A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?

On 10/16/2010 3:06 PM root spake thus:

A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?

Sure; get a new cable provider.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)


--
The fashion in killing has an insouciant, flirty style this spring,
with the flaunting of well-defined muscle, wrapped in flags.

- Comment from an article on Antiwar.com (http://antiwar.com)

"root" wrote in message
...
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?


Switch to Dish Network. The DN receiver stand-down after a certain length
of time is adjustable or deactivated. And, if you set it to record a
certain show at a certain time, it doesn't care if you turn the dvr off, or
have it on. It just records what you tell it to. Up to 3 shows at once,
two from satellite, and one from OTA, while you're watching a fourth show
you've already recorded. Cable dvrs are pathetic.

On Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:03:12 -0500, "Klaatu" wrote:

"root" wrote in message
...
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?


Switch to Dish Network. The DN receiver stand-down after a certain length
of time is adjustable or deactivated. And, if you set it to record a
certain show at a certain time, it doesn't care if you turn the dvr off, or
have it on. It just records what you tell it to. Up to 3 shows at once,
two from satellite, and one from OTA, while you're watching a fourth show
you've already recorded. Cable dvrs are pathetic.

If your friend is unable to subscribe to satellite for some reason, he
should complain to the cable regulation authority in his city. By the
description, at one time there was no 6 hour halt. If the 6 hour
'feature' was enabled by the cable service, it constitutes removal of
a service they had agreed to provide.

Or better yet, swtch to DirecTV. Klaatu is correct; cable DVRs are
pathetic. Dish DVRs are better - they are meerly lame, and Dish
nickel and dimes you for every feature. He should get DirecTV and a
DVR.

PlainBill

On Oct 16, 3:06*pm, root wrote:
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

Is that 'any key on the remote'? If so, most DVRs will
be sending a few remote codes to the box anyhow (for
the channel selection). There are some timed-output
remotes (like VCR copilot) that can do something
nearly appropriate about this, too.

I've seen energy saver features a little like this, there may
be a menu selection to turn it off (but it will be hidden
under 'setup' 'energy' 'sleep' or somesuch name).

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:03:12 -0500, "Klaatu" wrote:

"root" wrote in message
...
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?


Switch to Dish Network. The DN receiver stand-down after a certain length
of time is adjustable or deactivated. And, if you set it to record a
certain show at a certain time, it doesn't care if you turn the dvr off,
or
have it on. It just records what you tell it to. Up to 3 shows at once,
two from satellite, and one from OTA, while you're watching a fourth show
you've already recorded. Cable dvrs are pathetic.

If your friend is unable to subscribe to satellite for some reason, he
should complain to the cable regulation authority in his city. By the
description, at one time there was no 6 hour halt. If the 6 hour
'feature' was enabled by the cable service, it constitutes removal of
a service they had agreed to provide.

Or better yet, swtch to DirecTV. Klaatu is correct; cable DVRs are
pathetic. Dish DVRs are better - they are meerly lame, and Dish
nickel and dimes you for every feature.

Untrue. I pay a flat monthly fee for everything, and it hasnt changed in
quite some time.
DirectTV is more expensive to begin with, with fewer non-sport viewing
choices. But you have to do your homework to see what provider is best for
YOU. And Dish Network DOES have the superior DVR. DirectTV, Rupert
Murdochs frankenstein spawn, is inferior.


He should get DirecTV and a
DVR.

PlainBill

On 10/16/2010 6:06 PM, root wrote:
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?
This reminds me of a problem with my Verizon land line, last year. BTW,
Verizon has sold the land line business to Frontier now. Anyway, I had
a package which included voicemail. Verizon VM for not very user
friendly and I already had a phone with a built in answering machine, so
I wanted to use it. However, Verizon VM would answer before the 4 ring
setting on the answering machine. So I called their tech support. The
guy said there is NO WAY to change the number of rings on their VM. So
I lived with it for a while. A few months later, while I was talking to
a Verizon person, I asked why you can't change the number of rings
before going to VM. He said, you can. Just get dial tone and press
these 2 keys and then the number of rings you want it to be. So, moral
of the story is, call Charter back and ask someone else ... they are
probably just reading for a script and making up the rest.

On 10/16/2010 6:06 PM, root wrote:
A friend who subscribes to Charter's cable TV service
tells me Charter has programmed his cable box to
halt after something like 6 hours and display a
screen which says "press any key to resume viewing".

This means that he is unable to pre-program an overnight
recording event. Charter is unwilling or unable to tell
him how he can change the box back to its original
mode.

Any suggestions?

The real question is whether he really is unable to pre-program an
overnight recording event or only thinks that. A little experimentation
may be in order.

Cablevision programs its boxes to give a similar message if you're
watching at around 1:00 a.m. or so. It's an alleged power-saving
function for those who merely turn their TV off but leave the box on.
However, the DVR actually records even when the box is nominally "off."

Ulysses wrote:

The real question is whether he really is unable to pre-program an
overnight recording event or only thinks that. A little experimentation
may be in order.

Cablevision programs its boxes to give a similar message if you're
watching at around 1:00 a.m. or so. It's an alleged power-saving
function for those who merely turn their TV off but leave the box on.
However, the DVR actually records even when the box is nominally "off."

I want to thank everybody for their response. My friend's cable box
is not a DVR, it is just a tuner. There is no setup button on either
the remote or the box itself, so if there is a way for the user to
disable the "power saving" it would involve some secret button
pushing. My friend has talked to several different people at
Charter with no success so far.

On Oct 18, 8:58*am, root wrote:

... My friend's cable box
is not a DVR, it is just a tuner. There is no setup button on either
the remote or the box

If it has enough internal intelligence to compose and display a
message, it
is NOT just a tuner. There's a menu system of some sort with
lots of options on all such boxes I've ever seen. Seek.

If it cannot be set up, ask the cable company about the OTHER
models of box they support, you want one that's amenable
to your needs.