Fios HDTV "Channel Not Available" But ONDEMAND Works
machguynj
Newbie

Ok I just got Verizon Fios on Wednesday to hook up to my Brand New Panasonic Plasma (54 inch G10)

At first everything was great, but today at about 3pm while watching HBO HD the TV Image just froze.  I turned off teh STB and rebooted and got "Channel Not Available" on every channel.  Spent 2 hours on the phone with 3 different techs (nice waste of a Saturday) for them to say well "looks like its just your DVR box and Ill send you another, but use your other STB on the TV and it should work"

Well it DIDNT work.  Just FYI I have 4 TVS.  3 SD all work fine and 1 HDTV which doesnt.  I have switched boxes and still get CHANNEL NOT AVAILABLE but OnDemand works on it still.  Why would this be,  Signal strength was at about 32 - Fair but should still get picture I would think.

STB hooked up via FIOS Provided HDMI Cable.

**bleep**?  Not HAPPY AT ALL

Wish I hadnt cancelled my DirectTV.

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Re: Fios HDTV "Channel Not Available" But ONDEMAND Works
retiredme
Specialist - Level 1

The "channel unavailable" glitch was very prevalent before the arrival of IMG 1.7, and usually associated with HDMI handshake problems. Do a forum search to see the long history of woes, and what others did to rectify. Since IMG 1.7, it seems like the number of complaints has dwindled, but not disappeared. The usual remedy for STB troubles was the hard reboot - unplug the box from the electric socket for 30 seconds and replug. I had this same problem last year and was doing daily reboots. Another thing to try is HDMI cable replacement. A different cable actually may make the difference. Along the same lines, you might also try a different HDMI port on the TV. (These can work because of the design of HDMI - no error correction built in like coax - so if the electrons don't add up, no signal. Thus different cables/ports change the equation just enough). And some have tried connecting via component cables plus audio cables, which solved a lot of problems. I used component before IMG 1.7, but am now on HDMI. I did have to switch HDMI ports on the TV a few weeks ago due to other issues, but am good now these last weeks. Sometimes it's the simplest little thing, but does point out the unreliability of HDMI - I've never liked it, but that rant will go elsewhere. Lastly, as the rep said, it may just be a bad box - it happens. Let us know what progress you make. Thank you.

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