Official AVS Comcast / Cableco Moto 5100 / 6200 Topic! [Text View] - Page 12

lovingdvd

03-26-04, 02:29 PM

Does anyone know what the recommended line levels ranges are for Signal to Noise Ratio db and Power Level in -mVa?

My cable modem is measuring 32db and -11 respectively - are those good numbers? Interstingly my 6208 is measuring a Signal to Noise ratio of around 27db. The feed for the 6208 and cable modem are coming off the same splitter, and each runs about an equal distance.

I think the feed to the 6208 is split within the wall a few times - whereas the feed to the cable modem is not. Could this account for this difference? Is it correct to assume that they should be the same?

I've been having a problem with intermittant dropouts that last only a few seconds on the 6208. During these few seconds the image becomes pixelate and I lose sound - this only lasts for a coupld of seconds but happens somewhat frequently, say around every 5 minutes or so.

Based on this info do you think it will help to run a new line to my 6208, which if my assumptions are correct, may result in a 5db higher signal to noise ratio? Is that possibly significant enough to solve this intermittant drop out issue?

Thanks!

M Diddy

03-26-04, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by dfedders
I think its been shown - especially with the 620x PVRs, that 1 hour of HD content is about 8-10GB in size, so I assume that a two hour movie would be 16-20GB, not 60.

You are right that at this point you won't be able to fit that on a DVD that you can burn yourself. That may change within the next year, though.

An HD movie averages about 25 GB's in size, add to that the digital soundtrack, menus, and all the extras, you are looking at about 45-60 Gigs depending on the movie....

There is a new digital format coming out soon, from what I hear. It's not DVD, but it supposed to be able to hold an entire movie in HD with all the extra content...

HD Rookie

03-26-04, 03:14 PM

Originally posted by M Diddy
An HD movie averages about 25 GB's in size, add to that the digital soundtrack, menus, and all the extras, you are looking at about 45-60 Gigs depending on the movie....

There is a new digital format coming out soon, from what I hear. It's not DVD, but it supposed to be able to hold an entire movie in HD with all the extra content...

M, I think dfedders was right on target (including sound) with his numbers. If you were to record to a PC from an OTA hd signal, the recording would consume about 9gig an hour. Are you guys referring to the same "medium".

niesman

03-26-04, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by lovingdvd
Does anyone know what the recommended line levels ranges are for Signal to Noise Ratio db and Power Level in -mVa?

My cable modem is measuring 32db and -11 respectively - are those good numbers? Interstingly my 6208 is measuring a Signal to Noise ratio of around 27db. The feed for the 6208 and cable modem are coming off the same splitter, and each runs about an equal distance.

I think the feed to the 6208 is split within the wall a few times - whereas the feed to the cable modem is not. Could this account for this difference? Is it correct to assume that they should be the same?

I've been having a problem with intermittant dropouts that last only a few seconds on the 6208. During these few seconds the image becomes pixelate and I lose sound - this only lasts for a coupld of seconds but happens somewhat frequently, say around every 5 minutes or so.

Based on this info do you think it will help to run a new line to my 6208, which if my assumptions are correct, may result in a 5db higher signal to noise ratio? Is that possibly significant enough to solve this intermittant drop out issue?

Thanks!

lovingdvd,

I just went through a splitting issue with my 6200 (cox cable OC). The excellent cox rep (few and far between!) told me that the Motorola 6200 series has a very narrow window of acceptance for power level (-5 to 0 mV) and that for this reason over 80% of his HDTV calls are due to to low/high power line levels. The SD Motorolla cable box has a range from -10 to +5. From this information I would consider a new line or an amp on the existing line. Just be careful not to over amp and then be on the high side. FYI, I placed a 15 dB amp at the house junction box, this brought my line (measured at the box) to -3 mV.

niesman

lovingdvd

03-26-04, 03:59 PM

Originally posted by niesman
lovingdvd,

I just went through a splitting issue with my 6200 (cox cable OC). The excellent cox rep (few and far between!) told me that the Motorola 6200 series has a very narrow window of acceptance for power level (-5 to 0 mV) and that for this reason over 80% of his HDTV calls are due to to low/high power line levels. The SD Motorolla cable box has a range from -10 to +5. From this information I would consider a new line or an amp on the existing line. Just be careful not to over amp and then be on the high side. FYI, I placed a 15 dB amp at the house junction box, this brought my line (measured at the box) to -3 mV.

niesman

Interesting. Comcast already has an amp in the house. The way it is set up currently is that the incoming line from the outside goes into a 3 way splitter.

From that splitter one end goes to my 6208 (where I am getting intermittant drop outs), one goes to my cable modem, and the other goes into an amplifier. Than from the amplifier it goes into a 4 way which goes to other SD sets.

This was intentional, as I thought it would be best to have the signal come from the outside and get to the 6208 without going through an amp. So you are saying that it may in fact be BETTER to send it through the amp? Doing so however would probably put the power at +5db which is too high based on your info. Humm... Do they make a 10db amp?

BTW, did adding the amp like you discussed above resolve your intermittant drop outs?

adamf

03-26-04, 08:44 PM

LovingDVD,
Here is a 10dB amp from RS:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F003%5F010%5F001%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1170

adamf

03-26-04, 08:50 PM

Mikem,
The output (at least on the 5100) can be set by hitting Pwr (to turn off) then Menu. This will allow you to set the various options for output (16:9, 4:3LB, 4:3 PS, 480i,p,720p,1080i, etc). I don't think there is any menu that tells you what HD "feed' is coming in from head-end. HD from ABC, ESPN (and in the fall, FOX) is 720p, everyone else in HD is 1080i, (I believe).

Adam

lovingdvd

03-26-04, 10:26 PM

Originally posted by lovingdvd
Interesting. Comcast already has an amp in the house. The way it is set up currently is that the incoming line from the outside goes into a 3 way splitter.

From that splitter one end goes to my 6208 (where I am getting intermittant drop outs), one goes to my cable modem, and the other goes into an amplifier. Than from the amplifier it goes into a 4 way which goes to other SD sets.

This was intentional, as I thought it would be best to have the signal come from the outside and get to the 6208 without going through an amp. So you are saying that it may in fact be BETTER to send it through the amp? Doing so however would probably put the power at +5db which is too high based on your info. Humm... Do they make a 10db amp?

BTW, did adding the amp like you discussed above resolve your intermittant drop outs?

I went into the 6208 service menu tonight and found that my Signal To Noise Ratio under the OOB setting was sometimes dipping to 19-20db, which caused the indicator to go to FAIR. When watching this measurment it tends to read about 21-22db which it says is GOOD. But about 1 reading out of 10 it drops to somewhere between 19.0 and 20.0. Could this be what is causing my intermittant drop outs?

I don't think it is the direct cause though, because I get the 19-20db reading about once or twice a minute, whereas my drop outs are only occurring once every 5 or more minutes.

As an experiment I hooked up the incoming line directly to the line that runs to the 6208 and the readings were the same. Then I tried running the main line into a 15db amp and then out to the 6208, but again this did not change the signal to noise ratio in the OOB menu.

Now FWIW the Signal to Noise ration in the IN-BOUND menu reads about 33db consistently which is in the GOOD range. Does any one know what the difference is between OOB and INBOUND as far as it related to watching cable (not Internet access). Am I right to assume that IN-BOUND is the important one for watching cable, and if so, it looks like my Signal to Noise is good to go then.

As an experiment I am thinking about moving my 6208 box directly to where the line comes into the house so I can compare the signal to noise ratio directly at the line in Vs. where the 6208 normally sits and the feed that does to it. If there is no difference than I know the feed that runs to the 6208 is just fine despite possibly going through a few extra splitters (which I cannot get to because they are in the wall). Then again if INBOUND signal to noise ratio is all that matters as it relates to intermittant drop outs, then I don't need to bother since my reading at the 6208 was GOOD consistently around 32db.

Also I tried running through an amp...The only difference that I noticed between the settings when running to the 6208 through the 15db AMP vs. without the AMP was that the AGP reading (I think it was AGP - or it was some other three letter abbreviation) within the INBOUND section averaged around 10% WITH the amp, and about 15% WITHOUT the amp. Both readings were labeled as GOOD. So which is better 10% or 15% and what is AGP anyway?

Lastly, I could not find the power level measured in -dBmV anywhere in the 6208 service menu to diagnostic output. Anyone know where to find that?

Thanks!

FireWireGuy

03-27-04, 07:03 AM

It is not "IN-BOUND" it is "In Band". (FYI - OOB = Out Of Band)

AGP = AGC

lovingdvd

03-27-04, 09:15 AM

Originally posted by FireWireGuy
It is not "IN-BOUND" it is "In Band". (FYI - OOB = Out Of Band)

AGP = AGC

Thanks for the clarification. Does anyone know what these are? What is AGC, and what's the difference between OOB and In Band, and why would I have such significant different in Singtal to Noise Ratio in OOB compared to IN Band?

miatasm

03-28-04, 12:03 AM

There is NO way to see the incoming (forward) signal level in dbmv on the DCT. Unless they changed something in the Diagnostics for the 6208. Which I don't think they did.......

AGC = Automatic Gain Control

This will vary depending on the quality of the signal coming in, & not necessarily the AMOUNT of signal. The DCT has the ability to correct and slightly adjust the signal before it is converted and sent to the Television. The % is just how hard the AGC is working. The Higher the number the more the AGC is working, the worse the signal issues are.

Also under the inband status there is a section called "5 second error counts". Correctable errors - this is missing or corrupt data in the stream that the box can still piece together, this number is sampled every 5 seconds and displays how many corrections were made in that 5 second span. This number tells you there is possibly a problem but this will not result in any picture problems.

Uncorrectable Errors - this is missing or corrupt data in the stream that DCT CANNOT repair & results in Micro/Macro blocking, or possibly no picture at all.

SNR = Signal to Noise Ratio

The SNR represents the separation of the noise & the actual carrier or signal. So if the signal is +5 dbmv & the level of the noise is -20dbmv then your Signal to Noise Ratio is 25db. So, the higher the number the better.

The reason that the SNR numbers differ from the Modem to the STB is that the data for the modem is alot more susceptable to interference then the Video signals. So the Cable Co. will run a tighter tolerance on the SNR of the modems, then it needs to on the video.

Also if you happen to see that the video channel you are checking is using 256 QAM (common for HDTV channels) that will make a difference in how these numbers show / perform.

As a Reminder - These numbers are only valid for the last channel that the DCT was tuned to before entering the diagnostics. So if you want to see the information about channel 301. You will tune to channel 301 then power the DCT "off" and press select, then arrow to in-band status. To see the info for another channel you will need to exit the Diagnostics & tune to the new channel. These numbers will not be available on analog channels.

lovingdvd,

Couple of questions:

1. When the "hiccup" occurs does it happen on all channels (digital & analog)?

2. If Digital only, does it happen on all digital channels? or just some select digital channels?

3. How long does audio & video go out for? 1 sec, 5 sec, 1 min?

4. Look at the Correctable & Uncorrectable numbers in the Diag. for the channels you are having a problem with. Do you see any correctable or uncorrectable errors at any time?

5. Have you been recording onto the HDD when the hiccup occurs, & does it record the hiccup?

An amplifier can sometimes make problems worse & I don't think this is your problem. An amplifier will amplify all of the signals on the cable line including the noise. An amp should only be used if you have an excessive amount of TV's (4 or more, usually) and/or very long cable runs.

Since your modem is OK then I don't suspect the cable to be the problem. But I would go ahead an run a direct line if you think there is any additional splits in the cable that you cannot verify the quality of the connections & splitter.

You should also be able to access the Diagnostics off of the RF & Composite outputs. Is your DCT setup to output 480p in the "480 override" if so then you need to change it to 480i, it will then output the On-screen information.

Hope this helps.....

lovingdvd

03-28-04, 12:46 AM

Originally posted by miatasm
There is NO way to see the incoming (forward) signal level in dbmv on the DCT.

My cable modem shows me that its at -10 or -9, with a SNR of 32db. Assuming that's what the 6208 is getting, is that sufficient power?

The Higher the number the more the AGC is working, the worse the signal issues are.

Interestingly enough then I am getting 10% when passing the signal through a 15db power amp compared to taking it straight in. I find that a bit surprising based on what you say about amps below. Does this 5% difference tell us anything meaningful?

Also under the inband status there is a section called "5 second error counts".

I've been watching that and have noticed certain channels have CORRECTABLE error counts frequently, while other channels have 0. For the channels that I often have this hiccups/dropouts on, the error counts are somewhere around 065 or so about one out of every 5 reading (each 5 second interval) - the other 4 out of 5 its 000. I have never seen it show any UNCORRECTABLE errors but of course I'm not watching that number at the time of the hiccup, and its a fair assumption that if I was I would see the uncorrectable error count go up in conjunction with the hiccup.

Also if you happen to see that the video channel you are checking is using 256 QAM (common for HDTV channels) that will make a difference in how these numbers show / perform.

Yes, for reference it does show 256 QAM. On this display I watch only digital channels and HD whenever possible.

Couple of questions:

1. When the "hiccup" occurs does it happen on all channels (digital & analog)?

It only happens on the digital channels. It seems to happen more often on some channels vs. others. In my case it tends to happen fairly regular on HBOHD (179), INHD (174), INHD2 (175), ESPNHD (173), and the digital local feeds like CBS (182).

2. If Digital only, does it happen on all digital channels? or just some select digital channels?

Select channels - see above.

3. How long does audio & video go out for? 1 sec, 5 sec, 1 min?

Very brief - only about 1 second. Sometimes I can watch for an hour or more with no hiccups. Other times on the same channel I can have a few hiccups every few minutes. On average I've been getting about 1 hiccup every 5-10 minutes - not the worse problem to have but still annoying and frustrating nonetheless.

4. Look at the Correctable & Uncorrectable numbers in the Diag. for the channels you are having a problem with. Do you see any correctable or uncorrectable errors at any time?

As mentioned above I frequently do see correctable errors for troublesome channels - typically about 065 in a 5 second read. But many times it reads 000. Never have seen uncorrectable go up but it must be during the hiccup.

5. Have you been recording onto the HDD when the hiccup occurs, & does it record the hiccup?

I have had it happen both while recording and also just as many times when not recording. When recording the hiccup does get recorded. Likewise when not recording the hiccup is still in the buffer.

Since your modem is OK then I don't suspect the cable to be the problem. But I would go ahead an run a direct line if you think there is any additional splits in the cable that you cannot verify the quality of the connections & splitter.

I assume there is no point in running a new cable if the diags show me the same readings as far as db levels and error counts go if I move the box to the main line in and check it there. Right?

You should also be able to access the Diagnostics off of the RF & Composite outputs. Is your DCT setup to output 480p in the "480 override" if so then you need to change it to 480i, it will then output the On-screen information.

I'm pretty sure I do have 480p set in override. So that is why I couldn't see any diags via the coax output, even though I could watch all channels through the coax output (channels worked with tv set to channel 3, but nothing during the diag was displayed except a black screen, no snow).

A few other questions for you if you will - what is the difference between the SNR under OOB vs. IN BAND? Is it normal to see OOB at 19-21 while IN BAND is 32-35db? Does the fact that OOB SNR db dropping to 19-20 in the FAIR range indicate a possible issue? As it relates to my issue, which measurement matters more, or at they equally important?

Let;s assume I run a new line to the 6208 but the problem persists. What would be the next best step, considering the cable company has recently been out and verified all the signal levels are in the acceptable range?

Also the line tech measured that at the 6208 my signal was 5db lower than at the splitter that sends the signal to the 6208. The cable run is about 75 feet. Does that sound about right?

Thanks a lot - much appreciated!!

miatasm

03-28-04, 03:21 AM

Originally posted by lovingdvd
My cable modem shows me that its at -10 or -9, with a SNR of 32db. Assuming that's what the 6208 is getting, is that sufficient power?

The -10 is a little lower than I would like to see. But the SNR is OK

Interestingly enough then I am getting 10% when passing the signal through a 15db power amp compared to taking it straight in. I find that a bit surprising based on what you say about amps below. Does this 5% difference tell us anything meaningful?

Not really. I wouldn't put any merit in an only 5% difference.

I've been watching that and have noticed certain channels have CORRECTABLE error counts frequently, while other channels have 0. For the channels that I often have this hiccups/dropouts on, the error counts are somewhere around 065 or so about one out of every 5 reading (each 5 second interval) - the other 4 out of 5 its 000. I have never seen it show any UNCORRECTABLE errors but of course I'm not watching that number at the time of the hiccup, and its a fair assumption that if I was I would see the uncorrectable error count go up in conjunction with the hiccup.

The correctable error counts are definately what causes eventual Uncorrectable errors. This is probably where your problem is.

Yes, for reference it does show 256 QAM. On this display I watch only digital channels and HD whenever possible.

The signal levels for 256 QAM are refernced at a different level than 64 QAM which is what your modem runs at. So signal level & SNR numbers will vary.

It only happens on the digital channels. It seems to happen more often on some channels vs. others. In my case it tends to happen fairly regular on HBOHD (179), INHD (174), INHD2 (175), ESPNHD (173), and the digital local feeds like CBS (182).

Since you pretty much only watch these channels its not
Very brief - only about 1 second. Sometimes I can watch for an hour or more with no hiccups. Other times on the same channel I can have a few hiccups every few minutes. On average I've been getting about 1 hiccup every 5-10 minutes - not the worse problem to have but still annoying and frustrating nonetheless.

As mentioned above I frequently do see correctable errors for troublesome channels - typically about 065 in a 5 second read. But many times it reads 000. Never have seen uncorrectable go up but it must be during the hiccup.

I have had it happen both while recording and also just as many times when not recording. When recording the hiccup does get recorded. Likewise when not recording the hiccup is still in the buffer.

This all indicates that it is problem is coming from the cable & not a problem with the box...Did you have the same problems with your 5100/6200 before the upgrade to the DVR? There is a slim possibility that it still could be the box. How warm does your box get? I know that they do generate alot of heat, and that could be causing a problem. Do the hiccups happen after the box has been on for a while or have then happened right away?

I assume there is no point in running a new cable if the diags show me the same readings as far as db levels and error counts go if I move the box to the main line in and check it there. Right?

Correct.

I'm pretty sure I do have 480p set in override. So that is why I couldn't see any diags via the coax output, even though I could watch all channels through the coax output (channels worked with tv set to channel 3, but nothing during the diag was displayed except a black screen, no snow).

Yes, 480p would do that.

A few other questions for you if you will - what is the difference between the SNR under OOB vs. IN BAND? Is it normal to see OOB at 19-21 while IN BAND is 32-35db? Does the fact that OOB SNR db dropping to 19-20 in the FAIR range indicate a possible issue? As it relates to my issue, which measurement matters more, or at they equally important?

OOB SNR is checking the ratio at a modem they use to send & receive data & other info to the box (activation signal, Guide/Menu, ect.) it usually resides around 75 MHZ. This number really has no effect on the digital video portion of the STB, as it is very low in the frequency spectrum, compared to the digital channels that are up in the 5-6-700 mhz range.

Let;s assume I run a new line to the 6208 but the problem persists. What would be the next best step, considering the cable company has recently been out and verified all the signal levels are in the acceptable range?

This is a tough one, if you can prove that you are getting errors right where your cable comes to the side of the house, then they should be able to check the errors at the street & keep going until the errors go away.
This should be standard troubleshooting for them.

Also the line tech measured that at the 6208 my signal was 5db lower than at the splitter that sends the signal to the 6208. The cable run is about 75 feet. Does that sound about right?

Yes that sounds about right, 2-way splitter is -3.5 & cable loss is a couple of DB.

In this new age of digital the actual Signal Level only gives a reference point of how good the signal is. Most SLM's can not read the quality of the signal, just the level. If the tech has a meter that can read the errors he will not have to use a digital box for his troubleshooting.

Thanks a lot - much appreciated!!

When I get time I will always try to help.

And again Good Luck.

lovingdvd

03-28-04, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by miatasm

The -10 is a little lower than I would like to see. But the SNR is OK

As an experiment I took the line that feeds the cable modem and inserted an amp. The result was that the power level went from -10 to -5. Although I cannot measure the power level reaching the 6208 I assume the the boost through an amp would be similiar.

Also as noted my AGC at the 6208 dropped from 15% to 10% when running through the amp. But as you pointed out (garbage in garbage out) the error counts remained the same as reported before (065ish a few times a minute or so). However the error counts and other SNR did not change.

So considering a) my -10 power level is less than you'd like to see, b) my AGC actually went down and not up when running through the amp, and c) my error counts did not worsen with the amp - would you think it would be better for me to feed the 6208 from the amp permanently?

On a related note, is there a rough rule of thumb for how much power signal loss you get every time you run through a 2, 3, or 4 way solitter?

The correctable error counts are definately what causes eventual Uncorrectable errors. This is probably where your problem is.

Agree, that's exactly what I was thinking. What further backs this is the fact that the channels I tend to see the hiccups on are the same channels that tend to show error counts - other "good" channels consistently sit with 000 errors.

Is there a reason why some digital channels will show no correctable errors, while others show quite a few? I take it its related to what is causing the interference and the channel's frequency?

This all indicates that it is problem is coming from the cable & not a problem with the box...Did you have the same problems with your 5100/6200 before the upgrade to the DVR? There is a slim possibility that it still could be the box. How warm does your box get? I know that they do generate alot of heat, and that could be causing a problem. Do the hiccups happen after the box has been on for a while or have then happened right away?

I was involved with the 6208 beta and have had it for months without ever having this problem. A few months ago, however, they had to swap the original 6208 for another one because of a hardware change in the box, and it seemed like these hiccups started around the time the new 6208 was put in.

I've been slow to bother exchanging it for a new box even though that would be simple to do, because odds are its not the box because of the correctable error counts.

Unless there was a problem with the box that was causing correctable error counts - but am I right to assume that it would only measure correctable error counts if they were in the signal and not as a result of the boxes own wiring or processing? Actually now that I think about it, I guess if there was a faulty coax jack or a problem with the wiring inside the unit maybe the error counts were being generated at the box?

I keep my 6208 on all the time so there's no way to tell if it happens only x minutes after turning on etc.

Oh - almost forgot to ask a very important question - regarding correctable error counts - what is the rough rule of thumb as far as what types of counts I should be getting with a good quality feed. For example I imagine its unrealistic to expect 000 on all channels all the time. So should I see, say, less an 10 appear over a 5 minute sampling, or perhaps I should hardly ever see any, etc?

This is a tough one, if you can prove that you are getting errors right where your cable comes to the side of the house, then they should be able to check the errors at the street & keep going until the errors go away.
This should be standard troubleshooting for them.

That is VERY encouraging and I believe it holds the key to getting this problem solved once and for all. The line tech told me that unfortunately he had to see the problem while he was here so he could trace it down the street, but there were no hiccups while he was here.

However as you said they should be able to keep tracing backwards until they see the error counts disappear. I assume that by using the instrumentation they carry around with them is capable of tracking error counts for a specific channel? So they could see errors on HBOHD at the box and just work their way backwards.

OK, so here's my plan of action for today. Thanks to your excellent tip about 480 overrride I should now be able to hook up a small TV to the 6208 right at the line where it comes in to see error counts. So first I will check error counts at the main line in. If they are zero or improved over what I see at the 6208 I will highly suspect the feed to the 6208 and run a new line. If they are the same then I will hook up a 5100 I have at the main line in to see if that shows the same errors. It should. If for some reason it doesn't and shows no or hardly any errors I will suspect the 6208 hardware and have it exchanged. If it shows the same error counts than I will let the cable company know about my findings and request they trace out the error counts. Please let me know if this seems like a good plan. I will post back my findings later today.

BTW, is it possible to see error counts in the diag menu of the DTC2000? It looks like it has a similar diag menu, but couldn't find running correctable/uncorrectable errors like with the 5100/6208.

Once again, thanks so much for all the help and contributions here.

lovingdvd

03-28-04, 12:28 PM

OK, here's an update from my findings today.

Following the tip I was able to get the diagnostics working over coax. I moved my 6208 to the room where the outside line comes in.

I checked the correctable error counts on all digital channels by selecting each channel and monitoring it in the diag screen for several minutes. All channels, except for a few, showed 0000 error counts continously.

The big exceptions to this were HBOHD on 179 and SHOWHD on 178. Both channels showed significant errors registering. In each 5 second measurement there was a minimum of 0050 errors, a mean reading of about 0070, with some counts over 0100 and in a few cases as high as 1500. Since they also show HBOHD on channel 300 I checked that and the results were the same. So HBOHD and SHOWHD definately show a problem in this area.

The other exceptions were my local digital feed of CBS (182) and PBS (190) which showed some minor error counts in the range of 0001 - 0010, with many readings at 0000.

So I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you when I say that I'm mainly seeing the hiccup problems on HBOHD and SHOWHD.

Just to be sure I also checked these readings with a 5100 box and they were the same, so I can rule out any hardware problem with the 6208 causing the errors.

So at this point would you agree that the best course of action is to have my cable company specifically measure error counts for HBOHD and work backwards until they find the issue? Am I right to assume that they have equipment that lets them check error counts for a specific channel?

Also what types of problems on the outside could account for high error counts like this just on a few digital channels with the rest of the digital channels have zero errors?

Thanks again!

miatasm

03-28-04, 01:34 PM

You are NOT correct to assume that the technicians will have a meter that is capable of reading these numbers. The meters are very expensive right now and are usually only given to the techs that do troubleshooting out at the system level. It is possible that you might get a tech that has one, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.

At this point you have done everything you can. Now you need to call for a service call, and keep calling until you get someone who understands your problem.

You should have NO correctable errors & its not too much to ask. All of my channels have 000's almost all the time, with the occasional hiccup, but this is very rare.

Because the channels all run at different frequencies, you can see differences in the error rates. But in your case, my guess is because its only happening on a couple of channels, that the problem is probably exsisting from the system (the street & beyond).

Do any of your neighbors have similar problems?

The DCT2000 has the same information under the "in band status" they are labeled "short term" & "long term" error counts. You may see some errors in the long term because they do not reset, but the short term functions just like the "correctables" in the 51/6200 series.

Even if they do not have a meter they should be able to take a DCT out with them and hook it up to a test TV set and troubleshoot that way.

Have fun.

stewlevine

03-29-04, 09:28 PM

New question... is there any way to have the 6208 default to a specific channel when programming it to record a show from the Title Search Menu. I discovered by accident that the 6208 picks by default the first instance of a show (time and channel number) when setting to record, all well and good, except when the show you want to record is on 2 channels - the regular analog channel and the HDTV simulcast. I've manually fixed my errors, but would love for a way to change the default settings if it is possible to have it pick the HD channel first.
Anyone tried this before?

Bill_B4

03-30-04, 08:10 AM

So my buddy's mom works for Comcast in Delaware County, PA. She tells her son to let me know that the new boxes with built-in PVR are now available and that I just need to call and ask for one.

I call Comcast and ask if the new 6200-6208 box with built-in hard disk drive are available in my area and am told yes. I schedule an appointment to swap out my box for a new one, Saturday: 8:30-10:30.

10:22 Saturday morning: Two young men show up in their own truck with Comcast magnets on the sides. They grab the box out of the truck...the box looks awfully familiar.

Me: "So this is the new box with the built-in hard-drive that can record HDTV? Glad I didn't get a Tivo!"

Them: "Uh...no, this is the 6100. We were told you were having a problem with your box so we're swapping it out for a new one."

Me: "I requested the new Motorola box with the Tivo-like hard-drive. My HD box is fine."

Them: "I've never heard of that box."

They leave, I call Comcast and explain, in detail, exactly what I am looking for. I am told that it's not available in my area (Downingtown, PA - out of their Coatesville Branch) but that I can get on a "list" and be one of the first in the area to get it when it is available. The gentleman just finishes that statement then corrects himself and says that he doesn't even show a launch date for that box in my area so it will be quite some time. I can't even get on the list. He proceeds to tell me to call back and check in periodically.

What started out a my first good experience with Comcast's "Customer Service" turned out the same as every other experience with them...LOUSY. I have absolutely ZERO confidence in their CS department and what they tell me. It a shame the government's allowed them to monopolize the cable market in this country. They get away with raising rates three times more than inflation levels in the past year or so and they hold you hostage with their crappy customer service.

Big BOO for Comcast.

Bill

durangojim

03-30-04, 08:13 AM

After speaking with Comcast over the weekend I was originally told that the 5100s with DVI output are not available in the Metro Detroit area, then I spoke to someone else later in the day who said they were and that a tech would come to my house to switch out the box. They were supposed to arrive between 5:30p and 7:30p yesterday 3/29. The techs didn't show until 9:30p and had no idea what they were there for. When I said that they were supposed to switch the box and give me one with DVI output their answer was that Comcast doesn't support DVI and that the boxes wouldn't be available for another month at least. WTF:confused: I thought some in the metro Detroit area already had 5100s with DVI output. Can someone advise me what to do? Thanks!

the q

03-30-04, 09:21 AM

Bill_B4

Sounds like you got some wrong information all around on the Comcast DVR.

You can get on the list here for your area

http://www.comcast.com/tvgdvr/

It says on their website that
"DVR is scheduled to be available in your area in mid 2004".

miatasm

03-30-04, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by mikem74
Is there any way to display on the 6200 what resolution it is broadcasting? ie. 1080i, 720p

Do you mean on the Television while your watching?

Check the FAQ below

lovingdvd

03-30-04, 02:54 PM

Originally posted by miatasm
Do you mean on the Television while your watching?

Check the FAQ below

I think he's asking more about a way to see what the native format is. If so, the answer to that mikem74 would be 'no'. You have to know what format each station uses - for example ESPN HD and ABC HD use 720p, most others use 1080i, and I think FOX HD will use 720p as well.

You can force the STB to use 720p or 1080i using its internal menu - see Miatasm's fantastic FAQ for that.

Unfortunately there is no way to have the STB just pass through the signal it gets, which is also commonly known as a "native" pass through. For example if I put on ESPN HD I want the STB to send it natively, with no processing to my display as 720p. If I'm watching CBS HD in 1080i, I want the STB to natively sent it to my display as 1080i. This is because A/B tests have shown that the processing in my display is understandably far superior to what the STB box can do. Furthermore my display is 720p, so having it convert ESPN to 1080i and send it to my display just to have it convert it back to 720p causes a noticeable drop in quality.

So the solution for the best viewing quality, at least in my case, is to switch the STB from 720p to1080i when when I tune to a channel broadcasting in 1080i, and to switch it back to 720p when watching a channel that broadcasts in 720p. But doing so is a real PITA because you have to turn the STB off and go into the service menu to switch it back and forth. At least if they made a one button remote command that could switch it on the fly that would be super helpful, but heck at that point just make a native option so it switches automatically.

To make matters worse, with the 6208 if you power it off it says it will stop recording. This means that if you are in the middle of watching something recorded in 720p and you need to switch it to 720p but it is recording something else you cannot switch it.

Motorola are you listening? :) This is a legitimate feature request that many of your cable company's power users (the HD audience in particular which is your rising star) would get lots of benefit from, and it should be very simple to implement.

miatasm

03-30-04, 03:03 PM

Ditto

HD Rookie

03-30-04, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by the q
Bill_B4
Sounds like you got some wrong information all around on the Comcast DVR.

You can get on the list here for your area
http://www.comcast.com/tvgdvr/

It says on their website that
"DVR is scheduled to be available in your area in mid 2004".

Unfortunately for all of us, it seems like this is a BS webpage. It says mid-2004 no mater where you live.

miatasm

03-30-04, 03:57 PM

Why would you think it was BS, maybe it is mid-2004 everywhere.

dcfox

03-30-04, 04:05 PM

Originally posted by Bill_B4
So my buddy's mom works for Comcast in Delaware County, PA. She tells her son to let me know that the new boxes with built-in PVR are now available and that I just need to call and ask for one.

I call Comcast and ask if the new 6200-6208 box with built-in hard disk drive are available in my area and am told yes. I schedule an appointment to swap out my box for a new one, Saturday: 8:30-10:30.

10:22 Saturday morning: Two young men show up in their own truck with Comcast magnets on the sides. They grab the box out of the truck...the box looks awfully familiar.

Me: "So this is the new box with the built-in hard-drive that can record HDTV? Glad I didn't get a Tivo!"

Them: "Uh...no, this is the 6100. We were told you were having a problem with your box so we're swapping it out for a new one."

Me: "I requested the new Motorola box with the Tivo-like hard-drive. My HD box is fine."

Them: "I've never heard of that box."

They leave, I call Comcast and explain, in detail, exactly what I am looking for. I am told that it's not available in my area (Downingtown, PA - out of their Coatesville Branch) but that I can get on a "list" and be one of the first in the area to get it when it is available. The gentleman just finishes that statement then corrects himself and says that he doesn't even show a launch date for that box in my area so it will be quite some time. I can't even get on the list. He proceeds to tell me to call back and check in periodically.

What started out a my first good experience with Comcast's "Customer Service" turned out the same as every other experience with them...LOUSY. I have absolutely ZERO confidence in their CS department and what they tell me. It a shame the government's allowed them to monopolize the cable market in this country. They get away with raising rates three times more than inflation levels in the past year or so and they hold you hostage with their crappy customer service.

Big BOO for Comcast.

Bill

I just talked to a rep myself. I'm on the Elizabethtown System in Lancaster Co. I asked about the box. She said i'ts not available yet but she just saw an alert alert about it. She then said It is still being tested. The employees of comcast are the Guinea pigs. She put me on a call list. I then asked about on-demand and she said she heard so many different dates. She said every time they mention a date it keeps getting pushed ahead. At least she's honest.

Dave Harper

03-30-04, 05:36 PM

Hey dcfox, I'm in E-Town too:)!!!

I have been asking about the 6208 for a while now and that's more than I ever got out of them. Thanks for the info.

Who did you talk to? How can I get on that list? I asked about a list and they had no idea what I was talking about:rolleyes:

I did check their website and it said that they offer the 5100 and the 6200 for HDTV. The 6200 has firewire but no Hard drive and I have a D-VHS recorder. I think they are talking about the 6208 when they say they don't have that yet, but I'll bet they have the 6200's in stock and don't even know it. I need to pester them to see if I can get at least a 6200 to record HD stuff. I guess I'll have to ask them to check the actual connections on the box to see if there's firewire there?

Where are you in etown???

Dawgdaes

03-30-04, 06:24 PM

I live and in Michigan and I have found that if you ask Comcast reps enough times you will eventually get one to tell you what you want to hear. That does not make it true. I'm sure they are just adding to that list maybe you can go to their offices and ask to see a copy of it.

My advice: The less you ask of Comcast the happier you will be.

the q

03-30-04, 06:47 PM

Their website is the best place to get added to the list for DVR roll-out. It will also show the level of interest in certain zip codes which may accelerate roll-out in certain areas.

http://www.comcast.com/tvgdvr/

They ask for your zip code and e-mail address to be notified when DVR is available in your area.

avic

03-31-04, 01:35 AM

Originally posted by lovingdvd
Motorola are you listening? :) This is a legitimate feature request that many of your cable company's power users (the HD audience in particular which is your rising star) would get lots of benefit from, and it should be very simple to implement.
I contacted Motorola regarding this and they said they would check with their engineers as to why "native pass-thru" was not included in the 6000 series. The installation manual for the 5100 does list the 'native' option but it's not available with the current firmware. I will post their reply when I get it, though I don't expect much insight from them.

bpearse

03-31-04, 07:18 PM

I have a 6200 with firmware 07.07. I am trying to connect to my JVC 30K d-vhs unit. The firewire appears active but I just get a blank picture and no sound. I do see on my JVC (connected to the component inputs of my HDTV) a screen saying "DCT-6200" and "I-1", but no picture. Anyone else seen this issue??

dlbsyst

04-01-04, 01:34 AM

miatasm,

This is what my 6200 shows under IN-BAND STATUS:

MODE: 256 QAM
CARRIER LOCK: Yes
DATA: Yes
SNR: 33.7-44.1 (It Fluctuates)
AGC: 49%

Do you think the very high gain control could be indicating a problem with my signal causing my drop-outs on HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax HD?

Thanks for your help.

--Edward

miatasm

04-01-04, 08:17 AM

Are you showing any "correctable" or "uncorrectable" errors?

Carl Jones

04-01-04, 08:31 AM

Originally posted by bpearse
I have a 6200 with firmware 07.07. I am trying to connect to my JVC 30K d-vhs unit. The firewire appears active but I just get a blank picture and no sound. I do see on my JVC (connected to the component inputs of my HDTV) a screen saying "DCT-6200" and "I-1", but no picture. Anyone else seen this issue??

I get the same thing when trying to view a broadcast via iLink on my Pioneer 1110HD, but I am able to view it via my component connection. I'm able to record via firewire & I can view the playback of the recording on iLink. Have you tried to record?

lovingdvd

04-01-04, 10:37 AM

Originally posted by dlbsyst
miatasm,

This is what my 6200 shows under IN-BAND STATUS:

MODE: 256 QAM
CARRIER LOCK: Yes
DATA: Yes
SNR: 33.7-44.1 (It Fluctuates)
AGC: 49%

Do you think the very high gain control could be indicating a problem with my signal causing my drop-outs on HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax HD?

Thanks for your help.

--Edward

Can you describe your dropouts in detail? How long do they last? Does just the video drop out, just the audio, or both? How frequently do they occur? Assuming the video is affected, please describe in detail what the screen looks like during the interruption. lWhat other channesl if any are these occurs on?

Joeyd27

04-01-04, 12:28 PM

I just hooked up a DVI cable this morning. No difference in HD channels but SD channels are much better (compared to component cables). I have a Sony 60we610 tv and a 6200 cable box. I have the cable box settings:

TV Type - 16:9
DVI - 720p
4:3 Override - 480i

These settings give me the best picture.

I think 720p is better because it is closer to the native resolution of my tv (788) than 1080i. That's the only reason I can think of.

And if I set the 4:3 override to 480p the picture is much worse. Don't know why that is. That seems to be the case with most people who have the Sony LCD RPTV's. And if I set it to OFF the picture is the same as 480i, but I can't use the zoom functions of the TV.

mikem74

04-01-04, 01:08 PM

I just hooked up my set via DVI with the 6200 and I wondered how I can access this menu ? also does anyone know what the default is ?

TV Type: 16:9
YPbPr Output: 1080i
4:3 Overide 480i

Also the menu that shows signal strength? I know this is in this thread but I cant seem to find it. Thanks

miatasm

04-01-04, 01:24 PM

What menu are you talking about?

There is no place in the Motorola box to see the signal strength for the channels. There is a place to see various information about how the quality of the signal is. Go back two pages (pg140) & read the threads between me & "lovingdvd". We discuss this info in detail.

FAQ --- look down

dlbsyst

04-01-04, 02:11 PM

miatasm,

Yes I observed correctable errors on the channels that I am getting drop-outs on.

--Edward

dlbsyst

04-01-04, 02:24 PM

Can you describe your dropouts in detail? How long do they last? Does just the video drop out, just the audio, or both? How frequently do they occur? Assuming the video is affected, please describe in detail what the screen looks like during the interruption. What other channels if any are these occurs on?

Lovingdvd,

I have observed drop-outs on HD HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, CBS, and ESPNHD. I get picture freezes that last about a second, sound drop-outs but mostly minor drop-outs in the picture that look like a break-up in the signal. The drop-outs in my picture are sometimes worse than others depending on the time of the day. Also I noticed that the picture on the non hd digital channels is shifted over to the left side of the screen with noise or another channel on the right side. Thanks for your help.

--Edward

JakiChan

04-01-04, 02:32 PM

Comcast in CA is still acting like they have no knowledge of the 6200 even though April 1 is here. I've got the ruling from the FCC - is that fully in effect now? Can I demand my Firewire port?

lovingdvd

04-01-04, 02:33 PM

Originally posted by dlbsyst
miatasm,

Yes I observed correctable errors on the channels that I am getting drop-outs on.

--Edward

If you watch those error counts over a few minutes, what are typically readings you see? 10-20, 20-70, etc etc. What is the highest you see, and are there some amount of correctable errors all the time, or are there some readings that show all zeros? If you tune to a digital channel that you do not have the problem on, does that show any errors or does it sit at zero.

Keep the remote close in hand. Then yhe next time you get a freeze up quickly enter the diag menu and look at the error counts and let us know if you see UNcorrectable errors at that time and what that count and correctable error counts are.

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by JakiChan
Comcast in CA is still acting like they have no knowledge of the 6200 even though April 1 is here. I've got the ruling from the FCC - is that fully in effect now? Can I demand my Firewire port? Yes, the FCC regulation has gone into effect.

See my post in the Bay Area Comcast forum for the approach I am taking, which is laid back for now. But you could take a more aggressive approach if you want your firewire a.s.a.p.

Also, they do have the 6200's out here (at least in the South Bay)-- member bpearse had one installed yesterday. See his posts.

JakiChan

04-01-04, 02:55 PM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Yes, the FCC regulation has gone into effect.

See my post in the Bay Area Comcast forum for the approach I am taking, which is laid back for now. But you could take a more aggressive approach if you want your firewire a.s.a.p.

Also, they do have the 6200's out here (at least in the South Bay)-- member bpearse had one installed yesterday. See his posts.

The repair supervisor told me to call the FCC. I called the corporate office instead. They're investigating.

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by JakiChan
The repair supervisor told me to call the FCC. I called the corporate office instead. They're investigating. Let us know how it goes.

Did you call the local corporate office (in San Ramon, I believe)?

JakiChan

04-01-04, 04:07 PM

I called 215.665.1700. That's in PA somwhere.

faceoff

04-01-04, 04:12 PM

Originally posted by JakiChan
I called 215.665.1700. That's in PA somwhere.

215 is Philadelphia.

David

lovingdvd

04-01-04, 04:23 PM

Originally posted by dlbsyst
Lovingdvd,

I have observed drop-outs on HD HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, CBS, and ESPNHD. I get picture freezes that last about a second, sound drop-outs but mostly minor drop-outs in the picture that look like a break-up in the signal. The drop-outs in my picture are sometimes worse than others depending on the time of the day. Also I noticed that the picture on the non hd digital channels is shifted over to the left side of the screen with noise or another channel on the right side. Thanks for your help.

--Edward

dlbsyst - also who is your cable company - Comcast?

TimeOut

04-01-04, 05:07 PM

Hi everybody,

I got a Sony KF-50WE610 this week and the cable company first installed a DCT5100 using the component cables. Everything worked fine then.

But I wanted more :rolleyes: , so I asked my cable company to exchange the DCT5100 for a DCT6200 in order to use the DVI conection. After this, all the Analog channels are screwed. Every time I select an analog channel, the screen goes crazy, full of lines that go diagonal, like when you got a signal with no sync. When I select a Digital channel or an HD channel, I have no problem at all.

The funny thing is that the on-screen box you see when you change channels (Guide, Menu, etc.) is displayed okay, but the image behind is completely screwed. So, I think that this is a problem with the 6200 DVI output.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks

Info:
DCT6200 S/W Ver: 51.42 - 2002 Firmware: 07.10
DVI-D cable dual link
Sony KF-50WE610
En-Touch Cable Company - Houston

dfriend

04-01-04, 05:11 PM

A little off the firewire topic:

My local cable company uses this big clunky, crappy remote that they've had around since they first offered digital cable. It does not go with the Moto 6200 I got. Does everyone else get a matching remote with their box or do your cable companies substitute some piece of junk?

I'm kind of picturing this huge pile of remotes at the cable warehouse that came with the boxes but that they won't give out.

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 05:27 PM

Originally posted by TimeOut
Info:
DCT6200 S/W Ver: 51.42 - 2002 Firmware: 07.10
DVI-D cable dual link
Sony KF-50WE610
En-Touch Cable Company - Houston You are the first person to report having the 7.10 firmware on his 6200 or 6208.

Everyone else with the 6200 or 6208 has an earlier version (mostly 7.07, I think).

7.10 was reported to be in beta testing. Maybe you are unwittingly part of the beta test!!!

And, perhaps Motorola changed something from 7.07 to 7.10 which screwed up the DVI transmission ...

Are you sure you have the correct type of DVI cable?

Assuming the problem is not the cable, you should also report your problem to Motorola ... I'm sure there is someone who can post the Motorola email address here for you ....

P.S. Everyone is going to ask you to buy an external HDD to hook up to your 6200 to see if it works! :p

lovingdvd

04-01-04, 05:36 PM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher

P.S. Everyone is going to ask you to buy an external HDD to hook up to your 6200 to see if it works! :p

TimeOut - please hook up an external HDD to your 6208 and see if it works! :D

TimeOut

04-01-04, 05:59 PM

Originally posted by lovingdvd
TimeOut - please hook up an external HDD to your 6208 and see if it works! :D

Sorry, I have no external HDD and it's not a DCT6208, it's a DCT6200. :(

I just got some component cables. I'm gonna test them now.

nightowl

04-01-04, 06:39 PM

I have just received notification that the 6200 boxes are now available in Sacramento. Call or go to Comcast's office and claim it quick!

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 06:42 PM

Jeff,

Are you sure they will let you pick one up (or exchange your current 5100) at Comcast offices?

I hope so, as this is clearly how I would like to get ahold of a 6200 ... although Sacramento and Bay Area may have different policies about this.

dlbsyst

04-01-04, 06:42 PM

dlbsyst - also who is your cable company - Comcast?

Yes. Comcast in Dallas.

--Edward

TimeOut

04-01-04, 07:38 PM

Originally posted by TimeOut
Hi everybody,

I got a Sony KF-50WE610 this week and the cable company first installed a DCT5100 using the component cables. Everything worked fine then.

But I wanted more :rolleyes: , so I asked my cable company to exchange the DCT5100 for a DCT6200 in order to use the DVI conection. After this, all the Analog channels are screwed. Every time I select an analog channel, the screen goes crazy, full of lines that go diagonal, like when you got a signal with no sync. When I select a Digital channel or an HD channel, I have no problem at all.

The funny thing is that the on-screen box you see when you change channels (Guide, Menu, etc.) is displayed okay, but the image behind is completely screwed. So, I think that this is a problem with the 6200 DVI output.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Thanks

Info:
DCT6200 S/W Ver: 51.42 - 2002 Firmware: 07.10
DVI-D cable dual link
Sony KF-50WE610
En-Touch Cable Company - Houston

I just tested the 6200 with the component cables..... I turned everything Off, unplugged the DVI cable from both TV and STB, plugged the component cable, turned ON the STB and then the TV.

Result: I could see channel 002 (analog). Then, I selected channel 100 (First digital one) and everything okay again. Then I selected channel 510 (Discovery Channel HD) and It looked great, then I switched back to channel 002 and guess what.... :( The problem was there.

WTF? :confused:

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 07:44 PM

Timeout,

First, tell us what your user settings are. Turn off the cable box and hit menu on your remote. You will see a list of user-adjustable settings.

Also, with the STB on channel 2 (or any analog channel where you are having the picture problem), turn off the cable box and quickly hit the OK/Enter button on the remote. You will get a diagnostic menu. What does it say under current channel status, inband status, outbound, etc.?

And is there any problem with the audio out from the 6200 when tuned to an analog channel?

TimeOut

04-01-04, 08:27 PM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Timeout,

First, tell us what your user settings are. Turn off the cable box and hit menu on your remote. You will see a list of user-adjustable settings.

Also, with the STB on channel 2 (or any analog channel where you are having the picture problem), turn off the cable box and quickly hit the OK/Enter button on the remote. You will get a diagnostic menu. What does it say under current channel status, inband status, outbound, etc.?

And is there any problem with the audio out from the 6200 when tuned to an analog channel?

I have now the default settings:
TV Type 16:9
YPbPr Output 1080i
4:3 Override 480I

But I was testing other settings for YPbPr and for the 4:3 override and the problem was still there.

My problem is with all the analog channels but I did the Channel status for channel 002 only. Here is what I got:

Type: Analog CLR
Picture Carrier: 57 Mhz
Authorized: Yes
Purchasable: No
Purchased: No
Preview: No

The audio is working fine in all channels. The weird thing is that the box showing the channel number with the program description is displayed correctly while the image behind is completely screwed. Also I enabled the closed captions a and they are displayed okay.

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 08:32 PM

How about the inband status on the diagnostic menu? Audio ok?

It may be the box is bad or the new firmware is screwy. So, you may have to get your cable technician back out, although it's doubtful he will do anything other than swap boxes.

Any ideas, miatasm or anybody else?

TimeOut

04-01-04, 08:40 PM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
How about the inband status on the diagnostic menu? Audio ok?

It may be the box is bad or the new firmware is screwy. So, you may have to get your cable technician back out, although it's doubtful he will do anything other than swap boxes.

Any ideas, miatasm or anybody else?

Sorry I updated my previous post while you wrote this:

The Audio is okay and here I what I got from the In-Band Status for Channel 002:

Mode: Analog
Carrier Lock:
Data:
SNR:
AGC:

5 second error counts:
Uncorrectable:
Correctable:

Note: All fields are empty except the very first one.

SonomaSearcher

04-01-04, 08:44 PM

The empty field would seem to indicate that no data on the analog channel is coming into the box... strange.

Can you get a picture on the analog channels through the S-Video or composite connections?

Sounds more and more like a bad box (or bad firmware).

TimeOut

04-01-04, 08:58 PM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
The empty field would seem to indicate that no data on the analog channel is coming into the box... strange.

Can you get a picture on the analog channels through the S-Video or composite connections?

Sounds more and more like a bad box (or bad firmware).

I plugged a composite cable (yellow) from the 6200 to the TV video Input1 and I got the same problem. The only difference is that I don't see the info box when I select a channel and I cannot access the menu/diagnotic screen.

I'm calling my cable company and I'm requesting a replacement STB. I'll let you know.

Thanks a lot for your help.
Time Out

jsb_hburg

04-01-04, 09:11 PM

Originally posted by TimeOut
Sorry I updated my previous post while you wrote this:

The Audio is okay and here I what I got from the In-Band Status for Channel 002:

Mode: Analog
Carrier Lock:
Data:
SNR:
AGC:

5 second error counts:
Uncorrectable:
Correctable:

Note: All fields are empty except the very first one.

This is typical for analog channels and, by itself, not cause for concern. The question is what do you see for OOB Status? For this diagnostic module, you should see numbers for SNR and AGC as well as a GOOD/FAIR/POOR indicator.

podux

04-01-04, 10:46 PM

I just wanted to let all of you know that my 6200 here in Grand Rapids, MI (Comcast) was recently updated to firmware 7.10. Haven't noticed any differences yet, but I'm not doing anything exotic with it (not using firewire or dvi).

Unless GR is in a beta test area, it looks like the new firmware is being deployed by Comcast.

miatasm

04-01-04, 11:03 PM

The In band status as Joe said will remain Blank & this is standard for all analog channels.

AFA the OOB status, this is the data carrier for the on screen menus & guide, & also activation signals. This could cause some problems with the guide & menu, but I don't think that this is your problem.

It does sound like a problem with the box. Maybe a firmware glitch......

Darth Mo

04-02-04, 12:50 AM

I was upgraded yesterday with the 7.10 firmware on the 6200 (Chicagoland area).

It seems to have eliminated this annoying "crackle" in the sound that showed up with the 7.07 upgrade. If I listened to sound from the DCT using the digital output, all of the analog channels exhibited a random crackling sound as if there was a shorted speaker wire or blown tweeter. I had to manually switch from digital input to analog input on the receiver whenever I flipped back to analog channels to get rid of it, very annoying.

Anyhow, it's gone now, and I'm grateful. :)

Other than fixing my sound issue, I haven't noticed any differences.

nightowl

04-02-04, 12:56 AM

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Jeff,

Are you sure they will let you pick one up (or exchange your current 5100) at Comcast offices?

I hope so, as this is clearly how I would like to get ahold of a 6200 ... although Sacramento and Bay Area may have different policies about this.

I'll let you know for sure tomorrow, when I stop in at the regular customer service desk to exchange mine, but that was the info I recieved from a contact inside Comcast.

dlbsyst

04-02-04, 03:48 AM

Has any body been able to confirm if the 7.10 firmware fixes the problems that most of us are having with our firewire ports?

--Edward

Slinky11

04-02-04, 08:36 AM

Nightowl, thanks for the god news :), i'll call today. And I remember when the 5100 came out they wouldn't give it to us, only by appointment, but I guess it's worth a try.

-Will

joeinma

04-02-04, 09:21 AM

Had a weird issue with my 6200 last night. Got home around 9:10 and noticed that the time on the cable box said 8:20, we didn't lose power because none of our clocks were flashing. I have a 36 inch Sony Wega, so when watching HD, it's letter boxed. When I turned on the tv, I was getting a letterbox screen, but when I turned on the cable box, I could only see the far left and far right of the picture. The center (4:3) box of the picture was a black screen. I could not change channels, hear any sound etc. I tried shutting it off and turning on a few times, but no go. Since I have DTV, I switched to that to watch ER, and then noticed that the time wasn't even showing up anymore on the cable box.

Anyway, after ER ended, I unplugged the 6200 from the wall and then plugged it back in, and the picture came back.

Anyone see something like this before?

HD Rookie

04-02-04, 09:49 AM

Originally posted by joeinma
...Anyway, after ER ended, I unplugged the 6200 from the wall and then plugged it back in, and the picture came back.

Anyone see something like this before?
It has been reported a couple times in my area, over the last 3 weeks. It happened to me on Wednesday and also two weeks ago. When I plug my box back in, I notice that is downloads/upgrades something on the box (not the firmware, we're still at 5.?). I haven't really given it a second thought. Since I rarely turn my box off, I just figured that the upgrades weren't happening properly unless I rebooted/unplugged the box.

podux

04-02-04, 09:53 AM

Originally posted by joeinma
Since I have DTV, I switched to that to watch ER, and then noticed that the time wasn't even showing up anymore on the cable box.

FWIW, I wouldn't worry about the time thing. I think it's normal to have time display problems when you're tuned into an HD channel. Sometimes I see the time, sometimes i see the channel, sometimes I see nothing at all. Never know what to expect.

mhe4

04-02-04, 09:55 AM

Originally posted by podux
FWIW, I wouldn't worry about the time thing. I think it's normal to have time display problems when you're tuned into an HD channel. Sometimes I see the time, sometimes i see the channel, sometimes I see nothing at all. Never know what to expect.

I've noticed the same thing...erratic time display behavior on my 6200 from Wave Broadband outside Seattle, WA.

jacmyoung

04-02-04, 02:10 PM

Originally posted by nightowl
I'll let you know for sure tomorrow, when I stop in at the regular customer service desk to exchange mine, but that was the info I received from a contact inside Comcast.

Good news for Sacramentans!

I called last night as usual the lady at the other end had no clue of the 6200s. But since I work very close to the Comcast Sacto Office, decided to bring the 5100 with me and give it a try.

I was thinking what should I tell the guy behind the bullet-proof glass shield since he probably knew nothing either. So it went like this:

"Sir, my HD box is not working too well, the DVI port is no good, the last time a tech came and insisted that the DVI wasn't supposed to work so he did not help much. This time I decided instead of talking to another tech, I would bring the box here for exchange. I want to exchange to a brand new box, not one that has been used before."

"Oh, you want the new 6200 with firewire, give me just a second."

One minute later he brought out a new 6200 still in the box, asked me to keep all cable and remote, only exchange the two boxes, then checked my ID and let me sign a piece of paper. That was it.

He also said the 6200s just came in the warehouse today and there a plenty of them. Since he was in the loop, I asked him when will KOVR (CBS) HD be available, he said in a month.

The whole thing took less than five minutes.

vj9999

04-02-04, 02:45 PM

Originally posted by jacmyoung

One minute later he brought out a new 6200 still in the box, asked me to keep all cable and remote, only exchange the two boxes, then checked my ID and let me sign a piece of paper. That was it.

So he told you to keep the black remote that came with 5100, or you already had a silver remote? 6200 has a different remote.

jacmyoung

04-02-04, 02:49 PM

Silver it is.

mhe4

04-02-04, 02:51 PM

When I got my 6200, they told me to keep my old black remote I had with my 2200 (URC Navigator with JP1 pins).

Are there functions on the new remote that are not present on the old?

Mchero

04-02-04, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by mhe4
When I got my 6200, they told me to keep my old black remote I had with my 2200 (URC Navigator with JP1 pins).

Are there functions on the new remote that are not present on the old?

Don't think the newer remotes have any new features. I decided to keep the original because of the other 2 remotes we have for the other 2 boxes. Don't need to learn a new remote.

RM

miatasm

04-02-04, 05:03 PM

Here is some info I put together for these 2 remotes.

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/remoteprogram.htm

and here (not completed)

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctremote.htm

I also just finished a preliminary page detailing some of the information in the diagnostic screens of the Motorola DCT. Let me know if this helps anyone, and what can be changed or added.

http://www.cjhengineering.com/5100diag.htm

Slinky11

04-03-04, 01:58 AM

I just called Comcast and after having to tell the CSR what the 6200 was, she was just about to make a note for it, then she's like "wait let me see if I can do that" *5 min. later* and then she comes back and tells me that the tech says they don't have it available yet? huh? what/who do I have to call to shake this out of them, I already have an appointment scheduled for Sunday because my current HD Box is being quirky all of a sudden... any help is appreciated.

Will

jacmyoung

04-03-04, 08:56 AM

The key to this swap is NOT to call anyone at Comcast, just bring your box to the office for exchange. The tech you scheduled to come most likely will know nothing about the 6200, even if you are lucky that he in deed is bringing you a 6200, he will refuse to admit. Cable techs are just too proud to say I am wrong even though they are wrong 95% of the time:) So just look for yourself if the box has the firewire. If not politely ask him to leave and take the matter in your own hands.

My 6200 on the other hand worked very well so I will be out looking for a 40k to hook it up and try HD recording.

lovingdvd

04-03-04, 09:32 AM

OK, let's assume the firewire works great with the latest 7.10 firmware for the 62xx. What is the least expensive solution to record HD from it? A JVC recorder? A computer?

I have a WinXP notebook with a firewire port- does that help me?

Basically I am just looking to be able to extend the recording space of my 6208. Is 7.10 suppose to support an external firewire HDD for this purpose? Or will that come later, and I have to find a different option at this time?

BTW, once an external HDD is supported on the 6208 via firewire, do you just purchase a external firewire HDD and plug it in and it will be recognized and usable, or will you have to format it or prep it somehow before it can be used?

Dave Harper

04-03-04, 10:03 AM

Originally posted by jacmyoung
My 6200 on the other hand worked very well so I will be out looking for a 40k to hook it up and try HD recording.

I have a source for a 40K if you're interested? He bought two for his High End Home Theater Sales?Installation Company and he doesn't need them any more. He was going to put them on Videogon and asked me to ask around. I may get one myself:)!!!

jacmyoung

04-03-04, 10:11 AM

Thanks for the offer Dave. I am leaning toward buying from a local store with good return policy after reading all the notes on 40k. But most likely the local stores will sell at retail so if you don't mind PM me how much he wants to sell, I will weigh both options. Thanks again.

madpoet

04-03-04, 12:01 PM

Browbeat Cox into giving me a 6200 with active firmware. But I'm having a weird issue :). I've got a 16x9 TV, but all the HD channels are still letterboxed like it thinks I have a 4:3. . I don't see anything in the menu that would let me change that. I've got the universal remote they gave me, but can't find any way to make that change the aspect ratio. Am I missing something obvious? TV is connected by component, set to 1080i. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
MP

jsb_hburg

04-03-04, 12:16 PM

Originally posted by madpoet
Browbeat Cox into giving me a 6200 with active firmware. But I'm having a weird issue :). I've got a 16x9 TV, but all the HD channels are still letterboxed like it thinks I have a 4:3. . I don't see anything in the menu that would let me change that. I've got the universal remote they gave me, but can't find any way to make that change the aspect ratio. Am I missing something obvious? TV is connected by component, set to 1080i. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
MP

Hello,

Power off and immediately press the menu button. You should then see the Service Menu. Chances are that the TV Type is set to 4x3. Use your arrow buttons to navigate to this line and then use the right arrow button to cycle thru the options until you get to 16x9. Power off and then back on again. Hopefully, this resolves your issue. If you see other issues with resolution or override, you can make these changes, if necessary, as well while you are in the service menu.

madpoet

04-03-04, 04:37 PM

Yep, that fixed it. TV type was right, but output was set to 480i. All better now :)

mikem74

04-03-04, 11:43 PM

When I go into the (menu-setup-audio-advanced-compression) do I want this compression on light, heavy, or off? I have the 6200 with a GWIII Thanks.

miatasm

04-04-04, 01:01 AM

How do you have your audio connected?

For more info on these settings goto my FAQ in the audio section there is a link to a description of what these settings mean.....

schmitter

04-04-04, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by jacmyoung
The key to this swap is NOT to call anyone at Comcast, just bring your box to the office for exchange. The tech you scheduled to come most likely will know nothing about the 6200, even if you are lucky that he in deed is bringing you a 6200, he will refuse to admit. Cable techs are just too proud to say I am wrong even though they are wrong 95% of the time:) So just look for yourself if the box has the firewire. If not politely ask him to leave and take the matter in your own hands.

My 6200 on the other hand worked very well so I will be out looking for a 40k to hook it up and try HD recording.

The cable tech will not have any control over the firewire or dvi ports. These functions are controled within the firmware of the box. If your system does not have the firmware on the controler, the box will not get it. If your box has the firmware, and you call customer service and they send an "initialize" hit to the box, you will get whatever firmware is on the controler. (Madpoet take notice). So if for whatever reason you have a newer firmware than what is on the controler, you can get a "refresh" hit without losing the firmware, and you can get a normal "addressable converter" hit, without getting different firmware.

miatasm

04-04-04, 12:35 PM

An "initialize" hit will NOT do anything to the firmware. Whatever firmware is on the system will be sent to every DCT on the cable system that is plugged in an connected to an active cable outlet. The "initialize" hit resets the software not the firmware. As technicians do not have control over firmware, neither do the CSRs, or local dispatchers.

Mayor McCheese

04-04-04, 07:34 PM

Does anyone know of a way to lock out specific channels so that they are skipped when you are channel surfing? Also, is there a way to disable the EPG display when changing channels? After searching this thread I'm thinking the answer is 'No' but I'm going to ask anyway (for a DCT5100, although I'm about to swap for a 6200).

renpar61

04-04-04, 07:54 PM

No way to block channels, you can only select your "Favourites" and cycle through them with the Favourite button on the remote. It's quite annoying. They should upgrade to a better interface. This one is barbaric.

miatasm

04-04-04, 08:11 PM

No there is no way to do what you are asking, unfortunately.

You can get rid of the EPG completely by setting the 480 override to "480p" & watching on any of the analog outputs of the box (RF, Composite, S-video). But this will completely get rid of the EPG, no Guide or anything.

Mayor McCheese

04-05-04, 11:28 AM

Yeah, the interface is terrible. I just recently purchased a Toshiba Tivo-DVD player and I prefer the Tivo interface, but the IR Blaster just does not work well enough to do any channel surfing. The delay is too great. I was hoping there was a way to block out channels so that I could program a remote to change channels on both the Tivo and DCT 5100 simultaneously. I might still do it, but I would prefer to be able to block out a bunch of the channels we don't watch. Too bad the DCT 5100/6200 doesn't have a serial interface.

Mayor McCheese

04-05-04, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by miatasm
You can get rid of the EPG completely by setting the 480 override to "480p" & watching on any of the analog outputs of the box (RF, Composite, S-video). But this will completely get rid of the EPG, no Guide or anything.

That was the first thing I searched for in the FAQ. It was crazy seeing the Tivo interface and STB EPG up at the same time. I was hoping there was a way to remove it for the component outs also- I think I could live without any EPG rather than use that one.

Is the EPG design a product of Motorola or the cable company (in my case Adelphia)? I've assumed that it was Adelphia, but looking at Motorola's website shows a very similiar EPG on one of their product demos.

miatasm

04-05-04, 12:40 PM

The design is I believe, is a joint venture between Moto & TV Guide (content). It is terrible, after spending some time with the SA platform & its functionality & interface, it becomes very clear Motorola, TV guide, and the Cable company need to get together and make a well overdue upgrade.

I think I heard somewhere that if you use the firewire outputs that it doesn't show any EPG? Can anyone confirm this?

podux

04-05-04, 12:51 PM

Originally posted by miatasm

I think I heard somewhere that if you use the firewire outputs that it doesn't show any EPG? Can anyone confirm this?

Correct. Since the STB sends the MPEG-2 stream over firewire, it cannot add an EPG since the STB doesnt have the horsepower to encode MPEG-2 on the fly (i.e. decode the incoming stream, add the EPG, re-encode and send over firewire).

David Ortiz

04-05-04, 01:09 PM

I have an S-Video cable connected from the 6200 to L-1 on my JVC to clear messages and check firmware, etc.

I can't say I miss the EPG. I've got my laptop for checking what's on.

renpar61

04-05-04, 02:26 PM

I remember reading in previous posts the 6208 has a new guide, probably to integrate recording capabilities. Can anyone post a screenshot? I'm curious to see what it looks like.

Actually, I just went on Motorola website and found a link to the interctive demo. It looks much better than the one on the 5100 or 6200, with some added features. If only they could get rid of those advertising blocks on the left side, it would clear up some space for the guide.
Hopefully they'll use this as a base for next software upgrade...yeah right:(

miatasm

04-05-04, 04:39 PM

In case anyone else was wondering:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/Picture1.jpg

avic

04-05-04, 06:30 PM

DCT-6208 Demo (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/multimedia_demo.asp)

TVGuide Interactive Demo (http://www.tvguideinteractive.tv/frameset_kickoff.htm)

TV Guide Interactive Manual (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/TVGuide_DVR_Manual.pdf)

Mayor McCheese

04-05-04, 08:44 PM

It looks like it still has the advertisement eating up screen space that could be devoted to program information. That stinks.

JohnFR

04-05-04, 09:04 PM

I have the 6208. The guide is not much improved over the 5100, and is cramped by the ads as you can see from the screenshot.

avic

04-05-04, 10:00 PM

since all digital cable packages are free, there's good reason to expect the ads, yes? 8/ i thought when comcast took over they'd get rid of them, but just like AT&T they don't seem to get it. we pay a lot of $ for their service and should not have to deal with cheap ads especially with the amount of space they take on a screen that's already limited. but really the EPG even the new one falls way short of SA's not to mention TiVo. something remotely closer to those would be a major improvement.

bigtv:)

04-05-04, 10:13 PM

Wow, what a great thread. Im glad I finally found it! Im having issues with HBOHD, and SHOHD more than any other HD channels with my 6200 from Cox here in RI. I was playing around with the error counts and they are very high on all channels, but much higher on HBO and SHO. Im getting correctable errors in the 16000 area, and uncorrectable errors as high as 10 sometimes, 1, 5, and ocassionally 0. This results in a picture with annoying block like digital errors every five minutes or so. Now that I understand what it all means Im going to call Cox. Interrestingly enough my signal strenth and other indicators are all within spec. I tried going direct to the wall outlet with the box as well. I pulled the splitter out of the loop, pulled my line conditioner RF filter out, and none of the numbers changed. Looks like its time to get a tech out here. Hopefully the tech can help. Im not holding my breath though, as I was one of their first HD hookups, and after patiently letting them fumble about for a bit, I offered to do it. Then gave them a friendly lesson in home theater and surround sound systems. I guess my system isnt what they run into every day :)

Anyway, thanks miatasm for the fabulous faqs and posts on this subject. And yes, this box needs a native choice instead of 1080i or 720p.

podux

04-07-04, 01:29 PM

ScoopsHD

04-07-04, 01:42 PM

The ads on the TV Guide piece aren't controlled by any cable companies. They are actually TV Guide's ads. I'm sure there is probably some contract clause giving them the right to do this and since TV Guide is one of the few well developed EPGs for the Motorola platform... alot of cable companies are locked in. Perhaps though, now that Comcast bought Gemstar/TV Guide, things will change in 6 months to a year with a new development schedule.

Originally posted by avic
since all digital cable packages are free, there's good reason to expect the ads, yes? 8/ i thought when comcast took over they'd get rid of them, but just like AT&T they don't seem to get it. we pay a lot of $ for their service and should not have to deal with cheap ads especially with the amount of space they take on a screen that's already limited. but really the EPG even the new one falls way short of SA's not to mention TiVo. something remotely closer to those would be a major improvement.

Mayor McCheese

04-07-04, 01:45 PM

For those that swapped old boxes without DVI connectors for the newer ones, how did you go about doing it? I'm just wondering if I need some kind of justification before calling or if they will do it without hassling me.

podux

04-07-04, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by Mayor McCheese
For those that swapped old boxes without DVI connectors for the newer ones, how did you go about doing it? I'm just wondering if I need some kind of justification before calling or if they will do it without hassling me.

you might want to ask for an STB that includes firewire. All of the boxes that have firewire have DVI also, and from others' posts, Comcast seems to be accomodating to those who want to record onto their D-VHS from the firewire ports.

iceengine

04-11-04, 11:16 AM

Just a little off the current topic, I have the 5100 connected to my replay tv, and since the cable box has to be on for the replay to change channels, is it okay to leave the 5100 on all the time? I haven't been able to find any stats as to power consumption difference between on and off. Is the box really "off" when you turn it off? Will it still download firmware? It would just be nice to remotely schedule shows. Any help is greatly appreciated.

miatasm

04-11-04, 11:38 AM

My 6200 stays on all the time, it hasn't really been a problem for me, although my equipment is in a well ventilated closet. It will download firmware even if it is off. So technically when it off its not really "off".

irwincur

04-12-04, 10:35 AM

Last week we got the update to the 7.10 firmware. Since then, my 6200 has had problems displaying the time on the STB's display. With 7.07 the time would only appear occassionally when watching HD content. With 7.10, I now have that problem on SD (both analog and digital) content.

Same problem, and same city, perhaps it is lcoalized. Just got my 6200 Saturday and this was one of the first things I noticed. Not that big of a deal, I would rather have them fix the horrible non HD output first. Other than that, HD looks excellent, even better than I was expecting, a lot better.

lmychajluk

04-12-04, 02:05 PM

Anyone's 5100 not update the time since DST? I've tried turning it off, and cutting power completely to force it to reset...no dice.

Tsunamii

04-12-04, 02:19 PM

I still have firmware 7.07 and recently moved to a new town in Mass. The tech said they had to change my box out and they gave me the same 5100 I already had and was told their are no 6100's on the market. I thought it pointless to argue the fact. Anyway I now have cracking and popping on analog channels. If im on a HD station or watching dvd or xbox no problem. If im on lower stations including digital I get cracking and popping intermittently. Ive read about issues with firmware 7.07 and that version 7.10 would fix this. Does anyone have any insight to my problem??

Thanks

MaxH

04-12-04, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by lmychajluk
Anyone's 5100 not update the time since DST? I've tried turning it off, and cutting power completely to force it to reset...no dice.

Assuming the 5100 and the 2000 handle their clocks the same way, the clock gets its time setting from the cable company. I unhooked the coax from my 2000 but left it plugged in for over a month, and the time eventually deviated by almost an hour. Does any other cable customer on your street have a clock that is set correctly?

drmag

04-12-04, 04:59 PM

I had the same problem with audio crackling on channels 2-99. the only way I could avoid problem was to pass the audio through my VCR and then to TV. Comcast came out and replaced my 6200 and amazing got rid of the problem.

I also had pixelation on HBO and SHO high definition channels. The problem was moisture in the distribution box at the street. Comcast tech cleaned out the plastic tube hosing and put in a new distribution box and the problem went away.

My experience with DVI is that it improves the non-HD channels but softens the HD channels - so I use component for those. The investment in a DVI cable was worth the improvement in the SD channels.

When will comcast get more HD channels and why do they show the same two channels on INHD all the time?

High Def forever.

miatasm

04-12-04, 05:05 PM

What do you mean the same 2 channels on INHD? The INHDs are channels.

drmag

04-12-04, 05:36 PM

My mistake it is CSNHD channel 172 and CSNHD channel 175 in Comcast in Baltimore that are identical. The INHD is the "In High Def" channels provided by this Comcast. Please note sometimes channel 175 is called INHD2 by Comcast. Comcast uses these two identical channles to boast that they have 11 HD channels available while these two are identical broadcast programs.

MarkStega

04-12-04, 06:14 PM

drmag:

Here in Anne Arundel county (adjacent to Baltimore for those outside of the area) these two channels are not always identical.

When CSNHD (172) is broadcasting a sports program, then INHD2 (175) is dentified as INHD2 and has its own programming. What is confusing is that when CSNHD is not broadcasting a sports program, it carries the INHD2 content, but both 172 & 175 identify themselves as CSNHD (rather then the more logical INHD2 logo).

Watch for a bit & next time you see 175 with the INHD2 logo, I bet you see the same pattern emerge with 172 showing something different.

So maybe it's more like 10.5 HD channels :-) by your definition.

BTW, the inHD channels are part of the 'inDemand' offerings (not to be confused with the ComCast 'On Demand' stuff)

I have 12 here in AA cty:

172 - Comcast Sports Network
173 - ESPN HD
174 - inHD1
175 - inHD2
176 - CineMax
177 - Starz
178 - Showtime HD
179 - HBO HD
180 - WMAR(2)/ABC
181 - WBAL(11)/NBC
182 - WJZ(13)/CBS
190 - WMPT(22)/PBS

RalphArch

04-12-04, 06:57 PM

Originally posted by MarkStega
drmag:

I have 12 here in AA cty:

....
176 - CineMax
177 - Starz
178 - Showtime HD
179 - HBO HD
...........

Similar lineup here in Montgomery Cty - MD - but what really bothers me is all the duplication in the 300 range of all the movie channels (eg - HBO-HD is also at 300 and Starz, Showtime and Cinemax all have an HD counterpart in the 300 range. I can't imagine they are actually sending these out on 2 channels so it must be virtual; but it does cause a delay in channel surfing as both the Motorola has to switch bypass mode and my display snaps to different output modes as well. COMCAST should just leave these duplcate channels off the list. By all means keep all the HD digitals together

lmychajluk

04-12-04, 10:09 PM

Originally posted by MaxH
...Does any other cable customer on your street have a clock that is set correctly?

I don't know...I'll ask the next time I see a neighbor. I did talk to a buddy in PA who has Comcast, and he says his did update....24 hours early!

Tsunamii

04-13-04, 08:00 AM

My Clock updated but it took almost a day into the change for the box to reflect the correct time. Even the guide had the wrong time until the update.

raidbuck

04-13-04, 08:15 AM

drmag:

You asked when Comcast will add new channels. Comcast will only add HD channels that won't cost extra money that will trigger rate increases. They will not create an HD Tier, separately priced, which is how some cable companies provide the premier channels (Discovery,HDNET,Bravo).

New England Comcast region is supposed to get to 27 HD channels in the future. This was in an article in another thread. I don't know when or what they would be. Perhaps Ken H can tell us. So maybe the long-term isn't as depressing as it is now.

Rich N.

faceoff

04-13-04, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by raidbuck
drmag:

New England Comcast region is supposed to get to 27 HD channels in the future. This was in an article in another thread. I don't know when or what they would be. Perhaps Ken H can tell us. So maybe the long-term isn't as depressing as it is now.

Rich N.

Raidbuck,

Can you point us to the other thread? I would love to see that.

THANKS!

David

raidbuck

04-13-04, 10:57 AM

I don't know how to do the links. This is the URL:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=387593

The thread name is "Comcast increasing HD channels" and is in the HDTV>HDTV Programming Forum.

Rich N.

SonomaSearcher

04-13-04, 12:24 PM

The projected 27 channels is based on eliminating some existing analog channels. Probably HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz analog channels will be the first to go.

As I understand it, Boston is out of bandwidth, so it will have to eliminate analog channels before any new HD channels are added.

MaxH

04-14-04, 10:33 PM

OK, I've been working on this, and I'm stumped. Maybe someone here can help me, because I'm not sure what else to do.

First, is there really only only one set of RCA audio outputs on the 5100?? I have the component out and one set of RCA audio L/R going directly to my HDTV, and I can't see ever changing that, as that's the whole point of having an HD box and HDTV. But I want to send the S-video out to my ReplayTV, but I can't find another audio out on the 5100 except for the optical or SPDIF, and ReplayTV doesn't have inputs for any of those. But there are two unused sets of RCA inputs! I have the coax out of the 5100 going into the ReplayTV, but the signal's pretty crappy. So, any ideas?

Also, I can't seem to get a closed captioning signal to be RECORDED on my ReplayTV. As I mentioned before, I'm limited to coax out from the 5100 to the ReplayTV. I did get the 5100's captioning to show up when I switched the 4:3 override to 480i, which I know enables graphics on all outputs, but I want to use my TVs closed captioning; I don't want to have it show up unless I turn it on. If I use the 5100's CC, then it's recorded as part of the picture. Does anyone have any idea how to make the 5100 pass through the CC signal on it's coax out? Would it work if I was using S-video or composite out?

I'd appreciate any ideas you have, I'm at the end of my rope.

Dave Harper

04-14-04, 10:39 PM

Max,

Does your HDTV have a coax or optical SPDIF connection you can use for audio to free up your analog L/R connections for the ReplayTV???

No idea on the cc, sorry:(

podux

04-14-04, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by MaxH
OK, I've been working on this, and I'm stumped. Maybe someone here can help me, because I'm not sure what else to do.

First, is there really only only one set of RCA audio outputs on the 5100?? I have the component out and one set of RCA audio L/R going directly to my HDTV, and I can't see ever changing that, as that's the whole point of having an HD box and HDTV. But I want to send the S-video out to my ReplayTV, but I can't find another audio out on the 5100 except for the optical or SPDIF, and ReplayTV doesn't have inputs for any of those. But there are two unused sets of RCA inputs! I have the coax out of the 5100 going into the ReplayTV, but the signal's pretty crappy. So, any ideas?

just split the audio out from the cable box. you should be able to find rca splitter cables at your local cable source. send one set of the audio to your tv, the other to the replaytv.

good luck.

MaxH

04-14-04, 10:55 PM

No, the TV doesn't have any audio in other than composite. I guess they assume you'll use a receiver if you want a good audio signal.

I've been looking at patch cords to split the audio out, but I can't believe there is only one set, and I also dread two things about that approach: going to my local Rat Shack, and adding yet another layer of complexity (by splitting, rather than having one output per input) to our HT setup.

whatuppa

04-18-04, 07:35 AM

I have the Motorola 5100 with Comcast here in SF and wondering if anyone knows when they might enable the DVI output?? Thanks!

miatasm

04-18-04, 10:09 AM

The DVI is enabled with firmware sent by the local Cable Company. Please see the FAQ for details.

sam123

04-18-04, 02:38 PM

Originally posted by whatuppa
I have the Motorola 5100 with Comcast here in SF and wondering if anyone knows when they might enable the DVI output?? Thanks!

Hi Whatuppa,

The DVI should be active. Most of Bay Area have firmware 7.07 or 7.10, both of which have DVI enabled. I have 7.10 in Santa Clara and use DVI.

See discussion on Comcast Bay Area thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=357896&perpage=20&pagenumber=1) .

Sami

Almighty1

04-18-04, 03:57 PM

Originally posted by sam123
Hi Whatuppa,

The DVI should be active. Most of Bay Area have firmware 7.07 or 7.10, both of which have DVI enabled. I have 7.10 in Santa Clara and use DVI.

See discussion on Comcast Bay Area thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=357896&perpage=20&pagenumber=1) .

Sami

San Francisco is still on version 2.48 as far as the 5100 is concerned as I have had the 5100 since December 9, 2003. New installs in the past three months did seem to get the boxes preloaded with 7.07 though.

dozens

04-19-04, 12:01 PM

Whats the difference between 7.07 and 7.10 ?

iceperson

04-26-04, 07:10 PM

What if your box wasn't plugged in at the last update? My firmware is 5.04 on the 6200 that was just installed last Friday. Will I have to wait until the next update for everyone or do they "resend" the most current firmware periodically?
iceperson

Oh yeah. I live in Oklahoma and use Cox.

joshua_msu

04-26-04, 07:33 PM

I want my 6200. I called comcast and the person I had talked to didnt even know what that was. Does anyone know if they are out yet in the western burbs here in Chicago, I am in Villa Park?

vj9999

04-26-04, 08:57 PM

Originally posted by joshua_msu
I want my 6200. I called comcast and the person I had talked to didnt even know what that was. Does anyone know if they are out yet in the western burbs here in Chicago, I am in Villa Park?

Chances are they will be clueless 98.9% of time. I've had my 6200 since January. Just schedule an appointment and make sure you tell them that someone in you area got it already (and throw a semi-lie and say that they have been told that 5100 was out of production and that they have been replaced by 6200). Tell them to specify on the work order that you want 6200. If they show up with 5100 (the only way to really tell is by the label on the bottom and if it has firewiree ports) just cancel the appoinment at the door (that way they won't charge you installation charge).

Good luck

miatasm

04-26-04, 11:27 PM

Originally posted by iceperson
What if your box wasn't plugged in at the last update? My firmware is 5.04 on the 6200 that was just installed last Friday. Will I have to wait until the next update for everyone or do they "resend" the most current firmware periodically?
iceperson

Oh yeah. I live in Oklahoma and use Cox.

See the FAQ

iceperson

04-28-04, 10:02 AM

Actually I think the FAQ may be wrong (at least in my case.) Cox here in Tulsa doesn't push firmware updates at this time. After calling customer-noservice and finally talking to someone who knew something about HD service I was told that if I need a firewire port they will have to send a tech out with another 6200 with the updated firmware.

On another note, is there such a thing as a no loss splitter? I've tried a few different ones from monster and a couple from my cable company but my 5 second error counts jump from zero correctable and zero uncorrectable while plugged directly into the wall to about 40,000 correctable and 0-3 uncorrectable when using a splitter regardless of which splitter I use. I even get really high error counts (20,000+) when just using the coax pass through on my monster power center.
Thanks,
ice

MaxH

04-28-04, 10:42 AM

There is actually a fairly new thread in the Replay & Showstopper forum on the best splitters with regards to signal quality (since Replay PVRs sometimes have tuners that are picky about signal quality). You might want to check this out:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=395980

miatasm

04-28-04, 10:48 AM

I guess it is feasible that they don't want to send firmware to everyone, but they do have the capability, they just might not choose to use it......not very smart in my opinion.

No such thing as a no loss splitter, you can get a device called a "directional coupler", it functions similar to a splitter (it has 1 input & 2 outputs) but the outputs are not split equally, for example one output may loose 6db and the other 1 db.

Kipper717

04-28-04, 04:27 PM

I don't know if anyone else posted this or it was discussed elsewhere.

From The Philadelphia Inquirer 4-27-04

Comcast Corp., Philadelphia, plans to deploy 40,000 units of Horsham-based Motorola Broadband's Digital Media Center, an advanced set-top cable box, later this year, the companies said yesterday. The unit combines high-definition-television capability and a dual-tuner digital recorder that allows customers to watch one channel while recording another. The companies did not say in which Comcast markets the device would be available.

Anyone have more info on this?, How does this STB compare to the 6208?

Is the 6200/6208 available in S. Jersey (Burl. County)?:confused:

faceoff

04-28-04, 04:31 PM

Originally posted by Kipper717
I don't know if anyone else posted this or it was discussed elsewhere.

From The Philadelphia Inquirer 4-27-04

Comcast Corp., Philadelphia, plans to deploy 40,000 units of Horsham-based Motorola Broadband's Digital Media Center, an advanced set-top cable box, later this year, the companies said yesterday. The unit combines high-definition-television capability and a dual-tuner digital recorder that allows customers to watch one channel while recording another. The companies did not say in which Comcast markets the device would be available.

Anyone have more info on this?, How does this STB compare to the 6208?

Is the 6200/6208 available in S. Jersey (Burl. County)?:confused:

It's probably the "Moxi-Boxes" - check out these links:

http://www.digeo.com/newsroom/pressreleases/press_20040425a.jsp

http://www.digeo.com/assets/products/moxi/info_short.wmv

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8521855.htm

http://www.digeo.com/newsroom/pressreleases/press_20040425b.jsp

ENJOY!

David

miatasm

04-28-04, 04:54 PM

Originally posted by Kipper717
I don't know if anyone else posted this or it was discussed elsewhere.

From The Philadelphia Inquirer 4-27-04

Comcast Corp., Philadelphia, plans to deploy 40,000 units of Horsham-based Motorola Broadband's Digital Media Center, an advanced set-top cable box, later this year, the companies said yesterday. The unit combines high-definition-television capability and a dual-tuner digital recorder that allows customers to watch one channel while recording another. The companies did not say in which Comcast markets the device would be available.

Anyone have more info on this?, How does this STB compare to the 6208?

Is the 6200/6208 available in S. Jersey (Burl. County)?:confused:

Bulington is an Scientific Atlanta system I believe. If it is Moto the 6200 is available & the 6208 isn't far away......

Almighty1

04-29-04, 01:34 PM

Question for you guys, on the older Comcast remotes like the Millenium 4 remote, there is a bypass button to use the RF Bypass on the Motorola boxes. On the new Silver remotes, they no longer have this button. Is there a way to access the feature with the Silver remotes since Comcast CSR said the one in the on-screen menu is the same thing but all that does is enable/disable the feature, not toggle like the bypass button does.

chain777

04-30-04, 02:57 PM

Originally posted by joshua_msu
I want my 6200. I called comcast and the person I had talked to didnt even know what that was. Does anyone know if they are out yet in the western burbs here in Chicago, I am in Villa Park?

I just had HD installed in Aurora, and they supplied a 6200. So it seems they're in the western 'burbs, probably just slow rolling them out.

joshua_msu

04-30-04, 10:06 PM

Did you previously have the older motorola box, the 5100 or whatever it is? I heard they might be giving prefernce for the 6200 to new HD customers.

Almighty1

04-30-04, 11:41 PM

On the 6200, there is a Scheduler option in the setup menu, does anyone know what this is for and how to use it?

miatasm

05-01-04, 10:28 AM

The scheduler option is a feature for ppl who record on their VCR's. You can set the Scheduler up to have the STB automatically tune to a particular channel at a particular time. You still then have to setup the VCR to turn on and start recording at that time but it makes recording to a VCR a little easier.

bjhoguester

05-01-04, 12:34 PM

I'm new to the forum and I really need some help. I've had HD for almost a year now and for the most part the quality has been solid. Recently my HD channels started tiling or pixelating (not sure what term is appropriate here). It does not happen all the time, but usually when there's something on I want to watch. I checked my diagnostics and noticed a high number of correctable errors (500-2000) per 5 second and some uncorrectable ones. When all was well with my service these numbers were always at 0. Now there are always errors. The SNR for these channels hovers between 32 - 34 (fair to good) and the AGC 54% - 78 % (good to poor) depending on the channel. ESPN, IND1 and IND2 are usually the better ones and have lower #'s of correctables. ABC, NBC and CBS are usually where the numbers and picture gets worse. My regular digital channels are pretty solid with few if any correctable errors and SNR between 33-35 and AGC at 78%.

I have the 5100 with the latest firmware. My main line from the pole is split with a 2Ghz 3-way and the runs go directly to the target devices (tv, tv, cable modem). I am using quad shield rg-6 in the house.

The csr's have reset and 'hit' the box a couple times and sent a tech out. The tech said my signal was fine at the pole. He was friendly but didn't seem to know too much about the diagnostic menu. He told me I shouldn't pay too much attention to the SNR and AGC or the error counts. He felt like my problems had to do with my internal wiring. I'm just not sure where to go from here. My cables and connectors all look to be in good shape.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

niesman

05-01-04, 01:17 PM

bjhoguester ,

I had a similar problem a few months ago with my 6200. The issue here is that your splitter is likely degrading the signal voltage. Tiling is almost always a result of the signal mV not being in the range of acceptance, in this case 5100/6200 the window is -5 to 0 mV. Your cable tech should have been measuring the signal at the box! Call your cable company again complain about the signal and have them install a drop amp. This should remedy the situation. Most cable companies will not charge you for the amp, so complain if they do.

niesman

Almighty1

05-01-04, 01:58 PM

Originally posted by miatasm
The scheduler option is a feature for ppl who record on their VCR's. You can set the Scheduler up to have the STB automatically tune to a particular channel at a particular time. You still then have to setup the VCR to turn on and start recording at that time but it makes recording to a VCR a little easier.

Thanks, I guess it does help. When I got the 6200 the other day after he finally found one at the shop to replace the 5100, all the channels were enabled as usual. He called to tell them the new serial number of the new 6200 and to delete the 5100's serial number. It was working for about 30 minutes and the Comcast box was already on firmware 7.07. Then the box shutted off and did a firmware download with the DL and the - going around for about 30 minutes. After that, what was weird was that I only can get channels 2-54 and then the next thing was 120-183 and then the channels after the HD channels. It had the old channel lineup numbers but the channels are the current lineup. An hour later and it was working normally and I checked again, the firmware is still 7.07, I wonder what did it download.

Tsunamii

05-01-04, 05:57 PM

Does anyone here have a 6200 in the Boston area? ive been told many times by Comcast that they are not in service in the Boston area but I just dont know if I should buy it. Ive been having probelms with my 5100 and the audio cracking on me and wanted to see if the 6200 would be any better.. Thanks

miatasm

05-01-04, 07:29 PM

Audio Crackling is related to all of the Motorola HD boxes, the 6200 would not help your situation. If you needed firewire or DVI then you would need the 6200 (thats if your 5100 doesn't have DVI, of course).

bjhoguester

05-01-04, 11:03 PM

I'll try a different splitter - I'm using a balanced 2Ghz 3 way at the moment. Is there any reason I need a 2ghz or should I use a 1Ghz? I'm having trouble finding an unbalanced (I want the 3.5 leg for my 5100) 2GHZ. Is there anything in the 1Ghz - 2Ghz range that I'd need for cable internet or TV?

miatasm

05-01-04, 11:26 PM

Nope nothing in the 1ghz or above range yet for cable TV. 2Ghz is unnecessary unless you are using Sattelite.

Also if your problem just started happening then its more likely not your splitter unless your splitter is in the weather. Try moving your STB to another outlet in your house and check the error counts then. If its the same then I suspect the drop to the house or a problem out on the cable plant, which would require a service call. Check with your neighbors see if any of them are have problems with their Digitals recently.

lovingdvd

05-01-04, 11:50 PM

Originally posted by bjhoguester
I'm new to the forum and I really need some help. I've had HD for almost a year now and for the most part the quality has been solid. Recently my HD channels started tiling or pixelating (not sure what term is appropriate here). It does not happen all the time, but usually when there's something on I want to watch. I checked my diagnostics and noticed a high number of correctable errors (500-2000) per 5 second and some uncorrectable ones. When all was well with my service these numbers were always at 0. Now there are always errors. The SNR for these channels hovers between 32 - 34 (fair to good) and the AGC 54% - 78 % (good to poor) depending on the channel. ESPN, IND1 and IND2 are usually the better ones and have lower #'s of correctables. ABC, NBC and CBS are usually where the numbers and picture gets worse. My regular digital channels are pretty solid with few if any correctable errors and SNR between 33-35 and AGC at 78%.

I have the 5100 with the latest firmware. My main line from the pole is split with a 2Ghz 3-way and the runs go directly to the target devices (tv, tv, cable modem). I am using quad shield rg-6 in the house.

The csr's have reset and 'hit' the box a couple times and sent a tech out. The tech said my signal was fine at the pole. He was friendly but didn't seem to know too much about the diagnostic menu. He told me I shouldn't pay too much attention to the SNR and AGC or the error counts. He felt like my problems had to do with my internal wiring. I'm just not sure where to go from here. My cables and connectors all look to be in good shape.

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

What city/state are you in? In may be something specific to your area and others reading this may be experiencing the same thing.

Here's what I did in that situation... I took my 5100 and brought it into the room where the main cable feed comes in from the outside and hooked it directly into the 5100. That way I eliminated all internal wiring and splitters etc from being possible culprits. Then I looked at the error counts and verified they were the same. If you do this you'll likely want to hook up a small TV (since you're not going to want to drag your HD box to a different room). If you hook it up via coax to the 5100 be sure to change the override to off or 480i (can't remember, try both).

Also how frequently do you get this break up?

bjhoguester

05-02-04, 12:11 AM

Smyrna, TN

I'll try my other 2 outlets and see what happens. It seems to happen at some point every evening - This evening 181 (NBC) was very bad.

Thanks to all for the help. I'm also ordering a Regal 1GHZ 3 way unbalanced.

My HD box is at the end of a 100 ft run straight from my existing 3 way. Is that far enough to need an amp?

lovingdvd

05-02-04, 11:13 AM

Originally posted by bjhoguester
Smyrna, TN

I'll try my other 2 outlets and see what happens. It seems to happen at some point every evening - This evening 181 (NBC) was very bad.

Thanks to all for the help. I'm also ordering a Regal 1GHZ 3 way unbalanced.

My HD box is at the end of a 100 ft run straight from my existing 3 way. Is that far enough to need an amp?

When the problem does occur, how frequently does the picture and sound break up? Once every minute, 5 minutes, a few times and hour, etc?

Regarding hooking up the 5100 at a different outlet - the key is to hook it up right at the main feed (if at all possible) not at each outlet. That way you are completely eliminating any splitter or wiring problem inside the house.

bjhoguester

05-02-04, 01:41 PM

My main drop from the pole goes to a junction box on the outside of my house (and into 3-way splitter). It would be pretty challenging to get it hooked up out there - but I do see the value in eliminating anything internal. Of course, if all three of my internal outlets show the same level of errors - all three would have to have the same problem.

psklenar

05-04-04, 07:43 AM

Question regarding the 6200 if I may ...

I've had my box for a little over a month. I've got a Mitsu 65611 TV w/no DVI, but it does have three IEEE-1394 ports. I wrote to my CATV provider (COX New England) to ask whether I could connect the STB to my TV that way and they said it was new enough that it should work. Well, it doesn't. :(

After reading ta good chunk of this thread (and a few others), I learned about the OFF-MENU and OFF-SELECT key combos. Upon looking at the OFF-SELECT diag's, I discovered the list of "Interfaces". It says "NOT INST" next to DVI, IEEE-1394 and Ethernet. Is it safe to assume that there's nothing I can do to get this to work short of taking the box back to the provider to a replacement or firmware update?

Speaking of which ... my box is v5.04.

Thanks,

FSugino

05-04-04, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by psklenar
Speaking of which ... my box is v5.04.

The FireWire port isn't active unless you have firmware v7.07 or higher. Check out the message threads in the HDTV Recorders section for more info regarding FireWire and the Moto 6200 box.

miatasm

05-04-04, 08:42 PM

Even then after you get firmware 7.07 or higher the firewire ports will only transport digital channels, no analog, no EPG.....

cleoent

05-05-04, 12:44 PM

Just got a 6200 yesturday with the 7.07 firmware installed! I'm using the DVI with a monster dvi400 cable, the HD programming is not as sharp as i expected, any type of adjustment i can do for this? Coudl something be connected incorrectly?

Thanks

avic

05-05-04, 05:48 PM

is your display properly calibrated? is the component any better? remember each display input usually has it's own settings so u may need to tweak the dvi input to get it right, simply adjusting white and black levels can make a huge difference. also use a calibration dvd like avia or sound/vision for even better results.

Tsunamii

05-05-04, 09:42 PM

Just checked my Firmware and noticed that it was updated to 7.10 some time today or yesterday. I have noticed that Im not hearing the audio crack that I had before, I just hope it stays that way.

batf

05-05-04, 09:50 PM

Originally posted by miatasm
Even then after you get firmware 7.07 or higher the firewire ports will only transport digital channels, no analog, no EPG.....

Analog channels are transmitted over firewire (the 6200 has an MPEG2 encoder). You're right about the EPG though.

jplumey

05-05-04, 11:01 PM

I'm having an issue i thought someone could help with. Is there any way to change the black bars to grey? I understand why I will see them (I've read all the FAQ's and thoroughly understand why they show up) but the problem is that with a rear projection tv, i've noticed that i am seeing some burn-in on the sides. My wife didn't realize what was going on until almost a week of using the HD channels to watch non-HD and non-16:9 programming (thus the bars) while I was away on business.

Any ideas? I have the 5100 box in South Florida via ComCAST.

avic

05-06-04, 12:16 AM

if you're noticing burn in then it's too late. but to avoid making it worse check your display's contrast level, it should be below 50%. there is no way i know of to turn the bars grey but with proper levels you can prevent burn-in. also set your 480 override to 480i or 480p, to eliminate bars altogether for non-hd channels. of course you'll still get black side bars for non-hd sources on the hd channels.

miatasm

05-06-04, 01:07 AM

Originally posted by batf
Analog channels are transmitted over firewire (the 6200 has an MPEG2 encoder). You're right about the EPG though.

Thanks for that info I was being told that info from what I assumed to be a reliable source, & their explaination was that the analog channels have to encoded in the box to MPEG2 and that the firewire tapped into the data stream before that encoding occurred. Thanks for the clarification.

jplumey,

If you understand how the black bars function then you should know that they are being generated by the broadcasters & there is no way that these can be changed. Other than that, avic hits the nail on the head. Sorry to hear about the burn-in, though.

Tsunamii

05-06-04, 08:02 AM

Can somone tell me the advantages of the 6200 over the 5100. Other then the firewire that is. Thanks for any info.

Tsunamii

podux

05-06-04, 10:11 AM

Originally posted by Tsunamii
Can somone tell me the advantages of the 6200 over the 5100. Other then the firewire that is. Thanks for any info.

Tsunamii

All of the 6200s have DVI whereas only some of the 5100s do. The 6200 also has a faster processor, but I have not heard of any real advantage from this.

For all practical purposes, a 6200 is identical to a 5100 with DVI.

Tsunamii

05-06-04, 10:59 AM

Thanks Podux!! That's what I though, I already have DVI on my 5200 and with the new firmware its working pretty good. I had a request in to change out the box this sat for the 6100 but I guess I should wait for the 6108 instead. Thanks for the insight!!!
Did everyone else get the new Firmware other then the Mass area??

DaveFi

05-06-04, 11:08 AM

Anyone have trouble completing a firmware upgrade on a 6200? My 6200 starts to do the upgrade- It *CLICK*s, it starts rotating flashing lights but then stops before it hits "DL".

I just unplugged Firewire cable so hopefully that will solve it.

Intereting- When I unplug/plug the power cable it gives a "-" for a sec and then it clicks. Supposed to do that?

I might have a bad one.

theob

05-07-04, 07:22 AM

Calling Ken H. What happened? We were in the middle of watching a great fight on SHO and the system bombs out and begins uploading new firmware (apparently). Ok we can watch the replay on VOD but now there is no DVI capability!! Bummer!!!

Did Comcast disable DVI?

If so why and when will it be re enabled?

jaykelly

05-07-04, 08:25 AM

I woke up this morning with my DVI disabled also. After cycling my DVI switch through it's available inputs, it came back, and is working as normal. I now have firmware 7.10, and I also live in SE Mich.

Jaykelly

Tsunamii

05-07-04, 08:29 AM

I spoke to a comcast tech and was told that indeed their is a problem with the dvi on some of the 6200's. No suprise to those of you having problems.

On a good note he also said he is getting training next week on the DVR (single tuner) and that it would be a suprise if the boxes are not in the field by Aug if not the next few weeks.

stimperley

05-07-04, 12:26 PM

Anyone know the differences with the new 7.10 firmware?

Tsunamii

05-07-04, 12:43 PM

Originally posted by stimperley
Anyone know the differences with the new 7.10 firmware?

For me it has solved the audio cracking and poping sounds on analog stations.

LaVike

05-07-04, 02:33 PM

Also, 7.10 is supposed to help with getting a Windows XP machine to recognize a 6200 box via firewire. This is important if you are trying to use a HTPC to PVR your HDTV. (couldn't resist putting all those acronyms in there) :)

avic

05-07-04, 02:50 PM

7.10 also enabled HDCP. if your display is non-HDCP compliant you will get a message telling you so and instructing you to use the component outputs. you can see the DVI/HDCP tech info in the service menu if you have a dvi cable connected.

psklenar

05-07-04, 02:51 PM

Well, I contacted COX. At first they told me that since my STB was so new, it should already have DVI & 1394 activated. After reading this (and a few others) thread I learned about the OFF-SELECT diagnostics. Looking in there I saw that I had firmware 5.04 and that IEEE-1394, DVI & Ethernet were all "NOT INST". I contacted COX again today, explained that 1) it (1394) wasn't working and 2) what I found in the DIAGs and was told that since I hadn't requested 1394 from the get-go, it had never been activated for me. I'm now to expect to hear from a COX rep about this in 24-48 hours.

We'll see. :)

Now this brings up another thought (scary, I know) ... is the Ethernet port enabled on ANY DTC-6200's and if so, what could I use it for?

Thanks! And now back to lurking,

theob

05-07-04, 02:54 PM

Does this mean if I was hooked up via dvi and my display may not be HDMI compliant I could be precluded from running dvi now by Comcast? BTW I have a Panny 50 LCD, is it HDMI compliant?

Tsunamii

05-07-04, 03:14 PM

Answered my own question by reading previous post

miatasm

05-07-04, 07:44 PM

theob,

Did you mean HDCP instead of HDMI?

psklenar,

No DCTs have the ethernet port enabled, yet.

theob

05-07-04, 09:09 PM

Yes I did and btw I can get the dvi connection to work only when I disconnect and reconnect the cable @ the Motorola box. I don't understand. Anybody have any ideas? I don't believe I have a loose connection, it worked for 5 months.

DaveFi

05-07-04, 10:37 PM

I must have a bad box because it can't seem to get the upgrade.

lovingdvd

05-08-04, 10:42 AM

Originally posted by LaVike
Also, 7.10 is supposed to help with getting a Windows XP machine to recognize a 6200 box via firewire. This is important if you are trying to use a HTPC to PVR your HDTV. (couldn't resist putting all those acronyms in there) :)

Any word on whether 7.10 added support for using an external Firewire HD to serve as extra recording capacity? I really don't want the headaches of having to connect a computer etc. Just want to buy a huge external drive and double or triple its recording space. If this is not in 7.10, any word on when it may come?

Also does anyone know if 7.10 has addressed the horrendous FF/REW speed on HD content?

lovingdvd

05-08-04, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by miatasm

No DCTs have the ethernet port enabled, yet.

Is it correct to assume that once the ethernet port is enabled the DCT will serve as a cable modem? So once enabled I'd just run a CAT5 from the DCT to my router and can throw out the cabel modem? Any other purpose the ethernet connection would also serve?

It would be fantastic if we had the ability to use a browser to program DVR recording schedule through the port. Although the 6208 does an excellent job with the recording quality, its features are so basic (or should I say lacking compared to TiVo/Replay) that its hard to imagine they'd add an advanced feature like this for some time to come.

miatasm

05-08-04, 11:56 AM

Yes internally there is a cable modem. I don't see its functionality happening anytime soon, simply because it won't really add too much benefit for the mass majority right now.

The guide/menu will get better.....

deskjockey

05-08-04, 02:49 PM

The guide/menu HAS to get better! It's the worst piece of software written that is customer-facing. If I see one more TV Guide ad panel, I will puke. Give me a guide that looks like the S/A SARA product, or the Replay guide. IMO, these people got it right. Easy to use, no ad panels taking away from usable guide space, more than a 2 day look ahead.

lovingdvd

05-09-04, 12:44 AM

Originally posted by deskjockey
The guide/menu HAS to get better! It's the worst piece of software written that is customer-facing. If I see one more TV Guide ad panel, I will puke. Give me a guide that looks like the S/A SARA product, or the Replay guide. IMO, these people got it right. Easy to use, no ad panels taking away from usable guide space, more than a 2 day look ahead.

I agree the ads are way out of hand. Actually I don't mind seeing some advertising. But what I DO mind is when displaying the advertising dramatically reduces the functionality of what I am using - and that is the case at work here. For example, with some many ads on the screen you are left with a skinny guide that is barely readable. And you'd think that the least they would do would be to improve it so that if you are using a 16:9 set then they would take advantage of this extra space for the guide - well, then again that extra space may go to more ads. Sigh.

avic

05-09-04, 01:07 AM

The guide will not get better for the Moto 5000/6000 series. We're stuck with what we have, for now. Instead look for the Moto broadband media center BMC boxes (http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/bmc.html) with Moxi (http://www.digeo.com/prodserv/moxi_overview.jsp) which Comcast has already deployed in a test market. That is the answer to the current guide and then some. You've seen the DEMO (http://www.digeo.com/assets/movies/IntroMM_304_final.wmv) no doubt. IMO looks even better than TiVo, can record HD and has a dual tuner. Motorola Comcast-areas nationwide will be testing them this year and some areas (New England being one) may be seeing them in homes in time for the holidays. Stay tuned...

miatasm

05-09-04, 11:13 AM

It will get better with TV Guide....

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040210/phtu040_1.html

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA381739?display=Top+Stories

DaveFi

05-09-04, 11:19 AM

Motorola Comcast-areas nationwide will be testing them this year and some areas (New England being one) may be seeing them in homes in time for the holidays. Stay tuned... But no Firewire! D'oh!

Maybe Comcast will pick up Microsoft's front-end for the 6412?

avic

05-09-04, 12:07 PM

Moxi running in the advanced STB's will trump any 'improved' guide with the current technology in the 5000/6000 series. as far as firewire with an external moxi plus hdd via usb2 from 80gb to 360gb that's all the storage i'd need. i suppose u can aways keep your 6200 if u want to keep a library.

miatasm

05-09-04, 12:35 PM

But your original statement was that the guide will NOT improve. The key to this is that this NEW (not improved) guide will be for the masses (regular digital cable subscribers included) not for the limited amount of potential Moxi users. For us the Moxi may be better, but I'm sure it will have its quirks.....

faceoff

05-09-04, 12:51 PM

Originally posted by avic
Motorola Comcast-areas nationwide will be testing them this year and some areas (New England being one) may be seeing them in homes in time for the holidays. Stay tuned...

Where did you hear that the testing will be "nationwide"?

David

hhemmati

05-09-04, 07:36 PM

Hey everyone,

I just got a Comcast 6208. it's working great but I am filling it up FAST. I just bought a Maxtor external firewire/USB2&1 250GB Hard drive.

Is it possible to save/transfer my recorded shows to that hard drive from the 6208 through either of those outputs yet? Is there any other way to keep the shows, either through ethernet (transfer to a computer) or firewire to a laptop, etc? I really hope the external hard drive option works.

Has anyone here tried swapping out the internal hard drive of the 6208 for a larger one? What type of drive does it use?

Many many thanks!

miatasm

05-09-04, 08:59 PM

The drive is IDE, but you would void the warrenty of you tried to replace it.

The ethernet isn't active, and is for the output of the Cable Modem.

Firewire will only currently send data to Macintosh, Windows XP (firmware 7.10 on the 6208 & lots of software tweeks I've heard), or a D-VHS recorder.

Also you cannot transfer data from the internal drive to any of the above sources. Only Live content to those sources. The Firewire gets its data from the direct MPEG2 stream coming into the box.

Originally posted by faceoff
Where did you hear that the testing will be "nationwide"?

David

I heard it was 40,000 units and they were going ONLY to Southern California for testing.

hhemmati

05-09-04, 09:30 PM

Thanks! I am in Southern Cali - how can I get my hands on one of those units? Can I call & beg? or do I need to be on a special VIP list, or is it randomly selected? Thanks!

miatasm

05-09-04, 10:28 PM

Thats a very good question, with 40k going to one area, I'm not sure how much of the current Comcast So Cal customer base has HDTV service and would be interested in the Moxi......Begging would be a start. :)

hhemmati

05-10-04, 03:53 AM

Thanks again!

I'll call Comcast and beg for one of those units - let's see what happens... I have a bulk account with them, so hopefully they'll treat me better. I'll update you if it works.

I checked the firmware on my 6208 and it's still 7.07 - do I just need to wait to see if it gets 7.10, or would it get the new system version if I "reboot" the unit by turning it on and off by unplugging & replugging it?

What is different about 7.10 that lets WIndows XP record over firewire? Does it somehow allow Windows XP to recognize the 6208 as a tuner or other video source?

Many thanks again!
H

psklenar

05-10-04, 11:36 AM

talked to a COX tech this morning. he's recommended I hold off on requesting the firmware upgrade for firewire if I can deal with it. He expects a new firmware in late June/early July that'll not only activate IEEE-1394 & DVI, but will also offer video-on-demand (which I guess Comcast already offers based on a friends comment). The tech said he'd have to order me a replacement box from Atlanta if I needed Firewire now since they don't have any ready boxes available at the local office.

Guess I can wait. <shrug>

kkelley

05-14-04, 11:38 AM

I have the 5100 with Firmware 7.07 connected to a Sony GWII. I worked with a Comcast CSR last night and she walked me through updating my firmware - but to no avail. BTW, Component still works great.

I have experimented with turning 4:3 override on and off. When it's off I don't even get SD channels.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

jplumey

05-14-04, 12:04 PM

I don't know why I even waste my time with Comcast. I called them today to try to get some general information about potential new channels and time frames for DVR and OnDemand and the woman was completely arrogant!

She said she knew the information but was not allowed to tell the customers. According to her supervisors, she "could get in a lot of trouble" if she were to even hint at the new channel lineup. When I asked who could give out that information, she said it was a different department. Upon asking to be transferred to that department, she said they are not allowed to speak to customers! What the hell kind of business doesn't allow their employees to speak to customers?

This is just another example of the poor customer service Comcast provides. I hope someone from Comcast is watching this thread. Even a cursory look through this thread will show the general disatisfaction and animosity towards Comcast.

Sorry to rant, but I had to get that off my chest. Cheers.

faceoff

05-14-04, 12:17 PM

Originally posted by jplumey
I don't know why I even waste my time with Comcast. I called them today to try to get some general information about potential new channels and time frames for DVR and OnDemand and the woman was completely arrogant!

She said she knew the information but was not allowed to tell the customers. According to her supervisors, she "could get in a lot of trouble" if she were to even hint at the new channel lineup. When I asked who could give out that information, she said it was a different department. Upon asking to be transferred to that department, she said they are not allowed to speak to customers! What the hell kind of business doesn't allow their employees to speak to customers?

This is just another example of the poor customer service Comcast provides. I hope someone from Comcast is watching this thread. Even a cursory look through this thread will show the general disatisfaction and animosity towards Comcast.

Sorry to rant, but I had to get that off my chest. Cheers.

JP,

What area?

THANKS!

David

jplumey

05-14-04, 12:35 PM

Originally posted by faceoff
JP,

What area?

THANKS!

David

South Florida, Broward County

miatasm

05-14-04, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by kkelley
I have the 5100 with Firmware 7.07 connected to a Sony GWII. I worked with a Comcast CSR last night and she walked me through updating my firmware - but to no avail. BTW, Component still works great.

I have experimented with turning 4:3 override on and off. When it's off I don't even get SD channels.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

The firmware cannot be upgraded the way you stated. See the FAQ & click on "firmware" to get the info on firmware upgrades.

AFA your Sony goes, firmware 7.07 should work for DVI as you can see it does, but the fact it only works on analog channels sounds like a setup problem. It should work on all channels. Good Luck.

cjh

kkelley

05-14-04, 01:33 PM

Thanks matasm!

The process I went through to update the firmware is consistent with what's in the FAQ. It was probably already current but we just wanted to be sure.

An interesting side-note however, the SD picture had some intermittent interference before the update. Afterwords, it was gone...

I'll get on the phone again with Comcast tonight.

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out if the problem is with the 5100, GWII, or new DVI cable.

Should I infer from your message that since I am getting at least SD that I can likely rule out the GWII and DVI cable as the probable cause and focus upon the 5100 settings?

Thanks for your help!

Tsunamii

05-14-04, 02:10 PM

Kkelly,
according to AVIC on the previous page
"7.10 also enabled HDCP. if your display is non-HDCP compliant you will get a message telling you so and instructing you to use the component outputs. you can see the DVI/HDCP tech info in the service menu if you have a dvi cable connected."
That may be your problem. My DVI worked with both the 7.07 and still with the 7.10. Hopefully its just a bad cable.

I have to say my experience with Comcast hasn't been too bad all in all. That being said I have never been extremely happy with any of my providers and have changed allot over the years from cell phone providers to satellite to cable.
I think it depends on who answers the phone at any of these places. I spoke to someone in tech support right after 7.10 came out and he was very informative. Saying he was getting DVR training next week (that is this week now) and he would be very surprised if DVR didn't come out in the next few weeks rather then in August (Boston area). I didn't get any insight to a channel line up but you can have everything, where would you put it? Thought it would be nice if more information was given to the customer, after all without us there is no company.

kkelley

05-14-04, 02:25 PM

Tsunamii,

Thanks for your response. I am sure that I am currently on 7.07. I just checked the "monster" UMR does GWII thread and appears that the GWII does indeed support HDCP.

Do you think a bad cable could restrict viewing of HD?

Tsunamii

05-14-04, 02:37 PM

Kkelly,
Sorry I didn't see before that you are getting SD stations. Id say that if you are getting traffic through the cable then it is the motto box. I know before I had v7.10 I had an annoying cracking sound on my speakers and its gone now.
It may be worth pushing for the newer motto box the 6200. I was told they were not available in my area at first then I pushed back a little and was told I could have one. The day before it was set to come out the firmware updated and my issue was resolved that way so I canceled my appt. My rather verbose point is even if they say they are not in your area call back until you get either someone who knows or is willing to go the extra mile to make you happy. If all else fails never under estimate a letter to the President of Comcast. Ive had very good results in the past doing just that in other instances. Its amazing what can be done when your letter is forwarded to the right dept via the presidents office rather then talking to a CSR that you called up.
If you can exchange the cable id do that too, you never know and if the place you bought it from is willing to do a switch it might be worth it to take that out of the equation.
Me, im waiting for the 6208..