Freeview Recorder Doesn't Show the 'New' Film4!

[niicko]

Really strange, this - after the recent change to Film 4 (Channel 15), I cannot get the broadcast display or sound on my RDR-HXD870 Freeview Recorder. Instead, I just get a black screen followed by "This channel is not in service" (as an error-message, not a broadcast message). I have tried Initial Setup > Digital Tuner > Replace Channels, which ought to work - and even resorted to a full reset (Stop-Power) to totally start again with the channel storage, and still no audio-visual content is evident on Channel 15, although both the title and the EPG schedule are there as expected.

The (Samsung) TV shows Film4 without problems, although I did have to do the complete retune to get it, which was a pain - losing all favourites and some other stuff. At least it works OK after that, though, whereas there was no such joy with the Sony, so I can watch Film4 (via the Samsung TV's tuner) but cannot record it (via the Sony recorder's tuner)... Except, that is, an hour behind by using Film4+1, which works fine (on both devices).

The RDR-HXD870 does have the latest-available firmware (v1.70) installed, and the other Freeview channels seem fine, including the new Film4+1 - it's just the 'replaced' Channel 15 (Film4) that won't seem to work.

Can anyone help with this problem? It's been a bit fraught, lately, with Freeview on my Sony recorder! Does anyone else have the same problem?

[Anonymous]

Hi there

Do you see Flim 4 in the 800's channel range? If so, just swap the channels.

If not, try these two suggestions below.

1 : Full retune of RDR-HXD870

• Unplug the aerial connection to your HDD Recorder.
• Perform a full retune of the HDD Recorder with the aerial still disconnected.
• Once you have "blanked" out all the channels, confirm this by plugging the aerial cable back in, you should get no signal.
• Keep aerial plugged in and perform a second full retune
• Check to see if all channels now work

2 : Perform a manual tune of the Film4 Channel

See page 133/134 of the RDR-HXD870 manual : Here

See manual tuning instructions from DigitalUK : Here

Hope that helps

Cheers.

[rooobb]

Just an other options: after the reset of the machine (power-off+stop) did you unplug from main for at least 1 minute? I'm not sure this help, since this is normally useful when you don't find a channel tuned after a reboot of the machine.

[niicko]

Thanks, guys - I think of found the cause, but cannot see how this can be overcome - due to the 'unusual' way in which the Sony tuner's software works.

rooobb, this didn't make any difference to my own reset: no, I didn't remove the power for a minute - but have now... Same result.

Quinnicus, I tried your option 1 and it didn't work any differently to what I had done before: it successfully removed all of the prgrammes/channels to a zero-count, thus 'greying-out' the channel options in the menu as a kind-of confirmation - just as the full reset had done. Having re-tuned, all is the same - with a present-but-non-functioning Film4 as channel 15.

Your option 2 doesn't apply to these recorders, unfortunately: there is no manual retune of individual channels on these units, only a 'global' re-scan or a 'global' add-new-channels scan. The instructions to which you referred in the Sony manual relate only to the now-redundant analogue tuning/scanning. The (Samsung) TV does have individual -channel- scan (i.e. to retune the individual programme 'stacks'), which I have tried... But no such option is available on the Sony (Pah!).

That is a shame, because it might have solved the problem, if Sony had included this option in the digital tuner software, because what I've found is as follows - and this connects to your initial comment, "Do you see Flim 4 in the 800's channel range? If so, just swap the channels".

EVERY time that I try tuning the Sony, it stores 123 programme slots - with position 15 occupied by a Fim4 with all of its programme info' yet no picture and no sound received. It places the "Film4 has moved..." transmission at pos.791 but it does not store a Film4 entry in pos.800, instead placing the ITV regional variation in that location.

...AND YET, on my old Samsung budget TV, tuning/retuning stores 124 programme slots, placing a fully-working Film4 at pos.15, the "Film4 has moved..." transmission at pos.791, a Film4 entry in pos.800 that seems to have picture, sound or even no programme info', with the ITV regional variation shifted to pos.801.

This might strike you as really odd behaviour (and it is!) until I say that EVERY time I tune the Sony I get the following. Note that changing to France vice UK doesn't help:-

Both D.TV 'auto scan' or Replace Channels following power-on after full factory reset (Add New Channels not available at this point):
Near the end...
    Existing channels 0
    Channels found 124
At the end...
    Search complete. 123 channels
    found. 1 duplicate channels removed.
    Channel information updated

Both Replace Channels and Add New Channels:
Near the end...
    Existing channels 123
    Channels found 124
At the end (Replace Channels)...
    Search complete. 123 channels
    found. 1 duplicate channels removed.
    Channel information updated
At the end (Add New Channels)...
    Search completed. No new channels
    found. Channel information updated

Could I be correct in assuming that the Sony software finds both '15' and '800' Film4 slots, presumes them to be duplicates and either stores 800 at pos.15, using the Film4 programme info' and applying it to the correct position (15) through a separate process? Whatever the explanation, there seems to be a bug / design malfunction on the Sony (RDR-HXD870 with v1.70 firmware) which cannot cope with the Freeview setup for Film4 that's just happened - at least in my transmission area, more likely across the UK, I'd guess.

Can anybody help me further with this? Nothing tried so far has worked.:smileysad:

[Mr_Onion]

It may be that you are getting a strong signal from an adjacent transmitter causing Film4 to be found twice.

An Aerial Attenuator may help as it reduce the other signal below the threshold of the tuning head sensitivity

EDIT Another thing worth trying is hiding Film4 that you have in the 800's, and then do a manual rescan. That might store the correct one.

[niicko]

I think I can probably rule out "getting a strong signal from an adjacent transmitter causing Film4 to be found twice" by virtue of things going fine for so long and only changing when the way Film4 was brodcast changed, and also that my TV has no problem at all when running from the same antenna (in fact, its feed comes via the Sony!).

I don't know how many more times I can iterate that I've done many 'manual' rescans but that there is no manual rescan of individual channels available in the limited Sony software on these units, and that it seems that the Sony firmware rejects the correct transmission as a 'duplicate' (of the non-functioning slot).

Is this all a lesson that the restricted Sony Freeview tuning software just doesn't 'cut it' (automatically throwing out the baby and actually keeping some of the bathwater!) or is this strangely a freak occurrence - with most transmission-areas having a working Film4 slot at position-800? I'm surprised that more owners haven't suffered (or noticed) the same problem. I know a RDR-HXD970 owner living in broadly the same area who also has an interest in this topic, suffering similar problem with Sony recorder cocking-up Film4 and other-make TV displaying Film4 at pos.15 with no apparent problem.

[Anonymous]

Hi there

Firstly - I do not know the solution to your problem, sorry.

Secondly - Sorry I did not get back to you, I did look into your problem a little further, couldnt find a concrete solution, and forgot to post back. 

Anyway, it looks like your not the only one with this problem.  See the following page:

http://www.ukfree.tv/showchannel.php?id=FILM4&PGSTART=450

Scroll through and read the comments.  Its not just the Sony tuner on the RDR...  Although I guess some devices tuners are more tempermental than others.

The only thing I can suggest is possibly report the problem.

Hope you get it sorted.

Cheers.

[Pascale_F]

Hi there niicko,

Have you tried contacting Sony Support? They may be able to help solve this. Do let us know how you get on.

Many thanks,

Pascale

[niicko]

Thanks, guys - will try to report it to Sony support (thanks for the link, Pascale). Ironically, that's not functioning correctly, either! ("E-mail support is not available at this time due to maintenance. We suggest to browse our website which contains many answers to common questions").

[mijewen]

Tried contacting Sony Support?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hee hee

Good luck!