On-screen TV Guide feature

Bill R wrote:


For a lot of us
the on-line guides are not an option while we are watching our HDTVs
since our computers aren't in the same room.

Ditto.

The on-screen TV Guide tells me what's on that night, instead of having
me flip through channels. That's all I really use it for. I'm not a
fanatical TV watcher, but it's handier than logging into the computer in
the back room to see what's on and it is a feature that comes with the
TV, and as such I'd like it to work.



John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:

It's a Sharp Aquos LC-45GD5U. One other thing I don't get is why it
takes so long for the TV Guide feature to update. How long does it take
to transmit some text and the correct day and time? Sometimes the red
light on my set is on for 3-4 hours!



John



John,

I did a little research on the Aquos models over the weekend
(by the way, it is a very nice set) and I found out that
Sharp does NOT use PSIP to get the EPG information for the
digital channels. They use Gemstar (TV Guide) for ALL
channels. If the analog station that supplies the Gemstar
EPG information does not include the information for the
digital stations you will only have listings for the analog
stations. You might want to call your PBS station and talk
to an Engineer. He/she should be able to tell if the EPG
information is included for the digital channels.

The reason that it takes so long for the guide to update is
that the analog channel transmits the information on an
unused (for video) scan line of the analog TV signal (the
analog signal has 525 scan lines; some are only used for
"data" information). There is nothing you (or the station)
can do to get the information to you faster. That is one
reason that PSIP was adapted for digital channels. You can
get EPG data in seconds and it can be done in the
"background" (while you are watching TV). Its too bad that
Sharp decided to use the Gemstar system for all channels.
It makes me wonder what is going to happen in 2009 when
analog transmissions goes dark. Are all the EPGs on digital
sets that depend on analog data for their guides going to
stop working?
--
Bill R.

Remove No-Junk-Mail- in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:
Bill R wrote:

John, It is likely that it is the PBS station that is transmitting the
TV guide data but it could be another station. I would un-block the
analog PBS station and see if you get the data. If not, it is
transmitted on another station. You will have to try them one by one.

As to why you are not getting the information for your digital
stations that could be the way you have your TV setup OR it could be a
limitation of your TV OR it could be a different button on your remote
(it is on mine). Some TVs (mostly older models) do not use the PSIP
data and therefore do not have EPG information for the digital
channels (I seriously doubt that your new TV is that way but I will do
a little research). What is the model number of your Sharp TV?

It's a Sharp Aquos LC-45GD5U. One other thing I don't get is why it
takes so long for the TV Guide feature to update. How long does it take
to transmit some text and the correct day and time? Sometimes the red
light on my set is on for 3-4 hours!



John


I also have to wonder what happens if you pull the plug while the red
light is on. The manual urges you not to do this. Well, what if you
are having a violent electrical storm while the light is on--the manual
also tells you to unplug your TV, even if grounded--or, heavens, if the
power should suddenly go out itself while your TV's red LED is lit!




John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:
The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:

Bill R wrote:

John, It is likely that it is the PBS station that is transmitting
the TV guide data but it could be another station. I would un-block
the analog PBS station and see if you get the data. If not, it is
transmitted on another station. You will have to try them one by one.

As to why you are not getting the information for your digital
stations that could be the way you have your TV setup OR it could be
a limitation of your TV OR it could be a different button on your
remote (it is on mine). Some TVs (mostly older models) do not use
the PSIP data and therefore do not have EPG information for the
digital channels (I seriously doubt that your new TV is that way but
I will do a little research). What is the model number of your Sharp
TV?


It's a Sharp Aquos LC-45GD5U. One other thing I don't get is why it
takes so long for the TV Guide feature to update. How long does it
take to transmit some text and the correct day and time? Sometimes
the red light on my set is on for 3-4 hours!



John


I also have to wonder what happens if you pull the plug while the red
light is on. The manual urges you not to do this. Well, what if you
are having a violent electrical storm while the light is on--the manual
also tells you to unplug your TV, even if grounded--or, heavens, if the
power should suddenly go out itself while your TV's red LED is lit!




John



John,

Most TVs (or set top boxes) store the data in RAM and if you
pull the plug (or the power goes out) the data is gone and
the receiver just has to get it again. Most sets retain
their setting so you don't have to set up the guide (or any
other settings on your TV) again.

It is a VERY good idea to get a GOOD surge protector (not a
$10 power strip that says it has surge protection) for your
TV. You have a big investment there and a $60 (or so) surge
protector might be worth it.
--
Bill R

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Bill R wrote:

I did a little research on the Aquos models over the weekend (by the
way, it is a very nice set) and I found out that Sharp does NOT use PSIP
to get the EPG information for the digital channels. They use Gemstar
(TV Guide) for ALL channels. If the analog station that supplies the
Gemstar EPG information does not include the information for the digital
stations you will only have listings for the analog stations. You might
want to call your PBS station and talk to an Engineer. He/she should be
able to tell if the EPG information is included for the digital channels.

The reason that it takes so long for the guide to update is that the
analog channel transmits the information on an unused (for video) scan
line of the analog TV signal (the analog signal has 525 scan lines; some
are only used for "data" information). There is nothing you (or the
station) can do to get the information to you faster. That is one
reason that PSIP was adapted for digital channels. You can get EPG data
in seconds and it can be done in the "background" (while you are
watching TV). Its too bad that Sharp decided to use the Gemstar system
for all channels. It makes me wonder what is going to happen in 2009
when analog transmissions goes dark. Are all the EPGs on digital sets
that depend on analog data for their guides going to stop working?

Well, it mustn't be the analog PBS stations in our area that supply the
info. We reset them into the tuner presets and we got no new data. (We
had to pull the plug last night because of very bad electrical storms.
Yes, we have a good surge protector on the set; no, I don't completely
trust it.) Even the time and date are still wrong! Bizarro. My wife
swears she heard it's the local PBS station (KQED, San Francisco) that
provides that.



John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:
Bill R wrote:

I did a little research on the Aquos models over the weekend (by the
way, it is a very nice set) and I found out that Sharp does NOT use
PSIP to get the EPG information for the digital channels. They use
Gemstar (TV Guide) for ALL channels. If the analog station that
supplies the Gemstar EPG information does not include the information
for the digital stations you will only have listings for the analog
stations. You might want to call your PBS station and talk to an
Engineer. He/she should be able to tell if the EPG information is
included for the digital channels.

The reason that it takes so long for the guide to update is that the
analog channel transmits the information on an unused (for video) scan
line of the analog TV signal (the analog signal has 525 scan lines;
some are only used for "data" information). There is nothing you (or
the station) can do to get the information to you faster. That is one
reason that PSIP was adapted for digital channels. You can get EPG
data in seconds and it can be done in the "background" (while you are
watching TV). Its too bad that Sharp decided to use the Gemstar
system for all channels. It makes me wonder what is going to happen in
2009 when analog transmissions goes dark. Are all the EPGs on digital
sets that depend on analog data for their guides going to stop working?


Well, it mustn't be the analog PBS stations in our area that supply the
info. We reset them into the tuner presets and we got no new data. (We
had to pull the plug last night because of very bad electrical storms.
Yes, we have a good surge protector on the set; no, I don't completely
trust it.) Even the time and date are still wrong! Bizarro. My wife
swears she heard it's the local PBS station (KQED, San Francisco) that
provides that.



John


John,

SOME PBS stations do not transmit the Gemstar TV guide
information every day but in almost all areas the PBS
station is the one that transmits the data. In our area we
have three PBS stations and two of them transmit the data.
If you have more than one station that transmits the data
the receiver chooses one to get the data from so there is
never a conflict.

It is too bad that the Gemstar people choose not to tell us
which station our sets are getting the data from. The
information is available to the set (it knows what channel
to tune to after it searches for the guide the first night)
but does not appear in any TV guide setup menu that I have seen.

--
Bill R

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Bill R wrote:
The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:

It's a Sharp Aquos LC-45GD5U. One other thing I don't get is why it
takes so long for the TV Guide feature to update. How long does it
take to transmit some text and the correct day and time? Sometimes
the red light on my set is on for 3-4 hours!



John



John,

I did a little research on the Aquos models over the weekend (by the
way, it is a very nice set)

Thanks. We love it. We are seeing our "old" movies all over again anew.

We're only worried about these reports suddenly of Aquos sets having
power-lock problems. I didn't see these posts before we bought the set,
but of course now that the decision has been made I've run into a lot of
posts about Aquos sets locking up and not showing a picture randomly,
even after unplugged and replugged, and Sharp not doing anything about
it and generally denying the problem exists (typical!). I haven't seen
our set specifically mentioned as a problem model...still, if it's
something like buggy software I'm truly concerned, since this set is
completely "software driven." (I hope they do a better job than
Microsoft did with Windows. Took them about 12 years to finally get the
kinks out of it.)



John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

Bill R wrote:

SOME PBS stations do not transmit the Gemstar TV guide information every
day but in almost all areas the PBS station is the one that transmits
the data. In our area we have three PBS stations and two of them
transmit the data. If you have more than one station that transmits the
data the receiver chooses one to get the data from so there is never a
conflict.

It is too bad that the Gemstar people choose not to tell us which
station our sets are getting the data from. The information is
available to the set (it knows what channel to tune to after it searches
for the guide the first night) but does not appear in any TV guide setup
menu that I have seen.

Yes, I'd like to know the station too. I supposed I could call our PBS
stations, or ask a colleague who works part time at one; she may know.

What's weird is after letting the TV set update all night and through
part of today (the little red light must have been on 10 hours) we have,
tonight, only a few random listings downloaded in the TV Guide...a few
shows are filled in, most have no info in the slots! I can't find any
pattern in the shows that have info filled in--not a few particular
channels or timeslots, for instance. And the time is still incorrectly
set. Since our new DVD player is an ultra slimline (one inch tall) and
has no real front display and we no longer have the bulky and ugly VHS
player hooked up, we are for the first time without a digital clock,
which is the only way to get the time at night without flipping on a
ceiling light. So as silly as it sounds, this clock feature on the TV
is really important to me! :-)



John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

It is too bad that the Gemstar people choose not to tell us
which station our sets are getting the data from. The
information is available to the set (it knows what channel
to tune to after it searches for the guide the first night)
but does not appear in any TV guide setup menu that I have seen.

You're right, that is useful information. I have a Sony DHG-HDD250 and
you can see which station is providing the TVGOS information by using
the service menu. I'll bet the Sharp also has a service menu with that
information. Check out http://www.avsforum.com/ to see if there is a
forum for Sharp TV's.