channel jumping

[bearingman07936]

For about a week now I've noticed that the channel has been jumping somewhere during the hours that the TV isn't being used. We keep the HD DVR on, and when we get home from work I usually just have to hit a button to get it off of screen saver. Well the screen saver is gone, and I have been getting a "would you like to buy this movie" when I turn on the TV. It is generally tuned into a PPV channel. We've never bought a PPV movie!

There are no children living in the house, its just us, and we work together and get home together. Anyone else noticing this?

Also, we have an HD non DVR receiver in the bedroom, and that one isn't jumping channels. Just the HD DVR. Seems to be happening since the software update.

Thanks.

 

[Zynergi]

Dog or a Cat? interested in the newest Animal Cartoon?

 

[jtwex]

On the for side of your case:

I too thought I was going crazy as twice I've gone into my study (Turned the TV & receiver on) & had the "would you like to purchase this movie" screen tab open. These two occurrences have happened since the update.

On the against side:

I have RF enabled & figured I was a dumb-ass with the remote both times.

Will have to keep an eye on this to see if many posters make similar comments. It seems most people leave the DVR on & both times it happened to me I had it off.

 

[Zellio2008]

Turn the dvr off when you leave? It saves energy and doesn't need to be on when recording.

 

[Jimbo]

Turn the dvr off when you leave? It saves energy and doesn't need to be on when recording.

Your now really saving energy, the only difference is the blue lights would stay on, and you can turn the ring off if you want.

The unit itself is always on and buffering, when you turn it off your simple turning the lights off. It has to buffer incase you turn it on and want to back up and watch what was on just before you turned it on.
I do this occasionally, I get home about 4:45 and will sometime want to see something that was on at 4, of course I could record it, but its not that important, so I don't.

Jimbo

 

[Rey]

Your now really saving energy, the only difference is the blue lights would stay on, and you can turn the ring off if you want.

The unit itself is always on and buffering, when you turn it off your simple turning the lights off. It has to buffer incase you turn it on and want to back up and watch what was on just before you turned it on.
I do this occasionally, I get home about 4:45 and will sometime want to see something that was on at 4, of course I could record it, but its not that important, so I don't.

Jimbo

right on the money jim. unless you unplug from the outlet a dvr, it's always running in way or another. I can tell you that the D dvr's are much quieter at night than the E dvr's.

 

[bearingman07936]

On the for side of your case:

I too thought I was going crazy as twice I've gone into my study (Turned the TV & receiver on) & had the "would you like to purchase this movie" screen tab open. These two occurrences have happened since the update.

On the against side:

I have RF enabled & figured I was a dumb-ass with the remote both times.

Will have to keep an eye on this to see if many posters make similar comments. It seems most people leave the DVR on & both times it happened to me I had it off.

Yes, I also have RF enabled!

So, what this thread is telling me is that whether lights are on or off, the recorder is still "on"...so why is it now jumping channels? (I don't believe that any of my neighbors have garage door openers.....)

 

[harshness]

(I don't believe that any of my neighbors have garage door openers.....)

There's a much better than even chance that when you disable RF, the problem will go away. It doesn't have to be garage door openers. It could be some else with a similar setup that watches a lot of content you don't subscribe to.

 

[bearingman07936]

There's a much better than even chance that when you disable RF, the problem will go away. It doesn't have to be garage door openers. It could be some else with a similar setup that watches a lot of content you don't subscribe to.

Well it happened again tonight when we got home. And after thinking about it, it can't be a neighbor because we have three TV's hooked up to that one DVR, and two RF remotes. The one downstairs in the kitchen is on the side of the house where my neighbor lives. The remote won't work from the kitchen - its too far. I have to walk into a hallway for it to reach the DVR. So it definitely wouldn't work from his house.

Tonight it was on channel 1296 again, which is is an "adult swimming on demand" pay channel! I can't imagine anyone tuning to that! I also noticed that the old screen saver is gone, and I see the bright DirecTV white background with blue letters, the same screen when it is downloading. When I hit a key it goes to the station, just like the screensaver does. But the difference now is that I make sure to never press select, because it goes right to the "yes, buy now" choice!

Anyone else have something like this happening? I called DTV tonight and they had no idea.

 

[Zynergi]

Is it always 1296? And have you checked your purchase history?

Try taking the batteries out of the remote when you leave in the morning and see if it happens, better yet take the remote with you. Do your kids have keys or any services that come to your house during the day?

 

[jtwex]

an "adult swimming on demand" pay channel! I can't imagine anyone tuning to that!

Sorry, but somehow this made me lol. Mine were tuned to a PPV comedy, Baby Mama. Just like you, I was one click away (Select) from buying it when I turned everything on. In my case, I'm too far away from any neighbors interference & am just waiting to see if it happens again. I usually don't turn the DVR off anyway & it has never happened when I leave it on. You could set a password on any PPV purchases if you're really freaking out over it.

 

[bearingman07936]

Is it always 1296? And have you checked your purchase history?

Try taking the batteries out of the remote when you leave in the morning and see if it happens, better yet take the remote with you. Do your kids have keys or any services that come to your house during the day?

Kids are all grown up in houses of their own with their own kids. No one else lives there but us.
Taking the batteries out of the two RF remotes seems a little extreme to me. I want to understand why this is happening.

 

[harshness]

I want to understand why this is happening.

First you have to understand what is happening before you can figure out why. To do that, you'll need to at least temporarily disable RF remote mode. Just because you can't reach it from your kitchen doesn't mean that someone somewhere else can't. The remote is supposed to be good for up to 100'.

It sounds like you've got a modulator somewhere in the system, so it is possible that you've got a signal that might be going where you haven't contemplated.

 

[bearingman07936]

First you have to understand what is happening before you can figure out why. To do that, you'll need to at least temporarily disable RF remote mode. Just because you can't reach it from your kitchen doesn't mean that someone somewhere else can't. The remote is supposed to be good for up to 100'.

It sounds like you've got a modulator somewhere in the system, so it is possible that you've got a signal that might be going where you haven't contemplated.

Okay. I should explain. The house is big. The distance from the kitchen to the box upstairs is more than 100'. (aothough the RF remotes use to work much better a few years ago when we had Sony boxes) My spouse never touches the remotes because of not being technical! There is no one else that lives in the house, and no service comes in to the house. We have had RF for years and years.

I am starting to make a log. Last night when we got home from work, we got the "would you like to buy Made to Order?" - this time without the D screen before it. I hit the guide button, and it appeared that the channel was on 381 (CBSW) which was correct, because we had recorded a show that we missed here on the east coast. So that part was "normal". This morning, I turned it on and it was on HGTVHD. That is a channel that we also watch, but we had not turned to it. Last night there were no recordings and it had been on 360 when we went to bed. I generally don't turn off the box, but this morning it was off, and no one had turned it off last night. Halloween maybe?????

 

[harshness]

We'll never know if it is within or without until you disable RF. Your reasoning isn't answering any questions and logging only better documents the symptoms. Finding a solution is only going to come from entirely and unequivocally eliminating possibilities. Thus far you've done nothing physical to narrow the possibilities (as I recall, you've even talked yourself out of removing the remote batteries).

The consistency of success in changing channels suggests that it isn't IR with unusual sunlight conditions and turning the receiver on and off isn't something that you can do online. That leaves USB serial controls and that requires a special hardwired connection that you would certainly know about.


Do you have maid service in such an enormous home?

 

[Zynergi]

It is quite possible the remotes are damaged. Hence why I suggested removing the batteries or taking them with you during the day.

Have you tried to reprogram the RF on the remotes to obtain a "new" code? Also have you tried to Switch the remotes back to IR mode to see if the problem persists.

You have established there is a problem, when trying to fix the problem you sometimes have to take a shot in the dark as such are some of the suggestions made. Your issue is definitely unique hence why someone cant say "Stand on 1 leg while holding a Banana for 10 minutes while singing a Mexican Liberation Song and your issue will be resolved". If you are not willing to try some of the suggestions to narrow down the cause then there really isnt much we can do. No one has a definitive answer, else it would have been said.

 

[bearingman07936]

It is quite possible the remotes are damaged. Hence why I suggested removing the batteries or taking them with you during the day.

Have you tried to reprogram the RF on the remotes to obtain a "new" code? Also have you tried to Switch the remotes back to IR mode to see if the problem persists.

You have established there is a problem, when trying to fix the problem you sometimes have to take a shot in the dark as such are some of the suggestions made. Your issue is definitely unique hence why someone cant say "Stand on 1 leg while holding a Banana for 10 minutes while singing a Mexican Liberation Song and your issue will be resolved". If you are not willing to try some of the suggestions to narrow down the cause then there really isnt much we can do. No one has a definitive answer, else it would have been said.

Okay, okay! Batteries will come out tonight, and I'll report in the morning!

 

[bearingman07936]

I took batteries out of only the upstairs remote (because where it sits in the kitchen, the downstairs one is not in range). The TV did not jump. So...tonight I will switch remotes and leave batteries in. I am testing to see if the downstairs remote will not cause the TV to switch channels.

 

[bearingman07936]

After switching remotes, the TV did not change yesterday morning. But when we got home from work it was again on channel 1296, the Adult swim on demand channel.

So it appears that this has something to do with the remotes. Is it possible to change the frequency for the RF? I had to buy these two remotes extra from DirecTv.

Thanks

 

[Zynergi]

yes, just go back in the setup menu - remote - rf - and reprogram

It doesn't change the frequency but does change the digital serial that is needed.

Might I also suggest setting parental controls on that particular channel, just disable that channel.