Pioneer DVR-531H-S Question

[mattg568]

I have the Pioneer DVR-531H-S. I noticed it has this "TV Guide On Screen" feature that bugs me to no end. You see, I have Comcast digital cable which has it's own TV Guide branded program guide. So I decided to try and disable the unit's TVGOS by picking "no" from the questions the TVGOS setup gave me. Now, in the TVGOS system settings it says something like this: "There is no cablebox or antenna hooked up to this recorder, therefore, tv listings are disabled" That should prevent "EPG" from appearing in the display when the recorder is off, right? It seems to work when manually turning the unit off with the power button and when the unit is shut down from a one touch record session. But, here lies my problem. When I set the timer, and that timer records... then finishes and shuts down the unit, after a few seconds of being off, the HDD spins up and "EPG" is on the display. What is going on? EPG should be disabled shouldn't it? I know that when it shows EPG that it is doing nothing, just sits there until I turn it on. And it wants to keep coming back when I turn it off again. I've tried numerous times with the "hold stop and press power" reset tool. But every time I set a timer, and it completes, it goes into EPG mode. Could it be the fact that Pioneer tied the timer into that TVGOS feature? If you completely ignore the TVGOS setup, then you can't set the timer at all because it wants to go into TVGOS setup. Okay...DVR-531H-S inital setup after a reset...answer "NO" to the cablebox and antenna questions...EPG never shows up until a set timer completes... then EPG shown up. Does that seem like a bug or something? Is this the first Pioneer product that uses TVGOS? I called Pioneer to complain about that problem and they said, "It's supposed to do that" Can anyone help?

[bbanderic]

Check out the link below, it will give you details on how to disable the EPG. I have the Pioneer 533 and this method works like a charm. For this to work properly you must have a timer recording set at all times, I just set something to record weekly.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=566167&highlight=eureka

[mattg568]

Well, since it seems Pioneer didn't fully test TVGOS in their new HDD recorders, I decided to take it back and get the Pioneer DVR-231s. I know that it has less features than the 220s but it serves my needs perfectly. All I need is a DVD recorder that can record late-night TV programming while I'm asleep so I can watch it the next morning. Plus you never have to rewind (like VHS) and fast-forward through commercials, because it has commercial skip. By the way... You notice the 231s remote has no tray open/close button? You can only open/close the tray with the front pannel. BUT... you can use another Pioneer recorder remote that has an open/close button and then the 231s actually responds and opens/closes the tray!

[Myfawnwy]

Help I have a pioneer dvr531hs I love it, but the tv guide listings have disappeared. Ive reset the unit (hold stop push power, resets to factory settings). I've tried resetting the tv guide (for this model the code is 653214741). I did this more than a week ago, and all i get is the "no information availible for this screen" message. I like the tv listings and want them back. Can anybody help me?

[trhouse]

I had that happen once for more than a week, but the problem was not the recorder, it was a glitch in the cable system.

Sometimes the TV Guide system can be corrupted but generally the timer functions and screens might not work or look right. If it looks and behaves normally, I would wait a bit longer or call the cable system.

If corruption has occurred, you can restore the the TV Guide system and timers from this link by using one of the Pioneer4 files which contain the TV Guide Operating System/timer code. Which file to use depends on your firmware version. It also requires a special remote control and a disk. You may be able to get the disk from Hakan who runs the site.

http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dvr630.php?player=DVR-630H&question=replace_hdd