Channel goes blank after 8 pm each night????

[captrc]

My FoxnewsHD ch. 1210 Channel goes blank after 8 pm each night. Comes back later. The low definition ch. 210 still works. I heard a long time ago that others had blank channels.  

Did anyone get this resolved?

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Actually black live channels is something that has begun happening lately.  Before there were times when a recorded progam would only display a black screen.  Sometimes this could be resolved by exiting out of Recorded Programs and then trying to play it again.  Other times it wouldn't playback at all.  Now we are seeing the live black screen, and the only way I have been able to see the channel was to do a soft reboot of the STB.  Hopefully ATT is in the process of resolving this issue. 

[captrc]

Do they even know about it? I read posts about this almost a year ago when I first got U-Verse. I haven't bugged them about it because I have so manyy programs on my DVR I don't wannt them to just swap the box and lose them.

What is a soft reboot and what is the STB?

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Yes they know, and I presume they are working on a fix.  A soft reboot is pressing and holding the power button on your STB (Set Top Box) until the lights blink.  Then the STB will do a soft reboot or soft boot.  A hard reboot is unplugging the ac cable for 10 - 30 seconds and then reconnecting it. 

[captrc]

Thanks - nice to actually get an answer in a timely manner!

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Your welcome.  If you ever have questions feel free to post.  There are many other subs who are ready, willing, and able to offer assistance.

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

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RCSMG wrote:

Yes they know, and I presume they are working on a fix.  A soft reboot is pressing and holding the power button on your STB (Set Top Box) until the lights blink.  Then the STB will do a soft reboot or soft boot.  A hard reboot is unplugging the ac cable for 10 - 30 seconds and then reconnecting it. 

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I hope they are.  I first reported this in September 2010. 

[mduha29912]

1210 goes black on my equipement in San Diego.

[ATTKenneth]

Hate to hear about the blank screen on that channel.  If you are using an HDMI cable please try using an HD component to see if there is any change with the channel going blank.  Also, do you have more than one receiver?  If so, does it happen on other receivers?

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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ATTKenneth wrote:

Hate to hear about the blank screen on that channel.  If you are using an HDMI cable please try using an HD component to see if there is any change with the channel going blank.  Also, do you have more than one receiver?  If so, does it happen on other receivers?

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A lot of us have seen this or a similar problem.  This is my version:

My TV is connected via component, not HDMI.  I don't use HD stations, but it happens on SD.  My recollection is that when it happens to me, I have just tried to live tune a station that has just finished recording (during the end softpadding, or slightly thereafter).  When this happens, the PIP display when you do arrow up and down is fine, and it will record the channel fine, other STB in the house will show the channel fine, but this box will not.

It seems to happen about once per month unless I reboot the box every two weeks or so, then it doesn't appear to happen at all.

[weimardog]

I have had this problem, with various channels, for over a year. If they are working on this, they must be using tech help supplied by the federal government.

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

See also this thread:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Total-Home-DVR/Can-t-watch-live-TV-on-channels-that-have-been-recorded/m-p/...

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

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ATTKenneth wrote:

Hate to hear about the blank screen on that channel.  If you are using an HDMI cable please try using an HD component to see if there is any change with the channel going blank.  Also, do you have more than one receiver?  If so, does it happen on other receivers?

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Hi Kenneth - It's a known issue.  Andy or one of his co-workers said that they know about it but there was no ETA on a Resolution.

My wife did say that she saw it on the Olympics (whgich would be SD 13) early this morning and that would be the first time that I've heard of it on a non - DVR box.  Someone specifically mentioned the Olympics.  Maybe a "same, only different" problem?

[ATTKenneth]

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JefferMC wrote:

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ATTKenneth wrote:

Hate to hear about the blank screen on that channel.  If you are using an HDMI cable please try using an HD component to see if there is any change with the channel going blank.  Also, do you have more than one receiver?  If so, does it happen on other receivers?

---

A lot of us have seen this or a similar problem.  This is my version:

My TV is connected via component, not HDMI.  I don't use HD stations, but it happens on SD.  My recollection is that when it happens to me, I have just tried to live tune a station that has just finished recording (during the end softpadding, or slightly thereafter).  When this happens, the PIP display when you do arrow up and down is fine, and it will record the channel fine, other STB in the house will show the channel fine, but this box will not.

It seems to happen about once per month unless I reboot the box every two weeks or so, then it doesn't appear to happen at all.

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So it happens specifically on your DVR, and not on the non-DVR STBs?  How is it connected (e.g. Ethernet or Coax)?  How often do you experience it?  Does it happen at a particular time of the day?

[ATTKenneth]

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dhascall wrote:

Hi Kenneth - It's a known issue.  Andy or one of his co-workers said that they know about it but there was no ETA on a Resolution.

My wife did say that she saw it on the Olympics (whgich would be SD 13) early this morning and that would be the first time that I've heard of it on a non - DVR box.  Someone specifically mentioned the Olympics.  Maybe a "same, only different" problem?

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Hi dhascall - It is a known issue for HDMI cables to show a black screen, while PIP works fine.  Often times we've suggested changing the connection between the TV and the receiver to HD component and until reading JefferMC's reply I'm questioning if the known issue is only with HDMI cables now.  I'll have to do some more research on my end to find out for sure. 

JefferMC - Do you know how your lines look in testing?

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

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ATTKenneth wrote:

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dhascall wrote:

Hi Kenneth - It's a known issue.  Andy or one of his co-workers said that they know about it but there was no ETA on a Resolution.

My wife did say that she saw it on the Olympics (whgich would be SD 13) early this morning and that would be the first time that I've heard of it on a non - DVR box.  Someone specifically mentioned the Olympics.  Maybe a "same, only different" problem?

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Hi dhascall - It is a known issue for HDMI cables to show a black screen, while PIP works fine.  Often times we've suggested changing the connection between the TV and the receiver to HD component and until reading JefferMC's reply I'm questioning if the known issue is only with HDMI cables now.  I'll have to do some more research on my end to find out for sure. 

JefferMC - Do you know how your lines look in testing?

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I do not use any HDMI cables and have seen that issue about 2-3x a month since September 2010.  Have npt seen it in a month or so but only because i do not get to "run the remote." Lol.

I do not have time to search the forum but IIRC it had something to do with a stream not properly releasing at the VRAD and a subscriber rebooting their DVR, fixed it for that customer.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

I have seen the black screen on several channels and at varying times.  It seems like ATT rolled out an update/upgrade that isn't working so well.  At frist people were seeing this in certain regions but now it is spreading.  Based on past experience with Uverse, something is or has been rolled out region by region across the country.  I will be very happy when they work this out.  Usually the channel I was watching comes back on it's own.  One or two times I have changed the channel and that gets the channel to show again.

[ScottMac]

I'm also pretty sure it's a known issue. A blank (but otherwise functional i.e., surf keys, PIP) screen usually indicates a crypto issue ... the key expired before a replacement key was issued ... no key, no decode ... blank screen.

The SD channel(s) and PIP use different keys than the HD channel. 

I'm just guessing, of course.

[LitRidge]

I had this occur on my DVR yesterday about 5:50pm on the HD ABC local channel.  My connection is component and not HDMI.  The DVR and second STB is wired with coax.  There was no problem with the SD channel.  I have had this happen several times (10??) over the last two years.  It only happens on channel 1007 and only between 5 pm and 6 pm.  The channel invariably comes back on its own several minutes or hours later or on rebooting the DVR.  I cannot say if this occurs on the non-DVR STB since I tend to watch the news broadcasts on the DVR STB at that time of day.

I find this to be a mild annoyance but nevertheless, it is irritating when it does occur.

[tangential]

We've experienced this at our house for a very long time.

In our case, we are in the Atlanta area and it is the HD feed for CBS Channel 46 (1046). We basically can't watch this channel between 7 and 8 PM, but only on our main DVR unit.  1046 still works on all other units with no problem and SD Channel 46  is OK on the DVR unit.

I was reminded of this as I tried to watch the Falcons preseason show and game at 7PM last night.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

My issues have been with the SD channels exclusively.  When our local channel 4 (NBC Affiliate) goes black the only thing that has worked to restore it is a soft boot of the DVR STB.  There are times when we have had to leave the channel black because another channel was being recorded at the time.  And I didn't want to  interrupt it.

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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ATTKenneth wrote:

 

JefferMC - Do you know how your lines look in testing?

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My lines look great.  Very few errors, etc.  It just appears that one box loses the ability to display the stream live for a period of time.  It will still record it.  I had thought that maybe someday I would get UVRealTime and look at the stream from the port behind the box when this happens, but (1) I've switched this line to Cat5e, and (2) it's never a good time to tackle that when it actually happens anyway.

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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ScottMac wrote:

I'm also pretty sure it's a known issue. A blank (but otherwise functional i.e., surf keys, PIP) screen usually indicates a crypto issue ... the key expired before a replacement key was issued ... no key, no decode ... blank screen.

The SD channel(s) and PIP use different keys than the HD channel. 

I'm just guessing, of course.

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I'm also wondering... does the stream to go the harddrive encrypted, such that an expired encryption key wouldn't matter for recording?  Because it records fine at the same time it won't display.

Ah, yes, something just clicked in my head:  I'll bet the reason the box has to have a live connection before it will display an already recorded program is to get the decryption key for it.

[ScottMac]

That's correct. Without a live network connection, the recorded content will not play. Not so much because of the encryption (though that plays into ti), but to verify that you have the privileges / permissions to watch that show.

i.e., if you recorded (on your AT&T UV DVR) a season of Dexter (Sopranos, Thrones ... whatever), then cancel the movie channels that you recorded them from ... they will no longer play (from teh AT&T UV DVR or STBs).

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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ScottMac wrote:

i.e., if you recorded (on your AT&T UV DVR) a season of Dexter (Sopranos, Thrones ... whatever), then cancel the movie channels that you recorded them from ... they will no longer play (from teh AT&T UV DVR or STBs).

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I don't believe that is still true:

Easier ways to access and use the DVR features from your Remote Control, include the following:

• Series Priority allows you to prioritize your series recordings during a recording conflict

• Bucket Delete which provides ability to delete all recordings of a series with one button click from the Recorded TV: Series menu, instead of deleting individual episodes

• The ability to delete letters using the Remote control Back button

• More prominent Clock display

• New order of presentation for recorded programs, by date Recorded, date Scheduled, and Settings

• Ability to playback recordings even after you lose rights to a channel. For example, if you record a program on HBO during a "free HBO weekend," you will still be able to view the recording after the free weekend expires. Or, if you record a program on a channel that is later removed from your channel lineup, you will still able to view the recording.

https://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB407845&cv=813&_requestid=386423#fbid=3PA1t1Pk_xa

[JefferMC ACE - Wizard]

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texasguy37 wrote:

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ScottMac wrote:

i.e., if you recorded (on your AT&T UV DVR) a season of Dexter (Sopranos, Thrones ... whatever), then cancel the movie channels that you recorded them from ... they will no longer play (from teh AT&T UV DVR or STBs).

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I don't believe that is still true:

Easier ways to access and use the DVR features from your Remote Control, include the following:

• ...

• Ability to playback recordings even after you lose rights to a channel. For example, if you record a program on HBO during a "free HBO weekend," you will still be able to view the recording after the free weekend expires. Or, if you record a program on a channel that is later removed from your channel lineup, you will still able to view the recording.

https://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB407845&cv=813&_requestid=386423#fbid=3PA1t1Pk_xa

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Funny, I was told this same thing (with respect to free previews) by a phone rep.  It isn't true.  Maybe that's what they have to tell the providers.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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JefferMC wrote:

Funny, I was told this same thing (with respect to free previews) by a phone rep.  It isn't true.  Maybe that's what they have to tell the providers. 

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It used to be true, but not any more.  They just may not be aware that things have changed.

[captrc]

Why is all of this talk and guessing necessary? I can't follow all of the trouble shooting talk. I don't know co-ax, HDMI, etc. - U-Verse installed it. Why don't they just fix it? It can't be just my box if a guy in San Diego loses the same channel as me in Fla.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

After further observation my problem seems to be my TV is dying.   I expected to use it to replace another tv after we get the 55.

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

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captrc wrote:

Why is all of this talk and guessing necessary? I can't follow all of the trouble shooting talk. I don't know co-ax, HDMI, etc. - U-Verse installed it. Why don't they just fix it? It can't be just my box if a guy in San Diego loses the same channel as me in Fla.

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There is no guessing:

1. Known Issue

2. Reboot DVR when it happens

3. As far as I know, there is a fix coming but no ETA

4. If someone in Florida has a certain channel that goes dark and another in San Diego has the same channel go dark - it is a mere coincidence.  The live TV stream is lost.  Doing #2, fixes it.