Scientific Atlanta Cable Box Troubleshooting

[Taneka Tarring]

Iam trying to make a system where I can control my TV using an IR LED with an arduino nano or uno. I have been able to get my TV to turn off and on, as well as a few other function that are related to the TV specifically. However, I can't find out how to control the cable (channels) with the LED. When I try to find out the manufacturer (so I know which "send__()" to use), I am getting responses of "unknown". This is the code I am using:

Is there any way I can still control the cable of the TV with the LED? I read that you can send values raw, but I didn't understand how I do this. For example, the TV which is sony needs each signal to be modulated three times. How would I know if something similar needs to be done with my cable? If you have any ideas on how I could send the signal, or on other ways I could control the cable with an ir LED, I would love to hear them.

That is not the problem, my problem is when I try and click buttons connected to my cable system. Then I am getting the UNKNOWN text in the serial monitor. My cable box is the scientific atlanta explorer 4290.

My cable box is the scientific atlanta explorer 4290. My remote is the URC1056B03. The remote appears to be able to run a variety of signals depending on your cable box. However, I don't know what signals it is using to control my box.

The issue is that to send the hex code (36113D), I need to use the correct IRremote protocol (Eg sendSony(), sendNEC(), etc) so that it modulates correctly. Do you know how I could still send the code to the box?

Another possibility is to use raw receive and transmit. I've never used it, but the idea is it records the times on and off for each bit, and then duplicates that on sending. It doesn't have to know what the protocol is. Maybe someone else here can provide more information on raw.

Edit: But if it works for Sony, but not for Scientific Atlanta, it could be because SA uses some frequency other that 38KHz to modulate. In that case you would need a scope to figure out what's going on. But almost all remotes use 38KHz, so hopefully SA does too.

We live in Northern VA and got FIOS in mid-April, an upgrade from antenna TV & 1990's DSL. We have had constant problems with sound on WETA HD (channel 526). As new subscribers, we received Cisco STBs.

I have identified at least two other people on this forum with a similar problem on the same channel and others who have reported audio or other problems with the Cisco DVR STBs. At least one person on this forum reported solvng the problem by getting his Cisco STBs replaced with Motorola boxes.

1. Sound frequently missing when tuning to 526 (WETA HD). Sound is fine on the non-HD channel. Can sometime be restored by bouncing back and forth to other channels several times. The sound is fine on the non-DVR box in the house.

Verizon tech says they've referred this to video engineering for troubleshooting but I have not heard anything since then (two days). Since they seem to be treating this as an isolated problem I'd like to see if it is or if others have similar problems that might alert Verizon to the breadth of the problem and/or to other details that might help them in their diagnostics.

If we're the only people with the problem maybe a third DVR STB might solve it. If enough people report the problem here, maybe our combined report might get it resolved. As we're getting down to the 30 day full return limit I'd like to make a decision quickly.

I have the same problem on WETA channel 526 in northern VA. They have reset the box and provided me with a new box but the problem keeps recurring intermittently. In my case it seems to occur only on recorded material it could be on the live reception to as we do not use the set with the DVR often when we are not viewing a recording. We to have noticed the audio drop out early when viewing a Sherlock Holmes recording, but on most other shows the audio is out from the beginning. Verizon support finally suggested it was because of data rights protection on that station to prevent recording, but I called the station and they said they did not try to prevent recording in any way. They suggested it may be a SAP (Secondary Audio Program) setting problem. I have not been able to find SAP settings or change them.

The support people have heard of the problem but have not working solutions so go through the same litany of questions regarding cables, hdmi, and box resets without permanent results. By the way I do not use HDMI to or from the DVR box. The problem is obviously within the box.

Threatening to go back may bring results. However, I should warn you that a friend has Cox and has similar problems with WETA UK. As near as I can determine, the problem is with certain broadcasters, specifically WETA HD & WETA UK in our area and the Cisco DVR box. And Cox has been using Scientific Atlanta boxes - which are now Cisco since SA was acquired by Cisco a few years ago.

My particular problem disappeared just prior to the latest firmware update. It involved "dropped" audio on just two channels, 526 and 484, two parts of the suite of channels coming from WETA, a Washington DC PBS outlet. The audio simply stopped dropping on those two, and now I never switch on the Cisco box or try to play a recording only to find audio is absent. Since the "fix" did not coincide with a firmware update, something must have changed somewhere else, outside my house. So not all audio problems have like solutions ...

Glad to hear that the Cisco (and Scientific Atlanta) problems have been resolved. We convinced them to give us Motorola boxes after filing a complaint with our county regulatory office and that resolved our problem. But I was worried that we'd get it back if we ever moved or our box(es) started acting up and we were given Cisco as replacements.

I wanted to see if people were still having issues. I Started with Motorola and went to Cisco to test when they started becoming more widely available, switching is not something that is normally done, so it is VERY restricted, and involves many issues. Cisco is also not supported in all areas. I have found that both vendors work equally well. HDMI on 1 - Samsung, 2 - Vizio's, and now 1 LOW COST Westinghouse, and I have never experienced audio issues. Plus 1 TiVo HD with CableCard and HDMI. Five flat panels total.

Music Choice is, and has always been a problem for me from DAY 1 on the Cisco STB. What a piece of junk this Cisco "equipment is!! I NEVER had any issues with my old Motorola STB. But I moved and VZ switched it out with this Cisco JUNK.

If you ever do get your Music Choice issue fixed, please post. Sorry I could not be of any help, other than venting my frustrations with this Cable Provider who is obviously way in over their heads. They should have stuck to telephone service ONLY.

I have been struggling with this exact same problem with the same channel, WETA, Channel 526 HD. I too have a CISCO HDR box and a Cisco non DDR standard box. We have tried box replacement,and box resets, without permanent results. I am now being passed around from tech support to customer service and back as Verizon personnel try who don't know how to respond pass me on. Most recently I read in this forum of a person who said the problem was fixed when they switched to a CISCO box. I called technical support to get a Cisco box replaced with Motorola. They said they couldn't do it and to call customer service, who said the same and sent me back to Tech Support. Finally I got someone to process and order for two Motorola boxes to replace the two Cisco boxes. They were promptly sent via UBS. Imagine my surprise when I opened the boxes and found they were Cisco boxes again. I call Customer Service who sent me back to Tech support who now tell me only Cisco Boxes work in my area, and that other FIOS areas use Motorola. I seriously doubt this store at least one other in this area apparently got a Motorola box, and also its hard to imagine that Verizon would not require their vendors to supply equipment compatible with a single standard. The next step is a technician visit next Tuesday.

i finally got Verizon to send out a very capable technician and had the good luck that WETA UK was being received without audio on my Cisco DVR box when he was here . The video and sound were coming through on the non DVR cable box but only the video was being received on the DVR. He carefully checked out connections, signal strength, etc without finding a problem. He then disconnected the Cisco non DVR cable box and connected it where the DVR box had been and both audio and video were ok for that station and others. He finally agreed to replace my Cisco boxes with Motorola boxes and the problem was solved. This was a very experienced tech, and he had not seen the problem before so there may be a very small number of us having the problem. It would seem it is the result of an interaction between some stations, including WETA and WETA UK in northern VA, and the hardware in all or some Cisco DVR boxes. If you are having the problem you will need to fight to get Motorola boxes for they do not want Verizon to use them now for whatever reason.

I had the same problem and reported it as the original poster in another thread. A week or so ago, sometime around Oct. 1, the problem with missing audio on WETA UK, ch. 474, and WETA HD, ch. 526, stopped happening. I don't know why. I haven't changed a thing. My Cisco DVR box seems to have the exact same software it has always had. Maybe WETA changed something in its digital signal origination. Maybe Verizon changed something in the way it packages the WETA signals. Anyway, the problem seems to be ancient history now.

We also live in No.VA., but Verizon has never installed FIOS in our building. However, we do have Cox Cable and recently got dvrs, Cisco Explorer 8642HDC's. We immediately began experiencing the types of problems described below. We regularly experience a missing audio channel. This appears on HD shows, OnDemand programs, and regularly occurs on particular commercials. We regularly experience one commercial out of a string of commercials missing the main voice over channel, while playing the background sound channel. While i have been writing this there was a series of 4 commercials, 1. Smart car; 2. IPhone 5; 3. Scrubbing Bubbles; 4. Amazon Kindle; 5. CheapOAir. 1. and 3. lost the main audio channel but the background sound effects and music sounded normal. 2., 4., and 5. sounded fine with both channels.

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