John,

I have the DVR so I turned it to the weather channel and just scanned for the crawl. All Digital cable box subs will receive channel 715. The channel is called "Thirteen World" and is available on November 4th.

This is the same day that the new HD Tier will be availble to HD subscribers on channels 721-725.

So you'll have 701-707, 713-714, and now 721-725 as HD channels. You'll also have 714, 715, 730 and 750 as SD channels.

I'd rather they just keep all of the HD Channels in sequence......

Drew

I'm looking to finally hook up my SA8000HD to my Dolby Digital receiver.
Which is more reliable (in terms of less audio drop out) - optical out or digitial coax out?

P.S. - I've been using the RCA analog audio outputs and have had very few audio drop outs.

Out of all those 700s, all I want is 711 :(

I want my Smallville in HD!

And 709, Enterprise in HD!

I just upgraded to the TWC HD DVR box three weeks ago. Previously I had a the Pio HD box.

I also have the pixelation, waves and other distortions -- particularly on the SD channels; HD picture is ok, but not as crisp as the stations on the pio box. I also have experienced a degradation in cable modem signal strength.

Has anyone found any solutions these common ailments?

Regarding the poor picture quality, the tech told me that the problem is with the SA 8000 HD software and that hopefully TWC NY will upgrade the software in the coming months. Regarding the cable modem slowdown the TWC tech told me i should disconnect my tv when using the pc, can you believe it!

I started a separate thread on my next question, but was hoping that fellow TWC Ny customers with a similar problem could help me out...

When I had the Pio HD box, due to the loud humming through all of my speakers (i have a distributed audio system) throughout my apartment, I put a filter on the cable line into the HD box-- this had fixed the humming problem.

Now, with the SA 8000 HD box i had to disconnect the filter since it was interfering with HD signal reception -- I actually could not receive pictures on channels such as 704 (NBC HD) --even in the evening. As a result of removing the filter the picture has returned, but unfortunately i have the nasty buzz once again.

Do you have any suggestions on what kind of ground isolation filter works with the SA 8000 and twc nyc? Any other ideas on what i should do?

(I read about the MAGIC ground isolation circuit, but was informed by their tech support that the product has conflicts with HD signals.)

Thanks for your assistance.

This is really annoying. I have been having trouble with my internet connection for a month now(since I got the 8000HD). I just unplugged my cabel box and my internet connection is flying again.

Does TNT HD launch tonight (midnight)?, the reason I ask is because the TWCNYC site says that it has TNT HD as channel 710.

Re: pixelation, waves etc.

I have found that by limiting the output of the SA8000HD to 720p (i.e., disabling 480i, 480p and 1080i) the waves are eliminated, and SD pictures are most stable -- in fact, better than with the old Pio box. The only downside is that you don't get to use the monitor to stretch the picture, but I'm getting used to the full and zoom modes provided by the box.

Originally posted by gadgetgirl
I just upgraded to the TWC HD DVR box three weeks ago. Previously I had a the Pio HD box.

I also have the pixelation, waves and other distortions -- particularly on the SD channels; HD picture is ok, but not as crisp as the stations on the pio box. I also have experienced a degradation in cable modem signal strength.

Has anyone found any solutions these common ailments?

Regarding the poor picture quality, the tech told me that the problem is with the SA 8000 HD software and that hopefully TWC NY will upgrade the software in the coming months. Regarding the cable modem slowdown the TWC tech told me i should disconnect my tv when using the pc, can you believe it!

I.

Gadget girl,

when u say the tech told u the poor picture quality was due to the software. Are you refering to the pixilation problems or the softer picture of the 8000HD?

I had serious issues with 705, etc. when I first got the 8000HD - I had Time warner come in - they checked it and then re-ran a new line to the cable modem with a different splitter - I'm not really sure how it all works - but things are OK now - cable modem is the same - I get most of the signals - but then I get the drop outs, etc.

my dBmV went from -17 to -11 on the TV - so that was some improvement - it's still not great and I think we can say that the SW on the boxes aint' great.

I'm getting audio drops on TWC (72) right now!

You might need to rewire...

Originally posted by timewaster
Gadget girl,

when u say the tech told u the poor picture quality was due to the software. Are you refering to the pixilation problems or the softer picture of the 8000HD?

pixilation problem and poorer picture quality

Originally posted by kilmar
Out of all those 700s, all I want is 711 :(

I want my Smallville in HD!

And 709, Enterprise in HD!
next month when TWC adds HDnet you'll have your Smallville-sort of. they're re-running the entire series in HD. two episodes every thurs. 3 & 4 air tonite so i guess it'll be 3/4 thru the first season by 11/4-but at least its HD. looks pretty good too.

jim

Originally posted by timewaster
I'm looking to finally hook up my SA8000HD to my Dolby Digital receiver.
Which is more reliable (in terms of less audio drop out) - optical out or digitial coax out?

P.S. - I've been using the RCA analog audio outputs and have had very few audio drop outs.

Before I go out and spend money on a optical audo cable, can someone please confirm the optical out jack on the TWC-NYC SA 8000HD actually works. I would like to use this audio input instead of the RCA jacks.

TIA....JL

SRFast -- Optical audio works; I use it to connect mine to my reciever...

GadgetGirl -- While we're on the topic of optical, the reason I switched was a buzzing that sounds a lot like what you're experiencing. I found that my stereo buzzed when the coax cable (from outside) was connected to my cable box tightly AND the bitstream digital cable was connected from my cable box to my reciever. Originally I dealt with it by loosening the coax in so that the pin went in to the cable box, but the screw-on part didn't touch the connector, but it would shift and fallout and whatnot, so eventually I switched to the optical out instead of the bitstream, and that did the trick. No more buzzing.

Now my main problem is no more sound on the damn 8000HD twelve times a show, but thats another story. Is everyone experiencing the audio dropouts? They're really unbearable sometimes. Lost last week was real bad on mine.

GadgetGirl,

I recently installed the ISO-MAX VRD-1FF by Jensen Transformers, Inc. as a ground-loop isolator to eliminate an annoying hum from the audio. It works fine and all of the HD channels come in very well. My STB is a Pace DC-550 HD. The isolator is expensive though. It costs $60 from AudioXpress.com.

Cynthia

I am not experiencing audio drops using the analog RCA outputs.
Why don't you try switching to analog until they fix the problems.

Anyone try to see if TNTHD is on today? I forgot to check this morning before I went to work

Originally posted by timewaster
Anyone try to see if TNTHD is on today? I forgot to check this morning before I went to work

Not yet.

I got TNTHD here Chan 710 @ 10:00am in downtown Brooklyn :)

Lot of picture breakups and most of the content is stretched SD such as old ER shows, old Law & Order shows. The stretch they are using sucks. My tv has better stretch modes for SDTV.

Could be better but we already know it's on it's way and this is the first step! Sweet!! :)

Originally posted by Mobert
I got TNTHD here Chan 710 @ 10:00am in downtown Brooklyn :)

Lot of picture breakups and most of the content is stretched SD such as old ER shows, old Law & Order shows. The stretch they are using sucks. My tv has better stretch modes for SDTV.

Could be better but we already know it's on it's way and this is the first step! Sweet!! :)
I checked at 7AM before work and I had 710 TNT-HD on Staten Island. They were showing Pretender stretched.

Originally posted by CynKennard
GadgetGirl,

I recently installed the ISO-MAX VRD-1FF by Jensen Transformers, Inc. as a ground-loop isolator to eliminate an annoying hum from the audio. It works fine and all of the HD channels come in very well. My STB is a Pace DC-550 HD. The isolator is expensive though. It costs $60 from AudioXpress.com.

Cynthia


Does anyone know if this product will work with the SA8000HD and not degrade signal?

Originally posted by Jaydles
SRFast -- Optical audio works; I use it to connect mine to my reciever...


Thanks Jaydles. Do you get both analog and digital channel audio thru the receiver when the optical cable is connected?

Thanks...JL

Originally posted by bigd86
Not yet.


I am now happy to report that 710 TNTHD is up and running on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I will reserve judgment as to quality of signal and programming until I have more of an opportunity to observe same.

Originally posted by SRFast
Thanks Jaydles. Do you get both analog and digital channel audio thru the receiver when the optical cable is connected?

Thanks...JL

Good question, for me the answer is NO.
Curious if others concur.

I have the optical and the analog connected to my receiver and the SA 8000HD DVR but I can’t get the analog to function. Previously, with the pio box, I was able to switch between analog and digital. This was convenient because the analog always had less drop outs. I was actually going to fiddle around this weekend with the audio cables. I’d like to know if others have the same problem before I start.

Larry

Originally posted by LL3HD
Good question, for me the answer is NO.
Curious if others concur.

I have the optical and the analog connected to my receiver and the SA 8000HD DVR but I can’t get the analog to function. Previously, with the pio box, I was able to switch between analog and digital. This was convenient because the analog always had less drop outs. I was actually going to fiddle around this weekend with the audio cables. I’d like to know if others have the same problem before I start.

Larry

Thanks Larry. For my own clarification, are you experiencing:
1. RCA cables ONLY: Audio on all channels
2. RCA + Optical Audio connected: Digital channels have audio, but no audio on analog channels
3. Optical Audio cable Only: Digital channels have audio, but no audio on analog channels

Have you tried connecting the RCA audio out into a different audio input on your receiver to see if the connected optical audio overrides/cancels the SA 8000HD's RCA audio output? I would like to know if it is an "either/or, but not both" situation.

TIA.....JL

Quote:
Thanks Larry. For my own clarification, are you experiencing:
1. RCA cables ONLY: Audio on all channels
2. RCA + Optical Audio connected: Digital channels have audio, but no audio on analog channels
3. Optical Audio cable Only: Digital channels have audio, but no audio on analog channels

Have you tried connecting the RCA audio out into a different audio input on your receiver to see if the connected optical audio overrides/cancels the SA 8000HD's RCA audio output? I would like to know if it is an "either/or and not both" situation.

TIA.....JL

_____

JL,

# 1 is what I was going to try this weekend
#2 is the way I am set up and that is my situation- digital audio only, on all channels, no analog audio
#3 digital audio on all channels

Larry

Originally posted by SRFast
Have you tried connecting the RCA audio out into a different audio input on your receiver to see if the connected optical audio overrides/cancels the SA 8000HD's RCA audio output? I would like to know if it is an "either/or, but not both" situation.

TIA.....JL

Not yet, that's also something I was going to fiddle with this weekend.. As I said before, previously with the pio box- they both did function- digital and analog.

Larry

I've searched this forum, but didin't find an answer. Is there an internet/online program guide/listing for TWC-NYC programming? I am just looking for a listing of day/time/channel/title.

TIA....JL

Originally posted by SRFast
I've searched this forum, but didin't find an answer. Is there an internet/online program guide/listing for TWC-NYC programming? I am just looking for a listing of day/time/channel/title.

TIA....JL

I often use the Yahoo on-line guide, customized for my location: Time Warner Southern Manhattan (Digital) (http://tv.yahoo.com/grid?title=&lineup=&search=&starthour=&startdate=&range=&src=&setlineupcookie=true&.intl=us&zip=10014&.done=&search=&lineup=us_NY31519d). Unlike the TWC IPG, it's easily searchable.

Originally posted by SRFast
I've searched this forum, but didin't find an answer. Is there an internet/online program guide/listing for TWC-NYC programming? I am just looking for a listing of day/time/channel/title.

TIA....JL

Go to:

http://www.zap2it.com

enter your zip and you should see TWC Digital as one of the providers.

Looks like they are pretty up-to-date - already have TNT HD up there.

Thanks Eric. It is exactly what I was looking for.

Regards...JL

There's also www.TitanTV.com

By the way, with respect to 710 TNTHD, I do not have any sound. Anybody else experiencing this?

I can confirm no sound on TNT-HD via TWC in NYC.

Edit: Sound is working now.

Originally posted by bigd86
By the way, with respect to 710 TNTHD, I do not have any sound. Anybody else experiencing this?

Yes. (SA8000HD, digital coax audio to receiver).

Added:I reported the problem by phone and was told that TWC is aware of it and working on what it called "a glitch in the system."

FYI: I have TNT-HD (710) on the SA 8000HD, but it does not exist on the SA CableCard. It appears the CC is not updated with the new channels like the STB's are. I wonder how I get 710 on the CC without calling TWC-NYC. Any ideas?

TIA....JL

I would give it another day. It took them a few hours just to get the sound working.

I'll weigh in after 2 hours of TNT-HD. It sucks. Stretched SD? Edited movies?

If it wasn't for NBA basketball, I would be very upset at this misuse of bandwidth. I really have to wonder why they would create this channel to show stretched SD. I wonder if anyone with an HD set is fooled?

I was just watching John Q just now and it is indeed HD and very nice to look at. Are they playing upconverted / Stretched SD with other movies? It's after midnight, and it's Full HD. I know that the movies are edited and compressed for time, but i'd rather watch edited movies in HD then anything in SD. Just my opinion.

i'm getting a lot of dropouts with Discovery HD and TNT HD, the sound remains locked on but the picture is gone for a second. i have the SA3100HD box...

SRFast -- I get all the channels through the optical audio. The analog ones just come through in Pro Logic instead of Digital...

Like I said, I have a lot of audio dropouts, but I had the same problem with bitstream audio cables, so it doesn't seem to be the fault of the optical.

Originally posted by Jaydles
SRFast -- I get all the channels through the optical audio. The analog ones just come through in Pro Logic instead of Digital...

Like I said, I have a lot of audio dropouts, but I had the same problem with bitstream audio cables, so it doesn't seem to be the fault of the optical.

Thanks for your response. My Mits DLP doesn't have an optical audio out, but it does have the coaxial digital out so I've ordered a converter. I want to use the AVR's optical audio input for the TV.

Regards...JL

Anyone else having problems with the Giants game right now? The audio and video dropouts are so bad that its completely unwatchable.

Watching the game OTA no audio or video drop outs.

Only problem is the very low audio for the announcers via 5.1 -
almost sounds as if their microphones were out of phase.
Commercials and half-time show's audio - just fine!

Originally posted by Gary Press
Watching the game OTA no audio or video drop outs.

Only problem is the very low audio for the announcers via 5.1 -
almost sounds as if their microphones were out of phase.
Commercials and half-time show's audio - just fine!

I'm assuming you mean pre-game show's audio, since there are still about 30 seconds of game time until halftime.

I'm watching it on 705 on my SA8000HD and have had unusually few dropouts.
-JMP

Disappointing - problem seems to be isolated, and it's still 100% unwatchable. Oh well!

Anyone using DVICO's FusionHDTV 3 Gold Qam? If so, could you post which Hif Def channels you're currently receiving. I'm currently receiving the following channels: CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, PBS, TNT, and Discovery HD.

Those of you with the SA8000HD DVR might be interested to know that the problems people are having with this STB in NYC made the front page of slashdot today:
Link to article (http://slashdot.org/articles/04/10/11/1350259.shtml?tid=129)

I need some help from people that have the SA 3250HD box in TWC systems with Passport software. I'm having problems displaying and recording the local broadcast HD channels on my DVHS decks (JVC 30000 and Mits 2000).

I am able to view and record HBO, Showtime, Discovery, and TNT. I am unable to view or record CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, or PBS. All I get on those channels is a gray screen via Firewire, although they are fully viewable via the component connection. At first I thought it was the EPN/CCI mismatch mentioned in this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=390890), but if it was that I wouldn't be able to see Discovery and TNT (which are also flagged "copy freely"), wouldn't I? It doesn't make sense.

I'd like to be able to tell TWC what to look for but this one has me stumped. If I were only able to see HBO and Showtime then the EPN/CCI mismatch would make sense, but now I don't know.

What Passport version are the people that are able to record with the 3250HD using? Mine is 3.3 Build 17. I talked to a TWC engineer that told me build 23 was released to the systems months ago and it was supposed to fix these problems, but TWCNYC claims build 17 is the latest build and they don't know anything about build 23. Is anyone out there using Passport 3.3 build 23 and does it fix these problems?

I'm calling Bob Watson at TWCNYC on Monday and I'd like to have something to tell him. Thanks in advance for your help.

I agree the 8000-HD sucks. Mine is prone to horrible dropouts, shows that are listed as recored but aren't and a truly idiotic interface, much worse than Tivo or Replay. Not even a lousy search engine!

That said...being able to record two different shows in HD simultaneously rocks.

bro cablevision doesn't even offfer the 8000 HD. just be lucky for what you have cuz if you go just outside the city cablevision doesn't offer crap for hdtv.

All of you TWC folks stop bitching!!! just imagine what its like to be a cablevision subscriber ;)

Hey at least you get ESPN and HDNet...

...and MSG HD, and FOXSports HD, and Starzz HD, and Cinemax HD, and The Movie Channel HD, and Bravo HD

Yankees HD tonight baby!!!!!!!

Originally posted by LL3HD
Yankees HD tonight baby!!!!!!!

I've had HD service from TWC since March 2003. During the two baseball seasons, I've watched dozens of Mets games which were also being broadcast in HD, just not on TWC.

Tonight is the first time a Major League Baseball game is being carried by TWC in HD. Disgraceful...
-JMP

JMP,
Yes, it is a shame that we haven’t had any HD baseball.
Geeze, I’ve been suffering for 4 seasons with HD cowhide envy.

But!

All is forgotten (not necessarily forgiven), with tonight’s Bosox Yanks telecast. Can’t wait. It will be my first HD baseball game.
:D

Larry

For some reason..... whenever I turn off my 8000HD now.... when I turn it back on my stretch settings for 16:9 get reset and I get grey side bars.

I go into settings... and it shows that 16:9 and stretch is already set up... but when I hit OK... it stretches the picture.

Then I turn off the box... turn it back on... and i am back to grey sidebars. Gotta go into the setup again... I see that 16:9 and stretch is indeed slected so I just hit OK... and it then stretches the picture.

speaking of baseball in HD:

http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=44178

Would be nice if YES would follow.

Atleast Mets fans have SOMETHING to cheer about. :cool:

Sure we'll get the Mets in HD, but not until 2006. Their games have been broadcast in HD for a while now, but we have yet to see a single one...
-JMP

We will probably get WB11-HD sooner than 2006 anyways.... hopefully.

I just noticed we have TNT-HD. When did that happen?

Originally posted by LawrenceB
I just noticed we have TNT-HD. When did that happen?

October 8th. Not bad IMO. Watched NASCAR over the weekend and that was OK. Could have been sharper... but still better than SD.

November 1st we get ESPN, INHD, INHD2, HDNET, HDNET Movies. Can't wait. :D

Originally posted by DjPiLL
November 1st we get ESPN, INHD, INHD2, HDNET, HDNET Movies. Can't wait. :D

Nov. 4, I believe.

Wow, all that in a few weeks? I'm excited but will believe it when I see it...now if I could only get rid of all the horrible dropouts.

I noticed that the Atlanta-Houston game last night was HD. Looking forward to tonight's game. The tension!

No it wasn't. That was that Fox Wide Screen 480 crap.

Tonight's the first Fox HD baseball. So if you thought that looked good-- wait 'till tonight!!
:)

Horrible dropouts on Fox-HD during the game now. Anyone else? It's unwatchable here. Every other channel works fine. Just my luck. Screwed by TWC again...

Remarkably, I am not getting any audio dropouts on FOX-HD now. I'm in Queens.
Is it fair to say that these audio drop outs are dependent on the channel, time and the neighborhood which one is in?

Originally posted by LawrenceB
Horrible dropouts on Fox-HD during the game now. Anyone else? It's unwatchable here. Every other channel works fine. Just my luck. Screwed by TWC again...

Had some sound dropouts at the start, but now, it is fine-although the picture is clearly (or should I say LESS clearly :) ) softer on the 8000HD than the Pioneer box.

Originally posted by LawrenceB
Horrible dropouts on Fox-HD during the game now. Anyone else? It's unwatchable here. Every other channel works fine. Just my luck. Screwed by TWC again...

No audio dropouts on Fox-HD tonight in lower Manhattan. The technique that usually works for me is to hit the Instant Replay button once at the start of a program, forcing the 8000HD to display the rest of the program from the buffer instead of the live signal. I don't know why that works, but, for me, at least, it does.

Pretty good picture, too -- I can see the fingerprints on the batters' helmets.

almost 10pm and the game on fox hd has looked amazing... in the Lower East Side

6-0 GO YANKS!!!

No real audio dropouts here in Queens either.

Had a couple of seconds of dropout near the end in Queens. Nothing worth noting. Otherwise, it was almost glitch-free

Once again, my FOX-HD did not work last night (it never has even though other HD stations do). Based on a post I read in one forum or another, I tried installing a signal booster (after the game -- I didn't want to start messing with things while it was going on) and it started working. Checked again this morning and it was still fine. TW rep who came when I first complained of problem (which was the first day with the SA8000HD) said the signal strength was excellent. This obviously is not a cure for all the problems out there, but if you're having difficulty with one particular channel, it may be worth a shot. It improved things significantly for me. There seems to be an audio drop here and there, but at least I get all the HD channels now.

I have had sporadic reception problems with HD, especially 705. I am in Woodside. I noticed if I tighten the cable connections on my splitter every so often, the signal is better. I think I have a bad connection on the incoming feed, but there's not much I can do about it. Adding a booster didn't clear the signal any more than tinkering with the splitter. I can tell when the signal is really good, I get Dolby Digital surround instead of Prologic on my receiver on the HD channels.

I have read a ton of posts on this so I apologize if I am re-hashing, but I am still a little confused about the stretch mode on the HD DVR.

Is it not possible to pass the SD signal to my TV and let my Panny Plasma stretch the 4:3 pic as opposed to using the stretch on the box?

The Panny has a sick "Just" mode that doesn't create as many large tiny people as most stretch modes do...the goal here is to not have any pillars on the sides during 4:3 television

Any help is appreciated...I really want the HD DVR - this is the only thing holding me back - I assume the DVI being enabled would help this out, but I am not a patient man :)

PS - I have the SA8000 now and all the audio dropouts and picture freezing is happening with that product now for the past month or so as well (otherwise that would be a deciding factor for me too with the HD box)

thanks

Originally posted by ice9pine
PS - I have the SA8000 now and all the audio dropouts and picture freezing is happening with that product now for the past month or so as well (otherwise that would be a deciding factor for me too with the HD box)

thanks

Don't bother to upgrade to the SA 8000HD based on this. They are experiencing the same video & audio issues.

Hope this helps...JL

Originally posted by ice9pine
I have read a ton of posts on this so I apologize if I am re-hashing, but I am still a little confused about the stretch mode on the HD DVR.

Is it not possible to pass the SD signal to my TV and let my Panny Plasma stretch the 4:3 pic as opposed to using the stretch on the box?

The Panny has a sick "Just" mode that doesn't create as many large tiny people as most stretch modes do...the goal here is to not have any pillars on the sides during 4:3 television

Any help is appreciated...I really want the HD DVR - this is the only thing holding me back - I assume the DVI being enabled would help this out, but I am not a patient man :)

PS - I have the SA8000 now and all the audio dropouts and picture freezing is happening with that product now for the past month or so as well (otherwise that would be a deciding factor for me too with the HD box)

thanks

You can set the HD DVR to send a 4:3 picture to your monitor with the sidebars and let your tv do the stretching, if it can. However, depending on your tv and the output signals you choose (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), your tv may not be able to stretch the material. You need to check which signals your tv can stretch. If, for example, your tv can stretch 480p, but not 720p or 1080i, then you should be able to stretch 4:3 shows from SD channels (which will be upconverted from 480i to 480p), but will not be able to stretch 4:3 material from the HD channels unless you don't watch those channels in HD (unless you reset the output source to only 480p each time you watched such a program, a minor pain - it takes about 10 secs through the remote).

TNT-HD/Ch 710 was added on Friday 10/08/2004, but it still does not exist on my SA CableCard. I can access 710 on my SA 8000HD STB so I know it is available. I've spoken to the TWC-NYC CC programmer and she cannot understand why I don't have it. She says she has not received any complaints from the 20 or so "Manhattan" CC users so they must have 710. I live in Queens, but this should not make any difference. She has been working with me since 10/11 to resolve this, but without success.

Question: Regardless of location, does anyone using a CC on the TWC-NYC system have TNT-HD? Have you added or received any new channels since the install of your CC? I am concerned that I will not be able to receive the new HD tier on the CC when it is offered in Nov.

TIA...JL

My TV can't stretch 480p but it can stretch 480i - is there any way to set the SD material to output in 480i and the HD material to 480p with the SA8000HD?

Thanks for the quick response Shiffy

Jeez 20 people with cablecard here so far? Man oh man. Sorry to hear about the TNT issue JL. Please keep us posted....

TM

PS - I feel like I lost a year of my life last night. LETS go YANKEES!!!!!

Originally posted by ice9pine
My TV can't stretch 480p but it can stretch 480i - is there any way to set the SD material to output in 480i and the HD material to 480p with the SA8000HD?

Thanks for the quick response Shiffy

No problem. I don't think you can set it up (with the current version of the software at least) so that it will automatically sends out a 480i signal with the SD channels and a different signal for the HD ones. (I haven't experimented to see if this is possible though -- maybe someone else knows how). You can change the signal output manually at any time through the remote in a few steps. As far as I know, you'd have to do it each time you switched between an SD and HD source.

Anyone have any updates on when TWC plans on adding more channels? Not sure who decided TNT over ESPN...

hey curls

i think you missed the post announcing TWCNYC adding an HD tier on 11/4( that's the target date anyway ). that is when they're adding ESPN-HD--plus INHD1 & 2 and HDnet & HDnet Movies. free for one month then $8.95/mo. starting in Dec. probably NOT on their website yet.

jim

Is there a delay in getting the SA8000HD DVR boxes these days. My apt is about to get DTV from TWC in 2 weeks (bldg being wired as we speak.
Do you think I should request the HD DVR now? Is there a delay or its OK to call in 2 weeks?

I have lived without any kind of DVR for 3 mths since I moved. Cant tell you how hard it has been after having it for the past 3 years.

Thanks

Is there definite confirmation that ESPN willl be part of that $8.95? It doesn't make sense to me, we get ESPN as part of our regular lineup, we're not charged extra for other HD channels that we get in SD.

Confirmed according to the weather channel scrawl....

TM

TWC NYC has plenty of HD DVR's. I got mine about two weeks ago and they had a major stack of them set up behing the counter to hand out. There didn't seem to be any urgency around lack of supply.... YMMV

The sudden pauses and hard stops on the SA8000 DVR are NOT present on the HD-DVR. All is ok on the HD-DVR, except for the multitude of documented quirks, bugs, audio dropouts via spdif/coax, and peridoc HD pixelation ;)

As much as I hate the quirks, the HD-DVR is great. Can't wait for the HD8300.

Drew

I see this morning that TWCNYC installed updated software on my SA8000HD overnight:

Passport Echo 1.5.159
Power TV 6.4.11.1sp

Cool. I'll have to check to see If i got the updated.
I've noticed the past few days, they've fixed a bunch of problems ...

1. I get a lot less pixilations
2. I no longer get dumped to the live buffer whenever it starts/stops recording something.
3. My DVR no longer switches randomly to SD by itself.

These fixes were on the old version 1.5.15, so maybe they fixed it on the server side.
Looks like we are seeing some progress.

And, they also upgraded the 8000-so far this morning, no random freezes and no pixilization!!!!:)

Originally posted by Manatus
I see this morning that TWCNYC installed updated software on my SA8000HD overnight:

Passport Echo 1.5.159
Power TV 6.4.11.1sp

I assume that the update happened here in North Queens too.

Strange occurrence on my system this morning. The only channels coming in were the HDs. Nothing but the 700s. Never had that happen before. After about 15 minutes NY1 kicked in-- and the rest. Maybe this was part of the upgrade, or update process?

Larry

Anyone check the status of the DVI port on the HD-DVR lately? Last I checked it was not working, but perhaps with this new update?

I doubt it.
some people in California have had this version for the past few days.
They say the DVI is still not working.

Originally posted by drew138
TWC NYC has plenty of HD DVR's. I got mine about two weeks ago and they had a major stack of them set up behing the counter to hand out. There didn't seem to be any urgency around lack of supply.... YMMV

The sudden pauses and hard stops on the SA8000 DVR are NOT present on the HD-DVR. All is ok on the HD-DVR, except for the multitude of documented quirks, bugs, audio dropouts via spdif/coax, and peridoc HD pixelation ;)

As much as I hate the quirks, the HD-DVR is great. Can't wait for the HD8300.

Drew

When is do you think HD8300 will be released? And what are the expected features?

Thanks

Originally posted by svolman
When is do you think HD8300 will be released? And what are the expected features?

Thanks

They're now available in some TWC markets outside NYC. See this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=431185&perpage=20&pagenumber=1). As for their features, some have or may someday have "multiroom" capabilities, and there are reports about improved PQ, working HDMI outputs (with some compatiblity issues), and the ability to simultaneously output HD and SD signals.

I went through that thread on the 8300. Sounds like the box we want: HDMI, sharper picture, faster processor. From what I gather, the 8000HD is a stopgap solution until TW sorts out the HDMI handshake issues.

My main complaint about the 8000HD is that the picture isn't as good as the one via the Pioneer and SA HD boxes. But time shifting the Yankees-Redsocks in HD is sweet...

I'm starting to freak out. I have 20 people coming over tonight to watch the Yankee game in HD and Fox is a total mess right now. The worst that it has ever been. Is everybody else having the same problem?

It's been perfect since the Astro game started.

Jason, I'm right there with you man. This happened to me last weekend with the Giants game.

I turned my TV on a few minutes ago and Fox was a total mess, as you describe. Then, I changed the channel, only to realize that the box was giving me NO SOUND. That's a new one.

So I re-booted, and now its fixed bud. Crystal clear. Pull the plug from the wall, and give it a few seconds, and then let it re-boot.

Just wondering if you guys have found antennaweb.org to be accurate and up-to-date on its prediction of channels you can receive at your location.

I'm about 45 miles outside NYC, with a big aerial on my roof, and antennaweb.org says I won't get anything out of there. I recieve all the analog stuff no problem.

I am on the verge of ordering a Toshiba52HMX84, and really hope to pick up high def stuff OTA from NYC. By the way, I'm in the Ridgefield/Danbury CT area.

What is your experience? Do I have a chance or not?

Thanks in advance.

Originally posted by hobbes382
Just wondering if you guys have found antennaweb.org to be accurate and up-to-date on its prediction of channels you can receive at your location.

I'm about 45 miles outside NYC, with a big aerial on my roof, and antennaweb.org says I won't get anything out of there. I recieve all the analog stuff no problem.

I am on the verge of ordering a Toshiba52HMX84, and really hope to pick up high def stuff OTA from NYC. By the way, I'm in the Ridgefield/Danbury CT area.

What is your experience? Do I have a chance or not?

Thanks in advance.

Antennaweb is, at best, a crude tool. Most of NYC's HD stations are still (post 9/11) broadcasting at reduced power from less-than-optimal locations; this situation may improve within the next month or so. This TWCNYC thread, though, isn't a good forum for this inquiry. Try this thread instead: New York, NY Metro OTA ONLY (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=275729&perpage=20&pagenumber=1).

have any of you guys had this : i come home my box is off (i never turn it off) i turn it on - everything works find - except for the "list" button (listing my recorded shows) it says "this function not working at this time press "a" to reboot" i press "a" and nothing happens - i need to pull the plug and reboot to make it work

I have had the HD DVR for about 4-5 weeks and I have never had this happen. I also leave my 8000HD powered on all the time.

705 was messed up again this morning, then the sound went out on all channels. I rebooted and everything is working now. Very annoying.

What's up with the sound on the Fox Yankee broadcasts? There is an annoying hum and the vollume of the announcers is low. I have to boost the center channel to be able to hear them. It was happening on both 705 and 5.

So v.159 of Passport on the 8000HD appears to have fixed a lot of the buffer bugs that I had in v.151. Most importantly, I can consistently watch shows that are currently recording from the beginning, even if they exceed the HD buffer.

I did, however encounter a new problem. I was watching a recorded show and paused for a while until the screen saver came on. When I restarted the recording from the pause point, the output format changed to 480i (previously it was 720p in HD mode). I realized the box must be in SD mode b/c all channels were coming in at 480i (including HD channels). I tried Ch+/Vol- to switch it to HD mode and it took a few tries but eventually worked. Hopefully this won't happen every time the screen saver comes on.

Originally posted by jasonDono
705 was messed up again this morning, then the sound went out on all channels. I rebooted and everything is working now. Very annoying.

What's up with the sound on the Fox Yankee broadcasts? There is an annoying hum and the vollume of the announcers is low. I have to boost the center channel to be able to hear them. It was happening on both 705 and 5.

Jason --

I noted the same problem with Yankees broadcast. I thought my speakers were getting some sort of feedback, but the annoying hum went away as soon as I changed the channel.

hey guys with the HD recorder,

question for you... do you know if the DVI connection on the box works? i'm all out of component connections and would love a PVR but only if i can use DVI.

as always, thanks for any feedback.

Originally posted by curls
do you know if the DVI connection on the box works? i'm all out of component connections and would love a PVR but only if i can use DVI.



The DVI output on the 8000HDs distributed by TWCNYC has not been activated. There are rumors of a software upgrade to change that, but this box has been in use in TWC systems for almost a year, and SA/TWC are already introducing the 8000HD's successor in some markets. I'm not holding my breath.

This past weekend my SA 8000 HD DVR "crashed" close to a dozen times.

It would completely freeze up. Simple re booting, (when I could), gave me the stupid screen telling me yadda yadda—you’re screwed. I spent a lot of time hard booting-- unplugging the unit for a while and then re plugging.

Just when things seemed to be fine it would happen again. Sometimes it occurred while I was recording one channel while watching another. It always happens when I recorded two channels at once.

I even deleted as much as possible from the hard drive just in case I was near the max- but I only had, at the most, about 6 hours of HD and about 12 hours of SD on the hard drive. It if it wasn’t for my OTA antenna, I would’ve missed most of the games this weekend.

Last night after the Yankees game, I mean this morning, I unplugged the unit and let it sit that way for several hours. I’ll see what happens tonight but there is no reason for optimism. I’m about to call the CSR line and demand some retributions.

As wonderful as the HD recordings can be, these frustrations now out weigh any positives.


Larry

My HD DVR is starting to cut off several minutes of programing at the end of the show that I record. I recorded Deperate Housewifes last night on ABC in HD and missed the last 2 minutes (as an aside, if anyone can tell me what happened in the last 2 minutes, thanks) and I also recorded Dead Like Me and lost about 15 minutes of the show near the end. :(

This only started happening in the past 3 days or so.

Drew

In other non-HD DVR news.... there was an article written up about the SA8000 DVR issues..... the author was also affected hence his keen interest in the issue. Maybe we should get this guy an HD-DVR to see if he'll write an article and maybe we'll see some fixes....

It's interesting that he noted the TV Guide logo on the IPG screen. I noticed that a few weeks ago and it is a little annoying. I was surprised no-one else noticed it. Article below:

Drew

-------------
Time Warner: DVR Glitch Fixed
By Steve Donohue
879 words
15 October 2004
Multichannel News
NO
Volume 00, Issue 00
English
© 2004, Multichannel News, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Officials at Time Warner Cable and two technology suppliers had to scramble the past two weeks to fix a bug causing the picture on the TV screens of many digital-video-recorder users to freeze.
The glitch -- which Time Warner said affected subscribers with Scientific-Atlanta Inc. “8000-level” DVRs running the “Passport Echo” interactive program guide from Pioneer Digital Technologies -- generated a backlash for the burgeoning DVR service in New York City, the MSO’s largest division.
It afflicted an unknown number of customers in New York and some other undisclosed markets.
Officials at Time Warner, S-A and Pioneer had not resolved the issue by Thursday, but Time Warner spokesman Keith Cocozza said in an e-mail Friday that the glitch had been repaired.
After saying that it received dozens of complaints from viewers, major New York broadcaster WNBC-TV ran a segment Oct. 8 in which one anchor intoned, “Don’t give up your VCR just yet.”
The station quoted one subscriber in the report who said, “I call the company [Time Warner], they tell me to pull the plug and try again, and the same thing happens over and over again. So I get frustrated and just don’t use it. I have my old faithful VCR.”
Cocozza said the DVR glitch occurred after Time Warner recently “delivered some enhancements to the DVR’s IPG software” via a download to the set-tops. He declined to detail what changes were made to the IPG.
Cocozza confirmed that Time Warner recently downloaded a TV Guide graphic that was added to the bottom of the screen of its IPGs, but he said the download of the TV Guide logo “does not necessarily” relate to the downloads that affected DVR users.
As part of an agreement Time Warner struck with Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. last year, the MSO agreed to add a TV Guide logo to its IPGs nationwide.
The DVR glitch only occurred in Time Warner divisions configured with S-A DVRs and the Pioneer Passport IPG.
Cocozza wouldn’t name which systems other than New York were affected by the glitch nor quantify how many customers were affected.
The exact cause of the DVR problem remains unclear. S-A officials maintained that there is nothing wrong with the dual-tuner DVR, Pioneer insisted that the problem wasn’t with its Passport IPG and Time Warner officials wouldn’t detail what went wrong during the software-code download.
Time Warner reportedly did not tell S-A what was sent to the vendor’s set-tops during the download. “We weren’t informed specifically what the software download was for, what features they were looking to enhance,” S-A spokeswoman Sara Stutzenstein said.
Not all DVR customers on the affected systems were hit by the glitch.
Cocozza said subscriber location and usage patterns were factors that led to some subscribers experiencing intermittent picture freeze, such as “watching a channel while recording it.”
The glitch also affected this reporter, a Time Warner New York DVR subscriber who found that the picture tended to freeze during the past two weeks while two programs were being recorded at the same time on the DVR.
Time Warner New York subscriber Ronnie Wroth, who has had an S-A DVR for about one year, said he exchanged the DVR at a Time Warner service center about three weeks ago after he experienced picture freeze and problems with the picture breaking up. Wroth, who lives in Queens, N.Y., said problems continued to occur after he replaced the DVR.
Wroth had an EchoStar Communications Corp. Dish Network DVR before getting his S-A DVR from Time Warner last year, and he said he might return to satellite if he continues to have problems. “For a while, I thought cable was better, until this happened,” he added.
The DVR glitch has forced officials from Pioneer and S-A -- rivals in the set-top and IPG sectors -- to work together on a solution to fix the bug.
“We worked very closely with Time Warner Cable and S-A once the issues came to everyone's attention,” Pioneer senior vice president Neil Jones said in an e-mail. “The issue was identified, S-A made changes to their software, we have combined their software with our software, which seems to have resolved the issues.” Jones declined a phone interview.
Stutzenstein said S-A has shipped 1.5 million DVRs to date, and that other DVR customers -- including Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications Inc. -- haven’t reported problems similar to Time Warner’s.
Executives at S-A rival Motorola Inc. said the DVR glitch hasn’t resulted in increased orders for Motorola’s DVR set-tops.
Motorola has shipped about 500,000 DVRs, including single- and dual-tuner models, to date, and MSO customers haven’t reported problems with the picture freezing, Motorola director of strategic marketing Bernadette Vernon said.
“We have not heard of any issues. We’ve just been hearing real good feedback,” she added.
Some satellite-TV subscribers interviewed this week said they have experienced occasional problems with the picture freezing up on Dish Network DVRs and TiVo Inc.-branded DirecTV Inc. receivers.

Interesting article. It would be nice if TW moved as quickly to implement other improvements.

I noticed the TV Guide logo when 151 was downloaded and that coincided with all of the problems - just as the article says. I remember when Tivo had to push a software download about a year ago to include the stupid TV Guide logo as part of a lawsuit settlement with Gemstar.

Seems like Gemstar has nothing better to do than sue all of their customer to have their logo displayed.

Is it me or do extra inning losses in HD suck?

TM

Am a new TWCNYC customer in upper Manhattan. Had DTV for about a week. Just ordered an low-end semi-HDTV display (Benq Q150a, supports 480p, 720p, 1080i, no idea what resolution the native output is but it is an XGA 1024x768 computer monitor also) for the bedroom as an upgrade to the Sony Watchman that is currently hooked up. Hasn't arrived yet. Decided to get an HDTV converter from TWC since it was a no charge enhancement. Went to 23rd street yesterday and exchanged my SA 3250 (non-HD) for an HDTV converter. 6 numbers ahead of me, about a 15 minute wait. They gave me a 3100HD. Since I don't have my HDTV yet, there really isn't any difference so far.

Have Coax cable -> 3100HD -> Coax cable -> Tivo Series 2 -> RCA + audio -> Sony Watchman

Switched to channel 701. Black screen. As confirmed in this thread, that is the result of no SD output from the 3100HD when watching an HD channel. Need to get a converter that supports this.

Intend to have the following 2 paths set up concurrently. (Coax cable -> converter, even though written 3 times, is just one connection, it splits after that)


Path 1) Coax cable -> converter->Coax->Tivo S2->S-Video + audio->Benq

Video Path 2) Coax cable -> converter->RGB->Benq

Audio Path 2) Coax cable -> converter->audio->aux input of Bose Wave clock radio


That would allow me to use my Tivo (95%+ of the time) as I always have, while only occasionally watching HDTV in real time, with no cable swapping needed after initial setup.

Skimming this 100+ page thread, it seemed like the Pioneer HDTV converter was the solution. Don't want 8000HD, since I like my TIVO and the 8000HD's capacity is far less than my upgraded Tivo's. Called TWCNYC. They said that they have not been offering Pioneer equipment for about a month.

Question: What converter suits my needs that is currently available? How do I know that 23rd street (or any other Man/Bklyn/Queens TWC payment center, all equally inconvenient), is likely to have it when I go there? Was the TWC phone rep incorrect about the availability of the Pioneer converter? Would the 3250HD suit my needs.

PS, I also have a cable modem (Roadrunner) and a 3250 (no HD) split off the same coax cable. Two upgraded Tivos (350+ hours each) on a wired LAN. Budget and space are limited.

Thanks.....

wreckdog,

why are you switching from the 3250 to the 3100?
I believe both the 3250 and 3100 are HD boxes. The 3250 is a new model and supposed to be much better than the 3100.

The 3250 that I currently have is the non-HD version. I believe that TWCNYC may have the HD version available.

Originally posted by anthonymoody
Is it me or do extra inning losses in HD suck?

TM

Extra inning YANKEE losses are great in HD. (taking shelter from the flames headed in my direction)

Let's see if Lieber continues his Greg Maddux (mid-90s edition) impersonation, or if he turns into a pumpkin.

Or if Schilling can keep his tendons in place....

TM

PS - I'm too tired to flame you :)

Originally posted by Manatus
Nov. 4, I believe. yes, for the lovely price of $9.95 a month, they will give it to us for 1 month free, then will start charging for the additional HD chanels, it's up to you if you want to keep them.

Originally posted by dkan24
I'll weigh in after 2 hours of TNT-HD. It sucks. Stretched SD? Edited movies?

If it wasn't for NBA basketball, I would be very upset at this misuse of bandwidth. I really have to wonder why they would create this channel to show stretched SD. I wonder if anyone with an HD set is fooled? i was thinking the same thing, was not fooled for a minute, streched SD iswhat I see.

Originally posted by cybertec
i was thinking the same thing, was not fooled for a minute, streched SD iswhat I see.

As a fan of L&O, I was looking forward to TNT-HD's arrival, since NBC has been broadcasting the program in HD for several years. TNT-HD, though, is showing even those episodes as upscaled SD. Were they too cheap to buy rights to the HD versions or just don't think anyone will notice or care?

anyone else getting weird jumps on the yankees game?

Definitely....it happened in one of the previous games too.

Originally posted by riptorn
anyone else getting weird jumps on the yankees game?

As per the game thread, it's happening all over the country.

I returned home Monday evening and turned on my Mits+CC and the following message was displayed: "An upgrade from cable operator is in progress. Channels can not be changed." The CC is not accessible during this upgrade. I have an SA 8000HD connected to another input, so I am able to watch TWC.

Update #1:
It has been 12 hours since I noticed the upgrade going on and there is no end in sight. If the upgrade is still going on when I check later, I will pull the CC. I've called TWC for a service appointment.

Update #2:
Spoke to the TWC CC programmer and she said if the upgrade is still going on when I return home, the card will need to be replaced. I told her about my scheduled service call and to ensure the tech brings the correct part.

Anyone else experiencing this upgrade or have it complete successfully?

TIA...JL

Hey JL,

Those mits sets have a firewire out right? Are you able to pipe the picture out of the set via FW into a d-vhs machine for recording HD?

TM

I'm getting a plasma for the bedroom today, and I'm going to get a non DVR HD box from TW. Which should I ask for? Which have DVI?

Thanks.
Jason

Originally posted by jasonDono
I'm getting a plasma for the bedroom today, and I'm going to get a non DVR HD box from TW. Which should I ask for? Which have DVI?

Thanks.
Jason

Ask for either the Pioneer 3510HD (if it's still available) or the SA3250HD. Both have DVI.

As a fan of L&O, I was looking forward to TNT-HD's arrival, since NBC has been broadcasting the program in HD for several years. TNT-HD, though, is showing even those episodes as upscaled SD. Were they too cheap to buy rights to the HD versions or just don't think anyone will notice or care?

I may be crazy, but I was surfing around the other day, and I could swear the L&O on TNT-HD was NOT strecthed, but was in WS. I also recognized it as a newer episode. Could it be that since most of the reruns on TNT are old and that there is no way to show them in WS because they were produced for 4:3?

do all the twc nyc boxes not have volume control on the dolby digital output? i have a 3100hd and the cable remote has no influence on my volume. this just adds an extra remote that i need to use (now need 3 to watch tv)

Originally posted by Bassman134
I may be crazy, but I was surfing around the other day, and I could swear the L&O on TNT-HD was NOT strecthed, but was in WS. I also recognized it as a newer episode. Could it be that since most of the reruns on TNT are old and that there is no way to show them in WS because they were produced for 4:3?

The L&O rerun being shown by on TNT-HD at 8:00 this evening was first broadcast by NBC, in HD, on January 7, 2004. The TNT-HD version is definitely upscaled and zoomed or stretched or some nasty combination of the two (chopped off heads, bloated faces and torsos, etc.).

I don't know iof this has been posted here before, (I would assume it has) but in case it hasn't, according to Mediaweek.com:

Time Warner Adds HD Channels in N.Y.
By Megan Larson October 20, 2004

Time Warner Cable in New York expanded its high-definition services and is currently offering several new channels, including HBO HD, Discovery HD Theater, PBS HD and ABC HD.

Beginning Nov. 4, TWC in New York is launching HDNet and ESPN HD on its high-definition tier, which is $8.95 per month.

The cable operator is also offering a package of the HD tier and an HD Personal Video Recorder for $15 per month.

At about 1:15 a.m. last night, my cable boxes shut off spontaneously. The non-HD digital box had numbers flashing on the front before it finally settled back on the clock setting. The HD boxes (Pioneer) both shut off as well but didn't go through any apparent machinations. Anyone else experience this? Was there some sort of an update during the night?

My 8000HD box has been behaving strangely the last few days.

1. While recoding one HD channel and watching another, the box would freeze with a grey screen on all channels. It required a cold reset.

2. Pressed the list button this morning and a message appeared something along the lines of the hard drive had some errors. A couple of cold resets and still not working.

Tech visit scheduled for Friday 29 October.

Originally posted by LisaM
At about 1:15 a.m. last night, my cable boxes shut off spontaneously. The non-HD digital box had numbers flashing on the front before it finally settled back on the clock setting. The HD boxes (Pioneer) both shut off as well but didn't go through any apparent machinations. Anyone else experience this? Was there some sort of an update during the night?

I had the same thing happen. Figured it was an update.

I get the "all grey" screen too. Once every few days. Have to reboot. I also get system crashes when trying to fast-forward through recorded material. Happens twice a week or so. And, of course, the constant audio dropouts which cause my 5.1 receiver to puke very loudly when trying to reset to the proper input type. As much as I love the HD-DVR it's a pertty annoying list of problems to deal with every day.

Originally posted by LisaM
At about 1:15 a.m. last night, my cable boxes shut off spontaneously. The non-HD digital box had numbers flashing on the front before it finally settled back on the clock setting. The HD boxes (Pioneer) both shut off as well but didn't go through any apparent machinations. Anyone else experience this? Was there some sort of an update during the night?

Lisa--

I had the same thing last night on my non-HD box,

Just picked up a Pioneer 3510HD for our new bedroom plasma. I made the mistake of first doing an A/B with the 8000HD. The picture on the Pioneer is much sharper than the 8000HD. I really wish I hadn't done it. Now I will forever be disappointed with the picture on my main display.

Thanks, Manatus, for the info on which box to pick up.

Originally posted by oprig
My 8000HD box has been behaving strangely the last few days.

1. While recoding one HD channel and watching another, the box would freeze with a grey screen on all channels. It required a cold reset.

2. Pressed the list button this morning and a message appeared something along the lines of the hard drive had some errors. A couple of cold resets and still not working.

Tech visit scheduled for Friday 29 October.


Regarding the hard drive.

The only way I am able to get the "list" feature to function properly is to unplug the box for a couple of minutes. Re booting has become a many time a day ritual for me.


Regarding the gray frozen screen, or, the art of switching channels.

When I try to change the channel, regardless now whether I’m recording or not, I get the frozen gray screen. I used to have to re boot to correct this. Now, the solution is, say you’re watching 705 and you want to switch to channel 11. The way I have to do it is, first enter channel 11 and watch the frozen gray screen appear. Now that I’m locked into this-- gray limbo parallel digital nightmare universe -- I hit the channel up button to 12 and then the down button back to 11. This works.

The secret is, when you see the gray frozen screen, just channel up and then back down.

How pathetic is that?

I scheduled my TW tech visit for Friday afternoon too. This is the second house call concerning the SA 8000 HD DVR. Nothing will be accomplished by the TW techy, that I’m sure of, but at least I’ll get out of work early and start my weekend early.


Larry

Originally posted by LisaM
At about 1:15 a.m. last night, my cable boxes shut off spontaneously. The non-HD digital box had numbers flashing on the front before it finally settled back on the clock setting. The HD boxes (Pioneer) both shut off as well but didn't go through any apparent machinations. Anyone else experience this? Was there some sort of an update during the night?

I experienced the same reboot last night on my 8000HD at 1:15AM, and again at exactly 2AM. It did not download any updates to the OS or passport application.

Time Warner must've scheduled some sort of system-wide reboot.

Originally posted by fredfa
I don't know iof this has been posted here before, (I would assume it has) but in case it hasn't, according to Mediaweek.com:

Time Warner Adds HD Channels in N.Y.
By Megan Larson October 20, 2004

Time Warner Cable in New York expanded its high-definition services and is currently offering several new channels, including HBO HD, Discovery HD Theater, PBS HD and ABC HD.

Beginning Nov. 4, TWC in New York is launching HDNet and ESPN HD on its high-definition tier, which is $8.95 per month.

The cable operator is also offering a package of the HD tier and an HD Personal Video Recorder for $15 per month.

This last part is good news for those of us who are already paying $9.95 for the DVR, making the cost of the HD package only $5 above the HD DVR price.

Which would be great if they can get it all working properly. So far they haven't. We pay more and get bad equipment...hmmm. Welcome to the bleeding edge.

Originally posted by LawrenceB
Which would be great if they can get it all working properly. So far they haven't. We pay more and get bad equipment...hmmm. Welcome to the bleeding edge.

Believe it or not, it seems to me to all be working pretty swimmingly since the new code push to the 8000HD last week....

Yes, I could ask where HD-Starz, HD-MAX, etc. are, but I hope that the rest will follow once they see some revenue stream from the HD content.

Originally posted by scott_bernstein
Believe it or not, it seems to me to all be working pretty swimmingly since the new code push to the 8000HD last week....


Good for you! Seriously. I’m really glad that there is "a" satisfied HD DVR customer out there in Time Warnerville. Gives me some hope. Now, if I can only get this downloaded secret code, ‘cause right now while you’re joyfully doing the breast stroke I’m drowning here!!

:D


Larry

Dealing with TWC-NYC can be very frustrating. I contacted TWC-NYC about a CableCARD problem on Wednesday morning and a service call was scheduled to replace it on Thursday. I spoke to a supervisor to enusre they knew it was a CC, not an STB replacement. He assured me it was noted in the work order. The tech showed up at 10:30 hrs. on Thursday, but DID NOT have a CC with him. He was told to troubleshoot a CC problem, but was not given a CC if it needed to be replaced. After a short conversation and a call to IT, the tech realized the card needed to be replaced and pissed @ TWC because they didn't issue him one to bring along, even as a spare. I called the TWC CC programmer and expressed my disgust with the situation and she promised me satisfaction. The tech left at 11:15 hrs.

At 12:15 the programmer called back and said she had located a card, but the tech could not return until 14:00-18:00. I said not problem, just get me the CC. The tech returned at 14:30 and we proceeded to install & authorize the new CC. It took longer than expected, but it got done. The good news: The SA CC firmware upgrade actually completed successfully. The bad news: I still don't have TNT-HD/710 on the CC, but I can get it on the SA 8000HD. TWC-NYC IT claims the Mits is the problem because it can't "search" for the new channel and that I should call Mits. Even the on-site tech was shaking his head at that statement. I guess getting TNT-HD on the CC was just too much to expect.

BTW, the tech said he had a CC install scheduled for Friday and asked if he could call me if he had questions, but that I couldn't tell anyone. I told him "No Problem."

Regards... .JL

I have definitely noticed that when the DVR isn't in use for a while, it will go into gray screen with a miniaturized still of the last channel it was on moving around every few seconds. This "screensaver" wasn't like this two days ago for me. I think I must have gotten new firmware. Previously, I would have only a completely gray screen with no image at all, when the DVR is dormant. It's nice to know they are continually making an attempt to improve things.

well, the last software upgrade 2 nights ago seems to have made things worse without fixing anything. Now whenever I ffwd/Rwd, the sound becomes mute or out of synch with the picture. I almost always have to hit the 15 sec replay button to get the sound to work properly. Really annoying. Anyone else having this problem?

Will the World Series be broadcasted in HD?

Yup.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4541472#post4541472

Knowing that the 8300HD is theoretically on the way, what is the best approach for getting one out of TWCNYC? Do you think it's just a call in to say "I want the 8300", or should I go in an state that I have a specific hardware need? For example, I had to state that I needed the DVI port in order to get the Pioneer 3510 originally...any tips? Thoughts?

Has anyone noticed a program break so that one HD show when taped is found in two or more parts. I tried recording TNT HD and got fragments, so I had to watch each in order, hoping the gap didn't miss a key show element. This is with the 8000HD box. I also found no way to pass through native formats. I called TW and was told it should be in their next firmware upgrade. Am I missing something, or is TW just pushing off CS to sound like we will all be happy somewhere down the road, when they finally get their act together? Yes, watching the ALCS on FOX HD was great, but what about programing for the rest of the year (at least until Boston can come back next season and lose, to restore our inevitable Evil Empire mastery of the Sox)?

I've found program breaks, and its usually because the box has crashed in the middle of a recording, and the re-starts once the box re-boots itself. Then I get two parts.

Randy,
You could always tell them that you simply need a box that works. However, then they couldn't give you one ;)

TM

So yesterday I had my first botched recording experience on the 8000HD - and it happened twice in the span of 30 minutes.

I came home around 9 pm and noticed the box wasn't taping, even though it should have been. I checked the list of recorded shows and noticed that NFL Primetime (starts at 7:30) showed up as recorded from 7:29 - 7:29. And Cold Case (starts at 8pm and I let it run until 9:30 since the NFL always runs late) recorded from 7:59 to 7:59. I tried playing both and just got a gray screen.

I don't think my box rebooted b/c usually when it does, the box is off until I manually turn it on, and the box was on when I got home. However, I noticed my List of Scheduled recordings only went out 1 day (usually it goes out close to a week). Whenever my box turns off, I need to go into the IPG and move forward as many days as it allows me to, in order for the List of Scheduled recordings to go out further (it seems to track the "loaded" IPG data). So maybe my box did reboot and just turned itself back on.

Any thoughts on what could have caused this? BTW, these were the first recordings I had scheduled since Thurs. night, so it's possible the problem occured any time from Friday to Sunday.

Originally posted by EricScott
So yesterday I had my first botched recording experience on the 8000HD - and it happened twice in the span of 30 minutes.

I came home around 9 pm and noticed the box wasn't taping, even though it should have been. I checked the list of recorded shows and noticed that NFL Primetime (starts at 7:30) showed up as recorded from 7:29 - 7:29. And Cold Case (starts at 8pm and I let it run until 9:30 since the NFL always runs late) recorded from 7:59 to 7:59. I tried playing both and just got a gray screen. I don't think my box rebooted b/c usually when it does, the box is off until I manually turn it on, and the box was on when I got home.

Any thoughts on what could have caused this? BTW, these were the first recordings I had scheduled since Thurs. night, so it's possible the problem occured any time from Friday to Sunday.

I had this behavior one time. I called to report it and was told that it had to be because my hard drive was full. I pointed out that I had watched and deleted some programs of greater duration than the failed recordings before the aborted recordings, so that there had to have been space. I was then told it meant that my hard drive was failing, so I needed a service call. When the service call didn't happen because TWC screwed up the scheduling, a supervisor told me that the service call wouldn't help anyway because it was a software problem.

It hasn't happened to me since, but I have yet to figure out what caused it.

I'm somewhat offended that when I first got the DVR, the CSR tried to convince me it would work "just like a Tivo." I'm compiling a list of features I would demand of something before I would describe it as being "just like a Tivo," not the least of which are having two weeks of program data going forward, suggestions, and the ability to schedule a recording remotely over the internet.
-JMP

Originally posted by jmp_nyc
I had this behavior one time. I called to report it and was told that it had to be because my hard drive was full. I pointed out that I had watched and deleted some programs of greater duration than the failed recordings before the aborted recordings, so that there had to have been space. I was then told it meant that my hard drive was failing, so I needed a service call. When the service call didn't happen because TWC screwed up the scheduling, a supervisor told me that the service call wouldn't help anyway because it was a software problem.

It hasn't happened to me since, but I have yet to figure out what caused it.

I'm somewhat offended that when I first got the DVR, the CSR tried to convince me it would work "just like a Tivo." I'm compiling a list of features I would demand of something before I would describe it as being "just like a Tivo," not the least of which are having two weeks of program data going forward, suggestions, and the ability to schedule a recording remotely over the internet.
-JMP

jmp,

That was my initial thought - that I maxed out space on the drive. But I only had maybe 7 hours of HD and 1 hour of SD on it and I have definitely had more than that on a few occasions before. I sure hope it's not a hard drive problem. The buffer was working fine last night during the Series. Have a recording scheduled for tonight that I should be home for - hopefully that one will work fine.

Also checked my SW this morning and it was still 159 (which I've had for a little while now).

This box is definitely no Tivo, but as long as it records what it says it will record, I will be pretty content. When you get home and you have two botched recordings that's pretty annoying.

I had the failed recording problem a couple of times. Looks like this happens when the box is low on free RAM. Watching anything OnDemand seems to trigger this (memory leak?). Now I reboot my box after I watched a lot of OnDemand stuff to "clean it up".

/Carl

Been doing some reading on the 8300HD and it looks like it is a drastic improvement on the 8000HD. For one, the PQ is apparently noticeably better - closer to the Pace 550 than the 8000HD is. And according to this excerpt from the 8300HD connection manual, the S-Video and Coax outputs remain active no matter what mode (HD or SD) the box is in. Composite and Component still use the idiotic design where they share the Y (green) connector, so those can't be active at the same time. Not sure if Component is capable of outputting 480i in HD mode - if it is, then you are pretty set. If not, you can use S-Video in parallel with component or the digital connection to give yourself improved picture modes for 480i material.

Any thoughts on when this box will be available in NYC?

Originally posted by EricScott

Any thoughts on when this box will be available in NYC?

Those apparent major improvements are why I posted an alert about the 8300HD here a few weeks ago. I've been following one 8300HD thread and still haven't figured out whether a Passport version is available anywhere.

Originally posted by Manatus
Those apparent major improvements are why I posted an alert about the 8300HD here a few weeks ago. I've been following one 8300HD thread and still haven't figured out whether a Passport version is available anywhere.

Agreed - seems like everyone is running SARA and the software is identical to the 8000HD for those users. What is somewhat encouraging (depending on how you look at it), is that TW may be skipping DVI implementation all together on the 8000HD, since they seem to be having major handshake issues, and going right to the 8300HD's HDMI out. Maybe that will mean these boxes arrive sooner rather than later.

I am already anticipating some issues with Passport's typical lack of setup option functionality. It appears that people who use HDMI-HDMI on their TV cannot get digital audio from the standard digital audio outs (coax or optical) since the box seems to downconvert all digital audio to 2 channel audio if your TV can't support digital. There's an option to enable digital audio but who knows if we will ever have access to it. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself here :)

When the 8300HD becomes available is when I'll consider a DVR. It sounds like going from my 3250HD to a 8000HD will be too much of a PQ hit. I don't time shift enough for me to be willing to take that hit now, but if they offer a great, full featured box like the 8300HD seems to be then I'll take that plunge in a NY minute. :D

I appreciate all the feedback you 8000HD users have been giving, thanks for all the advice.
I'm with you Mixdoctor. With no DVI and poorer PQ than my SA3250 I can't justify going to the 8000HD. But the 8300HD sounds mighty good, even if I will have to pony up for an HDMI->DVI cable. :)

Originally posted by Mixdoctor
When the 8300HD becomes available is when I'll consider a DVR. It sounds like going from my 3250HD to a 8000HD will be too much of a PQ hit. I don't time shift enough for me to be willing to take that hit now, but if they offer a great, full featured box like the 8300HD seems to be then I'll take that plunge in a NY minute. :D I'm with you, but wouldn't it be unusual for TWC to start offering the 8300 any time soon after introducing the 8000HD?

Quote: "When the 8300HD becomes available is when I'll consider a DVR. It sounds like going from my 3250HD to a 8000HD will be too much of a PQ hit. I don't time shift enough for me to be willing to take that hit now, but if they offer a great, full featured box like the 8300HD seems to be then I'll take that plunge in a NY minute."
-----------------------------------------
If you folks don't mind me jumping in, we too in Southern California have Time Warner "passport." I couldn't agree more with Mixdoctor. They installed my SA8000HD last Saturday and this weekend they will be coming again to install back an HD box. I just could not live with the "soft" picture quality. Not being a hard-core time shifter, I just could not sacrifice the PQ. No where near the PQ of the SA3100HD that I had before. Will wait for 8300HD.
FredB

Originally posted by FredB
Quote: "When the 8300HD becomes available is when I'll consider a DVR. It sounds like going from my 3250HD to a 8000HD will be too much of a PQ hit. I don't time shift enough for me to be willing to take that hit now, but if they offer a great, full featured box like the 8300HD seems to be then I'll take that plunge in a NY minute."
-----------------------------------------
If you folks don't mind me jumping in, we too in Southern California have Time Warner "passport." I couldn't agree more with Mixdoctor. They installed my SA8000HD last Saturday and this weekend they will be coming again to install back an HD box. I just could not live with the "soft" picture quality. Not being a hard-core time shifter, I just could not sacrifice the PQ. No where near the PQ of the SA3100HD that I had before. Will wait for 8300HD.
FredB

Wow ! If the SA8000HD doesn't even have the PQ of the 3100HD then I don't want it anywhere near my TV. If you liked the PQ of your 3100HD then try a 3250HD if you can, much better picture.

I just want the PQ of the 3250HD in a DVR box and a few more features can't hurt either. Hopefully the 8300HD is that. Hopefully we can get to try this soon in NYC with some Passport software. Anybody know when ?

Does the 3250HD allow for coaxial output and s-video?

Anybody try asking Bob Watson's office about the timing of the 8300HD?

TM

Originally posted by Mixdoctor
Wow ! If the SA8000HD doesn't even have the PQ of the 3100HD then I don't want it anywhere my TV. If you liked the PQ of your 3100HD then try a 3250HD if you can, much better picture.

Spotting some comments (rare) about image softness I put off getting a 8000HD until yesterday. Biggest HD improvement over my 3100HD: elimination of the faint image fog that spoiled HD contrast, diminishing fine details. I've been making comparisons with HD images from a Motorola DCT6208 HD DVR with my additional RCN Cable subscription. Might change my mind later, but HD images seem similar between these two HD converters--good quality.

If the 8300HD solves the problem of no SD out (S-video) while set up for component out, I'm looking forward to its introduction. Don't like the 8000HD's 480p 4:3 SD images (component mode) on my 16:9 64" CRT RPTV screen, even though the gray sidebars should minimize potential burn in.

As soon as I can figure out how to run my 3100HD without overheating the 8000HD above it on a cramped piece of furniture, plan to use the 3100HD only for its S-video. I set up the 8000HD for 480i, 480p, and 1080i, which lets me use its S-video out. But my RPTV component input can't handle 480i (sync loss) so I dropped the 480i setting. Having the 8000HD deinterlace 480i for component mode is clearly worse image quality than letting my RPTV deinterlace 480i and stretch images to 16:9 for S-video. -- John

CABLE'S MOST WIDELY DISTRIBUTED HDTV NETWORKS - INHD AND INHD2- TO LAUNCH IN NEW YORK CITY ON TIME WARNER CABLE

INHD & INHD2 To Appear On Time Warner Cable's New High-Definition Tier Starting November 4

NEW YORK, October 27, 2004 - INHD, cable's most widely distributed all high-definition networks, announced today that it will debut in New York City starting November 4 as part of Time Warner Cable's new high-definition tier. New York-based INHD and INHD2 will bring two channels of 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week high-definition programming to New Yorkers who have been clamoring for more of the vivid color, ultra clear images and rich sound that can only be found with HD.

"High-definition television is transforming the viewing experience for millions of people across the country with its unmatched visual clarity and sound," said Rob Jacobson, President and CEO of INHD parent company iN DEMAND Networks. "INHD and INHD2 are the high-definition networks consumers seek out first for quality HD programming with the best possible picture and audio and we're excited to finally be sharing this experience with New Yorkers. We have committed ourselves to providing the best and most new high-definition programming and will continue to do this with the launch of original new series and the hottest music and sports programming."

Earlier this year, INHD made a commitment to air 100 hours of original high-definition programming each month. The latest new series, announced recently in a partnership with Samsung and Only Cable Can, is "INHD's Center Stage," a monthly series of larger-than-life concert events that kicks off with a live, one-time-only Bon Jovi concert from the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City on INHD2 November 21 at 8 pm. Future concerts will include such acts as Mary J Blige (with Sting and Elton John) Chicago, and Earth, Wind and Fire. Other new series the network has launched or announced include "Hollywood Walks," "Reel Look," "Fields of Glory," "Go!," "Major League Ballparks: Cathedrals of the Game," "FHM Uncovered" and "In Theaters."

In addition to original programming, INHD also puts viewers in prime seats for the hottest sporting events including NBA, MLB, MLS, AFL, professional tennis, Ultimate Fighting Championship, K-1 Fighting and collegiate sporting events including Division 1 college football, college basketball, and college hockey. Special sports programming includes "The Lance Armstrong Chronicles," "INHD Extreme," "INHD Ringside" and "Olympic Treasures."

For viewers who want to take advantage of their home theatre system, INHD2 is the exclusive HD home to 34 movies made for IMAX Theatres, which delivers the best quality and most visually stunning films in high-definition. Additionally, well-known theatrical releases air regularly on both INHD and INHD2.

Time Warner Cable's new high-definition tier will be available to homes throughout New York City, bringing INHD's availability to more than 47 million homes nationwide. The new HD tier will be available for $8.95 per month and will include INHD, and INHD2 on channel 721 and 722, as well as HDNet, HDNet Movies and ESPN-HD on Time Warner Cable.

ABOUT INHD
INHD and INHD2 comprise a suite of 24/7 high definition networks featuring an extensive multitude of HD content including commercial-free movies, professional and college sports, live concerts, specials and original programming which maximize the HD television experience. INHD is a premiere distributor of outstanding HD programming providing superior images and sound and more HD programming produced with hi-def cameras than any other network.

INHD is owned and operated by iN DEMAND Networks. Company shareholders are Comcast iN DEMAND Holdings, Inc., Cox Communications, Inc. and Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership. INHD and INHD2 are available on Adelphia, Bright House, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox, and Time Warner cable systems. Further information about INHD can be found on the Internet at www.inhd.com.

###

I am looking forward to this new offering, but have a question. Is all the INHD/INHD2 programming free to the HD tier subscriber or is there a fee to access certain programs/content?

TIA...JL

Originally posted by SRFast
I am looking forward to this new offering, but have a question. Is all the INHD/INHD2 programming free to the HD tier subscriber or is there a fee to access certain programs/content? http://www.inhd.com/about/faq.jsp:
"Is INHD a pay-per-view channel? Is INHD2 a pay-per-view channel?
No, these channels are not pay-per-view."

dpc

question about this new tier of HD programming....

I already pay for something on my twc bill for HD. So on top of that charge, twc wants to charge another 9 bucks so i can get espn-hd?

at this rate, my bill will exceed 150 and i dont even have pvr yet.

Originally posted by curls
question about this new tier of HD programming....

I already pay for something on my twc bill for HD. So on top of that charge, twc wants to charge another 9 bucks so i can get espn-hd?

at this rate, my bill will exceed 150 and i dont even have pvr yet.

The only charge you should currently have related to HD is possibly for an HD set top box. However you would incur the same charge if it is an HD box or an SD box - any additional box costs like $9 a month I think. So the $9 for the HD tier is really the first charge for HD programming. Not that I'm happy about it, but I am definitely excited to get the new channels.

Originally posted by curls
question about this new tier of HD programming....

I already pay for something on my twc bill for HD.

You do? No one else does.

I tell you... my 8000HD is really starting to get bad. The last two episodes of Law and Order SVU I recorded... it either pixelates or drops audio almost every 10-15 seconds. CSI-NY was getting so bad I almost couldn't follow through the storyline cause I was missing key things that were being said.

And both of these cases... I was watching it previously recorded (not live)... and the general consencus here is that watching recorded or delayed is usually better.

I wonder how bad these shows would have been if I was watching live.

I think its time to make another call to TWC to bitch them out about this and demand an 8300HD (even though I know thats not going to happen)

Dj, I agree. It does always seem to occur at just the inopportune time and it is highly annoying. No amount of rewinding to see/hear what happened helps as it seems the glitch becomes part of what is recorded and you can't get around it. I've actually started DVR'ing shows on both of my DVR's in case this occurs so that I can go and check it out. Not what I would call a good solution to what should be a basic problem. I'm not sure it's technically a problem with the DVR since it just records whatever is broadcast. I think it has more to do with the tuner/decoder in the SA8000HD that can't process the signal for HD fast enough??? The issue in question never happens on the 8000HD when recording a SD channel.

Are others having this problem? Maybe we can get that guy to write another article. Seems that actually gets some attention. It wasn't long after the article about NYC TWC owners being disgruntled over lack of HD programming that the HD Tier was announced. Sure it was probably in the works all along, but bad press works a lot better than a few squeaky customers. It seems that press is the only way really to escalate a problem. Is anyone monitoring the other forums for the 8000HD? Is this a common problem?????

Drew

Problems??? Ha!

I stopped posting my problems-- not because the problems stopped, it was getting too discouraging.

Last Friday I had a scheduled TW house call to "repair" my SA 8000 HD DVR. I reconfirmed the appointment with them twice. Sat around for three hours waiting. Finally called them to see-- what’s up? They had to cancel my appointment! Some nonsense stock excuse. I did get a one month credit on my bill- woo who. But I’m still stuck with this faulty box. And I can’t imagine how a swap out would be any better.

Right now, my current situation is, every time I turn on the box, usually in the evening, it has to be "hard re booted" or else it just stays frozen. I have a rescheduled appointment for this afternoon but I think I’ll cancel them and maybe swap out the box on my own. Otherwise, I’ll try leaving it on and see what happens.


Larry

Hmm, maybe this can be continually leveraged to get 100% free service :)

Seriously though, I hear you. We really need to get them to get the 8300HD. I think I'm going to call Bob Watson...

TM

Is this even possible? I have spoke with TWC customer Reps on four different occasions and recieved four different answers.

Q. When I try to watch cable through the dvi connection I get a "No Signal" message on my screen. Why does this happen/how can it be fixed? (A simple enough question, so I thought).

Answer 1. We do not support DVI. Make sure your TV is set to channel 3. (gee, thanks).

Answer 2. We have nothing to do with DVI so you must contact SA. (I called SA and they said I should call TWC).

Answer 3. The DVI connection does not work and we do not support the DVI.

Answer 4. The DVI connection should work on both the SA and Pioneer boxes, but we can't help you beyond that because WE DON"T SUPPORT DVI.

So can anyone tell me which of these answers, if any, are correct? Just want to know if I should return my $100 DVI cable or return the SA 8000 for a new box or for the Pioneer.

I think if you read a few pages back... DVI does not work on the 8000HD. You also cannot use S-Video when also using Component.

Thanks DjPill. Is the same true for the pioneer box?

I believe DVI works on the 3510HD Pioneer.

Noticed something weird on my 8000HD this morning. I was checking the upcoming recordings list and noticed that NFL Primetime (on ESPN - 28 from 7:30p to 8:30p on Sunday) wasn't scheduled to record, despite the fact that it is clearly listed in the repeating recordings list. I checked to make sure the IPG data went out to Sunday, which it did, b/c other Sunday night recordings appeared in the scheduled recording list.

Anyone else have this problem where for some reason the 8000HD chooses not to record something that it's supposed to?

LOL Check this BS out.

I just got off the phone with Time Warner bitching about my pixelation issues with the 8000HD again. Told them the tech was here three weeks ago and did jack... problems still haven't been fixed.

The CSR actually had the nerve to say "Well sir... all the DVR issues have been fixed... i cant believe you are still having problems."

So they are sending out another tech tomorrow morning to check out my box again.

Lets see what happens. LOL

Do the non-HD DVR boxes from TW have the pixelation/recording problems mentioned on this thread?
I am asking bc I need two DVR boxes and I am wondering if I should get one 8000HD for the primary TV and a non-HD DVR for the other one until to ensure that critical programs are recorded.

thanks

Do the non-HD DVR boxes from TW have the pixelation/recording problems mentioned on this thread?
I am asking bc I need two DVR boxes and I am wondering if I should get one 8000HD for the primary TV and a non-HD DVR for the other one until to ensure that critical programs are recorded.

thanks

Do the non-HD DVR boxes from TW have the pixelation/recording problems mentioned on this thread?
I am asking bc I need two DVR boxes and I am wondering if I should get one 8000HD for the primary TV and a non-HD DVR for the other one until to ensure that critical programs are recorded.

thanks

Originally posted by LL3HD
Problems??? Ha!

Last Friday I had a scheduled TW house call to "repair" my SA 8000 HD DVR. I reconfirmed the appointment with them twice. Sat around for three hours waiting. Finally called them to see-- what’s up? They had to cancel my appointment! Some nonsense stock excuse. I did get a one month credit on my bill- woo who. But I’m still stuck with this faulty box. And I can’t imagine how a swap out would be any better.

Right now, my current situation is, every time I turn on the box, usually in the evening, it has to be "hard re booted" or else it just stays frozen. I have a rescheduled appointment for this afternoon but I think I’ll cancel them and maybe swap out the box on my own. Otherwise, I’ll try leaving it on and see what happens.

Larry

Not only do I have the same problem with the SA8000HD, but I also had an appointment for this past Friday and they no-showed on me. Unfortunately, I was not home (my wife was) and I could not check up with them. I will call today and complain.

Luckily, I did not give back my pioneer hd box, so at least I have a working box. I had to completely shut down the SA8000HD box because even after it would reboot, it would have problems on both HD and SD channels. It would either go blank or the audio would completely drop. The bummer for me is that I no longer have a DVR which I really do use quite often for taping of all my favorite news programs.

I tried to split the cable signal and drive both boxes, but this seemed to create problems for the pioneer box. It seems that the 3.5 DB loss from a splitter really impacts the signal.

Not sure what to do at this point. I had an SA8000 before I got the HD version. It worked fine on a split signal (one to the SA8000 and one to the Pioneer box for HD stuff). I watched the Pioneer most time and then would switch the TV to the SA8000 for DVR playback. I should have stuck with this setup.

BTW, the SA8000HD box worked quite well for a few weeks before it started to flake out.

/JMB

Originally posted by DjPiLL
I believe DVI works on the 3510HD Pioneer.

I have the Pioneer box working with the DVI out (DVI out to HDMI input on Pioneer 4340 plasma).

I just talked to TWC and they said that the HD tier will be free for the first month to all NYCTWC HD subscribers. Not that I won't get it, but it will be nice to try it out for free and just make sure i have it as soon as it comes out.

I had an appointment on Friday pm to have my SA8000HD box swapped out (disk error message when pressing info button) for a new one. In the 8 days waiting for the appointment I have cold restarted the box about four times to fix the problem.

Tech turns up with a SA8000SD box.

Haven't phone to complain yet but jesus this makes me mad. Tech suggested I swap box out myself at 23rd Street office.

Does anyone have a thesaurus handy to find synonyms for "incompetent"?

Has anyone been experiencing any problems with DiscoveryHD lately? For the past day or two, I have been getting occasional freezes/block patterns that last about second and go away. The picture is otherwise as good as usual. I do not have this problem on any other HD channels. I am hoping it is the channel and not my setup, as I recently moved my TV and am running it from a new cable jack. I am using the Pioneer HD box, if that makes any difference. Thanks!

Originally posted by jmbnyc
BTW, the SA8000HD box worked quite well for a few weeks before it started to flake out.

Paid to have my 8000HD brought around last Tuesday and hope not to encounter your problems. To keep S-video access I've connected my ancient SA3100HD back up. Took some tinkering to find a spot for it near my Zektor component switch that uses 1-foot input cables. Heat buildup, I learned with older SA converters, can really mess up performance. So I've positioned the 8000HD with nothing blocking its bottom or top vents, and moved the 3100HD from beneath it so there's nothing heating it from below. -- John

Originally posted by robgold
Has anyone been experiencing any problems with DiscoveryHD lately? For the past day or two, I have been getting occasional freezes/block patterns that last about second and go away. The picture is otherwise as good as usual. I do not have this problem on any other HD channels. I am hoping it is the channel and not my setup, as I recently moved my TV and am running it from a new cable jack. I am using the Pioneer HD box, if that makes any difference. Thanks!

I've had the same problem. I'm virtually sure it's the channel.

Originally posted by ensyed
Do the non-HD DVR boxes from TW have the pixelation/recording problems mentioned on this thread?
I am asking bc I need two DVR boxes and I am wondering if I should get one 8000HD for the primary TV and a non-HD DVR for the other one until to ensure that critical programs are recorded.

thanks


The 8000HD boxes on pixelate (word?) on HD channels. SD recording is find. YMMV.

Drew

Mike Scott's HD recorder thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4588859#post4588859) outlines a technique for estimating bit rates for various channels/programs with an 8000HD. And this linked post within the thread outlines a sampling of how channels are allocated to frequenies at San Diego's TWC. The poster indicates he mapped, using his converter diagnostics, up to 12 channels there for one cable frequency. There's a channel/frequency Excel spreadsheet at the San Diego forum (link provided), plus a link to a Scientific Atlanta paper outlining how its latest hardware can "groom" signals to squeeze them into available bandwidth.

NYC's system may well differ. Previous reports say TWC here employs rate shaping with Terayon and other gear (Cisco) as well as statistical multiplexing. But interested tinkerers might map NY's channel lineup to frequencies. Last I checked with my 3100HD diagnostics, mapping the HDTV frequencies wasn't possible. But noticed at that time that the many foreign-language channels here seem to have the same cable frequency as the English equivalent channel; did in one case, anyway. So perhaps the video is shared, but only the audio, needing little bandwidth, is changed.

Anyway, as TWC continues upgrades, such as shedding more analog channels, besides adding more HDTV I hope they find new sources for better-fidelity SD programming. Last week's golf match via USA and ABC (Sunday), for example, was exceptionally poor image quality IMO, even on 707 yesterday. If the signal was being uplinked anywhere in a clearer, higher-bit-rate format, some means of passing that fidelity along to TWC customers should be found. -- John

I had a rescheduled TW service call this past Saturday morning to swap out my- constantly frozen, always need hard re booting, slow channel changing if it changes at all-- SA 8000 HD DVR. The appointment was set up and reconfirmed as: to check everything out, if all was ok with everyhting else, then swap out the box.

The TW Techy arrived, to my surprise, on time, (not surprised that he was on time, but that he actually showed up this time). Naturally, (you’ve got to be kidding me) he didn’t have a replacement box with him. He had a DVR but not an HD DVR.

He checked everything out. Determined that everything was ok except the hard drive on my box. He wanted to reschedule a swap out—don’t go there-- not even considered. I demanded (nicely) that he go and get one. He (nicely) went back to his facility and retrieved a new one.

About an hour later I was hooked up- all is fine. This unit appears to be functioning correctly. Much quicker. No freezes. Nothing to complain about.

I’m sorry I let it go on this long. I should have changed the box at the first sign of problems. I’ve always done that (with complete success) in the past, with all of my previous HD set top boxes. I guess the reason I hung on to this one for so long with all of the problems was because of the 30 or so hours of SD recordings and the 6 or so hours of the HD recordings that I was planning on watching.

No more. First sign of this box being "possessed" – swap.

I will try and look at this optimistically- my hard drive is not half full with great recordings, it’s 100% empty with room for great new recordings.

;)


Larry

Hey Larry can I have your new box? :) Seriously though, glad you have a functioning (knock on wood) box at this point...

TM

Originally posted by EricScott
Noticed something weird on my 8000HD this morning. I was checking the upcoming recordings list and noticed that NFL Primetime (on ESPN - 28 from 7:30p to 8:30p on Sunday) wasn't scheduled to record, despite the fact that it is clearly listed in the repeating recordings list. I checked to make sure the IPG data went out to Sunday, which it did, b/c other Sunday night recordings appeared in the scheduled recording list.

Anyone else have this problem where for some reason the 8000HD chooses not to record something that it's supposed to?

Actually, I just noticed this for the first time last night. Specifically this week, a number of my scheduled recordings have stopped automatically highlighting as future recordings even though they're clearly listed in the repeated recordings list, although many other recordings are still automatically showing up.

A reboot did not fix this.

I reselected them manually and they're now scheduled, but not sure what to do.

I even tried changing some of the options for some of the ones that were showing up, and when I swapped it from something like "record only at 8AM" to "record all", all showings of the program came back, but then if it switched it back to the way it originally worked, it didn't show up at all.

Oh, I also tried deleting one and recreating it and everything was fine; but the prospect of recreating a large portion of my scheduled recordings was not very enticing.

Seems like the last "patch" must've broken the scheduled recordings functionality! (This is preferable to skips in the audio/video, but not much!)

anthonymoody,

Just got of the phone with TWC, and after some digging they stated the 8300HD should be available "in the next couple of months", so we *may* see it before year-end. They also mentioned receiving many complaints about the HD DVR and "coding problems" being responsible.

/Carl

How about this.
Everyone that visits this thread, calls TWC and threatens to consider purchasing the upcoming HD tier, ONLY IF they provide us with the 8300HD first.
Someone at TWCNYC might pay attention. Why pay so much money for sub-par service?

my 8000hd just started an odd thing where I have to hit the 'select' button to make the box switch to a channel. I used to only have to enter the channel # and the box would switch to the channel. Someone else mentioned this recently; is there a fix for this?

Thanks

Drew

it comes and goes. I started manually checking for the new channels and after a while I had to hit the enter button as well. But then it went away. Does anyone know what numbers the new channels will be on?

I just did a scan with my LG-LST3100 and found the following new channels:

86.1 HD-NET
86.2 ??? (early Harrison Ford film on right now)
93.1 INHD
93.2 INHD2

No sign of ESPN-HD yet.

TNT-HD which is on 87-2 has no sounds.

There is also an additional SD channel Thirteen World (105-4) which I haven't seen on the TWC guide.

I noticed it also!!! I also noticed that you can also hit the black button on the bottom in the center to also take you to the channel.

It seems to take longer to change also....

BR

ESPN-HD here also, finally. it only took 3/4 of the college football season.

See they've tossed in an 'extra' NBC weather channel slated for Nov. 15. If that's OTA, too, hope it doesn't diminish the bit rates for other programming; wouldn't think so. With direct fiber feeds TWC could, theoretically, sidestep diminished OTA bit rates from multicasting if stations cooperated.

Looking forward to seeing how the image quality of the PGA final golf championship starting at noon on ESPN-HD stacks up to USA's exceptionally bad Thurs-Sat live golf fidelity last week. The feed was so bad even ABC's Sunday 720p upconvert couldn't improve things.

Pressing the 8000HD R.C. black button tunes a channel? Tapped it once while surfing the new H/DTV channels this morning and nothing happened. 13World (715) appears and tunes like the others on my S. Manhattan lineup. -- John

Originally posted by csundbom
anthonymoody,

Just got of the phone with TWC, and after some digging they stated the 8300HD should be available "in the next couple of months", so we *may* see it before year-end. They also mentioned receiving many complaints about the HD DVR and "coding problems" being responsible.

/Carl

That is awesome news.
who did you call?
I would like to call too to complain.
I rather not call the 1-800-OK-CABLE number since the people answering those calls are truly idiots.

New channels now available:

721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNET Movies -- subscription needed
724 HDNET
725 ESPNHD -- subscription needed

Originally posted by Maurice2
New channels now available:

721 INHD
722 INHD2
723 HDNET Movies -- subscription needed
724 HDNET
725 ESPNHD -- subscription needed
I checked at 7:00AM this morning before work and I had all 5 channels, none said subscription required. I'm on Staten Island.

I checked this morning and we do have the new channels. InHD2 looked AMAZING but ESPN-HD was grayed out. Is this because it's considered a premium service? Even so, I was under the impression it would be free at first.

All 5 came in fine for lower manhattan this morning. Reception was fantastic on all of them.

The additonal channels are free until 12/1:

http://www2.twcnyc.com/index2.cfm?c=dtv/hdtv

checked this morning as well in brooklyn before leaving for work at 7 am. Got all 5 channels and got to from a quick scan they look great. Looking forward to getting home tonight so I can take a longer look.

corduroy

The black button on the remote, bottom center, does act like an "enter" button to tune to a channel. Also, not sure if this was there before, but if you hit the 'play' button twice while watching live or recorded TV, the DVR goes into slow-motion.

I'm really annoyed that the STB doesn't automatically change when I enter a valid channel into the remote.

New channels look great. What is ch. 731; not an HD channel? It says it's coming 11/15.

Whoever though I would watch Korean Sumo Wrestling for more than 5 minutes? Looks great on INHD.

Well, now that we're caught up with the rest of TWC in terms of programing and equipment, I guess we need to start focusing on the HD8300.

FWIW, thanks to 'twcinsider' and for 'bob watson' for sending over good information and finally keeping a service promise.

Drew

Originally posted by timewaster
That is awesome news.
who did you call?
I would like to call too to complain.
I rather not call the 1-800-OK-CABLE number since the people answering those calls are truly idiots.

I just called the main number, 212-358-0900. They put my on hold to check with the "technical people", and that's what they came back with. I would encourage more people to call, maybe we can get this ball rolling a little more rapidly.

Here's what I get in northeast Queens:
SA 8000HD: All available HD programming is accessible.
SA CableCard: 701 (HBO-HD), 702, 703 (SHO-HD), 704, 705, 706, 707 & 713.
No 710 (TNT-HD) or any of the HD channels offered beginning 11/04.:(

Apparently TWC-NYC can't update the CC with the new channels. They don't even appear on the Mits "Channelview" guide. BTW, all the accessible CC HD channels were present on Aug. 13, 2004 when the CC was installed and has remained static.

I've notified the TWC CC programmer & called Ed Urbanowski regarding the CC situation. I hope they figure it out soon.

Regard...JL

I use to be able to change the tv settings using the # button ,but it no longer works.

Changing the sidebar/stretch and zoom modes i have to go back the old way using the settings button/

BR

Drew,
Re boot your box. This should get the channel changing to function properly. It works for me. I haven’t a clue why this occasionally happens but I just re boot and all’s back to "normal." It just happened to my new box Tuesday night.


Re. the 8300, twcinsider?? Have you heard anything?



Larry

I'll try the re-boot, thanks larry. Also, twcinsider only posts when he has facts, which is nice. He seemed to have information related to the specific bandwith issues and HD channel line-up.

John M. The golf tourney on ESPNHD is not HD. :(

Drew

Originally posted by Blue Rain
I use to be able to change the tv settings using the # button ,but it no longer works.

Changing the sidebar/stretch and zoom modes i have to go back the old way using the settings button/

BR


Wow, I didn't know that you could do that with the # button. That feature still works on my 8000HD. Cool.

Also, in playing with the buttons on the remote, I somehow managed to 'fix' the channel changing issue I was griping about a few posts earlier. I did not re-boot the box to make this happen. I have no idea whay sequence of buttons caused this to happen, but I suspect that I (or my wife) did something/hit something on the remote to make this change the first time?????? :confused:


Drew

NBC WEATHER PLUS TO LAUNCH IN NYC
By Steve Donohue, Multichannel News, 11/4/2004

NBC Universal is launching NBC Weather Plus, a new digital weather channel that will be produced by weathercasters at local NBC stations and distributed on some cable systems.
Time Warner Cable of New York City will launch NBC4 Weather Plus Thursday on channel 731, system spokeswoman Suzanne Giuliani said Wednesday afternoon. NBC flagship station WNBC-TV in New York is supplying the content for the channel.

NBC officials have said they hope to launch local versions of NBC Weather Plus nationwide, but it wasn¿t clear at press time what other markets will launch the network. NBC spokesman Mike Doyle declined to comment on other possible market launches.

The local digital channels will provide more competition for The Weather Channel, which provides automated, periodic local weather updates but remains more focused on national content.

NBC Universal executive vice president of digital media, international channels and business development Brandon Burgess is overseeing the launch of NBC Weather Plus.



It should be noted that WNBC DT plans to shut off subchannels during prime time HD programing. Whether or not the Weather Plus gets shut down is being discussed. Probably not since it only takes up ~3 MHz of bandwidth.
George

I checked this morning around 7:30am and have all five channels on the new HD tier. I called TWC and signed up for these on Nov. 2, and they will start billing me come December. Nice to have 5 more HD channels, almost double our current options. Of course, my wife could care less. Great picture.

- walkman

I think the HDNet programming is fantastic. I stayed up til 6am watching all the new stations.

I don't know how they got some of these older TV series into HD format, but they look STUNNING! I have been cooing over SQUARE PEGS and HOGAN'S HEROS. The detail and the colors are beautiful. They also seem to be all formatted for Widescreen too, which makes me wonder how they achieved this. Did they get the original film masters? Are these zoomed in from the original 4:3 ratio? or were the shows originally filmed in 16:9?

Can't wait to finally see SMALLVILLE, CHARLIES ANGELS (original series), and WISEGUY! Plus the IMAX marathon.

I am the most disappointed with ESPN-HD. There still hasn't been anything that is natively in HD. Everything I have seen is in SD source material with an HD wrapper. *yawn*

any word on HD broadcasts for WB and UPN?

Originally posted by walkman666
I checked this morning around 7:30am and have all five channels on the new HD tier. I called TWC and signed up for these on Nov. 2, and they will start billing me come December. Nice to have 5 more HD channels, almost double our current options. Of course, my wife could care less. Great picture.

- walkman

Don't forget that there's also a slightly discounted package for people with HD-DVRs who want the HD Tier. The person who I spoke to had to get her supervisor to enter in the codes, but was eventually able to do it.

Originally posted by scott_bernstein
Don't forget that there's also a slightly discounted package for people with HD-DVRs who want the HD Tier. The person who I spoke to had to get her supervisor to enter in the codes, but was eventually able to do it.

Scott: What is the cost of the HD-DVR tier?

TIA....JL

Drew

My # button is working again..i also noticed the "video source button" works like the # button.

I still can;t get it to go directly to the channel without having to hit the black or select button.

I agree it's some kind of sequence because i been messing with the remote trying to fine new things and at one time i had it working but
don't remember the sequence..

Thanks for the tip on the 2x play button for slow mo : )

I don't want to do the reboot thing ..afraid of losing my #/video source trick
to change formats.
BR

I'm a big fan of the slow motion trick. Also, on my remote, the Video Source button actually controls the video source of my HDTV. It switches between my DVI, Component, Composite and Coax, inputs. It's a handy feature.

FWIW, I was hitting the source buttons on the remote along with the * and # keys when the problems with the chancel selector was magically fixed. Good luck.

Drew

Originally posted by drew138
I'm a big fan of the slow motion trick. Also, on my remote, the Video Source button actually controls the video source of my HDTV. It switches between my DVI, Component, Composite and Coax, inputs. It's a handy feature.

FWIW, I was hitting the source buttons on the remote along with the * and # keys when the problems with the chancel selector was magically fixed. Good luck.

Drew
I think if you select CABLE and then hit video source you can control the video mode on the cable box.

Everything working now!!

Tried the source with a bunch of other buttons and all is well...

BR

I am on the Upper West Side and have the "subscription service" notice for both the HDNet Movies and ESPN-HD. Any idea how to get rid of the notice?

Edited to add that I rebooted the box and the subscription notice went away.

One other thing: Has anyone had their Pioneer HD box shut off spontaneously recently? Mine has gone off at least 5 times recently. At first, I thought it was a software upgrade but now I think that the box may be failing.

Just wondering...When using the sidebars on 4:3 is your picture centered or is it off more to one side?

I'm wondering if it's TWC or my mits set,if so ,i have to recalibrate again!!

Thanks

BR

try exit button..

BR

Wish they could have worked MSGHD in there so we could get the Knicks in HD this season.

Using TW’s wonderful timing, we should get MSG HD, right about… say… June.

Hopefully my sarcasm will be wrong. :p




Larry

Wish they could have worked MSGHD in there so we could get the Knicks in HD this season.

I don't have any hard facts on this, and someone may know better than me, but keep an eye on INHD1 and 2. I believe I remember hearing that they may be showing Knicks games in hi def on occasion.

Both HDNETs and ESPNHD are completely unwatchable at the moment--is this the same problem that we had with TNTHD the day it went online?

Originally posted by drew138
John M. The golf tourney on ESPNHD is not HD. :(

Yes, didn't write that it was, but think it should be, if that's what you meant. It's upconverted 720p. It would start as 480, go out as an upconvert on ESPN-HD, and with my 8000HD settings become 1080i on my CRT-based RPTV.

Today's live golf video on ESPN-HD looked much better than both ABC's Sunday 720p upconvert and USA's really bad 480i of last week's game. -- John

Football game on ESPN is simply AWESOME. The best quality picture for any sports event Ive seen thus far!!!!!

too bad there are about 2 or 3 video and audio breakups per second. Am I the only one having this problem? All HD channels are fine for me except for ESPN and HDNET and HDNET Movies

Hudson Valley here... just traded a 3250HD to an 8000HD today plus new HD Tier. No loss in picture quality, love the DVR, BUT like others have reported, my digital audio drops out randomly for about half a second. If I rewind the "live TV", the dropout is not there! So it has to be a problem with the firmware or software. Old unit didn't do this... drives me nuts. I hope new software fixes it!!! I'm using optical digital out.

BR, my 4:3 image with sidebars is pretty much dead center. Glad you got the remote 'fixed'.

Football on ESPNHD looked pretty spectacular last night. A few minor pixelations but otherwise it was pretty good. The other new channels were also coming in just fine as well.

John, I was only posting my dissapointment with the game no being in HD. I think golf is a sport that does benefit from HD since many of the courses have great sceanery and the close-ups on the players faces show a lot of emotion that doesn't come through on SD.

I'm sure this was covered in other threads on ESPNHD, but it's really interesting to see HD and SD content intermingled on the program and it realy showcases the quality in the HD pictures. I think ESPN does a pretty good job on Sportscenter of managing the HD/SD handoffs all things considered.

Drew

Actually My Pioneer box has rebooted a few times in the last couple of weeks. So its not just your box Lisa

capt


One other thing: Has anyone had their Pioneer HD box shut off spontaneously recently? Mine has gone off at least 5 times recently. At first, I thought it was a software upgrade but now I think that the box may be failing.

Hey peteyspambucket, the older shows on HDNet were shot on film, and thanks to Mark Cuban's aggressive pursuit of the HD passion, after acquiring the shows it's only a matter of converting the film to HD - exactly what happens (more or less) with films shown on HBO HD, etc.

Re the 8300, just back from a few days out of pocket and still haven't heard back from my message into Bob W's office. Maybe I'l try again monday...

TM

So what is the story on the 8300HD? Is it available in the TWC NYC and Hudson Valley market? I am getting conflicting messages! Hope someone posts here when they get one! Just got the 8000HD and it drops out audio!

Originally posted by CaptDS9E
Actually My Pioneer box has rebooted a few times in the last couple of weeks. So its not just your box Lisa
Mine too.

I have 2 Pioneer HD boxes. One has been shutting off spontaneously a lot recently - the other not nearly as much. I figured that, if they were doing software updates, both would have been equally affected.

Pioneer 3510HD. I tried the 'Guide' on an HD channel today, hoping that the problem had been resolved by now. It worked fine. But then I tried it again a few minutes later (still on an HD channel), and the video went beserk.
I had to reboot to get the video back.

Is there a formula to follow in order for the video to remain stable (like "do not use the Guide on HD channels more than once every 15 minutes") -- or is it totally unreliable on all HD channels? And is TWC aware of this problem? And are they working on it?

Originally posted by Maurice2
Pioneer 3510HD. I tried the 'Guide' on an HD channel today, hoping that the problem had been resolved by now. It worked fine. But then I tried it again a few minutes later (still on an HD channel), and the video went beserk.
I had to reboot to get the video back.

Is there a formula to follow in order for the video to remain stable (like "do not use the Guide on HD channels more than once every 15 minutes") -- or is it totally unreliable on all HD channels? And is TWC aware of this problem? And are they working on it?

My Pioneer 3510HD used to bug out whenever you used the guide on a 720p channel - all other channels were fine. At the time that meant ABC, but now I guess it applies to Fox and ESPN too. Also my 3510 used to power itself down every night. I was connecting it to my Samsung DLP via DVI, so I suspected that when I powered the Samsung off, it powered the box down somehow.

No longer have the 3510 - have one 8000HD and one 3250HD right now.

Originally posted by EricScott
My Pioneer 3510HD used to bug out whenever you used the guide on a 720p channel - all other channels were fine. At the time that meant ABC, but now I guess it applies to Fox and ESPN too.
Eric, thanks a lot for this info. I didn't know about the 720p factor. I've now tried the guide on all HD channels except 705, 707 and 725 and it works fine.