Forgive the extremely detailed explanation that follows, but I’ve explained this to a number of people and it usually gets misunderstood. I’ve been going back and forth with my cable company about this issue, and they don’t (or refuse to) understand that it’s a problem with my cable box, not my VCR.
I still use a VCR, and have never found the need to switch to a DVR, because there are only two programs that I record to watch later: Jeopardy!, weeknights at 7pm, and The Big Bang Theory, Thursdays at 8. Since *TBBT *is now available On Demand, I stopped recording it, so that leaves only Jeopardy!. My VCR is connected between my cable box output and TV input. I leave it on channel 3, and change channels on the cable box.
Up until two years ago, my cable provider had two kinds of timers that could be programmed through the settings menu: Reminder Timers, which display a pop-up reminding you when it’s time to change the channel, and VCR Timers, which actually *do *change the channel in case you’re recording while away from home. Since I often don’t get home until after 8, I set two VCR timers to change to ABC every night at 7 and to CBS Thursdays at 8.
Late in 2012, my cable provider changed their software. The new software still supports Reminder Timers, but VCR Timers are no longer an option. However, the timers that I set before the changeover have remained in effect. Since the settings menu no longer has an option for VCR Timers, I can’t change them or even turn them off.
Since the programs I record haven’t moved, this wasn’t a problem until recently. Several weeks ago, CBS was airing basketball on Thursday nights. Since my timer was set to record CBS at 8:00, and the program grid showed that the program at 8 was a basketball game that actually began at 7, the timer changed to CBS at 7 to get the whole program – causing me to miss Jeopardy!. And after basketball season ended the timer stayed at 7, so I’m still missing Jeopardy! on Thursdays. Rebooting the cable box hasn’t helped; the timers seem to be stored in non-volatile memory.
I’ve exchanged emails with a customer service rep, but she just tells me to contact manufacturer of my VCR, or gives me instructions on how to set Reminder Timers.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Is there any way to erase the timers from my box’s memory? It’s occurred to me that there might be a programmable universal remote with a built-in timer that I could set to change the channel when I’m not home, but I haven’t found any with that feature except for discontinued models. Does anyone know if there is such a product currently available?