This saga started when I bought my new top of the line Mistubishi, and after installation I went through the configuration procedures, page by page of the 95 page owner manual.
When I found out that the EPG was not working I immediately suspected the Cable signal from Time Warner. I figured, this set has a card slot and it needs a smart card to decrypt the EPG signal. There is a confusing paragraph in the manual about this.
The Time Warner tech support told me that I needed a Cable set top box to get the EPG,“for the nominal fee of $ 6.00 per month.” I did not want another piece of hardware on my shelf and pay another fee for it just to get the EPG. So they gave it free of charge for one year.
Then I bought another TV for the bedroom, a Sanyo from Walmart, which initially worked right away including the EPG. So,…… it must not have been the cable signal but the Mitsubishi which was at fault.
So I called Mitsubishi tech support: Level one, level two, etc. They were very helpful with going through the diagnostic procedures with entering secret codes with the remote, but the bottom line was: STILL NO EPG!
Meanwhile, in sympathy with the Mistubishi, the EPG on the Sanyo also quit.
In a case like this, where else to go than the good ol’ WWW. where I came upon a bulletin which announced that in the case of Gemstar v. TimeWarner the FCC ruled in favor of Time Warner who stripped the Gemstar EPG data from their cable signal. (Gemstar and TVGuideDaily are now together) (?)
Wikipedia has an entry about TVGOS which explains what it is and its applications.
And according to this article, it is not at all a certain thing that anyone, even with a brand new TV can get it. …………..Something about changing the Gemstar IP address so factory configured TV sets can’t get it.
:violin: