I used to run an Electroline Amp...for years. But it's a E4AG or something like that, and could not pass the outbd signal for PPV. (not that I use it, but like the option to if they ever offer PPV HD).

So Cox came out an installed there own unit, it was much better quality then the old crap they used to use. Anyways, it's split into 4 rooms and my Cable Modem. (which feeds into a wireless router and feeds 3 pcs and a PS2, and my hardwired Desktop PC and one more PS2)

I just ran the Signal test and same Good/Good ~ around 36.XX / 54.XX for each.....so no complaints and no hurry to rush out and get a $90 8 way Electroline...for now.

I will say some of my recordings on Speed over the weekend were just aweful.....every few seconds I'd get pauses and lost sound....one of the most unwatchable recordings ever. Maybe the heat was an issue, I don't know. A few pauses seems normal, but this was 1000% times worse.....

Enjoy the HD lite, smitty.

Yeah, I know. But even HD lite has got to be better than this: "Culpeper drops back . . . he's got a man open . . . oh my, watch this one folks . . . he's going to . . . [digital squares, frozen picture, no sound, need to reboot box]. After reboot: "Wow, have you ever in your life seen anything like that folks." :mad:

Anyone else losing guide data recently? Seems like once in a while I have to reboot to restore guide data. Pressing and holding down guide button to re-download guide data doesn't seem to work - only reboot.

Hey all, I'm new here so please humor me.

I got Cox's Orange County HDTV service about a month ago for my 50" Plasma. I now have three questions:

1) Why do my Standard-Definition channels look so awful now? I can see blocks (artifacts) everywhere. I don't recall the channels looking like this before I got this HDTV box.

2) My plasma's native resolution is 720p. Should I set my HDTV box's output resolution to 720p, or is it better to keep it at its default setting of 1080i?

3) I can set my standard definition channel output to 480i or 480p. Is there a notable difference between the two?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

yej, you should let your TV do scaling as much as possible. Since most HD channels are 1080i it's usually best to leave Moto box at 1080i - though you should try 720p to compare. For SD channels definately 480i would be better - let your TV do the scaling up to 720p instead of the Moto box.

Before you got the Moto box for channels < 100 you were tuning the analog version of the channels with your TV. Now that you are using the Moto box you are getting digital versions. Note that the sharpness level is way too high on these digital channels so you should set sharpness level to lowest setting on your TV when viewing SD digital through the Moto box - that's what made them tolerable for me.

yej, you should let your TV do scaling as much as possible. Since most HD channels are 1080i it's usually best to leave Moto box at 1080i - though you should try 720p to compare. For SD channels definately 480i would be better - let your TV do the scaling up to 720p instead of the Moto box.

Before you got the Moto box for channels < 100 you were tuning the analog version of the channels with your TV. Now that you are using the Moto box you are getting digital versions. Note that the sharpness level is way too high on these digital channels so you should set sharpness level to lowest setting on your TV when viewing SD digital through the Moto box - that's what made them tolerable for me.

Thanks for the reply. I've heard other opinions though that say the less amount of scaling your TV has to do, the better. Isn't that why people buy up-converting DVD players and then output their DVDs at a resolution close to their TV's native resolution? Or am I just confused?

If you have a half-decent TV then it's scaler should be better than a run-of-the-mill Moto box. Good DVD players have good de-interlacers putting out a decent 480p signal and will do better than most TVs. Then again there are bad progressive scan DVD players that can do a worse job of de-interlacing than your TV.

Try all combinations for yourself since your preference is ultimately what matters.

Anyone else losing guide data recently? Seems like once in a while I have to reboot to restore guide data. Pressing and holding down guide button to re-download guide data doesn't seem to work - only reboot.

Yes, I have this recently.

Same problem for me with OTA on Prison Break. As this was my first "real" program I was recording (not just testing) with my new HD setup I'm glad it was not just me!

Same thing happened with me. I didn't watch it live, I DVR'd it. It was pretty much unwatchable. So glad it was not jsut me.

Fox seems to be having issues again tonight. Not the stuttering problem like before but something else.

It is 8:26 and still no HD for 'Til Death. When it was suppose to start they showed the end credits of Happy Hour in HD and then started showing Celebrity Deuts in HD. Then they started 'Til Death but it was in SD. This is not a good way to treat people who are deciding if they like new shows. Hopefully they will fix the problem for Happy Hour.

I just called COX OC to order two cablecards for a new Tivo S3 HD and COX is insisting that they have to send an "installer" to plug the cards in and they want to charge $40 *FOR EACH CARD* ... they won't just let me pick the cards up at Cox office/store or just drop them off. WHAT A RIP!!!!
:mad: :mad:

I just called COX OC to order two cablecards for a new Tivo S3 HD and COX is insisting that they have to send an "installer" to plug the cards in and they want to charge $40 *FOR EACH CARD* ... they won't just let me pick the cards up at Cox office/store or just drop them off. WHAT A RIP!!!!
:mad: :mad: Wow a ripoff indeed... and that on top of the crippled $800 Tivo S3 ripoff! As was suggested in the Tivo threads you should call Cox back and insist that since it's only 1 visit and 1 device there should only be 1 charge. Also, find out exactly what else you need to pay for - some are saying something about Digital Gateway fee needed along with each Cablecard which sounds like another ripoff. If you are already paying for digital cable you shouldn't have to pay digital gateway on top of it.

Fox seems to be having issues again tonight. Not the stuttering problem like before but something else.

It is 8:26 and still no HD for 'Til Death. When it was suppose to start they showed the end credits of Happy Hour in HD and then started showing Celebrity Deuts in HD. Then they started 'Til Death but it was in SD. This is not a good way to treat people who are deciding if they like new shows. Hopefully they will fix the problem for Happy Hour.


I had that too...I was confused as hell for a sce there when those other shows started. :D I just watched Til Death in SD after that.

Note about ESPNHD lately. I was a HUGE complainer about the quality over the last few months. Well, either our complaints to Cox or just luck that ESPN has changed how it sends it's signal, because ESPNHD has been much better over the last week. Football games look better, baseball too. No more horrible jaggies when there is camera panning.

Hey all, I'm new here so please humor me.

I got Cox's Orange County HDTV service about a month ago for my 50" Plasma. I now have three questions:

1) Why do my Standard-Definition channels look so awful now? I can see blocks (artifacts) everywhere. I don't recall the channels looking like this before I got this HDTV box.

2) My plasma's native resolution is 720p. Should I set my HDTV box's output resolution to 720p, or is it better to keep it at its default setting of 1080i?

3) I can set my standard definition channel output to 480i or 480p. Is there a notable difference between the two?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!


What Moto box do you have 6416 or 6413 or 6412?

i've had all of them and I HATED the way the 6416 box handled SD channels. All kinds of little micro-blocks. Went back to a 6412 III and the SD channels are much smoother. Smaller HD on the 6412 but I can deal with that for better pic quality.

Cox just gets worse in terms of their moto boxes. Guess I should blame motorola.

Try a 6412 III and compare.

in regards to cable cards, that whole thing is a joke. Even subcontractors can't install them (like the company I work at). We have to wait around for one of their techs to come and it wastes the money of our clients which is not good.

Honestly, at this point I would recommend to anybody that's willing to to switch to dish over cox for TV. picture quality is much better and there are more HD channels (No I'm not their sales guy, but yes I have compared the two side by side).

In the meantime, I must figure out why the box is only recording 3/4 of my shows here and there and then just randomly cutting out

Kyle

What Moto box do you have 6416 or 6413 or 6412?

i've had all of them and I HATED the way the 6416 box handled SD channels. All kinds of little micro-blocks. Went back to a 6412 III and the SD channels are much smoother. Smaller HD on the 6412 but I can deal with that for better pic quality.

Cox just gets worse in terms of their moto boxes. Guess I should blame motorola.

Try a 6412 III and compare.

I have the one Cox provided - DCT6200. Is that a bad model? Is there a way to request a different one? I'm having the same problem you mentioned - horrible micro-blocks on the SD channels.

I have the one Cox provided - DCT6200. Is that a bad model? Is there a way to request a different one? I'm having the same problem you mentioned - horrible micro-blocks on the SD channels.


That's the only HD non dvr they offer. You could try to exchange it for a different 6200 maybe the box is going bad. Have the signal levels been checked?

ajwees41

That's the only HD non dvr they offer. You could try to exchange it for a different 6200 maybe the box is going bad. Have the signal levels been checked?

ajwees41

No, the box is rather new... we got HD about two months ago. I don't think the signal levels have been checked.

Oh, I thought you had the DVR ones. I'd say go ahead and pay $5 more a month and get DVR. Then you can pick whichever box model (6212,6213,6214,6216) that works best with your TV.

I've had all and I hated the 6416 in regards to pic quality for SD/analog channels. Very "pixel-ly" if that makes sense. The 6412 III softens the edges on SD channels a bit and it looks smoother and easier on the eyes. HD is the same for both. The only drawback of the 6412 is that it only has a 120GB hard drive compared to the 6416 160GB.

I have a Panasonic 53" rear-projection tv with HDMI, so it just wasn't a good combination with the 6416.

Hey guys. I am in New York right now visiting family. They dont have an HDTV (Yes. It is very painful not having my beautiful TV with me) but I did think some of there cable offerings were interesting.

They have:

Time Warner Cable
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR NonHD Box
Echo Passport (unknown version)

HD Channel Lineup:

701 HBO (HD)
702 WCBS (HD)
703 Showtime (HD)
704 WNBC (HD)
705 WNYW-FOX (HD)
706 Discovery HD Theater
707 WABC (HD)
708 HD Specials
709 Universal HD
710 TNT (HD)
711 WPIX (HD)
712 HD Specials
713 WNET (HD)
721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNet Movies
724 HD Net
725 ESPN-HD
741 SportsNet NY HD

Firstly, I would love to have that channel lineup. They have everything we do except for The WB (they probably do have it now but as CW).

The Picture in Picture is also active and working. This isn't a feature I think I would use often but it would be cool to have non the less.

They also offer something else I wish COX would.... There Emergency Broadcast System warnings don't send you to a totally different screen. They appear as overlays that last a minute or so. They are reminiscent of the outcome when you press the INFO button. I don't know for sure if they interrupt recordings but I am pretty sure they don't.

I would love to see COX offer some of this stuff. Hopefully when I get back something will be updated. Either the software or some new HD channels.

If you want a complete headend map I keep this spreadsheet fairly up to date:
Cox_OC_headend3.xlsI just got a tivo series3 and am trying to track down some of the HD channels. The spreadsheet was last updated on 7/23 and seems to be pretty out of date. Do you have a current version? How often have you noticed these shuffle around? Do you think it might be stable now that the simulcast has been completed?

The unencrypted HD channels haven't changed in a long while:
CBS = 85.2 (PSIP maps it to 2.1)
NBC = 84.3 (PSIP maps it to 4.1)
FOX = 99.1
ABC = 99.2
KTLA (WB) = 86.1
KOCE (PBS) = 86.2
Haven't checked the simulcast channels in a while and they may have moved around some but the base RF channels they are on are likely the same (though individual channels may have moved around).

If you supply a list of specific channels you can't find I can confirm if the spreadsheet is right for those.

Also, please give us an update how the S3 fares for you. One day I may be interested in purchasing one though right now it's pretty crippled with no TTG, MRV, esata. The Tivo forum has quite a few reports of partial recordings, black screens etc. that I'd be curious to hear if you also run into. Also, let us know how the CableCard installs go if you are planning on getting them.

I recently moved up the Santa Barbara, CA and I have to tell you folks that if you think the Motorola HD-DVR used in OC is bad, stay far far away from here and the horrid Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD.

They don't even have OnDemand over here. Ack.

EDIT: One benefit I do have to say with the SA 8300HD box is that SD digital channels look a million times better than they did with the Motorola one. Is it the encoder on the Motorola box or is it that Cox is just compressing it to hell? Other than it being software, I could honestly confuse a few channels for HD.

Ok...I have installed the Electroline EDA FT8100 as follows.....


CABLE DROP
|
|
COX Telco Box------------Phone lines
|
|
Signal Circuit Protection gizmo(has copper ground wire attached)
(looks like a splitter, but only 1 input&output)
|
|
Electroline 8 way dropamp
------connected to 7 tv's(2 HD) & Cable Modem

First off - ESPN HD looks much better than before and the SD channels - seem to look better too. I may try to bypass the Signal Circuit Protection box that comes out of the Cox phone box - does anyone think this would be a problem - of course I will ground the Electroline.

Also, here are my cable modem numbers, are these ok?

Downstream Channel
Lock Status Locked Modulation QAM256
Channel ID 0 Symbol rate 5360537 sym/sec
Downstream Frequency 561000000 Hz Max Bit Rate No Limit
Downstream Power -5.03 dBmV SNR 35 dB

Upstream Channel
Lock Status Locked Modulation 16 QAM
Channel ID 1 Symbol rate 2560 ksym/sec
Upstream Frequency 29440000 Hz Max Bit Rate No Limit
Upstream Power 37.50 dBmV


Thanks, Tom

sweet!

I don't see why there would be any issues moving the ground straight to the splitter and skiping the cheesy giszmo.

as for those numbers, those are better than I would've expected or that I've seen in most homes, be happy with a great purchase!

(I'm going to buy one now, bbl ;) )

The signal “protection box” is likely a surge suppressor designed as a sacrificial protective device to self destruct should an unsafe voltage somehow get onto your incoming or outgoing service wire.

If that is the case then removing it will not be a problem until such time as an unsafe voltage enters your home.

I agree with Works - don't mess with the surge protection device - it shouldn't affect your signal quality at all anyway. tjstoddard I think your setup is just fine. I have my configuration virtually identical (though I don't have the Cox Telco part). I don't see how ESPN HD could have improved for you however unless you were getting unrecoverable errors in your prior setup. I think in part due to complaints from people in this forum Cox OC must have changed the ESPN HD re-transmission and improved it for everybody so more likely it's just coincidence in timing that you see an improvement. You should notice a big difference in analog channel picture quality (when tuned directly with your TV tuner not through a digital set top box).

Cool - thanks for the comments.... I won't remove the Signal Protection box....

KJ - I did notice a couple weeks ago that my ESPN was looking better....and now it looks even better = maybe it is just my eyes.....but my tv's with no cable boxes all look better for sure...



Cheers!!!!

Tom

Against better judgement I purchased a Tivo S3 today. Got it up and running with OTA and analog cable so far but also confirmed unencrypted QAM channels can be tuned manually but don't show up in the guide. Still coming up to speed on all the interface quirks as this is my 1st Tivo (I came from ReplayTV land). Picture quality seems to be a little better than the Moto box but haven't studied that in detail. Will post more as I play more... must get some sleep now.

I just got a tivo series3 and am trying to track down some of the HD channels. The spreadsheet was last updated on 7/23 and seems to be pretty out of date. Do you have a current version? How often have you noticed these shuffle around? Do you think it might be stable now that the simulcast has been completed? Now that I have the S3 I can confirm the unencrypted channels as seen by the S3:
UNENCRYPTED QAM HD CHANNELS WITH TIVO S3
7-1 = KABCDT (tune to 99-3)
11-1 = KTTVDT (tune to 99-1)
84-2 = KNBCDT
85-3 = KCBSDT
86-1 = KOCEDT
86-2 = KTLADT

To add these to your channel list tune directly to the channel and record a small segment. Then under Settings->Channels you can then enable them to show up in the guide listings. As expected manual recordings are possible with these but since there is no guide data no wishlists or season passes are possible.

Also just got off the phone to schedule dual-CableCard install. The associated fees are:
$39.95 one time installation fee
$7.37/month for both CableCards
The breakdown is: 2*$1.99 for CableCards + 2*$1.49 additional outlets + tax
Also, if you turn in your Cox DVR you can deduct from your bill:
$9.95 HD DVR box rental
$4.95 DVR Service fee

So actually the net monthly fee for cable can go down by $7.33/month if you turn in your Cox DVR. I plan to keep it for a while.

Awesome! A TiVo convert. I'm seriously pondering plunking down the money for one but the price is just so darn high; I really want that oh so intuitive and snappy interface back.

Awesome! A TiVo convert. I'm seriously pondering plunking down the money for one but the price is just so darn high; I really want that oh so intuitive and snappy interface back. Yes it's a lot of money and easy to have buyer's remorse. There are actually many things about the interface that Passport Echo does better.
My quick Passport Echo vs Tivo S3 summary so far (from very limited use):

TIVO S3 NEGATIVES
- Cannot see what is going to record from the guide (no marks in the guide)
- The grid guide is quite sluggish
- With To Do List it's not easy to see what will record and what will not in case of conflicts.
- Searches limited to 200 matches
- No Picture in Menu capability - i.e. Now Playing, Search etc. eliminates video/audio
- 30 min max buffer limit per tuner (Passport can do 60 min HD/buffer and more for SD)
- Jumping easily +/-24 hours in guide not possible (several clicks to accomplish same thing in Tivo)
- No way to extract shows natively (no TivoToGo or firewire port)
- A lot of clicks to get to some diagnostic screens and general lack of detailed diagnostics including lack of disk space remaining indication
- CableCard installation issues and reliability
- No PPV or VOD (not a big deal for me since I never use those anyway)
- Will not support Switched Digital Video channels should they be employed in the future
- $800 for the box!
- Still early in the game but lots of reported signal dropouts and partial recordings (none for me thus far)

TIVO S3 BIG POSITIVES
- Functioning first-run only season passes and flexible wishlists
- 30-second skip
- 14 days of guide data (only 7 for Passport)
- Guide data much more complete
- Easy to upgrade hard drive
- Can record from both OTA & cable natively
- Can customize the guide channels to be only those you care about
- Native passthrough output format i.e. Output 480i, 720p, 1080i according to whatever the source resolution is
- THX certification appears to mean something - overall picture quality is better over component and/or HDMI

IN SUMMARY
While there are more negatives than positives listed some of the positives definately make it worthwhile for me

I just unboxed my new sony 60" XBR2 and the only HD channels the tv found were fox hd and abc hd. When I try and tune to 2.1 it says no signal found but 7.1 and 11.1 work. Are the other local channels locked.

wow you must be a tv junkie to drop 800 plus monthly fees. I find my passport is great for 180 a year. so it would take 5 years to match the cost of the unit, and even then, i can upgrade. Tivo, cant.

The THX certification only applies to the audio.

The THX certification only applies to the audio. I initially thought so as well, but it also means you have to pass certain video quality specs as well:
http://www.thx.com/tivo/index.html
It's probably mostly a marketing gimmick but at least in my setup the video quality of both component & HDMI outputs is better than DCT6416/III

wow you must be a tv junkie to drop 800 plus monthly fees. I find my passport is great for 180 a year. so it would take 5 years to match the cost of the unit, and even then, i can upgrade. Tivo, cant. More of a DVR junkie - I spend more time thinking up different ways of recording things than actually just sitting down and watching. I don't like monthly fees so I bought the 3-year pre-pay option for service based on the current buy 2 year, get 1 year free package, so that's another $300 on top of the $800 for the box!

For the most part the Passport Echo GUI and functionality is better than the Tivo S3, but remember that Passport Echo days are numbered (to be replaced by Iguide and perhaps in the future the option of Tivo/Cox).

The things that are very attractive to me about the Tivo box and why I probably will end up keeping it:
1. You can record OTA as well as all cable channels. It's very nice having OTA option for several reasons:
- Guarantee you are recording the original local broadcast without any bit-rate shaping or down-rezzing.
- Can get channels that Cox still does not re-broadcast such as the real PBS channel
- I can actually choose to drop digital cable completely or for most of the year. Cox forces you to get digital cable package just to view HD local re-transmissions. I can learn to live without ESPNHD & TNTHD for most of the year and nothing else in digital lineup right now interests me much.

2. Can easily upgrade hard drive. I plan on upgrading internal drive to 750G so disk space will rarely be a concern and I can actually go on a long vacation and still preserve all HD recordings while I am gone.

3. Having 30-sec skip back is a very nice bonus

4. Having first-run only season passes that actually work is a pretty big plus

I can learn to live without ESPNHD & TNTHD for most of the year and nothing else in digital lineup right now interests me much.


So you are going to miss Discovery Atlas HD?

All your positives are POSITIVE, but are they worth 1100!? Sheesh.

750 gig would be sweet, but to be honest I am going to wait for a MOXI house wide system. Ideally I could have 1 main DVR and view anywhere in my house, and possibly get an option for webtv (sling boxish) or ipod out...

Now that would be worth 1k.

I wish you luck, it sounds nice, but not 1000 nice :) Do you work from home? I don't have loads of time to watch most of my recordings.

I dunno- I like the TiVo interface vs. the Pioneer, and coincidentally I do work at home :) (and record a lot of "daily filler" shows that I let watch me while I work).

If I could get over the "switched video" problem, I'd get a S3. TiVo will eventually get around the as-yet-unexistant SW features. Thing is, will it still be hackable (I couldn't care less about extraction, though)?

The "switched video" (SDV) problem doesn't worry me too much anymore. Only the less popular channels will be employed with SDV to accomplish bandwidth savings. Also the whole SDV issue doesn't affect any OTA channels so if nothing else the S3 would continue to be useful in the extremely unlikely event most popular cable channels go SDV.

Since I don't yet have cablecards in the S3 (installation is scheduled for Monday) I've been using it strictly for OTA HD recordings and it's been very reliable so far - no signal dropouts. I didn't realize my OTA reception with a dinky indoor amplified antenna in the garage was that robust - so that was a nice surprise. Will probably drop digital cable completely during summer season.

I got to see my first series 3 in action yesterday, with two cable cards installed. I like the interface a lot. Can't wait for the Cox/Tivo product. Picture quality was pretty good, but not earth shakingly better than the 6413 at my house, and certainly not $800 better. Here are my reasons for not going with the Tivo.

1. No VOD, not now, and none in the future. It is not a two way cable device.
2. $800 is too much money for a marginal improvement in picture quality that will be a non issue when digital simucast gets to my town, sometime next year.
3. I will be able to get the Tivo interface on my Cox owned box sometime next year.

I think the Cox/Tivo is actually a big step down from current Passport Echo as you don't get the advantages of OTA recording and expandable disk space and you get stuck with the inferior Tivo GUI. Then again it's likely it will still be a better option than Iguide...

Another fairly big strike against Tivo I found last night... no screensaver!!

Wow, watching football today now I remember how invaluable having 30-sec skip really is... combine that with excellent picture quality from OTA HD recordings and my buyer's remorse for the Tivo S3 is starting to fade away real quick.

Also noticed that the digital simulcast channels also look better viewed through the S3 - I don't see the oversharpness and excessive pixelating as much. I suspect the 6416 decoder is flawed for SD digital as others have pointed out here.

It'd be nice if CBS 2 would pony up and show a freakin' football game in HD.

Am I missing the CBS HD Channel? Did they change it from 702?

Another fairly big strike against Tivo I found last night- no screensaver!!
"One man's meat ..." I HATE the screensaver on Passport, and wish I could disable it (so it acts like my TiVo!)

I am sure that eventually, Cox will enable the SATA port on the series 3 Motorola boxes to allow for additional storage.

Quite a nightmare, but I did get my Tivo S3 setup with dual cablecards tonight. The long story is here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4463204&&#post4463204

The good news is that via CableCards the channels < 100 are mapped to the digital simulcast channels just as with the set top boxes. And I can tell you they look MUCH better with the Tivo than via the DCT6416.

Also good news is that Tivo S3 has diagnostics where you can get frequencies that both tuners are tuned to along with other tuner information (similar to those in the DCT64xx) which I find very useful for updating my headend spreadsheet. So no need to keep the DCT for that purpose.

I will probably be keeping my DCT6416 mostly as a backup role for a while just to make sure the Tivo works reliably but I am a very happy camper right now...

The signal “protection box” is likely a surge suppressor designed as a sacrificial protective device to self destruct should an unsafe voltage somehow get onto your incoming or outgoing service wire. <snip> Works, I have a question about this but your PM inbox is apparently full and not accepting any more PMs (or you have PMs turned off). Thanks.

i'm interested too..

Hey moyekj,

I finally decided to connect my Dell I9300 (XP SP2, 17" WS, GoForce6800 256Mb) to the Moto DCT6416. (my Philips 55" HDTV finally broke...3 days left on the warranty...and waiting on parts...so the DVR is backing up!) I got them talking ok so far, my question is-your page deals with HD. I have some SD stuff I'd like to capture and burn to DVD. (mostly race's from Speed...last ever Audi R8 race at Lime Rock...and lots of LeMans Backed up too)

So I'm wondering if any steps should be ignored or what? I do most of the time have the Moto convert all to 480P. (excepting the HD material of course)

A breakdown in steps I need to follow would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

ps, this probably belongs in the other forum, but I know you frequent this joint often! :D

JET, actually the current procedure is identical for HD and SD transport streams using HDTV2DVD (the program name is a little misleading):
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#Making_a_DVD_titleset_the_easy_way_from

If you need to strip out commercials first you can edit out commercials from the capture through HDTVtoMPEG2 first as outlined in above link. Just make sure to save as a single transport stream instead of program stream since that's the input HDTV2DVD wants.

NOTE: The output settings you choose for your DCT6416 have no effect on the firewire captures. With firewire capture you are capturing the raw transport stream from the headend at whatever resolution & bitrate is being sent.

Too cool! And thanks for the quick response!

Another question, any idea of the average meg's (MB's) per hour for SD and HD? Hoping I don't need to delete some games off that hard drive partition.

Another question, any idea of the average meg's (MB's) per hour for SD and HD? Hoping I don't need to delete some games off that hard drive partition. No simple answer to that as they can vary quite a lot per channel and program. This gives you some ballpark numbers for rough estimates:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Sample_Mpeg2_Transport_Stream
i.e. 1080i about 8-9GB/hour, 720p about 5-6GB/hour, 480i digital about 1.7GB/hour

Ok, cool. I have a good 20Gb of room. I'm running a 2 hours race as a test. Wish I could pause the Recording during commercials, save some post processing.

Another question, bringing up the guide while recording...that wont show on the recording will it?

Another question, bringing up the guide while recording...that wont show on the recording will it? Nope, graphic overlays don't show up on firewire output so bringing up guide during capture is not an issue. Be very careful not to use any trick functions (pause, ff, rew, etc) though or you will screw up the transport stream (causing audio/video sync issues). Also note you will have to reboot the DCT6416 once done with captures since ff/rew will no longer work during playback.

Ahhhh.....actually FF/rew does work...but real crappy! I was recording the 2 hour event, but forgot to change the default 30min in the box...so it stopped while I was napping. Erased what it did, rew than restarted. Took a few rew/ff to get to the spot and it was real slow! And this time I put 121 in that box. :D

Am I doing something wrong? I used H2M to remove the commercials and output to a .ts. What it did was create many .ts's...Can H2D re-assemble all those bits? Do I need to re-assemble them?

Thanks!

Am I doing something wrong? I used H2M to remove the commercials and output to a .ts. What it did was create many .ts's...Can H2D re-assemble all those bits? Do I need to re-assemble them?

Thanks! You should set Max Size to some big number like 50000 to prevent the output from being broken up into multiple files.

KJ - I did notice a couple weeks ago that my ESPN was looking better....and now it looks even better = maybe it is just my eyes.


I have the Cox OC HD service and I also noticed that the quality of HD content was not always the same. I noticed it on Discovery HD a few days ago. However, today I was watching it and the picture quality was the best I have ever seen for Discovery HD. Does the signal/picture quality from Cox actually fluctuate? I have the non-DVR HD box.

On another note... Any word on when Cox Orange County is going to add National Geographic HD?

Well I am finally back home. Unfortunately it appears one of my DVR's (6416) failed to record any of my shows while I was gone. Not even one worked correctly. I think I might need to replace the box. Very upsetting.

I see that we have 3-5 TEST channels right now. Hopefully they are adding something good.

On a side note.... When I viewed ESPNHD just now it looked MUCH MUCH better than it did before I left. Hopefully it will look this good during the live HD sports programming.

Guys, question for ya:

I've been doing the firewire transfer "system" then making DVD's out of the .ts files, but it's a drawn out pain in the azz sometimes. Now, i've seen how low $$ DVD recorders and even HD-DVD recorders are nowadays and I'm wondering wouldn't a DVD recorder do the exact same thing we're doing now without all the transferring back and forth?

Or are there restrictions of what a DVD recorder can do/record?

Well, had some time and did a little research and now have a good understanding of what a DVD recorder can and can't do.

good article/site here:

http://www.timefordvd.com/tutorial/HDDVDTutorial.shtml

I still will probably get one, but just one I know will be for SD channels only.

I have the Cox OC HD service and I also noticed that the quality of HD content was not always the same. I noticed it on Discovery HD a few days ago. However, today I was watching it and the picture quality was the best I have ever seen for Discovery HD. Does the signal/picture quality from Cox actually fluctuate? I have the non-DVR HD box.

On another note... Any word on when Cox Orange County is going to add National Geographic HD?

I can't say for sure, but it does seem to fluctuate......I don't know when we will get NG in HD...

TJ

Guys, question for ya:

I've been doing the firewire transfer "system" then making DVD's out of the .ts files, but it's a drawn out pain in the azz sometimes. Now, i've seen how low $$ DVD recorders and even HD-DVD recorders are nowadays and I'm wondering wouldn't a DVD recorder do the exact same thing we're doing now without all the transferring back and forth?

Or are there restrictions of what a DVD recorder can do/record? Going the DVD recorder route is quite a huge hit in quality:
* transport stream (digital) -> analog output of the DCT -> real time encode to mpeg2 by DVD recorder.
* So that's D->A->D conversions (all of which lose picture quality at each step) and also note that real time mpeg encoding is sub-optimal - remember back in the days before digital simulcast how crappy the encoded from analog channels looked on the DCT.
* Also another point is the DCT cannot put out anamorphic widescreen to analog outputs so any HD content you record from them will be letterboxed.
* One final point is I think most DVD recorders won't take Dolby Digital 5.1 input for audio so you are stuck with stereo for audio which then probably gets re-encoded back to DD 2.1

On the other hand via firewire capture the process is:
* transport stream (digital) -> re-encode to DVD compatible mpeg2 (digital)
* So no D->A->D conversions and not real time encoding and the resulting DVD from HD recordings is anamorphic widescreen - so no letterboxing.
* Also for HD shows the original DD 5.1 soundtrack is preserved (and for digital channels the DD 2.1).
* Finally you may choose not to re-encode to DVD in which case you have the original untouched transport stream and various options to display them around the house.
* Also, another huge advantage of this method is you can edit out commercials as desired.

Bottom line - resulting picture and audio quality is vastly superior via firewire capture and for material with commercials you can edit them out.

Did anyone notice Cox upped their Internet speeds to 6mbps or 12mbps for premium. I just got an ad in the mail stating this has been around since august. I did a speed test and get 4970kbps / 456 kbps in Irvine

Yep - They did so in August!!!

I must agree with moyekj about DVD recorders. I foolishly purchased one of these a couple years ago and havent been impressed with the results at all. I bought a Panasonic DVD Video Recorder DMR-E20 as an open box item from Circuit City for around $400. I saw cnet.com's review and thought it looked nice.

I didn't do much homework before buying a DVD recorder so my knowledge was very limited. I thought it would record the programs digitally without any lose of quality. Unfortunately that isn't the case. Even at the highest quality setting (XP) there is loss of quality and you only get 1 hour of recording time. SP (two hours) is better than VRC quality but there is an even bigger loss in quality. The other two settings LP (four hours) and EP (six hours) are absolutely worthless and looked worse that VCR recordings to me.

I havent used my DVD Recorder to record anything in literally over a year. Maybe the newer models perform better but at this time moyekj's guide to converting .TS files seems like the best way to go if quality is your top concern. If you are like me and lucky enough to have a DVI output on your computer and an DVI input on your HDTV you can just use VLC Player to watch all of your recorded programs without converting anything simply using your computer as the player.

I have to agree with the DVD burning quality issue. I bought a stand alone DVD burner and the only thing I use it for now is to record movies from my standard digital box to DVD for the family cottage. No cable there, but sometimes it rains during my vacation. It does an OK job for that, but I wouldn't use it for anything else.

moyekj,

Question, are all the old HDMI issues fixed with the current 6416 Box? I never needed it before, but my 4yr old Philips 55" RP HDTV is having some issues and the BB ext warranty tech made the decision (and got approval) to have BB replace it. So I'm looking at a new JVC or Sony LCoS 1080P unit....with a good chance I'd hook up to the HDMI. (once I got a cable since I doubt they come with the sets!)

Also, my attempt at DVD creation I outlined before took my 2gb 2 hour .ts and made it 7Gb's large! Needless to say that won't fit on one regular DVD. When I have time I may PM you for some help.....

Thanks!

Yes, the HDMI issues were reportedly fixed since Motorola Firmware 12.27 (OC is on 12.31). I returned my DCT6416 to Quail Hill yesterday (as it was sitting unused since I got the Tivo S3, so no sense paying the $15/month for it).

I capture HD programs (using a PC capture card) and author them to DVD every week using HDTV2DVD without issue. Make sure to use the Auto Fit button in HDTV2DVD.

Too Cool, thanks Bud!

Just read the test on the S3 in the new S&V, nice....but way outta my price range! LOL!

It looks like titantv.com is now listing MHD (MTV's HD Channel) for our area. I don't see it yet on our guide though and titantv doesn't have any show listings.

Normally I might think this is just a mistake but titantv also was the first source available indicating we were going to receive UniversalHD. We also have 4 or 5 TEST channels right now.

It isn't my top HD channel choice (I think CinemaxHD is my top request right now that they are airing the Star Wars movies and I would probably take the HDNET channels before it also) but its still nice to see COX possibly add more HD channels for our area finally.

Right there with you Rock. I want HDNet channels bad, and CinemaxHD. MTV was interesting.....15yrs ago.

Thanks for the reply. I just hope this upgrade in picture quality is here to stay.

Another question.... As far as the DVR-HD Motorola boxes go, I believe Cox has two different models? I thought I read on here that one model is better than the other as far as picture quality goes. If thats true, which model is the better one? Reason I ask is that I have a Panasonic TH-42PWD8UK in my bedroom with the non-DVR HD box and picture quality is amazing for it being a EDTV. However, on the Panasonic TH-42PX6U which has a DVR-HD box, standard defenition doesn't look nearly as good as it does on the 8UK. And I'm not playing around when I say HD content looks better on the 8UK too. The 8UK is using a DVI to HDMI connection and the 6U is using a HDMI to HDMI connection. Could it be my box? Thanks in advance.

What model of HD DVR do you have. The 6416 by Motorola does a better job with analog. I thought the OC is all digital with a box.

ajwees41

There is no analog in OC anymore if using a digital box. However the 6416 sharpness level for SD digital is way too high - the 6412 phase II/III box is better for SD digital for some reason. I now am using the Tivo S3 and SD digital is MUCH improved compared to the 6416 I had. I think there is something not right with the 6416 decoder for SD digital - HD is OK. In this very thread I complained about this before and there were others that returned their 6416 because they noticed the problem as well. Also, at least in my case (with my LCD TV) I always found the component output better (more contrast) than the HDMI output which seemed too washed out.

I actually found letting it upvert to 480p made for a much better looking (though slight stretch on the sides which I quickly got used too) SD picture on my old 55" Philips RPTV using the 6416. Better then my last boxes IMO....or I just don't remember! Of course on our 26" CRT in the bedroom connected to a Non-HD Digital box looks way better over that, but small CRT's always look great with that stuff.

It will be interesting Wednesday when the LCoS Set is delivered. I went surprisingly for the 61" model. (Brought the Wife...she looked...said Size Matters! LOL!) Much brighter screen, no reflections, I can watch daytime TV again. :D

Good note on the HDMI vs Component. I have a HDMI Cable ordered. I'll try both ways after some tuning up.......

Anyone need a Custom made Ram Electronic Componet to D-Sub cable? I'm not going to need it once they haul the Philips out of here.....Guess I sell it in a Philips forum somewhere.....

Okay I hope you guys don't think I'm a dumb ass when it comes to some of this stuff because I'm still fairly new to this.

I don't know what model box I have. How do I find out? All I know is that it is Motorola and it's DVR-HD. I guess the big question I should be asking is, which one SHOULD I have in order to improve my Standard Definition picture quality? Thanks.

Okay I hope you guys don't think I'm a dumb ass when it comes to some of this stuff because I'm still fairly new to this.

I don't know what model box I have. How do I find out? All I know is that it is Motorola and it's DVR-HD. I guess the big question I should be asking is, which one SHOULD I have in order to improve my Standard Definition picture quality? Thanks.

You can tell what model you have by looking on the front of your DVR box. It should be on the right hand side of the box. It will say something like DCT6412 III or DCT6416.

It seems like all agree that the 6412 III offers much better SD picture quality than the newer 6416. Unfortunately the 6412 III has much less hard drive space to record shows. In fact I believe it has 40 GIGS less than the 6416.

I still don't understand how each new box that comes out from Motorola is inferior in many ways to its predecessor. I have both boxes (6412III and 6416) and both fall far short as far as SD picture quality.

Bottom line: If SD picture quality is your main concern choose the 6412 III. If hard drive space and a HDMI output is your main concern get the 6416.

Agree with The Rock. I've had literally every model of the dvr boxes and I like the 6412 III the best for picture quality. My wife and kids watch a lot of SD channels and we HATED the digital "pixelization" that the 6416 showed.

I wish I had the 40 gigs more to use. but picture quality is most important to us.

Oh, our 6412 III has HDMI output as well.

Yes, the HDMI issues were reportedly fixed since Motorola Firmware 12.27 (OC is on 12.31). I returned my DCT6416 to Quail Hill yesterday (as it was sitting unused since I got the Tivo S3, so no sense paying the $15/month for it).

I capture HD programs (using a PC capture card) and author them to DVD every week using HDTV2DVD without issue. Make sure to use the Auto Fit button in HDTV2DVD.


moyekj,

What HD capture card are you using on your PC?

I'm thinking of getting an updated video/DVR card for my PC. I have the ATI All in One Wonder that I can record SD channels on and play/burn, but it's a little out of date and only has 128 mb ram.

moyekj,

What HD capture card are you using on your PC?

I'm thinking of getting an updated video/DVR card for my PC. I have the ATI All in One Wonder that I can record SD channels on and play/burn, but it's a little out of date and only has 128 mb ram. I'm using DVICO Fusion 5 USB tuner (I only have a laptop so a USB interface was a must):
http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/eng/Products/HDTV5usb.aspx
which you can buy for $149 from many places (I bought from here):
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/fusion5usb.asp

It's by far the cheapest HD card with USB interface (so can use with laptops) capable of OTA and unencrypted QAM captures. However I cannot in good faith recommend it to anyone as the software/firmware is really crappy. I use it in conjunction with some 3rd party software (Record_This) for occasional automated scheduling. It works most of the time but I had occasional crashes in QAM mode. I've since switched to OTA mode which seems a little more stable.

I wouldn't rely on it for a dedicated HTPC solution however if that's what you are looking for. If you want a more stable/reliable alternative and USB is not a requirement for you then I'd go with: MyHD MDP-130:
http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/Video/mdp130.asp

Did anybody notice the new NBC logo on the tonight show last night? Not only is there a big peacock with the letters HD in the bottom left corner. but there is also a clock/weather bar down at the 4x3 cut off. I haven't checked recently but I do hope that bar has been removed.

Very annoying!

EDIT: Just watched last night's episode and they took off the weather/clock bar.

Damn. My box doesn't want to tune onto UniversalHD. This is unfortunate because I planned to record or watch several movies that are airing today. "The Lonely Guy", "Liar, Liar", and "The Nutty Professor". All of these appear to be broadcast today only.

I really want to see COX get off there ass and offer us CinemaxHD. Trying to watch these Star Wars movies in SD is painful. They also seem to be practicing borderline false advertising. When I watched a STARZ movie Ondemand it advertised how "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was being offered in HIGH DEFINITION. I guess they run that promo for all of the cable companys even if they don't offer any of the STARZ programs in HD. Lame. For a second I thought the HD channel had been added. Or at the very least they would offer that one movie in HD from Starz ondemand.

Mine isn't HD, but I love my DVD recorder -- I've had a Panasonic DMR E-80 for a few years now. I used it to transfer over 100 videotapes, mostly stuff not available on DVD, and for that alone it was worth it.

These days I use it to archive a few shows as they air -- sometimes I just keep them until the DVD sets are released, then I give them away. But some of them I just keep, like HBO shows, since their DVD sets are so expensive, and I'd rather wait for an HD format. There are some older shows I like that I'm pretty sure will never be on DVD -- like First Wave and The Crow:STH, and I've used the DVD recorder in combination with loaned tapes and Sci-Fi Channel re-airings to put together my own DVDs. They aren't pristine, but considering the alternative is nothing, I'm happy to have them.

The recorder came in amazing handy the first season of Lost -- I started recording it from the beginning, and as the show picked up popularity, I made disc after disc of those first few episodes to help people catch up. It also came in handy for pimping Veronica Mars and Battlestar Galactica :)

Right now, since it isn't in HD, I'm not watching The Wire week to week -- I'm dumping all the episodes to the DVD recorder, and burning them to disc so I can watch after everything else goes into reruns.

Since it has a hard drive, it also serves as a nice backup DVR if I'm going away, since I still don't trust the Motorola box not to frak up.

The biggest problem with the Panasonic, for me, was just learning all the features -- it's not TiVo-like and intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, it's not hard. All in all, it's been a very handy thing to have over the past few years.

MHD (MTV HD) is now up and running. No guide data yet though. Looks and sounds really good although there logo sucks hard.

Got home tonight and my Tivo S3 had a message about a whole bunch of changes to the channel lineup (it's really nice it tells you when there is a change/update!):
Added Channels
342 Sprout
353 Boom
366 G4P
749 MTVHD
808 KABCDT3

Deleted Channels
353 G4

Moved Channels
54->105 DHCP
73->54 TLCP
105->106 NOGN
106->110 SHOPNBC
342->365 BETJ

Also, the Tivo already has guide listings with full descriptions for 749=MTVHD

NOTE: After some analysis looks like Analog version of 73 (TLC) was moved to make room for MTVHD which now occupies RF 73. It was moved to analog channel 54 in place of Discovery Health which is now only available in digital tier as channel 105. Guess I'll have to update the headend spreadsheet with all these changes.

good and bad. I am always excited by new HD content, and perhaps MTV HD was a welcome add, since NGCHD would be redundant to DHD theater, but PLEASE ADD NGCHD!

Anyone actually getting 808? I've got a subscription screen on that channel.

T


Got home tonight and my Tivo S3 had a message about a whole bunch of changes to the channel lineup (it's really nice it tells you when there is a change/update!):
Added Channels
342 Sprout
353 Boom
366 G4P
749 MTVHD
808 KABCDT3

Deleted Channels
353 G4

Moved Channels
54->105 DHCP
73->54 TLCP
105->106 NOGN
106->110 SHOPNBC
342->365 BETJ

Also, the Tivo already has guide listings with full descriptions for 749=MTVHD

NOTE: After some analysis looks like Analog version of 73 (TLC) was moved to make room for MTVHD which now occupies RF 73. It was moved to analog channel 54 in place of Discovery Health which is now only available in digital tier as channel 105. Guess I'll have to update the headend spreadsheet with all these changes.

Anyone actually getting 808? I've got a subscription screen on that channel.

T 808 is blacked out right now, but the real KABCDT3 7-3 OTA signal does broadcast content. RF 99 QAM 256 channel is pretty crowded already so I hope this signal is not activated, at least not while on 99. All the following are on 99 right now:
HBOZONE W (480i)
KABC HD (720p)
KTTV HD (720p)
KABCDT2 (480i)
KABCDT3 (480i)

Didn't think I'd care but actually MTVHD is a very good addition. It actually plays music most of the time (as opposed to MTV which is pretty much everything but music these days) and makes for good background - and once in a while I can look up and see nice clean video to go along with the music.

Hey moyekj. Do you use the same drivers"motorola6412_firewire.zip" for all Motorola boxes? I have only used my 6412 III box to send shows to my PC. I want to try and send some programs from my 6416 to my laptop but I didn't want to install the drivers until I knew if it would work. My Laptop doesn't have any of the drivers installed yet and I didn't want to have conflicts in case I had to install different ones later.

Hey moyekj. Do you use the same drivers"motorola6412_firewire.zip" for all Motorola boxes? I have only used my 6412 III box to send shows to my PC. I want to try and send some programs from my 6416 to my laptop but I didn't want to install the drivers until I knew if it would work. My Laptop doesn't have any of the drivers installed yet and I didn't want to have conflicts in case I had to install different ones later. Yes, same package should work. It worked with my 6416 III before I returned it to Cox. Same issues apply - namely you lose FF/REW capability after using and have to reboot to restore. If you want an easier way to install drivers (using an installer) you should try this:
http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/44138.aspx
All you need is to install the drivers from that package not the other MCE-related things.
It makes it easier because you just install ahead of time (before ever plugging in firewire cable) and then it's ready to go the 1st time you connect firewire cable - i.e. once you connect cable there is no driver install needed. Just bring up CapDVHS and start the capture.

Thanks. I will try that. Thanks again for the quick reply.

Hmm, what's the difference between 808 KABCDT3 and 707 KABCHD? is the 808 NOT HD? Is it just Channel 7 again? what would be the point of three channle 7's?

Will check out MTVHD tonight. My little girl is in love with Sprout TV already, whereas I'm feeling like I was a kid again watching some of the old school toons on Boomerang. Ahhh memories...now those were good cartoons!

Hmm, what's the difference between 808 KABCDT3 and 707 KABCHD? is the 808 NOT HD? Is it just Channel 7 again? what would be the point of three channel 7's? The Los Angeles Over The Air (OTA) digital transmission of ABC includes 3 sub-channels:
7-1 = KABCDT (ABC HD, 720p=>HD, Cox channel is 707)
7-2 = KABCDT2 (news, 480i=>SD, Cox channel is 807)
7-3 = KABCDT3 (weather, 480i=>SD, Cox channel is 808)
Perhaps for contractual reasons since Cox is re-transmitting ABC HD then they also are forced to re-transmit the other sub-channels available OTA as well.

Channel 7 is the analog OTA transmission (SD) which Cox re-transmits also on channel 7. To further complicate things Cox is simulcasting that re-transmission as both an analog and digital version. So really there are a total of 5 ABC versions carried by Cox considering all the above.

NOTE: NBC OTA has 3 sub-channels and only 2 carried by Cox and I believe the PBS that Cox is re-transmitting has several OTA sub-channels Cox is not re-transmitting, so perhaps the contract with Disney over the ABC channel re-transmission has different requirements than others.

Did anyone else have a problem with Medium last night? I just started watching, and the teaser has 2.0 sound -- music and some fx, no dialogue. Commercials are fine, I come back at around :10 and the problem is the same...

Was it just me?

okay, never mind, sorry -- went to SD about a minute after it came back from the break, then fixed with 5.1 a few minutes later.

So did that Cox employee ever come back? Seems like he only posted once or twice and that was to let us know he planned to help inform us in the future.

Can someone here tell me how I can utilize the Audio (Red and white) and video (yellow) plugs on the front of my Motorola box? It is a HD non-DVR. I want to hook up the audio from my Playstation to the cable box because it is hooked up to the surround sound and I dont want to have to switch the cables everytime I want to use it. Is this feature disabled? Thanks in advance.

Can someone here tell me how I can utilize the Audio (Red and white) and video (yellow) plugs on the front of my Motorola box? It is a HD non-DVR. I want to hook up the audio from my Playstation to the cable box because it is hooked up to the surround sound and I dont want to have to switch the cables everytime I want to use it. Is this feature disabled? Thanks in advance. Not 100% sure about the non-DVR box but on the DVR box those front inputs are disabled, so I would venture to guess the same is true on the non-DVR Moto box. The amplifier you are using for surround sound system doesn't have multiple video and audio inputs? That would be the best way to hook things up - switching all A/V devices through the amp.

Vista, Media Center, severe video distorion on analog channels.
I am using a Hauppauge 150PVR tuner with Vista RC2 and PQ is terrible when I use Media Center.
When I run the Hauppauge WinTV2k applicaiton the PQ is fine.
If I tell Vista Media Center that I have an antenna connected instead of Cox OC I get the first 13 channels fine and none after that.
I have been told by Hauppauge that Vista thinks that Cox is using Cable-HRC instead of standard cable, does this make sense?
Is anyone else that has had this problem solved it?
Does anyone running MCE2005 instead of Vista Media Center have this problem?

It would certainly explain the distortion on analog. HRC video carriers are not at the exact same frequency as STD. For example CH 20 STD the video is 157.2500 MHz, on HRC it is 156.0078 MHz.

I just bought a new HDTV. So I'm about to upgrade my Cox service to get the HD channels. Is there any issues with using the cablecard slot vs. getting a box from Cox? I know I'll lose OnDemand and Cox's channel guide, but my TV is supposed to have TV Guide and I'm never going to use OnDemand so it's not a big deal if there are no other issues.

I also have a series2 Tivo, but I don't mind viewing recorded shows in SD so if the Cablecard works it would be a great option for me to save some $$.

Appreciate any advice you guys can give on this.

I just bought a new HDTV. So I'm about to upgrade my Cox service to get the HD channels. Is there any issues with using the cablecard slot vs. getting a box from Cox? I know I'll lose OnDemand and Cox's channel guide, but my TV is supposed to have TV Guide and I'm never going to use OnDemand so it's not a big deal if there are no other issues.

I also have a series2 Tivo, but I don't mind viewing recorded shows in SD so if the Cablecard works it would be a great option for me to save some $$.

Appreciate any advice you guys can give on this. I'm using a Tivo Series 3 with 2 cablecards with no issues. You may have an issue getting the TV's TV Guide to work since it currently relies on analog version of PBS channel for guide information and with cable card inserted your TV may not be able to see the analog version of the PBS channel (because Cox OC has full digital simulcast of the analog channels and cablecards map to these digital versions). This issue was discussed in this very thread several months ago. It's unclear if the problem was ever solved or not.

when connecting cox cable to new hdtv with qam tuner (without going through stb), I am able to see the hd channels (non-subscription) and the 9xx (music and radio station) channels but none of the basic or extended digital channels (I do have basic/extended subscription). Is this the expected behavior? (I did see some earlier posts in this thread asking similar questions but no responses to indicate what others actually saw). Thanks for any responses!

when connecting cox cable to new hdtv with qam tuner (without going through stb), I am able to see the hd channels (non-subscription) and the 9xx (music and radio station) channels but none of the basic or extended digital channels (I do have basic/extended subscription). Is this the expected behavior? (I did see some earlier posts in this thread asking similar questions but no responses to indicate what others actually saw). Thanks for any responses! There are several SD digital locals that are unencrypted that you should be able to see. Most of them are on:
RF channel # 26 (237MHz) (i.e. 26-1, 26-2, etc)
RF channel # 82 (573MHz)
RF channel # 90 (671MHz)
There are a few others scattered here and there. For a full fairly up to date headend map consult my spreadsheet (2nd link in my sig below).

Hi all!

Anyone know which box I need for HDMI? Do I need the one with the recorder? Thanks.

Hi all!

Anyone know which box I need for HDMI? Do I need the one with the recorder? Thanks.

I could be wrong but I think the only box with the HDMI connection is the Motorola DCT6416 DVR. It is the High Definition DVR. I am not sure about the nonDVR HD boxes but I am 99% sure the basic cable boxes don't have this connection.

Hi all!

Anyone know which box I need for HDMI? Do I need the one with the recorder? Thanks. Yes. The non-DVR HD box is the DCT6200 which only has component HD output. Here's a picture of the back:
http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers/images/dct6200_back.jpg
DVR service only costs you an extra $5/month compared to non-DVR HD box which is well worth it...

Just moved to Orange County and just started the Cox DVR/HD service. Got my 60" SXRD connected to the Motorola 6416 III. The SD picture is pretty crappy and the HD picture is hit and miss. MTVHD seems to come in the best, but ESPNHD is pretty bad. Is this normal for Cox or is it my setup?

Welcome to Cox OC. No it is not your set up.

niesman

That's too bad. I was hoping it was something I could fix. Good thing I'm on their half off promotion. I guess I'll try it out and see if it improves. If not I may have to consider DirecTV or Dish once the promotion runs out.

Just moved to Orange County and just started the Cox DVR/HD service. Got my 60" SXRD connected to the Motorola 6416 III. The SD picture is pretty crappy and the HD picture is hit and miss. MTVHD seems to come in the best, but ESPNHD is pretty bad. Is this normal for Cox or is it my setup? Yes it's actually not the Cox transmissions that are bad for SD digital - it's the DCT6416-III box that does a very lousy job decoding them. The DCT6412-III or the earlier DCT6412-II are better. I recently switched to a Tivo series 3 and SD digital improved by leaps and bounds. HD picture quality improved also, but to a much lesser degree.

I could be wrong but I think the only box with the HDMI connection is the Motorola DCT6416 DVR. It is the High Definition DVR. I am not sure about the nonDVR HD boxes but I am 99% sure the basic cable boxes don't have this connection.


The DCT6412 III also has HDMI, I didn't upgrade to the 6416 because of the reports of poor SD quality on it.

Yes it's actually not the Cox transmissions that are bad for SD digital - it's the DCT6416-III box that does a very lousy job decoding them. The DCT6412-III or the earlier DCT6412-II are better. I recently switched to a Tivo series 3 and SD digital improved by leaps and bounds. HD picture quality improved also, but to a much lesser degree.

KJ - How bout an update on your cable card setup. Early on in the cable card rollout I heard some horror stories with the cable card losing it's configuration and folks having to resetup everything several times..... This was over a year ago when I read that, so maybe it was just early adopter pains.....

Once you got yours setup - have you had any ongoing issues?

Thanks,
Tom

KJ - How bout an update on your cable card setup. Early on in the cable card rollout I heard some horror stories with the cable card losing it's configuration and folks having to resetup everything several times..... This was over a year ago when I read that, so maybe it was just early adopter pains.....

Once you got yours setup - have you had any ongoing issues?

Thanks,
Tom Very happy to say - no trouble whatsoever with either of the cablecards in my Tivo S3 since the 3+ hour installation fiasco. Perhaps now the CC installation is also less painful since presumably Cox OC has done a few more of these by now and learned from them.

The DCT6412 III also has HDMI, I didn't upgrade to the 6416 because of the reports of poor SD quality on it.

Hmmm. Thats weird. I would have sworn my DCT6412 III only had a DVI connection. Just checked and you were right. Guess I was remembering incorrectly. I have used every box COX has offered so my memory sometimes gets messed up.

On a side note.... Are there any cables or devices that can go from a HDMI to DVI? My HDTV doesn't have HDMI. Only DVI. I know only the video would go through and not the sound. I have been happy using the component connection but I might buy a Next Gen video game system and want to use the connection for that.

DCT6412-II or earlier have DVI instead of HDMI. Yes there are many DVI/HDMI converters. The conversion is actually just different pinout (and of course no audio), so there is no active conversion being done. You can buy them very cheaply online. I paid pretty big bucks at Best Buy since I was in a hurry at the time. (My TV only has DVI as well). I'm sure if you google HDMI to DVI you will find plenty of hits.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=dvi+hdmi

this should help.

Thanks guys. Might need to check that out soon. Its insane how much difference buying online can be sometimes. Awhile ago I wanted to buy a DVI cable. Circuitcity and BestBuy had them for around $99. I checked online and I got it for well under $20.

Especially for a digital cable. Is a $100+ cable going to make the ones and zeros any faster than a $20 cable? Same thing with the optical cables. As long as the data doesn't become corupted along the way an inexpensive cable should have no perceptible difference to an expensive one.

TitanTV is now listing ESPN2HD instead of INHD2. Guess that is the channel we will be getting when INHD2 shuts down. There are no changes in my official COX channel guide. There also don't appear to be any TEST channels right now.

ESPN2HD is listed as channel 716 by titantv
INHD is now listed as channel 717 by titantv

Its nice to see that something better than INHD2 is being added but I must admit I was hopeful the next HD channel added would be CinemaxHD.

TitanTV is now listing ESPN2HD instead of INHD2. Guess that is the channel we will be getting when INHD2 shuts down. There are no changes in my official COX channel guide. There also don't appear to be any TEST channels right now.

ESPN2HD is listed as channel 716 by titantv
INHD is now listed as channel 717 by titantv

Its nice to see that something better than INHD2 is being added but I must admit I was hopeful the next HD channel added would be CinemaxHD. That will be awesome if we do indeed get ESPN2HD... too bad it wasn't in time for World Cup Soccer a few months back. In the past your TitanTV trick has been accurate in predicting upcoming new additions such as MHD so let's hope it holds true again. I never watch the INHD channels anyway so replacing with ESPN2HD even though HD content is not that much is a plus in my mind. I would really have liked to see Fox Sports Net HD added as a sports channel if I had my choice (for Lakers games).

A quick search turned up announced ESPN2 HD launches in at least 2 other Cox markets this month:
Cox San Diego (Dec 11):
http://www.cox.com/sandiego/whatsnew/20061113-espn2hd.asp

Cox Central Georgia (Dec 18):
http://www.cox.com/middlega/

So definately seems likely to appear soon in Cox OC as well.

LOL, why is it that most other Cox areas/cities get new channels before us? Plus, the San Diego website really keeps the consumer up to date about "What's New" and their plans. Cox OC? ZIP..NADA.... no info at all. :mad:

I hope we get ESPN2HD but would rather have FSNHD first. (Angels, Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, )

All I've ever seen posted here is that ESPNHD sucks. Very little genuine HD content and when it is HD, it's very poor quality. What the heck do we need a second ESPN HD channel for???

And of course this probably means we're losing a free channel that is being replaced with a premium channel.

FSNHD, HDNET, KCET, CinemaxHD,,, lots of others I'd like to see added before ESPN2.

All I've ever seen posted here is that ESPNHD sucks. Very little genuine HD content and when it is HD, it's very poor quality. What the heck do we need a second ESPN HD channel for???

And of course this probably means we're losing a free channel that is being replaced with a premium channel.

FSNHD, HDNET, KCET, CinemaxHD,,, lots of others I'd like to see added before ESPN2.


In all fairness ESPNHD has improved a bit as of late. The picture quality is slightly better and there are more and more events being offered in HD. I honestly don't understand why ESPN even made a second HD channel though. But like most I would much rather see different HD channels added before this one. CinemaxHD, HDNET, HDNET MOVIES, FSNHD, STARZHD, and even TMCHD I would personally add before ESPN2HD. Especially CinemaxHD. Not only do they offer the better versions of movies (unedited, directors cut, etc...) but they are also offering all of the Star Wars and Alien movies recently. In the end I am just happy we are receiving more and more HD channels. I remember for a long time it was some seriously slim pickings. The only advantage back then was COX didn't enable the 5c protection.

Hard to believe someone SOMEWHERE hasn't been able to come up with something to reverse the 5c protection. Seems like some brilliant mind somewhere always comes up with a "crack" for everything else.

Hard to believe someone SOMEWHERE hasn't been able to come up with something to reverse the 5c protection. Seems like some brilliant mind somewhere always comes up with a "crack" for everything else.

I tend to believe that there are people who have "cracked" or exploited the 5c technology. I also believe that they don't make there tips, tricks, or software available to the masses because they want it to remain working for themselves and/or dont want to be sued. Like you said... there are tons of very smart people out there. Nothing is impossible. I am sure someone out there has done something by now. Unfortunately for most people they are out of luck. I still think the whole 5c protection is bull. I pay a sh*tload of money every month for this programming. I should be able to copy it. I can understand them punishing people who are profiting (selling bootleg copies) but I think it is very wrong to punish people who just want to make a backup copy.

DTCP (better known as 5C) is extremely difficult to crack since encryption key is at least 56 bits. With a boatload of distributed computing power you can try all combinations to discover the key using all 2^56 combinations, but then it changes every 2 minutes, so you would only be able to crack 2 minutes of video for all that effort. Furthermore each device storing the content has it's own unique encryption so it's impossible to have a generic deciphering routine for content arriving from arbitrary sources... The media industry was serious about getting this one right after the DVD CSS debacle.

I wouldn't have a problem with 5c if the movies were affordable and or available. Try and buy the movie "Fletch". Out of print. So what are my options? If the music and movie industry would make the product affordable, people wouldn't bother with illegal copying of the content. When you buy blank media for $0.20, paying $20 seems like a rip off and inspires me to look elsewhere for the content.

Try and buy the movie "Fletch". Out of print. So what are my options?
I know what you were really getting at (and not trying to be an ass ... really!) but there's a few DVD copies available on froogle.google.com .

There was a Cox ad in the OC Register today that had ESPN2 listed in the HD tier along with ESPN and Discovery. I called Cox and the third person I was sent to told me that it has been launched in San Diego and is coming to Orange County but he could not tell me when. It will replace IN HD2 - ch 717.
It's pretty weak to be advertising something that they can't even tell when it will be available.

There was a Cox ad in the OC Register today that had ESPN2 listed in the HD tier along with ESPN and Discovery. I called Cox and the third person I was sent to told me that it has been launched in San Diego and is coming to Orange County but he could not tell me when. It will replace IN HD2 - ch 717.
It's pretty weak to be advertising something that they can't even tell when it will be available.

They cant tell you because there techs dont know sh*t

Wow, I was pleasantly shocked tonight - KCALDT (OTA 9-1) actually carried the Lakers game at Houston as a true HD broadcast, and a good one at that! I hope it will continue. I'm glad I have the Tivo S3 so I can record OTA channels now as well since Cox doesn't carry that channel. I'm surprised Cox OC has not already added that HD channel before... maybe this will give them good reason to add it.

Wow, I was pleasantly shocked tonight - KCALDT (OTA 9-1) actually carried the Lakers game at Houston as a true HD broadcast, and a good one at that! I hope it will continue. I'm glad I have the Tivo S3 so I can record OTA channels now as well since Cox doesn't carry that channel. I'm surprised Cox OC has not already added that HD channel before... maybe this will give them good reason to add it.


Wow. That is great news. I normally only watch those KCAL 9 shows when I am really really desperate for some basketball. Nice to hear that they finally aired a game in HD. Is that the first thing they have ever aired in HD? I cant recall seeing anything in HD on that channel before. Thanks for the info. I will have to make sure I check out future broadcasts.

I woke up this morning to find my boxes updated to Echo 2.7.044/TC 12.35 installed here in Irvine.

So far, there's more information in the "DVR List" box, and "Quick Tips" come up.

I woke up this morning to find my boxes updated to Echo 2.7.044/TC 12.35 installed here in Irvine.

So far, there's more information in the "DVR List" box, and "Quick Tips" come up.


Yeah, same here. Seemed a bit slower to respond to Remote inputs also.

First I've heard we're losing INHD-2......I actually watch both INHD's quite a bit. While I'll enjoy ESPNHD2, it's no replacement for the content INHD carried, from funky old movies, sports, travel, and music. I imagine INHD-1 can get by with less repeating of shows... The only worthy replacement would be HDNet IMO.....and who knows when Cox here will pony up for one of the first MADE FOR CABLE HD Channels!..LOL!

Yeah, same here. Seemed a bit slower to respond to Remote inputs also.

First I've heard we're losing INHD-2......I actually watch both INHD's quite a bit. While I'll enjoy ESPNHD2, it's no replacement for the content INHD carried, from funky old movies, sports, travel, and music. I imagine INHD-1 can get by with less repeating of shows... The only worthy replacement would be HDNet IMO.....and who knows when Cox here will pony up for one of the first MADE FOR CABLE HD Channels!..LOL!

It was announced (around beginning of November) that the two INHD channels would be merged into one - to be effective January 1, 2007; I would have voted for StarzHD to be added. Too bad they can't get rid of just one analog station signal which would allow them to add several more HD stations.

I got the update too. The difference (slowdown) in remote response is really noticeable -- that's going to make fast forwarding a lot of fun. Grr.

I hope this update solves the "jagged" HD recordings that require frequent reboots.

Does anyone know if FSC currently channel 324 digital cable will be available anytime in my lifetime in HD from Cox?

Can someone answer this question? Why is Cox OC so slow to add channels? How much more does it cost them to subscribe or add a channel? I personally would have preferred FSC in HD and my wife would have preferred Univision in HD. Which I hear is available.

This Echo upgrade that everyone is speaking about. Maybe that is why my box has shut down for no apparent reason a few times this past week. :confused:

Some other updates I found:
- Confirmation delete screen
- Redesigned menu under "More Settings"
- Quick Tips
- Ability to view information from recorded programs
- As you guys have said, huge delay in remote response. Can be VERY annoying and sometimes cause the box menu to FREEZE! Trying it now, my box just froze and had to reboot! After my box rebooted, it seems that the delay had disappeared. Possible secondary upgrade?
- Aptiv Digital replaced the Pioneer logo on the reboot screen
- Unwatched recorded programs are listed in bold
- "List upcoming episodes/shows" option

- "List upcoming episodes/shows" option
Where is this?

Select a future series/movie as if you were going to record it. It is the last option under "View this channel now."

I wish there was a way to upgrade when it was convenient for us. I have lost several recordings during these late night box reboots. It would be cool if an overlay said "Updates ready to be installed. Press C to update now. Press B to update later." Oh well. Hopefully the updates are good and worthwhile.

Dang. No HD for the Lakers V.S. Mavericks game on KCAL 9 today.

I am getting an error msg on my box "d1 or dl" can't tell which. I can't get a video feed from my cable box although I can access my antennae channels. After a while the msg will go away and it will show 12:00 on the cable box without finding the local time. I called tech support and we removed the plug from the back of the box and a few other things that did not work. Anyone have this problem? I may just return the box on Sat. at the RSM office.

I am getting an error msg on my box "d1 or dl" can't tell which. I can't get a video feed from my cable box although I can access my antennae channels. After a while the msg will go away and it will show 12:00 on the cable box without finding the local time. I called tech support and we removed the plug from the back of the box and a few other things that did not work. Anyone have this problem? I may just return the box on Sat. at the RSM office.

Are you able to get to the diagnostic screens. It sounds like your box is trying to download new software(passport Echo2.7) If it's still dl after abouut 15 min it sounds like a bad box. It only took about 15min in Omaha to get the upgrade.

ajwees41

I don't know how to get to the diagnostic screen.

I don't know how to get to the diagnostic screen.


turn the box off and quickly press select on the remote or on the front of the box. If you can get it to work check OOB and Inband I bet the internal modem that downloads the guide and other software went bad.

ajwees41

I thought you had to hit the SELECT button twice

I thought you had to hit the SELECT button twice


Nope once

ajwees41

Nope once

ajwees41

Ok. Thats good to know. Guess the box takes so long to respond I thought I needed to hit the button twice. This delay is really killing me. You press a button and just wait... and wait... and wait. and.........

Ok. Thats good to know. Guess the box takes so long to respond I thought I needed to hit the button twice. This delay is really killing me. You press a button and just wait... and wait... and wait. and.........


Sounds like your box is going bad.

ajwees41

Sounds like your box is going bad.

ajwees41


I have two HD dvr's (6412 III, and 6416) and both are much much slower ever since the new update. I reset both boxes but that didnt help.

Yeah, the remote slowness is the result of the latest upgrade. Noticed it first time I'd hit a button after the upgrade.

Yeah, the remote slowness is the result of the latest upgrade. Noticed it first time I'd hit a button after the upgrade.


That's funny Omaha's 6412 are as fast as they where with the the 2.5 software.

What excate software and firmware do you guys have? Omaha has 2.7.044 andfirmware 12.35

ajwees41

Echo 2.7.044/TC 12.35

Just found another drawback of the new software. I needed to reboot my box after I deleted a show for it to have that disk space available for other recordings. It sucks because I missed the first 5-8 minutes of "The Office" just now.

ok, so now i can get channels but there is no guide data. this update really messed me up.

uh oh, spoke to soon, lost picture again, time to return this beeaacth back to cox.

Hi All,

I have two DVR boxes, with the upstairs box the update went without a hitch and all functions including the remote responce are normal. My downstairs box did not take the update. I called cox and had the tech send the update while I watched the box. This worked well and now both DVRs work. I suggest that anyone who has less than normal performance call cox and have the update reloaded.


niesman

I tried that too and did not work, they could not even get my box to reset. They are saying I can wait for tech support to come out on Tuesday or I can just replace the box although that may not work.

I swapped out my box but that did not work. tech guy is coming out next friday.

I used to be able to turn on the Guide and hit the Favorites key on the remote to see what's on the premium channels. With the new firmware, this is broken and sticks to one channel. Anyone else see this problem or is it just my box?

Did COX or ABC make any changes within the past couple weeks? Recorded programs used to be much larger in size for ABCHD. Now a one hour HD program is around 5gigs. It used to be around 7. I don't really see a decrease in picture quality but I havent investigated the situation closely yet.

I used to be able to turn on the Guide and hit the Favorites key on the remote to see what's on the premium channels. With the new firmware, this is broken and sticks to one channel. Anyone else see this problem or is it just my box?


That's a new feature of the Passport 2.7 software. If you press favorites while the guide is showing it will show your favorite channels.

ajwees41

Did COX or ABC make any changes within the past couple weeks? Recorded programs used to be much larger in size for ABCHD. Now a one hour HD program is around 5gigs. It used to be around 7. I don't really see a decrease in picture quality but I havent investigated the situation closely yet. 5G/hour is about right/normal. I've been capturing ABC Lost in HD for all 3 seasons and it's always been just over 5G per 1 hour capture (from either Cox or OTA capture) - remember it's 720p so takes up quite significantly less disk space than 1080i which is usually around 7-8G/hour.

5G/hour is about right/normal. I've been capturing ABC Lost in HD for all 3 seasons and it's always been just over 5G per 1 hour capture (from either Cox or OTA capture) - remember it's 720p so takes up quite significantly less disk space than 1080i which is usually around 7-8G/hour.


Ok. Thanks for the info. Sometimes I forget that 720p takes up less space. Normally I use my OTA signal to record things. With all of the subchannels the file size is usually around the same as 1080 channels. No wonder UNIVERSALHD doesn't look as good as other 1080 channels. I recorded something a little over an hour long and the file size was 4.58 gigs.

Just got an HD panel and had HD service activated on my roommate's existing DVR (6412-III) so I could try it out. Watched some football this weekend and a few movies and confirmed that ~15 hours of content just isn't enough. My creaky old Series 1 Tivo can be upgraded to over a terabyte with a kernel update and a couple of big drives. What's the deal with the 120 and 160 gig drives we're stuck with on the HD DVRs? What's with all the useless expansion ports? Seriously? The only reason to put a SATA port on a device is to expand its storage capacty. It cost money to develop that capability. It cost money to test that capability. It costs money to add that hardware to every single box. Why isn't it active?

Is there any information about when we're going to see either larger drives in the unit (6450 or 6475?) or at least be able to make use of the SATA, USB, or Firewire ports?

Oh, you poor, naive consumer. :) You take the favor the cable company gives you by letting you have a DVR in the first place, and be happy!

However, I suspect the real reason (somewhat still related to the reason above) is nothing other than service issues- I can easily see a few reasons why in the "support" column- issues ranging from trying to walk customers thru adding disks, all the way to some sue-happy eyesole bringing on a class-action suit the first time he trips over the cord on his external disk drive and loses everything on it 'cause the method was "defective" and they should have "made it more clear that turning the power off won't matter" (or some other silly bushlitt).

Nah, with TiVo, you're only dealing with TiVo. Were Cox to do that, they'd have to support everyone. I do wish that they'd just "don't ask, don't tell" like they do for firewire, where those of us who know or discover what to do with it can use it, but they'll look at you like you've got three noses should you ever dare call Cox about it.

Yeah, lack of sufficient disk space was one of the principal reasons that pushed me to go for the Tivo Series 3 and dump the DCT6416.

Hi all - I just got the DCT6416 for Cox service here in Enfield, CT for my Samsung 4051. I currently have my component lines hooked up until I get the HDMI cables.

I'm wondering if the SD picture will improve with HDMI cables, and if I can hook up the S-Video and use both inputs (HDMI for HD and s-video for SD) - and just choose the signal source on the TV based on the channel? Or this is just a poor idea?

Thanks!

Yeah, I'd get an S3 if not for the $800 price tag. Plus $300 for 3 years (I paid less for lifetime!). Plus another $350 or so for a 750 gig drive.

Another option may be to use the firewire connection combined with MCE. It sounds like there are tools to automatically grab the digital stream via firewire during the recording. But, even if I'm reading that information correctly, that means I'd have to get a new PC with MCE (can't roll your own with a legit license as far as I know). I don't know if the C5 flag will interfere with real-time capture. Still, a new media center PC would be cheaper than getting and upgrading a tivo. OTOH, I tried building my own DVR years ago and ended up buying a Tivo because "it just worked".

All in all, very frustrating. Why can't they just offer us decent equipment? Oh. That's right. As long as they've got a stranglehold on the content, they don't have to. Heck, I'd be willing to pay more for better equipment if they'd just offer it. Are you listening, Cox? I've got money. I'm willing to trade some of that money for better service. If you can't provide the level of service I want, I'll take my money elsewhere. I'm actually considering spending about $1500 on 3rd party equipment because your DVR can't hold a decent amount of content. Some of that money could be yours if you'd just stick 500 gig drives in your DVRs and charge another $5/month for those models. Alternatively, I'd be willing to pay another $5/month to have that SATA port enabled. I'll be a lot of other people would go for that.

Just in case anyone's on the S3 Tivo Fence, you can get it from Dell for $567.something (plus tax, I assume) if you order by 12/21/06. $667.something minus a 15% discount good until tomorrow. Free shipping. If I can transfer my lifetime to the new box...

Yeah, I'd get an S3 if not for the $800 price tag. Plus $300 for 3 years (I paid less for lifetime!). Plus another $350 or so for a 750 gig drive.

Another option may be to use the firewire connection combined with MCE. It sounds like there are tools to automatically grab the digital stream via firewire during the recording. But, even if I'm reading that information correctly, that means I'd have to get a new PC with MCE (can't roll your own with a legit license as far as I know). I don't know if the C5 flag will interfere with real-time capture. Still, a new media center PC would be cheaper than getting and upgrading a tivo. OTOH, I tried building my own DVR years ago and ended up buying a Tivo because "it just worked".

All in all, very frustrating. Why can't they just offer us decent equipment? Oh. That's right. As long as they've got a stranglehold on the content, they don't have to. Heck, I'd be willing to pay more for better equipment if they'd just offer it. Are you listening, Cox? I've got money. I'm willing to trade some of that money for better service. If you can't provide the level of service I want, I'll take my money elsewhere. I'm actually considering spending about $1500 on 3rd party equipment because your DVR can't hold a decent amount of content. Some of that money could be yours if you'd just stick 500 gig drives in your DVRs and charge another $5/month for those models. Alternatively, I'd be willing to pay another $5/month to have that SATA port enabled. I'll be a lot of other people would go for that.

Can you be more specific about the firewire connection combined with MCE? Is it the same thing as using firewire and CapDVHS? My laptop is MCE and I would love to be able to record premium movie channels again.

I've never done it. I was just skimming the "HowTO record via 1394/Firewire to WindowsXP now with MCE support" post (which I can't link to until I have 5 posts) and some of the information linked in it and it sounds like MCE can be used to control the DVR (once the firewire drivers are installed), recording the analog output like it would with any normal tuner while simultaneously pulling the raw data over firewire. It then takes the show information generated during the standard recording and links it to the video captured via firewire so the shows can be easily navigated. I think. I skimmed it pretty fast.

I don't have any more info or any first hand experience, though. It was just one of those things I was keeping in the back of my mind as justification for spending the money on a cox DVR. Having the potential to do it was enough, even if I never actually got around to trying it. :)

In any case, I ordered an S3 from Dell before I could convince myself it was still too much money. They took it off their site about 10 minutes later. Tivo says customers have until 12/31/06 to transfer lifetime service to an S3 so, assuming Dell didn't oversell, I should get it just in time. The transfer will cost $199, though. In the end, that works out to a new S3 at list price with free lifetime service.

Can you be more specific about the firewire connection combined with MCE? Is it the same thing as using firewire and CapDVHS? My laptop is MCE and I would love to be able to record premium movie channels again. MCE doesn't work with QAM, only OTA. You have to go with Vista and specific cable-card capable hardware approved by CableLabs (not yet available AFAIK) to record encrypted QAM. For unencrypted QAM and/or OTA there are various PC card + software solutions but then you are limiting yourself to unencrypted channels only and all the hassle of a computer solution - I already can do that with my Fusion card but also wanted the ability for dual tuner encrypted & unencrypted QAM + OTA, so the S3 is really the only viable choice for that right now. 250G has been sufficient for my needs thus far but it's nice to know I can easily increase that if/when necessary.

Can you be more specific about the firewire connection combined with MCE? Is it the same thing as using firewire and CapDVHS? My laptop is MCE and I would love to be able to record premium movie channels again.


Nope the Premium channels are unrecordable using firewire with a MCE.

The firewire does not do live recording it will only do Non 5c chaanels.

ajwees41

ajwees41

I cannot get my HDMI to work with my 6416 III DVR and my Panasonic TV. The TV does not seem to be an issue because the DVD player can work on either HDMI 1/2 on the TV. I've tried different cables and I think it's the box. Anyone have any suggestions before I head up to Quail Hill to get another box?

I have a Cablecard installed (oh, joy) with TV Guide built into my TV. I noticed a few weeks ago that some of the channels had shifted numbers, with at least one new channel (Boomerang) added to the list. However, instead of Boomerang, ch. 353 is still showing G4, the old channel at that location. I figured TV Guide was just #$%ed up again...until my nephew told he me he's been watching Boomerang for weeks! Apparently, with a cable box, he gets the proper channel.

Is this something I need to (shudder) call Cox about? Would re-synching the Cablecard get it? Should I just wait?

I have a Cablecard installed (oh, joy) with TV Guide built into my TV. I noticed a few weeks ago that some of the channels had shifted numbers, with at least one new channel (Boomerang) added to the list. However, instead of Boomerang, ch. 353 is still showing G4, the old channel at that location. I figured TV Guide was just #$%ed up again...until my nephew told he me he's been watching Boomerang for weeks! Apparently, with a cable box, he gets the proper channel.

Is this something I need to (shudder) call Cox about? Would re-synching the Cablecard get it? Should I just wait?


Sound like your area is using switched digital. A way to get more channels through the cable. Current cablecards will not work with it.



ajwees41

Try doing a rescan of your channels in the TV menu (if possible) The other solution is to call and have your cable card "hit".

Well I guess TitanTV.com was correct again. ESPN2HD is now up and INHD2 is gone. The first thing I tried to watch on ESPN2HD is a college basketball game between North Carolina and Rutgers . No HD. Not the best start.

Yep ESPN2HD is here to stay. Bout time, but at the cost of something else. Oh well I suppose this is for the best.

Remember that INHD1 and INHD2 are merging into one channel, and INHD2 goes dark soon.

Yep ESPN2HD is here to stay. Bout time, but at the cost of something else. Oh well I suppose this is for the best.

I hope it is for the best, but I have checked and there is not much HD programming on ESPN2. I wish we would have gotten Fox Sports channels instead. Hopefully in the future we can get those channels for most of our local sports.

Bob - Mission Viejo

What was up with ESPN-HD last night during the Holiday Bowl? Close up shots were OK but on longer shots the field of view was strewn with artifacts or something. Horrible picture. At first I thought it was the new DCT-3416 box I just picked up from them, but it only seemed to be happening on the one channel. Is this the norm for that channel on Cox?

Yes, the picture quality on ESPN-HD is horrible and has been like that (especially on live feeds) for several months. I called Cox several times about this and they don't even know there is a problem - idiots. I am wondering if this is Cox or ESPN. Does anyone know if the ESPN-HD picture quality is bad on dish or directv?

Yes, the picture quality on ESPN-HD is horrible and has been like that (especially on live feeds) for several months. I called Cox several times about this and they don't even know there is a problem - idiots. I am wondering if this is Cox or ESPN. Does anyone know if the ESPN-HD picture quality is bad on dish or directv?

I think I recall hearing that recently (past couple months) all of ESPNHD feeds were coming from DirecTV. I think I also recall hearing that they were trying out a new encoder. Either way I agree with you guys that the picture quality isn't very good. There is a swimming effect even on stationary objects.

On a side note... I have yet to see a HD sporting event on ESPN2HD. The only thing I have seen in HD was Sportcenter. It is correct that a true digital channel looks MUCH better than a basic SD channel even when it isn't airing programs in HD. But it still seems like a huge waste to have a channel that has hours and hours of SD programming taking up the same amount of bandwidth as a channel that airs 90+% of HD content.

I wish I could trade KOCE-DT and ESPN2HD for something better.

I wish I could trade KOCE-DT and ESPN2HD for something better. Agree. FSNHD would have been the logical choice for sports fans instead of ESPN2HD. Problem is currently there is hardly any bandwidth left for SD channels let alone HD channels. Hopefully a couple of analog channels can be dropped completely to make room.

Agree. FSNHD would have been the logical choice for sports fans instead of ESPN2HD. Problem is currently there is hardly any bandwidth left for SD channels let alone HD channels. Hopefully a couple of analog channels can be dropped completely to make room.

I just find it hard to believe that all of the SD channels offered by Cox are being watched. They could drop a number of channels to make room for more HD programming. That should be the direction they go in. People are going to want more HD programming with the number of HD TV's being sold. And I think that would give Cox an advantage over the other options out there by offering more.

Bob in Mission Viejo

Agree. FSNHD would have been the logical choice for sports fans instead of ESPN2HD. Problem is currently there is hardly any bandwidth left for SD channels let alone HD channels. Hopefully a couple of analog channels can be dropped completely to make room.

I thought they already got rid of all the analog stuff. I thought everything was "digital" now and thats why so many people were having issues with cablecards and tv listings.

As for COX "offering more" HD programming than there competitors I think they would need to add around 8-17 more HD channels. I believe Verizon's Fios has 17+ channels listed, DirecTV has 20+, and Dish Network has 30+.

Speaking of COX.... why the hell did they combine Orange County and Palos Verdes? It is really freaking annoying. I guess its a good thing that I rarely go to www.cox.com/ocpv/ for the latest COX news.

I thought they already got rid of all the analog stuff. I thought everything was "digital" now and thats why so many people were having issues with cablecards and tv listings. No, that's the problem, they are offering both analog and digital versions of all channels below 99. If they got rid of analog completely they would have to take care of all customers that only subscribe to analog cable either through a box for each TV or a D/A converter box at each customer premise - either are not really viable at this time in terms of cost. They cannot just drop analog just like that - it will be a long transition time. They could potentially move a couple of less watched analog channels to digital only.

Speaking of COX.... why the hell did they combine Orange County and Palos Verdes? It is really freaking annoying. I guess its a good thing that I rarely go to (website) for the latest COX news.

You think YOU'RE annoyed? To those of us up north, PV seems like an afterthought- management is in Rancho Santa Margarita (there's a skeleton tech and reception staff here), and we're treated to plenty of Orange County high school sports (and "It's Curtoon Time") on Cox 3. But our channel lineup, with a few exceptions (most notably that we get KCET rather than KOCE on the HD tier), is about the same.

I'd start a Cox-Palos Verdes thread, but I may be the only subscriber here...

Anyone else getting breakups (for the 3rd Sunday in a row, now) on FOX HD (711) during the football games?

You think YOU'RE annoyed? To those of us up north, PV seems like an afterthought- management is in Rancho Santa Margarita (there's a skeleton tech and reception staff here), and we're treated to plenty of Orange County high school sports (and "It's Curtoon Time") on Cox 3. But our channel lineup, with a few exceptions (most notably that we get KCET rather than KOCE on the HD tier), is about the same.

I'd start a Cox-Palos Verdes thread, but I may be the only subscriber here...


Sorry to hear that. I just wish we had more choices. Like multiple cable company's in the same area. It might get them fighting for customers and thus offering a better product for cheaper. It would also be cool if Verizon offered there FIOS service here. I have heard WAY too many horrible things about DirecTV and Dish Network to even consider them. It seems like a monopoly to me for us to only have one cable choice.

Sorry to hear that. I just wish we had more choices. Like multiple cable company's in the same area. It might get them fighting for customers and thus offering a better product for cheaper. It would also be cool if Verizon offered there FIOS service here. I have heard WAY too many horrible things about DirecTV and Dish Network to even consider them. It seems like a monopoly to me for us to only have one cable choice.

I had Dish for several years but upgrading to HD with DVRs got way too expensive (and the retention deals weren't all that great). Plus, no HD from KTLA or KCET. As soon as they lost the court case and pulled the New York network affiliates from me, I dropped the dish and went back to Cox (I'd kept basic/internet service from them anyway).

Verizon is planning FIOS for the beach towns in LA County (Manhattan-Hermosa-Redondo) but I don't know about Palos Verdes- the peninsula's phone service is split down the middle between Verizon and AT&T (the old GTE/Pac Bell split) and there's been no word on FIOS here. I'm on the Verizon side of the hill, so I'm hoping... and because I'm on the wrong side of the hill and blocked from L.A. signals, OTA isn't an option (I could put a big roof antenna up to get San Diego/Tijuana, which come in about 50% of the time, but that's not a guarantee of anything...). I know Verizon is doing FIOS in Huntington Beach, but I don't know if/when they're planning to compete with Cox in the southern part of the county...

I hope it is for the best, but I have checked and there is not much HD programming on ESPN2. I wish we would have gotten Fox Sports channels instead. Hopefully in the future we can get those channels for most of our local sports.

Bob - Mission Viejo

I noticed that after INHD2 and 1 were merged and ESPN2HD started that I could watch ESPN2HD even though I am not subscribed to the "pay" HD tier (Discovery and ESPN). (not that there's much worth watching on ESPN2HD). Don't know whether that is intentional or not.

Also, as of this morning, the Cox HD programming page has not yet been updated to reflect these changes.

I have both DVR (via HDMI) and cable direct coax in on Ant1 using my new 2007 Mits HDTV.

I had the TV scan Ant1 and ID all the channels. When I try to use the Ant1 TVGUIDE to go to a channel or record (via a fireware PVR I have connected) it wont work on many digital channels (PVR wont ever work on analog). I discovered its because the channel numbers are not the same as that used by the TVGUIDE.

For example CBSHD is 702 on Ant1 TVGUIDE (and DVR) but the TV has CBSHD tuned to 86-21 (I may have the channel number wrong but you get the idea i hope).

So I spent several hours going through the Ant1 TVGUIDE and inputing the correct tuning channel for each digital signal.

Shouldnt the TVGUIDE map correctly to COX? Is this a common problem and something we can expect to be reconciled soon?

Also the local Cox channel 3 is not even listed in the TVGUIDE. It is digital and it does have some programming I like to record.

Any thoughts?

Not sure what they did with ESPNHD, but my cable box rebooted itself a couple times last night and now ESPNHD is looking much better. A lot of artifacts that were there are no longer there.

I would have to agree that ESPNHD is looking better. The highlights from the Sugar Bowl on SportsCenter looked pretty good. Maybe they finally got it right. :D

On Wednesday, I had set to record Star Wars on HBOHD. When checking the recording, it was a zero-length recording with a red "Recording Error."

I went to the Guide and found Star Wars at a later time - I tried to record it and it said "Unrecordable Channel." I got out of the Guide.

I changed the channel to 700 and I got the subscription error window (this has popped up more in the last week). After 5 seconds, HBOHD video got unscrambled...

I am surprised to see this old error again... I've seen it on non-HD premium channels as well.

I've seen the "Subscription Bug" a few times (on Comedy Central of all places!) as well. I haven't seen it since the latest update (the "slow remote" one) but I don't know if the Recording Errors I have seen are subscription bug, 'cause I don't record much off the premium channels.

I have also seen the subscription message although it hasn't caused any missed recordings. It seems to popup every time I reset my box.

I also experienced something odd earlier tonight. I tried to record a live show from my DVR (ABCHD) while it was recording another show to its hard drive(CW HD). I havent tried this in awhile but normally it works fine. This time when I hit record on CapDVHS the info was blank (no data recording). So I hit stop and closed CapDVHS thinking it was just having an issue. I tried again. Still no luck. I then switched the programs. I stopped recording the show to my DVR (CW HD) and set it to record the program I was trying to save to my PC (ABC HD). Then I tried recording the other program to my PC (CW HD). It worked. I don't know what was going on.

Now I just tried to record ABCHD and there is no info. So in the end it appears this had nothing to do with recording two shows at once but rather ABCHD having issues. Did they turn the 5c on ABCHD? I didn't think they were allowed to do that. I just reset my box and tried again. No luck. It isn't viewable in VLC player either. It says 0 under 5c Implementation when I checked though. Whats going on? Anyone else having this problem? CBSHD, NBCHD, CWHD, KOCEHD, and FOXHD are all viewable like normal.

I have also seen the subscription message although it hasn't caused any missed recordings. It seems to popup every time I reset my box.

I also experienced something odd earlier tonight. I tried to record a live show from my DVR (ABCHD) while it was recording another show to its hard drive(CW HD). I havent tried this in awhile but normally it works fine. This time when I hit record on CapDVHS the info was blank (no data recording). So I hit stop and closed CapDVHS thinking it was just having an issue. I tried again. Still no luck. I then switched the programs. I stopped recording the show to my DVR (CW HD) and set it to record the program I was trying to save to my PC (ABC HD). Then I tried recording the other program to my PC (CW HD). It worked. I don't know what was going on.

Now I just tried to record ABCHD and there is no info. So in the end it appears this had nothing to do with recording two shows at once but rather ABCHD having issues. Did they turn the 5c on ABCHD? I didn't think they were allowed to do that. I just reset my box and tried again. No luck. It isn't viewable in VLC player either. It says 0 under 5c Implementation when I checked though. Whats going on? Anyone else having this problem? CBSHD, NBCHD, CWHD, KOCEHD, and FOXHD are all viewable like normal.

It sounds like your local channels are flagged copy once ance if copied to the dvr the firewire capture will not work.

ajwees41

I get the Subscrip bug at times also, and it will kill the recording, annoying.

More annoying.....While moyekj's Bandwidth explanation makes sense, why are our TWC neighbors in Fountain Valley and other places getting 21 HD channels?

Besides what we get, they also get:

HD Special Events (?)
HDNET
HDNET Movies
Starz HD
Cinemax HD
And PAY PER View HD!!!!!!!!!

And while it doesn't show on the list I just pulled up, my buddy has always gotten FSW-HD also....

They somehow seem to make better use of they're bandwith. 4 years ago Cox OC had more channels, but within a year TWC went forward and has never looked back.....

It could well be that TWC is on 860MHz bandwidth system (Cox OC is still 750MHz - not sure when the upgrade to 860MHz will be completed). Plus I don't know if they are digital simulcasting the whole analog lineup as Cox OC is.

Is IN-HD not working right now? Trying to watch the game on HD but I guess I'm stuck with non-HD FSW. :(

Is IN-HD not working right now? Trying to watch the game on HD but I guess I'm stuck with non-HD FSW. :(

It's the same in Palos Verdes, and when I called in to tech support, they seemed confused and didn't know exactly how to handle it. Maybe if more people call in, they'll do something.

I've e-mailed the OC/PV GM about this, because in PV we've missed the last few Laker FSN HD games in the same way- they're in the guide, they've been advertised as available, and when game time rolls around, nobody flips the switch. And if they think, well, no big deal because nobody's calling, there's no appropriate number to call, at least here, where after-hours tech calls end up in a call center someplace (the Palos Verdes Cox office is deserted in the evenings).

Too bad I don't have FS HD here in Laguna.

Damn. ABC HD is still giving me issues. It still isn't viewable in VLC player over firewire or recordable with CapDVHS. I thought the broadcast channels (2-13) had to be in the clear. How is this allowed? I am hesitant to call COX in fear they might enable this for all the channels. On a side note, the regular SD version of ABC is viewable.

It's the same in Palos Verdes, and when I called in to tech support, they seemed confused and didn't know exactly how to handle it. Maybe if more people call in, they'll do something.

I've e-mailed the OC/PV GM about this, because in PV we've missed the last few Laker FSN HD games in the same way- they're in the guide, they've been advertised as available, and when game time rolls around, nobody flips the switch. And if they think, well, no big deal because nobody's calling, there's no appropriate number to call, at least here, where after-hours tech calls end up in a call center someplace (the Palos Verdes Cox office is deserted in the evenings). Yes it's extremely annoying. It was blacked out the entire time for the Lakers game for me as well and thus stuck with SD version of FSW. This has been the same pattern for a long time (for a year or more). We should have FSW HD in the lineup instead of this INHD workaround which never seems to work anyway... I also encourage others to call and complain about this.

Too bad I don't have FS HD here in Laguna.

There isn't a full-fledged FSN HD channel here, either- what they are SUPPOSED to do is carry the games as stand-alone on InHD, pre-empting the "regular lineup" (the usual Mojo reruns). Some systems have an empty channel designated for "Fox Sports and special events" where they dump all stuff like FSN HD games. I don't think there's a full FSN West HD channel available anywhere yet- they just do select games in HD, plus the pre- and post-game shows. The next FSN HD game scheduled is tonight (Saturday, January 6)- Kings game.

Damn. ABC HD is still giving me issues. It still isn't viewable in VLC player over firewire or recordable with CapDVHS. I thought the broadcast channels (2-13) had to be in the clear. How is this allowed? I am hesitant to call COX in fear they might enable this for all the channels. On a side note, the regular SD version of ABC is viewable. TheRock, the problem must be elsewhere. I just confirmed with my Fusion capture card that ABCHD and all the other local broadcast channels are being re-transmitted unencrypted - thus 5C protection doesn't even enter the picture. I no longer have a Moto box so can't try the firewire capture method.

Just saw the FSN HD schedule for INHD channel 717 in Orange County in the OC Register paper this morning. Several Kings, Lakers & Ducks games are listed including the Lakers/Nuggets game that was blacked out last night on INHD. As mentioned above there is a Kings game tonight scheduled @7:30pm on 717 and the Lakers/Mavericks game tomorrow night @6:30pm on 717. Will see if those games actually do get transmitted as advertised. Given the past history I doubt they will...

Damn. ABC HD is still giving me issues. It still isn't viewable in VLC player over firewire or recordable with CapDVHS. I thought the broadcast channels (2-13) had to be in the clear. How is this allowed? I am hesitant to call COX in fear they might enable this for all the channels. On a side note, the regular SD version of ABC is viewable.


It's not that is 5c protected someone set the brodcast flag to copy once and when it's copied to the dvr that's the one copy, so it will not work through firewire.


That's part about the non hd channel's working is in Omaha it's the other way around the HD locals are flaged, but the SD locals are.

All the local stations in Omaha are flagged copy once.


ajwees41

Just saw the FSN HD schedule for INHD channel 717 in Orange County in the OC Register paper this morning. Several Kings, Lakers & Ducks games are listed including the Lakers/Nuggets game that was blacked out last night on INHD. As mentioned above there is a Kings game tonight scheduled @7:30pm on 717 and the Lakers/Mavericks game tomorrow night @6:30pm on 717. Will see if those games actually do get transmitted as advertised. Given the past history I doubt they will...

I did get an e-mail reply from the GM of the OC and PV systems and he is now aware of the problem and looking into it. Let's hope that the games this weekend make it to 717.

It's not that is 5c protected someone set the brodcast flag to copy once and when it's copied to the dvr that's the one copy, so it will not work through firewire.


That's part about the non hd channel's working is in Omaha it's the other way around the HD locals are flaged, but the SD locals are.

All the local stations in Omaha are flagged copy once.


ajwees41

I am not talking about moving pre recorded programs from my DVR to my computer using the Firewire connection. I am talking about trying to watch and record LIVE shows through firewire. I just checked the "CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS" and for ABC HD it has RC Flag: 0x01. After a google search it appears this is the problem. Anything other than 0x00 will disable the firewire. How is this allowed? This is AB f*cking C. I should be allowed to record this as many times as I want.

I live in Irvine Orange County CA, I just got the first HDTV Sceptre X32GV-Komodo from Costco online few days ago. I connected Cox RF cable from the wall to RF input of Sceptre. I got several HD channels, one of them is KABC 7.1 and the other is KOCE 86.1. Both channels are 16:9 and with aspect ratio set at wide, KABC 7.1 has black bars about 2.5" wide on both sides but KOCE is full screen as I expected it should be. With aspect ratio set at normal, KOCE 86.1 has picture size about 4:3 normal with black bars about 3" wide on the side and picture is not distorted, buy KABC 7.1 is very distorted and it has 2 black bars about 6" wide on both sides.

Does anyone in LA or Orange County get KABC 7.1 with aspect ratio 16:9 in full screen ? This is my first post, I tried to search but I could not find what I am looking for, if you can point me to a previous post discussed about 16:9 wide not fill up the screen will be appreciated.

I am not talking about moving pre recorded programs from my DVR to my computer using the Firewire connection. I am talking about trying to watch and record LIVE shows through firewire. I just checked the "CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS" and for ABC HD it has RC Flag: 0x01. After a google search it appears this is the problem. Anything other than 0x00 will disable the firewire. How is this allowed? This is AB f*cking C. I should be allowed to record this as many times as I want. 5C is NOT set on ABCHD (707) at least here in Mission Viejo. I'm able to record it with my PC capture card and Tivo S3 cablecard diagnostics also show it as unencrypted with 5C=0.

I did get an e-mail reply from the GM of the OC and PV systems and he is now aware of the problem and looking into it. Let's hope that the games this weekend make it to 717. Well the FSNHD Kings game was aired on schedule tonight on 717 so perhaps your e-mail did get through to the right people. Let's hope the Lakers game tomorrow night also makes it through.

I live in Irvine Orange County CA, I just got the first HDTV Sceptre X32GV-Komodo from Costco online few days ago. I connected Cox RF cable from the wall to RF input of Sceptre. I got several HD channels, one of them is KABC 7.1 and the other is KOCE 86.1. Both channels are 16:9 and with aspect ratio set at wide, KABC 7.1 has black bars about 2.5" wide on both sides but KOCE is full screen as I expected it should be. With aspect ratio set at normal, KOCE 86.1 has picture size about 4:3 normal with black bars about 3" wide on the side and picture is not distorted, buy KABC 7.1 is very distorted and it has 2 black bars about 6" wide on both sides.

Does anyone in LA or Orange County get KABC 7.1 with aspect ratio 16:9 in full screen ? This is my first post, I tried to search but I could not find what I am looking for, if you can point me to a previous post discussed about 16:9 wide not fill up the screen will be appreciated. You do realize that not all content broadcast on HD channels is in HD right? For SD shows broadcast on HD channels the broadcaster typically includes the black bars as part of the broadcast itself so the TV stretch modes don't work the same as for SD channels. You will find true HD shows will fill your screen just fine on 7.1. Most primetime (8-11pm) shows on ABCHD are in HD so check then.

5C is NOT set on ABCHD (707) at least here in Mission Viejo. I'm able to record it with my PC capture card and Tivo S3 cablecard diagnostics also show it as unencrypted with 5C=0.

It looks like others are having the same problem I am. They state that even though 5c is 0 they are not able to record through firewire. They also saw the CC and RC Flag. I still need to read this whole thread but it doesn't sound good.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/printthread.php?t=403695&page=96&pp=30

You do realize that not all content broadcast on HD channels is in HD right? For SD shows broadcast on HD channels the broadcaster typically includes the black bars as part of the broadcast itself so the TV stretch modes don't work the same as for SD channels. You will find true HD shows will fill your screen just fine on 7.1. Most primetime (8-11pm) shows on ABCHD are in HD so check then.

I just saw a HD show on ABC 7.1, it is 16:9 and it is full screen on my Sceptre X32GV just like KOCE on 86.1 !!!!! My HDTV is not defected !!!!!

This is my first HDTV, I just got it only few days. I wasn't sure how to check if this Sceptre X32GV is defected or not. Thanks for telling me to check 7.1 on primetime, the show actually superimposes ABC-HD on the lower right conner. The picture on 7.1 is much clearer than on 7.0, this is what HD is all about !!!!!

The next chalenge is hook-up this new HDTV with the rest of my 7.1 audio system, the only connection to/from this HDTV is the RF cable from the wall and power cord. I will need to read all the manuals carefully to do it right. If I have new question(s) about this connection or that connection, I will post it here and hopefully I will get helps from the experts here.

Thanks for your help and have a great evening.

Well the FSNHD Kings game was aired on schedule tonight on 717 so perhaps your e-mail did get through to the right people. Let's hope the Lakers game tomorrow night also makes it through.

Maybe, but it didn't air in PV. All we got is a blank screen and a "Check Back Later" box in the same manner as the dreaded Subscription Notice, but with green lettering. It never showed up.

I have the number of the guy who runs the PV tech ops and spoke to him yesterday, and he was sincere in his desire to get this fixed, so I'll see what happened. It looks like the game was programmed in but didn't switch, and I'm not sure why someone didn't catch it.

Maybe, but it didn't air in PV. All we got is a blank screen and a "Check Back Later" box in the same manner as the dreaded Subscription Notice, but with green lettering. It never showed up.

I have the number of the guy who runs the PV tech ops and spoke to him yesterday, and he was sincere in his desire to get this fixed, so I'll see what happened. It looks like the game was programmed in but didn't switch, and I'm not sure why someone didn't catch it. Sorry to hear that... the real test for me is the Lakers game tonight since that's what I really care about and have never seen working before. I have it scheduled to record on my Tivo S3 along with the SD version just in case the HD version does not work.

Laker game is NOT blacked out tonight on INHD! Pretty good picture, no 5.1.

Laker game is NOT blacked out tonight on INHD! Pretty good picture, no 5.1. When I tuned in at 6:30pm it was blacked out and I was not happy. I checked again 30 minutes later to find it NOT blacked out anymore and proceeded to record the rest of the game in HD. So not sure exactly when the game kicked in on 717 but it wasn't at 6:30pm. Picture was excellent and what a finish by the Lakers! Hope these FSN HD games continue to be televised as scheduled. Good job Cox OC.

When I tuned in at 6:30pm it was blacked out and I was not happy. I checked again 30 minutes later to find it NOT blacked out anymore and proceeded to record the rest of the game in HD. So not sure exactly when the game kicked in on 717 but it wasn't at 6:30pm. Picture was excellent and what a finish by the Lakers! Hope these FSN HD games continue to be televised as scheduled. Good job Cox OC.

I tuned in late to the Laker game and it was on, so maybe we're finally going to get some consistency (I was told that the last period of the Kings game did air on Saturday- the problem appeared to be at FSN's end). One can only hope- I'm tired of having to watch the HD games in SD Stretch-O-Vision.

Does anyone know where I can find the scheduled FSN HD events on INHD online? Since I have the Tivo S3 the guide listings do not have these special events so in the future unless I happen to see the advertisement in the paper I don't really know what the schedule is for these. For now I guess I will make the assumption that every FSN Lakers game will be scheduled as such but that may not be the case.

This seems to be a good place to look for upcoming Sports events to be broadcast in HD:
http://www.hdsportsguide.com/
(It includes FSN HD scheduled games as well)

This seems to be a good place to look for upcoming Sports events to be broadcast in HD:
http://www.hdsportsguide.com/
(It includes FSN HD scheduled games as well)

FSN's own HD web schedule is here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

Unfortunately, it's only a one-month thing, so planning beyond January isn't an option...

FSN's own HD web schedule is here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/name/HD

Unfortunately, it's only a one-month thing, so planning beyond January isn't an option... I saw that, but it was just plain wrong. For example it listed Nuggets at Lakers on Sunday, Jan 7 @7:30pm. It should have been Mavericks at Lakers on Sunday, Jan 7 @6:30pm. So it didn't exactly inspire confidence that any of the listings were to be trusted.

Does anyone know why titantv doesn't have any listings for MHD yet? I know other sites have the info but I like to set reminders on titantv. Speaking of reminders on titantv.... they seem to time out and give no listings even though I know they are there. This mostly happens around 7-10pm. Titan also seems to have issues with UniversalHD from time to time.

Was there any recent news (CES etc.) on the Tivo software running on the Cox DVR? I saw some news about the Comcast version, which I believe is the same Motorola box Cox uses.

Was there any recent news (CES etc.) on the Tivo software running on the Cox DVR? I saw some news about the Comcast version, which I believe is the same Motorola box Cox uses.


I haven't read anything except for the Comcast/Tivo either.

ajwees41

I have DVR service and I receive HD channels for CBS, NBC, CW, ABC, PBS, and FOX. It looks like on the Cox website I should be able to view channels like INHD, TNT HD, MTV HD, Universal HD without the cost of their premium HD service. Is this true?

I have DVR service and I receive HD channels for CBS, NBC, CW, ABC, PBS, and FOX. It looks like on the Cox website I should be able to view channels like INHD, TNT HD, MTV HD, Universal HD without the cost of their premium HD service. Is this true? Correct. The only extra charge for HD channels I know of is a $5/month charge if you want Discovery HD & ESPNHD (and perhaps now the recently added ESPN2HD). Often times when you first setup a new box at your home you need to call Cox technical support to send a "hit" to your box so that it is set to the correct subscription level. Without that hit you will not be able to view any encrypted channels. So if you can't tune those channels you mention it's likely that is the problem and the solution is a phone call away.

For those wondering.... the last time I checked ABCHD is still not viewable or recordable over firewire but ESPN2HD and INHD are now active and viewable/recordable.

Question for those with Tivo S3 - if I purchase this to replace my cable box will I not be able to view or record certain HD channels like ESPN, ESPN2, TNT HD, Dis HD? I am not clear on what channels I may miss out on if I do this. I've tried reading some of the information on this board and TIVO's but can't seem to get a clear answer. Thanks for any help.

Question for those with Tivo S3 - if I purchase this to replace my cable box will I not be able to view or record certain HD channels like ESPN, ESPN2, TNT HD, Dis HD? I am not clear on what channels I may miss out on if I do this. I've tried reading some of the information on this board and TIVO's but can't seem to get a clear answer. Thanks for any help. Yes of course. With cablecards installed you can tune all the channels you can with the Cox set top boxes according to level of service you are paying for. As a bonus you can also use the Tivo S3 antenna input to supplement your lineup with HD channels not available via Cox such as KTLA and the real PBS channel.

For those wondering.... the last time I checked ABCHD is still not viewable or recordable over firewire but ESPN2HD and INHD are now active and viewable/recordable.


The locals in Omaha are encrypted, but there HD versions aren't.

ajwees41

I have DVR service and I receive HD channels for CBS, NBC, CW, ABC, PBS, and FOX. It looks like on the Cox website I should be able to view channels like INHD, TNT HD, MTV HD, Universal HD without the cost of their premium HD service. Is this true?

With direct cable input from cox into my 2007 model HDTV I do not receive those channels. Only the OTA HD channels.

I understand Cox is converting all channels to digital a few at a time.

I have a firewire recorder on my TV that will only record the digital channels.

Does anyone know the plans for COx to complete the conversion so that all current analog channels and also broadcast as digital version?

thank you

I understand Cox is converting all channels to digital a few at a time.

I have a firewire recorder on my TV that will only record the digital channels.

Does anyone know the plans for COx to complete the conversion so that all current analog channels and also broadcast as digital version?

thank you Cox OC is simulcasting digital versions of all the analog channels already, but you need a digital cable box or cablecards to get those digital versions. By default an analog box or a TV without cablecards will still tune the analog versions.

Cox OC is simulcasting digital versions of all the analog channels already, but you need a digital cable box or cablecards to get those digital versions. By default an analog box or a TV without cablecards will still tune the analog versions.
ok.


I also have a DVR and cable card, and given the dramatic improvement of picture quality on all the basic cable analog channels, and the abilit to record any to the firewire recorder via cable card, I believe you that all are also broadcast as digital. But then why dont I see these digital channels as duplicates when my TV does a setup scan. It captures some of the digital duplicates from basic cable, but not all.

WIth direct cable in, I get 2 channel versions, the 2nd version is digital. My TV records these as odd ball channels numbers like 84-1. My firewire recorder will record these digitial version, which is great and I set up my TV to ignore the analog version and view only the digital when available. This nice when using the onscreen TVGuide to do schedule recordings. However that is only about 1/4 of the analog basic channels. The remaining do not show a digital duplicate, again when using the direct cable coax in.

As I will be removing the cable card as it doesnt work well with the TV, I really want to be able to record everything I can with the Fireware recorder but again that will only do that with digital channels.

Any thoughts?

WIth direct cable in, I get 2 channel versions, the 2nd version is digital. My TV records these as odd ball channels numbers like 84-1...The remaining do not show a digital duplicate, again when using the direct cable coax in. Without a (properly working) cablecard your TV will be able to tune only the unencrypted digital versions of the channels and the channel numbers will start with the RF frequency channel # (channel 84 is frequency 585MHz for example). There are some unencrypted HD channels that have PSIP information so, for example, CBSHD will likely get mapped to 2-1 by your TV which corresponds to the OTA channel number, but there aren't many of those. Many/most of the digital simulcast versions of the analog channels are encrypted which is probably why your TV can't tune them. With a proper functioning cablecard you would not see the "oddball" 84-1 channel numbers and you would be able to get the encrypted channels as well. The cablecard serves 2 purposes: Unencrypting digital channels according to level of service you are paying for and mapping the RF channel numbers to the friendly channel numbers assigned by Cox to each channel.

I am using a Tivo Series 3 DVR with cablecards and all channels in the lineup are digital and with the proper channel numbers. If you want full details on the Cox OC headend channel assignments you can consult my Cox OC headend spreadsheet link in my sig below.

My box was turned off when I woke up this morning. It looks like it rebooted itself at 3:16am. I dont know if it is new but it reads "Echo 2.7.044 TC 12.35". I dont notice any changes though.