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November 18, 2004

Getting rid of cable box program guide

I just got a Tivo series 2, and I'm using it in conjuction with a Motorola DCT 2000 cable box through Adelphia cable.  Only problem is, whenever I change channels, I get both the Tivo onscreen guide at the top and the adelphia program guide at the bottom.  Together, they take up about 85% of the screen.  Is there any way to get rid of the motorola/adelphia cable guide?

And, if anyone's an expert at cable boxes, why does it take forever for channels to switch after I hit the remote?
-- Scott

November 18, 2004 in TiVo

Answers

You can turn the TiVo channel guide off, or change its size / information by clicking Right on the directional pad until it gets to the size that you wish.

Posted by: Matt Hawley at Nov 19, 2004 6:26:37 AM

Some cable boxes have the ability to change the size of the banner - but most of the time you can't get rid of it. As Matt said, you can select 3 different size TiVo banners though. And, IIRC, there is also a setting to make it close faster.

The reason it takea a while to see a channel change is a matter of several small lags adding up.

When you enter the digits the TiVo receives them then forwards them to the cable box. Depending on the IR code and speed you use, there is a lag there - and it can be noticable. Then the cable box has to recognize the digits are done (on some boxes having the TiVo sent 'Enter' speeds things up) and do the change.

Then the video output changes and goes to the TiVo - and there is a second's lag on the TiVo as the video comes in, is encoded, stored, read, decoded and then output to the TV. Add it all up and there is the noticable lag.

Personally I don't mind because I haven't really bothered with LiveTV for years now - I watch everything pre-recorded. But another way is to 'surf' using the guide - call up the guide, look at the list of shows, and then just jump to the show you want instead of trying to flick channels.

For the optimum performance, check you IR settings: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=128743

Posted by: MegaZone at Nov 19, 2004 5:45:29 PM

Do you need the cable box? A lot of digital cable boxes take time just to switch a channel.

Plus, why would you wanna record DTV? It's already pre-compressed anyway.

Posted by: kirbyMeister at Nov 21, 2004 4:11:01 PM

I know it's not directly related, but maybe it will help you: I have DirecTV and a Series2 (not DirecTivo2). My DTV boxes are connected via a serial cable. Once that's done, they don't show their displays at all... they hide everything and only TiVo banners are shown.

Posted by: Andrew Connell at Nov 22, 2004 11:44:51 AM

You can turn off the Motorola DCT series HDTV cable box on-screen guide. It's a hack but it works beautifully.

Open the service menu by (while powered on) using Power (off) - Menu. Change the "OSD Override" setting and change it to something other than 480i or Off. On-screen displays will still appear on the HD output but will not on any other output. The procedure is reversable.

Posted by: Scott at Nov 28, 2004 9:34:35 AM

you can quickly get rid of the tivo information by hitting the cancel/delete button on your remote rather than waiting the five seconds it stays on there.

Posted by: dsc25 at Dec 2, 2004 12:43:43 PM

On the motorola dct 2000 you can move the flip bar to the top of the screen, which in your case should be hidden underneath the tivo guide bar. On the dct goto menu/setup/guide and there should be an option there called "flip bar position" you can switch it between top and bottom (no, it's nothing to do with adult movie preferences, it refers to the flip bar's position on the screen).

There is also another setting here called "flip bar time" which is the time it is displayed on the screen before disappearing. The minimum may vary by cable system, but I can set mine down to 3 seconds duration. The default is 5 seconds.

As far as the time it takes to switch channels, there's one thing that no one has mentioned yet. All digital channels take longer to switch because the digital signal stream has to be decoded for a time before the picture can be displayed.

In satellite and cable tv a digital channel's signal is muxed together with several other channels to form a transport stream. The dct has to watch this stream that can contain from 4 to 12 channels and try to pick out the one channel that you want to view.

Plus, in mpeg encoded video, the dct can't display a full screen until the next key frame, which can take a couple of seconds before it comes up. The data in between key frames only contains the changes in the picture from the last key frame, not the whole picture. That's where all those little blocks come from when you first see the picture starting to appear. Then the next key frame arrives and all the static areas of the screen get filled in and your picture is fully displayed.

Posted by: Dean at Dec 24, 2004 3:30:57 PM

kirbyMeister, which make and model of DIRECTV boxes are you using?

Do you know where I can find a list of DIRECTV boxes that don't display the info bar when changing channels via the serial cable?

Posted by: Anvil1972 at Jan 18, 2005 2:56:22 PM

Why cant I turn the volume up on my adelphia cable box up with my remote?

Posted by: london at May 25, 2005 1:13:08 PM

You can't turn up the volume because some of them try to turn it up for the TV instead of the cable box. Read the book with your remote.

Posted by: Nate at Aug 24, 2005 7:32:31 PM

will a cable box work if I BUY IT OFF ebay. Im renting two cable boxes a month from my cable company, and they dont sell cable boxes. I dont no if I will have to modify the box or something to get it to work...If so how do I do that.

Thanks
John

Posted by: John at Sep 27, 2005 5:44:23 AM

i have a motorola digital box in Canada is there anyway of descambling it in order to get access to ALL the channels plz tell me how?

Posted by: dmboucher at Nov 22, 2005 5:48:49 PM

hello, does any one know a easy way the get all cable channles, my cable box is an "general instruments cft 2200" ? or does anyone know any hack for or to connect it to a pc ? email me at smithyboy14@hotmail.com please.

Posted by: smithyboy at Nov 23, 2005 6:53:30 AM

I unplugged my friends box to move it and it lost all the unlocked channels and wont let me veiw anything.

Posted by: Tim R at Jun 5, 2006 4:51:41 PM

how do you get a time warner cable box without using the company?

Posted by: brandon at Jul 20, 2006 3:54:16 AM

i have a time warner cable box do you know how to jumpstart it please tell me

Posted by: brandon at Jul 20, 2006 4:10:24 AM

I HAVE A GENERAL INSTRUMENT DIGITAL CABLE BOX IS THERE ANY WAY TO PROGRAM THE BOX.

Posted by: MATT at Sep 27, 2006 6:55:51 PM

Hi.

I have a box CFT 2200 of general instrument and wanted to know like programming it so that it opens all the channels (HBO, HBO+, Movie City, cinecanal, playboy, Venus). Alive in Venezuela, the company that it provides the service is called intercable.

Posted by: Carlos at Feb 16, 2007 7:22:06 PM

this is how it works

Posted by: sizegenetics review at Mar 24, 2007 11:01:02 PM

if you have a cft2200, cft 2200 general instrument or jerrold cable box you can read this page for some helpful information. i found it insightful on somethings. hope this helps.

http://newelectronx.com/help.php

Posted by: tommy glen at Mar 31, 2007 3:57:10 AM

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