Recorded shows freeze during playback

[RB_89]

Hi all - looking for some help.

I have a Tivo box. Over the last 6 months I've noticed that shows I've recorded often freeze or stutter on playback. It makes watching shows almost unwatchable. I have ample storage left and all cables are connected propertly.

On a unrelated note, I also have an issue where the TV listings show "to be announced" rather than the actual name of the programme on a hell of a lot of channels.

[newapollo]

TV listings showing TBA are caused by the set top box losing the internet connection.

The TiVo, which has an inbuilt modem, unlike the V6 which relies on a connection to your VM hub.

If you definitely have a TiVo go  Home > Help & Settings > Settings > Network connection.

When was the last successful connection? If you follow "connect to Virgin Media service" and wait around 30minutes before rechecking, what does it say?

Freezing recordings, or stuttering on play back may be due to a hard drive issue. What happens if you pause a program for a minute or two and then press play ?

[RB_89]

Hi Dave - thanks for the response.

I'm pretty sure I've checked the network connection before. Anyhow - I've just looked again, and the last successful connection was today.

I've followed the connect to VM service and it appears to have solved the TBA issue - Thanks.

Regarding the play back issue. Sometimes fast forwarding and rewinding works. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes pausing for a period of time works, sometimes it doesn't. I can fast forward a few minutes and to resolve the issue, but obviously I miss a chunk of the program I'm watching!

[japitts]

Try watching live TV for a short while, to see if any problems are apparent - this proves your incoming signal as ok or not.

Now pause that channel for perhaps 30 seconds and watch it delayed. This is effectively a recording and is using your hard drive in the same way.

If this is problematic but live TV is ok, your TiVo may have a hard drive fault.

[RB_89]

Pausing live TV and then playing it delayed is fine. Its only on pre recorded shows.

The TBA TV listings issue has returned as well, albeit only on a handful of channels 🤦

[japitts]

There may have been a fault with the broadcast channels at the time those recordings were made. Otherwise, the tests I mentioned previously, are the best way to narrow down what's causing it.

TBA - in the network connections screen, the timestamps of the 6hourly connections are shown, if those are succeeding then the update cycle is working.

Are there any specific channels that are showing TBA?

[RB_89]

Sorry for the late reply...

TBA - random channels, Often ITV channels, but a good 50% of all channels I'd say.

I don't think it was a broadcast channel fault - it happens way too regularly. As confirmed earlier, pausing live TV is fine. This is solely with recorded TV shows.

[japitts]

Any specific channel examples may be useful, along with checking the regularity of the network connections.

Recorded programmes & paused TV both use your TiVo's hard drive.

[RB_89]

The last attempt in the network connections was 15/9/21 at 17:23 and was successful. Next attempt 22:41. Historically this has been fine whenever i've checked.

Currently the following channels showing TBA for the show currently playing....ITV 2, ITV 2 +1, ITV3, More4, ITV3 +1, ITV3 HD, ITV4 HD, More4 HD, BT Sport 1,2 & 3 HD. Free sports HD, BBC Parliament.

Channels which show TBA for future programs include all of the above plus, Yesterday, Sky Arts HD, E4 +1, 5 Select, 5 Star +1, Yesterday +1, MTV Classic + others.

[japitts]

If the network connections are reporting successful, but the EPG data isn't populating, I would suggest a rebuild of your EPG from the ground up - there's possible some corrupt data in there somewhere. If you're also having problems with recorded programmes, I wouldn't bet against your hard drive being on the way out - this will result in your box being replaced sooner or later, however there's no harm trying this in the meantime...

Home > Help & Settings > Clear or restart > Clear programme info & planned recordings.

There's on-screen guidance - make a note of any manual recordings you've set for the next 2weeks, these will need reinstating manually. Your SL's will remain intact and should reschedule when the EPG rebuilds.

Allow perhaps an hour from setting the process going, before it completes.