime, but of course that won't work with a lot of people's schedules. I'm under the impression that (a) the TVGOS u99 error only occurs when the machine is in standby (but this is just because I haven't seen a u99 when I knew the machine was just in HD sleep mode) and (b)leaving it on all the time would decrease the product lifespan. Again these are just impressions and I would be glad to hear a more authoritative statement as well.
Hi Everyone! Been gone a week and this thread has gone from 7 to 15 pages! Nearly everyone reporting the same problem, which in summary is the U99 error which causes recordings to fail and which is not solved for by firmware upgrades or resets - we've all tried it, don't waste your time if you're coming late to the party. Seems the news is that someone named Cheryl at TVGuide OnScreen is trying to address the problem - I've seen a phone number listed for her, but no e-mail address. I would expect that if we had that posted and everyone e-mailed her it might help her collect more information quicker. By the way, I'm on Astound Cable in Walnut Creek, Ca and the problem started for me in early September. I never had the divide error that started this thread. P.S. The problem with leaving the unit in sleep mode is that it doesn't download any channel information unless it is off.
I apologize for any re-statement of things already covered in prior posts in this one. Everyone: Thanks a bunch for the locations. So far we have the Northeast (PA, Mass and Western Ohio), mdqgus in Florida, and central/southern California. Any other locations? psujmatt: According to page 43 of my maunual for the E85H, you still have to complete the TVGuide setup if you don't want to use it (doesn't make sense, but that's what it says, perhaps just for the auto clock setting). Just make sure if you already have anything downloaded into it, you do the ch up/ch down reset FIRST. Then, after setting it up, go into setup, channel, "auto channel setting", yes, let it do its thing, then it should go to auto clock setting. If not, do it auto clock setting manually from the setup tab. Apparently using the auto channel setting either disables or just "hides" the TVGOS. I'm wondering if it still downloads anyway, but try this and see if you still get U99. You won't be able to use VCR+ codes, just manual recording entering all info like a VCR. As an aside, I wonder what happens if you put in all zeros for the zip code, or any invalid zip code (all the same number except 2s, 4s, and 5s) I would think that would prevent downloads, and you can just use the "time zone adjust" and manual clock setting. sparc21: bns70 is on the money with the interlaced video fields. If you have trouble obtaining a good picture, laboriously WRITE DOWN the pertinent info from pages 1 2 7 11 and 30--see AKNewbie's post a few pages back (page 13, 7 Oct 16:42), plus the date/time of the U99 and other info she asked for. Re: Cheryl: To speed up the process, make sure you have pictures or have written down the pertinent info after a U99 before contacting Cheryl. If anyone talks to her, ask if it's OK to post her e-mail for this if we identify ourselves as "afterdawn" people and send her the data directly. [bold]ALSO, LET HER KNOW you will type out "at" and "dot whatever" to disguise her e-mail from spam harvesters.[/bold]
[bold]Here is my theory on the U99 errors.[/bold] The Pannys get confused when they miss the beginning of a TVGOS download and try to start it right after the beginning, or in the middle, at least since whatever "change" was made in Aug-Sept. If anyone can refute this theory, please do so. Here's my reasoning: The last U99 I saw happened SOMETIME after I flashed the firmware at about 10PM on 10/6. I don't know when as I left for work right after, but upon returning home at 8AM, I had a U99, so it COULD have occurred during the FIRST download after the flash (i.e., reset), my timing of the reset could have just happened to have been in the middle of a "download in progress." I reset using ch up/ch down that morning (Friday, 10/7). Since that time, I have scheduled NO programs to record, and only turned the unit on TWICE, for half a minute, once on Saturday 10/8 at 9:12AM, when I had the screen asking for the correct channel lineup, and the lineup appeared with NO listings. I left the unit OFF until this morning, Sunday 10/9 at 5:30AM, and saw population through Tuesday at 11:30PM (midnight Wed through was no listings). I turned it off again, but will schedule recordings starting tonight. Others have had U99s in this time period; I have not. My theory is as follows: since turning the unit on or recording a program CAN cause the unit to either interrupt a download or miss the beginning of one if it happens to be at the "wrong" time, the unit gets confused if it comes in mid-download upon returning to standby since whatever happened in Aug-Sept. Sound plausible? I wonder if PBS would give out the times of the downloads. I read somewhere that they last 3 hours...BUT (see following). If the old RCA Guide+ uses the same transmission times, these were the download times for Saturday evening (10/8) through this moring (10/9): 5:45PM, 11PM, 1:15AM, 2:20AM, 5:55AM, 7:00AM, 10:05AM. Can anyone find out the mechanics of the download broadcasts? e.g., are they start/stop of different lengths with some lag time between, or can they overlap? ([bold]bns70[/bold], I'm thinking of this as another question for you to ask the engineers, PLEASE! Thanks!!) I'm sure as soon as I start scheduling recordings, I'll get the U99 back soon enough as I'll be interrupting/preventing the start of the downloads at some point by doing this (and by watching what I've recorded). Then my video camera can report the precise times, and hopefully we can narrow this down unless Cheryl does first.
Coyote24, I have the problem in South Central TX w. Time Warner Cable. Unfortunately, I have got the U99 error in the interval between the last time I had the unit on to watch some recorded stuff and the next morning, but I didn't have anything scheduled to record. I have seen it reappear as shortly as 10 minutes after power cycling it out of standby twice to clear the U99. For some reason, I haven't seen the U99 this weekend, which breaks the pattern for me (for now).
This morning I did NOT see a U99 so assumed the "NA for download" on page 1 of the diagnostic pages was why (last night after the U99). However, when I brought up the TV Guide, the next 2 days were populated with program listings - last night before the U99, nothing. So I checked the next download time on "page 1," and it was 8 hours later than the previous scheduled time, which was actually about 30 mintues before I got up this morning and looked at all this. So I just turned the E85H and TV off. It immediately started changing channels on the cable box (triggered by the E85H) to channel 34, and doing this every minute of so. Channel 34 is MSNBC for me. Channel 5 is PBS, which is always what I see first after a reset. Not sure what is happening. Possibly I'm getting more listing updates. I'll wait until the "34"s quit flashing later today and check the TVGOS.
Sorry to report same U99 problems with my E85H in Chicago area. Began mid-September, have done the last firmware upgrade with no improvement. Have never used the divide function, but have done lots of editing over the past year, with no problems. Formatted the drive, with no improvement.
OK, thanks for the updated areas...we can safely say it is a NATIONWIDE problem, and started within the same month-or-so timeframe (Aug-Sept). No U99 yet here, but I'll post when I get some. Still uncertain whether it's something specific IN the download that's causing it, or the "interrupted" download. It COULD also be related to the last TVGOS "unplug your unit" update, but I think mine worked fine for several weeks after that update. Keep reporting aprroximate times of U99 sightings, and I'll see if they coincide with mine. Guess that and bugging Cheryl with screenshots are all we can do for now.
Still working great, no U99's. Since I reflashed and reset last Thursday everything has been great, full TV guide and no U99's etc., but when I checked the TV guide on the TWC decoder box - btw this is the guide we use for actually seeing what's on because it's easier to use than the panny OSG - I noticed this guide now has no data ! Previously the TWC guide from the cable box had been 100% solid - I'll see if it sorts itself out later today. Strange eh ? Tim
Had a very bad night (U99 wise that is). I'm in northwestern ohio and I had four U99's in the space of a half hour last night. I couldn't sleep to well last night so around 2:30 AM eastern time I turned the unit on to see if the program guide had repopulated any further. It had not so I turned it back off around 3:30 AM and within five minutes it had gotten the U99. I hit the power button a few times, turned it back off, and it happened again within about 5 minutes. So I kept watching it and it happened twice more about 5 minutes apart. Since it was happpening so much I decided to unhook the cable and see if it would stop it. I watched for about 20 minutes with the cable unhooked and it didn't get anymore U99's. I plugged the cable back in at that point and went back to bed. Checked it this morning and no more U99's but also it is not repopulating the program guide data any further. I checked the TVGOS debugging screen and on page one much of it is back to N/A again so I bet it won't get anymore program data. Coyote24, I would say that for some reason the machine couldn't deal with the download that was in progress and it kept sending it into U99. So I think you are onto something there. Something was sure driving it crazy last night after I powered it up. I hope the TV guide people can get it worked out.
I live in Michigan, Zip 48040 (Near Port Huron, 1 hr. N of Detroit). Am using E85H, purchased in March, Comcast cable, no cable box. After a summer of complete and utter happiness with my Panny I started getting U99s / missing updates mid to late September. A couple of days ago my TVGOS changed to the BROADCAST CHANNEL listings for our area! Grrrrrrrrr Called PSonic, was told to update my OS but found that I already had the newest version. Performed a reset (ch up/down, turn off, setup TVGOS), switched it off yesterday, today it's back up with the Broadcast Channels again!
I did the Channel Up / Down reset on Friday, & have gotten 3 more U99s since then. It is getting cold here in Wisconsin, I need my TV to keep me warm!
I have U99 error on SC-HT1500 Home Theater System with recorder and TVGOS. I do not have any channel lineup or listing since the day I bought it - 10/04/2005. Many time I had to "wake up" the unit from U99. Yesterday, I did reset (third time) - channel up/down, unplugged everything for 2 minutes, and today I had U99 every time when I looked at the unit - at 4:00AM and 6:20AM (and I did not schedule any manual timer recording for the night or morning). I am in Las Vegas, NV, 89145. I have not other U99 since the morning, but still no channels lineup or listing. I also tired to disable TVGOS and go for Auto Channel Setting, but it didn't work as well. Only one channel was found - No. 4. It is stranged. I e-mailed twice to Panasonic, but no response yet. Usually they responded within 2 days to my other problems. No now!!! I called once, but it was wasting of my time. Woman on the phone told me that I got U99 error because I do not switched to TV on the remote control during watching TV. I did not watch TV when I got the U99. It was turned off, and the cable box switched channels. It was useless call. It looks that I will return to old settings with my DMR-E80HS for recordings, because this U99 error drives me crazy. I do not believe anymore that it would work properly. I have this new unit for 6 days, but I was not able to use it - just trying to get it work. It's silly to pay money for something without being able to use it.
May not need the firmware mentioned by timdf newbie after all. I followed the advice from mtlove newbie which is and I quote: according to what TV Guide OS told me today.. this is what should fix the U99 problem. (supposedly it has worked for some other people) 1. Turn on your player. (But not in the TV Guide menu.) 2. Press & Hold the channel Up AND the channel Down button on the machine. 3. Wait until the unit says "BYE" and turns off. 4. Unplug the player, wait 30seconds. 5. Plug the player back in, turn on & re-enter setup. really freakin' simple, huh? I did this Saturday morning (10-8-05)and have Boston Comcast, am hooked up to a Motorola box (not hi def but do have 2-99+200- 289+301-382 ie many channels). After waiting 30 sec I turned on the E85H, entered set up giving my connection (L3) and zip code etc. Then I turned off the E85H. Within 30 seconds, the correct time showed on the screen and almost immediately a U99. I hit power and U99 was replaced by the correct time. Hit power again and E85H powers on through self check. I shut it off and immediately it switched the cable box channel to MSNBC (53 for Comcast Boston). After about an hour, I got another U99. Hit power twice and now when I went to the Guide there was all the channel lineups but no data yet. I powered the E85H down and left it powered down overnight as it went through its channel searches. Sunday Morning I got a U99 and powered on the E85H and it asked if the parameters were correct (L3, zip etc.) and I pressed ok. It did some more channel switching on Sunday but most of the data seems to come from channel MSNBC (53). Sunday night I powered down again at 11pm. Monday morning (10-10-05) the E85H was still off and NO U99 . I hit power and it asked me to select from 4 possible line-ups. I picked the first choice by hitting enter. I went into the Guide and it had all of my channels (2-99, 200-289, 301-382 and even the HD channels 804-882) and 2 days worth of data. I think I may be now finally over the U99 issues. I am even getting the TV Guide adds (which probably pay for the Guide). My E85H does have the firmware upgrade dated Jan 2005 for the E85H. I flashed this in Jan 2005 and had no issues until mid to late Sept during which I had U99s 3 or 4 times a day, making it difficult to time record even using the Program Time record because often you would get a U99 before all of your programs scheduled were recorded and then the record list was deleted. I will keep you posted as to whether the U99s return or not. Bonus2
I've been reading the posts on this site and I joined just to get my two cents in. I own a DMR-E500 and have the TV Guide U99 errors too. I called Panasonic and after some convincing I logged a error report with the lady I spoke with. I told her that all I wanted was to have her send the report to someone that would know what to do. Hopefully if everyone does the same thing they will do something about it. I told her that it wasn't just a Panasonic issue, and that I have read some other posts saying some other manufacturers were having problems also with TV Guide feature. To get the unit working with timer recordings I put in a bogus zip code 00000 and disabled the TV Guide feature. I have been reading that even though you disable the guide, it tries to download information for some reason. Don't know if that was true or not but I wasn't taking chances and hence the bogus zip code. Since I have done this I have no problems with the unit. I really wish Panasonic would jump all over Gemstar for this crap and get it FIXED!
Readers of this thread will know that I was also afflicted with the U99 problem - I used to get them everymorning without fail for a week or more. Here's what I did to fix the problem. 1. Full up reset to initial factory conditions 2. Re flash the firmware with latest version acquired from a service dept source - note this code is the same size as what's on the panny website, even reports the same version number 970DL, but the code is substantially different. I checked the contents of the file. 3. Another full up reset to initial factory conditions. 4. Set-up the TV guide, ZIP, L3 etc. 5. Wait 24 hours for data to load. Since performing the above I've had no U99's now since last Wednesday. Location is San Diego, Ca, 92131. Time Warner cable with digital decoder box. Hope this helps someone out. Tim
