Yes, basic and expanded basic tiers are all analog channels. Unlike Comcast while Cox has announced digital simulcast to begin for a few channels this year there has been no announcement about plans to completely eliminate analog channels and I doubt that will happen for many years to come.

One tip is you do not want to try viewing analog channels via Motorola DCT6200 or DCT6400 series converters since they internally encode to mpeg2 before reaching your display and the encoders are pretty lousy. Using your TV tuner is the best option for viewing analog channels.

I wonder if it is still there on top of the Internet signal..... Guess I could plug in and try.

I also have encountered the Dolby Digital switching problem with my 6412 III cable box when the HDMI is used. I called cox and the initial person didn't know what I was talking about. She put me on hold and once she talked to her superiors, they said that they are aware of the problem and that the are going to UPS me a new box, that allegedly doesn't have the problem. We shall see

Let us know if a new box solves the Dolby D to PCM switching problem when using HDMI. I am now experiencing the same problem.

Anyone with a phase 3 box can confirm that firewire capture of shows to Windows XP works OK yet?

If there is someone with a phase 3 box that would like to know how to do this I can certainly help out if the instructions in my link below are not sufficient. If you have a phase 3 box but are intimidated to try I have to say that it really is not that hard to do. The only requirements to get started is that you have a Windows XP PC or laptop with a firewire port and the appropriate firewire cable as outlined in the instructions.

For those that switched from an older box to Phase 3 box, were you able to just stop by one of the Cox retail offices (say in Rancho Santa Margarita) and swap out your old box for a new one without having to schedule a visit? That would also require you calling in once the new box is hooked up at home to have them register the GI # and have them "hit" the box but there's really not much else to it.

Hello....

I live in San Clemente and have used the Moto 6412 with great success over the last couple months until yesterday. [Since it was installed I've used the DVI port to connect to my TV (Toshiba 46H84) via a DVI-to-HDMI cable.]

Well I get home from work last night and the DVI port out of the blue isn't working. It will show the picture for a second then the screen will turn completely black. I unplugged and plugged everything, reset the box, did everything I could to address a handshake issue but nothing has helped. Component and the other ports works fine and if I have to I'll resort back to component.

My question is: Is anyone else who's been using their DVI port noticed any problem within the last day? I was wondering if a new software update has disabled it or something. Or, any possible ideas as to why the DVI port that has worked nearly flawlessly for the past two months is now acting dead? I called Cox but it was less than helpful. They just said "burgeoning/competing technologies are imperfect..." etc.

Thanks...

Well...to follow up to my original post from four months ago....I basically told this same story to Cox on Monday and told them that I would like one of their new phase III boxes with HDMI. I explained that since the DVI port on my phase II box had crapped out I was forced to run it via component, meaning that the cable box was competing for hook-up space with my DVD player and Xbox and that only two out of the three could be plugged in to my TV at the same time (which is more or less true). The customer service rep put me on hold, discussed my request with her manager, and then returned, stating: "you will need one of our new boxes with hdmi." Um...thanks, that's what I just said. Anyway, she referred to it as a 6413, and all in all the call took about five minutes with no hassle. She said that I had to schedule a time for a tech to come out and swap the boxes. There was no charge for this service and no mention of allowing me to pick up the box myself at a retail location.

Well, the tech came yesterday to swap the boxes and it's worked great, although I still haven't tried HDMI yet. I wasn't expecting to actually get the box so soon so the cable I ordered is still somewhere in the mail. Although the customer service rep referenced a "6413" box, the front actually reads 6412 III. Even on component hook-ups the analog channels are noticably crisper, likewise the guide in analog looks very similar to how it does on a high-def channel. In other words, when I used to click on the guide while watching an analog channel, it wouldn't look as sharp as when I clicked on guide while watching a high-def channel. Not any more...

Also, upon installation, the tech knew that I was planning on using the HDMI port and mentioned that they were having problems with it. He said that using the HDMI port would likely cause the box to continuously reboot. Great....sounds kinda like the problem I had four months ago. Anyway, he said that Cox is aware of the problem and are looking to upgrade the software in about a week or so, and that I could call customer service anytime to check the status on the software/firmware update. Once I get the HDMI cable in the mail and hook it up and I can see what's what and report further.

Anyone else have trouble with FF working properly on NFL channel 339? I recorded a couple of pre-season games but found FF at any speed not really working at all. FF 1 would jump ahead about 1 second every second, FF 2 about 2 seconds every 1 second, etc. but then the reverse compensation when you hit play would take you backwards - i.e. FF is not functional on this channel.

At least 15-min skip ahead still worked.

I hope this is not a pre-cursor to FF being disabled for all channels!

I just bought an LST 3510A and have basic cable. I can get CBS, NBC, KOCE, and KTLA through the QAM, but I don't get FOX or ABC, either by the automatic scan or by typing the QAM channel # someone was kind enough to post in this thread.

My question is, has anyone encounter this or does anyone know how to pick up FOX and ABC? Or, is it an issue with the LST-3501A reciever? Thanks.

Given this problem with HDMI, am I better off connecting my Samsung via cable card? Would I lose any functionality of the STB?

I just bought an LST 3510A and have basic cable. I can get CBS, NBC, KOCE, and KTLA through the QAM, but I don't get FOX or ABC, either by the automatic scan or by typing the QAM channel # someone was kind enough to post in this thread.

My question is, has anyone encounter this or does anyone know how to pick up FOX and ABC? Or, is it an issue with the LST-3501A reciever? Thanks. Funny you should mention that. I have a Samsung SIR-T451 ATSC tuner which also has QAM capability. In QAM mode while it can tune to all the "in the clear" 1080i HD channels it cannot properly tune to the 720p ones - FOX and ABC. It does show a few frames here and there for the 720p channels but very choppy. I thought it was a bug with the Samsung since a friend of mine at work with a PCI Fusion III tuner is able to tune to those channels without a problem. Last I checked (they seem to move around quite a bit though) these are the sub-channels for "in the clear" HD channels:

SIGN CHANNEL FREQ (MHZ)
NBCHD 84.2 585
CBSHD 85.2 591
KTLAHD 86.1 597
KOCEHD 86.2 597
ABCHD 99.3 117
FOXHD 99.4 117


Could be something about the 117MHz frequency of those channels that is giving us problems but I don't know.

ABCHD and FoxHD become unwatchable when there's any Internet activity in the house (simple web surfing, Xbox Live, whatever). No other HD channels are affected like this.

Well I called Cox on Thursday last week and asked if it was possible to get a free upgrade to the 6413. I didn't even have a HD DVR box only a HD box but they upgraded it for free anyway. It wasn't insanely easy but after explaining my case and being placed on hold for 15-20 minutes they came back with the good news.

Well the tech came out today and didn't have the 6413 in his van. He didn't even have a HD box in there. Only digital. Well he went away for a couple hours and came back with the 6413. I still need to learn how to use it but it seems to be great. I don't really notice a huge improvement in picture quality on SD channels. They just seem a bit softer or out of focus. My television doesn't have HDMI, only DVI and Component so the picture quality might be great with the HDMI connection but unfortunately I bought my TV at the worst time and so I can only comment on the Component picture quality.

For those wondering if the firewire capture is possible with the new box the answer seems to be yes. When I connected the box to my pc for the first time and tried to run d-vhs mpeg2 it didn't work. I then installed the software and drivers again on my PC and it worked. I have tested a couple SD channels and all of the HD ones except INHD1 which seemed to be blacked out because of a baseball game.

HBOHD,CBSHD,NBCHD,WBHD,ABCHD,KOCEHD,FOXHD,ESPNHD,INHD2,DISCO VERYHD,SHOHD

All record fine with the firewire connection. I haven't tested if previous recordings can be recorded yet but I will probably let you guys know once I learn how to do this.


UPDATE.

Well because of some confusion the tech didn't give me the DVR remote. I even asked if there was a special remote for the new box but he said no. So now I am trying to figure things out using the same remote that I used for my HD box. I called and they said they would send out the new remote on Friday. Does anyone know how to view previous recordings without a List button? Maybe get to that screen through the guide button or something? Guess it is alright. I can wait till friday before I test things out. I am just thrilled the firewire connection is still working.

For those wondering if the firewire capture is possible with the new box the answer seems to be yes. Thanks for the confirmation!

Well as of this morning (aug 24,2005) TNTHD is now offered. Judging from the first program I have seen (an episode of Judging Amy) the picture quality is less than stellar. In fact, if the guide is correct when it lists this show being offered in HD than it is easily the worst looking HD show I have ever seen. Still awesome that they finally offered this channel. Huge props to COX. I cant wait for the NBA season to start. TNTHD also records fine with the firewire connection to the computer for those wondering.


Quick question to DVR users. I am a total novice when it comes to DVR's and I was wondering something. Once I turn on a channel from that moment on I can rewind the program I am watching to that point. Does this mean that whatever channel I am watching the DVR is recording? If so, does it save these programs permanently or does it automatically delete the show once I change the channel? If so that is the coolest f*cking thing I have ever seen. Also with the box seemingly recording whatever program I have my box set on should I turn off my box when I am not using it? In the past with my basic HD box I always left it on.

Quick question to DVR users. I am a total novice when it comes to DVR's and I was wondering something. Once I turn on a channel from that moment on I can rewind the program I am watching to that point. Does this mean that whatever channel I am watching the DVR is recording? If so, does it save these programs permanently or does it automatically delete the show once I change the channel? If so that is the coolest f*cking thing I have ever seen. Also with the box seemingly recording whatever program I have my box set on should I turn off my box when I am not using it? In the past with my basic HD box I always left it on.
The DCT6412 has 2 circular buffers of limited size dedicated to recording whatever the 2 tuners are currently tuned to. i.e. Whatever you are tuned to automatically goes to these buffers and then your display - which is why there is a slight delay if you watch a channel via the DVR compared to directly to your TV. It is because of these buffers that you can pause or rewind "live TV". Obviously since they are limited size they can only buffer a limited amount of the tuner, and HD minutes in the buffer will be less than SD minutes since they take more space.

Leave the box on.... it will buffer the tuners regardless so there is really no power savings or less heat generated by turning it off.

The DCT6412 has 2 circular buffers of limited size dedicated to recording whatever the 2 tuners are currently tuned to. i.e. Whatever you are tuned to automatically goes to these buffers and then your display - which is why there is a slight delay if you watch a channel via the DVR compared to directly to your TV. It is because of these buffers that you can pause or rewind "live TV". Obviously since they are limited size they can only buffer a limited amount of the tuner, and HD minutes in the buffer will be less than SD minutes since they take more space.

Leave the box on.... it will buffer the tuners regardless so there is really no power savings or less heat generated by turning it off.


Thanks for the quick reply. Still very new to this whole DVR thing so i am thankful for any help I can get.

Also, upon installation, the tech knew that I was planning on using the HDMI port and mentioned that they were having problems with it. He said that using the HDMI port would likely cause the box to continuously reboot.

This is exactly the problem I was having with the HDMI port. The box was, to put it bluntly, freaking out -- constantly rebooting, the clock resetting and flashing, etc. Nothing was recording correctly. With component I get the subscription bug occasionally but at least most things are recording.

except for the PCM reverting from Dolby Digital, HDMI out to my TV works fine and records fine.

I was watching Deep Rising on TNT HD tonight and it looked very nice. Interesting that TNT HD has a different lineup than TNT SD - a lot more movies which is good. Hopefully the NBA games they carry will be in HD - last year only the NBA finals were in HD on TNT from what I heard.

I for one think this TNT HD channel addition is an excellent addition and hope that more such channels are on the way.

Looks like the headend frequencies shifted around a little with this latest change so will have to update the spreadsheet.

I was watching Deep Rising on TNT HD tonight and it looked very nice. Interesting that TNT HD has a different lineup than TNT SD - a lot more movies which is good.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that it's the same lineup, only the east coast feed, so everything is three hours earlier.

OMG. We have TNT-HD now. I didn't even notice.

I <3 "The Closer".

Well, that's quite awesome and has made my week. Now we just need Cinemax, Starz, Universal, ESPN-2, ect.

EDIT: Bah. Now we have the Fox Reality Channel. Dammit. We could be using that QAM space for a more important test pattern.

2 problems with the new channel additions:
1. TNTHD (718) is getting east coast feed - hope this gets fixed
2. FOX REALITY (363) has no guide data - not a big deal but would be nice to get a fix

I'm still quite impressed with picture quality of TNTHD seeing as I'd heard some negative comments from others about it in the past.

Also, NFL channel 339 doesn't FF/REW on the DVR well at all still which is very annoying. When I capture a clip via firewire most players and editors I tried don't know what to do with the video stream - only Videolan VLC worked properly. Must be a strange mux though the specs look normal.

Back to the 6412 III dolby digital switching to PCM problem, I contacted motorola and they are unaware of the problem. They told me that if it is a firmware issue then it's a cox problem. Cox's attemt to remedy my situation was to send me an old box with the DVI output. The picture quality on analog channels is much better with version III so I will be sending back the DVI box and living with the dolby digital switching problem for now.

TNTHD looks good with TV shows, but the movies look stretched to fit the screen instead of using the widescreen version of the film. My 2 cents.

Just about every program I have watched on TNTHD seemed to be stretched. The only show I can recall that I would say actually looked "good" was an episode of Law and Order. All of the programs were listed as HD but that isn't what HD looks like to me. I have seen what several of these shows look like in true HD. NYPD Blue looked nothing like what it did when ABC offered it in HD. I think the worst quality show I saw was briefly watching the X FILES. Looked like a 5th generation VHS copy upconverted and stretched. Also Jurassic Park 3 didn't look even close to HD. ABC's picture quality absolutely blew TNTHD's quality away on this movie. Just because it fills the whole screen and is 16x9 doesnt mean its HD. I am still happy they added this channel but I can see why several people have complained about the picture quality.

Everything I've seen on TNT HD looks a lot better than it does on TNT SD (analog) so that's reason enough to rejoice for me. I have had my HDTV in stretch mode for 4:3 content so I am used to seeing things that way and still prefer that to seeing side bars - I know videophiles always have a fit hearing that but to each his own. So while I agree it's not HD it's "good SD" at least.

I also saw the horizontally stretched picture on TNT HD on Deep Rising last night. The transmission itself is not stretched, because the circular TNT logo in the lower right corner looks perfectly round, but the content they are broadcasting is stretched. The distortion is quite noticeable to me and I find it annoying. I think it's entirely TNT's fault, not Cox's. It looks to me like they are taking a 4:3 program, and stretching it to fill a 16:9 screen (and possibly zooming into it slightly so that they don't have to stretch it as much). They are definitely not broadcasting content that was mastered in 16:9 HD.

Well I have been having some issues with the DVR. It stopped responding when I pressed the pause button. It just acted like I didn't press any button at all. It also seemed to freak out when I tried to use any rewind or fast forward speed other than the first. I turned off my box and that didn't seem to help. I then unplugged it from the wall and let it reset. The guide still seems to be gather data for shows but the pause and rewind function works great. Even the faster rewind speeds seem to be working correctly now.

Quick couple of questions for those who are knolegable on the subject.

I noticed that the new remote has an option for Picture in Picture. I went to Cox and even motorolas website but didn't see any mention of this feature. I was thinking about contacting cox to see if they were working on a picture in picture option that would work with all channels. When I use my tv to do picture in picture it doesn't display the premium channels. Is this feature enabled at this time? Does it need a firmware upgrade to work? It would be awesome to be able to watch both channels the tuners are set on at the same time.

The remote also has a button called HD ZOOM that says it can change the aspect ratio. The user guide that came with my remote says that this is not available on all receivers. When I press the button nothing happens except the program info appears. Guess this feature isn't turned on as well.

Does anyone know if these features are disabled or am I just not doing something right?


On an unrelated topic.... Panic Room on TNTHD looked very good yesterday.

2 problems with the new channel additions:
1. TNTHD (718) is getting east coast feed - hope this gets fixed
2. FOX REALITY (363) has no guide data - not a big deal but would be nice to get a fix

Also, NFL channel 339 doesn't FF/REW on the DVR well at all still which is very annoying.
Update on above issues:
1. TNTHD only has east coast feed so this is normal and the guide reflects east coast schedule. This is actually nice since we have 2 different schedules to choose from between TNT SD and TNT HD.
2. This is a new channel from Fox that Tribune Media doesn't have listings for yet as one can verify by visiting zap2it.com (owned by Tribune Media).
3. NFL channel 339 FF/REW is now working.

I noticed that the new remote has an option for Picture in Picture.
...
The remote also has a button called HD ZOOM that says it can change the aspect ratio.
... My understanding is Phase III box hardware has the capability for PIP, but the firmware and Passport Echo software (even the newer version we don't have) need to be updated to enable it via software. (By the way my old remote I have now for the Phase II box has a PIP button too).

Many HDTVs have a way of performing various zooms and stretches on SD & HD pictures so having DCT6412 do it is not really necessary?

My understanding is Phase III box hardware has the capability for PIP, but the firmware and Passport Echo software (even the newer version we don't have) need to be updated to enable it via software. (By the way my old remote I have now for the Phase II box has a PIP button too).

Many HDTVs have a way of performing various zooms and stretches on SD & HD pictures so having DCT6412 do it is not really necessary?


Thanks for the answer. Kind of sucks but it is nice to hear that I wasn't simply being retarded not being able to get these options to work. Hopefully they will really work on getting the PIP to work soon.

As for the zooming done by the tv itself my television can do many things to SD programs. Unfortunately it doesn't have much versatility at all when it comes to HD channels. My parents bought there HD set a long time ago and it is 4:3. I hooked up my basic HD box a couple weeks ago and was interested to see the result. Well on non HD shows on HD channels the picture only filled the very center of the screen. Leaving black bars not only on the sides but also on the top and bottom. If they ever upgrade it would be awesome if they could stretch that non HD show on an HD channel to fill the entire screen. But since they arent very interested in HD material yet I doubt that will happen any time soon. For now they just have to enjoy watching HD material on my 34'' widescreen Sony.

I am having problems with the buffer again. I paused a program for about 30 mins and then watched it. I was able to fast forward, rewind, and do all the other things I am suppose to do. Afterward when I tried to rewind or fast forward other programs it would only allow the first speed. Now nothing seems to happen when I press the pause button. Now I have a black screen with nothing playing and I have to change the channel to see anything. I really dont want to have to unplug my box and let it reset every time I want to take advantage of this feature. Is my box faulty or am I doing something wrong.

Now when I hit the DVR List button and try to play a previous recording all I get is a black screen and I can hear the sound of the show that I was previously watching.


I am a total newbie with DVR's so I dont have the slightest idea what is going on. In that past I have had signal problems. They hooked up a signal amplifier when they installed my HD box awhile ago. Could this be part of the problem?

TheRock. I think either you have a bad box and/or the Phase III boxes are very buggy and unproven. I would go for an exchange.

Yeah. I think I am going to call COX tomorrow and schedule a box change. I haven't tested if the pause, fastforward, or rewind works yet after I reset the box again but the picture seems jumpy. The picture on HD channels isn't smooth. I don't know what the problem is but hopefully I can get a replacement without much trouble.

Dish vs Cox digital vs Cox analog

On my new Samsung 1080p 61" set. Dish SD looked just awful. I got Cox 6412/2000 yesterday (asked for 6413 but did not get it! Have to call tomorrow). The Cox SD channels were better than Dish SD but not a lot. The Cox analog (direct to TV tuner) was much better than SD from the 6412 but only after I fine tuned each channel's reception in the TV. Every channel was auto tuned three clicks "high". I manually fine tuned them down three clicks and got good picture. Soft and sometimes a bit edgy or noisey but nothing like the digital artifacts in the SD digital transmission. I was also surprised to see I could tune the HD channels on the TV tuner! I feel I have acceptable picture quality on all channels now.

The Samsung has TV Guide built in. Have to figure out how to get one guide and one remote to control everything!

I was also surprised to see I could tune the HD channels on the TV tuner! I feel I have acceptable picture quality on all channels now. No surprise really since any QAM-capable tuner can tune to the unencrypted HD local channels. (Note that there are several encrypted HD channels which you cannot tune to with TV tuner). I guess that means you had no troubles when tuning to ABC HD and FOX HD right? My Samsung SIR-T451 QAM tuner has trouble (a lot of picture and sound breakup) with those 2 channels as did someone else that posted here with an LG tuner.

As a side note - I was going to store my indoor amplified directional UHF antenna away in my garage (Southern Mission Viejo with hill-obstructed path to the NW) but on a whim decided to try out OTA reception with my Samsung SIR-T451 tuner. I was shocked to find the reception from the garage was by far the best area I had seen in my house - I haven't counted all the channels I now receive with strong signal but there are quite a lot and has all the ones I would care about. So I ran a coax through the garage wall to the living room HDTV so I could get OTA reception there to compliment the Cox HD lineup. The HD local channels looked pretty much identical for OTA vs Cox on the HDTV which was encouraging.

EDIT: I decided to write them down for my records. 38 channels (mostly junk):
(Looking at the list of HD channels below I am quite happy to have Cox now compared to what is available OTA)

02-1 KCBS-DT (HD)
04-1 NBC4-LA (HD)
04-2 WX-Plus
07-1 KABC-DT (HD)
07-2 KABC-NN
07-3 KABC-RD
09-1 KCAL-DT (HD)
11-1 KTTV DT (HD)
13-1 KCOP DT (HD)
18-1 KSCI-DT
22-1 KWHY-DT
28-1 KCET-HD (HD)
28-2 KCET-SD
30-1 KPXN DT
30-2 PaxEast
30-3 Worship
30-4 Faith
34-1 KMEX-DT
34-2 KFTR-DT
40-1 KTBN-D1
40-2 KTBN-D2
40-3 KTBN-D3
40-4 KTBN-D4
46-1 KFTR-DT
50-1 KOCE-HD (HD)
50-2 KOCE-SD
50-3 KOCE-LB
56-1 KDOC-DT
56-2 KDOC-SD
57-1 KJLA-DT
57-2 KXLA-DT
57-3 KVMD-DT
58-1 KLCS-DT1
58-2 KLCS-DT2
58-3 KLCS-DT3
58-4 KLCS-DT4
62-1 KRCA1
62-2 KRCA2

TNTHD update.

I must admit that I have seen some truly breathtaking programs offered on this channel in the past day or two.

"Evel Knievel" and "Swordfish" were absolutely stunning. They offered some of the best looking HD material I have ever seen. Period. These two programs are a great example of what HD programming should look like. "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and "Cliffhanger" also looked good but not nearly as good as the previously mentioned titles.

TheRock yes I have to agree. I just watched a recording of Swordfish on TNTHD and it was stunning. This ranks as one of the top HD stations in the Cox OC lineup in my books. Way to go Cox OC!

Yes I get 7-1 ABC and 11-1 Fox in HD using TV tuner.

Called Cox today and they said they are not sending out 6412 III boxes because they have too many problems! So I am connected by component cables now.

ABCHD and FoxHD become unwatchable when there's any Internet activity in the house (simple web surfing, Xbox Live, whatever). No other HD channels are affected like this.


Sounds like a lack of signal. Have you ever upgraded your splitters or run a cheap amp? Search for "Electroline" in here and you'll see what a number of us use. I do need a newer model myself though, my old one can not do 2-way so the PPV is a no-no.


Yeah, enjoying the TNT-HD. (watched Swordfish too!) About friggen time too....my TWC work buddies got all the NBA Playoffs last year on it......

Sounds like a lack of signal. Have you ever upgraded your splitters or run a cheap amp? Search for "Electroline" in here and you'll see what a number of us use. I do need a newer model myself though, my old one can not do 2-way so the PPV is a no-no.Yeah, Jet, I've had a RatShack bidirectional amp on the line for a while, and I've tried every combination of running everything through the amp, bypassing the amp with the cable modem, bypassing it with the line to the HD box, etc., etc. Doesn't matter much at this point, because my 6412 is going belly-up (slow response to all commands, constant freezes and reboots). The nice Cox man is coming Wednesday afternoon to make it all better.

Dude, check out the Electroline Amps...they are the Rolls of AV amps. Search at E*ay for a dudes store. Ratshack ones are a joke in comparison. These puppys weigh more then a pound..they are big, use the cleanest components, and remove any aspect of possible line problems as long as the line coming into the house is good.

Hopefully the Cox guy can get you going, but think of grabbing an Electroline for the future (1 into 8 unit) so you can cover all tv's and cable modem, and toss all splitters.

I've updated the Cox OC Headend spreadsheet to include the new SD & TNT HD channels. ESPN HD has moved to be at same frequency as TNT HD.

moyekj, you are the patron saint of 6412 users.

Tonight Cox swapped out my old, failing 6412 (extremely slow response times, constant small picture freezes and sound drop-outs) with a Mark III box. They also installed an amp to improve the signal strength. The new model really does have greatly improved picture quality on the analog channels.

Those bums told me the new box was unavailable!

Those bums told me the new box was unavailable!Sorry, man. Based on your post, I was surprised, but pleased. The day before they tried to replace the bad box with another old 6412, but that one wouldn't even boot up. They showed up the next day with the brand new box. Maybe it depends on which specific Cox office you're served by...

Well I thought I figured out the problem that I was having with the 6413 box. Unfortunately I seem to be mistaken. I will have to contact COX to see if I can get a different 6413 or even downgrade to the 6412.

After some thought and investigation I felt the problems I was having stemmed from the following:

I tried to record shows that were on the buffer using the firewire connection to my computer. These were not saved shows but rather shows I used the buffer to pause or rewind. I thought this because every time my box seemed to go crazy it was after I tried this action. Since then I have not tried this and seemed to have the box operate properly. Unfortunately it didn't last



I couple nights ago I used the buffer to pause a live show and then watch it after around 10 minutes of being paused. I then started to watch the program again. Everything seemed to work great until 45-60 minutes into the show and then the screen went black. It stayed black for awhile and then finally came back the to program I was watching. Not were I stopped watching but from the progress of the live version. 10-15 minutes ahead of were I stopped watching. Seems like my buffer is total crap.

I have also had dropouts and breakups of the picture from time to time. And now the problem with rewinding and fast forwarding programs seems to be back even though I didn't try to record a buffered program. I also had a recording that was blank but after I saw the instructions on how to avoid bad recordings I haven't had this problem again.

This box isn't ready for the public. Either it is total crap or they seriously need to upgrade its firmware. I guess I should hold off my criticism until I have another box to judge by. Oh well. Hopefully this issue will be solved soon.

Until they fix the problems, those who have the 6412 dvr should stick with it. The 6413 DVR doesn't seem ready for the public.



P.S.

My High Speed Internet connection with COX has been total crap lately. Slow speeds, unresponsive actions, and constant modem restarts. Anyone else in the Mission Viejo area having issues lately with there High Speed Internet?

P.S. #2

LOL. Right when I tried to post this my Internet connection went out. Talk about great timing.

... Until they fix the problems, those who have the 6412 dvr should stick with it. The 6413 DVR doesn't seem ready for the public.... Judging by the problems reported here and the other thread that seems to be the wise thing to do for the moment.


My High Speed Internet connection with COX has been total crap lately. Slow speeds, unresponsive actions, and constant modem restarts. Anyone else in the Mission Viejo area having issues lately with there High Speed Internet? I'm in South Mission Viejo (92692) and have had no problems recently and I've been online a lot today and connected via software VPN to work without any dropouts. If there was a dropout the VPN connection would get killed which it hasn't.

I live in Irvine - 92620 - and I've had lots of internet connectivity/performance problems. I use Vonage for my phone service and the phone was unusable for a couple of weeks. It had gotten better but I'm still having frequent drops. I see it will my VPN connection to work and also using my FTP client that fortunately automatically reconnects and resumes the up/downloads.

Judging by the problems reported here and the other thread that seems to be the wise thing to do for the moment.

I'm in South Mission Viejo (92692) and have had no problems recently and I've been online a lot today and connected via software VPN to work without any dropouts. If there was a dropout the VPN connection would get killed which it hasn't.


Thanks for the answer. I never know if it is just me. In the past it mostly has been problems on my end with how my wireless connection was set up. Guess if I contact COX tomorrow I will also talk to there internet support person. I have always had to restart the routers on a regular basis (at the height of the problem 3-10 times a day) but it was better for awhile. No problems at all for several weeks. But the internet for the past couple months has been very unreliable. Oh well. Guess I will figure things out tomorrow. I am just happy I know of this place. It has been extremely helpful. I just wish all Cox customers as well as all customers for other services (DirectTV, DishNetwork, Adelphia, etc....) knew about it also. I feel bad for those who have to get all of there help and advice from the company itself. They often times have the least amount of knowledge and will say anything to make themselves look good.

My High Speed Internet connection with COX has been total crap lately. Slow speeds, unresponsive actions, and constant modem restarts. Anyone else in the Mission Viejo area having issues lately with there High Speed Internet?


I'm in Irvine and my Cox internet connection has been crap lately. Sometimes there is no service at all, other times there is service but certain websites are unavailable (it happens too often for it to be a problem with the sites themselves). It started a couple weeks ago - not sure what happened at Cox to cause these problems but it needs to be fixed!

CBS HD has really been crap lately - a LOT of artifacting I noticed during tennis and NFL matches. I confirmed that OTA CBS HD has the same problem so it's not Cox to blame. It was CBS that has had problems in the past too - what does it take for them to get it right?

I noticed the CBS problem also. The artifacts didn't last long when they were on screen but they happened on a frequent basis. I noticed this when I was watching Letterman the other day. I was hoping this was an isolated incident since this is a new show to the HD world but after your post I guess it is not. Hopefully they will fix whatever is the problem before the new shows start for this season. Seems like CBS has the most trouble of all the networks on video problems. First the green thing that popped up from time to time and now this.

I am still debating on calling COX to replace my box. I really like the improved SD channel quality. But when the rewind/fast forward and buffer feature is all screwed up it really isn't worth that slight improvement in picture quality. Does the 6412 DVR allow you to record 2 hd shows at once? Does it allow you to record one show and watch another? Does it have the same size hard drive? If the answer is no on any of those I will probably stick it out with the 6413 and hope that a fireware upgrade fixes all the problems.

TheRock, the answer is yes to all your questions about 6412. The CBS HD trouble was so bad even my wife started complaining about it - and she hardly ever notices anything when it comes to video problems. During the Miami-Denver NFL game and then the Tennis finals I'd say there were at least about 30-40 glitches lasting about 1 second each on average - so annoying I actually considered switching over to the ReplayTV recording of the analog channel. I confirmed at various points that OTA HD channel was doing the same so it's definately a CBS feed problem.

I am DONE with the bug ridden 6412 III..how Moto could release a DVR box with so many problems is baffling to me! Don't they Beta test these new variations BEFORE putting them out in customers hands...Guess not, cuz WE are the "Beta Testers"!

After the GD box failed to record the F-1 race from Belgium at 4:30AM this morning, I was so POd!!! Luckily Speed Channel repeated at 9:30AM but this then presented ANOTHER bug...for who knows what reason, the box did not allow me to pause this ongoing show in real time so that I could then cut out the long commercial breaks in these broadcasts...I switched to some other channels and the pause worked fine but NOT on 318?

I had cleared the recording from the list of "recorded shows", which showed the recording had been copied on the HD with the correct 4:30AM start time and 7:00AM end time...but it would NOT play back, just jumping to the screen asking if you want to save or erase the recording....why ask when there was no way to make it play back anyway?

That was the "last straw"....I am calling COX tomorrow and asking for the "legacy" box back...at least the 6412 II seemed to have LESS bugs in it.

Who knows, maybe this is all caused by the Passport software and not the boxes and the version # makes no dif? Perhaps these bugs will not be resolved until we get an updated firmware..God only knows when that will be!

It is such a shame, cuz the DVR function with 2 tuner capabilities is very very slick and useful...but the very critical glitches make it completely untrustworthy as far as recording any certain show....BTW, as a test, I set up recordings in the GUIDE for 4 different programs..some HD, some anolog and others digital..ALL recorded perfectly...but NOT what I really wanted..my F-1 race this morning!

PS: I read somewhere (maybe in this thread) that COX wasn't even placing any more Phase III boxes in the field due to all the bugs and problems with them....!!

Dang, I was thinking of getting a VIII. I just had my 55" WS RPTV cleaned out good. (yes, even had cobwebs!) Now, like when it was new, I can really see how awful the analog crap is. (very bright now, but looks like crap! And yes, I did re-calibrate with DVE)

Looks like I'll have awhile to wait still.......

Strange, I haven't had any problems with my 6412 III besides the PCM bug. I noticed the box rebooted and loaded new software at 11pm last night...

I have only had the Subscription bug and the dolby digital switching problem on my version III box. The improved analog channel quality make up for those inconveniences.

I only have the subsciption bug and PCM bug.

TheRock, the answer is yes to all your questions about 6412. The CBS HD trouble was so bad even my wife started complaining about it - and she hardly ever notices anything when it comes to video problems. During the Miami-Denver NFL game and then the Tennis finals I'd say there were at least about 30-40 glitches lasting about 1 second each on average - so annoying I actually considered switching over to the ReplayTV recording of the analog channel. I confirmed at various points that OTA HD channel was doing the same so it's definately a CBS feed problem.

Moyekj or anyone -
Do you connect via DVI or HDMI (or component) with the 6412?

I just received the 6412 not the version III cause they told me Cox no longer supports the DVI/HDMI because of the reboot problem. Unfortnately I do not have any open components so had to disconnect either my xbox or dvd player to use the 6412. I can't get the DVI cable box --> HDMI plasma to work.

Anyone have suggestions or know that I can get the DVI out to work?

Thanks.

Moyekj or anyone -
Do you connect via DVI or HDMI (or component) with the 6412?

I just received the 6412 not the version III cause they told me Cox no longer supports the DVI/HDMI because of the reboot problem. Unfortnately I do not have any open components so had to disconnect either my xbox or dvd player to use the 6412. I can't get the DVI cable box --> HDMI plasma to work.

Anyone have suggestions or know that I can get the DVI out to work?

Thanks. I was using DVI->DVI connector to my HDTV at some point but then since I purchased an A/V receiver to handle all A/V input switching I switched over to component. DVI by and large worked fine - there were a few issues with earlier firmware with handshaking that got fixed and the occasional "double screen" which was fixed by channeling out and back. For my 30" LCD HDTV I didn't notice any difference between DVI versus component and now that I'm using an A/V receiver for all A/V input switching I currently don't use DVI in on the TV for anything. I would recommend anyone with 3 or more HD devices to hook up to a TV to go the A/V receiver route. As I described a few posts up my receiver also upconverts S-video to component output and really simplifies the setup and allows for better macro support for universal remotes so that even my wife and kids can operate the equipment if they want to.

I spoke to a COX tech person today(September 15,2005) and briefly asked them about a firmware upgrade for the dvr. Well he said that the second week of next month they are upgrading. I was thinking about replacing my 6413 but since the fireware upgrade is actually planned with a date that isn't to far away I think I will stick with my box for now. He also said that they are still distributing the 6413 box.

I was surprised to see my bill over 200 dollars though. Normally my bill is around 170 and I was informed that my DVR upgrade was going to be totally free. Well they said the charge was for the box pick up and also informed me that I could have dropped the box off myself and saved $30. At no time when I was setting up the DVR upgrade did they say I could drop off my box and pick up the new one myself. Guess $30 is a small price to pay for a DVR but it still is misleading. But this is COX we are talking about. With there commercials making it seem like receiving HD channels is totally free for its costumers it is no wonder they lead me to believe this upgrade wouldn't cost me anything from my own pocket. Oh well. I just hope the Firmware upgrade in October will fix all of the box's problems.

Can someone with HBO do me a favor?

My HBO On Demand only lists Rome 01 as the most recent episode available -- according to HBO's On Demand schedule, they should have up to 03 by now.

To get there, go to On Demand --> HBO --> HBO Series --> then scroll down for Rome (it's on the second page of series).

I'd like someone to confirm this because the last time I asked Cox about a missing HBO program, they had me plugging and replugging the box, removing splitters, etc. before they finally determined the episode had never been uploaded on their end.

Rome 01 is all I see.

Rome 01 is all I see.

Thanks for checking!

I had the box with HDMI output and everything was working fine. I just got a new Panasonic monitor with DVI input so I had to get a different box from Cox. They gave me a 6412/2000 with DVI ouput. With this box, the channel guide doesn't work and channels 23, 24, 25, 25 don't work. Cox tried reset and reprogram the box but nothing worked. Any suggestions on what I should do next? Which box and which firmware/software version should I ask Cox to install for me? Thanks in advance.

Analog channels 23=HBO,24=SHOW,26=MAX have been put off air presumably to soon make room for upcoming digital simulcast channels and perhaps more HD channels. Any premium channel subscribers will now have to subscribe to digital cable for that programming according to the message now displayed on those channels. 25 is still there and working.

My 6412/2000 is still working fine, guide and all and that's still the box I would recommend new subscribers to go with given the problems of the phase 3 boxes. You have no choice on the firmware/software - everyone in a given market for given hardware gets the same.

Ok I decided to bypass cox and go directly to Motorola tech support about the problems with the version III box. I just received a call from the escalation dept at motorola and they are aware of the dolby digital switching to pcm problem. They wanted to know if my TV is HDCP capable and the tv model #. They are working on a fix and will inform me if and when the work something out. So hopefully its a firmware fix and this can be resolved. ;)

I spoke to a COX tech person today(September 15,2005) and briefly asked them about a firmware upgrade for the dvr. Well he said that the second week of next month they are upgrading.
I spoke to a Cox tech person today, and he told me that after "asking around" they are estimating the last part of October or the first part of November for the firmware upgrade -- which probably means sometime in January -- which will be a year from when they first told me they were going to do the upgrade to fix the bad analog channels. :(

I spoke to a Cox tech person today, and he told me that after "asking around" they are estimating the last part of October or the first part of November for the firmware upgrade -- which probably means sometime in January -- which will be a year from when they first told me they were going to do the upgrade to fix the bad analog channels. :( And by then they will probably already have many of the analog channels being simulcast in digital making the poor analog encoding a mute point.

Note that this Passport Echo software update will do nothing to improve analog channel encoding anyway - that is more of a hardware than a software issue. Phase III box improves analog channel encoding but then you get the other problems already described. I think the best available solution right now is the Phase II boxes with Passport 2.5.x software, especially once the digital simulcast starts to happen.

I think the best available solution right now is the Phase II boxes with Passport 2.5.x software, especially once the digital simulcast starts to happen.
Either that or sateliite. Man, they are pushing me in that direction.

I have a DCT5100 and since I hooked up my new TV I am unable to get it to output the proper HD signals. The TV simply won't get locked into FULL when connected via component to the box and with the HD channels (7**) active. I am able to change the aspect ratio via the TV which is not possible when I hook it to another 1080i source. Any reason this is happening?

I called COX yesterday (Sep 23, 2005) to help out my dad activate a couple new boxes we installed(we had to upgrade to digital on 2 of our analog boxes). When the tech and I were waiting I asked if the firmware upgrade is still on schedule for the second week of October and she said yes. She then asked me the problem I was having with my box and I told her. She then said that those problems were not known issues with the software and actually problems with the box itself. She then trasfered me to another person to set up a box swap. I told the tech my story and she then informed me that they cant simply send out a new box through the mail but rather must send out a tech. The tech came that very same day. Only an hour or two after I made the first call. Well the tech came out and worked on some stuff outside the house. Changing attachments and updating the amplifier. I then asked if it was possible for me to go to the office myself and drop off the box because I had recordings on it I hadn't watched yet. He informed me I could. So in a couple days after I watch all the shows on the DVR I am going to go to the office. He didn't even come in my house let alone look at the box. I know it is policy but that is a HUGE waste of time for them. They have customers who need help and sending him out to my house was a huge waste of time. Oh well. Nice to hear that the problems I am having with my 6413 is a box issue and not a software issue. Hopefully the new box I get will work properly.

A few points

1. Spoke to an independent installer today. Only a third of the 6412s work out of the box. So it is highly likely your box is bad.
2. They are installing all 6412 III boxes now. You can carry in your 6412/2000 box and swap it for a 6412 III.
3. At least for me, the analog channels direct from the cable to the TV AFTER FINE TUNING look much better than the same channels from the 6412.
4. Don't look to Dish for a better picture on standard def channels! I just came from there and it was UGLY with my new TV.

DVR Clock in OC is running about 15-20 seconds behind when shows are starting. Anyone else notice the late clock? I called in about this problem last time it happened and within a few days it got resolved but I don't feel like having to call it in again right now and don't understand why there should be a clock drift problem presumably at the Cox headend which should be updating the DVR clocks every day.

Well I installed the new box(my second 6413) a couple days ago and haven't had any problems yet. Although when I first plug it in and let it load the picture on HD channels that broadcast in 1080 are jerky and dont look quit right. This goes away once I hit the swap button but I thought it was odd non the less.


On an unrelated topic...

On Fridays my over the air antenna reception goes to total crap around 1-4pm. I noticed that this is when my neighborhood Gardeners come and do there work. It seems like every time they use there weed wacker or leaf blower my signal drops to 0%. I thought that tools like this were mandated to operate without interfering with other signals?


As for the time issue....

I dont know if it is because I havent recorded many shows or if it is the new box but my recordings usually start one minute early and end one minute late. Dont know if this is the 6413 box or just the shows I am recording but I dont recall having the problem you are talking about.

Under Record Options for the program you are recording, you can set the DVR to record 1 or more minutes early. Not the most convenient answer but it works...

As for the time issue....

I dont know if it is because I havent recorded many shows or if it is the new box but my recordings usually start one minute early and end one minute late. Dont know if this is the 6413 box or just the shows I am recording but I dont recall having the problem you are talking about. It's only noticeable if you have back to back recordings because otherwise the box starts early and ends late as normal pre-padding. I know it's late because my ReplayTV starts at the right time and the 6412 about 20 secs later (missing the start of the show).

Well ****. The rewind/fast forward problem is back even with the new box. My best guess is that the new box really doesn't like the firewire capture. I cant think of any other reason why I would be having this problem with the 6413 and others who don't take advantage of the firewire to pc record feature aren't. Even though it probably isn't meant to fix this problem hopefully the upcoming firmware upgrade will fix this.

So issues I have had:

1. HDMI AC3 to PCM switch, very frustrating.
2. Occasionaly when I go to FF and REW it lags behind and will get very bad until I restart
3. Unrecordable on this channel, due to a black screen

Thanks for telling me how to find my software and rom versions...
Menu Down B Up B

I am in Irvine, Cox OC, with Echo 1.6.026 TC 12.15 on a 6412iii
I assume this isnt a very current version.

I do not have the power cycling problem.

When will COX simulcast or remove analogue so I can bear to watch stuff on my aquos 32"

Also, is there a way to DELETE channels? I like to surf channels, but hate to have to wait and see TV Asia or CSPAN or Irvine Public Access.

When will OC COX get

HD NET
HD Movies
ESPN 2 HD
Universal HD

among other HD programming.
ESPN 2 should be no brainer since we already pay them for access to ESPN.

So, what is the general feeling on the new box ?
Is it actually better overall ?

My original 6412 has often shut down over the past 9 months and runs really hot. May be the reason it shuts down. Is there a way to check if the box is overheating ?

Box has not recorded twice this week due to it being shut down and twice last week due to subscription bug !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My original 6412 has often shut down over the past 9 months and runs really hot. May be the reason it shuts down. Is there a way to check if the box is overheating ?
The older model boxes run hot no question about it. You can check on max temperature of your box from Status page d13:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Tips_and_Tricks
(Cable, off, select, select and scroll down to d13 and right arrow)

Note that the USB ports in front and back of unit do provide power so one way to help the heat problem is to purchase a USB-powered laptop cooler (with fans inside) and sit the box on top of it.

Note that the USB ports in front and back of unit do provide power so one way to help the heat problem is to purchase a USB-powered laptop cooler (with fans inside) and sit the box on top of it.

I do this, but I put the cooler on TOP of the 6412 with the fans down, so that the fans suck air out the top of the unit and then blow it out the front. You could face it any number of ways, -the air sucks in where the fans are and then blows out the front/back edge.

I use this Targus cooler here:
[http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?ts=1128448472597&storeId=10001&productId=102485&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&cmArea=FEATURED:SC3:CG6:DP1570:CL142670

Works out really well, I just plug it into the USB port on the 6412 and let it run.

It's only noticeable if you have back to back recordings because otherwise the box starts early and ends late as normal pre-padding. I know it's late because my ReplayTV starts at the right time and the 6412 about 20 secs later (missing the start of the show). Looks like some kind soul listened to my problem and had it fixed - the DVR clock seems to be correct now.

When will OC COX get

HD NET
HD Movies
ESPN 2 HD
Universal HD

among other HD programming.
ESPN 2 should be no brainer since we already pay them for access to ESPN.
If I am not mistaken, HDNet and HDNet Movies are exclusive to DBS providers and cannot be added by Comcast or Cox. That's why we have INHD 1 & 2 (which is sort of an apt substitute, I really like INHD) that are exclusive to cable systems.

And yeah, I want Universal HD too (because I want Monk in HD, dammit).

But as for ESPN2 HD, there is like, no HD content on that channel. So yeah, there's no real need for it. I think most people who have it on D* think its wasted bandwidth.

But as for ESPN2 HD, there is like, no HD content on that channel. So yeah, there's no real need for it. I think most people who have it on D* think its wasted bandwidth.

Hmm, I thought I saw an ad for ESPN 2 HD airing the Cardinals Padres in HD tomorrow. But even if most of it is SD, the picture quality would beat the crappy Analog to Digital conversion on the crap 6412.

Dear Mr. Cox,
I would like to know when ESPN2HD and or Universal HD, HD NET
/ HD Movies will be avaliable. Please do not tell me look to the future
for new exciting channels. Please give me a estimated time frame for
these channels. I already pay a lot for HD Service in my house, I think
I deserve the right to know when the channels will debut. Everyone I
know on TWC and Direct has ESPN2HD.

I asked Cox, here are their thoughts:

"We can't just add channels because they happen to exist and because we
want to. All channels are owned by networks and we have to pay them for
the rights to put their channels on our cable system. Of course this
cost has to be passed on to our customers and we are trying very hard to
keep the cost of cable service from increasing more than it already
does. We also have to determine if there is a demand for a particular
channel in the area where we provide cable service. We use several
resources to make that determination. One is by random surveys of our
customers, another is tracking the requests made by our customers, such
as yours.
-
We are not told what channels we are currently in negotiations with due
to contractual agreements with the prospective networks that no
information will be made public until all negotiations are final. Only
after negotiations have been completed and a decision has been made, and
then announced to us, can we tell you what channels will be added and/or
deleted in the future. Our Marketing department keeps track of all
channels requested by our customers, we use that list in our
consideration for adding new channels. Your request to have The ESPN 2
HD, Universal HD, and HDNet Channels added to our channel lineup has
been submitted to our Marketing department.
-
Sincerely, Phil
Tech Support - Video & Telephony
Cox Communications Online Support Team"

I have my DVR STB in an enclosed cabinet with partial venting to the rear, which helps, but is in no way the same as having the unit out in the open sitting on a shelf as two COX techs have now strongly suggested to me!

My 6412 II ran VERY hot...almost too hot to touch sometimes...This may have caused some, but certainly not all, the problems (well known to all of us) that this box has.

My 6412 III tries to address this very problem with the addition of an internal cooling fan. It is located in the front right bottom corner of the box...you can feel the hot air blowing out of the vent if you lift up that corner and put your hand underneath the box.

I havn't checked to see if it runs constantly at the same speed or if it is thermostatically controlled to come on when the box reaches a certain pre set temperature.

Either way, it does work and my Phase III box runs noticeablty cooler as a result.

Well I was mistaken - the DVR clock is still noticeably off. Today when Lost started recording it was already well into the recap of last episode (I had a recording on same tuner immediately before Lost)... Guess I may have to send that email after all. I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in about this problem. Could it be specific to my box?

Well I was mistaken - the DVR clock is still noticeably off. Today when Lost started recording it was already well into the recap of last episode (I had a recording on same tuner immediately before Lost)... Guess I may have to send that email after all. I'm surprised nobody else has chimed in about this problem. Could it be specific to my box?

Moyekj - I have the same problem. Seems like it just started about a week ago. All programs start recording about a little late. Have you talked to COX about this yet?

I am in Irvine, and it seems the system is 1 minute behind. Law and Order Logo splashes at 9:59, but as for lost, I heard "Previosuly on LOST". at 9:00

Moyekj - I have the same problem. Seems like it just started about a week ago. All programs start recording about a little late. Have you talked to COX about this yet? Guess I'm not the only one then. No I've been a little lazy - I just don't find it very easy to report a problem either through phone call (a lot of waiting) or through email (a lot of stuff to fill out to submit a problem). I will do so later today - it would help if I wasn't the only one reporting this though to increase the urgency from Cox side.

Guess I'm not the only one then. No I've been a little lazy - I just don't find it very easy to report a problem either through phone call (a lot of waiting) or through email (a lot of stuff to fill out to submit a problem). I will do so later today - it would help if I wasn't the only one reporting this though to increase the urgency from Cox side. Cox OC confirmed they had a problem with their time server which was 28 seconds or so behind official time. It should be fixed as of 3:30pm today.

Great. Thanks for taking care of that moyekj.

Ditto, thanks moyekj. For a week and a half, my DVR was late on all shows but I was just too lazy to call in.

I just purchased a Panny 50PX500U HDTV. I am using Cox analog cable--and the set is able to scan 5 or 6 "digital" broadcasts from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, KTLA and PBS with the built in tuner. The issue I am having is that the set randomly loses the signals from Fox (channel 11-1) and ABC (channel 7-1).

Would a good coax "amplifier" help the situation? Can anyone recommend a good model amplifier. Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks in advance for any help. I have been a longtime reader of the forums here--but have not posted much (until getting this new TV).

I just purchased a Panny 50PX500U HDTV. I am using Cox analog cable--and the set is able to scan 5 or 6 "digital" broadcasts from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, KTLA and PBS with the built in tuner. The issue I am having is that the set randomly loses the signals from Fox (channel 11-1) and ABC (channel 7-1).

Would a good coax "amplifier" help the situation? Can anyone recommend a good model amplifier. Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks in advance for any help. I have been a longtime reader of the forums here--but have not posted much (until getting this new TV). This issue has come up before and I think posted here at some point. When I use a QAM-capable HDTV tuner (Samsung SIR-T451) I have the same issue you describe: FOXHD & ABCHD both have broken up picture and sound but all other 1080i channels are fine. The conclusion a while back is that perhaps the problem is related to the carrier frequency: They both are 720p and both on channel 99 which corresponds to frequency of 117MHz. All the other clear QAM signals are at much higher frequencies (see spreadsheet from link below) and are 1080i. So I don't know for sure if it's the carrier frequency or something related to the 720p signal that messes QAM tuners up but you are not the only one with problems for those channels. A while back though I was able to get a borrowed Fusion III tuner to properly tune those channels without any problems so the problem seems to be related to which tuner you use.

The latest Cox OC headend map I posted here (may not be entirely up to date):
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/Cox_OC_headend3.xls

Question about Cox, and HD PBS. I wanted to watch the Einstein special this evening in HD, not possible on Cox, because the only HD broadcast they are telecasting is KOCE HD, which is loads of repeats and isnt even identified in the guide.

Why doesn't COX drop this for KCET HD which actually follows PBS's broadcast schedule and carrys unique HD content.

I have the same complaint of Discovery HD theater, the shows are way over repeated. I would much prefer a simulcast. Granted most simulcasts are worthless since they just add bonus material on the sides cough cough ESPN.

I honestly cant see how KDOC-HD got added before Universal-HD, Starz-HD, Cinemax-HD, TMC-HD, ESPN2-HD, UPN-HD, or any of the voom hd channels in the first place. My guess is that they were able to get that channel for dirt cheap. The whole time I have had this channel I have probably watched it less than 2hours total (and that is actually a high estimate).

I can receive KDOC as well as KCET from my rooftop antenna for free so I wish they would use that bandwidth for something more substantial. I do agree that KCET is much better than KDOC. I watch KCET every now and then and it blows KDOC out of the water.

I still dont think I am going to contact COX any time soon to complain about channels. I am still very happy they finally added TNT-HD. Even if TNT shows a great deal of stuff that isnt true HD I am still very happy to see COX interested in supporting HD.

I do think I need to contact COX to try and figure out why my internet is so ****** and unreliable. I just hope Verizon brings there FIOS to our area soon. I would leave COX HIGH SPEED INTERNET in a second if something else was available.

I think heat build up is a real issue with these boxes as others have found.
Although they say 2" of clearance above I think you need 12" with active cooling :eek:

Like others I bought a laptop cooler and placed it upside down in the front left corner of my box over the hottest spot and the hard drive.

Targus Chillpad (http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U)

You do need a cooler that exhaust the air out the rear like this one as it also help airflow over the back of the unit.

Whilst unit was turned on I did the Power-Menu-Menu buttons in sequence and went down the list to the HDD/PVR status (2nd to bottom I think) and looked at the 2nd page and it showed temp of 129 F before installing cooler. I installed cooler and next day checked the temp and it was 111 F

Anyone know what the overtemp figure is to the right of the actual temp ?
Mine is showing a 7 or 8 digit number.
Anyone know what the actual temp is supposed to be below ?

_____________________________

FYI, Cox internet varies depending on where you are, quality of cable outside and inside your house and the type of cable modem you have.
Obviously I am lucky in Ladera Ranch as the whole neighborhod is fibre up to the cable box in the street. Just coax into the house.
My internet is very fast with 6000kbps DL and 1500kbps UL Speed Test (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/)
I also upgraded my modem to a Linksys from CompUSA or Best Buy for $40 after rebate. New modem is DOSCIC 2.0

Well I tested the speed when my internet was working and these are the results.

Download Speed: 972 kbps (121.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 56 kbps (7 KB/sec transfer rate)

Well I tested the speed when my internet was working and these are the results.

Download Speed: 972 kbps (121.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 56 kbps (7 KB/sec transfer rate)

You've definitly got a problem with your internet. I just ran several runs of the speed test(thanks ukaussi - best speed site I've seen) and got between 2,200-3,461kbps down and a consistent 512kbps up. This is from Rancho Santa Margarita. Also, I found that the San Francisco server site was the fastest -at least when I was testing.

I'm finally upgrading to Cox - HD Digital cable after about a frustrating year with OTA! I had enough of the breakups and inconsistent reception of Fox (missing the Angels! =/ ), so I just got off the phone with cox. Pretty good deal actually... I got the digital suite (phone unlimited calling nationwide+ internet, lowest speed + digital cable with HD-DVR) for $126 a month ($146 after 3 months), not bad eh? Oh, and I get a free motorola cordless phone, yay!

Anyways, I forgot to ask Cox what model they are currently using for their DVR... Is it still the motorola 6413? Ive been reading that you guys have been experiencing a lot of problems with the 6412 III and 6413. The new DVR manual on cox's website says it applies to the 6408, 6412, and the 6416... So is Cox now offering the 6416? I would call but i already called them about 4 times today, feel like I am bugging them too much! Thanks.

6412 III = 6413 I believe. Haven't heard anything about a 6416 in OC market or any other market for that matter.

Most important development that could happen for our OC market right now is the long awaited DVR software update to Passport Echo 2.5.x.

My 6412 died after only 6 weeks so I exchanged it at the Cox store on Sand Canyon. They asked if I had HD and a yes answer scored me a 6412 Phase III box. Standard Definition channels are much much better. Haven't tried HDMI connection yet. I asked about firmware update and they said none on the horizon.

Standard Definition channels are much much better. You probably mean the Analog channels as SD digital should be no different. This shouldn't be an issue much longer once digital simulcast starts hopefully sometime before the end of this year.

Got tired of both boxes missing recordings so called and complained.
Requested and got refunded this months DVR fees as well as 2 weeks box rental.

Cox tech was very helpful. He (Steve) spoke to me over the phone (I was at work) and he mentioned that Motorola techs are in OC working with Cox. He also changed out both boxes for 6412 Phase III (label on front of boxes).

Temps are a lot lower. Down from 115F to 99F (with laptop cooler) in media room.

Yes you are correct, I was referring to the analog channels. They are comparable now to the TV's tuner.

But now the shows I have set to record automatically are not recording! Is this to be expected?

Yes you are correct, I was referring to the analog channels. They are comparable now to the TV's tuner.

But now the shows I have set to record automatically are not recording! Is this to be expected? There are 2 main causes for this:
1. Subscription bug on channels set to record - this effectively removes the channels (usually HD only) from the "to-be-recorded" list. To fix it you must first tune to the offending channels to clear up the subscription bug then you have to go to your recording setup and change priority for each recording setup on the channel(s). Basically you have to force the box to recompute the "to-be-recorded" list by changing something after you have cleared up subscription bug.

2. Don't use "First-run only" option, use "First-run and repeats". Either there is missing data in the guide or a software bug where First-run is not set on first-run shows and they are not recorded. Best to use First-run and repeats and delete from the "to-be-recorded" list what you don't want.

Got tired of both boxes missing recordings so called and complained.
Requested and got refunded this months DVR fees as well as 2 weeks box rental.

Cox tech was very helpful. He (Steve) spoke to me over the phone (I was at work) and he mentioned that Motorola techs are in OC working with Cox. He also changed out both boxes for 6412 Phase III (label on front of boxes).

Temps are a lot lower. Down from 115F to 99F (with laptop cooler) in media room.


Damn !!! New box still has Subscription Bug
Surprisingly, the tech said he hadn't heard of many people having this issue. Seems most people record SD with this box as he was surprised as to how many HD shos we both had setup in our manager.

Will have to give him a call (yes, he gave me his cell #) and let hime know.

I wonder if it has something to do with my account rather than the actual boxes as I originally had issues seeing any HD channels when I first subscribed to HD and got my 61xx box as it kept saying not subscribed on some HD channels and not others

I simply change my channel to a non-HD channel before shutting off for the night - that usually fixes things for me.

Major Stuttering of the picture on HD channels only. All of my HD programming comes in very stuttery seems like frames are missing or something. SD seems to be ok. I am using HD DVR 6412 III with RCA Component cables. Is this a TV, Signal, or Settop Box issue?

AM, you need to check if your TV takes in 1080i/720p through the component inputs. Some TVs have some limitations on some of the inputs. You can also help people by identifying the model of your HDTV.

Secondly, you can try to switch the box to output 720p OR 1080i and see if one of them works.

The last cause of the problem could be the Cox box but didn't your Cox installer check that?

I am using component from the 6412 III, at 1080i.

The stutter has gone away for the most part. But occasionally I still see it a bit, maybe it is just a box issue.

I guess we need to know what you mean by stutter? Is it only when there is motion and the camera pans left or right? Or do you see it when you watch a still HD picture? Do you see it on all channels or maybe CBS (they've had a problem recently).

I always get the stutter when I first plugged in the box and whenever I reset it. I seem to have figured out the problem for me using the following steps:

I let the box reset (pressing and holding down the power button on the box for 10-15 seconds and then releasing). Leave it alone for a good 20 minutes. Then I turn on the box. Then I view a HD channel like HBOHD (stuttering at this point). Then I change the channel to something like 2. I then hit the "swap" button on my remote changing the tuner being used. It will usually go to channel 3. Then I change the channel to a HD one. That seems to fix the stuttering problem for me. After those steps both of the tuners seem to work properly.

Sorry. I am not the best at giving instructions but hopefully those steps will help you.

Sounds like the box for sure (maybe the hard drive is getting flacky - the box reads the signal from the hard drive before outputting it, so any problem could be seen as stutter on your TV).

You should not have such problems. Call Cox and have them replace the box. HBOHD looks great on HD movies - I don't see any stutters and have good signal quality to the box (your installer should have measured the signal to make sure it is not degraded).

Agreed, if I had any stutter I would have swapped out the box a long time ago - a working box doesn't have that problem.

NBCHD feed had a lot of 1-10 second blackouts tonight during start of Surface. The OTA HD feed I recorded on ReplayTV had the same problem so it wasn't a Cox issue. It got so bad that about 20 minutes in it was switched to SD with sidebars.

NBCHD feed had a lot of 1-10 second blackouts tonight during start of Surface. The OTA HD feed I recorded on ReplayTV had the same problem so it wasn't a Cox issue. It got so bad that about 20 minutes in it was switched to SD with sidebars.

Yeah, I'm in North Orange County with Comcast, and had the same thing happen. So it is DEFINETLY not COX. I came on to see if it was me, and found this thread before I found the one for my area. I've actually seen this several times on NBC in the last month. Hope they get it worked out.

-Beefshank

There are 8-10 "Test Channels" with the No Data in the guide....since this is usually a sign of new channels being added, I guess we're getting some new ones soon? They are channels in the 800's so I'm guessing it's network SD??

There are 8-10 "Test Channels" with the No Data in the guide....since this is usually a sign of new channels being added, I guess we're getting some new ones soon? They are channels in the 800's so I'm guessing it's network SD?? Perhaps this is a side-effect of preparation for digital simulcast? We can only hope.

NBCHD feed had a lot of 1-10 second blackouts tonight during start of Surface. The OTA HD feed I recorded on ReplayTV had the same problem so it wasn't a Cox issue. It got so bad that about 20 minutes in it was switched to SD with sidebars.

I have a possibly stupid question. When something airs on an HD channel in SD, does it take up the amount of hard drive space in the recorder that a real HD recording would take? Or only as much as an SD recording?

(I warned you it was possibly stupid...)

I have a possibly stupid question. When something airs on an HD channel in SD, does it take up the amount of hard drive space in the recorder that a real HD recording would take? Or only as much as an SD recording?

(I warned you it was possibly stupid...) Not a stupid question at all. The resolution is the same: 720p or 1080i. The side bars are actually part of the broadcast data which is why you can't get your TV/box to stretch to get rid of them like you can for normal SD channels. The bit rate is variable just like a normal HD broadcast and tends to vary but for the most part I believe is about the same as a normal HD broadcast (since the headend multiplexer bit rate shaping scheme is unchanged).

In short, I believe the recording size is about the same as a normal HD recording.

Thanks! That's unfortunate, but it makes sense.

Got another one for you! I was looking (e.g., carefully monitoring) good old List B, future recordings, and noticed that on Sunday, everything is scheduled one hour late. Will this fix itself after the clocks change?

Thanks! That's unfortunate, but it makes sense.

Got another one for you! I was looking (e.g., carefully monitoring) good old List B, future recordings, and noticed that on Sunday, everything is scheduled one hour late. Will this fix itself after the clocks change? We've had trouble 2 years in a row with the time change so don't have much hope this time will be any different. It really only affects time-based or 1-time recordings from what I remember however so is not a big deal at least for me. You may have to force a re-boot after the time changes to fix the "to-do" list with the repeat recordings.

Well, I just got my 6412 III box, and im already having problems!!!

I connected the box with a firewire, and the picture looked beautiful. The only problem is that the firewire output is video/audio out only, you cannot change channels or see the guide menu or anything. What is the point!?!? I currently have my Netcommand TV hooked up with component video, hoping some day it will fully support firewire!

Also, I had that stuttering problem another member was prevoiusly talking about. While watching HD, the video stuttered, or frooze for a millisecond and started playing again. It was really annoying! I called Cox and they had me upgrade my firmware... havent checked if it was fixed or not, they were supposed to call back but never did!

EDIT: Firmware upgrade acutally made the stuttering worse! They are sending a technician out monday. After I got off the phone with them, i switched to a regular channel, then back to the HD channel, and behold, the stuttering was gone!!! I am going to have to call cox and cancel the technician.

STUTTER INSTRUCTIONS

If you recently installed the box or reset the box and you are having the stuttering problem do the following:


Turn on the box.

Change the channel to an HD one like HBOHD 700.

Change the channel to an SD one like CBS 2.

Hit the SWAP button on your remote.

Change the channel to an HD one like HBOHD 700.

Stuttering should now be gone.


RESET INSTRUCTIONS

If the fast forward/rewind feature is lagging or not working properly on your box you might need to reset it. To reset the box do the following(DONT RESET IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY RECORDING A SHOW):

Hold down the POWER button on the front of your dvr box for 10-15 seconds and then release.

Dont touch the box for 15-20 minutes.

Turn on box.

If you have the stuttering problem on HD channels follow the above instructions listed STUTTER INSTRUCTIONS.

For you NBA fans be sure to take advantage of having TNTHD at your disposal now. Season kicks off Tuesday night (5pm) on TNTHD with Denver/San Antonio followed by Dallas/Phoenix.

Then on Thursday there are 2 more games including Phoenix/Lakers @7:30pm.

The guide claims the broadcasts are "HDTV" so I'm assuming that's really the case. In previous seasons it wasn't until playoffs that TNTHD broadcast in true HDTV. Even if it's not true HDTV at least it will be much better than the analog channel quality.

Yep. Even if they arent in true HD anything is better than the analog quality. Trying to watch a basketball game on a nonhd channel is painful. I can barely tell who the players are until there is an extreme closeup.


Lots of Test channels right now. Hopefully at least one of them will turn out to be another HD channel.

moyekj:

I believe the games would be in HD. I watched a pre-season game last week (Magic VS Heat) on TNTHD and it was broadcasted in HD.
I have the sony DHG-HDD500 as my HD DVR and all the unscrambled HD channels are picked up by this unit, no problem on Fox and ABC at all.

Eric

Looks like they forgot to update there HD programing page again.

It still doesnt list TNTHD.

http://www.cox.com/oc/hdtv/programming.asp

I know the full channel list shows TNTHD but most new potential customers interested in seeing there HD lineup would go to the link I provided.

On an unrelated topic....

One cool thing that I would like to see implemented in the future is a page that gives the breaking news for Cox customers. Being able to see any new channels added by hitting menu on your remote and then have the option to go to a "newly added channels" list would be cool. Sometimes I dont learn about new channels (SD not HD. I ALWAYS notice new HD channels) when they are added to the listings on my titantv account.

It would also be cool to see what all of those new test channels are going to be.\



Oh. Btw. The Denver V.S. San Antonio game on TNTHD is in HD. I am not wowed by the PQ but it is still very nice to see regular season NBA games in any form of HD.

It would also be cool to see what all of those new test channels are going to be. My speculation as I mentioned before is they are related to testing of digital simulcast channels which I am still hoping we will start getting before the end of the year.

My speculation as I mentioned before is they are related to testing of digital simulcast channels which I am still hoping we will start getting before the end of the year.

I really hope you are wrong. I really dont need any more lame ass weather channels. Even if they are more dedicated to my local community.

I really hope you are wrong. I really dont need any more lame ass weather channels. Even if they are more dedicated to my local community. Don't care about the local channels either, but channels like SciFi, ESPN2, Fox News, CNN, MTV, VH1 etc. would be great to have in better digital quality since we don't have those available in SD or HD digital format right now. I would think those would get priority to be simulcast over many of the lame local channels anyway.

Maybe I am thinking of a different thing. I thought simulcast was the bonus channels that local stations(abc, nbc, wb, cbs,etc...) offer. Like ABC offering there Live Doppler 7 and there news channel. Guess not. I would be in favor of better quality versions of channels already available. As is, some are almost totally unwatchable.

On an unrelated topic.....

Ever since it rained my reception for my rooftop antenna has been drastically effected. It has been perfect weather here for about a week but my reception is borderline ****. ABC is probably the biggest change. It went from a very strong signal to fairly weak and having frequent breakups. I havent changed anything on my end and I seriously doubt the rain pointed my antenna in a different direction. I would hate to have to bust out the big ladder and climb my roof. Especially if it isnt going to help anything. If these problems continue I think thats what I am going to be forced to do. Does anyone know if MT. Wilson made any changes recently?

TheRock, digital simulcast refers to carrying the same channels that are currently in the analog only lineup on SD digital lineup. Presumably those with digital service (and digital set top box) when tuning to a traditionally "analog" channel (i.e. a channel below 100) will actually be mapped to the SD digital channel instead which hopefully means better picture quality comparable to or better than satellite if Cox does it right.

As far as OTA reception I haven't noticed any degradation in signal strength. I use OTA only for digital channels (ATSC) not for analog (NTSC).

Ok. Thanks. That does sound like a good thing then.

I thought only the first 30 or so channels were analog. I dont think they should be able to call it digital cable if it isnt digital. Sounds like false advertising to me. But it is better than having the company claim they love you.

SOMEBODY UP THERE LOVES YOU, DIRECTV! :p

Hi guys,

Based on postings I'd seen here before I ordered the Electroline amp to replace the splitters I was using. I was having some problems with 707 and 711 intermittently looking like they weren't connecting, with lots of breakups.

Before, my setup was the cable from wall to a powered pre-amp the cable guy put in, then out to an unpowered splitter, and from there to my modem, cable box, Tivo and DVD burner.

I took out the powered pre-amp and put in the electroline, going directly from the wall to the Electroline unit, and from there cables out to everything.

Unfortunately, the TV looked awful, even when I unplugged all but the cables into the cable box. The analog channels were snow and the digital ones wouldn't come in at all. I guess the signal coming into my living room is just incredibly weak.

I tried putting the powered pre-amp back in and running that to the Electroline. The cable modem is working and the TV looks good to all three splits. I'm not sure I see much of an improvement from before, but 707 and 711 look fine so far.

So, the current setup is:

Cable from wall ---> powered pre-amp ---> powered Electroline ---> 3 TV splits & modem

What I want to know is, is this safe? To have both the splitter powered from the wall and the Electroline both powered? This may seem like a stupid question, but I really haven't a clue about this stuff.

Thanks!

Sounds like way too much gain to me. Each split is 3dB loss and since you have 4 splits you only need about 12dB amplification. The Electroline on it's own should be up to the task - your description of snow sounds like the Electroline wasn't getting power. I have an 8-way amplified Electroline serving 5 cable TV & 1 cable modem connection (the remaining 2 splits are terminated with 75 ohm resistors) and it does a great job. I thought with an 8-way split I would need return path amplification but cable modem works fine as is as does the DCT6412 cable modem so no problems there.

I take the coax from the street and feed that through garage wall to the Electroline in the garage and then all the 6 splits go back up the garage wall to the various points in the house.

No, the Electroline was powered. I tried it with both power supplies (the one that came with the Electroline and the one with the preamp).

I am not sure where the coax comes from... the house was pre-wired and I think I'm stuck with it. Behind the TV there's only a very short cable that's really a pain to work with.

"Too much gain" doesn't mean "might catch on fire and blow up," does it? I can put it back the way it was, with the splitters, but seems to be working so far...

Just watching Clippers playing on KTLAHD and it actually looks quite nice. I get KCAL 9 HD via OTA which carries Lakers games but they don't broadcast the games in HD... it's SD with sidebars - very annoying. How come the less popular team get's the better broadcaster?

Just watching Clippers playing on KTLAHD and it actually looks quite nice. I get KCAL 9 HD via OTA which carries Lakers games but they don't broadcast the games in HD... it's SD with sidebars - very annoying. How come the less popular team get's the better broadcaster?

I posted about this in a different area. Very cool surprise. I am actually happy the Clippers have a better broadcaster. They are my team. It hasnt been the easiest to be a fan of theres. They make tons of bad draft positions and until recently weren't willing to spend any money. Nice to see them start off the season 3 and 0.

I recently had one of my shows disappear from my DVR list. I am guessing it deletes shows that have been on the DVR for a long time to make sure there is space for new ones. My question is this. Is there a setting that disables that feature? I know I shouldn't have a recording on the DVR for that long without watching it but it still sucks that I cant watch it now.

Go into the ooptions under that recorded show prior or after recording and select save for ever.

I noticed on my Cox Bill today:
Galavision (74) >47
CSPAN1 (95) >23
CSPAN2 (97) >26
Korean Shop at home (96) >24

Looks like they are opening the upper end and consolidating on the old Showtime/HBO channels...

Could it be possible we are getting Showtime and Cinemax HD soon? As well as a simulcast in the 800 range?

I believe the simulcast for those with digital set top boxes (which includes the DVR) will simply get the digital broadcast instead of the analog when tuning channel # < 100 - I don't believe the simulcast channels will require one to tune in the 800 range. This is how Comcast did it if you browse the Comcast threads and it makes sense to not have to replicate more guide data on different channels. I'm hopeful that those channels showing up in 800 range are test channels for simulcast only enabled for Cox employees testing things out.

Thanks AMRivlin. I saw how to do that after I made the post. Now I just need to get off my ass and watch some of these shows. Thanks again for the responce.

Very angry that the INHD broadcast of the Lakers - Nuggets game on Sunday was blacked out! Had to resort to the crappy 480i on FSN. Boo!!!

Very angry that the INHD broadcast of the Lakers - Nuggets game on Sunday was blacked out! Had to resort to the crappy 480i on FSN. Boo!!! Get used to it... that was the case every time last season too. I don't even bother to check anymore. But hey, we get to watch the Clippers in HD on KTLA - yeah (NOT). And do we really need a closeup of Jack in HD?

If I am not mistaken, HDNet and HDNet Movies are exclusive to DBS providers and cannot be added by Comcast or Cox. That's why we have INHD 1 & 2 (which is sort of an apt substitute, I really like INHD) that are exclusive to cable systems.

And yeah, I want Universal HD too (because I want Monk in HD, dammit).

But as for ESPN2 HD, there is like, no HD content on that channel. So yeah, there's no real need for it. I think most people who have it on D* think its wasted bandwidth.


Not true, our neighbors to the north with TWC (Hunt Beach, FV, etc..) get both HDnet channels and Universal I think too......possibly ESPN2 also..they started out slow but passed COX over a year ago in HD offerings.....

Hi all - just took delivery of the 'phase 3' HD / DVR unit. Any preferred method to get the recordings from the DVR disk on to DVD? I am looking for something fairly simple to operate and maintain, so suggestions would be most welcome. The $150 DVD recorders an OK solution?

The install docs that came with the unit talked about DVI, thought that was great as my TV has that, look around the back and see HDMI, but no DVI. Ah well....Cables are already buried in the wall so will not be buying the DVI > HDMI cable.

Hi all - just took delivery of the 'phase 3' HD / DVR unit. Any preferred method to get the recordings from the DVR disk on to DVD? I am looking for something fairly simple to operate and maintain, so suggestions would be most welcome. The $150 DVD recorders an OK solution?

The install docs that came with the unit talked about DVI, thought that was great as my TV has that, look around the back and see HDMI, but no DVI. Ah well....Cables are already buried in the wall so will not be buying the DVI > HDMI cable.The older phase 2 boxes have DVI instead of HDMI and DVI actually works as opposed to HDMI problems reported with phase 3 boxes and their current firmware.

Firewire capture is the best method for archiving recorded shows if quality is your number 1 priority. DVD recording is restricted to S-video or composite outputs which means you go through D->A->D plus re-encoding and thus quality suffers quite a bit compared to firewire capture which grabs the original digital transport stream from the headend. Also, for the case of HD recordings they are always 4:3 letterbox through S-video/composite outputs which makes for a crappy DVD. Of course the price you pay for firewire capture is it's not very easy to setup, not always reliable and can be quite an involved procedure to make a DVD. But the end result if you do it right is much better DVD than via a DVD recorder as well as being anamorhpic widescreen for HD recordings.

Thanks Moyekj,

Your 'DCT6412 mpeg2 firewire capture and HD/SD->DVD howto' link has given me some reading to do!

The new official date for Passport Echo software update for Orange County market is now January according to tech support in San Diego. This is supposed to be a pessimistic date which means we could get a software update before then but they are working hard to get things released by January. The local person most knowledgeable about the DVR software problems and the "HD Subscription Bug" in particular is a supervisor called Jeff. You can reach him by phone as follows:
858 715-4400 2 x3467 (Tu-Sa 6:00am-2:30pm)
If you can't reach Jeff in person make sure you get tech support in San Diego since they seem to know what's going on or have access to ask Jeff personally. I suggest we periodically get in touch with them to remind them that this is a high priority problem for us.

I got really pissed off last night as the Colts/Pats game didn't record because of the Subscription Bug despite my taking the usual workaround precautions which is what prompted me to call around again today.

Great News! New HD Lineup Coming Soon!!! (Reliability of information unknown) Confirmed today with a Cox CSR.
Stars HD
National Geographic HD

National Geographic HD is not set to hit airwaves until "early 2006" (see link below) so I guess soon means at least a couple of months.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA632912.html

Starz HD would be nice, I'll dump Showtime then as it's pretty useless when you have HBO which I prefer. (Originally got the HBO for the Band of Brothers....Pacific Theater version due out sometime!!!) Only been keeping because of the occasional HD movie. Starz seems to get much more first run stuff....

Still many many more needed...

StarsHD indeed does sound good. Hopefully they will keep there word on offering more HD. I have seen horrible comments about there current service. It seems like the vast majority of movies aren't offered in HD (90% of there current offerings are SD). They seem to have exclusive rights on several movies I have been interested in seeing so hopefully they will be offered in HD if we indeed to get this channel soon. Starz also seems horrible when it comes to customer relations. I searched for contact information a couple weeks ago and I couldn't find anything.

As far as National Geographic HD. I already have DiscoveryHD, KCETHD, and KOCEHD to fill my nature HD coverage. I would love to see UniversalHD or even CinemaxHD offered in its place. I really hate how HBO goes "Blockbuster" on all our asses and edits there movies.

I personally love SHOWTIMEHD. I just get disappointed because the vast majority of movies I get excited about are usually smaller rare movies. They often times are shown late at night (no I am not talking about skinemax movies) and are usually in SD. I dont even know how many movies I have recorded only to see they were in SD. Sucks. I whish all there stuff was HD.



Damn. Looks like the WB showing the Clipper game in HD was not a regular occurence. There game against Washington right now is in SD.

It's a game on the road. Maybe it's HD for home games only.

As far as National Geographic HD. I already have DiscoveryHD, KCETHD, and KOCEHD to fill my nature HD coverage.


How do you get KCET in Orange County. OTA? Cause in Irvine Cox only has KOCE (which is poor cause you can't record any shows (except manually) since they choose not to list their guide. Which really stunk last month when they aired E=MC in HD, cause I really wanted to watch it, but could only find the listing on the SD channel, and KCET isnt on in HD in Irvine.

I was taping Lost last night, and about 10 min in my DVR crapped out saying there was no more to record. Thank god for the internet, converting the original HD mpeg to my ipod now... I am not paying 2 bucks for an inferior quality copy.

I record KCETHD and KTLAHD on my ReplayTV from OTA source since Cox does not carry them. ReplayTV does not handle HD but the downcoverted HD recorded at high quality from S-video output of the tuner looks pretty good and is widescreen.

The full hour of Lost on ABCHD recorded for me fine last night on my DCT6412 (I'm in South Mission Viejo) and I was able to extract it via firewire port.

I receive KCET from my rooftop antenna connected to MyHD video card in my computer. Usually a good signal.

Hopefully all the Clipper home games will be offered in HD on WB. Sometimes I forget that away games have an entire different crew and equipment.


I know it is winter time but I am seriously sick of this crappy weather and the problems it has caused. Rain is death to OTA reception even in just small amounts. Ever since it rained this season the signals on most of my channels have gone down. Fox I cant even receive anymore. Guess I need to go up on the roof one of these days and play around with the direction my antenna is pointed.

Not sure if this has been posted recently as no time to check but tech yesterday mentioned that firmware/software update is now scheduled for 11/30

Not sure if this has been posted recently as no time to check but tech yesterday mentioned that firmware/software update is now scheduled for 11/30
http://smiley.onegreatguy.net/crossfingers.gif

It looks like the 11/30 update is for non-DVR digital boxes only, see:
http://cox.com/oc/guide/

:( :(

Well that sucks.

Is the subscription bug the only problem? Is that the only problem that we are hoping to get fixed with the firewire update or are there more? I have yet to call complaining about that. Maybe I will call soon. Seems like they aren't aware of the problem. Thankfully the tips I have found on this site have allowed me to record shows with very few problems.

Lost going 4 minutes over sucked. I didn't record it with the dvr but it screwed up catching the beginning of other shows. F*cking ABC. It wasnt an "extended" episode. It just had more commercials.


Nice to see KTLA showing the Clipper VS Laker game in HD again

Subscription bug is one of the major bugs fixed but not the only one. See here for complete details:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Known_Problems_and_Workarounds

In summary what should be fixed:
* Subscription bug (affects pretty much everyone to different degrees)
* A bunch of issues with playback of still recording shows (This is a huge issue for me so I can't wait for the fix)
* Rogue recordings - recording beyond alloted time (I've only had this one once)

There are also some enhancements, some that have been mentioned by others receiving the upgrade aside from the bug fixes.

After talking to tech support in San Diego again it seems like that web page stating the 11/30 upgrade is only non-DVR boxes is not correct. It seems like that was recycled from the last announcement back in August. So 11/30 will most likely be the day. :) Furthermore for those with P3 boxes the HDMI issue (and I'm guessing the audio switching issue) will supposedly be fixed with a Motorola firmware update a week later or so. :)

Cox, give us something we want that nearly every other system (DirectTV, ReplayTV, Tivo) has -- the ability to filter what channels are displayed in the guide. I'm sick of having to see all the worthless channels I have no interest in viewing take up space.

Thats great. Hopefully it turns out to be true. I would also like to see them enable the picture in picture fuction. It would be great to view both stations the tuners are set to.

I just got of the phone with OC tech support and they said that motorola gave them a date of Dec 6th. Of course this is subject to change, but that's the date for the firmware update for the Phase III boxes.

haaha, i wont keep my fingers crossed.

I just got of the phone with OC tech support and they said that motorola gave them a date of Dec 6th. Of course this is subject to change, but that's the date for the firmware update for the Phase III boxes.
Jives exactly with the info I got and last posted here and with ukaussi before that, so at least the message from Cox from the field is consistent which I think is a good sign. Come Wednesday morning we will hopefully be much happier campers with a Passport Echo update followed a week later my a TC update from Moto for P3 boxes.

http://smiley.onegreatguy.net/crossfingers.gif http://smiley.onegreatguy.net/crossfingers.gif

This whole blacking out of sporting events is really starting to piss me off! I've seen one Clipper home game on KTLAHD and it did look great (and the Clips are playing well to boot), but there was another that was shown on FSN and INHD but blacked out locally on the INHD feed :mad: Same thing happened periodically during the baseball season when Angel or Dodger games were being broadcast on ESPNHD or INHD but blacked out due to them also being broadcasted on local channels

I understand that National broadcasts of games are typically blacked out in the markets in which games are played to protect the rights/investment of the local broadcaster but those rules probably shouldn't apply to HD broadcast since, I'm assuming, such a small percentage of the population can actually watch them. The FCC should disallow this type of behavior as a means to get more local broadcasters to move toward HD broadcasts....grrrrrrr....this is particularly frustrating given how great sporting events can look in HD....and how crappy they can look in SD, especially analog..

Yeah we are really spoiled now having seen games in HD on KTLAHD and TNTHD it's very hard to go back to SD watching for sports. I'm still very thankful that we got TNTHD for the NBA HD broadcasts alone. Hopefully with upcoming Cox digital simulcast we will hopefully at least get better SD digital quality KCAL9 and FSN* channels.

YES!! Echo 2.5.0.37, TC 10.12 (for phase 2 box). FINALLY! :D

2.5.037 TC 12.18 as of 2:44 AM Boot Time
Phase III Box.

Just in time for Saint Nicks!

Ooo little stars denoting my favourite channel, that is new.

Crap! I now have TC 12.18, but the HDMI reboot problem still exists. I tested just now by simply turning off my TV. My 6412 III box rebooted within 10 seconds of turning off my TV! I have HDMI on the 6412 connected to the HDMI on my new plasma.

I thought they were going to push firmware 12.22 this time. 12.22 supposedly fixes this HDMI reboot problem, so I was really looking forward to it. Does anyone know why we got 12.18 instead of 12.22 firmware last night??? When are we supposed to get 12.22?

Crap! I now have TC 12.18, but the HDMI reboot problem still exists. I tested just now by simply turning off my TV. My 6412 III box rebooted within 10 seconds of turning off my TV! I have HDMI on the 6412 connected to the HDMI on my new plasma.

I thought they were going to push firmware 12.22 this time. 12.22 supposedly fixes this HDMI reboot problem, so I was really looking forward to it. Does anyone know why we got 12.18 instead of 12.22 firmware last night??? When are we supposed to get 12.22?
Um, you might want to read the thread more closely. Last night was only the date for the software update. Firmware update in OC is scheduled for Dec. 6. See recent posts by jlstang95 and moyekj ...

I did read the thread closely. I guess I just don't trust Cox. The posts above talk about a firmware update, but they don't specifically say 12.22. Before today, I had TC 12.15, and as of this morning I have 12.18. So my firmware, not just the software, was updated last night. It's conceivable that this was the firmware update that Cox was mentioning. I guess I'll just wait another week and see if they push ANOTHER firmware update of 12.22.

Thanks.

I don't trust Cox from a scheduling standpoint, either, but our info from jlstang95 and moyekj was good on the guide update, and their info on the firmware update was:
"...for those with P3 boxes the HDMI issue (and I'm guessing the audio switching issue) will supposedly be fixed with a Motorola firmware update a week later or so [after the 11/30 software update]...""I just got of the phone with OC tech support and they said that motorola gave them a date of Dec 6th. Of course this is subject to change, but that's the date for the firmware update for the Phase III boxes"I didn't notice that there was a mini-update of the firmware last night, but I wasn't expecting the bigger update until next week.

It sounds like Motorola still needed to deliver something to Cox. And Cox has usually done their own testing as well, so that date could well slip.

Sorry if I sound cranky. Only on my second cup of coffee this morning. I don't get friendly until my seventh. :o

(Edited to fix quote ownership :) )

What are the improvements to this latest update?

Steve, you reversed the quotes above as far as ownership. In any case like Steve said this time the date we were told for Passport Echo update was correct so there is no reason to think the P3 Motorola firmware update scheduled for next Wednesday morning won't happen either, especially since it's already been released in some Comcast markets. Note that I was not told the specific firmware version it will be, but going by the Comcast thread it needs to be 12.22 or later so I surmise we will get 12.22 for P3 boxes. Also note that Cox claims this is for fixing HDMI issue but I also surmised that the audio switching bug will also be fixed again based on the Comcast thread.

What are the improvements to this latest update?
A summary of differences from 1.6.x to 2.5.x:

1. Subscription Bug fixed!!
2. All bugs related to playback of still-recording shows are fixed!! i.e. timeshifting works properly now.
3. Top FF speed is now quite a bit faster - yeah!
4. After turning 6412 off it no longer leaves video visible on 2 sides
of the screen when tuned to a 16:9 channel.
4. Bumped shows will record if a conflicting recording is stopped/canceled
5. Quick Settings/Diagnostics menu (Menu,Down,B,Up,B) now split up into 3
separate screens which can be selected using A,B,C buttons.
A=CFS data (guide data) B=DVR recording data C=DVR Info (default)
Both tuner frequencies now displayed on page 2 of Info.
6. Automatically prompts for extended record time (30 mins by default)
when scheduling recordings for Sport or Live events
7. Can create recordings from Quick Info browser
8. Cancelled recordings now stick around in Guide and Scheduled Recordings
list (can be deleted from Scheduled Recordings)
9. Can setup skipped channels for channel up/down and they are identified in Program Guide
with a check mark.

So what is new here? I did not notice anything.

9. Can setup skipped channels for channel up/down and they are identified in Program Guide

I'm assuming the "skipped channels" still appear in the guide?

This is basically a favorites cycling button then?

For my use, The subscription bug, FF, and HDMI are the only real issues that really "bug" me.

Anyone figure out what the test channels on 850-860 are going to be?

I'm assuming the "skipped channels" still appear in the guide?

This is basically a favorites cycling button then? Yes, they still appear in guide making this all but a worthless feature. It's a little different than favorites cycling in that you can go up or down whereas favorites there is only 1 button and therefore one direction to traverse. However, channel up/down and favorites buttons I almost never find any use for. The only thing I was using channel up/down buttons for was part of the nightly subscription bug workaround to cycle through HD channels to clear up any subscription messages. Now that shouldn't be necessary anymore. :cool:

For my use, The subscription bug, FF, and HDMI are the only real issues that really "bug" me.

Anyone figure out what the test channels on 850-860 are going to be? As I mentioned a few times already in this thread my strong suspicion is these are in preparation for digital simulcast channel rollout in OC.

Anyone know if the FF compensation has been fixed? In other words, does it back up an appropriate amount of time after you FF past commercials and into the start of a program? This never worked right on HD shows.

Anyone know if the FF compensation has been fixed? In other words, does it back up an appropriate amount of time after you FF past commercials and into the start of a program? This never worked right on HD shows. From the little chance I got to try this morning it seems like it was easier to time it right now than before. As it was previously I had to consciously FF at top speed for 3-4 seconds beyond the end of commercials for the compensation to take me back to the right spot - i.e. the back compensation was way too much for my reaction time. When I tried this morning it seemed more intuitive now that as soon as I noticed the show is on I would hit play and would land at the right spot. So I think because the top FF speed is now faster and the back compensation is about the same as before that the combination seems to work better. i.e. as soon as you notice programming is back when you hit play you will land in about the right spot. I find it much easier to do this with 16:9 programming in widescreen since it's easy to pick out going from 4:3 commercials to 16:9 programming. When it's 4:3 programming I don't notice switchover from commercials to programming quite as quickly and end up too far into the program and have to skip back once or twice.

Also now that top FF speed is faster I think I can build a more reliable macro for my remote to accomplish a 2 minute skip ahead and conceivably even a 30 second skip macro that doesn't take too long. 30 second skip may be pushing it but certainly a 60 second skip macro may be suitably fast enough now with the faster FF top speed.

I tried a 60-second skip macro several months ago but it would take several seconds for the macro to complete since top FF speed was not very fast making it not very useful and worthless if many 60 second skips in a row were necessary.

I wish there were a way to jump directly to top FF speed instead of having to press FF 3 times since that would speed up the macro significantly and make it more reliable since the DCT6412 IR receiver does not always catch quick succession of signals.

Well I am a bit confused. The box reset fine last night.

I erased a program from my dvr and then checked how much space was left. It didnt seem like the most recent deleted show had been taken into affect. So I reset the box. First things first. It takes MUCH longer for the box to reset since the upgrade. Instead of 5-10 minutes it is now around 30. After the box finally booted up I checked how much space was left. This time it was even less than before. It went from having around 25gigs free to around 19. Odd. Oh well. Hopefully the upgrade will fix the FF lagging problem so I dont need to reset the box on a regular basis.

The search feature does seem to be greatly improved. It is cool not having to manually search for a basic show. Now when you hit the C button when a program is highlighted in the Guide it shows you all the other airings of that program.

I dont think I have had any problems from my box overheating but what is a good temperature for it to be at? I dont have any additional fans. As I type this my current temp is listed as 96.

Minor annoyance I found with the update from last night - you can't seem to enter a two-digit channel number then "ENTER" to immediately change channels. You either have to enter 0XX or enter two numbers then wait a few seconds... but if the subscription bug is finally fixed (after 16 months for me) I can live with that.

Minor annoyance I found with the update from last night - you can't seem to enter a two-digit channel number then "ENTER" to immediately change channels. You either have to enter 0XX or enter two numbers then wait a few seconds... but if the subscription bug is finally fixed (after 16 months for me) I can live with that.Hm. Just tried it, and it worked fine for me...

Could the software updates for box users be the reason I've had to re-set my Cablecard 3 times in the past 6 days? It keeps losing all the digital channels (yet only some of the HD ones)...

Could the software updates for box users be the reason I've had to re-set my Cablecard 3 times in the past 6 days? It keeps losing all the digital channels (yet only some of the HD ones)... Box update because of software only happened once Wed morning around 3:30am for my box so don't know why that would affect you more than once. How much is CableCard rental per month BTW?

Looks like the Howard Stern OnDemand is now active. The shows say free but when I tried to view them they gave me an error message saying I needed to call a number to subscribe. F*ck that. I will just download them online from a bittorent site or something. My bill from Cox is already around $200 a month. I dont think I should need to give them any more just for the Howard Stern OnDemand feature. Very lame.

My box in the bedroom reset last night at 2:58am, I know this because it woke me up. Was this limited to my box only or was there another update?

I think mine reset as well. When I came downstairs the box was off. I have not checked to see if anything updated yet.

Ever since the update my box is off and reset when I first check it for the day. It has happened every night since the update.

On an unrelated topic..... Does anyone know why the TVguide channel hasnt been the tvguide channel for years? It is listed that way but whenever I view the channel it is C-SPAN2. Not a huge deal but I would much rather have tvguide channel instead of c-span2. Not that I care a huge amount about either.

After the Wednesday morning update my box reboot itself at least twice already that I know about:
Thursday 8:30am
Friday 3:00am
I also noticed it since I leave the box always turned on and when it reboots it comes back up turned off.

There could be more reboots I don't know about - since the box only logs time of last reboot it's hard to know. Hope these are "intentional" reboots and not some problem due to new software. At least so far the reboots haven't happened during primetime in the middle of recordings.

Anyone bother to call Cox about the Howard Stern Subscription issue? IS it truly free?

Well I set a recording for Real Sports on HBO east at 2:30 today. When I got hope I got the dreaded 1 minute recording. I then tune to the channel and the subscription box appeared. I thought the new software 2.5 was suppose to get rid of the subscription bug. Guess not.

I haven't been employing subscription bug workaround and in fact on purpose leaving tuners tuned to HD channels and so far haven't run into a subscription bug problem. Most likely by now with the older software I would have had the bug already. There has been at least 1 other person in the 6412/Cox thread reporting they still have subscription bug with newer software. So perhaps the problem was not completely fixed but significantly minimized. I will have to give it a few more weeks to be completely satisfied the problem has been mostly fixed.

jlstang95, do you see the problem for non-premium channels too or was that the first and only occurence so far? I don't care for or subscribe to premium channels so can't test those.

After the Wednesday morning update my box reboot itself at least twice already that I know about:
Thursday 8:30am
Friday 3:00am
I also noticed it since I leave the box always turned on and when it reboots it comes back up turned off.

There could be more reboots I don't know about - since the box only logs time of last reboot it's hard to know. Hope these are "intentional" reboots and not some problem due to new software. At least so far the reboots haven't happened during primetime in the middle of recordings.

Hmm...these coincide with my cablecard needing resetting, so that must be it.

How much is CableCard rental per month BTW?

I believe it's $3 or $4.

It was my first recording after the update. Before the update I would only get the subscription bug on the HD channels and the premium channels, hbo, starz, etc. This was HBO2East that the bug occured.

It was my first recording after the update. Before the update I would only get the subscription bug on the HD channels and the premium channels, hbo, starz, etc. This was HBO2East that the bug occured. Post here if you have anymore. Note that sometimes software updates don't properly reach every box, so the couple of reboots we had following software update on Wed were probably aimed at reaching boxes who failed to update the first & second time. It's possible your box didn't have the proper update yet. There have been no more reboots so looks like software update has reached most everyone by now.

Well the latest update didn't seem to help the fast forward/rewind lagging problem. I needed to reset my box again this morning. Hopefully the update that is suppose to happen tomorrow (December 6, 2005) will fix that problem.

Motorola TC=12.22 firmware update for you guys with P3 box supposedly happening early (tomorrow) Wednesday morning. Please post here if/when you get the update and if it indeed solves the HDMI and audio switching problems. The 12.22 number is pure speculation on my part so it could be a later revision.

I still see no reason to switch to P3 box personally since SD channels (including analog) I record on my ReplayTVs and I use component switching via my Amp so HDMI wouldn't do me any good.

I did not receive the firmware update last night. I left my P3 box on when I went to bed, and it was still on this morning. I checked and I am still at TC 12.18. Major bummer. Could this firmware update have been delayed for some reason?

Same here, no update. Cox you suck.

I called Cox last night because I'm not getting OnDemand at which time I was told there would be a firmware update on Friday.

I'm still at TC 12.18. No firmware update occurred today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an update tomorrow morning, but I'm losing hope fast. Cox really does suck.

I would suggest you guys with P3 boxes to use Component connection for now instead of HDMI to avoid reboot and audio-switching problems. Word has it the P3 firmware update has been postponed indefinately due to issues on Motorola side. There's always the option to trade in for a P2 box with DVI if Component is not an option.

The reason I can't use the component output on the cable box is that I only have one component input on my plasma and it is being used for the DVD player. It's possible I could use Y-splitters to connect both the cable box and DVD player into the single component input on the plasma, but I don't want to deal with any signal degradation. I also don't want to have to buy a component video switchbox, because that shouldn't be necessary (and I don't have room in my setup). Also, I can't use a P2 cable box because DVI does not carry audio to the TV, and I want to use the built-in speakers on my TV for television audio, instead of having to use the receiver for all audio.

So I have a very specific need for the HDMI output on my cable box to function properly, and apparently Cox cannot provide me with a quality solution right now. As it is right now, I have to unplug the HDMI cable from the cable box every time I turn the TV off, or else I will have reboot problems on the box. This is very upsetting. I'm sure I'll live, but it's very frustrating that Cox cannot provide me with a box that suits my needs. My needs are not very complex, either... a high-def DVR box with a working HDMI port. COX CANNOT DO IT.

Also, I can't use a P2 cable box because DVI does not carry audio to the TV, and I want to use the built-in speakers on my TV for television audio, instead of having to use the receiver for all audio.
Surely your TV has an available electrical or optical SPDIF input or at least a stereo input? DCT6412 has those 3 different audio outputs. Combine that with DVI for video and you are good to go.

I had the same problem you are facing - way too many external components to attach to the TV and not enough inputs so I broke down and bought an A/V receiver to handle all A/V switching. Added bonus of that solution is with a universal remote everything is now very easy and wife-approved. Watch DVD just press the DVD button, wath the DCT6412 press Cable button, watch the ReplayTV press DVR button, watch OTA press the OTA button, etc.

My TV's HDMI input is called Input 1. I do have a stereo input available on Input 2. If I use a DVI->HDMI converter cable to go into the HDMI input on the TV, I am using Input 1 on the TV. When I'm using Input 1, I am ONLY using Input 1, meaning I can't use the audio from Input 2 and the video from Input 1 at the same time.

Question about your A/V switching receiver... Do you have to have the receiver turned on in order for it to pass the audio and video signals to the TV? If it has to be turned on, then that solution doesn't work for me since I don't want to use the receiver for TV audio. (I've thought about doing this with my receiver as well, but I haven't tried it. It has the necessary inputs/outputs. I just assumed that the receiver needs to be turned on for this to work.) It looks like I may have to resort to using my receiver for everything.

By the way, I appreciate your help. :)

My TV's HDMI input is called Input 1. I do have a stereo input available on Input 2. If I use a DVI->HDMI converter cable to go into the HDMI input on the TV, I am using Input 1 on the TV. When I'm using Input 1, I am ONLY using Input 1, meaning I can't use the audio from Input 2 and the video from Input 1 at the same time.

Question about your A/V switching receiver... Do you have to have the receiver turned on in order for it to pass the audio and video signals to the TV? If it has to be turned on, then that solution doesn't work for me since I don't want to use the receiver for TV audio. (I've thought about doing this with my receiver as well, but I haven't tried it. It has the necessary inputs/outputs. I just assumed that the receiver needs to be turned on for this to work.) It looks like I may have to resort to using my receiver for everything.

By the way, I appreciate your help. :) A/V receiver does have to be on. However, at least for my case I am able to feed the receiver monitor audio outputs (the monitor output passes through audio from any of the receiver inputs) to my TV speakers - I don't have surround sound speakers right now so am simply using TV speakers. There is a setting on my TV to use TV speakers as centre speakers in a surround sound system which is what I have enabled. i.e. I'm using my A/V receiver right now primarily for video switching since I'm not using it for fancy audio output - just stereo right now. It has 3 HDTV-compatible component inputs to which I can feed the DCT6412, the DVD player and an OTA tuner and a whole bunch of S-video inputs which get upconverted to the component output for ReplayTV and other components. It supports discrete codes for power on/off and for selecting inputs which makes it very easy to program macros into universal remote to make turning on and/or switching between components easy and wife-approved. I could never tell the difference between DVI and component for the DCT6412 anyway so it doesn't bother me in that respect either.

Thanks for your help. I may give this stuff a try. I need a permanent solution, and I'm just not sure what I want to do now.

If anyone has any more info on when we might see the firmware update for Motorola 6412 Phase III boxes, please post it here. I will see what I can find out myself as well. Thanks.

Why do they even make these claims if the software/firmware updates aren't even ready yet? Also, why is it always the day after the planned update when they admit it isn't ready for widespread public distribution? Why not wait until they know the update is good before they make these false statements and get everyones hopes up? I dont know if this update is going to help me any (I bought my TV at the worst possible time and it doesn't have HDMI) but I can certainly feel your pain. You are paying an insane amount of money for something. It should work properly.

On an unrelated topic..... Does anyone know why the TVguide channel hasnt been the tvguide channel for years? It is listed that way but whenever I view the channel it is C-SPAN2. Not a huge deal but I would much rather have tvguide channel instead of c-span2. Not that I care a huge amount about either.

You must live in Irvine... for some reason Irvine Cox users have never been able to view the TV Guide Channel... It has always been C-SPAN or some local Irvine Educational Broadcasting.

You must live in Irvine... for some reason Irvine Cox users have never been able to view the TV Guide Channel... It has always been C-SPAN or some local Irvine Educational Broadcasting.

Mission Viejo actually. I was recently told that "The City Government in those cities have put requirements into their franchise agreements that require local government channels. The local channels on ch 30 displace CSPAN2 which is relocated to other channels in those cities."

There are a few lines of noise at the top of the screen whenever I view NBC HD (704). It started a few days ago. I don't see it on any other channel. It looks like the image is not correctly framed. Is anyone else seeing this?

There are a few lines of noise at the top of the screen whenever I view NBC HD (704). It started a few days ago. I don't see it on any other channel. It looks like the image is not correctly framed. Is anyone else seeing this?Yup! Thought it was just me...

I called cox again and the said within 2 weeks for the next firmware update. I call B.S. as usual. I don't know if anybody has seen the movie the money pit. The construction guys said 2 weeks to finish the house 6 months later it was done. They will say 2 weeks for the next 2 years. I will believe it when I see it.

New channels added: National Geographic on 108 (about freaking time), Fit TV on 320, LOGO on 364.

Or at least these are new to me... Anyone know where they were added?

I went into the local Cox store and asked them about the Phase III firmware update again, and they told me the same thing they told me before, that it will happen in the next month. They said that Motorola is still working on fixing the problem. They said that for the HDMI problem, the HDMI port works with some TVs and not others. They said Motorola did not account for all of the different types of TV signals that are out there. I didn't get the impression that this lady really knew what she was talking about. But then, who at Cox does?

My TV's HDMI input is called Input 1. I do have a stereo input available on Input 2. If I use a DVI->HDMI converter cable to go into the HDMI input on the TV, I am using Input 1 on the TV. When I'm using Input 1, I am ONLY using Input 1, meaning I can't use the audio from Input 2 and the video from Input 1 at the same time.

Question about your A/V switching receiver... Do you have to have the receiver turned on in order for it to pass the audio and video signals to the TV? If it has to be turned on, then that solution doesn't work for me since I don't want to use the receiver for TV audio. (I've thought about doing this with my receiver as well, but I haven't tried it. It has the necessary inputs/outputs. I just assumed that the receiver needs to be turned on for this to work.) It looks like I may have to resort to using my receiver for everything.

By the way, I appreciate your help. :)


drjensen,

What Receiver do you have? Does it have Component Switching? Upconversion?

Unless it was made in the last couple years or it's serious big bucks, most likely not.

Mine is turned on at the same time as the Moto Box and my TV. (the Cox remote can turn on/off all three the same time) I use it for switching of the Moto, DVD....and S-Video/Composite switching of a VCR, Camcorder, and Playstation. The entire family finds it all quite easy to use, and sound (120x7) through JBL Studio Monitors and an SVS Sub is quite adequet. :D

I have a Pioneer VSX-1014. It's the equivelent of a mid-Elite unit minus the Piano Black finish, and half the warranty...Top of the consumer range it can be found for a tad over $400 if you look hard. (current model is the 1015) The Auto Calibration across 5 eq bands using the supplied microphone placed in my seat makes for an incredible sound system not acheavible by the average user by hand(ear?). Modern receivers can really upgrade your veiwing/listening pleasure....

Anyways, not been here in awhile. Same old story...a minor update (I noticed the improved "C" search, nice!) Still waiting on the big one before I jump to the P3 box. Good to see all the regulars are still here!

Happy Holidays all!

I tried to search and didn't find the answer so forgive me if this has been asked a million times. :)

My wife just purchased Cox HDTV package for us in San Juan Capastrano. When I get home tonight, I will have it for the first time!! If my research right, the package does not include Fox Sports Net? So no Laker, Dodger, Angel, Kings, Ducks games in HDTV?

Do any of you know if Cox plans on adding that? The fox site shows that:

Which teams will have HD games on Fox Sports Net HD in their respective regions?
In the NBA, the Spurs, Mavericks, Lakers, Timberwolves, Magic, Suns, Grizzlies, and Bucks. In the NHL, the Kings*, Stars*, Coyotes*, Wild*, Lightning* and Carolina Hurricanes*. In the MLB, the Astros, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Twins.

thanks!

No Fox Sports HD as of yet. (only what they show on Fox itself) It will come...someday...

Yeah. Not only do we not get the Fox Sports channel in HD but they black out INHD and INHD2 sometimes when our teams are playing :mad:

thanks fellas. that sucks. I am a pretty big baseball fan so I guess there is still time.

My set up at home last night looked really nice, no problems etc. The cox guy was gone in 30 minuets. Now its off to look at other forum threads in oreder to find a nice surround sound system...

Is anyone else missing guide data for tomorrow, 12/31? I have Sunday-Thursday, but not tomorrow.

I tried rebooting the box -- no joy. Every time I get to that page it says "Loading new data... one moment please" but nothing happens.

Any ideas appreciated.

Hey all, Laguna Niguel here...

I have a HDTV NON-DVR box and TV that I hook up using the DVI output to my HDMI slot on my tv with a DVI-HDMI adapter and I have no problems with HD channels.

BUT, I want to switch to the DVR type boxes and have been reading posts about problems with HDMI inputs.

Could someone summarize the problem?

I'm trying to figure if I should wait on the DVR boxes if I can't use my HDMI input for my HD channels.

Thanks!

Anyone in OC having CableCard problems?

I have intermittent channel dropouts on digital channels when using the CableCard through a Panasonic PX50U plasma.

Cable guy has been out twice; replaced the card once, replaced most of the terminations on the coax connections and verified that signal levels are OK.

Anyone in OC having CableCard problems?

I have intermittent channel dropouts on digital channels when using the CableCard through a Panasonic PX50U plasma.

Cable guy has been out twice; replaced the card once, replaced most of the terminations on the coax connections and verified that signal levels are OK.

Yes, it just happened tonight. I lose all my digital channels, and some (but not all) HD channels. I've got a cablecard and Samsung HLR5067 DLP. Back when they upgraded their software around Thanksgiving, this happened several times. I fixed it, but now I can't remember what the hell I did. It was either reset the cablecard, call Cox and have them send a refresh, or just wait it out.

Sorry I can't be of any help, whatsoever. But of course, neither could Cox...

Quigs,

Aliso Viejo here....
If you want to use HDMI you should wait. I had the HD DVR box with DVI connected and it worked fine, but I recently got the new Moto DCT6412 III, which has HDMI and it doesn't work right yet. Waiting for a firmware upgrade from COX to fix it ( actually Motorola firmware). The problem that occurs with HDMI connection between the Moto box and TV is that the box will go into a continuous rebooting loop. I have my TV connected via component for the time being and occasionally check the HDMI connection to see if it has been fixed. Current Moto firmware is version 12.18, supposedly there is a fix coming soon this month, but that is what I was told in November too. :-(

Tom

Anyone have a list of the TV's that the HDMI does work on?

I know my Panny 42...x whatever doesn't work. What about the Sharp 26" Aquos?

ATI announced their HD digital cable tuner card called the OCUR (Open Cable Unidirectional Receiver) at CES today. This might be a good choice for those of us who are fed up with the 6412 and tired of waiting for a CableCard HD Tivo. Because it's ATI, the software should be much better than on the Fusion HDTV card.

http://ir.ati.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=105421&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=800664&highlight=

Yes, but OCUR is aimed at Vista systems with DRM...

Anyone have a list of the TV's that the HDMI does work on?

I know my Panny 42...x whatever doesn't work. What about the Sharp 26" Aquos?

I am not so sure it has anything to do with a particular TV. This may have already been mentioned previously (although my search didn't bring anything up), but here we go.

I've had the 6413 (two of them actually) for a few months and have not had to deal with the HDMI reboot issue, as I was using component on both boxes. However, I just recently bought the Panny 900 projector (awesome, by the way) and am now using HDMI, component, s-video, and composite video all at the same time - yes, I have a lot of gear to feed. Anyway, when I first connected HDMI, I had no reboot issues and it looked great. But I soon realized I could only get HDMI OR component to work, but not both at the same time. So I figured I would just disconnect the HDMI cable from the projector (component goes to my 1080i rear screen CRT) when I wanted to watch the rear screen. Well, that is when the rebooting started. I also noticed that when I turned off the master power switch from the Panny, I had the reboot problem, but not when I turned off the soft power switch.

What does all this mean? Well, when the soft power is turned off on the TV or projector, apparently some TVs still maintain a proper HDMI connection with the source, while others don't. However, when the master power switch is shut off or the power plug pulled, the connection is lost, and the rebooting frenzy begins. I am speculating somewhat, but this happens with both of my 6413s.

This could be somewhat substantiated if others could chime in that the rebooting with HDMI only happens when the power is shut off or disconnected. I realize this isn't much of a consolation, as those who don't have TVs that continue to communicate when the soft power is off, would be forced to leave the TV on all the time in order to avoid the reboot.

By the way, I am now able to use component and HDMI simultaneously by forcing the 6413 to output 1080i. Apparently my rear screen will only take 1080i (not 720P), while the Panny will take both. I realize that I am having the 6413 upconvert to 1080i (assuming the source is less than 1080i) and then having the Panny downconvert to 720P, but it works great and I cannot see a difference anyway.

For what it's worth . . .

Patrick

Well I had a recording error for the first time in a long time today. I set my DVR to record a show when I was away. I woke up and checked if the file was listed. It was but as 7:44am - 7:44am. It wasn't even an HD channel. That is why I didn't set one of the tuners to channel 2 like I normally do. The channel was Sundance for those wondering. This is really annoying. Is the much delayed update from Motorola suppose to fix this problem or was the last COX update suppose to cover this?

Hopefully the alleged HD channels we are suppose to receive will happen soon. I heard that Cox Santa Barbara is going to be receiving new HD channels on Jan 16. Hopefully that will be the same time we get our channels also.


On a unrelated topic... Have any of you guys who use Cox High Speed Internet been having any problems lately? For the past 2 weeks my connection has been dreadful. Constant stoppages, modem restarts, and generally slow speeds when it is actually working. I checked to see if all the connections were tight and they were. I need to call them. I tried to get tech support from there online chat option but my connection died 4-6 times during and caused the tech to end the chat.

I am not so sure it has anything to do with a particular TV. This may have already been mentioned previously (although my search didn't bring anything up), but here we go.

I've had the 6413 (two of them actually) for a few months and have not had to deal with the HDMI reboot issue, as I was using component on both boxes. However, I just recently bought the Panny 900 projector (awesome, by the way) and am now using HDMI, component, s-video, and composite video all at the same time - yes, I have a lot of gear to feed. Anyway, when I first connected HDMI, I had no reboot issues and it looked great. But I soon realized I could only get HDMI OR component to work, but not both at the same time. So I figured I would just disconnect the HDMI cable from the projector (component goes to my 1080i rear screen CRT) when I wanted to watch the rear screen. Well, that is when the rebooting started. I also noticed that when I turned off the master power switch from the Panny, I had the reboot problem, but not when I turned off the soft power switch.

What does all this mean? Well, when the soft power is turned off on the TV or projector, apparently some TVs still maintain a proper HDMI connection with the source, while others don't. However, when the master power switch is shut off or the power plug pulled, the connection is lost, and the rebooting frenzy begins. I am speculating somewhat, but this happens with both of my 6413s.

This could be somewhat substantiated if others could chime in that the rebooting with HDMI only happens when the power is shut off or disconnected. I realize this isn't much of a consolation, as those who don't have TVs that continue to communicate when the soft power is off, would be forced to leave the TV on all the time in order to avoid the reboot.

By the way, I am now able to use component and HDMI simultaneously by forcing the 6413 to output 1080i. Apparently my rear screen will only take 1080i (not 720P), while the Panny will take both. I realize that I am having the 6413 upconvert to 1080i (assuming the source is less than 1080i) and then having the Panny downconvert to 720P, but it works great and I cannot see a difference anyway.

For what it's worth . . .

Patrick

First off, don't you mean 6412?

So when I bought my Proview 32" LCD, I initially connected the 6412 via HDMI and my DVD via component and VCR via composite. Everything worked fine, until I turned the TV off (with the soft power, tv is still in Standby mode). That is when the rebooting starts. I can recreate this on demand (no pun intended - COX)

So it's interesting that your TV continues to work during the soft power off, but mine doesn't. I guess that explains why some TV's continue to work.

Now I initially thought the box was bad, so I returned it and got another, same problem. Nobody at Cox knew about the HDMI problem, I researched it on the net and found that it was a Motorola firmware issue and I called COX back again and actually got a knowledgeable tech rep who confirmed that it was a Moto firmware issue, but he didn't know when it would be fixed. That was in November and here we are, still waiting.

T :cool:

Hopefully the alleged HD channels we are suppose to receive will happen soon. I heard that Cox Santa Barbara is going to be receiving new HD channels on Jan 16. Hopefully that will be the same time we get our channels also.



What new HD channels are you speaking of?

T

Great News! New HD Lineup Coming Soon!!! (Reliability of information unknown) Confirmed today with a Cox CSR.
Stars HD
National Geographic HD


I guess i forgot about the "reliabilility of information unknown" part but it would make sense for us to receive new channels soon. When I last spoke to a COX representative they made it seem like they were in the process of adding more HD channels. I also have heard that several Cox markets are going to receive MTV's new HD channel when it starts sometime in January.

My Pioneer PDP-5050HD works fine with the 6413 (besides the digital audio bug).

First off, don't you mean 6412?

6412, Phase III a.ka. 6413

I guess that explains why some TV's continue to work.

Agreed.

That was in November and here we are, still waiting.

and waiting . . . but I guess that I am one of the lucky ones in that my setup seems to work fine

On a unrelated topic... Have any of you guys who use Cox High Speed Internet been having any problems lately? For the past 2 weeks my connection has been dreadful. Constant stoppages, modem restarts, and generally slow speeds when it is actually working. I checked to see if all the connections were tight and they were. I need to call them. I tried to get tech support from there online chat option but my connection died 4-6 times during and caused the tech to end the chat.

No modem restarts or stoppages or slow speeds. I have had problems with AIM or Xfire dropping connections frequently. I have no idea why since all other internet activity seems normal (the computer is on and on-line all day).

No modem restarts or stoppages or slow speeds. I have had problems with AIM or Xfire dropping connections frequently. I have no idea why since all other internet activity seems normal (the computer is on and on-line all day).
Do you have a netgear router? I've had the same issue with AIM. Replaced the netgear router with a linksys and everything has been working fine.

Eric

Do you have a netgear router? I've had the same issue with AIM. Replaced the netgear router with a linksys and everything has been working fine.

Eric

No, I have a Linksys. Maybe I should try your Netgear router? :)

I don't IM all that much so it's just a minor annoyance to me.

I visited Cox Santa Barbara site and looked at their HD lineup - it's pitiful compared to what we have:
706 KSBY (NBC) HD
715 Discovery HD Theatre
720 ESPN HD
731 INHD1
732 INHD2
740 HBO HD
750 Showtime HD

So news that they will be getting new HD channels soon is not all that exciting since they have a lot of catching up to do (6 channels behind us).

Starz I don't subscribe to and National Geographic HD doesn't sound too exciting either (I never even watch Discovery HD). I'd much rather have the digital simulcast of the analog channels released before these HD channels so we can get some decent quality SD channels worth watching (that don't have to be encoded by the 6412).