FIOS DVR causing my Samsung HD DLP to malfunction

[NATIVTXN]

#1 I just got FIOS and have a new problem with my TV. For some reason, when I go to turn the TV on, it will repeatedly turn on and off and never never stay on. I had Charter before with a Hughes DVR and never had a problem. I think it has something to do with the Stand Mode that the DVR stays in when it's off.

#2 When viewing a non HD channel the aspect is Zoom and nonadjustable. Any suggestions?

[spacedebris]

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@NATIVTXN wrote:

#1 I just got FIOS and have a new problem with my TV. For some reason, when I go to turn the TV on, it will repeatedly turn on and off and never never stay on. I had Charter before with a Hughes DVR and never had a problem. I think it has something to do with the Stand Mode that the DVR stays in when it's off.

#2 When viewing a non HD channel the aspect is Zoom and nonadjustable. Any suggestions?

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#1.  When turning the TV on, is the STB on or in standby?  (is the light to the left of the clock lit up?)

#2.  By default the STB should have the zoom function disabled, leaving the picture adjustment to the tv. To make sure that Verizons zoom mode is off. do the following

• press---  POWER-->Select-->Menu. Physically on the box itself (starting with the box ON)
• you should now see the user menu on the screen
• make sure that the line that says 4:3 override is set to OFF
• If ON, Turn OFF
• Once OFF, hit power to exit and then turn the stb back on

If Verizon's 4:3 override is off then the picture size adjustment is all done by the tv

[NATIVTXN]

When I turn the TV on, the DVR is in Stand By. That's what I think is causing the problem with my TV and I'm sure cycling thru on/off cycles is not a good thing.

Thanks for info on aspect. I'll give it a shot. 

[Keyboards]

You should be able to set the 4:3 override from the onscreen STB menu without going to the "hidden" menu mentioned earlier.  Menu -> Settings -> Video Settings -> SD Override

[Techman28]

I would agree with Keyboards here to turn off the 4:3 override through the menu, settings, video settings,  and then turning off standard override

[NATIVTXN]

I'm good with resetting the aspect. The bigger problem is the on/off deal; with my TV. How do I stop the DVR box from communicating with my TV when the DVR box is off. I don't want standby mode, I don't want any signals coming to my TV.  Also, how hard is it to bag the Motorola DVR and replace with Tivo? What do I need from Verizon to pull this off?

[Bob_Robertson]

There is no way to do away with the standby mode.....

If you want Tivo, go buy a Tivo, and if you buy one that takes cablecards, contact Verizon and order cablecards..

[spacedebris]

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@NATIVTXN wrote:
I'm good with resetting the aspect. The bigger problem is the on/off deal; with my TV. How do I stop the DVR box from communicating with my TV when the DVR box is off. I don't want standby mode, I don't want any signals coming to my TV.  Also, how hard is it to bag the Motorola DVR and replace with Tivo? What do I need from Verizon to pull this off?

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Unfortunatly there is no way to keep the dvr from communicating to the TV. The Verizon DVR's have never had an "off" position. they have always gone to standby mode. the problem was they were getting too many complaints from customers that were turning Off (standby mode) the STB but not turning off the tv. So in the middle of the night when Verizon did updates to the STB and it turned back ON. Since they didnt turn off the tv. they would now hear voice in the middle of the night, scaring people. So due to all the complaints because the customer couldnt figure out how to determine if the tv was on or off, Now they put in a small signal to put that "your stb is in standby mode" message on the screen so you know the tv is still on. Makes all the people that were complaining happy but those of us that know how to tell the difference, it makes for some frustration.

As for Tivo. There are many ways, but the easiest is... Purchase a Tivo Series 3 that uses cable cards, and then contact Verizon for a cable card. You do loose all the interactive features of verizon on that tv (widgets, vod, etc). but the tivo will work fine that way.

[Justin46]

I agree with the answers you have already received, but before you give up on the Verizon DVR....

I have never heard of a TV that would turn on and off because of a signal on the connection from an STB. I leave my DVR on all of the time (there is very little benefit from turning it off, it draws almost the same power whether it is on or off), but even if I turn it off it has never had any effect on my TV.

Is that the only TV that turns on/off when connected to the DVR? Your symptoms just don't make sense to me at this point.

Have you tried separating the on/off function on the remote for the TV and the DVR so you can turn each one off or on by hitting the appropriate device button on the remote before you hit the power button? If you haven't, you might try that, might make a difference, I don't know.

One last thought: it won't work now with FiOS, but for years people have connected their TVs to a cable system without using any STB and it has worked. In that environment the signal from the cable is always present, so why would having a signal present now affect your TV this way? The connection type maybe (what are you using?), if it is an older TV maybe there is a bug in the TV and a fix is available from the manufacturer.

Anyway, I just don't see how having a signal from the DVR present would cause this problem unless the TV itself is somehow broken.

Good luck.

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
IMG 1.6.2, Build 08.58
Keller, TX 76248

[NATIVTXN]

Thanks Justin. I have had the TV for a while and I've had Direct TV, Dish and Charter and never had a problem until I got Fios. Seems more than coincidental.