RCA 32 INCH GUIDE PLUS PROBLEMS

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	Archive through January 09, 2006	KMack	100	2006-01-09 19:01

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BCS Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 08:09 GMT I am also in Delta. Will try 00000 tonight. Would like to find Gemstar number also. Delta cable told me this was not their problem.
KMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 20:49 GMT FYI for those who want some contact info from gemstartvguide.com...... Corporate Communication, Marketing & Government Affairs Eileen Murphy Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications (212) 852-7336 eileen.murphy@tvguide.com Bo Park VP, Communication & Public Affairs (212) 852-7589 bo.park@tvguide.com TV Guide Publishing Group Allison Bennett TV Guide magazine Director, Media Relations (212) 852-7464 allison.bennett@tvguide.com TV Guide Channel and TV Guide SPOT Georgia Juvelis VP, Communications (212) 626-2564 georgia.juvelis@tvguide.com Perhaps enough outrage will spark some interest in fixing this problem.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 21:54 GMT I just got a response from Gemstar ________________________________________________ TV Guide On Screen and RCA currently have engineering resources investigating this issue. Right now it is believed to have nothing to do with Gemstar's Interactive Program Guide (known as GuidePlus), but rather a broadcasted program or ad from a television station causing certain TV sets to go into SAP. The program or ad may have started airing in the last couple of weeks. RCA engineers are analyzing the broadcasts of a few stations reported to cause the problem, and once they've pinpointed the problem they will follow up with the Station(s) to correct the issue. In the meantime, the workaround is to unplug the TV. The unit should recover. Please feel free to contact Thomson/RCA's support centers: In the US 580-634-0151, in Canada 800-522-0338 (English) or 800-522-0445 (French). ------------------------------------- James Garver Media Relations Asst. Gemstar-TV Guide International
LVE67 Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 22:31 GMT It's more than RCA because my Pioneer PVR which uses TV Guide On Line, also by Gemstar stopped updating at the same time as my RCA TV.
Piers Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 00:08 GMT email I sent to Gemstar, followed by their "official" response: My RCA Guide Plus feature has been non-functional for over three weeks. Tried resetting guide plus using both the 99999 and the 00000 trick and then leaving the set off for 12+ hours (which has always worked in the past), and leaving set tuned to "home" station (where satellite download apparently goes to), specifically in Los Angeles KABC, KCBS and KTTV. Still no joy after doing this about a dozen times. Have contacted cable provider (Adelphia) and RCA. Number of information sources have indicated this is a Gemstar/Guide Plus problem and apparently involves some changes you have made/are making in your system. Given the number of people are experiencing this problem, can you please advise me of when you believe this problem/issue will be corrected, or at least what is causing this breakdown in service? Gemstar response: Thank you for your report. We've received additional calls/emails from RCA consumers about their TVs "being muted" or going into SAP (secondary audio program, which makes it seem like the TV is muted on some stations). The GuidePlus interactive program guide however has no means for controlling the audio of televisions. Gemstar has not changed anything in the way of transmitting listings to its program guide either. In any case we followed up with Thomson/RCA's engineering about these reports. RCA already had engineering resources investigating this issue. Thomson/RCA has confirmed that this problem is not a Gemstar guide problem, but an issue with their TVs (including RCA TVs that do not have GuidePlus), probably triggered by a problematic signal from one or more television stations that started airing over the last couple of weeks. RCA's engineering believes a broadcasted program or ad from a television station across the nation is causing these problems. They are analyzing video taped broadcasts of a few stations; including Spike TV which is the station some consumers are reporting causes their TVs to go into SAP. Once RCA's engineering has pinpointed the problem they will follow up with the Station(s) to correct the issue. Their call centers in Canada and US are letting people know that RCA is still investigating this problem. The workaround for consumers in the meantime is to unplug their TVs and plug them back into the wall. Please feel free to refer fellow RCA consumers experiencing this problem to Thomson/RCA's support centers. RCA's support centers: In the US: 580-634-0151; In Canada 800-522-0338 (English) or 800-522-0445 (French). We sincerely hope the problem is found soon and that the issue is resolved promptly for RCA consumers. Cheers, Josué Franco Manager, CE Technical Support TV Guide On Screen
Piers Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 00:18 GMT FYI--I'm not having any problems with audio or SAP, just Guide Plus.
Guideless in Iowa Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 04:20 GMT I too live in Iowa and our guide has been out since Thanksgiving. I have 2 tv sets with the guide on them and both went out at the same time. I called my cable provider(Mediacom) and they claim the problem is not on their end. In fact claimed that the tv was equipped with the info and they had nothing to do with the downloading of listings(which is not true because they must have to provide some type of listing for the channel line up to work). Needless to say they didn't know didly so they talked to a service rep with the company and he claimed they are not blocking the signal that the problem is with the tv(sound familiar??). Can't be true because then atleast one of the tvs should still get the info. I have attempted help through rca(thompson) and they did return email with 99999 solution. Didn't work. Neither did 00000. They gave me tech support number which advises me to do the same stuff. Ran diagnosis codes and ram and rom passed all else failed, Tech support didn't have a clue when I called back with info(test they told me to run). Supposed to have someone call me back within 72 hours of last call. That was 8 days ago. I have caller id and no missed calls or unknown, so they haven't even attempted to return call. I don't know where the problem lies, but I am about crazy trying to fix it. Does anybody know anyone who has a guide working currently???Anywhere?? I am just wondering if it is just certain areas or if everybody has the same issues. Thanks for listening(*reading). Hope there is a solution soon. Let us know if anyone figures it out.
IGUY Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 05:27 GMT FYI- Have been following this thread for a few days with similar problems in Cinci, OH. area. My RCA set went out and after repair the guide+ would not work, Service tech had no clue on how to get it up. So, after several times of reset and off over night today it came on. I did use a different zip that my current local. It matched the local Time Warner office who is cable provider in area. Channels did not match but after doing edit seems to be working fine. Now have to wait to see if new down load over tonight works? Also left TV on ABC local overnight.
BCS Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 06:56 GMT Thanks RMack et al. Hopefully Delta cable and others will resolve. 99999 and 00000 did not work for me. I will try unplugging and replugging tonight.
BCS Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 16:56 GMT Pulling the plug worked! We now have Guide plus again.
KMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 18:00 GMT Okay, my GUIDE Plus is now back on and functioning normally. I reset once more using the 99999 solution but only after unplugging for 5 min. The trick seems to be to tell the GUIDE you don't have a VCR even if you do and make sure it is turned off the whole time. Once you put your own postal code in, still deny you have a VCR. Also, the audio difficulties all seem to originate with Spike TV (ch 16 in Delta). I have noticed flucuations for some time on this channel only and last night it cut out only while on this station. I had to do a quick reset by unplugging but all seems fine. My GUIDE menu looks slightly changed so i do believe there was an update by Gemstar that may have helped cause the problem.
ausmo Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 21:47 GMT I have been dealing with the sudden loss of the guide system for a client and I have seen TVs erronously replaced under extended service over this problem. It seems to be wide spread and cable companies acknowledge the problem and have stated they are working with Gemstar on this. It is important to recognize that niether the TV, DVD recorders, or cable providers are at fault so please contain your harse words about products and /or your service provider as I am sure they are equally frustrated by this. I expect they will solve this shortly. Let cooler heads prevail.
the cable Guy Unregistered guest	Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 15:38 GMT I am working for a cable company in Quebec (Canada)and have to deal with unsatisfied subscribers having problems with their Tv Guide. The problem is that cable providers don't have much control on Gemstar's guide except for providing them their analog channel line-up (task we do here every time we make changes). Other than that, let me tell you that it is almost impossible for us to know that Gemstar has indeed received our changes because they never contact us. They also provide few or no informations about their products to tv shops, so as soon as a problem occurs with a tv set equipped with that, tv sellers always blame us, cable providers... I think that if Gemstar sells his TV Guide (GuidePlus) claiming to work anywhere, they should stand behind their product and make sure on their side to have all cable companies's lineups. As i wrote previously, we never hear of them, we never have inquiries from them. They don't even tell us on which channels the data is delivered to our different area subscribers. That is indeed a major problem trying to troubleshoot some issues...We also had some subscribers that had a message on their screen saying that we, the cable company, were blocking their data!!! Because of that, we have to say to our subscribers calling in with TVGuide issues that we do send our lineups to Gemstar, but after that, unfortunately, we have no control of what is happening with this info...
IGUY Unregistered guest	Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 18:24 GMT Guide+ has not updated my channel listings since it first came back on. I did change the zip to my local instead of the original, thinking I would get a better list for my area. I am not sure if this caused it to stop receiving the new lists, but I suspect it did? I reset the zip and waiting to see if it gets updated lists. So far it has not. I still have the original grid which initally was not showing up.
RMack KMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Friday, January 13, 2006 - 18:46 GMT I received a response from RCA containing some interesting info. My Guide is still working well but i have been avoiding Spike TV channel just in case. Dear Customer: Thank you for visiting RCA.com. If you are unable to access your Guide Plus information after performing a reset, you will need to perform a diagnostic test on your TV to determine if the problem is with your TV's module. 1. Press Menu 2. Select option 7 3. Then Select option 1 4. With "Set-Up" highlighted press menu 5. Then press "Go-Back" 6. Then press "TV" If BUS fails, then your television needs to have module replaced. If VBI fails, the signal needs to be reset with the "99999" reset. If IR fails, then IR cables may not be connected. If your VBI fails and the reset does not correct the problem for you, you will need to contact customer service at 1-580-634-0123 for further assistance. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to assist. [Q103177769800778] Sincerely, Kristi 0601121643 This response is being provided by Thomson Inc., the manufacturer of RCA consumer electronics products.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 20:24 GMT FYI Thomson RCA is no longer a licencee of Gemstar and no longer produces the Guide Plus tv's. I suspect that since RCA's are widely affected, Gemstar has dropped or modified whatever RCA's require to keep them operating smoothly. My Guide went back out of course and i can't get back as yet but the RCA Gemstar "expert" is to call me soon i'm told. I'll post any info
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 17:54 GMT Anybody else in Delta that tried the "test" i posted on Jan 13/06? I need to know if the VBI failed on all channels except Ch 32.
Guideless In Iowa Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 23:11 GMT Just wanted to add that the vbi passing means that this is the station which sends out the guide info to your tv. I don't live in your area, but received the same info from rca. I receive vbi on two stations. I reran the test today and now under the good/fixed/bad sections the numbers now move. Before all I had was zeros under there. Does anyone know what this means?? I am praying that this means that I am now receiving the info from these stations. I am hoping tomorrow my info will download. Back to the rca diagnostic email. I received one of these about three weeks ago. I called rca back at the phone number listed, and they had a tech call me back about two weeks later she ran me through the unplug and then reset at 99999 and then told me to set my tv to the station i received the vbi pass on and turn off overnight between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. and this was to fix everything. She said that they had solved the issue on their end. If it did not fix my issues I was to call her back at her direct line after doing this for 2 consecutive nights. I called back and nobody answers the phone there. I have left several voice mails asking for my call to be returned and haven't heard a thing. THis is very frustrating. If anyone knows anything about the diagnostic info I received on my tv could you fill me in on what that means?? I will let you know if the numbers were a sign of the downloaded info. Thanks for letting me vent.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 23:44 GMT Thanks Guideless in Iowa, the leaving the TV to the VBI channel solution was not included in the "must do" from the techies. I'm hoping the guide will be back on when i get home tonite. The downloads happen throughout the day at 4 different times depending where you are. It's tough if you have a "night owl" in the house and someone else turns the tv on during the day.
mansour Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 12:52 GMT I live in Toronto and I have same roblem with guide for about 4 days. I tried ooooo but it was not helpfull. any ther idea.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 21:05 GMT For those in Delta, BC, i spoke with an RCA/Gemstar rep today. She told me Gemstar changed the "host" channel in our area to Ch9 CTV-CIVT. I still only get a VBI pass on Ch 28 & Ch 32. Apparently this is not of importance. She hadn't heard of Delta Cable but they were working with Shaw Cable in the lower mainland to fix the issue. If the signal is sattelite or digital, it gets stripped out. Fortunately CH 9 is analog and i don't believe you need cable to receive it. Get your rabbit ears out, we may need them. She assures me that they will let Gemstar know to contact Delta Cable asap.
Piers Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 22:34 GMT On 1/18 got callback from RCA Guideplus support tech--TeenaMarie--very nice, understanding & sympathetic tech who's been working w/me on this problem since before Christmas and has called back on several occasions to update me on status. She's been checking w/both Gemstar & my cable provider (Adelphia). Seems that Gemstar has changed something in their download protocal and that, for the moment, Adelphia is blocking the Gemstar signal. Hence the famous reset options (99999 or 00000 et al) don't fix the problem. Gemstar and Adelphia are both "discussing" the issue/problem and, according to TeenaMarie, hope to resolve/restore the service. She will call me once everything has been sorted out but no idea when that will be. Apparently this issue is occurring with a number of cable service providers and she has a long list of similar calls. Seems like there's nothing further to do now except wait. Will post any further info/updates.
Guideless In Iowa Unregistered guest	Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 01:32 GMT Thank you for the info. I wish that rca would relay this info. to all of us via their online website or something. It is very frustrating to have calls in and spend endless days not hearing from them when they say they will call back. I even have contacted via email and they could contact back with this info. Atleast we would feel that they are paying attention and trying to resolve this issue. I hope it is resolved soon and that we get some answers. Thanks for the info and keep it the updates comming. This is atleast somewhat reassuring.
Disgruntled in NY Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 02:33 GMT I don't give a whiz about Guide Plus, my problem is that the sound keeps going off, being replaced by static. I complained to my cable company, which referred me to RCA, and they said to turn the TV off for 2 minutes, then re-program. That worked, for almost a week, until I tried to watch this movie on Spike TV. Keeps going off every 5 or 10 minutes. RCA should pay attention and fix this problem, or we'll all tell our friends and relatives "RCA SUCKS!!!"
Kennerdsox Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2006 - 07:53 GMT try this: on your remote, press menu, the go to the guide plus menu thing. in the new menu, press the setup selection, in the guide setup screen, press the "Go Back" button on your remote, then the "TV" button. this opens the diagnostic window. In that screen, on the left theres a list of words that goes, ROM, RAM, VBI, GLink, IR. Normally the first two show up as "Passed" the other 3 as "failed". Keep switching channels, and repeating that process until one of the channels says "VBI Test: Passed". tune the TV to that channel, leave it off overnight, and it should work after 12+ hours. PS. the best channels in the US to try are channel 16 - 23.
Anonymous	Posted on Monday, January 23, 2006 - 00:23 GMT NY: I read in another forum that the problem with the sound is due to spike t.v. not the tv. Other viewers are avoiding the channel due to this problem. I would contact the cable company or someone at the network.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 18:25 GMT The sound going to fuzz thing is common in this TV and usually happens when Spike TV is doing something different i'm told. Happens to me all the time. For those of you in Delta BC, i have received another response from Gemstar. They are still a little confused about us not being in the Shaw system but they are looking into it. I have given them the contact info for Delta Cable so we'll see. They did say that it may take as much as several weeks to resolve.
beejaysoo Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 19:38 GMT I just received this from Delta Cable... Dear Mr & Mrs jones, Our latest information is that TV Guide Onscreen and Guide Plus have been discontinued, apparently Gemstar, the partner to TV Guide who provide this onscreen service are having financial difficulties.This service has no affiliation with Delta Cable Communications Ltd in any way. Sincerley, Margaret Mueller Customer Service Department Delta Cable Communications Ltd.
Un-Guided Unregistered guest	Posted on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 01:45 GMT I don't believe that this has been discontinued. If that was the case why is the company(Gemstar) making new products containing the guide?? I would question your cable company further. Of course the cable co does not want to accept any blame in the matter. Not that they are to blame, but the first thing they all do is say it is someone else's fault. Been through this. I think it is a problem with the system through guide plus. Rca is supposed to call me back, been waiting for a 3rd call back only on my 2nd week of waiting now. This is not unusual of the company, very poor customer service. I guess if it is Gemstar no longer providing the listing why doesn't someone just fess up and we can go on with something else?? I just want answers. I have honestly debated about threatening with lawyers maybe someone would call me back. I purchased these tvs for the guide. The service was to be provided free of charge. It should atleast last the lifetime of the tv. This whole thing is absolutely ridiculous. As for the rca support person (Teena Marie) as mentioned above from Piers...she isn't all that helpful for me as far as I am concerned has done nothing but waste my time. I have provided her with all the info I can so she can reach me and no call back. Don't say you will call and never do. If you have no answers fess up and be honest atleast I know that you are trying to support the product sold. I guess when someone calls back we are going to send a diagnostic report from my tv to Gemstar. Whenever that is hopefully it will help the issue.
eben Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 07:51 GMT We had the same audio weird buzz occur on our 32 in Guide Plus RCA. We were watching Nova on channel 52 ( KCTS from Seattle ) and it started. After it started it was present on all channels. Knowing how the tv gets itself messed up with other issues, I unplugged and it went away. It came back a few minutes later and so I unplugged again. Then exactly 1 week later on the same show on the same channel it happened again. Again unplugged for a few minutes and it went away. Now that I have read others experience, I know I'm not crazy. Well maybe thats too big a leap. We are on Shaw Cable Vancouver Island
beejaysoo Unregistered guest	Posted on Sunday, January 29, 2006 - 22:05 GMT I also have eliminated the noise problem by unplugging the tv, but would sure like to get my GUIDE features back. Delta Cable???
pibe Unregistered guest	Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 03:11 GMT I also live in Delta and have the "NO" Guide on a Sony TV. No audio problems though! Does the guide work in Shaw service areas in Vancouver or is it just Delta?
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Monday, January 30, 2006 - 17:32 GMT I believe all Guide service in all TV's is out at the moment. I don't quite know why Delta Cable would say it's gone for good because i got this response Jan 24/06 : _________________________________________________ Thank you for contacting us. We are sorry for our belated response. Our customer support structure is set up so that manufacturers provide the first line of contact, with the ability for manufacturers to escalate issues to TV Guide On Screen's technical support group when necessary. We train each manufacturer's customer service staff to handle calls about the TV Guide On Screen service, known in older television models as GuidePlus. We are aware of a data passage issue in your region. We are following up with Shaw cable and with a local station we use in your area to address this issue. It may take several weeks however before this issue is resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime and thank you for your patience. We are working to restore service in your area. Best, Josué Franco Manager, CE Technical Support TV Guide On Screen
fred12345 Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 15:47 GMT Location: Vitoria BC, shaw cable. My guide plus went before christmas but came back about a week ago and is working fine. However, the loss of sound is getting worse. It went three times this morning in about 30 min. Does anybody have a email contact for RCA. By now they should have been able to figure out what is going on.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 17:52 GMT fred12345 try RCA' e-mail support@rcahelp.com . I did get a response from them so it should work. My GUIDE mysteriously came onboard this morning about 2:30 am. The TV was on the whole time and i did not have to do a reset. I had just e-mailed Gemstar with the Delta Cable statement about their financial troubles and asked if it was true. Obviously not. I tried looking forward a couple of days and everything seems to be there, hopefully it stays. Anyone else in Delta get their GUIDE back?
LVE67 Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 - 22:44 GMT http://www.panasonic.ca/english/customercare/notice2.asp This link has a schedule when some of the areas affected will be brought back on line. If nothing else, it shows Panasonic has some good customer support.
Piers Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 01, 2006 - 16:21 GMT I'm happy for those with Delta, Shaw and Rogers cable services--Apparently those living in Canada are getting some satisfaction. Meanwhile, down here in Southern California with Adelphia, am still waiting/hoping.
pibe Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 01:13 GMT Yup, just turned the guide on in Delta and there it was. Nothing done to the Sony set. Wonder how long it will work this time?
beejaysoo Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 03:30 GMT All of a sudden Guide and sound now working fine.??? Thanks to other posters here....I may have gone out looking for a new TV. Brian Jones (Delta Cable user)
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 17:35 GMT Although my GUIDE is working still, the sound issue is still there. It's easy to unplug and reset it but I wonder if the GUIDE will be affected again. I have noticed that there is only about 2 1/2 days of GUIDE right now, I thought I had more before. Thanks LVE67 for the link, it confirms that they are not stopping the service. Good luck Calif. users
eben Unregistered guest	Posted on Saturday, February 04, 2006 - 20:59 GMT Shaw on Vancouver Island now working too. I had been running on data from channel 47 KOMO feed with a Seattle Zip code. I scanned last night and found VBI packets on the CTV channel 9. I put my Postal Code in and voila all is back to normal. Hooray!!!!
Klineman Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 07:58 GMT Our guide plus started working (Shaw - Vancouver Island) few weeks ago, but now having intermittent sound loss (white noise) described by others which reoccurs every few days. It obviously has something to do with the Guideplus as that's when it started. As for the Spike TV reason, why would that suddenly occur? We've had Spike since it started and this problem is new. There's no way I'm reaching behind my TV Unit to unplug it every few days so I can have audio. This is getting annoying.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 08, 2006 - 20:33 GMT The permanent audio fix i'm told is to use the external speaker jacks and mute your internal speaker. I think you can get better sound this way anyhow.
Piers Unregistered guest	Posted on Thursday, February 09, 2006 - 18:50 GMT Guide Plus on Adelphia back here in LA!!! Had to reset so don't have any program listings yet but do have channels showing. Will see if programming is back by tomorrow--meanwhile, life is definitely looking up!!
BDCool Unregistered guest	Posted on Saturday, February 11, 2006 - 14:54 GMT We have owned an RCA 52" for about three years now. The Guide Plus began showing "no listing" for all channels about a week ago. This is the second time it has went out. The first time it was out for a couple of months. Both times we repeatedly tried going thru setup with no luck. We did not know about the 00000 zip code trick. Anyway, My wife called our local cable provider yesterday. She was told that they knew nothing about Guide Plus and did not know how to fix it. This morning I deceided to search the net to try to find a fix and found this site. Good site. Well just seconds ago I turned the TV on with the intention of trying the 00000 trick. To my suprise and great enjoyment, the Guide Plus is magically working! Is this a coincidence that after approximately 24 hours of speaking with my cable provider I have Guide Plus again? I think not. CALL YOUR CABLE PROVIDER!
Anonymous	Posted on Monday, February 20, 2006 - 18:21 GMT Just in case some of you might have the same Guide Plus problem I've encountered. I have digital cable from Time Warner. Mid January my Guide Plus listings quit working. Using the diagnostic display of the television I finally figured out that the digital cable box was blocking the VBI packets, but that I could get VBI packets when the cable box was removed. So I put a t-connector on the cable line - ran one side to my TV, the other to the cable box, and then connected the cable box to the composite video input of the TV. My Guide Plus works marvy now!! FYI - my TV goes into diagnostic mode by pressing - Menu, 7, 1, Go Back, TV - on the remote control.
deee_53 Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 - 01:53 GMT For most of the last 6-Mo our Guide Plus has been out. I tried the ZIP 00000 thing and it worked, then it would go out again. So I gave up. Suddenly yesterday it appeared, and it had a new option. Said .. click here if you recieve such and such station on such and such channel. So I did.. then that afternoon it appeared. BUT..... in the listings all the channels are out of order, and there are channels listed that we dont get. I went to the channels setup and turned off the ones I dont need/want, hopeing to get the listings to make sence. For instance.. 3 channels for showtime are listed and we dont get Showtime at all.. can anyone HELP?? Please?
Un-Guided Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 04:47 GMT The first download will give you all the channels that your cable provider offers. You probably don't subscribe to the extra channels in your cable package. Did you go under the channel tab to take the channels out of the list? Is that what you mean by turning them off? If not then you will need to do that to get them off the list. On our guide( when it was working) the channels were never in any certain order. Sounds like your guide is working correctly. Hopefully everyone else will get theirs back soon. Where do you live??
deee_53 Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 11:52 GMT I am located in Michigan, using Comcast cable. The option of selecting the line-up (in setup) suddenly has more info to choose from. Previously there was only one line to highlight and click OK.. now there are 3! That is when it began working. Now to get the correct channels to show so I get the list right. Yes I am talking about the channel tab. Plus the ones that do show are not in the correct order.. they show from channel 2 then skip to the higher ones then back to the lower ones.
RMack Unregistered guest	Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 16:13 GMT The channel line-up on mine is out of whack as well. It never used to do this however i am just glad it's there at all. Using the channel editor in setup is pretty easy so the fix is painless. It seems that most areas are back online. Is anybody in Delta still having trouble with the "white noise" issue from time to time? I found if i wait long enough it resets itself but unplugging fixes it right away.
Anonymous	Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 15:08 GMT I received a RCA GuidePlus tv as a gift about 4 years ago. We have never have had any trouble with the tv until about 2 months ago. One night we lost all of our sound. We took the tv in to a repair person to see if it was repairable. Yes in fact it was. We were told there was nothing wrong with the tv. The sound came on as soon as the repairman turned it on. We were told that it had to do with the guideplus and the satellite communication. Now everyother day we have to unplug the tv and disconnect the cable for about 20 minutes to 2 hours then we get sound. Sometimes it is one or two channels and sometimes it is all channels. This is getting to be tiring to do this quite so often. Any suggestions?
beejaysoo Unregistered guest	Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 18:31 GMT This may be a bit off subject but with such good users on forum and especially Delta cable people I thought I would ask. We have an RCA set and get some terrible interference on some channels, ch9, ch18, and others. If I feed the tv through our VCR the picture is great but when I use the tv tuner I get this interference....'herringbone?'. Any thoughts on cause or how to correct? Thanks!
Piersden Unregistered guest	Posted on Monday, February 27, 2006 - 16:04 GMT Adelphia Guide Plus in LA is out AGAIN! It's been working perfectly for the past 2+ weeks. Makes no sense. Will wait a day or so before going through rounds of phone calls again (i.e. RCA, Adelphia).
Joe Girard Unregistered guest	Posted on Saturday, March 04, 2006 - 05:06 GMT Does anyone know what channel in the SF Bay Area is transmitting the VBI signal for GuidePlus/+?
Sahil Unregistered guest	Posted on Tuesday, March 07, 2006 - 15:26 GMT I've had Guide Plus for 2 years in both New York and Washington, DC. It is extremly unreliable. It only works I'd say 15% of the time.
beaker020 New member Username: Beaker020 Prince George, B.C Canada Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-06	Posted on Friday, March 10, 2006 - 00:40 GMT Save for about 2 weeks last summer my guide plus hasnt worked in well over a year! The TV even spent 8 weeks in the shop to replace the guide plus board before they figured out it wasnt the tv. I have Shaw cable in Prince George (north central Britsh Columbia) and their response was;"you can get the same features with digital cable you know". I think therein lies the problem. Why would they carry a signal for free that competes with a service they sell? Nevermind that Guideplus is far more functional in terms of scheduling and programing. If anyone is thinking 'class action' against gemstar I just might be onboard.
Gary Neil New member Username: Onesucker Mississauga, ON Canada Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-06	Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 02:56 GMT Most of you folks are so lucky because you have had the TV Guide thing work. 3 weeks ago I properly installed my new Pioneer DVD recorder. Phoned and e-mailed many useless sources of info. It started to work to-day after a logical change..... My cable has a digital decoder box. I guessed that the data must come on an RF carrier. The digital decoder would naturally strip that info away. So I lied to the set-up questions by telling it, I have cable but I have NO box. That way the signals pass through the data. I'm quite pleased with it now. It works !!
Alan Smith New member Username: Okwa76 SUMNER, WA United States Post Number: 1 Registered: Apr-06	Posted on Tuesday, April 04, 2006 - 20:51 GMT My Guide+ service was sporadic at best for the first couple of years I owned my 32" RCA. It seems to be working a little better, now. I'm still having problems with the channel line-up. I've tried several times to get them to correct the listings for TBS, which has been 3 hours off since I bought my TV. I also don't understand the reasoning behind the channel lineup they automatically send. I have to manually add and delete several channels from the Guide+ to get the channels that I actually recieve. It's still screwed up, though. Why do I have to reprogram the stupid thing to get a listing for the Sci-Fi channel on channel 59, which all cable subscribers receive, but I have to delete channel 120, which only digital cable subscribers receive? Digital cable subscribers have their own seperate channel guide!
T Pete New member Username: Timmytimmy Post Number: 1 Registered: May-06	Posted on Saturday, May 13, 2006 - 19:30 GMT Imagine this, I lost channel info just last weekend, 5/7/06. I can receive channel listings but cannot receive info for the displayed channels. I have tried all the "fixes" listed to no avail. I'm in northwest suburban Chicago, use Comcast expanded basic - no digital - with my feed coming out of Mt. Prospect, Illinois. Anyone else with this problem in the area? Of course, Comcast knows nothing about GuidePlus - so they say - nor any problems associated with such, imagine that.
Jo New member Username: Jo_in_il LaSalle County, IL Post Number: 1 Registered: May-06	Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 03:20 GMT hey T Pete It must be something to do with the Chicago channel lineup. I know they messed up WTTW on my Guide+ lineup (didn't have the channel turned "on") when they did an update, so maybe that's it. It was fine for a couple of days at the end of last week, but it's gone again now. Mediacom in LaSalle county
Jo New member Username: Jo_in_il LaSalle County, IL Post Number: 2 Registered: May-06	Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 06:28 GMT More info on my guide+. I did the diagnostics, and I'm getting VBI packets on ABC7 and WTTW11, as well as Peoria NBC20. The weird thing is that there are two listings in Setup for WTTW, and one of them doesn't show any channel (the first listing), and although I can put the channel in, I can't turn the channel on (using the 3 key) - it won't accept the input (download automatically puts it on off). The other listing for WTTW is fine (starts out in the on position), and is what shows up in my guide, obviously. T Pete, how many listings for WTTW does your Guide Setup show? I'm betting this has something to do with the no-info problem. The first three tests of the diagnostics pass, the last two fail, on all channels with VBI packets, even though my GLink is hooked up correctly and nothing has changed with it. Of course, not having run any dianostics before this, I have nothing to compare it to to know if they failed before, when I was receiving info correctly.
Scott S. New member Username: Scottandrew Post Number: 1 Registered: May-06	Posted on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - 05:57 GMT Hi RandyM , RMack I really need some help with my television, RCA F32689. I just can't seem to get any info for the GuidePlus system. I've tried the 00000 re-set, the 99999 re-set, power off for 48 hours, I have had no luck at all. I have really wondered if it was my problem only... after looking on this site, obviously not just mine. Suggestions, anyone?
Mary L. Haggenmaker New member Username: Haggenml Waldorf, Maryland Post Number: 1 Registered: Jun-06	Posted on Friday, June 02, 2006 - 13:55 GMT I'm in Maryland and am having the "No Listing Available" problem also. There does, however seem to be one common denominator here. Comcast Basic or Basic Expanded! Has anyone considered that Comcast is making an attempt to kick everybody up to digital?
Scott S. New member Username: Scottandrew Post Number: 2 Registered: May-06	Posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 - 17:55 GMT Special thanks to LVE67 as advice was great. The information was sound, and the day after I saw that, GuidePlus arrived according to estimated schedule. The nice part is, arrived June 6, 06. Does 6/6/6 mean anything perhaps?
RockinChair New member Username: Haggenml Waldorf, Maryland Post Number: 2 Registered: Jun-06	Posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 - 19:31 GMT Looked and can't find the advice you received from LVE67. I would love to see if it would work for me.
Joel Sternberg New member Username: Madasheck Post Number: 1 Registered: Jun-06	Posted on Monday, June 26, 2006 - 01:20 GMT I have RCN in the Boston area. I have been without Guide+ for several months and have pretty much given up, other than to check this board every so often. (Actually, to be precise, I did get it back for a few hours once over this stretch.) At the very least, it indicates that it does not seem to be a problem with a specific cable provider.
Kenny Ourso New member Username: Kourso Plaquemineq, LA US Post Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Monday, August 07, 2006 - 05:02 GMT Hey I have the same problem with two RCA TVs in the same house. Both of them are showing No Listing Available on the Guide plus. We have Cox cable in the Baton Rouge, LA area and we did receive it fine previously. It has been off for close to a year now. I haven't tried the 9's or 0's reset trick but the power was off for over an hour and it came onscreen for a reset and all of the info already entered was correct. Is it a RCA /Gemstar NO LONGER providing the service ? Anybody has the same thing with Cox Cable provider ? Thanks, Kenny
Norman Rubin New member Username: Normofthenorth Toronto, ON Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 17:41 GMT Here in Toronto ON, on Rogers (analog) Cable, we've been having trouble for a week or two with Guide Plus+ on our RCA (25") TV. It may be related to a "power outage" that we caused ourselves. A couple of times now, we've had a problem with the sound going nuts on our TV, especially on higher channels. A service rep from Rogers said we could fix it by unplugging our TV for a long time. In fact, unplugging the TV for a short time fixes it, too. But that may have messed up our TV Guide listing download. Over the years since we got this TV, the Guide has mostly worked fine, though it does go "No Listing" from time to time, maybe every few months? The "USA 99999" fix often works if it doesn't fix itself first. I've just tried the "USA 00000 No No" fix, we'll see tomorrow if that works. Anybody else on Rogers in Ontario having trouble now? (The Panasonic site with updated outage info hasn't been updated for a month and a half, and doesn't mention any problems in Toronto.)
Norman Rubin New member Username: Normofthenorth Toronto, ON Post Number: 2 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Friday, September 01, 2006 - 18:07 GMT Here in Toronto ON, on Rogers (analog) Cable, we've been having trouble for a week or two with Guide Plus+ on our RCA (27") TV. It may be related to a "power outage" that we caused ourselves. A couple of times now, we've had a problem with the sound going nuts on our TV, especially on higher channels. A service rep from Rogers said we could fix it by unplugging our TV for a long time. In fact, unplugging the TV for a short time fixes it, too. But that may have messed up our TV Guide listing download. Over the years since we got this TV, the Guide has mostly worked fine, though it does go "No Listing" from time to time, maybe every few months? The "USA 99999" fix often works if it doesn't fix itself first. I've just tried the "USA 00000 No No" fix, we'll see tomorrow if that works. Anybody else on Rogers in Ontario having trouble now? (The Panasonic site with updated outage info hasn't been updated for a month and a half, and doesn't mention any problems in Toronto.)
Hans Luedke New member Username: Toronto12345 Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 18:40 GMT I've had no listings here in Toronto for a couple of months now. Either Guide+ no longer sends the listings (there never was any advertising in it so I don't know how they ever made any money) or Roger's Cable has stopped broadcasting the signal - they may want everyone to switch to digital cable and use their lousy on-screen guide. I have basically given up on guide+ on that TV. As for losing sound, I have the same sound issues when watching Spike, Speed or History Channel - usually cuts out when it goes to commerical and then I lose sound on all channels. Cutting power to TV just briefly will correct the sound issue temporarily - strange that it only seems to cut out during commericials. I just tried calling Thompson Customer service 1-800-336-1900 and they still do not seem to have any idea of the problem at the service rep level - basically a waste of my time calling them. Emailing them just gets you an automated response that it is best answered by calling the 1-800 number.
Scott S. New member Username: Scottandrew Post Number: 3 Registered: May-06	Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 02:08 GMT Here in Winnipeg, MB on my RCA, I just tried the '99999' method, left it on that for one hour or so, and re-started the GuidePlus. It took one day to anchor the GuidePlus, with another day for all the listings to arrive. Everything seems to have returned normally, thank goodness.
Roxann Nottingham New member Username: Rox6983 Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 01:12 GMT 3 nights ago we lost o all our channels below 49 and the guide+ was no longer working. We still can't get any channels below 49. I've tried the 99999 and 00000 zip, left the tv set for 24 hours and still nothing. Any suggestions.
Norman Rubin New member Username: Normofthenorth Toronto, ON Post Number: 3 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 02:19 GMT Roxann, your problem could be with your cable provider (or your connection to them). Have you called them? Otherwise, it's maybe conceivable that unplugging your TV for a few minutes may fix something -- worth a try, since it's easy. Our Guide+ listings came back fairly soon after my post above. Faded a bit yesterday ("No Listing" except for the special events that loaded more than 2 days ahead), but it's all back now.
rnottingham New member Username: Rox6983 Post Number: 2 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Wednesday, September 20, 2006 - 16:48 GMT Our tv was unplugged Monday night for about 2 hours while we were rearranging our 2nd tv so we could actually watch it. Yesterday after it had been setting for 12+ hours, I turned it on and only had (2) channels, 70 & 71. I've changed the zip again and its been setting since last night. I don't think its our cable provider because the cable on the other tvs is fine.
Guideless_in_iowa New member Username: Guideless_in_iowa Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 - 22:30 GMT Just wanted to let everyone know that I changed cable providers last week and now my guideplus is working just fine. I still believe that Mediacom was blocking the guide because they want you to subscribe to the digital cable and use their guide. But after a year without it is working.
Jumpcut New member Username: Jumpcut Post Number: 6 Registered: Mar-06	Posted on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 20:23 GMT I'm in Los Angeles and my cable system was recently changed from Adelphia to Time Warner. Starting this weekend, I've been unable to download any new Guideplus listings.
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 14:55 GMT I own a 4-year-old RCA 19" TV/VCR combo. For the past 3 weeks, the Guide+ menu is showing No Listing or telling me to turn off my VCR to receive the next update. Nothing ever happens; it continues to show "no listing" or other stupid messages. How do I turn off the VCR?? I see nothing in the book about this. After numerous attempts at resetting the zip code, unplugging my TV for hours, nothing is working. Sometimes it will show the guide and say "no listing", and other times it says "Data has Failed". What is going on?? Why can't I suddenly receive any listings?? I contacted Comcast also, and am waiting to hear. Also followed the advice of answer "No" to Cable, and reset my zip to 00000. My book, however, says 99999. No matter...I'll wait and see.
joan New member Username: Joni Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, October 30, 2006 - 05:16 GMT I have a JVC TV with Guide TV and it has not been downloading for weeks now. I do not have cable. I am in NYC. I have tried resetting using 99999 and 00000 then entering correct info. Nothing works. Any suggestions?
Scott S. New member Username: Scottandrew Post Number: 4 Registered: May-06	Posted on Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - 19:34 GMT To be honest, I think all you seem to need is a cable supplier.
joan New member Username: Joni Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Wednesday, November 01, 2006 - 03:16 GMT Guide TV worked fine for years without cable. Maybe once I had to redo the setup and that fixed the problem that time but not this time.
Austin Dunbar New member Username: Couch_spud Union Bay, British Colu... Canada Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 03:53 GMT we have been receiving guide plus gold for years. Now,it simply will not download the guide. We used to be able to phone and get instructions on re-setting but the phone number has been constantly busy for over a week. what's going on with this service? is it a problem in Canada only? We live on Vancouver Island and everyone in the area is having the same problem. The local tv guide is terrible and we really want our guide plus gold back!!! anyone out there have the answer???
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, November 06, 2006 - 12:22 GMT I tried the advice of one of the posters above (can't remember who it was now), about checking each channel, then running the test with each channel. Ch. 12 was the only successful one so far, but only the 1st 3 passed (RAM, ?, and VBI). After finally given up, I am pleased beyond belief that the guide is now up and running. I'm not sure if what I did corrected it, or if Gemstar/Thomson got their act together, but I'm now up and running. I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I saw my stations last night. Comcast was no help in any of this. They told me to contact the TV manufacturer (RCA), but my email to them bounced back. I hope you'll all run your TVs through the test, and that it works. I do have to mention that it was at least 72 hours before mine came back online. So be patient.
Mike New member Username: Madman_rules North vancouver, BC Canada Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Friday, November 10, 2006 - 03:25 GMT I do not have an RCA bur a GE TV and it seems to have the same problem as the RCA's here. I would like to know what this test is and how do I do it? thnx
joan New member Username: Joni Post Number: 3 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Saturday, November 11, 2006 - 02:08 GMT I have tried unplugging the set off for 15 minutes and when I turned it back on got a message about imputting. Don't remember exactly what it said but I believe something about will be ready for use within 24 hours but when I turned it on after 24 hours, I once again got the message Please imput the correct data. I did the 99999 again and left set off for 15 minutes then entered the correct information then left the set off for 15 minutes and then turned it back on and still got the Please imput the correct information. At that point I decided not to turn it off and leave it off overnight because apparently it still wasn'tgoing to download the info. I cannot perform the test because I cannot bring up the Guide TV screen. Any suggestions. (I have programmed the correct info several times and left off for 24 hours and even 48 hours to no avail. Any suggestions?
Mike New member Username: Madman_rules North vancouver, BC Canada Post Number: 2 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Monday, November 13, 2006 - 20:00 GMT Well I got my Guide working again. All I did was reset with this info: Country=USA Zip=00000 No to everything after that and then redid the process with the right info and watched tv for awhile then turned it off for the night and the next afternoon when I turned it on to see if the guide worked, it did. Hope this is of use to anyone who reads it. Take care
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 3 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 12:32 GMT Mine finally started working, except for the major network channels. Now I'm back to No Listing for everything. What the hell is going on???
Richard Bainbridge New member Username: Djricky45 Charleston, WV Post Number: 1 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Friday, November 17, 2006 - 05:01 GMT I only have one problem with my Guide right now and that's two channels won't come in right. One that was listed correctly is no longer listed while the other one is listed with the wrong channel everytime I have to reset my Guide. My real complaint...LOL! What I wish it would do is hold or lock in it's programming a little longer when there is a power interruption for only a few seconds. How I hate having to reset everything after a power interruption. Dammit Dammit Dammit
bob New member Username: Bob1065 Chgo, Il Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Friday, November 17, 2006 - 23:25 GMT I had problems with my guide plus on a 36" Zenith tv. Some listings were there, some were not,biggest issue was the tv would show no listings for evening shows. The earlier mentioned solutions worked for me. I unpluged my tv for 5 minutes,re-plugged it,turned it on,went to the guide plus set-up,entered USA- zip code 00000,answered no to questions-went back to watching tv for about 15 minutes-went back to guide plus setup,answered the questions correctly,went to sleep,in the morning there was a question about the proper channel line up for my area, I answered the question,turned the tv off,and about 3 in the afternoon all listings were back for all times,although I had to use my channel editor,in the guide plus,to turn off all the un-used channels,and make sure the call letter configuration/channel number matched the line-up from my cable company(Comcast-Chicago),ever since that effort in the beginning of November, its been working great!Good luck I think when the cable company changes channel line-ups like mine does, it screws up the chip,and it has to be re-set.
Frank Shaw New member Username: Emmit1 Columbus, IN United States Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Saturday, November 18, 2006 - 04:53 GMT My guide has been pretty bad lately. It loses it's memory and I have to reload it. The local comcast people are trying to get everybody to change to digital cable. Now my question - who still makes televisions with the guide+ system in them?
Sammy New member Username: Samforu Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 18:14 GMT I have a RCA TV, Model F27628 Chassis no - CTC203AA The TV seems to switch off and on automatically, and when i switches on there is no sound. I have tried the following a) Switching it Off and on couple of times this worked for a few days.But now it doesn't b) I Disconnected the TV from the plug and cable overnight and there is still no change. Can you please let me know what would be the problem and how can it be resolved.The TV has no sound for the last 3 days.
betty smith New member Username: Cvsbean Post Number: 1 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Thursday, November 30, 2006 - 01:01 GMT I lost the remote to my RCA TV with Guide Plus and now the Guide comes up every time i turn on the TV. I want to disable it forever but i don't know how without a remote. Help please!
deee g New member Username: Deee Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-05	Posted on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 00:04 GMT My Guide Plus started working tonight! After 3 months.. its gotten to be a pattern. On for 3 months for 3 months. No rhime or reason.
Deee New member Username: Deee Post Number: 2 Registered: Sep-05	Posted on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 00:14 GMT My Guide Plus started working tonight! After 3 months.. its gotten to be a pattern. On for 3 months off for 3 months. No rhyme or reason. East Coast.
Norman Rubin New member Username: Normofthenorth Toronto, ON Post Number: 4 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 03:25 GMT Betty Smith, if you have any kind of "universal remote" that has up, down, left, and right arrows, you should be able to navigate in the Guide screen to the Setup screen. Up once, then right a bunch. Then choose Setup, answer the questions, and you'll get to one that asks you if you want to go into the Guide whenever the TV is first turned on. (You don't!) Deee, etc. Here in TO, we've been without TV Guide for a month or more. I don't work very hard at it any more, because I've got 2-week listings on my laptop and on my PDA (Palm), and 3-day listings on a new Tivo-basic PVR-and-DVD-recorder we just got a while ago. I tried one reset to '99999', but it didn't fix it. Maybe I'll try the '00000' reset. When I was shopping for PVR-and-DVD-recorders, I saw a few that got their listings from the TV Guide Plus folks. I wonder if they lose their listings as often as my RCA TV does?
Carl C New member Username: Hellooo Post Number: 1 Registered: Dec-06	Posted on Saturday, December 09, 2006 - 18:42 GMT Regarding RandyM's comment: "Guide Plus is either loved or hated. . . most people fall in one of those two categories." Duh, yeah good Randy, blame it on those quirky people. Here's a clue for you: No one hates a product that WORKS PROPERLY. If your product is hated, that should tell you something about your product. When you get people to buy your TVs based on a promise that Guide Plus will provide news headlines, and then Guide Plus shortly thereafter suddenly stops providing news headlines FOREVER, that's called swindling. And then when Guide Plus suddenly stops providing TV programming content, don't blame it on the customers' electronics configuration, which has not changed. AND, a product that constantly interrupts your TV viewing by blocking the screen with an EMPTY GUIDE is a BAD THING. Why not offer a product that blows up the viewers' TV sets? Then you'll have done your job to perfection.
kevin New member Username: Xhix00 Columbus, Ohio Usa Post Number: 1 Registered: Dec-06	Posted on Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 06:19 GMT need some assistance here please...just got a used 27" tv with guide+ gold. Dont have the original remote but i do have a unversal remote. I have a GO-VIDEO dvd/vcr combo, i also have cable service in columbus ohio(INSIGHT) but i dont have a cable box. I hooked up the tv via the dvd/vcr. I get only ten channels. My question is do i need to get the G-LINK cable in order to get all my channels? I tried to set up the system using GUIDE/MENU, but for some reason it cant find the code for the vcr...any a assistance with helping me set this up would be greatly appreciated}
Norman Rubin New member Username: Normofthenorth Toronto, ON Post Number: 5 Registered: Sep-06	Posted on Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 07:13 GMT First, I wouldn't hook up the tv via the dvd/vcr, except as an option -- e.g., get a "Y" splitter for the (coaxial) cable, plug one part into the TV ("in") and the other into the DVD/VCR ("in"). That way, you can watch a live show while you're recording another one. Then hook up one of the outputs from the DVD/VCR -- like the RCA jacks, or SVGA, or composite video -- to the corresponding inputs on the TV, so you can also watch a tape or a DVD. I'm betting that your TV will immediately get all the channels you get. But your DVD/VCR will probably still only get 10 channels until you set it up better. I'm betting that there's a menu choice on the DVD/VCR between something like "AIR" or "BROADCAST" and something like "CABLE" or "CATV". Choose the latter, and you should get several 10s of channels. All based on my assumptions about what's causing your problems, of course, and I am occasionally mistaken!
Scott S. New member Username: Scottandrew Post Number: 5 Registered: May-06	Posted on Friday, December 29, 2006 - 00:03 GMT Could someone here please offer the advice on how to a) use the RCA remote to control the Pioneer DVR 640-HS b) can I use the GuidePlus to record television shows on this Pioneer DVR. No luck yet.
Jeannie Martin New member Username: Bookgirl Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Saturday, January 06, 2007 - 19:28 GMT I am having trouble getting a SV2000 DVDRecorder with VCR to work on my 27" RCA TV with has Guide+. I have the same model recorder connected to a Zenith TV and it works fine - on channel 3. I have followed the directions to no avail. In the Guide + setup, this DVD/VCR model is not listed in the section where you choose the VCR to attach. I have tried all the "not listed" codes and none work. The setup screen can be seen on several channels - but it is snowy and no channel will give a clear picture. The TV was purchased in 2000 -- is it too old to work with this newer DVD/VCR? Thanks for any help.
Les Christy New member Username: Lchristy DesertUSA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Sunday, January 14, 2007 - 15:45 GMT First off I tryed to register and typed up a long messege that is now lost,Oh well! I'm not fast at typeing and very bad at it! I'm a tech and I thnk you all for the programming tips. ryoung, if it's you Ron, I bought one of these thing to! "The solder joints are a mess and the resisters fail due to heat from the bad solder connections. Sound no pic and audio problems are common repairs. Again thnks for all the info ya'll!
Les Christy New member Username: Lchristy DesertUSA Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Sunday, January 14, 2007 - 21:29 GMT Back again folks and just want to know how I can get back to the 2005 comments on this thread???? I found you by google and it went to the 2005 comments. Since I registered I only get the 2006 comments. I liked the ideas on the 2005 page. Like how to program the whole thing out and not us gemstar and the stuff that comes up on screen. I just want a 27" that works for normal recieving! I don't like bells and whistles! Just paly movies on VHS and DVD with local programing in UHF out here in the wilderness! Thanks
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 4 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 21:37 GMT Hello again. I have unplugged my TV for 24 hours, and nothing. This isn't fair to the customers who purchased this type of TV just for the easy to use guide plus. It's been about 2 months since this has worked, and it's not acceptable. It came back on very briefly (less than 24 hours), but has been out now for months.
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 5 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 - 21:47 GMT Oh, and after resetting the zip to 00000 and shutting it down for 12+ hours, I'm now getting a message that says to shut off my VCR for the next update. How do I shut downt the VCR?? This is driving me crazy (short drive, I assure you). Any suggestions?
J H New member Username: Pringlet Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 20:51 GMT I can confirm that guildeplus has been hosed on my TV for about a month or so now. I ran the diagnostic test as sugged by an early poster 1. Press Menu 2. Select option 7 3. Then Select option 1 4. With "Set-Up" highlighted press menu 5. Then press "Go-Back" 6. Then press "TV" If BUS fails, then your television needs to have module replaced. If VBI fails, the signal needs to be reset with the "99999" reset. I am seeing thaat VBI (whatever that is) FAILS 100%. The 99999 code seems to do absolutely nothing to help resolve the issue. Is it just that gemstar / guideplus has been taken offline permanently? Is anyone's working.
Guideless_in_iowa New member Username: Guideless_in_iowa Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 - 21:06 GMT I had the same issue for about a year, and had given up hope, and then our cable provider quit carrying a couple channels that we watched regularly, so I switched cable providers. My guide downloaded that night, after the new cable company hooked us up. It has worked faithfully ever since. I believe that some cable providers have blocked the downloads, trying to force people into getting digital, so you receive their guide. I contacted the cable provider and they claim to know nothing about guide plus, but in the same sentence claim to also not block the download????? This confuses me, but nonetheless mine does work. Good luck, it probably has nothing to do with the tv or the guide service.
beaker020 New member Username: Beaker020 Prince George, B.C Canada Post Number: 2 Registered: Mar-06	Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 01:48 GMT JH: The VBI test will only pass on your host channel. That channel is usually PBS in the US and CBC in Canada. Here is some thing I learned: press your guide button, press the up button to access guideplus menu's, then press > until you get to 'messages' then press the down key. Now enter 2 7 5 3 1 5 9 8 5 2. After a second the diagnostics screen will pop up. about a 3rd of the way down on the right hand column it shows the host channel. Press the Info button to go to the next page. This shows all the packets recieved. Of particular note is TypeA, Aerrs, TypeB and Berrs. Apparently, the errors should be no more than 10% of the TypeX packets. I dont pretend to know what this means but it is interesting and informative. My guide plus hasn't worked in over 2 years and I am still fighting with it. Last week i was informed by gemstar that they are 'working on it', the same BS line they have been feeding me for 2 years. And then i find out that someone I know who lives only about a mile from me, her guide works just fine. Whats up with that? The cable company says they dont block it and couldnt block it even if they wanted to. (BS!) And around and around I go.
Gregory Philip Booth New member Username: Chucklehead Post Number: 1 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 00:40 GMT Wow am I glad I stumbled onto this site. I've got 2 RCAs and despite the periodic outages I have to say Guide Plus beats the heck out of any other channel menu I've seen. My gripe is the total loss of audio on my 32" set (the 27" in the bedroom has never been a problem). My sound's been gone for about 2 weeks now and probably 20 weeks over the last couple years (have to use the VCR or Cable box to get audio). After reading comments here I unplugged the set for 2 seconds and the audio returned in all of it's two channel glory. Praise be to all of the deities and their faithful servants on the web.
J H New member Username: Pringlet Post Number: 2 Registered: Jan-07	Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 05:35 GMT Thanks beaker020, I'll give it a shot!
Ken Miller New member Username: Ken14569 Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-07	Posted on Sunday, February 04, 2007 - 04:33 GMT I was looking to get my GuidePlus working when I found this forum. I myself have has a 32" RCA for over 5 years and my GuidePlus has worked 99.9% of the time. This is the first time I have had a problem. Am trying the 00000 reset now. Hope it works. I also have had the static sound problems. If I unplug the TV for a few seconds, it works fine again. Happens 5 or 6 times in a row and then goes away for weeks or months. BUT GuidePlus never stopped working when the sound problems where happening.
Ed Humphreys New member Username: Ehumphre Georgia USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Mar-07	Posted on Saturday, May 12, 2007 - 16:52 GMT The line up on the Guide Plus has wrong station info on it........... how do I change the host channel information?
Ken Miller New member Username: Ken14569 Post Number: 2 Registered: Feb-07	Posted on Sunday, May 13, 2007 - 11:41 GMT One way to clear the channel line up is to reset the system as above using zip code 00000 or 99999. This may have the TV download new up to date line ups. I live in a rural area and have also had to use a nearby zip code instead of my own to get the right line up. When I first set up my Guide Plus and put in the zip code, I will sometimes get a message the next day on the TV. It says that there are more than 1 line up for my area and will ask me to indicate which channel a certain station is on. (For me it's USA Network.) Has that ever happened to you? Possibly it got missed and the wrong line up was loaded. Hope this helps.
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 6 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, May 14, 2007 - 11:23 GMT Mine came back about 2 weeks ago, and has been working almost flawlessly since. There are still "no listing" showing between certain hours, like 10pm - 5 am, but so far, so good.
Charlotte Geier New member Username: Cgeier El Paso, TX USA Post Number: 1 Registered: May-07	Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 - 17:31 GMT Guideless in El Paso, Texas 79932 zipcode My Guide Plus has been out for about 3 weeks, since the night of a thunderstorm the second week in May 2007. I thought the storm was responsible. Have tried all but the 00000 zip code and the 'no vcr' to get it restored, using Setup repeatedly. Guess I'll unplug again and try that 00000 zip and 'lie' that I have no VCR to see if that works. I didn't realize this was a generalized problem, so I"m hopeful that we can find a solution.
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 7 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 - 10:35 GMT Forget what I said. My guide quit on me over the weekend. Can't even force it with the 99999 or 00000. Has another else noticed that the 'set time' feature goes off (where you can't even set it) when the listings come back on? I know that as soon as I see "Set time and date" in the list, I no longer have any listings. I'm probably not being real clear here, but is something wrong with the TV? I'm really sick of this. The Guide worked great for about 3 weeks, then I noticed sporatic outages, and now NOTHING! I'm getting really aggravated here.
J Cardoza New member Username: Jagnerc Post Number: 4 Registered: Jul-06	Posted on Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 23:37 GMT 2 weeks ago, I started getting the following text show up immediately after pressing the "Guide" button on my remote control to access Guide Plus: "dear guide+ customer: we are sorry that your tv is not able to receive data to update your guide+ tv listings. one likely reason is that your cable company has blocked the information contained in the tv signal. we believe that this action by your cable company is unlawful. please contact your cable company to ask them not to interfere with the FREE data contained in the over-the-air broadcast signal which supports your guide+ feature. you may wish to voice your complaint to your city officials, and the FCC by calling 1-888-237-3387. if you are dissatisfied with the action of your cable operator and would like to consider alternative programming services, please call toll free at 1-877-for-guide." I called both phones mentioned in the text and guess what: the FCC phone # is for some dating service recording. And the other toll free phone # for the guide was answered by an operator for a church/visitor center! That operator was the one that told me the correct # for Thompson Customer Service (which is 1-800-336-1900). According to the operator, she was getting a lot of phone calls like mine all of a sudden. So I called Thompson Customer Service and explained all of the above. The operator instructed me to do a reset by doing the zip code = 00000 routine (as mentioned by others), then following it up with my correct zip code (20009 for Washington DC). According to the operator, they've been getting phone calls like mine recently and this was supposed to fix the problem. But after 3 days, I'm now getting "NO LISTING" for all of my channels. I've tried unpluggine, zip code =99999 or 00000 but nothing is working! Anyone else has any idea? I've tried the diagnostics and my VBI test fails for all the channels I've tried!!!
Guideless_in_iowa New member Username: Guideless_in_iowa Post Number: 3 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, June 11, 2007 - 01:25 GMT I can almost guarantee that your cable provider is blocking the information, and now that you reset your guide info it will continue to show no listing. This happened to me also, Was in contact with Thompson and they continually gave me the reset info, and took me through different fix codes, nothing worked. I did first call the cable company and they acted as though they had no clue what guide plus was, but also said that they absolutely did not block the signal(????). I believe that they want everyone to subscribe to digital cable and then you get their guide, for more money. Anyway, I switched cable providers about a year after being without the guide, and low and behold, my guide began working instantly, and so far no problems at all. Had to be cable provider. Thompson, I do have to say, is not easy to deal with. I spent I do not know how much in long distance phone calls trying to resolve the issue, thinking it was a problem with the tv, or guide itself. They would always claim to turn it over to a tech, that would return call within 24-72 hours and no one would call back, not good support, if you ask me. I would be a thorn in the cable providers side until you get somewhere. Good Luck.
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 8 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 12:39 GMT For the past few months, I've had ups and downs with the cable guide. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I used the zip as 99999, turn off the TV for 12+ hours, and then reset it to my zip code. Still nothing, but the following day, I'll get a popup saying "There is more than one channel listed for your area", and when I fix that, 24 hours later I have my listings back. But for how long? I have Comcast cable, and they insist they have nothing to do with this, didn't even know what it was, so I guess I'm more confused than ever.
LK Platinum Member Username: Lklives Post Number: 10004 Registered: Jan-06	Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 13:36 GMT I have 2 TV's with guide plus for past 5 years...they both worked the first day (only for locals from roof air antenna) and never since (no information)...and Both TV's are shut off for days at a time and have correct settings...I really couldn't care less about the guide plus, but will never buy another one, cause I have to always hit the 'guide' button first to remove the "no information" useless guide, to watch any shows or see the real working Guide from my DTV satellite provider.. BTW...this is a either a provider issue (cable or I use satellite DTV) or RCA issue, I dunno which.. but either way, Guide Plus Tv's suck! ...never again! ...and yes I have 22 working "air" channels (but no information guide) along with my 900 satellite channels via a diplexer..
Guideless_in_iowa New member Username: Guideless_in_iowa Post Number: 4 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 21:24 GMT LK- you set the guide to not turn off when you turn on the tv. I think you go to guide, go to set up, review options, select off to disable the guide plus from automatically popping up. Sam T, I had the same issue with my cable provider. They claimed they didn't even know what it was, but in the same sentence said they don't block it?>??? I switched providers, and no problems with it now. If they don't know anything about it, maybe they should find out what the problem is, or if they could be causing the problem. Customer satisfaction should be their priority.
J Cardoza New member Username: Jagnerc Washington, DC USA Post Number: 5 Registered: Jul-06	Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 23:34 GMT After doing some diagnostics and several attempts at resetting Guide+ with zip code '00000' and '99999', my guide+ is working once again! I've been in touch with Thompson Call Center since last week. They made me do several diagnostics. I gave them the stats from the diagnostics and voila, a couple days later, my guide is showing! I got a call back from Thompson today asking if it had been restored and I told them yes. I asked what the problem was. According to the guy I spoke with, they provided my diagnostics stats to Comcast and my host channel station (WMPT Channel 22 in Wash DC). According to him, the problem was with the host channel (CH 22) - not Comcast. The host channel was blocking the signal, not Comcast. Anyway, I'm just glad it's working again. You may want to get in touch with Thompson again and give them your details. They're # is 1-800-336-1900. Good luck!
LK Platinum Member Username: Lklives Post Number: 10104 Registered: Jan-06	Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 03:15 GMT Guideless in Iowa....Thanks bud...I have been a moron for NOT even trying to resolve that Guide disable issue (shutting it off)...call me stupid and lazy...LOL...I took your simple advice and it was a 10 second fix...I can hack satellite TV til the cows come home but never even bothered to fix a simple thing like that auto guide disable setting....LMAO.....thanks again, I owe ya one..
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 9 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Thursday, June 21, 2007 - 10:40 GMT I'm happy to report that I still have my guide up and running, and it's been 4 whole days now. Wow! I'm impressed.
John A. Creamer New member Username: Johnsplace7 Milton, FL Santa Rosa Post Number: 1 Registered: Jul-07	Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 15:54 GMT RCA SDTV Model 32V434T failed to start after 13 months ownership. Both console buttons and remote fail to turn on or off this unit. I emailed Thompson RCA, who stated unit was out of warranty. I went to RCA authorized repair shop who stated repair cost to be $75 pick-up and $75 diagonsis charge to replace 7 "TAG-SWITCHES"? Consumer reports rates this tv as not good. Any suggestions?
bob New member Username: Bob1065 Chgo, Il Post Number: 2 Registered: Nov-06	Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 14:37 GMT Is there any way to just shut guide plus off.I have a zenith using it.I have digital cable,and don't need it,the guide comes up everytime I turn my tv on,of course with no listings,and it took a while to figure out how to get off the screen so I could watch TV.
beaker020 New member Username: Beaker020 Prince George, B.C Canada Post Number: 3 Registered: Mar-06	Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - 15:45 GMT Bob, the answer to your question is exactly 5 messages above yours from Guideless_in_Iowa
Randy Odaware New member Username: Hodaware Youngsville, LA USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-07	Posted on Sunday, October 07, 2007 - 01:50 GMT I am unable to load KLWB on my Guide Plus. I have Cox cable and channel 10 is the only station that I have not been able to load. Any Suggestion.
Chris HObbs New member Username: Guyattech Myrtle BEach, SC Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Sunday, February 03, 2008 - 18:24 GMT OK Yall Chris from SC I got a Toshiba DVR RD-XS35 and it ONLY worked with the built in TV Guide I started showing no listings. THen I tried resetting. Now I dont even have channels. I am in SC and my neighbor got the message on his guideplus tv that the time warner was blocking the signal! I will buy a new DVR Before I let time wrner steal $15 a month from me to blackmail me into buying their equipment.
Chris HObbs New member Username: Guyattech Myrtle BEach, SC Post Number: 2 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Sunday, February 03, 2008 - 18:29 GMT Time Warner swears to god they are not blocking the signal! I am trying the 99999 code but have to wait overnight! I dont expect it to work! BEst Buy gave me $100 gift card since my thing is only 11 months old. THey got to know there is a serious problem to do that!
Chris HObbs New member Username: Guyattech Myrtle BEach, SC Post Number: 3 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Monday, February 11, 2008 - 04:59 GMT I spoke to Toshiba Rep Kim and they told me it was a problem with Gemstar. I am simply not recieving the signal. They said 26 Host channels across the country are having trouble. They were suppose to call me back three days ago I think they might be salling until my warranty expires soon. Allthough I have been assured my box functions fine so not covered under warranty?? WHAT? But it was marketed as TV Guide built in? Should I just lose $350.00?
Sam T New member Username: Samt Philadelphia, PA United States Post Number: 10 Registered: Oct-06	Posted on Monday, February 11, 2008 - 12:23 GMT I was having problems with this for a few years when I stumbled upon this website. My TV is now up and running normally again, but only because of me taking the time. Sometimes I think it's the TV that's causing the problem. What I had to do was set my zip code to 99999, then unplug the TV for at LEAST 12 hours. Plug it back in, run the guide again, resetting the zip to your own. It takes another 24 hours or so, but then I got a window that said "There is more than 1 station, please select .... yada yada". Once that comes up, I knew the programs would be back. Of course, this may be just a coincidence, because I tried this many times before and it didn't work. Don't give up!
Chris HObbs New member Username: Guyattech Myrtle BEach, SC Post Number: 7 Registered: Feb-08	Posted on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 - 16:36 GMT My DVR Actually started downloading the program guide overnight! I really got to hand it to toshiba customer support. They did all the leg work, never called me back but the thing is working THEY DONT HAVE TOO!
joe radvansky New member Username: Radrunner Post Number: 1 Registered: Feb-09	Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2009 - 01:41 GMT I have a 27" and 32 " rca tv. Both have stopped getting tv guide information using Guide Plus . I use an off air antenna. I am in the Toronto area. What is the problem?
Randy Odaware New member Username: Hodaware Youngsville, LA USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-07	Posted on Sunday, September 27, 2009 - 14:42 GMT FCC: Gemstar VBI not mandated for TWC Anne Kerven CedMagazine.com - December 07, 2001 In a blow for Gemstar International, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ruled that Time Warner Cable's analog must-carry obligations don't include the program guide company's vertical blanking interval (VBI) technology. "Must carry obligations do not require the company to carry material inserted in the (VBI) of over-the-air broadcast stations at the behest of Gemstar International," the FCC said in a statement. Gemstar developed Guide Plus+, an electronic program guide built into TVs and VCRs made by its licensees. It sends data for program listing updates through the VBI of the signal of analog over-the-air broadcast stations. The EPG doesn't function without the programming updates. TWC in a filing asked the FCC to determine if GuidePlus+ material falls under the must-carry rules. Cable operators are required to retransmit program-related material in the VBI, the FCC says. The question was whether material in the VBI is program-related. The FCC fell back on a case between WGN Continental Broadcasting Co. and United Video Inc. for guidelines to determine the issue. According to the FCC, for the VBI information to fall under the program-related category, it must be intended to be seen by the same viewers watching the main program; it must be available during the same interval of time as the main program, and it has to be an integral part of the main program. Gemstar's VBI material did not fit those categories, it says. "The Order finds that very little of Gemstar's VBI material is uniquely related to the main program of the broadcast station carrying it, but instead consists of information regarding programming on other channels, as well as advertisements and other promotions that do not relate to any program," the FCC says in its ruling. It also noted that the decision was limited to the "distinct question" regarding the technology and video channels used to deliver Gemstar's EPG data. Two TWC representatives could not be reached by CEDaily's deadlines.

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