# Missing Local Channels - Since April 2nd



## jjjeffr (Apr 6, 2012)

Sometime after 2am on April 2nd, I lost half of my local channel here in Minneapolis. Channels lost were 2 (PBS), 4 (CBS), 5 (ABC), 9 (FOX). This is happening on 3 of my receivers (HDVR2). I have reset the receivers, re-setup the satellite dish, re-authorized them on Directv's website, and called technical support. There is an error message that pops up for a short time after the receivers have are done acquiring channel information from the satellite. The message states that the receiver could not acquire information for all channels.

The technical representative stepped me though checking the setup and verifying transponders and voltages, but nothing helped. I was offered free standard DVR replacements with no committment as one solution. Any ideas on what models they would replace them with? I have not kept the old Tivos working this long to go to a DVR and interface that I have not wanted for the last 5+ years. 

I have read on this forum and the TivoCommunity forum that others are having this problem with other models as well. I feel that DTV made a change that is breaking the receivers. Would other people that are having the same problem please post so that maybe they will find a fix.

If it is not a widespread problem, I am open to additional troubleshooting...... someone please help!


----------



## macq (Feb 19, 2006)

jjjeffr said:


> Sometime after 2am on April 2nd, I lost half of my local channel here in Minneapolis. Channels lost were 2 (PBS), 4 (CBS), 5 (ABC), 9 (FOX). This is happening on 3 of my receivers (HDVR2). I have reset the receivers, re-setup the satellite dish, re-authorized them on Directv's website, and called technical support. There is an error message that pops up for a short time after the receivers have are done acquiring channel information from the satellite. The message states that the receiver could not acquire information for all channels.
> 
> The technical representative stepped me though checking the setup and verifying transponders and voltages, but nothing helped. I was offered free standard DVR replacements with no committment as one solution. Any ideas on what models they would replace them with? I have not kept the old Tivos working this long to go to a DVR and interface that I have not wanted for the last 5+ years.
> 
> ...


I assume those old Tivos are owned equipment. Be aware that any new units would fall under a lease. That's a pretty nice deal if they'll "give" you new boxes under a new lease. But, they will be their boxes - not the new THR22. If you upgrade your DVRs to HD then realize there are extra charges per-box for that feature.

I recently unplugged my very old SD Tivos. I've migrated to the Tivo Premiere and using Comcast. But, I still have the THR22 and might keep it around just for NFL Sunday Ticket season. Now that we're getting used to the Premiere's the THR22 seems archaic - although it works reasonably well. If you are going to swap all your boxes perhaps that's an option?


----------



## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

"Free standard DVR replacements" could well be standard definition DVRs (the R15 or R16). The current HD series are the HR2x series. There is an HD Tivo DVR, the THR22. You should probably call and get more specific details on what type of deal they are offering. Also, be careful as a CSR cannot assure you "no commitment", especially at no cost.

As to your primary problem, DirecTV has been implementing changes to guide data for several years now, some of which has impacted older model receivers (Sony, RCA, Tivo). I would not expect that to be changed (i.e., don't expect them to fix your problem).


----------



## samrs (May 30, 2004)

Most likely if all his signal strengths are good, then the op is in a 72.5 market that is or has migrated to MPEG4.


----------



## macq (Feb 19, 2006)

samrs said:


> Most likely if all his signal strengths are good, then the op is in a 72.5 market that is or has migrated to MPEG4.


You can view the status of local channels for your market here:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/packProg/localChannels.jsp?assetId=900018

Just enter your zip code and it should say whether locals are available in SD. The one zip code I tried for Minneapolis showed SD locals were OK (the OP's market).


----------



## texasbrit (Aug 9, 2006)

No, this is not a 72.5/MPEG-4 market problem. It is being reported from a number of different cities and as carl6 says, seems to be only on older receivers; it's probably another situation where the older receivers don't have enough guide data space. I suspect this one might be unplanned, although I have no info yet to support that theory..


----------



## wishbone4401 (Apr 7, 2012)

I have a similar problem - I live in Colorado and have two Directv Tivo boxes - an HR10-250 and a Phillips DSR7000/17 and both have DVR upgrade kits. Sometime around the end of March both quit receiving signals for local channels 4,7,9 but they continued to show up in the program guide and display the information banner along with a blank, gray screen. Other local channels including 6,12, and 31 were still available. On the morning of March 30th channels 6,12 and 31 disappeared from the program guide of the DSR7000 at about 10AM and later vanished from the HR10-250 guide in the afternoon. The current status is channels 4,7,9 are in the guide but no signal; 6,12,31 are not in the guide and show up as unavailable if selected and I can receive 2, 3, 14, 20, 25, 27 and 50. I should also mention I have a DTV HR20/700 hooked up to the same antenna and multiswitch and it's working normally and receives the full guide and all the local channels in both high and low definition. In spite of numerous calls to Directv support, system resets, re-authorizations, and repeated guided setups nothing seems to fix the problem. Since 2 receivers were affected, Directv insisted it was an antenna or multi-switch problem, so I set up an old dual LNB round antenna on a pole, pointed it to the 101 degree satellite and ran a standalone RG6 coax past the multi-switch directly to each of the Tivo receivers and got the same result. All transponders on the 101 deg satellite have a good signal except for 18,20, and 28 which are spotbeams that may or may not be boresighted to the Denver area. Directv tech support said all they could do is replace the old Tivo boxes with their home grown SD DVR or send out a technician. I opted for the technician and without even looking at the boxes, he said they have had several calls on this problem (they started on Friday 4/1/12) and they have been told all they can do is replace the old Tivo boxes with the DTV home grown SD DVR.

For those of you that are having this problem and have hacked Tivos using the DVR upgrade kit with the internet connectivity option, try the following:

1) Access the Tivo box by typing its IP address into your browser
2) Click on "User Interface"
3) Click on "Channel Guide"
4) Click on "All" 
5) At this point you should see all the channels available in your area - including the ones your Tivo box won't process like the HD channels. If you're having the same problem I am, some local channels you receive as normal are in the guide, some local channels you should receive are not in the guide and some local channels that are in the guide result in a blank screen when you select them for viewing.
6) Click on the callsign of one of the channels that comes in normally. This is what I get:

Receive= Yes
Favorite= No
SignalType= 6 (DirecTV)
NetworkID= 565
Transponder= 4
NumStreams= 2
ServiceType= 64 (DirecTvDigitalTv)
Spi= 1 (Gtv)
StreamType= 2 (StandardVideo)​
7) Click on the callsign of one of the channels that shows up in the guide but comes up as a blank screen. This is what I get:

Receive= Yes
Favorite= No
SignalType= 6 (DirecTV)
NetworkID= 565
Transponder= 12
NumStreams= 3
ServiceType= 64 (DirecTvDigitalTv)
Spi= 127 (StreamLanguageDescriptorList)
StreamType= 2 3 3 (unknown)​8) I'm guessing if I could set NumStreams = 2, Spi = 1 and StreamType = 2 in the latter category of channels, they would come in just fine. 
9) Regarding the local channels I should receive that aren't in the guide, the callsigns of the HD versions of the channels are in the guide file but not the SD callsigns. This is an callsign dump for a typical HD channel

Receive= Yes
Favorite= No
SignalType= 6 (DirecTV)
NetworkID= 565
Transponder= 33
NumStreams= 0
ServiceType= 2 (AtscDigitalTv)
Spi= 124 (Terrestrial)
StreamType= (no value)​
10) This sure looks like a Directv problem to me.


----------



## dpmcintyre (Apr 7, 2012)

I had the same exact thing happen to me. 

I had two HDVR2's in Minneapolis. On April 2nd on the first one, I lost the SD locals channels 2,4,5,9 & 11, leaving me 23, 29 & 41. 

I ran through DirecTV tech support, and instead of paying for a service call, decided to put that money to a THR22-100 install instead, where they came out two days later and made that all good to go. (I was like the 4th install this local shop had ever done of the new dTiVo). 

Now my other HDVR2 have lost 2,4,5,9 & 11 as well. That box says it can't find SatB or SatC, which is weird as it used to. Also the local SDs should be spot beamed on 101 or SatA according to some site I looked up for Minneapolis. 
The new THR22-100 can get locals in both HD and SD. 

Definitely sounds like DTV messed with some of the spot beam stuff that affected older receivers to me. 

It definitely


----------



## texasbrit (Aug 9, 2006)

Looks like this may only be happening to people running the old release 6.2 software. People are reporting that updating the software to release 6.4a solves the problem.


----------



## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

texasbrit said:


> Looks like this may only be happening to people running the old release 6.2 software. People are reporting that updating the software to release 6.4a solves the problem.


Unfortunately this can be quite difficult if your Tivo is not connected to a phone line.


----------



## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

It seems that most of the people reporting this, if not all, are those who have "hacked" their boxes and kept the version at 6.2 so that they can use MRV. The 6.4a "slices" are probably in the MFS database waiting to be activated, assuming they didn't just install 6.2 from an image. I recall that one of the things 6.4 was to do was adapt to a new format of guide data - I'm somewhat surprised it took this long for problems to surface.


----------



## L2BENGTREK (May 31, 2006)

Very interesting info here...as three of my local channels have disappeared today...is it correct to assume that eventually ALL of my locals will disappear? Why is it only affecting the locals? Not disputing...just would like to know...and as you can see below..my Tivo IS hacked and running 6.2 software...guess I'm screwed...


----------



## Whipl50 (Jan 10, 2004)

How do you do this if you're unit is hacked? I've got a phone line connected but testing the connection hasn't worked so far.


----------



## L2BENGTREK (May 31, 2006)

Whipl50 said:


> How do you do this if you're unit is hacked? I've got a phone line connected but testing the connection hasn't worked so far.


One of the big things is...are you able to have your DirecTivo on your home network? DirecTV never used that feature. If you have an ethernet cable connected through a usb adapter on the back..then it has been hacked to one extent or another..


----------



## Whipl50 (Jan 10, 2004)

L2BENGTREK said:


> One of the big things is...are you able to have your DirecTivo on your home network? DirecTV never used that feature. If you have an ethernet cable connected through a usb adapter on the back..then it has been hacked to one extent or another..


It's on the network, I zippered it a long time ago. I just don't feel like futzing with it now. It's been the last SD unit in the house so the only thing I've been using from the "enhanced" features is the weather from javaHMO. I've been thinking about upgrading anyway. I'll call DirecTV and see what they have to say.


----------



## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Whipl50 said:


> How do you do this if you're unit is hacked? I've got a phone line connected but testing the connection hasn't worked so far.


The Series 2 v6.4a software is not currently in the satellite stream. DirecTV is working with Tivo to reactivate that so DirecTivos connected to a phone will be able to update to v6.4a. Stay tuned.


----------



## wishbone4401 (Apr 7, 2012)

I sent a letter to Directv corporate headquarters complaining about the longevity of this issue and the fact that the tech support and customer service representatives have not been told about this problem nor have they been given a consistent answer about our options. I received a call this afternoon from a corporate representative and this is what I was told:

Directv engineering was unaware that the updates to the old TIVO software were not being made available for download.

As has been mentioned elsewhere they are working to get the updates re-started.

They said they would call me next week to let me know the status about when and how updates will be available.​


----------



## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

wishbone4401 said:


> I sent a letter to Directv corporate headquarters complaining about the longevity of this issue and the fact that the tech support and customer service representatives have not been told about this problem nor have they been given a consistent answer about our options. I received a call this afternoon from a corporate representative and this is what I was told:
> Directv engineering was unaware that the updates to the old TIVO software were not being made available for download.
> 
> As has been mentioned elsewhere they are working to get the updates re-started.
> ...


TiVo controlled this not DIRECTV. Your receivers called TiVo and they sent the software. Once your receiver had been flagged you could not get it again on that receiver. This was a huge issue when people were swapping out HD's and they didn't have the know how to copy the OS as they basically hosed their units. This is the main reason that weaknees became what it is today.


----------



## Whipl50 (Jan 10, 2004)

Called DirecTV and was told that I should update my software to 6.4 via phone line. Can anyone give me instructions or point me to instructions on how to update my receiver? I haven't messed with this in years. I can still telnet in and get a bash prompt.


----------



## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

You would have to plug your phone line in and then do a call back. If you ever had 6.4 on that TiVO then you will not get it again. To my knowledge TiVo has not sent out software in years to series 2.


----------



## texasbrit (Aug 9, 2006)

I don't think 6.4a is available (again) yet, I know DirecTV is talking to TiVo to make it available.


----------



## Whipl50 (Jan 10, 2004)

texasbrit said:


> I don't think 6.4a is available (again) yet, I know DirecTV is talking to TiVo to make it available.


The CSR indicated that it is available over the phone, I just can't figure out how to get my Tivo to call in since it is hacked.:nono:


----------



## Whipl50 (Jan 10, 2004)

I have a HD DVR on it's way from DirecTV. I did have to sign up for another 2 years, but they are only charging me shipping.

Bye DirecTivo, it was a fun run.


----------



## wishbone4401 (Apr 7, 2012)

wishbone4401 said:


> I sent a letter to Directv corporate headquarters complaining about the longevity of this issue and the fact that the tech support and customer service representatives have not been told about this problem nor have they been given a consistent answer about our options. I received a call this afternoon from a corporate representative and this is what I was told:
> 
> Directv engineering was unaware that the updates to the old TIVO software were not being made available for download.
> 
> ...


I Received a call from the Directv corporate representative late this afternoon. He said Directv engineering has not responded with any information about when and how the software updates to fix this problem are going to be implemented. He said he would call me back next week to update the status.


----------



## dkperez (Apr 20, 2012)

I"m now having the same problem...... AT HOME in Minneapolis I have HD and SWM.

But, I've got a Winegard dome for traveling and today I had Direct TV activate a DVR R10 for me. I don't THINK it's hacked but I"m not sure what would constitute "hacked".
Hooked it to the Winegard, and got everything BUT my local channels. I actually get 2 of 'em, but no CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, etc.

And yes, I know if I go too far from home I"ll lose the local channels. But I"m testing in the driveway at home, so I SHOULD get 'em.

Called DTV. Wasted an astonishing amount of time with a CSR. She finally transferred me to the "guys in the department that handle the portable dishes". Spent some time with a guy there who had me redo all the restart, reset, "send the receiver a wakeup", and on and on. In the end, he had no idea.

SO, I grabbed one of the HD receivers from the house, hooked it up, and everything's fine. So, it SOMETHING to do with the DVR R10.

I've read this thread, but still don't know exactly what I"m supposed to do to get this working. If I have to "hack" the thing, what do I "hack?" And if I need some software upgrade, can I just plug the receiver into a phone line and turn it on to get it? Or does the receiver have to be hooked to a cable and all that? 'Cause with the SWM and all, I've been told the old SD equipment won't work at all in the house...

So, in clear, simple, acronym-free instructions, can someone tell me what I have to do to get this working?


----------



## wishbone4401 (Apr 7, 2012)

dkperez said:


> So, in clear, simple, acronym-free instructions, can someone tell me what I have to do to get this working?


If you want information on how to "hack" your DVR to solve this problem, your best bet is to read the blogs at tivocommunity.com

Regarding software updates from Directv, indications are they are trying to restart them via phone a line connection or some other mechanism but it's not clear at this point when or if this will happen.

Another way to fix the problem is to purchase and install a replacement hard drive for your DVR from dvrupgrade.com for about $120. Warning - check with them first to be sure you can get the drive with software version 6.4a.


----------



## sbl (Jul 21, 2007)

This problem would affect an old DTiVo that was recently activated. If it was not "online" when the software was updated to 6.4a, it would still have 6.2 and now have the locals problem. No hacking required. The discussion of hacking here is that most people with the problem modified their boxes to disable software updates, but that is not necessary to have the problem.

You have two options if you want to keep this box. 1) Hope that DirecTV/TiVo reactivates the 6.4a software for download, or 2) install a 6.4a disk image on your disk (or buy a disk with it already installed). dvrupgrade.com sells these and can install the disk for you if you don't want to do it yourself.


----------



## dkperez (Apr 20, 2012)

The box hasn't been in use for about a year and a half. If hacking is just replacing the old hard drive (50 or 80 or whatever GB it was) with a larger drive (I used a spare 160GB drive that was too small for my photographic images), then it's been hacked. 

When it was in use, it was NEVER plugged into the phone line, so if whatever would have happened came that way, I didn't get it.

So, is there a 6.4a image somewhere I can grab? I recall the stuff I did when replacing the drive didn't cost anything, so if I just need to grab whatever and go, I'm good with trying that.

OR, is there any DEFINITE news that Direct TV is going to make the update available?

It would be really useful to get this working ASAP 'cause I'm going to be using the RV for the next couple weeks.


----------



## dkperez (Apr 20, 2012)

BTW: Just got off the phone with DTV. Was HOPING I could get some answer about the 6.4a upgrade being available. CSR immediately transferred me to the group I was talking to yesterday - the group that "understands portable dishes and domes and such"...... 

Unfortunately, I got an INCREDIBLY UNHELPFUL woman who couldn't have cared less about the problem. Her statement was that "it won't be downloaded from the satellite". IF you plug it into the phone line AND hook it to the dish AND do a hard reset (something about 0 2 4 6 8), it MAY EVENTUALLY get the update through the phone line."

NO interest at all in doing anything to actually facilitate a solution.

When ASKED, she did indicate I could get a refurbished "new" SD DVR that would work... $100 PLUS A NEW 2 YEAR COMMITTMENT. Which I rejected.

I got the definite feeling she didn't give a D*MN whether I went elsewhere in November (when the contract ends) or not...

In a way it was kinda refreshing to get the normal, unfriendly, disinterested DTV attitude. It was unique but weird having them actually try to solve the problem yesterday. Admittedly, they didn't have a clue that the problem was old software, and after hours decided the R10 was "going bad", but they did TRY...

SO, I'll need some other way to get the current software.


----------



## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

DTV is working on trying to get the updates out that you need...just out of curiousity have you called TIVO?


----------



## dkperez (Apr 20, 2012)

I can call Tivo, but isn't this some kind of "specific to DTV" Tivo? 

I'm now seeing topics going back for a while about the "lost local channels", and I keep seeing entries that tell me how hard Direct Tv is working to get the updates, but never a date or DEFINITE statement that anything is actually being done... 

I'll try calling Tivo to see if they're any more responsive.

BUT, once again, can anyone point me to a place where I can download 6.4a like I did 6.2 so I can just do my OWN UPDATE.


----------



## spudly (Sep 8, 2006)

FWIW, both my Hughes and Philips Series I (non hacked, stock) have encountered this local problem. While both issues are very similiar, they are different. Here in Pittsburgh PA I would get some local channels, but not others. On one receiver it those channels would show up in the guide (but no programming on the channel) and on the other the channel wouldn't show up on the guide.

I think the Hughes is on v3.1, while the Philips was v3.5. Phone cord has been plugged in for the past several days and calls are made, but no updates. I had to change the phone # as what had been in there was obsolete.

I decided to get the free R15/R16 replacements with no commitment. They consider it a swap not an upgrade. _I have a screen grab to show this, but how do I post a picture that is local and not a URL?_ SInce I own the older receivers they are mine to keep, but if I cancel service I would need to send these back.

They did indicate that once I deactivate the older ones I cannot reactivate them again in the future.

Sadly when I called DTV yesterday (had other minor outstanding issues as well and had to speak to 'promo dept' and 'billing') the tech support group are woefully uninformed. To make matters worse, one of the reps that I talked to in the chain of people inadvertly removed my local channels. Now they are having trouble adding them back. I have one HD receiver and the HD locals come on but not standard def, such as sub channel or CW. I waited over 30 minutes for a supervisor as the call had closed in on 2 hours and I had life obligations outside of DirecTV. Imagine that. Allegedly a supervisor is to call back today and I still do not have a functioning account.


----------



## dkperez (Apr 20, 2012)

Yeah, that's been my experience with Direct TV too... VERY long conversations, VERY long waits, VERY POOR information.

I called Tivo as suggested in an earlier reply. They have (apparently) nothing to do with this particular upgrade. They don't even list 6.4a, and can't force the phone line to give it up...

I spent an hour having the R10 call the number it has. It downloaded SOMETHING, churned for a while, but in the end it STILL HAS 6.1 on it.

I've been TRYING to get information from DVRUpgrade, but they're worse then Direct TV. After sending email, waiting 3 hours for an ANSWER, getting a non-answer, and sending a reply, to which I got NOTHING, I finally called.

Me: "I'm trying to figure out what I need for software to get my DVR R10 upgraded."
Him: "We DON'T provide any support for our software. Send us an email."
Me: "I did that at 7:30 this morning."
Him: "Well, then you have an answer 'cause we've answered all the emails."
Me: "No, I got a REPLY that DIDN'T answer my questions."
Him: "Well, that's how we support this stuff."

CLICK........... As he hung up.

I didn't think it was possible to have poorer customer service the Direct TV, but these guys have managed.

So, apparently, I can give them $40 and try their Instantcake, even though all my machines are running Windows 7 and have SATA CD/DVD units, but it's a total crap shoot, 'cause they're total rectums...

Is there ANY reasonable alternative to these guys? Some company that maybe gives at least a TINY d*mn about their customers?


----------



## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Don't forget that that R10 is super old now, and noone you are contacting has one bit of financial gain to be made helping you resurrect that dinosaur, and I believe everyone you are contacting are businesses that are only around because they make money. Maybe its time to move along and just get a new box that is compatible with stuff from this decade?


----------



## wahooq (Oct 19, 2011)

yeah seems if you wanna keep the ol dinosaurs going wishbone4401 has the best answer


----------



## spudly (Sep 8, 2006)

CCarncross said:


> Don't forget that that R10 is super old now, and noone you are contacting has one bit of financial gain to be made helping you resurrect that dinosaur, and I believe everyone you are contacting are businesses that are only around because they make money. Maybe its time to move along and just get a new box that is compatible with stuff from this decade?


Well that's a dumb a** reply. So something is old? It still works as intended except the vendor made a change to make it *not* work. Don't forget these units were purchased (not given away) for the prviledge of using the service and dont' consider every purchase as disposable. I can understand if the unit itself wasn't working and it costs more to fix than replace but mechanically nothing was wrong until the vendor decided to *unannounced* make a change in the last few weeks.

Just because something is new doesn't always make it better or more desirable. What if you bought a washer and dryer and Maytag (or whomever)put a timer inside that after 4 years it would stop working (unbeknownst to you). So one day you are doing your laundry and all the sudden >poof< a messge shows up saying you can no longer wash or dry your clothes. You must buy a new unit. Nothing is actually wrong, we just think it's time you upgrade top one that is more energy efficient.

So out of the blue, with no warning and no reasonable explanation it just stopped.

Not such a different scenario.


----------



## wishbone4401 (Apr 7, 2012)

dkperez said:


> I've been TRYING to get information from DVRUpgrade, but they're worse then Direct TV. After sending email, waiting 3 hours for an ANSWER, getting a non-answer, and sending a reply, to which I got NOTHING, I finally called.


DVRupgrade does not provide support for the DIY software products they provide. Read on their forum page about the problems people encounter with it and you'll understand why. However if you buy a replacement hard drive from them or have them install it, they do provide support. As I said earlier, the main thing to determine is that the R10 replacement drive comes with software version 6.4a. I got a replacement drive from them for an HR10-250 and it specifically states on their HR10-250 web page that the drive has software version 6.4a installed. They DO NOT make the same statement for an R10 replacement drive. They do respond to emails if it's about the products they support so I suspect they would tell you if an R10 replacement drive came with 6.4a. Also, as far as support, I had problems with my replacement drive because the PTVnet would not work and they replaced the drive free of charge.


----------



## Gar102 (Sep 7, 2006)

I am having the same issue in Chicago. I have talked to directv 3 times in the past week and they simply run the Connect to DVR Service and wait 24 hour. They finally admitted it is aknown issue and I should keep trying for 72 hours and see if it gets fixed. So much for tech support! I have had to delete everything from the DVR. 

Very Frustrating!


----------



## chicagojim (Sep 13, 2006)

And for those of you saying "Shell out some more money for a newer receiver" please donate to my PayPal account. :lol:

I spend enough monthly for the service and shouldn't have to trash a piece of equipment that was crippled due to an unintended consequence of the service provider's upgrades.


----------



## Gar102 (Sep 7, 2006)

I agree, ours is in the bedroom and use very little so I should not have to spend more money because I also have 4 HD units and a high bill.


----------



## gordon1fan (Jun 27, 2007)

wahooq said:


> yeah seems if you wanna keep the ol dinosaurs going wishbone4401 has the best answer


Well I had the ol dinosaurs for about 8 years now. Still works great!


----------



## Sunner73 (Feb 29, 2012)

As of last night 2 of my 4 SD Tivos are missing the major 4 locals, CBS, NBC, ABC & Fox, however, I still have CW, PBS and some independents. They are no where to be found, even when I change to show "all channels". 

Multiply attempts at reauthorization via the DTV's web site met with no change. Even spent time w/DTV tech support which were convinced that a "clear program info and to do list" would solve the issue but ......
nope. 

Strange that it's only on 2 of the 4 unit though.

P.S. All 4 have the 6.2 SW, modified for MRV.


----------



## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Sunner73 said:


> As of last night 2 of my 4 SD Tivos are missing the major 4 locals, CBS, NBC, ABC & Fox, however, I still have CW, PBS and some independents. They are no where to be found, even when I change to show "all channels".
> 
> Multiply attempts at reauthorization via the DTV's web site met with no change. Even spent time w/DTV tech support which were convinced that a "clear program info and to do list" would solve the issue but ......
> nope.
> ...


Read the previous posts in this thread. Your Tivo's must be updated to v6.4a to restore those local channels.


----------



## Sunner73 (Feb 29, 2012)

litzdog911 said:


> Read the previous posts in this thread. Your Tivo's must be updated to v6.4a to restore those local channels.


 OK... but why are some locals still available when others are not and even a bigger question then WHY do I still have these locals on my other 2 Tivos?


----------



## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Sunner73 said:


> OK... but why are some locals still available when others are not and even a bigger question then WHY do I still have these locals on my other 2 Tivos?


It has to do with a secondary audio service that DirecTV is now required to provide for channels that offer this to their off-air viewers. Not all off-air channels have that feature, so that's why not all of the channels are impacted.


----------



## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Version 6.2 of the DirecTiVo software is, at this point, about 6 years old. Version 6.4a is nearly 4 years old (there was a 6.3 in there as well). When 6.4 was released, it WAS spooled to every DirecTiVo that was receiving satellite data (it was NOT sent via the phone line). If your DirecTiVo is still running version 6.2 or 6.3 it is for one of the following reasons:

1) You hacked the drive to prevent automatic upgrades. This was standard procedure for those that enabled MRV or installed TivoWebPlus. If this is your issue, you made the modifications, so it is your responsibility to fix it. 

2) You did not have a phone line enabled and so the TiVo software never got the command to actually perform the upgrade. It was ALWAYS stated that DirecTiVos must be attached to a phone line. If you chose to ignore this requirement then, again, it was your choice so it is your responsibility.

3) The DirecTiVo was not in service when the software update was was spooled. This is the only circumstance under which the customer has cause to look to DirecTV for a remedy. A user who reactivated an old DirecTiVo can not be expected to be aware of software updates. Before activating the receiver, DirecTV should have confirmed that it had the current software release. 

In the case of situations 1 and 2, assuming situation 3 does not also apply, version 6.4a is likely already on the primary drive. It simply needs to be installed on the alternate boot partition and the partitions swapped. There are many ways to do this. Do a google search for "tivo software slices install" and you will find instructions. Note, you should make certain that 6.4a is, in fact, in the mfs file system first, and you WILL need telnet access to your Tivo (both of which should be available on a hacked box).

If you are in situation 3 with a stock DirecTiVo (or one which simply had it's disk space upgraded) then the only resolution is via DirecTV. There have been reports that 6.4a is being spooled again. I can't confirm or deny this since I kickstarted my last remaining DirecTiVo onto 6.4a a couple of weeks ago from slices downloaded in 2008. The problem that many may still be having is that despite the presence of 6.4a on the drive, the phone calls to TiVo (if they succeed at all) are not reliably initiating the install. Again a few google searches will provide options (a number of people report success using Pittsburgh or Kansas City access numbers).


----------



## thegreen (May 11, 2012)

Titan25 said:


> If your DirecTiVo is still running version 6.2 or 6.3 it is for one of the following reasons:
> 
> 1) You hacked the drive to prevent automatic upgrades.
> 
> ...


Theoretically, this is true. Unfortunately, for some reason some of us never got the upgrade back then despite being hooked up correctly. In my case, I have never hacked my gear and it was installed by a Dtv tech when I moved about 5 years ago. Phone and sat. are all operating and I got the update a few days ago. Hopefully it'll work out for the rest...

edit: 
I should mention, just in case it helps or matters, that at some point long ago one of my boxes updated itself from 6.1 to 6.3. The other one did not (until this week). I didn't think much of it at the time, because everything still worked the same. But that makes maybe three times that my two boxes have missed updates.


----------



## johnd01 (Nov 20, 2006)

My brother in Portland has this problem. We waited for the HDVR2 release to move to DTV. 1. He has 3 units all not getting locals.
2. Never been hacked.
3. He has no land line. 
4.The only phone numbers the DVRs can dial do not answer.
5. New equipment from DTV is not TIVO.
6. New TIVO is crippled and expensive.
7. Premiere XL4 on comcast is looking better all the time.
8. Class action?
9. Like DTV programming better but this is the second time they have broken his boxes.
10. 2 Premiere XL4 with lifetime would cost about $1800 but after that you have a much better TIVO and no TIVO fees. Last I check it counted as 2 cable cards record up to 8 shows at once and come with 2TB drives. MRV is almost seamless. 

I did hack my HDVR2's but never got MRV to work. I waited for a DTIVO but gave up on them when them Premiere was released. I love the new software and the 2 TB drives I added. I think voting with your feet is the only way out of this. DTV will not support a real TIVO so go where the best DVR is.


----------



## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

johnd01 said:


> My brother in Portland has this problem. We waited for the HDVR2 release to move to DTV. 1. He has 3 units all not getting locals.
> 2. Never been hacked.
> 3. He has no land line.
> 4.The only phone numbers the DVRs can dial do not answer.
> ...


I suppost it's hard for number 3 to happen when there is number 2.

If he never hacked his TiVo then number 6 is not relevant to him.


----------

