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New member Username: Handyman45Post Number: 1 Registered: May-05 | WE JUST HAD OUR TV REPAIRED. IM NOT SURE WHAT WENT OUT I JUST KNOW THAT THE TV WOULDNT COME ONE AND IT MADE A CRACKLING NOISE. IT HAS BEEN REPAIRED, BUT THE GUIDE PLUS WONT COME ON. WE WERE TOLD WE NEEDED TO RESET THE GUIDE PLUS BUT HOW?? I CALLED THOMSON ELECTRONICS AND THEY SAID I NEED THE ORIGINAL REMOTE, BUT WE HAVE BEEN USING A STORE BOUGHT REMOTE AND IT WORKED FINE TIL THE TV MESSED UP. I WOULD LIKE ANY HELP I CAN GET FOR THIS SINCE THIS IS WHY WE FIXED OUR TV WAS BECAUSE WE LIKE THE TV GUIDE. THANKS |
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Unregistered guest | My Guide Plus will not work also. Just this week it has gotten where it won't show any listings. I have reset it but it still shows no lisings. Anyone please help! I also bought my TV for he Guide Plus. |
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Burt Unregistered guest | try this: Go to the Guide Plus Setup. Mark USA, then enter 00000 for the zip code, answer "No", then answer "No". click through the rest of the installation. Then go back and enter everything including your zip. This is suppose to "RESET" the memory. Then turn the TV off for at least 12+ hours. Everything should be back. -regards, Burt- |
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sirdanger Unregistered guest | I have a new RCA GUIDE+ GEMSTAR TV which will not program or find all the channels on cable. RCA has been useless as has THOMSON. The owners manual is not matched to the TV MENU etc etc. Has anyone had same problem or have a fix?? Although new, the TV has not been used past the return period or I would exchange it. ANY HELP w/ RCA JUNK???? |
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HuskyRun Unregistered guest | Hey, nothing is being loaded into my tv guide plus, also. First - no descriptions, second - no downloads on weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), now nothing at all for two weeks. My belief is someone is not doing their job. Who downloads the tv guide plus, anyway. We all need to complain. |
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sirdanger Unregistered guest | Ya Husky RCA knows their product is CRAP, that is why their toll free customer service line is a recording only and the other one is a toll number where they let u sit for 60 minutes or more. More ASIAN CRAP in CONSUMER ELECTRONICS. I am going get Radio Shack to exchange this RCA GARBAGE!! |
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Dave in Pickering, Canada Unregistered guest | my guide+ has stopped working this wek. I have a message on my screen that says my cable provider is blocking the signal. When I called them they stated they are not blocking the signal and to call the guide+ people. I callrd the number on my screen but the recording says the phone is not in service. Does anyone know the real phone number. I am lost without my guide+ listings. |
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Unregistered guest | To Dave in Pickering Canada, I also live in Pickering. It is the "a**holes" at Rogers cable not downloading the guide. I know two other people in the same area as us that are Rogers Cable subscribers, and are having the same problem. Maybe we should all voice our opinion to Rogers that if they don't fix the service that there are other choices such as satellite at almost the same cost. |
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Unregistered guest | Hi - I live in Northwestern Illinois, and we are having the same problem with our Guide Plus, and have been for several weeks. We have reset, and changed the zip code, etc. several times, but nothing! We have used this for more than 4 years, and we based our last TV purchase on having the use of Guide Plus. I hate that we can't use it! I'm lost also! |
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tvguide? Unregistered guest | I live in rockord Il, Lost my guide plus about week or so ago. I have also tried everything. Nothing seems to work. I lost the news feature about two years ago. That never came back. But the tv guide was why I bought this tv. I guess I'm never buying rca again! |
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Unregistered guest | I live in north eastern Illinois and am having the same problem with Guide plus. Have tried everything and it still shows "no listing". Has anyone been able to get it to work or found a phone number for customer service? |
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New member Username: LmrsdoggWichita falls, Texas Usa Post Number: 1 Registered: Jul-05 | we have an older model rca tv that must have a remote. is there any way to turn on power without that remote? there is no manual button. |
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sirdanger Unregistered guest | I think we can all agree RCA GUIDE PLUS televisions are very very poor quality! What makes me laugh is that they sponsored the USA TENNIS OPEN and have some catchy slogan to impress those who have never bought their GARBAGE PRODUCT. I think someone should contact a CONSUMER ELECTRONICS WATCHDOG GROUP if there is one and report the RCA GUIDE PLUS problem. |
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Lee NIL Unregistered guest | Live in Northen IL and lost guide plus about three weeks ago. I'm wondering if it is due to TV stations switching to HDTV broadcast and not including guide plus info. I think the broadcast station quit sending the info. Don't think all our TV's broke at same time. Anybody know who broadcast the information in this area? WREX? Going to try Burt's 00000 zip code tip tonite. |
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Lee NIL Unregistered guest | http://www.pensacolatvrepair.com/Docs/GeneralInfo.htm says: "TV Guide Plus programming is carried on the local ABC affiliate, in our case WEAR TV 3. " Seems like we may need to all go talk to our ABC affiliate. |
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JMCROUCH Unregistered guest | WE ALSO LOST OUR GUIDEPLUS LISTINGS ON BOTH OF OUR TELEVISIONS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. HAS ANYONE FOUND THE SOULUTION TO THE PROBLEM? WE ARE IN OKC, OK. I AM GOING TO TRY THE RESET. HAS ANYONE HAD ANY LUCK WITH THAT CORRECTING THE PROBLEM? |
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Unregistered guest | Ok people so we all have the same problem and we all need to do something about it now! We need to get a customer service number ( I think since it's RCA that has that service on their name brand they should be responsible for it!!!! ) We should pick a day like on the weekend and get as many people as possible to call in at the same time and demand they to fix it or we all want our money back!!! what do people think? |
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New member Username: ExracerPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-05 | I received this from RCA customer service by email Don't know if this will help, but we can all call this number Dear Customer: Thank you for your recent inquiry concerning your RCA Television. We believe we can best answer your question by having you call a Thomson representative on our direct RCA TV line at 1-800-336-1900 Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturday -Sunday 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. (EST). Please have the model and serial number of the product available when you call. If you have questions about how to use your product or how to connect it to other products, we recommend you are with the product and have your owner's manual available at the time of your call. If you cannot locate your owner's manual/instruction book, please visit Thank you for contacting us and giving us this opportunity to assist you |
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glojan Unregistered guest | I thought you might like to know that my guide plus is not working either. But, I don't have an RCA tv. I have a Sony vcr with guide plus. So I don't think the problem is RCA (or Sony). I am going to try to call Thomson tomorrow to see what they say. Are you all getting the message, "the search for data has failed"? |
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Matttt Unregistered guest | I line in raleigh,N.C. and my guide plus went out also. about a week ago. Anyone know why this is happening? |
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Anonymous | I live in San Diego and I don't know if this will help anyone but I will post it anyway. Our guide plus went out several days ago too. I tried the 00000 reset trick and it failed three days in a row. Last night I did it again, checked the TV at 6am....nothing, then at 12 noon, I checked again and it was up and normal. |
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JLS05 Unregistered guest | I live in a suburb of Atlanta and am using an ATI All-in-Wonder video card to record directly to computer. I use Guide Plus to schedule those records. I can still access Guide Plus, but our cable provider, Bell South, recently changed channel listings, and that is not reflected in my guide plus, making it available but virtually ineffective. |
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Matttt Unregistered guest | BAM it WORKS......the reset thingy with 00000 as the zip code WORKED. i can FINALLY live my life as a normal person now. i dunno how i made it for almost a month without the guide. im in the raleigh NC are by the way |
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Unregistered guest | I have the RCA television with guide-plus. The guide works fine. Last night, I watched TV, all was copacetic. However, when I got up this morning and turned on the TV, the sound worked, the guide works... but NO picture. WTF???? |
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Ernie from Wasaga Unregistered guest | Hello, this is to the people with Rogers Cable . . At one time I received the guide with no problems. Ever since I swtiched to Rogers cable interenet it has not been working. Please do voice your concern with Rogers! Have a good one. |
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Unregistered guest | any idea on how to turn the guide+ off completely, i don't need it, don't use it, don't want it |
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Unregistered guest | I have a RCA Entertainment Series-PIP, Guide Plus Gemstar Model F27664, Serial# 005431229, Chassis # CTC203AX1. It has great picture but loses it sounds at times and comes back whenever it wants to. What can I do? |
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11111111111111111 Unregistered guest | We had a power outage about two weeks ago and my guide plus has been out ever since. It will not find a the info needed to work. Resetting it to all zeros overnight will tell me the next morning to go to setup and go through the menu, but then nothing after that. Been searching the web with no luck. Any ideas on here?? |
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kl Unregistered guest | We have two tv's with guide plus and neither is getting any signal. The ads don't even show up anymore. I'm going to try calling that Thompson 800 number on Monday. We live in Longmont, CO. |
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New member Username: ExracerPost Number: 3 Registered: Aug-05 | My guide plus has started working again, just like it use to do and I am so thankful that it is. That is the reason we bought the RCA tv in the first place. |
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karlosss Unregistered guest | tryin out the 00000 method, thanks in advance for the info. |
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Anonymous | My gemstar did not work for weeks. Contacting Rogers Cable was as usual useless. What did I do? I came across this page, did the 00000 as described above and BINGO, it's back. One other tip I came across was to turn off the tv while it's set at channel 3. Thanks again y'all. You are beautiful. The Fonze from Kitchener Ontario. |
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Unadilla Unregistered guest | Where can I purchase an original RCA guide plus remote? Not a universal remote. |
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Unregistered guest | My Guide-Plus went out after a power outage also . I reprogramed it now only some channels get listings some of the time, seems to be different channels and different times every day. tried the 00000 reset trick several times has not worked. Anybody have a suggestion |
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Unregistered guest | I have a Panasonic DVD recorder with Gemstar. The TV Guide time is off by 1 hour in half. What can I do? I've reset it. |
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grendel Unregistered guest | I lost my original remote and everytime i turn the TV on, the guide(which i never use) pops up. Anyone know how to just get rid of it forever? I cant do it with my universal remote or on the Tv itself. |
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yfisher Unregistered guest | Heres my two cents - I live in Rochester, NY and my Guide plus has "no listing" - been that way for about 4 weeks now. I will try the 00000 zip code trick tonight. Also, lately, the guide has been coming up the screen by itself. Roughly every 20 minutes, and I have to use the remote to remove it - VERY annoying.. Has anyone else seen this? I've determined that it is NOT the remote, by removing it from the room. |
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Unregistered guest | We had a power outage and now my TV Guide + does not work at all. Tried resetting with same zip code and now have 4 channels. Hopefully the 00000 trick will work. I am not impressed with this TV at all. I have also lost/misplaced the book. Does anyone know how to get another? |
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Anonymous | I have had RCA's for the past 15 years. Very few problems. When the Guide Plus goes out it is not due to the TV's. The cable company is not downloading the info. I am looking for a new 27" set with Guide Plus, haven't been able to locate any in the stores. Anybody have any ideas as to what models have it? |
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Anonymous | In Oklahoma City the signal comes from OETA and they do have an encoder/decoder failure. I don't have an ETR but they didn't know it until we called. The cable company's passes that information on from the Television Station in which has the Cable + signal is received. |
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Unregistered guest | my guide plus is working but the guide + demo keeps comeing on. how do i get this off? can any one help? i am wearing out my remote clearing the demo and missing a lot of the programs. thanks in advance, frustrated in Durham,NC |
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Unregistered guest | Does anyone know how to defeat,deleet or uninstall Guide Plus ? it wont even program the lower network stations like CBS,ABC Etc. I've tried the 00000 reset nothing works.All I get is CNN MTV and a few others. It ignores anything under 14 Help!!!!!! |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | With Guide on your screen, there is a menu bar above the channel listing area. Go the right to "setup". There should be an option called "change default options" or something similar (it's a little different for different versions). Find the item that turns off the "auto-on" feature. Now Guide will never appear again. . . unless you press the Guide button on your remote or set it up again. |
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Chris V Unregistered guest | Can anyone help me? I have a 62" RCA with a guideplus remote. However, the remote will not communicate with the tv. The red light indicates that it should be working. I have purchased (and returned) 4 universal remotes but none work. The only thing I can do is operate the 4 buttons on the front of the tv and these do not allow me the opportunity to use my dvd. Any suggestions? |
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Anonymous | Well, I just answered my own question. I simply followed some advice I found on another site of unplugging the tv for a few minutes. When I plugged it back in it worked. Unbelievable-I have been with a remote for 8 months!! |
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Anonymous | Well, I just answered my own question. I simply followed some advice I found on another site of unplugging the tv for a few minutes. When I plugged it back in it worked. Unbelievable-I have been without a remote for 8 months!! |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | Chris V, press the "TV" button on the remote first to make sure that the remote in tv mode. if you only press the "on/off" button, you might not be in tv mode. The red light indicates that your batteries are ok. Anonymous, like any computerized electronic device, a reboot of the microprocessor will fix quite a number of strange symptoms. |
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Frustrated Unregistered guest | Long story short, we have a 52 inch RCA TV, less than 5 years old that needs a convergence power supply and RCA has the part on national backorder for 6 months! We are actually considering getting another RCA mainly because of the GUIDE PLUS feature but our dealer said that the tv's have Guide Plus programmed into them but the company went broke so they can no longer get the service. Well my "broken" RCA still gets Guide Plus, so does anyone know the REAL story? Do the new RCA's have the Guide Plus service? |
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TVLess in Texas Unregistered guest | HOW CAN I RESET THE REMOTE CODES on my TV? I have moved and set up my TV in 4 different cities ... each time I do .. I find that someone else's remote (unidentified neighbor I guess) can control my TV ... which is incredible in itself because my remote won't control it unless pointed directly at it ... but when I am watching TV, the menu screens come on & off, guide plus menu comes on & off, sound will mute & unmute, and although I keep hitting the cancel or 0 button ... they keep coming back in to interupt my viewing ....Thanks for any suggestions ... |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | Frustrated, this dealer clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. Guide Plus info is distributed by Gemstar (not RCA) who was recently bought by News Corp, a huge media conglomerate that's doing quite well. Most issues where the Guide info is hard to get or intermittent is due to the local cable companies or broadcasters who aren't real motivated to troubleshoot problems on a service where they make no money. I appreciate your fondness of the free Guide service, because I work for RCA, and helped develop quite a few of the Guide models in the late 90's. Yes, many of our currents sets include Guide. However, there is a big change coming in broadcasting in a couple of years, and Guide might be a casualty. The over-the-air analog broadcasting is going to cease as nearly everything now broadcasts digital, too. My suggestion is to buy one of our new SD digital televisions that can receive both digital and analog broadcasts. We are one of the first to develop this type of tv and they are a great value for a first digital tv. TVless in Texas, I would suggest taking the batteries out of the remote for several minutes to reset the remote. It should revert back to RCA codes. There's also a way to select RCA codes that should have come with your remote, but I don't remember how to do it. I would have to get back with you next week when I'm at work. |
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Anonymous | I have had GuidePlus for about 7 years. I have found that in some cases the 00000 code will work, sometimes it don't. I have moved 4 times since buying this TV and have had numerous power outages. I hope this works for you. Turn TV off and unplug for 5 minutes. Plug in and turn back on. Go through the TV setup and make sure you manually put in the time. When you get to the GuidePlus setup, scroll over to the SCHEDULE section and remove everything that is in there, if any. (A power outage or unplugging the TV won't delete any scheduled programs.) Go to setup and re-enter your zip code using the up and down buttons rather than the number buttons. Click the OK button after you're finished with GuidePlus setup. Turn the TV off without going back to normal TV viewing. Within 2 hours the GuidePlus menu will show, but it won't show any progrmas yet. It will list channels, but won't tell you what is on. Leave TV off for 12 hours. Note: You can still watch TV without the channels being listed, but it takes longer for the programs to show up. Usually after a period of off time. |
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Relieved in CA. Unregistered guest | Thank you for telling us how to turn off that #@#$$$##$$#$ guide!! I hate it, didn't want it and it comes on every gosh darn time the TV does! Life will be MUCH better now!! We have Dish service for all of our channels and the guide is useless and a PITA! |
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Willy Wage Unregistered guest | Yfisher you may have it set for the guide plus to come on automatically if you click on no on options it should solve your problem I had the same problem every time I turned mine on and when I did this it stopped. Only comes on now when I hit the guide button. (Working Correctly) I have been having other guide probs for about a week now and I just try the reset method for (no listings or info for this channel) I'll know in the morning if it fixed it. I hope so!!!! Really nerve wrecking when not working right... Thanks & God Bless |
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Willy Wage Unregistered guest | Yfisher you may have it set for the guide plus to come on automatically if you click on no on options it should solve your problem I had the same problem every time I turned mine on and when I did this it stopped. Only comes on now when I hit the guide button. (Working Correctly) I have been having other guide probs for about a week now and I just try the reset method for (no listings or info for this channel) I'll know in the morning if it fixed it. I hope so!!!! Really nerve wrecking when not working right... Thanks & God Bless |
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Unregistered guest | I have a 32inch RCA Entertainment Series and the Volume just stoped working, it works on the xbox but it does not work with the regular tv. any sugestions. |
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larthehat Unregistered guest | i just talked to 1 800 336 1900. they told me to go to set up and put in usa and then 99999 for my zip finish set up and shut down for 35-45 mins. and then do set up again with the right zip. shut down for 24 hrs. and then see if u have ur listings. |
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HappyInOmaha Unregistered guest | This one may come as a shock, based on the previous complaints, but I love my RCA with the Guide Plus feature. I have had some problems with the programs failing to appear, but after unplugging for 5 minutes, then re-powering, this resets the programming (after it is shut off over night). This has only happened a few times and I think it is because of short interruptions of power that this feature gets hosed up. The zip code change to 00000 works too. I will say that one problem that I have noticed on one of my RCA's is the promotions no longer appear on the left side of the screen, other than the base information on the Guide Plus programming that is there before any downloading. Not that it is any big deal, but does anyone know how this gets reset to receive new downloads? A second RCA TV in my house receives this and works fine. Last thing....what happened to the column in the feature for "NEWS"? This was nice just to see what was going on in the world with short summaries. Oh well, there's always the paper. |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | HappyInOmaha, I work for RCA, so I appreciate your comments. Guide Plus is either loved or hated. . . most people fall in one of those two categories. The TV that doesn't get the info on the left column must be getting it's info from a different channel. Do you have both tv's connected to the same signal source? I don't know about the "news". Gemstar International controls the content of the guide, so RCA has no influence on it. |
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Dwntwn_Terry Unregistered guest | It was either this summer or last summer, Gemstar removed the "News" portion. Why, I don't know but they're the ones who did that...BTW wish me luck, I tried the 00000, then unplugged the TV for 5 min and reprogrammed the Guide Plus...We'll see what happens... |
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Dwntwn_Terry Unregistered guest | Ok, I tried the 00000 thing and it cleared everything, but I'm still not getting the guide plus. I have a 27".......Any suggestions? |
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Piers Unregistered guest | My RCA guide plus has been non-functional for last 2 weeks; also affects the time shown when you hit the "info" button. 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). Still no joy after doing this about a dozen times. Called RCA/Thompson's 800 number on Monday and was told the "guide plus technical support team" would call me back within 72 hours. I'm still waiting for their call on day 6. Anyone got any suggestions? |
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Unregistered guest | I have had the same problem and have tried the reset thing a few times. I recall a few years ago I had a remote button sequence that would put the TV into a diagnostic mode just for the Guide Plus. It told if the circuitry was working and also it checked for incoming packets on whatever channel that you started the diagnostic on. I need this sequence but can't find it anywhere on the internet. I know I wrote it down but can't find that either . Anyone know what I am talking about ? With this diag , you can find out if its your TV or the incoming cable thats at fault. I am in BC Canada. I really like Guided Plus ( when it works ) |
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Unregistered guest | OK, I found it on a Tech site, Enter the guide setup program. On my set it is Menu then Guide Plus. The next menu will show setup at the top. At this point, press GOBack twice and then TV. This resets the Gemstar module and goes into a Diagnostic. If you start this sequence from the channel where you think your data is coming from, the VBI packet info will show data coming in. On my set, it is not coming in and I think that is the problem. I have a call in with my cable provider. Hope this helps.. Eric |
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Dwntwn_Terry Unregistered guest | Eric, do you remember what Tech site you found this on and did it tell you what to look for ? Also, let us know what your cable company says, BTW is it Time Warner ? |
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Unregistered guest | We get cable from a company called Shaw. I have since my last post discovered that the VBI packets come in on a specific channel for your area. I am able to get VBI packets showing up on the Seattle ABC channel 4 that is retransmitted to 47 on our system. I am not able to get packets on any other channels. I think in my case the info for my area should be coming in on channel 3 but I get nothing on channel 3. The channel where you start the sequence from is the one that the diagnostic will search for VBI packets on. Here is the Web page where I found the info. http://wa6ati.com/CTC195-197.html if you do a control F and search for guide you will come across the Guide Plus info. It is a little difficult to read but what I get out of it is that of the 5 tests shown, the first 2 should definitely pass ( rom and ram ) the 3rd test will pass if you have VBI packets coming in ( mine only passes when I run the diag from channel 47 ABC ) the last 2 tests are for communication between your TV and other devices. I am now in the process of fooling my TV into thinking it is in Seattle just to prove that I get the Seattle area guide info and then I can go after my cable company knowing it is there problem not mine. Oh yeah.....merry christmas the turkey just went in. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Turkey was good ...ate too much, checked the TV and the channel line up for Seattle has appeared. OK so I know the TV is working. It must be the cable company. I will bug them tomorrow. Eric. |
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Unregistered guest | eben60, I live in Victoria and am experiancing the same problem. Tried your diag but nothing happened. I will go to the link listed and see if my model is different. Also tried the reset (00000) listed in previous postings so will see how that goes tomorrow. Let me know which cable co you use and how you make out with them. Cheers Ray |
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LVE67 Unregistered guest | I have a pioneer DVD recorder and an RCA TV both of which both get Guide + (although Pioneer calls it TV Guide on Screen). Neither of these devices have worked in over two weeks. I have read in other forums from people in other areas of Canada that the service isn't updating for them either and suspected in could be a firmware update that was pushed by the manufacturer. The last time it happened in Aug I emailed my cable company, Cogeco in Trenton , Ontario and they didn't know anything about the VBI packets. Eventually it started working again. |
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Unregistered guest | Just figured out how to get the diags running on my set and as I suspected the VBI packet test failed. Had a thought while it was running and found out a common Canadian problem. Currently the program on the ABC channel is being broadcast on a Canadian channel as well, as is the norm the cable co shuts down the American feed and just uses the Canadian one for both channels (ensures we get the Canadian commercials). Therefore the packets are not currently present. I will check again when the American ABC network is switched back on. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | RayJay I am in Duncan and use Shaw cable. Last nite I used a Seattle Zip code knowing that I was getting VBI packets on ABC. After about 2 hours off the channel line up came in as if I was in Seattle ( all US channels at different numbers ) Today, I wasn't able to get the packets even on the ABC channel. Maybe what you said about the different feeds is the reason. Also I found that when in the diagnostic, you can push the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 to rerun the individual tests without going throught the whole sequence again. Thanks for the local feedback, some application on a server somewhere needs to be restarted and we would all be happy. When I tried technical support I got the shaw IT guys. I guy I talked to was interested but didn't know much about my problem. He sent an email to a buddy in another department asking him for assistance and said that he would call me when he gets any info. I wish that I had run the diagnostic when the system was updating so I would know what channel it is supposed to be on normally. Eric |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Oh yeah one more interesting thing, when I tried to get the Seattle channel line up cleared off so I could put in my own postal code, neither the 99999 or 00000 zip in USA worked to clear out the old info. I unplugged the TV for about an hour and that finally cleared it. |
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Unregistered guest | Eric, As soon as the ABC network feed was there, presto, there were the packets. I think Shaw recently changed the location for some channels, for example Spike used to be on ch 30 and is now on channel 43. I wonder if the location of ABC changed at the same time. If so I think someone needs to contact Gemstar with the correct channel for the local ABC, either that or figure out a way to force the Guide plus setup to look for the VBI info on ch 16. I will wait to hear what your tech support guy says. Ray |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | My Shaw Tech guy experience was not stellar. He claims that Gemstar is not sending the feed to Shaw. When I asked him if he knows this for sure, he said that here are no bulletins or notes about it and it is what they came up with in discussion ( him and the other techies ). They also said that Victoria and Duncan are on the same feed from shaw. I am not following you on the channel 16 idea? Are you getting packet data on channel on 16? I wonder how the set knows what channel to look on for any given postal code. Is that part of its firmwhere? Somehow my TV knew to get the VBI info off of ABC on channel 47 when I put in a Seattle Zip code. Or perhaps the TV just looks for a signal with the right preamble for its postal code area. This makes the most sense to me because this way it would seem right that it is saying the search for data failed even though I know there is some data coming in on 47. I will try to call Thompson but it will take some time as I am working during the days. I saw a number somewhere on this site I think. Eric |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | Guide plus hunts for a channel with Gemstar VBI info after you complete the Guide set-up. Leave the set off for 6-8 hours after set-up, so you don't disturb the download. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Guide plus must be looking for the correct VBI not just any VBI as I am able to get my Guide Plus working OK with a different ZIP code than my area. Unfortunately , the channels available and channel layout are not correct for my area. When I put in my ZIP code the response is " the search for data has failed " even though the VBI packets are still coming in. |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | Right, all the ZIP code does is help limit how many choices are displayed after the initial channel lineups are received. Probably your best bet is to keep bugging the cable company. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Thanks for your input RandyM. Do you know if the ZIP or Postal code maybe also tells the set on which channel to look to get data or does the TV surf the channels looking for VBI data? Eric |
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RandyM Unregistered guest | No, the Guide data channel can change on any given cable system, so the set surfs the channels when it's off looking for VBI Guide data. |
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Unregistered guest | Eric, Yes I am getting the packet info on ch 16. I have checked the channel lineup for numerous locations in BC, all of which use Shaw, and the ABC feed is on ch 21. For example my daughter in Langly has a GE set and the guide plus is working for her, her ABC feed is on ch 21. I believe that the postal code you enter tells the firmware which channel to look for the info on. In our case the ABC network was changed from ch 21 to ch 16 recently for southern Vancouver Island. For the guide plus to work the postal code on the setup tells the set which channel to look for the packets on. This would explain why you can receive the guide plus info by entering a seattle zip code, likely the ABC broadcast in seattle is on the channel you are receiving the packets on. I am still in the process of finding a canadian cable provider that is supplying an ABC feed on ch 16, if I can find one and my theory is correct I should be able to receive the channel lineup for that area by entering thier postal code. Will keep you informed Ray |
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Anonymous | Just to chime in - we are in Duncan BC too - our Guide+ started fading about 2 weeks ago and is now completely dead. Maybe if we all call Shaw, they'll try and look into it, but we all know that they aren't in the business of satisfying their customers! If it saves them money to do nothing - that's what they'll do. |
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Unregistered guest | Just got a reply from an email I sent yesterday to the local Shaw office. Basically they are aware of the guide plus problem and are trying to sort out if it is on thier end or the signal suppliers. I agree that the more people voice thier concerns the more likely shaw is to resolve the problem. |
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Arik in IA Unregistered guest | I don't think this is just a problem with Shaw or the Seattle/Vancouver area...I live in IA (using Mediacom cable) and have the same experiences as Anonymous @ 10:43 PM posted. About 2 weeks ago, only a few channels provided program listing (mostly movies) and of this week there is no program selection at all. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | I just talked to Shaw Technical assistance and he also told me that they now know that there is a problem. ( but only because they have been getting so many calls ). He says they think that Gemstar has made a change and that they (Shaw)have to make a correspnoding change but they don't have enough info. GOOD WORK everyone who called to bug them. I told him to note in my file that Guide Plus data was the only reason I was not switching to Satellite. |
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Piers Unregistered guest | I posted my Guide Plus saga here on 12/24. Still no joy and still no response from RCA/Thompson. I also live in LA (Adelphia) and am interested that Arik in LA with Mediacom has also been without service for past couple of weeks. Did the Diagnostics Test which showed ROM & RAM as Pass, but VBI (which I believe is critical for the Guide Plus feed) showed up as "Fail". Am going to try calling Adelphia and see if they have any information as to what Gemstar is doing. |
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Sean in VA Unregistered guest | I've had very few problems with my RCA w/ Guide Plus. I loved it, but got a TiVo for Christmas. Like the satelite (and some cable) folks, I no longer wanted the Guide screen to appear when powering on the TV. Thanks to those who provided info above on how to do this. |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Piers, make sure you run the Diag from each channel unless you know the channel it used to come in on. You have to restart the diag from each channel. I finally found data on channel 47. My thumb was sore by then. Once I found the channel with data the test 3 passed and even after the test finished, the data numbers kept incrementing as long as I left the screen up. Eric |
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deee_53 Unregistered guest | I saw it here how to re-set the ZIP_ code for my Guide Pluse to download.. can somone please direct me to that post? |
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Piers Unregistered guest | 2 questions for all those who seem to be particularly knowledgable about Guide Plus: 1) Assuming my thumb holds out, why do I want to run the diagnostic test? Presuming I finally find a station where VBI phase passes, what will this tell me? 2) What if I put in a totally different zip code (say for San Diego or SF); if I get lucky and the Guide Plus shows the programming for that zip, then what? Does this mean it's something wrong with my cable provider (Adelphia--who don't even know what Guide Plus is) or Gemstar? And if it doesn't work on another zip code, does this mean it's my RCA TV that's not functioning properly? Finally, can I later return to my correct zip code or will I have totally confused/loused up my TV? |
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eben60 Unregistered guest | Finding a signal just proves all the connections are working in your TV and gives you more confidence when blaming the cable provider. Until I told them that I had it working but that it was not the right data, they claimed it was my problem with my TV and I should be finding out what is wrong with my set. I think when things are normal for my area, there will be 2 feeds. Maybe most ares will not have 2 ? I have one that is correct for my Zip and one that is being rebroadcasted from another area. To put the zip code back to your area, I found it worked best to unplug for about 2 hours then enter all the setup data as required including your proper zip. Then turn the TV off over night. |
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New member Username: Willy_wagePost Number: 1 Registered: Dec-05 | My Tv Guide just now came back on, Come to find out our local cable company was reprogramming the channels or something to that effect it was off for approx 24 days. You may want to check with your cable company as well. Wage |
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New member Username: LilcoxPost Number: 1 Registered: Jan-06 | hello I live in Louisiana, I've been having problems with my guide plus also. For one my view window is gone and my guide plus isn't coming in like it's supose to so I can't view the shows before tuning in to them even when my guide was working. Can somebody please tell me what's really going on? Thank You Lorraine |
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Unregistered guest | I too have mediacom in iowa and my guide plus has been off for a few weeks. I have tried resetting, nothing works. I did the diagnostic on several channels and found that the VPI test passed on the local PBS channel 12 in waterloo. Now what? I went throught the setup and am going to leave it off overnight but I am skeptical that this will fix the problem. Is there someway to force the download or something??? |
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AlteredStars Unregistered guest | I live in Waterloo Iowa and subscribe to MediaCom. My Guide + Gold has been down for 3-4 weeks. I have tried the ZipCode reset 99999 from the RCA manual and 00000 that someone had posted and nothing. Any help, please e-mail me: alteredstars@mchsi.com |
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name Unregistered guest | For those of you in the Victoria/Duncan area on Vancouver Island, BC, I got this email from Shaw. But I guess if it's true, it applies to everyone, as guideplus has made changes that disrupted service all over. Hello, Thank you for taking the time to email us. We have confirmed that guideplus have made changes in their system causing this issue. Shaw has not made changes to how this information is delivered but are working with guideplus to have them correct the issue. We hope to see this resolved quickly. Please let us know if we may be of further assistance. Thank you for choosing Shaw! ---------------------------------------- Chris E-Mail Support Team Shaw High-Speed Internet Service |
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Arik in IA Unregistered guest | Hopefully, Shaw gets Guideplus pointed in the correct direction. If enough people nationwide are having the same problem, it definitely isn't an isolated issue as this problem is affecting multiple users on many different providers. The next step is for the service provider to check and see if something has changed. Hey, at least that is how it works on the network game - I work as an ISP technician. If we get enough complaints of the same type of trouble in a certain location...it's time to attempt to replicate the problem or to verify customer reports. |
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New member Username: LilcoxPost Number: 2 Registered: Jan-06 | First the guide plus not working and now the volume on my tv goes in and out. Can anybody please help me Model # F25305 Chassis CTC203AX1. Thank You |
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Rosemary Unregistered guest | My RCA GuidePlus Gold lost its picture. I have sound and channels go up and down, but no picture. Any help out there |
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parkerbama Unregistered guest | https://www.ecoustics.com/cgi-bin/bbs/show.pl?tpc=2&post=565948#POST565948 I have found with dealing with the guide plus and all the weird happenings alot of times just power cycling the set and re-seting everything works the majority of the time. (turn tv off unplug from power and wait 3 minutes or so and plug back in and go through the setup again) works for me 90% of the time. |
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KMack Unregistered guest | I have a 36" RCA GUIDE Plus that has been an excellent TV until the Guide faded out slowly just before Christmas. It took a week to get a rep on the phone to give me the 999999 solution which i'll try tonite. It sounds as though the Delta Cable is the issue though. Anybody else in Delta BC with this problem? |
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KMack Unregistered guest | I just tried Delta Cable, 0% help there. They say to try Gemstar which is really difficult because Gemstar says try your manufacturer ie. RCA, Toshiba etc. If anyone has a # for Gemstar that would be helpful. |