Hmmm...I hadn't checked this thread in a while, so I'm pleased to see the HD DVR offering for our area from TW is making some progress. My thanks to Hugh and any others that are able to post info.; like so many others I've been waiting patiently for this (and paying for two STB's when I really only need one).

Looking forward to hearing more-

Does anyone know where I can find a Avia or DVE disk in Charlotte/surrounding areas?

I know a local company here in Chapel Hill that carries them ...

email cbingham@kayye.com and he'll give you the details (cost, etc).

DeArgila
I am not scheduled to be in Chapel Hill for another few weeks, I was hoping for something closer. But if all fails I may have to go there.

Thanks

You can get either one off the internet, no need to wait a few weeks. Just Google it.

Originally posted by hickory
DeArgila
I am not scheduled to be in Chapel Hill for another few weeks, I was hoping for something closer. But if all fails I may have to go there.

Thanks

Well, of course, they will ship it to you.

Mediaplay on corner of Woodlawn and South has Avia and DVE.

powers

I picked it up at Media Play today.

Thank you very much.

New Question-

My TWC Pioneer Voyager HD box turns itself off several times a day and requires rebooting each time. TWC has replaced the box, yet seems unable to fix the problem.

Ideas?

Thanks in advance-

Originally posted by lstokes
New Question-

My TWC Pioneer Voyager HD box turns itself off several times a day and requires rebooting each time. TWC has replaced the box, yet seems unable to fix the problem.

Ideas?

Thanks in advance-


I am having the same exact problem! I was just getting ready to call TWC to replace the box but it sounds like it is a much greater problem. We need some help.

Anthony-

After speaking to half a dozen twc people, I've learned that it's not just a HD problem (SD boxes are turning themselves off, too) and that there are quite a few folks that are having this issue. Apparently they're working on it.

Unfortunately, many phone support and field techs are unaware of the problem, so it can be difficult to find someone that's aware of the phenomenon.

But still, call them. As I understand it, they're trying to collect as much info about users experiences in order to isolate the problem.

This is just a WAG but could it possibly be overheating and shutting itself off? Never had the problem myself.

Hugh-

I'd thought of that, but my box is pretty well ventilated. Plus I've had the box for several months now w/ no probs, and this box off/need to reboot issue only started in the last 10 days or so.

Anthony, what's your experience?

I have been using the Pioneer 3510HD box for over 8 months and never had this issue. It has just been within the last two weeks the problem has surfaced. Just as a reference point, I have the basic digital box upstairs in my bedroom and haven't experienced any problems.

Hey Bob from Fox18. What's been going on with the Fox digital broadcasts of late? The other night That 70's Show (which I know isn't broadcast in HD/ED) was squeezed into a 2:3 shape (vs. the standard 4:3) -- i.e., everyone was "skinny." I've noticed other shows the same way, as well. And last night, Scream 2 -- which I would have thought might be in ED but wasn't -- had the Fox logo well inside the lower right hand corner, like it was leaving room for the extra space on the widescreen broadcast. But it was squeezed to a narrow "square" as well.

Maybe I'm not describing this very well, but it's just been some freaky stuff on Fox18 of late.

And yes, my TV is set up right. The other HD channels look fine.

Maybe some testing in preparation for going to HD this fall?

I've seen that as well, we have tested our end several times and found no problems using the daytime test feed from FOX. After speaking with FOX yesterday, what I saw of Yawn ( I mean, Scream...) looked fine. And yes,
there is a lot going on , especially at FOX TOC in LA, for the upcoming HD conversion. I usually check the dt nightly, but not always. So anytime you see anything funky, please email or call us.

Who do I need to get in touch with other than TWC Customer Support about the lack of service I am getting. And the dissatisfaction of how TWC is handling my problems I am having with my HDTV channels and my RR connection? Customer Service is of no use, as they do not know what the problems are in my neighborhood, or the lack of a signal I am getting to my house.

For those of our viewers out there with Samsung receivers, you will need
to perform the following upgrade in order to be compatible with an upcoming PSIP upgrade and ensure continued reception of WCCB-DT:

http://www.samsungusa.com/stb_upgrade/

Originally posted by M_OReilly16
Who do I need to get in touch with other than TWC Customer Support about the lack of service I am getting. And the dissatisfaction of how TWC is handling my problems I am having with my HDTV channels and my RR connection? Customer Service is of no use, as they do not know what the problems are in my neighborhood, or the lack of a signal I am getting to my house.

I don't work for TWC but every time I've had a problem I just called the toll free number for technical support and they send someone out to my house. If you tell them your RR and/or cable tv is not working they will schedule a service guy and it's usually in about 48 hours. The service tech. can check the signal strength of both services for you.

HughScot how is that HD-DVR working out? Care to share :)

I don't work for TWC but every time I've had a problem I just called the toll free number for technical support and they send someone out to my house. If you tell them your RR and/or cable tv is not working they will schedule a service guy and it's usually in about 48 hours. The service tech. can check the signal strength of both services for you.
Thanks, but I am well beyond that point. I have had a service guy come out to my house at least 6 or 7 times with none of my problems fixed. I am now in the process of speaking directly to a service manager that sends his crew to install new lines when they have a problem. They have replaced 3 or 4 lines in my neighborhood that they said were bad,and still I am having problems. Now the manager won't return my phonecalls. I really don't want to get into specifics other than customer support is of no use to me. And now this service manager wont return my phonecalls or give me an update on what's going on. There is a temporary coax cable laying on top of the gutter across the street from me that still hasn't been buried.(it's been there for over a week now) My cable has not worked right since I moved into my house 1 1/2 years ago. Nothing has been fixed, and I am paying for a service that isn't working. I was hoping that someone would now of another person I could talk to about how to fix this problem.

Originally posted by rcase13
HughScot how is that HD-DVR working out? Care to share :)

I have no issues. That's all I can say at this point.

Anyone know anything about the likelihood of Charlotte getting the Braves games in HD from TBS-HD and Turner South?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=411514

SC has them here:
http://www.twcsc.com/hdtv_MLB.htm

And, as a side question...are all of the MLB games on INHD blacked out here?

Don't know about the Braves games, but we saw the INHD game last night.

Best of all, we don't subscribe to the HD package (which includes INHD)!

I didn't try to watch the game Thursday night... oh well.

If you had INHD before the HD package existed, you were grandfathered in... If you have HDNet as well, you are lucky :)
If you don't have HDNet, it probably isn't worth paying $6/month for the HD package.

Does anyone have a clue why our ABC affiliate channel 9's over-the-air digital channel is not mapping to 9.1? I'm having to pick it up on its true channel, which is 34 to watch anything in HD. It has been this way for over a week now.

WSOC-DT definitely has a problem. Picked up a USDTV receiver at Walmart yesterday ($198)..it barfs when attempting to scan WSOC. I'll have to send
Dave an email. However, my Sony 300 and Sylvania 3000 both receive them ok. I haven't tried my Dish 6000 and Zenith 520 yet.

please do - it's still hosed...

I've sent my contact there an email..

Hello all - I will be moving to Cornelius, NC which is north of Charlotte, near Huntersville, where I will be working. This thread says area so I hope here is where to post.

It appears that my area will be served by Adelphia cable which I know little of. We had TWC in MIllwaukee(road runner included) with no complaints and have cox here in tidewater, Va. Both areas are in discussions for local HD content, same issue regarding the subchannels/bandwidth.

Does anyone know anything about Adelphia? Has anyone tried Vroom in that area? I really like HD but the cable companies( their fault or not) have small offerings ao far. What of DTV? I would imagine local channels would be an issues with DirectTV there, being so close to charlotte would it not?

I know I seek alot of info - but moving to a new, very unfamiliar area is hard enough on my familly. I hope I can find some good television programming there to make the transition less painfull. The area seemed very nice when we did our house search.

Thanks for any info/advice.

A little off-topic, but has anyone tried the digital telephone service offered by TWC? http://www.twcdigitalphone.com/charlotte/
It uses voice over IP technology.

WCCB-DT should be available on Adelphia begining Tuesday 15th..

I've been beta testing the Digital Phone for the last three months and it is a great service. The voice quality is the same as land line and you can't beat the price for unlimited long distance. The only issue being if you lose power you lose your phone. But for me I have nothing but cordless phones anyway so if I lose power I wouldn't have a land line phone anyway. I would definately recommend it!

Now if TWC only sold electricity and natural gas I would just have one bill per month!

Originally posted by mduskin
A little off-topic, but has anyone tried the digital telephone service offered by TWC? http://www.twcdigitalphone.com/charlotte/
It uses voice over IP technology.

Is it not the exact same thing as Vonage or Packet 8 - only a lot more expensive? If it is, you are better off (IMO) going to Best Buy / Circuit City / Radio Shack and picking up the $80 Vonage ATA ($30 after rebate if you decide to keep service). Vonage has unlimited local and long distance for $30 vs. $40 for TWC Digital Phone.

TWC Digital Phone differs from Vonage in a number of ways. Digital Phone does not travel across the public internet. Calls travel from the TWC network to our the network of one of our telephony partners - MCI or Sprint. Therefore, the quality and clarity of calls is much better. Also, unlike Vonage or Packet 8, TWC Digital Phone works with all of the phones in your home without extra equipment. In order to make Vonage or Packet 8 work with all of your home phones, you will have to purchase a networked phone system which can cost upwards of $150. Digital Phone will also work without a High Speed Internet connection, unlike Vonage which requires High Speed Internet access. Finally, TWC Digital Phone provides E911, while Vonage does not.


Now, credit where it is due, I got this straight from our Marketing Supervisor for Digital Phone, Wendye Martin. Is there a thread on the forum she needs to start monitoring?

Hey Diana,
Before I post my response, first let me say that your help in answering peoples questions on here has been invaluable, but almost everything your marketing person told you is wrong. Please take this response will all due respect.


"TWC Digital Phone differs from Vonage in a number of ways. Digital Phone does not travel across the public internet. Calls travel from the TWC network to our the network of one of our telephony partners - MCI or Sprint. Therefore, the quality and clarity of calls is much better."

The method with which the calls get to your "partner" is the same method with which Vonage gets it to theirs - dedicated data lines.


"Therefore, the quality and clarity of calls is much better."

I have had Vonage for almost a year and have had no issues with quality. The factors that go into the quality of IP Telephony call are numerous, and the same ones that Vonage has no control over are the same ones TWC would have no control over.


"Also, unlike Vonage or Packet 8, TWC Digital Phone works with all of the phones in your home without extra equipment. In order to make Vonage or Packet 8 work with all of your home phones, you will have to purchase a networked phone system which can cost upwards of $150."

Every phone in my house is running off of my Vonage provided Cisco box. All that needs to be done is the phone company's line needs to be disconnected from the phone box outside the house. This is a relatively simple process and I will be glad to forward anyone a link to step-by-step instructions on how to do this. No extra equipment was needed, just a screwdriver.


"Digital Phone will also work without a High Speed Internet connection, unlike Vonage which requires High Speed Internet access."

I'm not really sure what the difference is here. Access is access is access. Unless its DSL and then its just slow.


"TWC Digital Phone provides E911, while Vonage does not."

This is not true. I have 911 access and, unfortunately, have had to try it out and it worked flawlessly.


Diana, please understand that this reply was not to "flame" you. I have always been impressed by your efforts to help people on this board.

Now, the disclaimer, I do not work for Vonage but I am a Network Engineer for a technology firm here in Charlotte, so I do have quite a bit of experience on this issue. I have no direct experience with Packet8, but I can say that I have been very happy with Vonage.

Anyone, please let me know if you disagree, I always enjoy a healthy, non-insulting, debate and I like to hear differing opinions.

James

What's even better........just use your cell phone. It always works and long distance is free both ways.

Just a thought.

Speak for yourself..Obviously you don't have All*Smell...

Hard to argue with that!

Originally posted by CougerofEQ
Hello all - I will be moving to Cornelius, NC which is north of Charlotte, near Huntersville, where I will be working. This thread says area so I hope here is where to post.

It appears that my area will be served by Adelphia cable which I know little of. We had TWC in MIllwaukee(road runner included) with no complaints and have cox here in tidewater, Va. Both areas are in discussions for local HD content, same issue regarding the subchannels/bandwidth.

Does anyone know anything about Adelphia? Has anyone tried Vroom in that area? I really like HD but the cable companies( their fault or not) have small offerings ao far. What of DTV? I would imagine local channels would be an issues with DirectTV there, being so close to charlotte would it not?

I know I seek alot of info - but moving to a new, very unfamiliar area is hard enough on my familly. I hope I can find some good television programming there to make the transition less painfull. The area seemed very nice when we did our house search.

Thanks for any info/advice.

I live in Cornelius and have both Voom and Directv. Also have the small Channel Master Stealth antenna mounted in the attic pointed south toward Charlotte and receive every one of the local channel's OTA DTV signals in the 80-90% range. I use a three way splitter so I can recevive them thru by Directv STB, my Voom STB and via the DTV input on my HD Mits. I'd give the PQ edge to going straight to the TV via the DTV input.

Unfortunely, Adelphia does not have much to offer here. Like you I was used to Road Runner from TWC before I moved here two years ago. However, I went the Bellsouth DSL route for my broadband because of Adelphia's reputation in this area. For some reason most all of the Charlotte-Metro area is serviced by TWC and Road Runner except here in Cornelius.

If you're interested in High Def, you'll have to go with Voom (the most), Directv (a little) or Dish (never had it) as Adelphia cable only offers a couple of HD channels and the last time I checked those were just the locals (that you can pick up for free with an OTA antenna).

If you order locals through Directv, the Charlotte channels are obviously the ones provided (standard def though, not high def). I subscribe to them for my SD TVs but always watch the OTA DTV versions on my HD sets for High Def reasons.

Hope that answers your questions.

Digital Phone and Vonage are different in that Vonage does travel on the public internet. Otherwise, how would anyone in the nation be able to get access...and only consumers with access to TWC's network can get Digital Phone - i.e. private network. You take a box home and hook it up to the public internet to activate Vonage. Don't get us wrong - TWC uses IP telephony technology...it just doesn't travel on the public Internet.


Certainly we will not doubt your word concerning your own experience with multiple phones...but the fact is that the general population (present AVS Forum company excepted) would not know how to do what you are talking about...which is handled by TWC installers while installing DP. Part of the reason Circuit City and Best Buy sell Vonage is to increase sales of these networked phone systems. There are workarounds as you stated...but these are not general knowledge. The Vonage currently advertised by these retailers only works with one phone.

We do want to make a correction. Vonage doesn't require an HSD connection but does require an Internet connection of some sort - i.e.- travels on the public internet. Digital Phone requires NO Internet access - i.e. - doesn't travel on the public internet.

Vonage has 911 but not e-911(enhanced). Basically, the difference is if you call E-911, they automatically know where you are...even if you can't speak. Regular 911 service, which is provided by Vonage, allows you to call 911 but you have to give your location.

I think one BIG difference between Vonage and TW is that your calls only travel within the TW network before getting routed to the carrier, whereas with Vonage you go out over the public Internet. From my experiences on RoadRunner, network performance is MUCH better when you stay within the RR network - for example you can usually get the full 3mbps downloading from the RR news servers or mail server.

One question I have is whether the phone service shares bandwitdh with RoadRunner? For example, if I am downloading MP3s from the News Server and a call comes in, will either the download speed drop or the call quality suffer? Right now, I can't play XBox live while a mass MP3 download is running b/c of bandwidth issues. Will this hold true with the phone service or does it not count against the 3mbps bandwidth cap that RoadRunner imposes?

Good Question - I've forwarded it to my engineers to enlighten us both

Ok - Digital Phone and HSD share the same bandwidth (26 mhz for return path and 555 mhz for forward). Digital Phone is given first priority, so if you are on the phone and on the internet at the same time, it will slightly diminish your capacity and speeds - but only a minimal amount as the Digital Phone does not require much bandwidth to maintain good quality.

Digital Phone and Vonage are different in that Vonage does travel on the public internet. Otherwise, how would anyone in the nation be able to get access...and only consumers with access to TWC's network can get Digital Phone - i.e. private network. You take a box home and hook it up to the public internet to activate Vonage. Don't get us wrong - TWC uses IP telephony technology...it just doesn't travel on the public Internet.

True. But this is only a real benefit if there was no other traffic on TWC's network. I can assure you that this is not the case. I will be glad to show you the firewall logs from any of my customers on TWC or my own firewall on my RR account. The real difference is the number of "hops" required to reach TWCs phone access vs Vonage's access. That I can't answer without some investigation, but I do know that even pinging an address within TWC network can have as many 12 to 15 hops. And as you put it, the bandwidth required for a call is very low, between 30kbps and 90kbps depending upon a user's preferences. For those of you who are not aware, 1 Mbps is ~ 1000Kbps.


Certainly we will not doubt your word concerning your own experience with multiple phones...but the fact is that the general population (present AVS Forum company excepted) would not know how to do what you are talking about...which is handled by TWC installers while installing DP. Part of the reason Circuit City and Best Buy sell Vonage is to increase sales of these networked phone systems. There are workarounds as you stated...but these are not general knowledge. The Vonage currently advertised by these retailers only works with one phone.

I agree that the average consumer will not know how to do what I described, but to say that Vonage will work with only one phone, as well as stating that you will need to purchase additional equipment is misleading and false. For some customers it is a benefit to have TWC do this for them; whether or not it is worth an additional $10/month is up to each individual.

Vonage has 911 but not e-911(enhanced). Basically, the difference is if you call E-911, they automatically know where you are...even if you can't speak. Regular 911 service, which is provided by Vonage, allows you to call 911 but you have to give your location.

I can't speak as to whether or not Vonage offers e911, but I can tell you that when I signed up for Vonage, I filled out an online form stating my physical address. When my house was broken into 6 months ago and I dialed 911, the operator read my address back to me, so there must be some sort of comparable technology in place.

Please don't misunderstand this as "bashing" Time Warner. I am very happy with my RR account and, with the exception of the ever delayed HD DVR (grrrrr!), I am also happy with my cable account. My only issue is that there are people who read this board and take what people say as gospel. Therefore I think they should have all the facts.

James

agreed

Diana, thank you for clarifying some of the benefits of TWCDP...if only all TW markets were as present as TWCSC, we would be a very happy bunch.

I'm with Hugh here...Cell phone is easiest (especially during N/W time)...

Anyway, thought I would point out a couple other differences between Vonage and TWC Digital Phone that might matter to some:

Voicemail:
Vonage: Included
TWCDP: $3.95/month

Call Forwarding
Vonage: Included
TWCDP: Not Available*

3-Way Calling
Vonage: Included
TWCDP: Not Available*

Obviously Call Forwarding and 3-Way Calling won't be deal breakers for a lot of people, but Voicemail certainly could be (If price wasn't already). IMO, it isn't worth $13/month for calls to stay within the TWC system - The best reason to go with TWCDP would be that you know who to call when it isn't working (Although that might be a little difficult :D ) ... with Vonage, the problem could be with your connection or a problem on the Vonage end. If you have voicemail, you don't have to worry too much about your connection going down.
*To the best of my knowledge - As of 6/14/2004

Steering the thread back on topic - We want our HD DVR's! ;)

Originally posted by doppler1

Steering the thread back on topic - We want our HD DVR's! ;)


Don't blame you - I love mine and the benefits of SA v Pioneer headends can be debated, but the fact that SA and SARA Divisions are usually out of the gate much faster is certainly a benefit I enjoy.


One last plea before we totally drop Digital Phone though - Is there a AVS Thread where I can direct my DP marketer to monitor and answer questions?

Thanks and have a great day

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
One last plea before we totally drop Digital Phone though - Is there a AVS Thread where I can direct my DP marketer to monitor and answer questions?

Not that I know of on AVS Forum...it doesn't really fit in too well with AVS. If I find something in the next few days, however, I will be sure to let you know.

Originally posted by DianaTWCSC
totally drop Digital Phone though -

That would be a great idea to keep this tread on-topic!

Just to chime in on the Vonage vs Digital Phone ...

I went with Vonage because in addition to their "all emcompassing" $29.99 plan, they have lower tier plans too.

I only pay $14.99 a month - no long distance to anywhere in the US, caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, etc, etc,

The only catch is I only get 500 outgoing minutes per month (Vonage to Vonage calls, toll free calls, Voicemail calls are free).

But since I don't use the phone very much - this was a no brainer for me - as digital phone from TWC would have cost me $44.95 (I have roadrunner, but not digital cable - I use Voom). I was paying Bellsouth $35/mo with no expanded coverage and no call waiting.

PS - I also hooked up my Vonage system to the incoming line and have service on all my phones. Only a screwdriver needed.

Hey Diana,

Here is a forum that deals specifically with VoIP issues.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip/

James

jrmckinn - Thanks!

June 15 and still no word on the HD-DVR from TWC-Charlotte...this is so frustrating.

Try to be patient, they are here and testing is being done.

Originally posted by HughScot
Try to be patient, they are here and testing is being done.

1.)The boxes are here
2.)I am willing to help test

Easy solution...Let's distribute these boxes and get the testing wrapped up quickly! :)

So I guess TWC-Charlotte will not be providing the TBS/TurnerSouth HD feeds of selected Braves games. I hate when Columbia gets something we don't. I was hoping something would just pop up here but I guess not.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=411514
http://www.twcsc.com/hdtv_MLB.htm

Originally posted by swamphhh
So I guess TWC-Charlotte will not be providing the TBS/TurnerSouth HD feeds of selected Braves games. I hate when Columbia gets something we don't. I was hoping something would just pop up here but I guess not.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=411514
http://www.twcsc.com/hdtv_MLB.htm

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger--TWC-Greensboro didn't provide it either last night.

"Charlotte NC..TWC & Braves HD on INHD!
Just spoke with well some well informed anonymous friends here at Time-Warner Cable, who tell me they're going to be carrying the Braves games
in HD on INHD1 here on the Charlotte System."

Quoted from a thread posted by Bob Davis of Fox in Charlotte.

Originally posted by HughScot
"Charlotte NC..TWC & Braves HD on INHD!
Just spoke with well some well informed anonymous friends here at Time-Warner Cable, who tell me they're going to be carrying the Braves games
in HD on INHD1 here on the Charlotte System."

Quoted from a thread posted by Bob Davis of Fox in Charlotte.

Hugh, do you know when?

No, I have no idea and all I was doing with that post was taking something Bob (bdfox18doe) posted on a new thread and posting it over here.

anyone hear about a possible release date for the new HD-DVR?

I am getting a 30" Toshiba HDTV in the very near future. I live in zip 28278. Hopefully there are not any problems with HD service where I live. Looking forward to the release of HD-DVR.

PAT

Greenville, NC's News reporter Bob Szobody has sent the following note to the Western Carolinas forum. Perhaps some of you may be interested in contributing to his future HD reports.
Jerry Birdwell - Asheville NC
--quote--
bszob
New Member

Registered: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 6
continuing hdtv coverage
Folks:

The HDTV story from Tuesday's Greenville News is here, if you want to re
http://greenvilleonline.com/news/bu...04062133740.htm

It includes info on recent developments and potential technology advances in the near future.

The last story I wrote on the subject, from January, dealt more with the amazing nature of the technology, as suggested above. It's still on the Web here:

http://greenvilleonline.com/news/bu...04011222595.htm

Going forward, I'd like to hear from posters here about aspects/angles of HDTV that you think hasn't been touched yet. Tuesday's story was long enough, and I'm writing for general readers who don't always know what HDTV is, so plenty of technical details and consumer issues are left to be explored.

What do you think is most important going forward? Jerry has mentioned the compression issue, which can degrade the picture. Others have repeated that all analog TVs will eventually be junk, at that might make a lot of people mad. Does Charter's new package advance the HDTV gospel, or will it take something else?
E-mail me your ideas and suggestions at bszobody@greenvillenews.com.

I'd like to hear from some new people, and maybe more HDTV-endowed folks in more saturated markets.
Ben

Thanks HornMDT for the feedback - looks like DSL and Direct TV are the best options.
Sorry it took so long for me to thank you - been on the road alot. We close on the house next week and will be "corneliusites?" in a few weeks.

Just bought a 30" Sony HDTV. Not sure when I will get the cable upgrade to HD though. Anything I should know before I call to get the HD upgrade? I now it will cost me for TW to bring a HD box to my house but I don't know if I should be asking for anything specific in regards to the setup. Thanks!

PAT

Well, its the 28th and no Braves HD game on INHD. I thought today was the day?

Nothing special is needed, just prepare yourself for the beauty of Discovery HD Theater :-)

peace,
ant

Originally posted by PTgraphics
Just bought a 30" Sony HDTV. Not sure when I will get the cable upgrade to HD though. Anything I should know before I call to get the HD upgrade? I now it will cost me for TW to bring a HD box to my house but I don't know if I should be asking for anything specific in regards to the setup. Thanks!

PAT

Just thought I'd give a status report on my experiences with the SA3250HD and the JVC 40k D-VHS tape deck, if anyone cares....

I am delighted to report that after 2 months of effort, TWC has now worked out the bugs in this system. All Copy Freely (local broadcast) and Copy Once (HBO, HDNet, etc.) flagged channels can now be viewed and recorded via IEEE 1394 (aka iLink or firewire) connection. My version of the 40k is the Marantz MV-8300 and it's now playing quite nicely with the 3250. We had a little scare with Copy Once 1080i material being downrezzed to 480i (yes, unfortunately they can actually do that), but they fixed that one very quickly.

Odd that I'm the only guy in the entire Charlotte TWC system that has this setup! All you folks waiting on the HD-DVR should know that you could be time-shifting and recording-for-archive HD material right now with this system. It works! Thanks to Ron Wright, the folks in the Charlotte TWC lab, and the folks from Scientific Atlanta and Pioneer whose diligent efforts on my behalf have made this glorious moment possible [wipes tear from eye].

that's good to hear, and I for one appreciate your update. I haven't thought of using the normal hd box and a DVHS like that, but it may require some more though now :) Hopefully this will make it an easier transition when the dvr comes out and they make the firewire connection available.

Clint, I'm pretty sure the DVR will not have active firewire available in this market, but my crystal ball is a little cloudy on that one. If not, I got it covered. I plan on having both; the DVR for quick and easy HD time-shifting, and the 3250 for archiving HD content to tape. It would be nice if one box did both, but we'll have to wait and see if they add firewire capability to the DVR.

Originally posted by archiguy
Odd that I'm the only guy in the entire Charlotte TWC system that has this setup! All you folks waiting on the HD-DVR should know that you could be time-shifting and recording-for-archive HD material right now with this system.

After time-shifting with DVR's for over 2 years (TiVo), to me, it isn't worth the cost (for the D-VHS) or tape swapping effort just to time shift HD material. If you are archiving HD...well, that's another story.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be able to time shift HD (Cannot wait for the HD-DVR), but for now, it's easier to just use my existing TiVo's and watch in SD.

Originally posted by doppler1
After time-shifting with DVR's for over 2 years (TiVo), to me, it isn't worth the cost (for the D-VHS) or tape swapping effort just to time shift HD material. If you are archiving HD...well, that's another story.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to be able to time shift HD (Cannot wait for the HD-DVR), but for now, it's easier to just use my existing TiVo's and watch in SD.
I believe I read that federal regulations would require firewire on the dvrs, just not right now, something like next year or the next I think.

Anyone know the latest on when TWC will be adding ESPN-HD and the NFL Network?

Not to be an alarmist:eek:, but football season is a mere 2 months away, less if you consider training camps open at the end of this month.

Read where the show Hard Knocks is going to be on NFL Network this year. They will be covering the Jacksonville Jaguars training camp this time.

Originally posted by TeddyTV
Anyone know the latest on when TWC will be adding ESPN-HD and the NFL Network?

Check out this thread on ESPN-HD and TWC:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=416911

Summary: Doesn't look particularly good.

I don't know anything about the NFL network, but it looks like you can send one of those automated messages to TWC from NFL Network:
http://getnfl.cablesource.net/

I would send one, but I don't want the channel :D

I just got TWC HD service today for my 30" Sony HD set. So far I am less than thrilled. I was told I could switch inputs from the remote on my Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 3100HD by the guy who installed it by I can't figure out how and when I called TW they had no clue. I don't want to watch non HD channels in the 4:3 ratio, I want them stretched to fill the screen, and the only way to do this is to switch inputs on the TV, from component to one of the others. Another problem is if I take it off channel 4 on the TV by accident it switches off of HD all together (just a black screen but with sound) and the only way to get it back is go back to the input settings on the TV and circle around again to the "HD" component input. Also the sound is only out of one speaker because of the way he set it up while watching the non-hd channels through the SA box. Would routing the components through my Yamaha 1400 receiver solve any of the above problems?

Thanks,

PAT

PAT,

You can stretch 4:3 content. I don't have TW anymore because I am trying out VOOM but I do recall that you can change the settings by entering the settings menu. It may have been under advanced options. I'm sure that someone in the forum can give you step by step directions if you can't figure it out.

For sound I used the digital output and ran it to my reciever. It worked fine.

Originally posted by PTgraphics
I was told I could switch inputs from the remote on my Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 3100HD by the guy who installed it by I can't figure out how and when I called TW they had no clue.


If the remote is programmed to control the TV properly, you have the hit Device --> TV --> TV/VCR
then:
Device --> Cable to get back to the cable box functions.

I wonder why they gave you a 3100HD instead of the Pioneer box...the Pioneer box had stretch modes built in instead of upconverting everything...

Originally posted by PTgraphics
I don't want to watch non HD channels in the 4:3 ratio, I want them stretched to fill the screen, and the only way to do this is to switch inputs on the TV, from component to one of the others.

Understandable, but unfortunately with the Explorer 3100HD, the only way to watch SD without the box upconverting is through Composite or S-Video... This compounded with having the cycle through inputs to swith between HD and SD makes it very annoying, but there really isn't much that can be done. I don't have and never had the 3100HD, but this was my understanding of the box...

Originally posted by PTgraphics
Another problem is if I take it off channel 4 on the TV by accident it switches off of HD all together (just a black screen but with sound) and the only way to get it back is go back to the input settings on the TV and circle around again to the "HD" component input.

Sorry, not sure what you mean by taking it off channel 4? I don't know much about that Sony HDTV.

Originally posted by PTgraphics
Also the sound is only out of one speaker because of the way he set it up while watching the non-hd channels through the SA box. Would routing the components through my Yamaha 1400 receiver solve any of the above problems?

Did the tech have you watching SD on channel 3 or 4 on the TV? I really hope not...

Should have COMPONENT cables and two COMPOSITE sound (left and right) going from the HD Component outs on the 3100HD into the Component Input on your TV for HDTV viewing.

In addition, you should have either an S-VIDEO cable or a COMPOSITE cable along with 2 COMPOSITE cables for sound (left and right) into one of the Composite inputs for SD viewing.

As far as the receiver goes, you can just hook up a digital coax cable between the box's digital audio out and into your receivers digital coax in, or you can run all of your sound into the receiver if that is what you prefer (digital coax and analog composite cables into the receiver).


In summary, hook up both component and compsite cables to your television if that isn't how TW set it up, then watch the component input for HDTV and the composite input for SDTV (and use your television's stretch modes). Or, if you can get TWC to swap the 3100HD for the Pioneer box, you can just hook up the Component cables and use the stretch modes that are built into the box.

I hope that all made sense?

Thanks for the replies.

Yes I believe the TV has to be on Channel 4 to use the cable box to view SD programming while not using the component cables. He did not hook up S-video. Said it would not work or something. He used a splitter to split the sound composite cables between the component input and regular composite cables. So I have one "White" wire only going into the sound for the composite connection, so I get sound out of only the right TV speaker. I do have a digital connection going to my Yamaha it's just that my wife does not want to have to turn on the receiver just to listen to her SOAP or whatever. I will hook up more analog cables to my Yamaha and see if I can get sound when watching SDTV.

Sounds like my life would be much easier with the Pioneer Box!!

On another note about my new HD service. Does anyone else notice any pulsating action when viewing the HD channels like Discovery and INHD? I see this happening on every show. It's like a re-fresh between the dark areas and the lighter areas of the picture. It's driving me crazy. Tell me this is not normal.

Thanks,

PAT

Pat-
I've seen what you describe on DSCHD and INHD. The guys at TWC are
aware of the problem and are looking into it, we've had many a discussion
on the problem..

"On another note about my new HD service. Does anyone else notice any pulsating action when viewing the HD channels like Discovery and INHD? I see this happening on every show. It's like a re-fresh between the dark areas and the lighter areas of the picture. It's driving me crazy. Tell me this is not normal"

I get the same problem. I thought it was the cable box, replaced it, and it was not. I thought it was interference from other things, and I moved stuff around to no avail. I thought it was a defective tv, and I had a technician come out and try to fix it from Sears... he didn't really do anything, but suggested I replace the tv (terrible technician). it was still under warranty (Sony 34HS510), so I replaced it. Same issue. It is extremely annoying, but after a few failed tries I had to resolve myself to just not watch too much Discovery HD... which is bad because it's one of the best HD channels out there (and one of the few). I haven't noticed it as much on InHD, but I have seen it happen there too.

Good to see that I am not the only one who sees the pulsating problem. Does TWC have a word/description for this? Since my wife could not see it she thought I was crazy. I was starting to think my brand new TV was the problem too. I do agree that Discovery HD is the best channel. Stinks that is it so annoying to watch though.

I replaced my HD box today for a Pioneer one. Much better to operate. On the SA box I had I could not view any program guide info while watching the channel I wanted to watch - it would turn the little screen up in the right black and I would get audio from some other channel. The Pioneer box fixed that problem but now I can hardly read any channel/program info - it is soooo blurry. Looks like low res type blown up a couple hundred percent in photoshop or something, not too good. TWC is sending a "HD specialist" out to my house next thursday to take a look at things. I am also having issues with the picture getting blocky during any quick camera change or action. I hope my experience with TWC HD service gets better because as of now I am less than thrilled. But when it does look good it looks very, very good.

PAT

any news on the hd-dvrs? what's taking so long?

Originally posted by clintyarborough
any news on the hd-dvrs? what's taking so long?

my thoughts exactly. between this and the espn-hd issue, i am about ready to switch providers.

Any comments on the All Star game last night on Fox HD? It didn't look too bad but there were some interesting problems somewhere that would rear it's ugly head every once in a while. On my 30" Sony HDTV it looked much better than SD but not as good as other HD programs.

PAT

Most Sony's don't do native 720p, so your set was likely scaling the feed to 1080i, which did affect the quality somewhat.

Was the allstar game definitely in HD via Time Warner? It looked like 480p widescreen to me. I also have a tv which scales to 1080i but during football season last year I could not tell a difference between ABC (720p) and CBS (1080i). The quality of INHD baseball and the allstar game was a night and day difference. Is this what I have to look forward to from Fox especially with football season around the corner?

Bob,
I thought Fox and you guys at WCCB did a super job. My set doesn't do 720p natively but the picture was excellent. When it was right it appeared to me to equal Monday Night Football.......also in 720p. There were some artifacts at times and some minor technical clitches, but considering it was only the second time for Fox I thought is looked great. The first time being in 1999. Looking forward to more this fall.

Hugh

PS: It was absolutely in 720p on Time Warner. I flipped back and forth between OTA and TWC and both were almost the same.

Thanks. we learned quite a bit as well that will hopefully help improve
football!

anybody know if we'll get the hd-dvr before football season starts? :(

Well I had a guy from Time Warner install a booster on my cable tonight. I see no difference. I still get the blocky motion effects when the HD program shows quick motion like switching between scenes etc. Even the intro to HD programing on Discovery HD looks bad at times. It's not the digital squares that some time show up from a broken signal. It's more like motion artifacts. Is this normal? I can't get TW to give me an answer on this. The tech did not wait around long enough for me to go through the HD channels. He had more calls to get to.

Also the TW tech told me about the strobing/pulsating effect I see on Discovery HD and INHD. Said it was the signal cycling from 480 to 1080 or something like that. Whatever it is I still see it. Combine that with the low res looking artifacts and I am not too happy with my TW cable right now.

PAT

Originally posted by bdfox18doe
Pat-
I've seen what you describe on DSCHD and INHD. The guys at TWC are
aware of the problem and are looking into it, we've had many a discussion
on the problem..

I just wanted to let you guys know that I just got installed with HDTV DVR this morning (I am an employee). From what I have heard I am the second person to get hooked up, outside the actual company testing/debugging that they do.

It is still not released to the general public, but I can tell you it is definately nice. As with regular DVR the menus are a little slower than a normal HDTV box, but the menus are displayed at high resolution -- which is a huge improvement.

We are using SA HD DVR boxes, but you can view the menu and the show at the same time with these (unlike the first SA HDTV boxes released). Unfortunately the SA box still upsamples everything to 1080i, so you cannot use any stretch features of your TV. The SA box gives an option to stretch, zoom, or leave 4:3 content alone. If left alone the bars are a dark gray. I would much rather have the output be variable from the box, as was the case with the pioneer, and then let my TV control the picture. The panorama function of my phillips is pretty nice. (60" RPTV)

I am not sure how big the hard drive is, or how many hours it holds. My roomate did do some test recording after I left for work and he said it works fine. We already have it setup to record a whole slew of shows (you can choose one show or record the whole series).

The bigger news: this box has optical audio out! I haven't used it yet since I don't have a spare, but I am sure there are a few other folks out there like myself who do not have a digital audio in on their receiver! I can't wait to try this out.

If anyone has the regular DVR box from us the interface in general is pretty much the same. The remote is the same as well.

Again, this has yet to be released, but I just wanted to let you guys know it's past the initial test faze.

If you have any questions just post em.

Good to hear. I called to have my new Sammy DLP hooked up, but TWC said yesterday they are all out of HD boxes. Perhaps they haven't ordered more b/c they know 1/2 of them will be turned back in when the HD DVR is released.

A few questions that you may or may not be able to answer.....

1080i only? Is variable output something they could implement via a software upgrade in the future?

Is there a DVI output? Any idea if it works?

Oatmeal,

Thanks for the information. Now, of course, you're gonna be bombarded with questions, since this is what most of us have been looking for. But I'm sure everyone appreciates you helping us understand what's going on with the new box.

Mine's a relatively simple question, actually: When you say the box "upsamples everything to 1080i," I assume you mean every channel, whether it be the HD or standard definition channels. My Hitachi also has a stretch mode for 4:3 images that I'm really happy with (just a slight zoom, with some almost unnoticeable stretching at the edges), so I want to set my expectations right.

Thanks again. And if you hear anything of a release date for the consumer, please let us know!!

Charles

Just to answer these few questions...

The box seems to output everything to 1080i, regardless of channel. On my TV when I hit the picture button it informs me that it is in 1080i mode, even on local analog channels. This was the same exact thing that occured with the original SA non-dvr box. I know this pitfall has been mentioned on this thread before. So basically this box makes all your TV-specific viewing modes non-working. However I will re-iterate that the menu problems with both the pioneer and the original SA when on HD channels seem to be taken care of with this particular box.

I can't remember if there is a DVI connection offhand or not. But I would not be able to test to see if it works since I do not have a DVI connection on my TV (I bought the version sans DVI to same a few hundred). When I get home I will let you know about all the connections.

I am not sure about the HD box shortage in general. They now have one more Pioneer box since the tech picked mine up this morning=) (this does not mean to call in again. It still has to be given back to the warehouse, verified as good, and given back out to techs....)

Originally posted by oatmeal
The box seems to output everything to 1080i
Now I'm all a-twitter. I actually went to SA's website. Assuming this is the 8000HD (which their only DVR-HD box they indicate), the product sheet (http://www.sciatl.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf) states, "Outputs video to the HDTV display in four resolutions: 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i. These resolutions, or scan rates, allow consumers to select the scan rate best suited for the HDTV set."

So it looks like there may be a menu item where you can configure this...

thanks for the update, I know I just wanted to hear "something" about them. It helps ease the pain of not having it by just knowing that they have doubled the number of boxes to "outside" testers heh :)

And if you really want to have some fun, here's the installation guide (http://www.timewarneraustin.com/help/self_care/8000hduser.pdf) .

Charles: thanks for the link. There is definately more info there than I knew already, and yes that is the box. I am not sure if the back panel is exactlyt he same, but the front sure looks the same. I can verify that when I get home.

As for the changing of resolution, I think the box can change the overall output format, but will not do so on the fly. So it says that it can support different resolutions (480p, 720p, etc) and it gives the method for changing this, but says the default is 1080. So this leads me to believe that if you had a TV that did not support 1080, like a plasma as the manual mentions, then you can change the output to a different resolution to suit your TV. I do not think this mention in the manual, nor the directions for changing it, offers a solution to the overall problem that even the original SA converter had.

So to sum it up, if you don't like everything upsampled to 1080, then the box can upsample to 720 or 480 instead. I don't see a mention of where the output can vary automatically based on the channel you have selected.

Of course I could be wrong, so if you read that manual differently lemme know.

I will pop the menu up when I get a chance late tonight, or maybe tomorrow (I am off work then) and see what the changes will do.

A little mini-update:

My buddy has the original SA box, and the tech hooked him up to TWO DIFFERENT AV inputs. So he has the components plugged in, but also has Svideo plugged in. He says when he is watching regular TV he switches to one input, the svideo, and it allows him to stretch the TV using the TV controls. If he were to go to an HD channel it will NOT show, so he has to switch to another AV input to view HD content. Obviously he can watch regular channels while on the component connections, but it has the bars on the left and right due to the 4:3 ratio.

I am not sure if this is possible with the new SA DVR box, but I thought I would add to the SA upconverting saga=)

Originally posted by oatmeal
A little mini-update:

I am not sure if this is possible with the new SA DVR box, but I thought I would add to the SA upconverting saga=)

It should work fine.

--Tzvi

Saga #157, HDTV DVR:

I have now learned that the box does not push analog audio through the optical output.

And I have also learned that my reciever does not auto-detect sound from anolog or digital, but rather uses a button to turn it on and off.

End result: I have to turn my receiver to digital whenever I want to watch something in surround sound.

Do you guys have this issue with digital coax out? Unfortunately my receiver does not have this input.

Originally posted by oatmeal
Saga #157, HDTV DVR:

I have now learned that the box does not push analog audio through the optical output.

And I have also learned that my reciever does not auto-detect sound from anolog or digital, but rather uses a button to turn it on and off.

End result: I have to turn my receiver to digital whenever I want to watch something in surround sound.

Do you guys have this issue with digital coax out? Unfortunately my receiver does not have this input.

Unfortunately, that seems to be standard behavior with SA boxes... I am fairly certain that the Pioneer HD box outputs the stereo signal through digital coax (there is no optical out on the Pioneer box), but I could be wrong as my receiver picks the best available output.

I think I have everything set up the way I want it, albeit with quite a stumble with my home stereo. It took some time to configure everything, but I want to thank you all for your input. I will say, with my experience with these boxes, the new DVR is well worth the wait.

If any of you might be interested with these boxes I have heard that you can call Time Warner's offices and speak to a supervisor to get placed on a list. The roll-out of HDTV DVR should just be around the corner, so the wait is almost over.

If any of you have any questions about the service those supervisors should be able to clarify everything for you as well. Enjoy!

I'm beta testing this box (non-employee) and I want to point out something to anyone getting one. When you power off the SA8010HD-DVR it will sometimes continue to run showing a full 4x3 black area with bars on either side which contain the picture being shown on my start up channel..280. The audio is also present from my receiver. The power light is off but it's still "on" in a manner of speaking. It will stay this way for at least an hour and maybe forever. It only does this every so often.

Does anybody know a place in Charlotte where I can see and sit in a Berkline 088?

Closest place seems to be the Keever Furniture Company in Gastonia. You will have to call and see if they have that one on the floor.

Hi all,

I just found this thread today and I am relatively new to the Charlotte area. I have a couple questions that I thought some of my local neighbors could answer. First, my basic setup includes DTV, a Samsung HLP50, a Hughes HD box, and a Silver Sensor indoor antenna for OTA HD channels. So, a couple basic questions:

1) DTV does not offer local channels in their HD package (which I currently have), although you can "request" CBS (only). I did, and I was denied the CBS HD channel. Does anyone know whether or not I can appeal this decision locally? Or why CBS would refuse the request?

2) I highly recommend the Silver Sensor (Zenith) antenna for OTA HD programming. www.antennaweb.org suggests that I am 9-28 miles from the stations, but I can get NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, UPN, and PBS in HD. As you would expect, however, I need to turn the antenna slightly to get the best picture on one channel or another.

So, is there some sort of gadget that I can hook into the antenna that will tell me how weak or strong the HD signal is so that I can point in precisely the right direction? I have the antenna sort of in the middle of where it needs to be (again, according to www.antennaweb.org, which gives you a nice little map), but occasionally NBC in particular loses a constant signal and goes out on me.

Any help is appreciated.

Hey, Jughead. Welcome to Charlotte -- and this thread. You may want to check out the Charlotte OTA DTV thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=333331). Some of those folks -- or previous posts -- there may be able to help. Also, indicate more precisely where you live and that'll help us help you.

But while we're here, as far as measuring antenna strength is concerned, I just use the signal meter built into my HDTV, which has an on-board ATSC tuner. I live in South Charlotte (Carmel Rd/Fairview Rd. area), and with a cheap-ass Radio Shack set-top antenna I get all the Charlotte area DTV signals just fine, with the occasional drop outs on WTVI's channel, primarily because it's VHF and at low broadcast signal strength to begin with.

Wonderful. Thanks for the link and for the information. I searched around on my menu system and sure enough, there is an indicator of signal strength for individual channels (I thought there was just one for the D** dish).

Thanks Charles. I appreciate the help.

Not HDTV related, but it is DTV related...

Is anyone getting audio on the WSOC (ABC) sub channel for the DNC / ABC News Now coverage on TWC Channel 236 (or OTA for that matter)?

I just saw a commercial for HD-DVR on TNT. I called the number to see if I could get one. I am scheduled to get one on 8/2.

I'm ready for DVR.

Originally posted by jtsilence
I just saw a commercial for HD-DVR on TNT. I called the number to see if I could get one. I am scheduled to get one on 8/2.

I'm ready for DVR.

Most excellent news...Thanks jtsilence.

Edit: Just called, also scheduled for 8/2. Let the impatient waiting begin!

I just called 1-877-WWW-FAST (999-3278) and followed the prompts to ordering additional services. It took them a while to add it (as it is a new item), and like the HD box, it unfortunately costs $39.95 to "install".

Originally posted by doppler1
Is anyone getting audio on the WSOC (ABC) sub channel for the DNC / ABC News Now coverage on TWC Channel 236 (or OTA for that matter)?

No, but it is ok on WOLO-DT

sweet just got off the phone, I'll have HD-DVR tomorrow between 1 and 5 :)

Originally posted by clintyarborough
tomorrow between 1 and 5 :)

An Enternal Optimist, huh?

Originally posted by doppler1
Not HDTV related, but it is DTV related...

Is anyone getting audio on the WSOC (ABC) sub channel for the DNC / ABC News Now coverage on TWC Channel 236 (or OTA for that matter)?

UPN (46-1) had the DNC on last night - looked like the same feed as Voom #999 with a slight step down in PQ and a big step down in SQ.

Originally posted by clintyarborough
I'll have HD-DVR tomorrow between 1 and 5 :)

How did you manage that - are you sure they signed you up for the HD-DVR, as it has to be installed by one of their HD specialists?

Oh well, I've waited several months for the HD-DVR, 6 more days will not kill me.

I have an appt. to get mine tomorrow too. I think if you have road runner from them as well, you get preffered treatment (earlier appointments, etc).

Yes, you have to have a technician install it. The girl on the phone said I couldn't do it because the "wiring is complteley different." pfff... whatever, at least I am finally getting rid of my seperate HD and SD-DVR boxes. Does anyone know how big the hard drive is in these things? I assume they are going to be SA boxes? I loved my SA SD-DVR box...

Originally posted by chief17
I have an appt. to get mine tomorrow too. I think if you have road runner from them as well, you get preffered treatment (earlier appointments, etc).

Yes, you have to have a technician install it. The girl on the phone said I couldn't do it because the "wiring is complteley different." pfff... whatever, at least I am finally getting rid of my seperate HD and SD-DVR boxes. Does anyone know how big the hard drive is in these things? I assume they are going to be SA boxes? I loved my SA SD-DVR box...

I have the Multimedia package from TWC (including RR)...maybe I just shouldn't have called last night at 11pm :)

My understanding is that they are the SA Explorer 8000HD's (Pioneer version) with 160GB hard drives. I hear that the SA HD boxes lack a number of options that the Pioneer HD box has and that there may be an issue or two with the new HD-DVR box (such as the box locking up and requiring a reboot). Maybe Hugh can elaborate more if he reads this...

Glad to hear they are rolling these out to the general public. Please don't complain about their not working properly since you wanted them so badly. :) I've gotten used to most of the idiosyncrasies of mine but I will be interested in hearing how they well they work for other people.

As far as having the tech guy hook it up.......that's bs, I've never allowed one of their guys to touch my stuff. I've too many cables and wires running around behind my equipment to let anyone go behind it.

I'm actually surprised they are releasing these boxes at this time.

Good luck and enjoy.

Originally posted by doppler1
My understanding is that they are the SA Explorer 8000HD's (Pioneer version) with 160GB hard drives. I hear that the SA HD boxes lack a number of options that the Pioneer HD box has and that there may be an issue or two with the new HD-DVR box (such as the box locking up and requiring a reboot). Maybe Hugh can elaborate more if he reads this...

Yes it is the SA8010HD-DVR with Pioneer software. I still don't know what size the hard drive is but I was told to expect 15 to 20 hours of HD recording and that's about right. I still have issues with my box but the only thing that really is a problem to me is the breakup of audio/video and it varies as to degree. The problem is with the box and hopefully it will be solved soon. Perhaps the boxes you will be getting have this problem fixed. I will be interested in hearing some feedback on this issue. The HD picture is not as good as the picture from the old Pioneer box. By this I mean that you can see a difference between the pic from the box vs OTA which is better. Maybe this has changed as well.

GOT MINE ORDERED. TW is a _________ RIPOFF! $39.95 TO PLUG UP WIRES IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. THIS WILL BE THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS. I've also had to take off work 5 times because they have screwed something up.

Originally posted by Davew0670
GOT MINE ORDERED. TW is a _________ RIPOFF! $39.95 TO PLUG UP WIRES IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. THIS WILL BE THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS. I've also had to take off work 5 times because they have screwed something up.

The last time I had a plumber to my house he charged me $45. just for the visit not counting the charge to do a minor repair. And the TWC guys spent about two hours with me getting it all going correctly.

this is third time since december. If it was a little more than plugging the wires into the tv then I would have no problem with paying.

I agree. There is really no reason for them to come out to the house. I would prefer to just go by and pick up my box. Then I wouldnt have to take half a day off work to wait at the house... not to mention save $40.

How much of a difference in PQ is there Hugh? I don't like the sound of that.

anyone here use satellite? I'm seriously thinking of making a change.

I have DirecTv and DishNetwork..

which one do you like best as far hd programming?

In my case I couldn't just pick it up as they had to do a fair amount of telephone calling and adjustments to get it set up. But since I got the first one it was a little more complicated. But I'm sure once it becomes the norm one will be able to just exchange boxes without someone coming out. Believe me, they would prefer having people pick them up and installing it themselves.

The PQ issue has been discussed in great detail in earlier posts but suffice to say if you don't do an A/B you probably will not notice any difference. If you can get the networks OTA then you can A/B and you will see less detail via the box. Not a major difference but it's there if you know what to look for. This difference was not present with the old Pioneer box.

Don't have any HD active at this time on DirecTV, only Dish. TWC has more
offerings, as I could care less about TNT and ESPN. I guess I'm a bit spolied having both Dish and TWC.
You'll get FAR better pix quality on the locals when using OTA.

according to TW's website, convertor box upgrades cost 21.95, not 39.95.

I called the other day and after a lot of explaining and them talking to technicians, they said that yes, the beta testing is indeed over and they are beginning to distribute the HD DVRs on a limited basis. I guess it's sorta like they did the original HDTV boxes and DVRs when they first came out -- let them out kinda slowly at first, and then begin the marketing campaign.

Well, they scheduled my appointment between 7 and 9 this morning, and the guy (a subcontractor) shows up and says, "Hey, I'm here to swap out your DVR for an HD box." "You mean the HD-DVR, right?" I ask.

Long pause....

"Um, we ain't got none a' those. We ain't even got them back at the shop."

I then launched into my explanation of how I spent an hour on the phone with TW, how they had to get the right "codes" in the system and how everything was worked out for me to get the HD DVR, which is now out of beta testing, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.

So, he calls his supervisor on his Nextel, and I hear the supervisor say, "Oh, they don't even make those." Arrrrggghhhh!!!

Anyway, long story short, I called TW back, they were very apologetic, gave me a week's credit for my trouble, and rescheduled a TRUE Time-Warner technician in a Time-Warner truck to come out on Saturday morning to install, yes, a High Definition DVR.

I'll keep you updated on the saga.

Moral of the story is, if you're getting one, make sure a true TW technician comes out and installs it. Oh, and I agree that $40 for them to come out is ridiculous, because they ain't touching my set up. I've got all the wires ready to just plug into the right ports on the box. They just need to work their mojo to call in and get the signal pushed through and do their testing and whatnot so they're (hopefully) not burdened with support calls later.

Hopefully we can use this forum to share our experiences, issues and workarounds. I also have an OTA HD tuner in my set, so I'm anxious to compare quality of signals.

Whew! That's all for now.

Charles,
I'd be interested in hearing what you see between OTA and CATV, especially on WCCB-DT..

Thanks

Originally posted by Davew0670
according to TW's website, convertor box upgrades cost 21.95, not 39.95.

I just called & they told me the HD-DVR was not available. I ask the call center rep if she could check with her supervisor & after a 5 minute wait she told me it was available. Then she could not set up the appointment as I guess she could not find the code for the box as it was new. Again on hold but this time for 10 more minutes. Finally they gave me an appointment for tomorrow afternoon between 1 & 5. Installation cost is 39.95. I verified that the tech they were sending out was a high definition tech and she said yes. Will see what happens tomorrow afternoon.

Originally posted by Davew0670
GOT MINE ORDERED. TW is a _________ RIPOFF! $39.95 TO PLUG UP WIRES IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. THIS WILL BE THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS. I've also had to take off work 5 times because they have screwed something up.

That is nothing. I have Voom and they want to charge me $200 to bring out a new box. I am so pissed that I am probably coming back to TW. The fact that TW has a DVR now is tipping the scale in their favor

Originally posted by NUPE009
That is nothing. I have Voom and they want to charge me $200 to bring out a new box. I am so pissed that I am probably coming back to TW. The fact that TW has a DVR now is tipping the scale in their favor

Must be coming from NY.

Well I called and got the HD-DVR scheduled to be installed this Saturday. Took 45 minutes on the phone. I went by the main office downtown earlier today and no one there had a clue what I was wanting.

I was able to get the 39.95 fee waived. I had two main complaints that led up to them waiving the fee. 1st I complained that the cable provided does not support 5.1 digital sound as advertised. 2nd I complained that the techs they send out don't know how to connect the HD boxes so I end up doing it myself. Basically they provide a cable that can't be used to get 5.1 and they most likely won't be able to connect it properly anyways. The last tech had no idea what 480i vs 480p/720p was. 39.95 should include a tech that knows where to plug the cable!

Oh, I was assured that an HD tech would come out Saturday. For $150/month I would think I could get more knowledgeable service techs. I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to techie things like this so it's not a big deal. I feel sorry for the non technical person wanting HD service. They are in for a lot of headaches. I wonder how many people drop TW based on this fact.

I want to make it clear that my problem with the techs provided is not the real problem. Every TW tech that has ever come out has always been very polite and professional. For what TW charges I would think they could get better training. TW made a killing last year so don't tell me they can't afford to train their staff.

Oh, I was assured that an HD tech would come out Saturday. For $150/month I would think I could get more knowledgeable service techs. I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to techie things like this so it's not a big deal. I feel sorry for the non technical person wanting HD service. They are in for a lot of headaches. I wonder how many people drop TW based on this fact.


I'm on the verge of telling them to disconnect me. Just need to find an alternative before Friday when the "tech" comes back to my house for the 6th time in 2 months.

$150/Month!

Get basic cable for you non-hd and Voom for your HD...

Or get DirecTv, they will give you a good deal on installation for multiple sets plus an HD.....

TW has worst CS because they have the least direct competition....

Will the HD-DVR allow you to watch 1 channel and record another?

Originally posted by jbryer
Will the HD-DVR allow you to watch 1 channel and record another?

Absolutely. Record two and watch a recording.

Originally posted by DanPackMan
$150/Month!

Get basic cable for you non-hd and Voom for your HD...

Or get DirecTv, they will give you a good deal on installation for multiple sets plus an HD.....

TW has worst CS because they have the least direct competition....

I have looked at DirectTV in detail and just don't see an advantage. $299 up front to get started and another $799 ~ $999 for an HD-DVR. I can't see putting that much money up front. The monthly rate is almost identical to TW. Also I despise contracts. I have four TV's in my house. I like the idea of only having basic cable on a couple of them. Basically I get cable for those TVs for free. DirectTV would require $4.99 for each plus the cost of the box and a phone line as well. The phone line requirement is ridiculous in my opinion. How old fashion is that? Now a days not having a home phone is perfectly reasonable. Cell phones are cheap. Also lots of Digital Phone options are slowly finding there way into homes. How long does DirecTV intend to keep this adequated need? They better wise up because technology is passing them by. Then there is the issue of Bandwidth. DirecTV is running out fast. Cable is easily able to add more as technology allows it. They now have 6 Mps Road Runner available to the home!!

VOOM is very intresting but the up front costs are high and the contract thing irritates me as well. Also from what I have read here most of the HD channels they offer don't offer HD content all the time. Some of the channels rarely offer it.

Don't get me wrong I am open to opinions and different views. If I found something truly better I would switch in a heart beat.

i've seen dish network offering free hd boxes now. of course they also require some bs phone thing. (which I dont have)


http://www.allsat.com/hardware/811s.shtml

Are they really charging $40 to bring this thing out to the house??

Originally posted by rcase13

VOOM is very intresting but the up front costs are high and the contract thing irritates me as well. Also from what I have read here most of the HD channels they offer don't offer HD content all the time. Some of the channels rarely offer it.

Don't get me wrong I am open to opinions and different views. If I found something truly better I would switch in a heart beat.

I think Voom is the way to go for you - a lot has changed since whenever it was that you got that info.

Voom is offering $0 installation and $0 upfront cost until 7/31. (Note - this deadline is likely - but not definitely - to be extended, as it has twice before.

http://www.voom.com/index.jsp?location=home

There is also NO contract.

The 21 Voom exclusive channels are HD 24x7 - as are DiscoveryHD and BravoHD+ (Note - it's just been announced that BravoHD+ will carry HD coverage of the US Open tennis tournament)

ESPN-HD and TNT-HD are HD for only part of the time - but I think these two channels provide some of the best content out there. In fact, ESPN-HD is one of the main reasons I left TWC in the first place.

And if you want the VaVaVoom package ($79.99) - you also get

HBO-E HD
HBO-W HD
Show-E HD
Show-W HD
Starz-E HD
Starz-W HD
Cinemax-E HD
Cinemax-W HD
EncoreHD
TMC-HD

The only "catch" to Voom currently is if you need multiple receivers or if you need some SD channels they don't currently offer (like USA, FSN, Sci-Fi etc - which they say they're in negotiations with).

Neither of these is an obstacle, however, if you're willing to keep TWC for basic cable and get Voom for HD.

PS - Voom also supposedly has a phone line requirement - but I've never been hooked up to one. I use Vonage (i.e., digital phone), so that's not an issue. And the number it's supposed to call is "disconnected." So, for now, I wouldn't let that stop you.

I just signed up for Monday installation of the HD-DVR. As of a few minutes ago, they had an installation time for tomorrow, but I couldn't swing that. The representative said they've been getting a lot of calls about the HD-DVRs. She personally has taken four calls for HD-DVRs today. $40 is a rip off, especially since the technicians rarely know much about HD installations, and I'd rather hook it up myself. Nevertheless, $40 is a lot better of an outlay than what it would take to get an HD-DVR from the satellite companies.

Are they charging a monthly fee for the HD DVR along with the $40 install?

Originally posted by rcasenc
Are they charging a monthly fee for the HD DVR along with the $40 install?

Yes, the standard $6.95 DVR fee.

Originally posted by rcasenc
Are they charging a monthly fee for the HD DVR along with the $40 install?

No additional charges assuming you are already receiving HD. It's really a heck of a deal and if the box gets out of date you can just go pick up a new one and install yourself.

[Originally posted by NUPE009
That is nothing. I have Voom and they want to charge me $200 to bring out a new box. I am so pissed that I am probably coming back to TW. The fact that TW has a DVR now is tipping the scale in their favor.]

This should cause a lot of people to pause before going to Voom. Plus who wants to have Voom and have to buy basic cable on top. All I am seeing on here since they released the HD-DVR's is complaining about the $40 installation fee. I thought the big issue was when are they going to release it. If you don't like the fee don't order one. Switch to Voom or DircTV or Dish and then you can compain about something else.

Sorry for the rant but all this crap about $40 is really too much. :mad:

Originally posted by HughScot
Sorry for the rant but all this crap about $40 is really too much. :mad:

I kind of agree with Hugh, here. It really isn't as simple as swapping out the HD box and replugging in the cable. There is some kind of "sync up" process they have to go through once they get it plugged in, and it ain't just a reboot of the box. Plus, you want someone out there who can at least call someone in the know WHILE THEY'RE THERE (if they don't know themselves) to fix whatever glitches may arise during install -- which, with a new technology, will invariably happen.

I plan on getting my $40 worth. After I hook everything up (yes, me), I'll let them do their calling up and getting everything going. Then, I'm not gonna let the guy leave until I check all the HD channels, do a quick record and playback (SD and HD), practice a little rewinding/fast forwarding, check the audio, etc. Essentially, I want to make sure it really does receive HD and act like my current DVR. I personally have had two previous DVRs crap out on me in some capacity or another (though my current one has been relatively issue free). So for $40, he should be happy sit around and wait his customer is satisfied.

I frankly don't expect everything to be perfect; that's the price you pay for being an early adopter (that, and $40) ;)

Originally posted by doppler1
Yes, the standard $6.95 DVR fee.

I was told the HD-DVR will cost 14.95 per month. $8 more than the standard DVR unit.

I guess this is yet another TW problem. A different story for every CR you call.

Hmmm... No contract with VOOM... I will have to check that out.

Originally posted by deArgila
I think Voom is the way to go for you - a lot has changed since whenever it was that you got that info.

Voom is offering $0 installation and $0 upfront cost until 7/31. (Note - this deadline is likely - but not definitely - to be extended, as it has twice before.

http://www.voom.com/index.jsp?location=home

There is also NO contract.

The 21 Voom exclusive channels are HD 24x7 - as are DiscoveryHD and BravoHD+ (Note - it's just been announced that BravoHD+ will carry HD coverage of the US Open tennis tournament)

ESPN-HD and TNT-HD are HD for only part of the time - but I think these two channels provide some of the best content out there. In fact, ESPN-HD is one of the main reasons I left TWC in the first place.

And if you want the VaVaVoom package ($79.99) - you also get

HBO-E HD
HBO-W HD
Show-E HD
Show-W HD
Starz-E HD
Starz-W HD
Cinemax-E HD
Cinemax-W HD
EncoreHD
TMC-HD

The only "catch" to Voom currently is if you need multiple receivers or if you need some SD channels they don't currently offer (like USA, FSN, Sci-Fi etc - which they say they're in negotiations with).

Neither of these is an obstacle, however, if you're willing to keep TWC for basic cable and get Voom for HD.

PS - Voom also supposedly has a phone line requirement - but I've never been hooked up to one. I use Vonage (i.e., digital phone), so that's not an issue. And the number it's supposed to call is "disconnected." So, for now, I wouldn't let that stop you.

I checked into this and it does seem to be worth a try. I was assured that there would be no contracts and no disconnect fee if I decided I did not like it. Thanks for the update.

I've gotten my bill and it didn't go up a dime. I already had an HD box but no DVR.

I was told that there would be a $6.95 box rental, and a $7.95 HD-DVR service charge per box.

I am turning in a Pioneer HD box and a standard DVR to get two HD-DVRs, no change in service ,except for an addional DVR charge, and was told that my bill will go up $24.

hahaha... They told me it would be $8.95/month (I think). She said it was about $2 more than a standard DVR box. Just got mine installed. I will let you know what I think of it in a little while....

Originally posted by Brad LeGrone
I was told that there would be a $6.95 box rental, and a $7.95 HD-DVR service charge per box.

I am turning in a Pioneer HD box and a standard DVR to get two HD-DVRs, no change in service ,except for an addional DVR charge, and was told that my bill will go up $24.

This is what I was told.

Like I said before, a different story every time you pick up the phone.

Originally posted by rcase13
I have looked at DirectTV in detail and just don't see an advantage. $299 up front to get started and another $799 ~ $999 for an HD-DVR. I can't see putting that much money up front. The monthly rate is almost identical to TW. Also I despise contracts. I have four TV's in my house. I like the idea of only having basic cable on a couple of them. Basically I get cable for those TVs for free. DirectTV would require $4.99 for each plus the cost of the box and a phone line as well. The phone line requirement is ridiculous in my opinion. How old fashion is that? Now a days not having a home phone is perfectly reasonable. Cell phones are cheap. Also lots of Digital Phone options are slowly finding there way into homes. How long does DirecTV intend to keep this adequated need? They better wise up because technology is passing them by. Then there is the issue of Bandwidth. DirecTV is running out fast. Cable is easily able to add more as technology allows it. They now have 6 Mps Road Runner available to the home!!

VOOM is very intresting but the up front costs are high and the contract thing irritates me as well. Also from what I have read here most of the HD channels they offer don't offer HD content all the time. Some of the channels rarely offer it.

Don't get me wrong I am open to opinions and different views. If I found something truly better I would switch in a heart beat.

Check for the specials.....I saw an offer for 3 rooms with HD for no installation cost.

If you don't want a contract, you will always have to pay more monthly. DTV onlly asks for 1 year.

Phone lines are not required on all boxes, only ones you expect to order movies on or other special services.

The bandwidth myth is meaningless. DTV offers as much or more than cable and no big delta is in the foreseeable future.

DSL modems work great. I am a heavy internet user and love my DSL. I know cable is faster, but its performance varies with users, unlike DSL. There is also a bandwidth issue with cable internet too....but again don't hold out on that, its real impact is negligible, I believe.

But I digress,

It sounds like you already make up your mind.

Bottom line....if you haven't made up your mind yet, call and see what kind of deal you can get. TWC has treated me like dirt too many times, I would rather pay more than use them again. DirecTV folks have been reasonably good to me. Of course, CS with any big company these days is gamble on who you get at the time.....

I know a VOOM user that is very happy with what they offer, I would consider it if they had NFL Sunday Ticket.....a dealbreaker for me!

Good luck.

Well, I got my SA HD-DVR from time warner today, and i'm not exactly thrilled with it. The picture quality looks slightly worse in HD and MUCH worse on SD channels (than my old pioneer HD box). There are some bugs in the box too... it freezes up for about a second every half hour or so. It has also rebooted twice for no reason while i was watching shows. There are a couple of other irritating things when navigating the menus as well. I'm sure they will get these issues worked out in software upgrades, but I don't expect the pq to get any better... and thats the one that really bugs me. The wife even noticed it and commented about it. Oh and also the sidebars (when wathcing 4:3 letterbox) are grey instead of black. Is there a way to change this?

It did take the tech about an hour to get it all installed because there were some problems when they were sending the signal to "hit" the box (balancing issues or something). I guess this is why they need to come out, but $40 seems a bit much.

Anyways, I'm not sure I can live with this picture on my $2500 television set so I am seriously considering getting VOOM while they have this deal going on. It doesn't seem to be that much of a risk since there is no installation fee or contract to sign. Time Warner has screwed me several times in the past and I am getting fed up with them. Maybe this isn't their fault but I am not happy with the picture and the amout of HD programming they are currently offering (ESPN-HD being the real kicker).

I would like to hear what some of you that have VOOM think about it. I have read plenty of threads and reviews about problems with installations and the boxes, but they seem to be getting better latley. Is this correct? What have your installation experiences in and around Charlotte been like? Do you get all of the local OTA channels? (<--this is important for me) Do you have problems with rain fade? How is the picture quality? I understand that VOOM is adding a DVR "soon" which will be nice.

I am planning on keeping TW basic cable (and road runner) on 3 tvs and just getting VOOM (the VAVAVOOM package) on one set. If I am reading the VOOM website correctly, I think that will be $90. Does anyone know how much I will have to pay TW for basic cable and roadrunner? They have taken their package prices off of their website and I don't feel like calling :). I assume it would be around $55 bringing my total to around $145. That is slightly more than I am paying now for the TW digital bronze media package and HD-DVR box, but I think it will be worth it for the additional HD content and better pq. I guess I will still have TW to fall back on since I am not cancelling their services completley. I assume I can cancel VOOM if I am not happy within the first month and pay them less than $90... is this correct?

Thanks for your input.

Well I got my HD-DVR yesterday. The tech said that this was the first HD-DVR he installed & he was a contractor not TW high Dev tach. I have a Onkyo surround sound system that the cable box hooks up to and then the receiver hooks up to the TV. This seemed to confuse the tech so after about 5 minutes I politely asked the tech to step aside & I hooked up the DVR myself. He also had no idea how it worked. I gave him a copy of the manual I had printed off the SA web site. For this I had to pay 39.99?
I was pleasantly surprised that the HDTV picture quality was as good or better than the Pioneer HDTV box it replaced. SD stations varied from worse to better. I set up the box for 16:9 and to stretch 4:3 to 16:9 which was the same setup I had with the pioneer box. I noticed when changing stations it takes about 2 to 3 seconds for the picture to stabilized & I had one reboot. All & all so far so good.

sorry my reply took so long.

I got mine hooked up yesterday at 1pm, how's that for timing? (they said between 1 and 5). The tech actually called at 12 to see if he could come by earlier, but I had a meeting so I had to wait until 1. He said that HD-DVRs were the only thing he was installing yesterday, he knew about the details of the box, and answered all the questions I had. The ony problem I had was that when he initially hooked it up, and got it sync'ed or whatever, it had some horizontal bands, and a vertical stripe scrolling from side to side. He switched out the cables with another set he had, and it was better, but not perfect. We then switched them out with the cables I use for my DVD Player and it looked great. So, I just told him I would get better cables myself and use theirs temporarily. Also, I asked him how many they had and he said that they had loads of them, and they were actually short on the regular dvr boxes. Maybe this is why they scheduled mine early (I was trading in my normal dvr for hd-dvr). So far I'm happy with everything other than the cables (I'll replace this weekend). The only other thing I don't like is the gray bars (wish they were black), and having to setup all my shows to record again :). Oh yeah, when I called tuesday to setup the appointment, I didn't have to speak to any supervisors or anything. The first person knew exactly what I was asking for.

Oh yeah, the tech also said that mine was the first he hooked up witha projector also.

Originally posted by DanPackMan
Check for the specials.....I saw an offer for 3 rooms with HD for no installation cost.

If you don't want a contract, you will always have to pay more monthly. DTV onlly asks for 1 year.

Phone lines are not required on all boxes, only ones you expect to order movies on or other special services.

The bandwidth myth is meaningless. DTV offers as much or more than cable and no big delta is in the foreseeable future.

DSL modems work great. I am a heavy internet user and love my DSL. I know cable is faster, but its performance varies with users, unlike DSL. There is also a bandwidth issue with cable internet too....but again don't hold out on that, its real impact is negligible, I believe.

But I digress,

It sounds like you already make up your mind.

Bottom line....if you haven't made up your mind yet, call and see what kind of deal you can get. TWC has treated me like dirt too many times, I would rather pay more than use them again. DirecTV folks have been reasonably good to me. Of course, CS with any big company these days is gamble on who you get at the time.....

I know a VOOM user that is very happy with what they offer, I would consider it if they had NFL Sunday Ticket.....a dealbreaker for me!

Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I agree with everything you said except the "performance varies with users". At least in my part of Charlotte there are no slow downs. Four years ago it use to slow down but I have been getting the full 3Mps for a while now. Unfortanantly I'm stuck with RR because I run a server at the house and the other providers block certain ports that I need open.

I checked out VOOM and grilled the CR rep. In the end VOOM is a better deal for me. No money up front (not even a 39.99 fee ;-) ), no contracts of any kind. The only negatives that I could see are the stupid need for a phone line. I wish Sat companies would wise up! Also they require an ugly dish strapped to the side of the house. I hate that but can live with it. The HD content is simply unbelievable. In the end my total bill is 10 dollars less than TW. I will keep both for a while. Just in case.

VOOM should have a DVR by fall, I guess I can wait that long. Waiting sucks! ;)

I looked at DirecTV but I just can't get over the contract issue. Also they have a really poor HD lineup. According to news groups no major HD content will be added until well into 2005. Same for TW. Maybe someday soon TW will get ESPN-HD.

Right now it's HD HD HD for me. I've got a considerable amount of money tied up in my HT system and just can't see wasting it on really poor TW SD content.

Thanks for all the help, This forum has really helped me get the best for my money.

Originally posted by chief17
I am planning on keeping TW basic cable (and road runner) on 3 tvs and just getting VOOM (the VAVAVOOM package) on one set. If I am reading the VOOM website correctly, I think that will be $90. Does anyone know how much I will have to pay TW for basic cable and roadrunner? They have taken their package prices off of their website and I don't feel like calling :). I assume it would be around $55 bringing my total to around $145. That is slightly more than I am paying now for the TW digital bronze media package and HD-DVR box, but I think it will be worth it for the additional HD content and better pq. I guess I will still have TW to fall back on since I am not cancelling their services completley. I assume I can cancel VOOM if I am not happy within the first month and pay them less than $90... is this correct?

Thanks for your input.

I am scheduled to have VOOM installed next Monday the 9th. I will report back what I think when I get it. I really hammered the CR (Politely of course) He assured me that if I decided to drop VOOM the first week that there would be no additional charge and they would prorate the bill so i only paid for that one week. They come and pick up the equipment and that's it.

rcase13,
I am thinking of keeping time warner for basic cable and road runner. Is that what you have? What is the monthly charge for just those 2 things? thanks,

-chief

Originally posted by chief17
rcase13,
I am thinking of keeping time warner for basic cable and road runner. Is that what you have? What is the monthly charge for just those 2 things? thanks,

-chief

I guess it really depends on what you call "Basic" cable. Basic cable which is just the analog local channels is $~10.00 per month. RR is 44.95 per month.

What channels do you want to keep? Why? If I like VOOM, I plan on removing TW completely except of course RR! :) VOOM supplies an OTA that will pull in all the local HD channels. There is no charge for the OTA. Also they set channels 1-99 aside for local channels so you can cruise up and down the channels without having to swtich channels. This is pretty slick! This is probably common among Sat companies but I'm a newbie when it comes to Sat.

Well I have 4 TVs now (1HD and 3 SD). I just want to keep basic cable on the 3 SD channels so I don't have to pay for a voom reciever for each one of them (And in case i don't like VOOM). I am a little worried about being able to pick up all of the local channels OTA and the rain fade issues. I guess its worth a shot since there is no obligation though.

I just want to keep basic cable (I'm assuming thats channels 2-55 or something) on the 3 SD televisions.

Was schedule for HD DVR between 1-5 today, came at 9:30! 1st unit was DOA - could not get power. Brought two units as a hard drive was DOA on install in our same area yesterday. 2 for 4 - not good stats so far.
As I already had a good set of cables from DTV days - PQ looks fine to me. Recording now to see how that looks.
Locals are not locking in - (unless in HDTV) think it is due to being set as 1080i only. Will play with later. During original install of HD, they did extra work on my line as I had weak signal going to other TV's, ever since I have had good pic quality, this was simple swap out of 2units for 1, & it has reduced my cable load in back of TV!

Here is something that will help your SD picture when using the new HD-DVR box. Take the cable signal coming into your house and, using a proper splitter, split the signal sending one to your cable box and the other direct to the RF input on your TV. My Pioneer Elite has two RF inputs so I assume that is something fairly common to most HD tvs. My splitter does not degrade the picture from the box at all and my SD picture is vastly improved by not going through the HD-DVR box.

I have it hooked up that way and it does help some Hugh. It is just a pain to switch inputs whenever you want to change from HD channels to SD channels.

The SD pq with the old pioneer box wasn't very good, but with this new box it is terrible. I'm not sure why this box would make the it look that much worse than the other box did. :confused:

Originally posted by chief17
Well I have 4 TVs now (1HD and 3 SD). I just want to keep basic cable on the 3 SD channels so I don't have to pay for a voom reciever for each one of them (And in case i don't like VOOM). I am a little worried about being able to pick up all of the local channels OTA and the rain fade issues. I guess its worth a shot since there is no obligation though.

I just want to keep basic cable (I'm assuming thats channels 2-55 or something) on the 3 SD televisions.

Ah I see, similar problem for me. No real good solution for more than two machines and SAT. What you want is called standard cable. I believe it's $44.80 per month. Here is a google cached link to TW rates, paste this into your web browser:

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:SUTH86UrsiYJ:www.twcarolina.com/services/pricing_and_packages/charlotte.asp+twcarolina+rates&hl=en

They have removed this from their regular page. Not sure why. Maybe they are embarrassed by them considering VOOM is cheaper. ;)

Just got my 8000HD installed. Install went without a hitch, basically just unplugging the old HD box and swapping all cables over. FWIW, the 8000HD arrived brand new in a sealed box, and the remote was also new in a sealed plastic bag.

I do have a fairly major problem that seems to aspect ratio related... When I set the aspect ratio to Widescreen --> Stretch SD, it seems to stretch the HD channels as well. I have to sidebar 4:3 before I can tune HD channels so it will not stretch them. Does anyone else seem to have this problem? The easiest way to tell if the HD is being stretched is to look for the bug on the HD channel and if it is half cut off...

I read the set-up manual that Scientific Atlanta had posted on their Explorer's Club site, and it mentioned advanced set-up for the apect ratios and output, but none of the key combinations seemed to do anything (with box on, press and hold select, or with box off, press info and guide simultaneously)...anyone have any luck with those set-up instructions? I thought maybe they would help with the above situation.

The SD picture does indeed look terrible, and I would consider using the television tuner for SD, but then there is no IPG and it is a pain to swap inputs to watch the ondemands or HD.

Hopefully I am missing something obvious? Regardless of any problems, however, I am glad they decided to release the DVR anyways - at least I have a way to timeshift HD.

Originally posted by doppler1
I do have a fairly major problem that seems to aspect ratio related... When I set the aspect ratio to Widescreen --> Stretch SD, it seems to stretch the HD channels as well. I have to sidebar 4:3 before I can tune HD channels so it will not stretch them. Does anyone else seem to have this problem? The easiest way to tell if the HD is being stretched is to look for the bug on the HD channel and if it is half cut off...

I did notice that. I thought there must be a way to change it, but since I keep mine in 4:3 letterbox, I didn't worry much about it.



The SD picture does indeed look terrible, and I would consider using the television tuner for SD, but then there is no IPG and it is a pain to swap inputs to watch the ondemands or HD.


Thats my main problem with this box. Does the SD picture look much worse than it did with your previous box?

Originally posted by doppler1
I do have a fairly major problem that seems to aspect ratio related... When I set the aspect ratio to Widescreen --> Stretch SD, it seems to stretch the HD channels as well. I have to sidebar 4:3 before I can tune HD channels so it will not stretch them. Does anyone else seem to have this problem? The easiest way to tell if the HD is being stretched is to look for the bug on the HD channel and if it is half cut off...

)...anyone have any luck with those set-up instructions? I thought maybe they would help with the above situation.
The SD picture does indeed look terrible, and I would consider using the television tuner for SD, but then there is no IPG and it is a pain to swap inputs to watch the ondemands or HD.
.

Your problem with the HD stretch is one I have read about before but I don't have an answer to correct it. You might try rebooting. As to the set-up instructions.......they don't all work since we have the Pioneer Passport software and not SARA. The SD PQ is bad and other than what I do with the splitter I don't have any other answer. When I got mine a couple of months ago they told me when they brought it out that the SD PQ was not as good, nothing new on that situation.

Thanks for the replies Chief and Hugh.

I figured the online directions were fairly irrelevant due to software variations, but I remembered someone mentioning them previously (possibly in another thread though).

Cheif: I had the Pioneer HD box before, and yes - the SD picture quality was much better than it is with the DVR box. Luckily, most of the SD I do watch is timeshifted with TiVo.

I have tried rebooting the box, but that didn't seem to fix the stretching issue at all - probably a minor bug that someone overlooked at SA (or Pioneer). Anyone know a good way to report these kinds of technical problems in a "just to let you guys know" kind of way (someone who would understand the issue - i.e. not CS).

Anyway, like I said before, I am glad they released the box, and look forward to (hopefully) seeing the software mature with time.

So far ......I am not finding the PQ to be any worse than the Pioneer box. I have my setup as 480P and 10801 only - No 480i. The lack of locals was due to 720p selected which my RPTV does not accept.
Picture is equal to before with the DVR or Pioneer HDTV - SD.
As for HD - looks good, Discovery and MLS Soccer on HDNEt were excellent. I do have Monster cables, not sure if that is the difference or not. Was a simple swap out procedure. The optical audio is passing 5.1 without problem. Only issue is an occasional audio drop out for first 5 seconds when switching to HDTV station - then smooth.

About this poor quality SD issue....

Have you tried SD via s-video? SD often looks worse via component, better via s-video. Maybe that's it...?

Originally posted by archiguy
About this poor quality SD issue....

Have you tried SD via s-video? SD often looks worse via component, better via s-video. Maybe that's it...?

but then wouldn't HD look worse?

Does anyone know of a way to change the sidebars from gray to black?

Originally posted by chief17
but then wouldn't HD look worse?

Does anyone know of a way to change the sidebars from gray to black?

HD would become SD through S-Video...plus, the box only outputs through component, but will output through composite or s-vid whatever is on PIP or whatever is being saved to VCR.

I haven't come across a way to change the color of the sidebars.

Originally posted by rcasenc
So far ......I am not finding the PQ to be any worse than the Pioneer box. I have my setup as 480P and 10801 only - No 480i. The lack of locals was due to 720p selected which my RPTV does not accept.
Picture is equal to before with the DVR or Pioneer HDTV - SD.
As for HD - looks good, Discovery and MLS Soccer on HDNEt were excellent. I do have Monster cables, not sure if that is the difference or not. Was a simple swap out procedure. The optical audio is passing 5.1 without problem. Only issue is an occasional audio drop out for first 5 seconds when switching to HDTV station - then smooth.

How did you select both 480p and 1080i? The DVR only takes whatever I chose last, not multiple selections like the Pioneer box did.

How did you select both 480p and 1080i? The DVR only takes whatever I chose last, not multiple selections like the Pioneer box did.

I hooked up two boxes today, and one box allows for multiple selections and one does not. I have't been able to get a DVI signal from either box. Is this a known issue with this unit?

I think that part of the SD picture quality issue could be the light gray sidebars washing out the picture. I sure hope that there is way to change them to black.

I went into the settings (click settings button), clicked on A(triangle) for advanced settings - scrolled down to Output format - and choose 480p and 1080i only.

Originally posted by Brad LeGrone
I sure hope that there is way to change them to black.

According to the SA 8000 HD User Guide (http://www.triadtwcable.com/custserv/user-guidepdfs/E8000HDusergde4003743b.pdf) (p. 43), you should be able to...

1. Hit the settings key twice (General Setting menu appears)
2. Use the up/down arrows to highlight the Set: TV Borders options
3. Use the right arrow to display the Borders option (Light [default], Medium, Dark).
4. Use the up/down arrows to highlight the border you want (I assume Dark is what you're looking for).
5. Press A to Accept
6. Press Exit

Of course, this all may be moot due to the software (SARA vs. Passport).

Now, I don't know if Dark is dark enough, but it's worth a shot. I'm not getting mine until tomorrow, and plus, I have a rear projection CRT display, so I'd get serious burn in if I used black sidebars on 4:3.

I hooked up two boxes today, and one box allows for multiple selections and one does not. I have't been able to get a DVI signal from either box. Is this a known issue with this unit?

I must have one of the ones that does not...there must be a couple of different software versions floating around for some reason. DVI isn't scheduled on SARA software for another couple months, who knows with Pioneer software.

According to the SA 8000 HD User Guide (p. 43), you should be able to...
1. Hit the settings key twice (General Setting menu appears)


That whole thing must only work on SARA because hitting settings twice brings up the settings window and closes it right away.

Now, I don't know if Dark is dark enough, but it's worth a shot. I'm not getting mine until tomorrow, and plus, I have a rear projection CRT display, so I'd get serious burn in if I used black sidebars on 4:3.

Which is what makes the stretching bug very annoying. I need SD stretched, but I have to remember to turn it off while on a SD channel before switching to a HD channel...once on a HD channel, it says the picture matches your television's aspect ratio (or something similar), and will not allow you to turn off stretching (it probably thinks it is already off).

I have to remember to turn it off while on a SD channel before switching to a HD channel...once on a HD channel, it says the picture matches your television's aspect ratio (or something similar), and will not allow you to turn off stretching (it probably thinks it is already off).
That's why I'm gonna hook the HD-DVR into two TV inputs -- component for HD, and S-Video for SD. Then I'm gonna set up macros on my remote to go to those inputs -- and their corresponding audio inputs on the receiver (digital and analog) -- for HD and SD viewing, respectively. That way, I can avoid changing aspect ratios on the box, and use my TV for stretching the 4:3 SD content. The stretch mode on my TV is much better, and it keeps the same mode depending on the scan rate (i.e., 16:9 standard for HD component input, 4:3 stretch for SD S-video input), eliminating the need to manually switch it each time.

Maybe something similar to this approach might work for you?

Ooh, I just read your earlier post (quote below). Maybe my brilliant idea won't work after all. Can you (or anyone else -- Hugh?) confirm that the box only outputs through component? That seems a little restrictive. Why have all those other outputs?

Originally posted by doppler1
...plus, the box only outputs through component, but will output through composite or s-vid whatever is on PIP or whatever is being saved to VCR.

so here is my idea about hooking up a new SA 8000 box (I do not have the box yet, merely planning)...please tell me if I am nuts:

use component for HD connection
use S-Video for digital channels
use cable out for non-digital (2 - 77?)

then set up my universal remote (also, need to purchase) with macros for each channel to toggle a/v inputs.

hopefully, this will cover:

- the PQ issues (i got much better non-digital reception through cable out on my old SA box)
- the stretch issues...allowing my TV to stretch the S-Video and Cable Out pictures, instead of the SA box
- correct audio selection between HD and non-HD

please shoot holes in my plan before i make the leap...

thanks,
pipedown

Originally posted by Charles C
Ooh, I just read your earlier post (quote below). Maybe my brilliant idea won't work after all. Can you (or anyone else -- Hugh?) confirm that the box only outputs through component? That seems a little restrictive. Why have all those other outputs?

Correct...that will not work at all. For whatever reason, the analog outputs are only active on save to VCR and when PIP is on.

Originally posted by pipedown
so here is my idea about hooking up a new SA 8000 box (I do not have the box yet, merely planning)...please tell me if I am nuts:

use component for HD connection
use S-Video for digital channels
use cable out for non-digital (2 - 77?)

then set up my universal remote (also, need to purchase) with macros for each channel to toggle a/v inputs.

hopefully, this will cover:

- the PQ issues (i got much better non-digital reception through cable out on my old SA box)
- the stretch issues...allowing my TV to stretch the S-Video and Cable Out pictures, instead of the SA box
- correct audio selection between HD and non-HD

please shoot holes in my plan before i make the leap...

thanks,
pipedown

Consider holes shot into the plan...your plan was basically what Charles was trying to do. You will be able to split the cable and use your televisions analog tuner to watch the analog channels (2-99), but you will not be able to watch digital channels (nor use the IPG or Favorites on Demand) without the DVR box - which only outputs through component out unless PIP is on or you chose the save to VCR option for a saved program.

Quite honestly, I don't think the digital channels look too bad through the box though, it's just the analog channels that look horrible to me...and with that stretch bug, you can tune the HD channel for one of the networks and it will stretch out the bars on the side and you are left with a digital stretched picture (which looks really good).

yeah, the digital channels w/ sidebars do look pretty good stretched. too bad this is probably a 'bug' that will be fixed eventually.

I'm kind of a newbie to this HD stuff. Can someone tell me what I should output formats i should enable on the HD-DVR box? (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) You can leave more than one enabled. I have a Sony Grand Wega III (42WE610).

Thanks.

When TWC brought out my box they were talking about the fact you could not output anything other then to the TV, except the VCR archive. This is something I would really like to see changed in the future. This would then eliminate the problem with the poor SD picture as you could easily bypass the box. Then if the HD PQ was at least improved to the same standards as the old Pioneer box we would all be happy. Pioneer is no longer making their box and that is the reason TWC is using SA which is a real shame as I don't believe the quality or functionality is close.

Originally posted by HughScot
When TWC brought out my box they were talking about the fact you could not output anything other then to the TV, except the VCR archive.

I'm not sure what you mean by that...

For those of you worried about the SD picture quality in the HD-DVR, as our great senior Senator and soon-to-be-Vice President would say: "Help is on the way!"

TWC is aware of this issue and it will be fixed "shortly". They plan to digitize the analog content at the headend for these devices and that should alleviate the problem.

Originally posted by archiguy
For those of you worried about the SD picture quality in the HD-DVR, as our great senior Senator and soon-to-be-Vice President would say: "Help is on the way!"

I guess this would indicate that you are NOT a Republican? ;)

Originally posted by chief17
I'm kind of a newbie to this HD stuff. Can someone tell me what I should output formats i should enable on the HD-DVR box? (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) You can leave more than one enabled. I have a Sony Grand Wega III (42WE610).

What up, chief.

I'm anxiously anticipating the arrival of my HD-DVR this morning. In the meantime, you have a 720p LCD monitor, so one option is to output the HD-DVR to 720p only. That way, your monitor is receiving everything in it's native format.

HOWEVER, your post got me thinking about the "SD output to S-video" issue in my previous couple of posts with doppler. I seem to recall that he (or someone -- too lazy right now to check prior posts) set their HD box to output to 480p and 1080i. So of course only the component outputs work! S-video cannot handle progressive or HD formats .

I know my HDTVs de-interlacer (or whatever you call it) works much better than the SA box, so, if it's possible, I'm gonna let the box pass through all signals in their native format (480i for SD, 720p for ABC & Fox, and 1080i for all others). So, at least in theory, the 480i will go through S-video and the rest through component.

If that works -- and I'll find out in a couple of hours -- I'll let you know. Then, chief, you can experiment with what looks better: letting your monitor convert the native signals to 720p, by passing through all inputs from the HD box; or passing through everything in 720p.

Originally posted by archiguy
For those of you worried about the SD picture quality in the HD-DVR;

TWC is aware of this issue and it will be fixed "shortly". They plan to digitize the analog content at the headend for these devices and that should alleviate the problem.

May I ask were you read this and is there a timeframe mentioned? Basicly all except the local networks TWC already receives digitized so the would only need to pass them through instead of converting them to analog as they do now. I even think they receive some if not all the locals digitally by fiber lines.

Thanks Charles. Let me know how your experimenting goes and I will play with mine later this afternoon.

archiguy: That is very good news. Did you get that information from a Time Warner customer service rep? I guess they didn't give you any indication of how "soon" we will see this fixed? Thanks.

The SD picture quality is my only real problem with this box... I can live with the other little bugs. SD channels are not just a little worse than my other box, they are a LOT worse... almost unwatchable. If this gets fixed I will be a very happy man. I would also like to be able to make the sidebars black instead of gray... I am hoping that option will come in a future software upgrade.

This box also seems quieter than the other box (when writing to the HD) which is good.

OK, I humbly bow to the superior knowledge of doppler.

First of all, the installer guy came around 11, and no, it was not a TWC badged employee. AND this was his first install. BUT he had an HD-DVR, so I promptly snatched it from his hands and installed it myself. Piece o' cake.

Now, in deference to doppler, my TV does not receive any signal from the S-video output. I even set the output on the HD box to 480i only and unplugged the component cables. Nothing.

But after messing around for awhile, I have stumbled upon a way to use my TV's superior stretch mode instead of the cable box's. What I did was set the Aspect Ratio as follows:

TV Type = Standard (4:3)
Picture Settings = Letterbox 16:9

Now, keep in mind I have a 16:9 widescreen TV.

By doing this rather odd setup, on the SD channels I get all my TV's aspect ratio modes, including the 4:3 stretch mode, behaving as if I'm getting an SD signal -- i.e., they all work! Even though the signal is 480p (according to my TV). Popping over to the HD channels (250 and 280 are on this morning), they look fine -- receiving a 1080i image and displaying them in all their HD glory. I even switched to the OTA WJZY feed just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. But sure enough, it looks right.

Now, YMMV, depending on how your particular set handles the signals. But for my CRT RPTV set (Hitachi 65XWX20B), this seems to work.

BTW, I have ALL Output Formats selected (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), and my TV indicates it receives them in the latter 3 formats, depending on the channel. All SD channels must be upconverted by the HD box to 480p; but WSOC and WCCB show up as 720p, and the other HD channels show up as 1080i. So I guess by selecting all formats the box is passing through the signal as natively as it can.

I'll check back in after tonight with my thoughts on SD quality, as well as cable box vs. OTA HD signal comparisons. On first blush, the SD quality looks about the same as my previous SA8000 (non-HD) DVR, which is to say crappy, but keep in mind I'm sitting 10 feet away from a 65" television, so it's not gonna look very good to begin with.

Somethings up....ALL HD channels are down in Kings Mtn area.
SD works fine.

Looking at the bottom of the SA 8000HD DVR, the part number is 4004564. According to the product data sheet (http://www.sciatl.com/customers/Source/4004400.pdf) , this means it has the 160GB hard drive.

Originally posted by cajunlab
Somethings up....ALL HD channels are down in Kings Mtn area.
SD works fine.

Ditto for Gastonia. This is a first. How about the rest of the area.

How about the rest of the area.
Charlotte's fine.

HD channels working fine in Matthews too...

I called TWC and it's just Shelby, Kings Mtn., Gastonia area. I can get channel 235 but with black bars on the sides and then the box freezes and I have to reboot to be able to change channels or do anything with the box. Very strange.

Now, in deference to doppler, my TV does not receive any signal from the S-video output. I even set the output on the HD box to 480i only and unplugged the component cables. Nothing.

It will if you turn on PIP - worthless, but it does output that way :)

BTW, I have ALL Output Formats selected (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), and my TV indicates it receives them in the latter 3 formats, depending on the channel. All SD channels must be upconverted by the HD box to 480p; but WSOC and WCCB show up as 720p, and the other HD channels show up as 1080i. So I guess by selecting all formats the box is passing through the signal as natively as it can.

For whatever reason, I can select only one output format...and I basically have to choose 1080i as my TV only supports HD in 1080i. This is one of the most frustrating things, and I don't understand why I can only select ONE output format. I am thinking it is software version related, but who knows. You can check versions by pressing and holding (on the box itself) Select and Exit until it 'dings' through the tv speakers and shows "diag" on the display. Then push Exit again or tune channel 611. If I could output in 480i/p and 1080i, I think I would be able to use the televisions stretch modes on SD content and not have to deal with the stretch bug I seem to suffer with the most.

I have:

Passport Echo 1.5.032
PowerTV 6.4.4.3sp
Driver Version : 1
ResApp Date 2/26/04
OS Date 01/20/04

Hey, doppler1.

It does look like I have a later version. Here's my diag info:

Passport Echo 1.5.062
PowerTV 6.4.9.1sp
Driver Version : 1
ResApp Date 6/7/04
OS Date 4/29/04

I tried the PIP on my TV and sure enough, I get something through the S-video input. Have no idea what channel it is, or how to change it, and it's distorted because of my kooky set-up. So yes, it's worthless.

Thanks for posting your version information Charles. Now the question is "How do I get the latest update (that TWC Charlotte has)?" Plus, I bet the newer version fixes the stretech bug.

Was your 8000HD boxed up when it was dropped off by the tech?

As you know I've had my box for a couple of months and I have the same version info as Charles. I am wondering how doppler1 has such an old version. Do you really have an HD-DVR box, I assume you do and if so when did you get it from TWC?

doppler1.....Your software date is so old I'd get a new box from TWC.

Yes, it is definitely the 8000HD...no doubt in my mind (it says 8000HD, has component outs, tunes/records HD channels). I just got the box on Thursday (7/29)...it was in a sealed box, obviously never touched by Time Warner hands until it was installed.

The software can be updated through the cable system...I just need to know who to talk to to get it updated...or I could probably just wait until they update the whole system, and I would receive the update.

Well, at least this explains why I am having problems that others are not.

Ok, figured you did but you never know. Ha! That is very odd as TWC in Charlotte got in 1500 boxes at the same time and I got one of those so I figured they would all have the same OS date. Shows never to assume. I've had mine since 5/25 so at worse I thought mine might be "old", so to speak.

Now if I could just get my digital channels back I'd be happy.

You might have caught a broadcast update (well, if you were the only one, they may have updated it manually) if you have the same versions as Charles - the App date was after you received your DVR, so it should have been updated after you received it.

Originally posted by doppler1
You might have caught a broadcast update (well, if you were the only one, they may have updated it manually) if you have the same versions as Charles - the App date was after you received your DVR, so it should have been updated after you received it.

Yes I have the same App date as Charles.

Got my HD-DVR installed today. As expected I had to hook up myself. He had no idea what went where.

Pretty much the same as everyone else, gray side bars and really crappy SD.

HD recording works like a champ. "They hit the ball out of the park" (trying keep with the political theme) :rolleyes:

10 bucks to anyone that can figure out how to get the side bars black and make the menu fill my 16:9 screen!

Got my HD-DVR installed today. As expected I had to hook up myself. He had no idea what went where.
I think a Saturday installation pretty much guarantees that it will be a contractor, not a TW tech... At least the TW tech that "installed" my box knew which cables went where.
10 bucks to anyone that can figure out how to get the side bars black and make the menu fill my 16:9 screen!
I think you will be waiting for another software upgrade for the side bars. I don't think we will ever see 16:9 graphics for quite some time - it's probably a low priority. I'm fairly surprised that there are so many differences between HD Passport and HD Passport Echo, I would have figured Pioneer would have basically used the same code for both, just adding the DVR functions to Echo.

Originally posted by rcase13
10 bucks to anyone that can figure out how to get the side bars black and make the menu fill my 16:9 screen!

Mine turned to black from grey today and I have no idea how it happened. I did nothing to cause it.

Also of note about the HD-DVR box...I tried to wath one of the icontrol commercials (the one that says "watch this 3 min clip for a chance to win a HDTV"). It tries to pull the clip up for about 30 seconds and then the box reboots. I tried it again and the same thing happened. I wonder if this box will allow watching any of the icontrol movies or if there is just a problem with that clip??

I also get a lot of studdering/short freeze ups for about 30 seconds immediatley after I change the channel. Changing channels also seems to take a long time. Has anyone else noticed this? I have all output modes enabled right now... maybe that has something to do with it.

I haven't tried any VOD's, but I will try a favorite on demand (channels 840-856 or so) later and see what happens. I remember having a problem similar to that with the Voyager box, so it might just be the clip.

It does take quite a while to change channels, and I have noticed some stuttering, but I don't think it has lasted 30 seconds - maybe 10 at the most.

Originally posted by chief17
I also get a lot of studdering/short freeze ups for about 30 seconds immediatley after I change the channel.
My theory? What you're really watching is video buffered in the box's memory. It's gotta be, cause there's like at 4 or 5 second difference between the HD OTA signal and that coming from the box. So, I'm thinking the stuttering/freeze is just the signal being properly buffered in memory and/or the hard drive before things smooth out. I'm sure the early adopters of color TV probably were having a similar discussion over horizontal hold, so I'm happy to take a little MPEG-2 glitch now and then! I mean, it's a helluva lot of data. I'm impressed that it's not worse.

Originally posted by doppler1
Was your 8000HD boxed up when it was dropped off by the tech?
Yep, boxed up and wrapped in plastic.

Is anyone using DVI output from the new HD DVR box? I've got an appointment Wed. to replace my current two boxes (yep, I've had both and HD and SD DVR box...), and I'm really hoping to use DVI out to my screen. I've been following this thread for a several months now, but I could have missed something about this recently.

Digital out from DVI possible with the new SA box? Thanks,

Digital out from DVI possible with the new SA box?
Not yet. I have not heard any rumors as to when the Pioneer version might be enabled either.

Originally posted by archiguy
For those of you worried about the SD picture quality in the HD-DVR, as our great senior Senator and soon-to-be-Vice President would say: "Help is on the way!"

TWC is aware of this issue and it will be fixed "shortly". They plan to digitize the analog content at the headend for these devices and that should alleviate the problem.

this may be old, but it was 'Hope is on the way", not help. I 'hope' they fix the hd dvr issues.

I just got done talking to a TW rep and they're set to bring out the hd dvr to me on Thursday. This was done BEFORE reading here.

Right now I'm using the Pioneer HD receiver with a DVI cable. Am I going to have trouble with the new box?

Originally posted by sbirnie
this may be old, but it was 'Hope is on the way", not help. I 'hope' they fix the hd dvr issues.

Oops, you're right; it was "hope". Nevertheless, your hope is not misplaced; my contacts tell me that help is indeed coming for the SD pq issue. Other shortcomings are a result of using the SA product instead of better functioning products from other vendors such as Motorola and Pioneer (Pioneer is discontinuing production of and support for STB's).

Just got my SA8000HD this morning and standard definition and even the digital channels (non hd) are really bad. Is there any news on the analog outputs being activated? Diana posted on another DVR thread in February that an update would be sent out activating the analog outputs and I was hoping they would be turned on by now.

dvdguru, pretty much anything Diana wrote in the other thread pertained to the SARA version of the 8000HD, and therefore may not be relevant to the Passport Echo version that we have.

Hopefully they will digitize the analog channels soon...I find the digital SD channels look much better than the analog SD's, but I guess that isn't saying much.

Originally posted by doppler1
Hopefully they will digitize the analog channels soon...

That's the plan.

Well My appointment to receive the HD DVR was today.. I guess its just my luck that the contractor brings out a Regular HD Box.....

Isn't time warner great?

LOL, I've had that happen too when the HD boxes first came out. The guy was at the door and when I mentioned HD he said "huh?" and I knew there was trouble. He had the regular SD box and had to schedule another appointment. I AM going to get around all these problems though.

I'm probably going to get the toshiba DLP with cable card and split the cable and have one cable going to the HD dvr and the other cable going into the cable card slot. Then I'll have decent picture quality for everything :) That's my plan anyway and I'm just waiting for the toshiba model in sept/oct that will have cable card.

Is anyone else getting stutters and audio drop outs? Also I'm getting audio sync problems that I didn't have until I switched to the HD-DVR.

Originally posted by rcase13
Is anyone else getting stutters and audio drop outs? Also I'm getting audio sync problems that I didn't have until I switched to the HD-DVR.

I get a lot of stuttering (especially right after changing channels) and some audio dropouts. the box has alos rebooted on me for no apparent reason several times. hopefully it will get better with time (and updates).

should I wait a while before getting the 8000hd? If they're going to charge me $43 to install the thing ( I tried to tell them I'd install it myself - no luck) and it will look like crap, I'll wait until things sound better on this forum.

I wouldn't wait, it definitely doesn't look like "cr--". The HD picture is excellent and you will not be getting a replacement box but rather upgrades via cable.

It seems to have been touched on and even tried but I haven't gotten whether my scenario will work...
My current set up is: Cable split - 1 going direct to ReplayTV DVR (for the SD non-digital records) and 1 going to HD (SA3100HD) box... Then from the HD box: 1 SVideo to the ReplayTV (for the digital channel records) and 1 Component Cables direct to HDTV.

Reason I want the HDDVR is to basically ONLY record HD stuff... I've got 2 hard drives and 220 hours in my ReplayTV that I'd still like to use for all SD (analog and digital channel) material. The ReplayTV changes the channels of the current box using one of those "IR Blaster" thingy's and I guess it would do that in the new HDDVR setup. Overall I've not figured out how best to do this... Does this box have two tuners? and is it confirmed that I would not be able to have 2 outputs going at once (ie an S-video going out from the HD DVR to the ReplayTV and Components from the HDDVR out to the HDTV? Someone mentioned something about the PIP functions which may be the answer somehow.

PS... the reason for my current setup is to record SD (analog station) while watching HD at the same time. Great for recording Everybody loves Raymond for wife and watching MNF in HD live at the same time) My Concord install is Aug 20th. Thanks!

I wouldn't wait either. Despite the minor annoyances, as Hugh said, the HD picture is great, the digital channels (IMO) look fine, and it does what it's supposed to do - records HD...where else are you going to find another HD-DVR for $7/month? Plus with the Olympics starting in 11 days (Opening Ceremony only on a 1 hour delay - SD starts at 8pm, HD at 9), Panthers in 12 days, and the network television season rapidly approaching, now is a great time to get the HD-DVR.

miamijoe:

You will NOT be able to use the HD-DVR to record digital channels on your Replay, as the box (essentially) does NOT output from analog outputs. You could just just the Replay's built in tuner and only record analog channels (2-99), and use the 8000HD for HD recordings and digital channel recordings. The 8000HD does have 2 tuners, so you can record 2 things, or watch one and record another.

Summary: Split coax, one going to Replay, the other to the 8000HD, the two stay unconnected. You can: 1.) still record all the channels you get; 2.)record ELR for your wife on the Replay (or 8000HD) while watching MNF in HD; 3.) record 3 programs at once (up 2 two HD/SD on 8000HD, 1 SD on Replay).

Wonder why such a long wait for the install in Concord...

Originally posted by sbirnie
should I wait a while before getting the 8000hd? If they're going to charge me $43 to install the thing ( I tried to tell them I'd install it myself - no luck) and it will look like crap, I'll wait until things sound better on this forum.

Don't let our nit picking hold you back. The stutters are annoying put not horrible. The box is awesome. I can't believe the playback quality of HD broadcast. Makes me second guess my VOOM purchase. Hmmm... maybe I can convice the wife to let me keep both. :confused: :rolleyes:

Doppler1... Re: Wait in Concord is totally my doing. I am prob. going to call back and see if I can move it up. I just wanted to take the "wait and see" approach and read here to learn of others concerns/issues/likes etc... Thanks so much for the help. I'm going to try for this Friday!

Originally posted by miamijoe
I just wanted to take the "wait and see" approach and read here to learn of others concerns/issues/likes etc...
I concur with Hugh and rcase. No need to "wait and see." Take the plunge. We're just picky techno-/video-philes who strive for perfection. Let's continue to share our thoughts, ideas and issues, but not lose sight of the incredible technology (when you sit back and think about it) and the enjoyment it brings.

With respect to the upcoming SD upgrades archiguy and others mentioned, I assume there's no action necessary on our part, right? They'll be made at the head-end and/or come through the cable? And regarding the latter, does the box have to be on to receive S/W upgrades?

Originally posted by Charles C
With respect to the upcoming SD upgrades archiguy and others mentioned, I assume there's no action necessary on our part, right? They'll be made at the head-end and/or come through the cable? And regarding the latter, does the box have to be on to receive S/W upgrades?

yes (no action on our part), yes, and no

hugh, you mentioned that the gray bars on your box turned black. Did they stay black? Mine are most definitely still gray.

My HD-DVR was installed yesterday. Actually ended up with two, because the installer didn't have any regular HD boxes with him. What's crazy is I had a regular HD box that I wanted to keep, but he told me they didn't mark the account as a transfer like they should have, so he had to take it. It doesn't make any sense to me, but he said he had to give me all new equipment and take all the boxes I had, since that was the way the install was set up. I feel a little greedy having two of the boxes.:D But I'm sure I'll be paying for two DVRs.

Anyway, the HD picture quality is not as good as the Pioneer HD box (it's pretty soft), but I'm still happy to have it. I'll give up a little picture quality for the DVR functionality. Hopefully, software updates will improve the picture quality over time.

Originally posted by clintyarborough
hugh, you mentioned that the gray bars on your box turned black. Did they stay black? Mine are most definitely still gray.

Mine are still black and I have no idea what caused the change. I don't usually watch the digital channels with no HD so it was not a big deal with me but they are black now. I made no changes to the settings, etc.

OK... you convinced me. I've changed the appt. to This Friday and will be having all the same tweaking issues you guys will have. My setup includes a Toshiba RPTV which does not allow the tv to Stretch it's component inputs (Stinks!) but does great job stretching on S-Video in's. I'll have to read up on the manual this week before it arrives. I'm looking forward to it.

Originally posted by miamijoe
My setup includes a Toshiba RPTV which does not allow the tv to Stretch it's component inputs (Stinks!) but does great job stretching on S-Video in's. I'll have to read up on the manual this week before it arrives. I'm looking forward to it.
Are you sure you can't stretch component signals, even if they're not high-def? My Hitachi RPTV won't stretch HD signals, but will allow all stretch/zoom modes through the component inputs if it's 480p (i.e., not HD). I've mentioned this earlier, but it might be worth reiterating: By setting up the HD-DVR to allow all outputs (480i, 480p, 720p & 1080i), my TV is able to stretch 4:3 SD content. I did have to "fool" the TV by also setting up the box for a 4:3 TV; but the TV obviously overrides this when it receives an HD signal and displays these normally on the 16:9 screen.

Might be worth checking out -- maybe it's not the inputs but the signal coming through the inputs, which up to now may just have been HD in your case.

i jumped ship...my HD-DVR is being delivered this coming Monday...

so, my monthly charge is going to be $14?? the rep was saying that it was $7 for a regular DVR and $7 for the HD-DVR....I am only getting ONE DVR!!

anywhos, i look forward to having DVR capability (both HD and SD)....i do not look forward to lesser PQ....i do hope that TWC sends some updates downstream that will improve that soon.

thanks for everybody's posts/reviews...

pd

Originally posted by pipedown

so, my monthly charge is going to be $14?? the rep was saying that it was $7 for a regular DVR and $7 for the HD-DVR....I am only getting ONE DVR!!

Seems like YMMV, but I called TW Customer Service (have had nothing but positive experiences) to go through my detailed, line-item by line-item bill. Let me start off by saying I swapped out a regular DVR for the HD-DVR; most of you here are swapping out the regular HD box. But the cost of the non-HD DVR was $6.95/mo. When I talked to TW CS the rep said he had a memo where the HD-DVR was the same price as the old DVR -- i.e., $6.95/mo. So my monthly bill will be exactly the same.

Now, if you're getting the "HD Tier," which includes the two HDNet channels and the two InDemand HD channels (which I am not, currently), that's an additional $6.95/mo. That might be where your additional charge is. I would recommend having them walk through your bill with you and make sure you understand exactly what you're paying for.

Originally posted by chief17
I get a lot of stuttering (especially right after changing channels) and some audio dropouts. the box has alos rebooted on me for no apparent reason several times. hopefully it will get better with time (and updates).

Chief17.....please give TWC a call and ask them to come out and trouble shoot the problem. Send me a PM if you have any questions.

Hugh

Well got VOOM installed today. They actually were able to come out a few days early. That's always nice. The Installers were very knowledgable. They did an awesome job.

Nothing negative to say, The HD picture is brighter and sharper than TW but barely enough to really notice. SD is wonderful. I don't understand why TW has a hard time with it. I guess I don't understand the technology well enough. Haven't had much time to play with it, but I think it's a keeper for sure. I got lucky and local channels seem to come in well. I have lot's of questions for this, but will save these for the OTA forum.

VOOM lacks some of the SD channels that TW has. If this is a problem then VOOM isn't for you. I for one am happy to not have any shopping channels!

Pretty much decided to keep TW until VOOM has a HD-DVR available. Hopefully the wife doesn't have a problem with this!

Charles... re: stretch modes on Toshibas... in the HX82 series the stretch mode worked on all inputs. Toshiba (for whatever reason) disabled this possibility on the HX83 (component only) which I've got. Stretches perfect on all other inputs but does not allow that on the component's.