My EPG seems to update at least 2-3 times a day, and it takes a good 90 mins minimum to do it. Is this normal? I got home tonight at about 6.45pm, and here we are 2 hrs later and it's still doing it. I know I can stop it by turning the machine on, but it just seems to be doing it too often.

What are your experiences with it?

I have a 630 and I too was surprised by the frequency and lengths of its updates. The manual does say that it can happen several times a day but also says that it's only overnight...

My experiences are that it does it around 4am and is still doing it when I leave for work at 8am. It also does it mid-afternoon at around 3pm and takes a couple of hours. These are obviously when it's been idle for a few hours so I guess it would do it in the evening too if I didn't use it.

Mine seems to happen twice a day @ 2pm and 3am and does seem to take a couple of hours. If you go to the Guideplus setup screen (far right of the Grid, My TV etc) it will show you when the next update is scheduled and give you details of the last one. Can't be sure off the top of my head but seems to be updates downloaded and length of time next update should take at least that's what I read the 120m as.

Buelligan - I didn't realise that schedule info was available - thanks for pointing that out to me. The last few days mine has started updating at exactly 7pm (a rather inconvenient time!) and stops at 9pm on the dot. I wonder how they get it so that it takes EXACTLY 2 hrs to receive the data. Hmm...

So, I've interrupted my 7pm download tonight, and the next one is indeed due at 3am.

Thanks guys for the info.

I'm thinking about getting one of these ... is it possible to set the number of times a day it updates? So, say, tell it only to do the 2am (or whatever) one?

No, the system will want to update twice a day. Of you don't have to let it, either leave the DVR on, make sure it's occupied ie. recording or not tuned to Eurosporot. Why would you want it not to update?

Say, if I were watching something on tv. I had a Sharp 480 briefly, and it often tried to update. Because I didn't have a scart splitter, it would interrupt whatever I was watching. And once it started, there didn't seem to be any way to make it stop.

my 530 hs seems to download at the start of prime time! Shame you can't force it to do this in the early morning. Or can you.. simply by turning it on at 7pm and off at 1am..

Yes - it's easy to stop it updating, either beforehand or during an update. Just turn it on! It can only update while in standby mode. Very daft though that it updates at primetime 7pm - 9pm - who's the wise guy who thought of that one? And if it loads up 7 days' worth of EPG during an update, why on earth should it need to do it more than once a day? It surely can't need 2 or 3 x 2hr updates just to load this data. I'm still very confused by this, but I can live with it since it's easy to stop it.

I think that when it updates about 3 times in 24 hours it is just updating the changes. Most programmes are changed everyday and it makes up for this by updating. I still dont understand why the update takes 2 hours. Surely if it is just an update for program changes a few minutes update would do.

Was speaking to one of the Pioneer support team a couple of weeks ago about the vageries of the EPG. It updates twice a day (mine does it at 2.30pm and 3am), If it cannot update at the selected time it will move the preset by and hour or more and try again. If yours if updating at 7.30pm leave it on for a couple of days and it should move to a sensible time.

It alledgidly takes 2 hours to update as 'it has a lot to do' He couldn't expain it further than that but when I put it to him that maybe it deleted old programs ie. since the last update, downloads the next 24 hours along with any program information stored about the program (Gangs of New York and The Pianist had star ratings next to them this w/end!) he said it 'sounded reasonable' although could only offer a weak signal as a reason it all took 2 hours
Also asked him what all the stats meant on the update screen and he said "they" didn't know. After I stopped laughing I asked him If he could find out as it seemed unlikely that Pioneer would put a load of potentially useful diagnostic information on the box and not know what the hell it was for. Haven't heard from him since.

So we meet again .

What the Pioneer customer service has told you is not true.

Basically the EPG will download updates 3 times a day to keep the listings data up-to-date. The timeslots are fixed and will not move around dynamically.

Hope this helps.

Hey G.O (so what's your secret If you don't work for 'you know who')

Have only noticed the two reported updates on my system but I'm rarely in the room with the thing unless I'm watching it. When's the 3rd one?

On the other thread, I mentioned that my overnight downloads start at 3am and still going when I leave for work at 8am, but 'he in the know' said there's one that starts at 7:30am, so that explains the 3rd one.

They are effectively three GUIDE Plus+ EPG data download period/day.

If the host channel (analogue reception) is ITV, the download EPG data download period starts at 02:55 and lasts for 120 minutes, 13:58 and lasts for 120 minutes, 18:58 and lasts for 80 minutes.

If the host channel (BSKYB digital reception) is British Eurosport, the download EPG data download period starts at 03:00, 06:30 and 14:30 and lasts for 120 minutes.

The update of the GUIDE Plus+ is done only if the unit is in standby and if there is no recording scheduled for these periods.

The running EPG download process is interrupted when switching one the unit.

I don't think it's as standard as that. It's clear from comments on here that people are experiencing different download frequencies and times. My 7pm download *always* lasts till 9pm. However, last week for a few days it didn't download at all at 7pm. I think it varies from transmitter to transmitter, hence (I guess) why we put in our postcode...? Just a thought.