You really want to have all movies directors not listed? You think the majority of folks don't want that bit of information?

Just a bit.

Parental Control will be a problem!

You really want to have all movies directors not listed? You think the majority of folks don't want that bit of information?

Speaking only for myself, I don't care about this information.

I use a Harmony One remote - and I'm using the same button as I did before to zoom. (one of the bottom corner buttons - forget which one right now)

I was talking about hitting one button on the STB remote (STB zoom) vs. doing half a dozen clicks in the UI. Not at all sure how the same multi-click Harmony "single button click" can possibly be the same for Passport and MDN...

I was talking about hitting one button on the STB remote (STB zoom) vs. doing half a dozen clicks in the UI. Not at all sure how the same multi-click Harmony "single button click" can possibly be the same for Passport and MDN...

....

the button on my remote is the same as the one twc gives us.

It's not specially programmed.

I was talking about hitting one button on the STB remote (STB zoom) vs. doing half a dozen clicks in the UI. Not at all sure how the same multi-click Harmony "single button click" can possibly be the same for Passport and MDN...

Just pressing the # key on the standard remote cycles through normal, stretch, zoom, just like it used to do under Passport. This is true for the MDN box. I cannot get it to work properly on the ODN 3090 box.

-barry

OMG... now I see. Long ago I had discovered that the Video Source key (lower left) when the remote was set for CBL, did that. I used that key frequently (if I set the remote to TV, it switches sources ON the TV, but that function I used far less than zoom).

MUCH better!

am i the only one thata has not been upgraded to navigator? i have an old sa3250 and 2200 box with passport which has worked reliably for many years.

A couple things:

1) Smithsonian HD is not a new channel that launched on August 19. It moved on August 19 from Channel 789 to 795, along with a bunch of other HD channels. And because it's part of the HD Extra package, you won't see it unless you subscribe to it.

2) Are you seeing the old, pre-existing HD channels at their new channel numbers? E.g. CNN HD used to be on 710 but is now on 778? FX HD was on 737 but is now on 710? Here's a list of the lineup changes:

http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/learn/cable/aug19changes.html

3) the new HD channels that launched on August 19 are:

Big Ten HD On Demand, 471
Outdoor Channel HD, 480
Headline News HD, 758
TCM HD, 782
Smithsonian HD On Demand, 794 (this is a new channel, maybe you got Smithsonian HD confused with it)
BBC America HD, 685
HSN HD, 739

Tivo users won't be able to see the on demand channels because the Cablecards don't support them but you should see 480, 758, 782, 685 and 739 as part of the regular digital package. I receive them all on my Tivo. You're not seeing any of them?

4) Are any of these moved or new channels missing from your channel guide?

Thanks for your reply. Here's some quick feedback.

1) not getting Smithsonian, but don't have HD Extra so that might explain it.

2) Yes on both CNN and FX. They seem to have made the move.

3) I get none of these. Either a black screen or the Tivo logo saying channel not available.

4) The guide was updated through the Tivo download on Aug. 19. They are there and when I 'tune' to the channel the program info comes up. I can even schedule recordings but of course would only record a black screen. There is no bugger though when tuned to the channel.

not me either nyctveng....i think they forgot about us ...j/k!!!:eek:

am i the only one thata has not been upgraded to navigator? i have an old sa3250 and 2200 box with passport which has worked reliably for many years.

I got the uprade on 2 of my boxes last week but I have another 2 still using Passport, strange.
One thing the Picture quality is Better on one of the upgraded sets, go figure.

am i the only one thata has not been upgraded to navigator? i have an old sa3250 and 2200 box with passport which has worked reliably for many years.

They generally go by community and box type, so TWC may not have gotten around to updating your box yet.

Jack

Thanks for your reply. Here's some quick feedback.

1) not getting Smithsonian, but don't have HD Extra so that might explain it.

2) Yes on both CNN and FX. They seem to have made the move.

3) I get none of these. Either a black screen or the Tivo logo saying channel not available.

4) The guide was updated through the Tivo download on Aug. 19. They are there and when I 'tune' to the channel the program info comes up. I can even schedule recordings but of course would only record a black screen. There is no bugger though when tuned to the channel.

You probably already figured this out but it looks like for some reason your Cablecards weren't updated to receive the new HD channels. It's odd because you got all the other changes that occurred on August 19. You should be able to get phone support to fix it but that depends on speaking to someone who knows what a Cablecard is. Unfortunately, waiting for your in-person tech support appointment is probably your best bet. Hopefully, they will send someone who also has experience with Cablecards who can re-sync the cards, which should be easy to do. I guess the best thing I can tell you is that you definitely should be receiving 5 new HD channels without paying extra.

Did any one get a SAMSUNG 3090 -320 hdd at 23st. at new york city ???

Anyone knows why the heck I don't get MSNBC HD? This upg did nothing to make it happen, TWNYC claims it's a bug in my upd SA8300HD and needs to be replaced to fix it - which is out of question as I would lose 1-1 entire season of two HD shows...

BUT, the things that they do have in True HD have looked beautiful. I actually like the fact that they leave the non-hd movies windowboxed (bars on all 4 sides) rather than upconverting. Makes it clear that you're just watching an SD picture.

What have they shown in 'True HD" ?

My thoughtwas that many of the widescreen films they show are available on DVD. Couldn't they have obtained the anamorphic transfers, and used those (even if they are not HD, they would be widescreen ) ?

am i the only one thata has not been upgraded to navigator? i have an old sa3250 and 2200 box with passport which has worked reliably for many years.
I live in Lower Manhattan and have Passport on my old Pioneer 3510 Voyager. I am holding my breath that it stays that way because I love the 'timers' (I have my own DVR and it's a great setup). When I switched my bedroom box for HD I got the Samsung 3050 with Navigator - and it sucks!

Did any one get a SAMSUNG 3090 -320 hdd at 23st. at new york city ???

Better yet, has anyone successfully swapped the internal drive for a Seagate Pipeline 320G drive? 2 guys we know of have done that in 2 other markets...

My menu doesn't show all the Channels, like HBO2 MGMHDand some others, if I only hit the info button then go to each ch I can see each one. but the full screen menu doesn't. Anyone else

My menu doesn't show all the Channels, like HBO2 MGMHDand some others, if I only hit the info button then go to each ch I can see each one. but the full screen menu doesn't. Anyone else

I think your channels are sorted by favorites.

Press Settings--> scroll with arrows to FAVORITES CHANNELS-->arrow down to Sort by Favorites press SELECT and set it to ALL Channels.

Did any one have problems this A.M.with your internet on the UWS?? Can not get on line. Yea just came on

[QUOTE=Meteor;17059851]I think your channels are sorted by favorites.

Press Settings--> scroll with arrows to FAVORITES CHANNELS-->arrow down to Sort by Favorites press SELECT and set it to ALL Channels.[/QUOTE

That was it Thanks for the help. It would have taken me forever to figure that
out.

I think your channels are sorted by favorites.

Press Settings--> scroll with arrows to FAVORITES CHANNELS-->arrow down to Sort by Favorites press SELECT and set it to ALL Channels.

There's seems to be no point to favorites if one sorts by ALL CHANNELS, nothing in the guide changes. If one sorts by favorites first, all the favorites will be "moved" to just before channel 1.

I suspect what most want is a mode where the guide will ONLY show what you choose for it to show. And that was the default. Yet still have the ability to see all channels; for this one should have to do subsequent button presses.

There's seems to be no point to favorites if one sorts by ALL CHANNELS, nothing in the guide changes. If one sorts by favorites first, all the favorites will be "moved" to just before channel 1.

I suspect what most want is a mode where the guide will ONLY show what you choose for it to show. And that was the default. Yet still have the ability to see all channels; for this one should have to do subsequent button presses.

I have selected ALL CHANNELS, and I see plenty of point in favorites. I never view my favorites in the guide. I just use the FAV button to skip to the next favorites.

You seem to think that I should have to push extra buttons to see every show in the guide. While I don't particularly agree, I suppose I could live with that if it were a one time configuration option (like it is now), but if I had to push extra buttons every time I brought up the guied, I would be unhappy. Not everybody thinks and operates their TV the same way you do.

-barry

Okay. Per my request, TWC delivered the Sammy 3090. It only has the 160gb drive, but that is still more than my "legacy" SA8300HD.

After the tech left, I noticed that the DVR wasn't sitting right on the shelf. Turns out it only has 1 out of 4 feet! Typical.

I'll post observations occasionally as I note them. (Please note that some of my comparisons may not be "new" since I'm used to Passport and I'm still getting the hang of Navigator.)

One thing I noticed right off the bat is better support for HDMI and digital audio. For instance, the STB correctly shows menus in full 16x9 without grey pillars on non-HD channels.

Also, it seems to load more of the program schedule automatically. I was able to switch forward by days up to a week without waiting for the box to download info from TWC. I don't know if this is the box, or a feature of the latest navigator, but I appreciate it.

That's it for now. I'll let you know if it helps with my signal problems and audio dropouts. So far, the answer is no. I need more time to observe and interact.

Okay. Per my request, TWC delivered the Sammy 3090. It only has the 160gb drive, but that is still more than my "legacy" SA8300HD.

After the tech left, I noticed that the DVR wasn't sitting right on the shelf. Turns out it only has 1 out of 4 feet! Typical.

I'll post observations occasionally as I note them. (Please note that some of my comparisons may not be "new" since I'm used to Passport and I'm still getting the hang of Navigator.)

One thing I noticed right off the bat is better support for HDMI and digital audio. For instance, the STB correctly shows menus in full 16x9 without grey pillars on non-HD channels.

Also, it seems to load more of the program schedule automatically. I was able to switch forward by days up to a week without waiting for the box to download info from TWC. I don't know if this is the box, or a feature of the latest navigator, but I appreciate it.

That's it for now. I'll let you know if it helps with my signal problems and audio dropouts. So far, the answer is no. I need more time to observe and interact.

huh?
i have the 8300HD also. I thought the 8300HD also has 160 gigs?

huh?
i have the 8300HD also. I thought the 8300HD also has 160 gigs?

you are right it does. If it was less than 160 even the passport lovers would have left it long ago :)

My mistake. Sorry. Now that I'm in for the evening we'll see how things go.

My remaining box was changed from Passport the other day. I just realized that I have lost my Dolby Digital on my receiver. It only plays in PCM. Any relationship between the new software update and this problem? My settings for the cable box are HDMI.

I wonder why TWC still carry over 31 analog channels even though they are removing them one by one. I think they should remove all the remaining analog channels and leave channels 2-13.

My remaining box was changed from Passport the other day. I just realized that I have lost my Dolby Digital on my receiver. It only plays in PCM. Any relationship between the new software update and this problem? My settings for the cable box are HDMI.I don’t recall reading anything on the various threads here regarding audio issues. Obviously you probably tried the usual TW’s fix all gaffer tape type solution :p and rebooted to no avail? And you must have reviewed your settings on your receiver? Wish I had a concrete answer for you.

I wonder why TWC still carry over 31 analog channels even though they are removing them one by one. I think they should remove all the remaining analog channels and leave channels 2-13.

1) there are more OTA channels besides 2-13

2) the rest are almost all public access channels that they still have to carry for a while in analog

3) QAM space is a non-issue - there is plenty more space for more HD channels

Great news: everything is working!

The first time they came out here, they sent a contractor who wouldn't do anything besides replace the box. I insisted on keeping the old one. Unplugged it for many hours, plugged it back in without HDMI, etc. Still rebooting in a loop.

Then on Tuesday I had a problem with my Roadrunner which was running painfully slow, and after a 45 minute call they sent me to Level 3 support -- apparently my levels were all messed up. The tech came and also wanted to just take away the old box. But he fixed something outside my apartment in the hall (and it seems there is something else that has to be fixed next week but I don't have to be there). I had forgotten on the last visit to get an extra power cord to go with the second DVR, so it's been unplugged for a few days. Lo and behold, when I plugged it in (no HDMI, no component) and left it for a few hours - the update "took!".

I had left the external drive unplugged for this whole time and was all upset when I went to the list and none of the external stuff was there. But then I plugged it back in and rebooted the box ... everything was there! (One random "untitled recording" rated "adult" - something I deleted ages ago- but who cares!)

Very very happy camper.

The bottom line is - if your box is still doing this, insist on an in-house tech and send the guy away if he's not. Navigator is very fussy about authenticating and it goes into this reboot loop if there is a signal problem of any kind.

Left it on for 24 hours -- still doing this. The time DOES show up. Then when you turn the TV on it tell you it is updating the recordings and settings. This persists for a few minutes, then it reboots and does it again. This is happening with and without the drive plugged in.

Perhaps I should have left it on for several hours the first time, but the first time it did this I (on the advice of the guys on the phone) pulled the plug after 2 hours of it just sitting there. Now it just won't get past this spot where it is updating the recordings and settings.


I had a service call in for today and requested an in house tech. The guy came here and didn't even try to do anything but switch the box. I had him add a new one to our account, so I still have the old one. It even says on the printout "in-house tech only" but they sent a contractor anyway.

Since I'm getting the clock, and this is still happening, does that mean I'm SOL?

I don’t recall reading anything on the various threads here regarding audio issues. Obviously you probably tried the usual TW’s fix all gaffer tape type solution :p and rebooted to no avail? And you must have reviewed your settings on your receiver? Wish I had a concrete answer for you.


Thanks, Larry. Yup, did all of those. I'm wondering if I have a bad cable because strangely enough, when I have the receiver and dvr on but not the plasma, I get DD sound through the receiver. The minute I turn on the plasma, I lose the DD. I am going to pull all of the HDMI cables tomorrow and see if the one from the tv is bad. Can't think of anything else it could be.

Glad that hdvskiprep got his box working! That's great! What he said below is SO TRUE if your box is stuck in a reboot loop or is constantly rebooting. YOU NEED TO HAVE YOUR SIGNAL STRENGTH AND LINE CHECKED BY AN IN HOUSE TECH, and if necessary the in-house tech can also replace the line going from the pole drop to your residence. I would put signal strength and a quality cable inside and outside the home as very important agents for box performance, especially for Navigator. Like I said, when our Road Runner kept disconnecting and reconnecting and our Navigator would be rebooting almost daily, and our Digital Phone was dropping calls in the middle of conversations the in-house tech came out:

1.) He did signal strength tests.

2.) He replaced the line.

3.) We had a signal reading that was coming it a little too strong causing the issues with our cable services. He said that if voltage readings were either too high or too low, you will have service problems.

4.) A few days later, another tech came out. He completed the order, finishing work on the line, to adjust the proper signals on the new line and making sure that both input and output levels were within the proper levels. Things work great now!

Jack

The bottom line is - if your box is still doing this, insist on an in-house tech and send the guy away if he's not. Navigator is very fussy about authenticating and it goes into this reboot loop if there is a signal problem of any kind.

I've been doing some testing regarding the multi-segment recording problems some of us have been experiencing. For me, it only happens when a show is recording on FoxHD 705 in the 8pm to 9pm time slot. Any other time slot will record normally and it doesn't matter if the recording was a one time occurrence or a series recording. Also, I'm located in Manhattan and have the Samsung 3090. I did not experience this problem with the 8300HD and Passport. Would others that are having the problem see if those conditions hold true for them as well? Then maybe we can find someone to complain to at TW that might take us seriously and listen. :rolleyes:

Okay. Per my request, TWC delivered the Sammy 3090. It only has the 160gb drive, but that is still more than my "legacy" SA8300HD.

After the tech left, I noticed that the DVR wasn't sitting right on the shelf. Turns out it only has 1 out of 4 feet! Typical.

I'll post observations occasionally as I note them. (Please note that some of my comparisons may not be "new" since I'm used to Passport and I'm still getting the hang of Navigator.)

One thing I noticed right off the bat is better support for HDMI and digital audio. For instance, the STB correctly shows menus in full 16x9 without grey pillars on non-HD channels.

Also, it seems to load more of the program schedule automatically. I was able to switch forward by days up to a week without waiting for the box to download info from TWC. I don't know if this is the box, or a feature of the latest navigator, but I appreciate it.

That's it for now. I'll let you know if it helps with my signal problems and audio dropouts. So far, the answer is no. I need more time to observe and interact.

8300HDs had 160G drives... mine sure did!

The loading of guide data IS far batter than Passport. WIth a week's+ worth of MDN, I am seeing it always have 7 days of data. One of the very few things it has over Passport.

I don’t recall reading anything on the various threads here regarding audio issues. Obviously you probably tried the usual TW’s fix all gaffer tape type solution :p and rebooted to no avail? And you must have reviewed your settings on your receiver? Wish I had a concrete answer for you.

Can't say anything about Lisa's issue as I don't have the same set-up. Looks like she is doing HDMI to an AVR, then video to the TV, with the AVR not picking up the 5.1 audio on HDMI.

HOWEVER, we do know about an issue with the 3090... if it is used like Lisa has her set-up. There's a hidden preference to allow AC-3 over HDMI that is off by default. BUT that SEEMS limited to the 3090 as one needs to get into the boxes extended diagnostics to correct the issue.

My experiences over the past week have demonstrated that an MDNed 8300HD CAN experience issues that other craptigator users don't see. I had all sorts of serious issues with series recordings and even after doing what other told me I had to do, it still doesn't work correctly, even by TWC's twisted illogic.

1) there are more OTA channels besides 2-13

Isn't it that UHF is also OTA, 2-13 being VHF?

Thanks, Larry. Yup, did all of those. I'm wondering if I have a bad cable because strangely enough, when I have the receiver and dvr on but not the plasma, I get DD sound through the receiver. The minute I turn on the plasma, I lose the DD. I am going to pull all of the HDMI cables tomorrow and see if the one from the tv is bad. Can't think of anything else it could be.

Hmmm, exactly how is everything wired? HDMI for STB to AVR, then HDMI from AVR to TV? Theoretically that SHOULD work fine, maybe try component for the STB to TV run...

FYI, HDMI is a 2 way protocol. It seems that if the first device after the source can decode AC-3, the source sends AC-3. If not, the source sends a 2 channel signal like PCM.

I've been doing some testing regarding the multi-segment recording problems some of us have been experiencing. For me, it only happens when a show is recording on FoxHD 705 in the 8pm to 9pm time slot. Any other time slot will record normally and it doesn't matter if the recording was a one time occurrence or a series recording. Also, I'm located in Manhattan and have the Samsung 3090. I did not experience this problem with the 8300HD and Passport. Would others that are having the problem see if those conditions hold true for them as well? Then maybe we can find someone to complain to at TW that might take us seriously and listen. :rolleyes:

Interesting... 705 lost video for about 15 minutes last night during that hour.

Somehow I had the impression the multi-segment issue was on 8300HDs that got MDN... is it only on 3090s?

I've been doing some testing regarding the multi-segment recording problems some of us have been experiencing. For me, it only happens when a show is recording on FoxHD 705 in the 8pm to 9pm time slot. Any other time slot will record normally and it doesn't matter if the recording was a one time occurrence or a series recording. Also, I'm located in Manhattan and have the Samsung 3090. I did not experience this problem with the 8300HD and Passport. Would others that are having the problem see if those conditions hold true for them as well? Then maybe we can find someone to complain to at TW that might take us seriously and listen. :rolleyes:
I actually did not have this problem this week. Hell's Kitchen recorded as one show. I think TW did some updates because fast forwarding DVR'ed programs and hitting play rewinded the video like it used to (this is using the 3090).

I actually did not have this problem this week. Hell's Kitchen recorded as one show. I think TW did some updates because fast forwarding DVR'ed programs and hitting play rewinded the video like it used to (this is using the 3090).

I had about 6 segments for HK. Hopefully, they're aware of the issue and are correcting it.

Just an fyi, this am I successfully swapped out the 160GB drive in the Samsung 3090 for a 320GB drive. All appears to be functioning normally. All series recordings and settings were maintained.

Hmmm, exactly how is everything wired? HDMI for STB to AVR, then HDMI from AVR to TV? Theoretically that SHOULD work fine, maybe try component for the STB to TV run...

FYI, HDMI is a 2 way protocol. It seems that if the first device after the source can decode AC-3, the source sends AC-3. If not, the source sends a 2 channel signal like PCM.

It's been a while since I wired everything so I have to check. The funny thing is that everything has worked fine like this for 2+ years. I just noticed the issue last night - I don't use this setup everynight - so something must have just gone wrong.

The loading of guide data IS far batter than Passport. WIth a week's+ worth of MDN, I am seeing it always have 7 days of data. One of the very few things it has over Passport.
Actually, I think you are being fooled by navigator. I think it only boots up with 3 days of guide data, BUT since all of the program descriptions are much shorter, each day's worth of data loads much faster it just seems like all 7 days of data is there. If, after a reboot, you page forward beyond 3 days, there is a very slight pause (though no "loading...." message or blanking out of one of the tuners like there was on Passport) while the next day's data loads for the first time.

Scott

Just an fyi, this am I successfully swapped out the 160GB drive in the Samsung 3090 for a 320GB drive. All appears to be functioning normally. All series recordings and settings were maintained.

Could you be more specific about your procedure and what brand of drive you used?

tks.

Actually, I think you are being fooled by navigator. I think it only boots up with 3 days of guide data, BUT since all of the program descriptions are much shorter, each day's worth of data loads much faster it just seems like all 7 days of data is there. If, after a reboot, you page forward beyond 3 days, there is a very slight pause (though no "loading...." message or blanking out of one of the tuners like there was on Passport) while the next day's data loads for the first time.

Scott

Funny, I immediately noticed that using the "day ahead" button in the guide was substantially slower than Passport. Never occurred to me it had anything to do with needing to d/l more data. I get that even going from today to tomorrow.

jcalabria offered a tip.. press a number from 2-6 and hit the right arrow. The schedule jumps pretty quickly to that date.

I'm curious... when Passport did NOT have data, it immediately was clear because the "to be recorded list" would miss stuff. When we forced Pass. to d/l more data, then the "to be recorded list" grew. So far, that list in MDN seems to carry scheduled recordings for the whole week.

Once again this points to an age old issue. There is no documentation whatsoever as to how any of their software works. Or what logic it's SUPPOSED to use. Leaves us with too much speculation as to where fault does or doesn't lie.

Could you be more specific about your procedure and what brand of drive you used?

tks.

Seems it has to be one very specific model... one place to get is here:

http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=SGDST3320310CS&categoryid=59

A phillips head and a Torx T-10 Security socket is needed.

Seems it has to be one very specific model... one place to get is here:

http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=SGDST3320310CS&categoryid=59

A phillips head and a Torx T-10 Security socket is needed.

That about covers it. A different drive "might" work, but I don't think anyone has tried yet. It took about 10 minutes to do the following: pop the cover, unhook the two drive cables, remove the drive caddie, swap the drive out of the caddie, replace, attach cables and put the cover back on. Once power was established, the hard disk automatically formatted. That with the initial boot took around 10 minutes.

That about covers it..That's great. Approximately, how many HD hours does this now give you?

That's great. Approximately, how many HD hours does this now give you?

Not sure on the HD hours. Diagnostics lists SD hours available at 93.

Interesting, thanks. The 500GB drive is only a few bucks more (http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=SGDST3500321CS&categoryid=&D=segate+pipeline&Ntt=segate+pipeline&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Main&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=295&Nty=1).

I wonder if it would work. . .

I wonder if it would work. . .

Someone's got to be the first to try. ;) It looks like NowDirect has a 14 day return policy. To be honest, I bought my 320GB from Amazon for around $10 dollars more than NowDirect's price, just because of their 30 day return and Prime 2 day shipping. I've never had any problem returning anything for any reason to them.

Seems it has to be one very specific model... one place to get is here:

http://www.nowdirect.com/exec/partInfo/part_detail.tsb?prcpart=SGDST3320310CS&categoryid=59

A phillips head and a Torx T-10 Security socket is needed.

Are we sure about this? Seems these Pipeline HD drives (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/consumer_electronics/pipeline/)are available up to 1TB.

Now look what you made me go and do... :cool: A Little Experimenting :cool:

A_C

TV Everywhere

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/27/time-warners-tv-everywhere-trials-to-start-sometime/

Now look what you made me go and do...
A_C Does this mean you’re doing this experiment?
Look forward to the results.

1TB would definitely motivate me to dump my SA boxes and “upgrade” to the Sammys with some tweaks.


Considering I’m not computer savvy (as I’ve said before, to me, a hard-drive is sitting on the L.I.E. on a Sunday) but I might be able to perform this little operation without any glowing nose or buzzer. ;) :D

http://onceuponawin.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/win-pictures-operation.jpg

Does this mean you’re doing this experiment?
Look forward to the results.

1TB would definitely motivate me to dump my SA boxes and “upgrade” to the Sammys with some tweaks.


Considering I’m not computer savvy (as I’ve said before, to me, a hard-drive is sitting on the L.I.E. on a Sunday) but I might be able to perform this little operation without any glowing nose or buzzer. ;) :D

http://onceuponawin.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/win-pictures-operation.jpg

Stop tearing your cable boxes apart lol, this is not the answer. Be patient I am sure bigger drives are coming it will not be 160 forever. All I have to say is my poor toy train and various other things I would take apart in my youth

Hi, i'm new to twc. I used to have Dish network but now moved into a building in manhattan where I can only get either twc or rcn. I decided to go for twc. I just got the installation today and saw they gave me a a box that has no HDMI output. The box is a Pioneer HD voyager. That's all the info I got from it. Furthermore, the box looks pretty used and didn't even come in a box. When I asked the contractor who was doing the installation he said that was the box he was given, but if I wanted to change it I could just go the twc office and switch it for another one. When checking the signal the PQ is not that bad (although not as good as it was with dish). However, the worse part is the menu option. The channel guide looks really blurred, and it's very slow.

Anyhow, since I have no previous experience with twc I just wanted to know if this was the standard thing (getting a used box with no hdmi output). Also, I'm now having second thoughts about twc... was wondering if I should have gone with RCN.

I would appreciate any advise. Thanks.

Do other people experience macroblocking on the channels 109 (Boom), 137 (The N) and 138 (Nick Toon)? The picture breaks up into little squares and sometimes the audio stutters as well. This has been a problem on these channels for at least a month, approaching two. I've had it on both a 8300HD (both Passport and post-Navigator) as well as a Tivo so I'm pretty sure it's not a DVR issue. I've called it in and have a service call this weekend but I'm curious to see if anyone else is having it too. It's frequent, occurring every couple minutes, so I'd appreciate it if anyone could spare a little time to check.

The good news is that I solved my audio problems. The bad news is that I finally watched some episodes of The Closer (TNT HD) and all had terrible picture and audio breakups. Some of the recordings were made on Passport and transferred over to Mystro and others were newly done on Mystro. So far, I've watched 4 different episodes and all had major issues. Is anyone else having problems with breakups on TNTHD?

The good news is that I solved my audio problems. The bad news is that I finally watched some episodes of The Closer (TNT HD) and all had terrible picture and audio breakups. Some of the recordings were made on Passport and transferred over to Mystro and others were newly done on Mystro. So far, I've watched 4 different episodes and all had major issues. Is anyone else having problems with breakups on TNTHD?

I definitely had them under Passport. Things have been much better, in this regard, since the Mystro upgrade, but not perfect. I still have an occasional, very short, audio/video glitch - especially on TNTHD.

-barry

Hi, I'm new to twc. I used to have Dish network but now moved into a building in Manhattan where I can only get either twc or rcn. I decided to go for twc. I just got the installation today and saw they gave me a a box that has no HDMI output. The box is a Pioneer HD voyager. That's all the info I got from it. Furthermore, the box looks pretty used and didn't even come in a box. When I asked the contractor who was doing the installation he said that was the box he was given, but if I wanted to change it I could just go the twc office and switch it for another one. When checking the signal the PQ is not that bad (although not as good as it was with dish). However, the worse part is the menu option. The channel guide looks really blurred, and it's very slow.

Anyhow, since I have no previous experience with twc I just wanted to know if this was the standard thing (getting a used box with no hdmi output). Also, I'm now having second thoughts about twc... was wondering if I should have gone with RCN.

I would appreciate any advise. Thanks.


Hi,

Welcome! Those Pioneer boxes are the oldest boxes. I am shocked that there are divisions that are still giving them out. The Pioneer model boxes are about 7-10 years old. In fact, Pioneer is not even in the cable box business anymore. TWC supposedly improved the functionality on the boxes, but they are ungodly slow. They don't have the internal memory needed to run the new Navigator software well.

You should definitely exchange your box for a much newer model. An SA box version 3000-4000 (the higher the better.) or one of the new Samsung boxes. The speed is like comparing a snail (The Pioneer) to a cheetah (the SA 4000 series or the new Samsung.) You can exchange it for the newer make and model at a TWC service center.

If you want a box swap done by TWC, insist on an in-house technician to bring it out and say you want the newest model SA box they have or a new Samsung. If you go with the tech visit, PLEASE have him check your signal strength from both inside and outside the home. Navigator is very fussy about proper signal strength and good wiring for software updates and PQ. You will be amazed at the speed difference. That poor Pioneer box has been refurbished about 10 times I would say. If you upgrade to DVR service, you should get either the SA-8300HDC or the new Samsung DVR.

Jack

The good news is that I solved my audio problems.
Curious, was it a bad HDMI cable?

Hi, i'm new to twc. I used to have Dish network but now moved into a building in manhattan where I can only get either twc or rcn. I decided to go for twc. I just got the installation today and saw they gave me a a box that has no HDMI output. The box is a Pioneer HD voyager. That's all the info I got from it. Furthermore, the box looks pretty used and didn't even come in a box. When I asked the contractor who was doing the installation he said that was the box he was given, but if I wanted to change it I could just go the twc office and switch it for another one. When checking the signal the PQ is not that bad (although not as good as it was with dish). However, the worse part is the menu option. The channel guide looks really blurred, and it's very slow.

Anyhow, since I have no previous experience with twc I just wanted to know if this was the standard thing (getting a used box with no hdmi output). Also, I'm now having second thoughts about twc... was wondering if I should have gone with RCN.

I would appreciate any advise. Thanks.

Go get a Samsung 3090HD box. It has HDMI You can get it at 23st :cool:It has every thing you need. A used box sucks.:o

Curious, was it a bad HDMI cable?

Nope....When they installed Mystro, the default audio setting is HDMI. Apparently my receiver is non-HDMI so the setting should have been Dolby Digital. Once I changed it, it worked fine again.

Not sure on the HD hours. Diagnostics lists SD hours available at 93.

Hmmm, that doesn't sound quite right. As I recall, for the 160G drive it was 20 of HD, 90 of SD. I have seen others 3090 folks reporting gigabytes of free and used space...

Stop tearing your cable boxes apart lol, this is not the answer. Be patient I am sure bigger drives are coming it will not be 160 forever. All I have to say is my poor toy train and various other things I would take apart in my youth

I've seen the top secret TWC plans... they are scheduled to go to a 200G drive in the 2013-2015 time frame.

Seriously, I'd be willing to bet that in quantity at wholesale, they may be spending MORE on the tiny drives than 500G and up.

I'm convinced they are very purposely making sure nobody can archive anything... or hold onto recordings for long at all. I'm sure all the content providers they have contracts with all would love to see DVRs go away. Or as the genie is out of the bottle, make sure DVRs can only be used for some small amount of time shifting. I'd even go as far to speculate the issues with external drive support in all 3.x versions of ODN is by design.

The good news is that I solved my audio problems. The bad news is that I finally watched some episodes of The Closer (TNT HD) and all had terrible picture and audio breakups. Some of the recordings were made on Passport and transferred over to Mystro and others were newly done on Mystro. So far, I've watched 4 different episodes and all had major issues. Is anyone else having problems with breakups on TNTHD?

Oh it's been a constant issue for 4-6 months now.

It seems that most of those who have issues are 8300HD users, but I can also recall a few HDC users as well.

Would help if we knew location, borough and which head end (actually, I know there are 2 head ends in Man. but what about SI, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx... are each of those boroughs serviced by one head end?).

I definitely had them under Passport. Things have been much better, in this regard, since the Mystro upgrade, but not perfect. I still have an occasional, very short, audio/video glitch - especially on TNTHD.

-barry

Not so much for me... it's only been a week-10 days but I see just as much as I did before being 'gatored. W/Passport, "unwatchable" did happen (as in half a dozen per 2-3 minute blocks), but not that frequently. Usually it's about a dozen per hour.

I've seen the top secret TWC plans... they are scheduled to go to a 200G drive in the 2013-2015 time frame.

Seriously, I'd be willing to bet that in quantity at wholesale, they may be spending MORE on the tiny drives than 500G and up.

I'm convinced they are very purposely making sure nobody can archive anything... or hold onto recordings for long at all. I'm sure all the content providers they have contracts with all would love to see DVRs go away. Or as the genie is out of the bottle, make sure DVRs can only be used for some small amount of time shifting. I'd even go as far to speculate the issues with external drive support in all 3.x versions of ODN is by design.
…and to go a step further, if you are correct in this supposition, then we’ll soon start seeing tamper stickers or something more secure than a hex screw on the box.

That about covers it. A different drive "might" work, but I don't think anyone has tried yet.

There have been a few unsuccessful attempts posted (Navigator and/or 3090 threads) using different drives with capacities larger than 320. Whether they failed because of the model or the capacity being larger than the officially supported 320GB is not known... just that they failed.

Having originally had a 320GB 3090 handed to me by TW back in April, I knew that the capacity with the 320 was comfortable for my needs, but the 160GB version I now have was not. So I opted for the "safe" route and just matched the optional factory configuration. The 500GB drive WAS tempting, though, as it was only $5 more than the 320.

There have been a few unsuccessful attempts posted (Navigator and/or 3090 threads) using different drives with capacities larger than 320. Whether they failed because of the model or the capacity being larger than the officially supported 320GB is not known... just that they failed.

Having originally had a 320GB 3090 handed to me by TW back in April, I knew that the capacity with the 320 was comfortable for my needs, but the 160GB version I now have was not. So I opted for the "safe" route and just matched the optional factory configuration. The 500GB drive WAS tempting, though, as it was only $5 more than the 320.

This kind of stuff amuses me because it was something like 10 years ago that my computer at the time had an issue with any drive with a capacity >128G. Oh, they worked just fine, except no matter what the actual size, the OS wouldn't let more than 128G be written to the drive.

The 3090 is certainly a new piece of electronics, far as I can tell, it's only been on the market, in the field for what, 6 months? If it is limited, then it has to very much be by design. More and more I think it's very much a plan for all MSOs to limit what customers can record. They want you to be able to time shift only a very limited amount of content, not be able to archive things like the whole LotR trilogy in HD... from which you COULD have a viewing party!

This kind of stuff amuses me because it was something like 10 years ago that my computer at the time had an issue with any drive with a capacity >128G. Oh, they worked just fine, except no matter what the actual size, the OS wouldn't let more than 128G be written to the drive.

The 3090 is certainly a new piece of electronics, far as I can tell, it's only been on the market, in the field for what, 6 months? If it is limited, then it has to very much be by design. More and more I think it's very much a plan for all MSOs to limit what customers can record. They want you to be able to time shift only a very limited amount of content, not be able to archive things like the whole LotR trilogy in HD... from which you COULD have a viewing party!

The issues reported by folks trying other capacities were exactly analogous to that. Need to find a BIOS update for the box, lol.

I agree that there is no incentive for the cable ops to allow massive amounts of archiving, but... the 160GB drives can't even get a moderate HD time-shifter through a week-long vacation. Its hard to fathom that they would have purchased 3090s with anything BUT the 320s.

Is there a way to see the time on the show your watching with DVR? With passport it would always display where you are in the movie, time wise, now the bar just displays the time it started to end but if you ff or rewind you have no idea where in the movie or show it's at.

Is there a way to see the time on the show your watching with DVR? With passport it would always display where you are in the movie, time wise, now the bar just displays the time it started to end but if you ff or rewind you have no idea where in the movie or show it's at.

The running time during playback is displayed in the tab at the top left of the bar, where time of day is normally displayed. Many folks don't notice this.

I agree that there is no incentive for the cable ops to allow massive amounts of archiving, but... the 160GB drives can't even get a moderate HD time-shifter through a week-long vacation. Its hard to fathom that they would have purchased 3090s with anything BUT the 320s.

Or simply being away on a Sunday and be a football fan. 2 home teams I have, so it could be up to 10 hours of HD recording I'd need.

Factor in that one can watch an entire football game from a DVR is a LOT less time than top watch it live. My record was about 45 minutes. I have a pal who almost never watches anything on broadcast or cable who routinely records football games just so he can watch them off the DVR in half or less the time to watch live.

Still, more and more I think they very much DO want to keep this "capacity to time shift" to be very minimal. While none of us could say for sure, I'd almost pout money this very subject always comes up during any carriage agreement negotiations.

Or simply being away on a Sunday and be a football fan. 2 home teams I have, so it could be up to 10 hours of HD recording I'd need.

Factor in that one can watch an entire football game from a DVR is a LOT less time than top watch it live. My record was about 45 minutes. I have a pal who almost never watches anything on broadcast or cable who routinely records football games just so he can watch them off the DVR in half or less the time to watch live.

Still, more and more I think they very much DO want to keep this "capacity to time shift" to be very minimal. While none of us could say for sure, I'd almost pout money this very subject always comes up during any carriage agreement negotiations.

I know the football drill... as a life-long Jets and (especially) Giants fan, and now a Panthers fan and season ticket holder, I end up going to the Panthers game (which I also record) and, if I should be lucky enough to also get a Jets or Giants game broadcast here, record that, then squeeze watching them into whatever time I can find after I finally get home from the stadium... all of which is made harder if there is a decent Sunday night game on. But I have suffered severe football withdrawal since both the Giants and Panthers were so unceremoniously dumped from the playoffs last season... I'm ready for some football!

The running time during playback is displayed in the tab at the top left of the bar, where time of day is normally displayed. Many folks don't notice this.

It does show the time of day not the time in the movie is there a way to switch that?

It does show the time of day not the time in the movie is there a way to switch that?

Not that I'm aware of... maybe just a version difference between MDN and ODN. Sorry if I got your hopes up. Also, the run-time is shown during DVR playback only... it does show ToD while watching anything live.

It occurs to me that HD space is not the only constraint we're facing. Frankly, I just don't see how two tuners are enough anymore. We really need 4-6.

Not so much for me... it's only been a week-10 days but I see just as much as I did before being 'gatored. W/Passport, "unwatchable" did happen (as in half a dozen per 2-3 minute blocks), but not that frequently. Usually it's about a dozen per hour.

Your problem is much worse than mine ever was. A dozen per hour is about as bad as it ever got even during the worst of the Passport days. Nowadays, for the bad shows, it's two or three per hour.

I must admit, though, my situation is not a very fair test. A week after I was upgraded to MDN, I also upgraded my external drive to a better and bigger model. That may be responsible for some of the improvement.

-barry

It occurs to me that HD space is not the only constraint we're facing. Frankly, I just don't see how two tuners are enough anymore. We really need 4-6.

But, at least, we can mitigate that problem by getting two boxes. What I'm hoping for is that they will revive the idea of being able to record a show in the living room, and then watch it in the den. Nonetheless, having a "backup" DVR in the den, allows me to record on three tuners on the odd occasion that it is necessary.

-barry

Hmmm, that doesn't sound quite right. As I recall, for the 160G drive it was 20 of HD, 90 of SD. I have seen others 3090 folks reporting gigabytes of free and used space...

Well I recorded 5 hours of HD last night and the box reported 12% used. Doing the math on that, I should get about 41.666 hours of HD.

Well I recorded 5 hours of HD last night and the box reported 12% used. Doing the math on that, I should get about 41.666 hours of HD.

Sounds about right... Depending on the bitrate of the recorded program's stream, the 160GB drive will provide ~20 hours of HD recording, and the 320GB will provide ~40 hours. Each hour of HD programming represents about 2%-2.5% of the 320's capacity, and 4%-5% of the 160's.

Oh it's been a constant issue for 4-6 months now.

It seems that most of those who have issues are 8300HD users, but I can also recall a few HDC users as well.

Would help if we knew location, borough and which head end (actually, I know there are 2 head ends in Man. but what about SI, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx... are each of those boroughs serviced by one head end?).

I've been out of town for most of the last year and a half so I really didn't notice till now. The breakups during The Closer were really bad - lot a lot of dialog. The box which recorded The Closer on Passport is an 8300HD but I also had issues with the new TiVo which records from a cable card. I am on the UWS near Lincoln Center.

Long time reader, first time poster. I hope youse guys can help.

Two weeks ago, a week after being converted to Navigator, my trusty 8300HD died after five years of flawless service. Since 23 St. didn't have any Sansung's on hand, I took home a used HDC.

Everything was fine for the first week (though I sure miss the way the buffers worked under Passport). But for the past several days at some point during each evening, my box has suddenly lost it's ability to function as a DVR.

Even though all of my recordings appear in my Show List, the indicator says 0% full. If I try to play any of the recorded shows, the screen turns black and the box freezes up. Rebooting solves the problem -- but only temporarily.

This seems to occur only when watching a show while something else is recording -- but that's just an observation.

Any ideas whether it's the stupid used box, my wiring or signal strength?

I was looking back at what I thought was the beginning of this thread and stumbled on this post on page 2. I had to laugh, how things haven’t changed here…
:D
I have frequent audio and video dropouts with the 3100 box. I am at the point where some HD programs are unwatchable since the dropouts cause you to lose crucial parts of the storyline. I often wondered if the problem was my particular box but it sounds as if it is more system-wide.

I am planning to get the new Pioneer box but was also concerned the picture quality on the SD channels was not as good as with the 3100.
So what happens to the earlier pages to this thread? I remember it being way more longer. Does this thing just shrink away, from page 1, as it goes on? Oh well… thought I’d share this…

After looking again, maybe that is the beginning and I'm confusing it with another thread.

Any ideas whether it's the stupid used box, my wiring or signal strength?

Welcome. Sounds like the box. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you've got another visit to 23rd St. in your future.

More and more I think it's very much a plan for all MSOs to limit what customers can record. They want you to be able to time shift only a very limited amount of content, not be able to archive things like the whole LotR trilogy in HD... from which you COULD have a viewing party!

If that's the case why would they bother activating the eSata connection and allowing the boxes to work with external drives. My 500GB DVR extender lets me record several weeks worth of all the shows I watch plus a ton of movies and most importantly Rangers games. ;) At one point I counted at least 80 hours of HD recordings and programs still weren't getting deleted. I could have quite a few LotR viewings in HD and still have several days of material left over.

Do other people experience macroblocking on the channels 109 (Boom), 137 (The N) and 138 (Nick Toon)? The picture breaks up into little squares and sometimes the audio stutters as well. This has been a problem on these channels for at least a month, approaching two. I've had it on both a 8300HD (both Passport and post-Navigator) as well as a Tivo so I'm pretty sure it's not a DVR issue. I've called it in and have a service call this weekend but I'm curious to see if anyone else is having it too. It's frequent, occurring every couple minutes, so I'd appreciate it if anyone could spare a little time to check.

I watched each channel for several minutes. Both audio and video were fine for me. I have an 8300hdc and am in Brooklyn Heights.

Hi,

Welcome! Those Pioneer boxes are the oldest boxes. I am shocked that there are divisions that are still giving them out. The Pioneer model boxes are about 7-10 years old. In fact, Pioneer is not even in the cable box business anymore. TWC supposedly improved the functionality on the boxes, but they are ungodly slow. They don't have the internal memory needed to run the new Navigator software well.

You should definitely exchange your box for a much newer model. An SA box version 3000-4000 (the higher the better.) or one of the new Samsung boxes. The speed is like comparing a snail (The Pioneer) to a cheetah (the SA 4000 series or the new Samsung.) You can exchange it for the newer make and model at a TWC service center.

If you want a box swap done by TWC, insist on an in-house technician to bring it out and say you want the newest model SA box they have or a new Samsung. If you go with the tech visit, PLEASE have him check your signal strength from both inside and outside the home. Navigator is very fussy about proper signal strength and good wiring for software updates and PQ. You will be amazed at the speed difference. That poor Pioneer box has been refurbished about 10 times I would say. If you upgrade to DVR service, you should get either the SA-8300HDC or the new Samsung DVR.

Jack

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely go to TWC on 23rd st and swap my cable box. Hopefully they give me a new one.

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely go to TWC on 23rd st and swap my cable box. Hopefully they give me a new one.

Cool!

Let me know how you like the new box when you get it!

Jack

Or does service suck on the new Samsung??

I cant watch an HD On Demand movie through till the end if my life depended on it. Every time I order a movie, it freezes and stops 20 or so minutes in telling me that the HD service is temporarily not available.

What to do???

I hate this company with a real passion...

I'm ready for some football!

Moi aussi! Jets/Giants tonight.

I've been out of town for most of the last year and a half so I really didn't notice till now. The breakups during The Closer were really bad - lot a lot of dialog. The box which recorded The Closer on Passport is an 8300HD but I also had issues with the new TiVo which records from a cable card. I am on the UWS near Lincoln Center.

Ah, that be Man South. All I know for sure is the issue is much the same w/Passport or MDN. In the next week or so I should be ODN/3090 so we''ll see how that shakes out...

Does anyone else ever get this message? It means that the buffer is not working.

I don't get it all the time, most often on 704 during Extra, when what I want to do is rewind and watch the Evening News. I've tried rebooting the box (8300HDC) to no avail.

This is my second new box recently. Had a Samsung that I had to return because of segmented recordings (some shows were in 6 or more parts, The Closer recorded 1 minute and then stopped).

I'm trying to like the new software, but it's not easy. The buffer stops if I go to the DVR. Program guide info is very abbreviated. It seems to react sluggishly to commands. There must be something good about it (and I'm sure someone will tell me what). Of course, I have no choice, so I'll learn to live with it.

I watched each channel for several minutes. Both audio and video were fine for me. I have an 8300hdc and am in Brooklyn Heights.

Thanks for taking the time to check. I looked at the channels just now and I got the macroblocking just seconds after I tuned in. I will keep my service call. Thanks again.

Happy that my Mouse that Roared recording off of TCM HD is in 16x9, but it's clearly not an HD master.

Better than windowboxing!

Welcome. Sounds like the box. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you've got another visit to 23rd St. in your future.

However, if it IS a wiring and signal strength issue, that has to be fixed or a new box will just have similar issues. Call TWC, and make sure you request that an IN HOUSE TECH (NOT AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR) be sent to your house to check wiring and signal strength. If he is sent out to do that, he can check that first before replacing the box.

When you said, "Rebooting temporarily solves the problem." that could also be a wiring/signal strength issue. Get it checked out first before you wind up getting a new box and it does the same thing as before.

Jack

So my mother calls me saying I was messing with her TV, since I am known to mess with both the Cable and OTA antenna I have, and ask me to reset her box. She has as SA 2200. I go look at notice that her box was MDN'd. Of course it was under my assumption that only the HD & HD-DVR boxes would get MDN'd but now I see I'm wrong. Interesting enought that while her boxed got MDN'd today, another 2200 in the house wasn't.

BTW: Is there any newer SD non-DVR boxes than the SA2200?

So my mother calls me saying I was messing with her TV, since I am known to mess with both the Cable and OTA antenna I have, and ask me to reset her box. She has as SA 2200. I go look at notice that her box was MDN'd. Of course it was under my assumption that only the HD & HD-DVR boxes would get MDN'd but now I see I'm wrong. Interesting enough that while her boxed got MDN'd today, another 2200 in the house wasn't.

BTW: Is there any newer SD non-DVR boxes than the SA2200?

Yes, there are newer models. How is your Mother's box working with Navigator in terms of scrolling, reliability, speed, and overall functionality?

For best Navigator results for the non-DVR users, an SA3000-4000 series box is recommended for quality performance, OR if your division carries it, the new Samsung boxes. Additionally, proper wiring and signal strength from both inside and outside the home can affect Navigator's performance. It is best to call and request AN IN-HOUSE TECHNICIAN (NOT AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR) to come out to check your wiring and signal strength if your box is behaving slowly or strangely after the conversion to Navigator. Also request the model number of box above when making the service call.

Please note that you CAN still get an HD box even if you do not have an HDTV. Although you will obviously not be able to receive HD broadcasts until you have BOTH an HD set and EITHER HDMI or COMPONENT CABLE connected to it, having an HD box already will save an update if and when your Mother may want or need to get an HDTV.


Jack

Yes, there are newer models. How is your Mother's box working with Navigator in terms of scrolling, reliability, speed, and overall functionality?

Actually it was a SA3250 after looking at it more closely in a lighted room. The speed of the box seems slower than before. The VCR controller no longer works, though I doubt she will really miss it. Scrolling in the guide is smooth but changing the channel is not.

However, if it IS a wiring and signal strength issue, that has to be fixed or a new box will just have similar issues. Call TWC, and make sure you request that an IN HOUSE TECH (NOT AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR) be sent to your house to check wiring and signal strength. If he is sent out to do that, he can check that first before replacing the box.

When you said, "Rebooting temporarily solves the problem." that could also be a wiring/signal strength issue. Get it checked out first before you wind up getting a new box and it does the same thing as before.

Jack

I had the same problem. I lost my local HD channels on the 3090, along with segmented recordings, and microblocking. The tech checked my signal strength, then determined that since it was weak, to pull all new wires into my house.

He mentioned to me that he had several 3090 returns within the previous few days and suggested I go back to the HDC until the bugs are fixed in the 3090.
Stubborn, I visited Queens Center in search of a "new" 3090, and they are out of stock. The PQ and audio on the 3090 are far superior to the HDC - but, it seems the HDC is stable and no reason to fix what aint broke.

However, if it IS a wiring and signal strength issue, that has to be fixed or a new box will just have similar issues. Call TWC, and make sure you request that an IN HOUSE TECH (NOT AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR) be sent to your house to check wiring and signal strength. If he is sent out to do that, he can check that first before replacing the box.

When you said, "Rebooting temporarily solves the problem." that could also be a wiring/signal strength issue. Get it checked out first before you wind up getting a new box and it does the same thing as before.

Jack

I respectfully disagree. The op's 8300HDC was working properly for a short time. The behaviour he's describing sounds like the hard drive in the unit is failing. While signal strength could play an issue on certain channels, I doubt he'd see an across the board hit, especially since the unit was functional previously. While it certainly doesn't hurt to have a tech sent out to check things out and bring a new box, a trip to 23rd st. is definitely the lesser of the two evils time-wise.

Thanks so much for the info! I'll definitely go to TWC on 23rd st and swap my cable box. Hopefully they give me a new one.
Hey, not so fast! Just because the Pioneer Voyager is discontinued doesn't mean it's an inferior box. I have the same box (the Pio 3510 Voyager), and I wouldn't switch it for any of the crappola Samsung or SA boxes they're offering now. Just go back and read about the level of dissatisfaction people with these boxes are having. Since they gave you the Pio, I assume you didn't want a DVR. Is that correct? If so, then I suggest you stick with the Pioneer, especially if it has the older 'Passport' software. I have my fingers crossed that TWC doesn't update me to their new 'Navigator' software. Right now, with my Pioneer/Passport setup, and my own DVR, I have a great box, with programmable 'timers' - so I can program my DVR to record any channels from my STB, and then burn them to DVD.

Anybody know the key sequence to display the signal level?

I'm getting acute freezing, audio dropouts and pixilation in East Midtown.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but there was a sign in our lobby this week advising that Time Warner was 'Upgrading' the cable equipment; but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it... :rolleyes:

A_C

Hey, not so fast! Just because the Pioneer Voyager is discontinued doesn't mean it's an inferior box. I have the same box (the Pio 3510 Voyager), and I wouldn't switch it for any of the crappola Samsung or SA boxes they're offering now. Just go back and read about the level of dissatisfaction people with these boxes are having. Since they gave you the Pio, I assume you didn't want a DVR. Is that correct? If so, then I suggest you stick with the Pioneer, especially if it has the older 'Passport' software. I have my fingers crossed that TWC doesn't update me to their new 'Navigator' software. Right now, with my Pioneer/Passport setup, and my own DVR, I have a great box, with programmable 'timers' - so I can program my DVR to record any channels from my STB, and then burn them to DVD.

I would agree that people SHOULD keep the boxes if they are working well for them. We would have to find out from the OP if this Pioneer box was "Gatored" or if it is still Passport? True story, I had a Passport/Pioneer box for YEARS that worked great. I only mentioned the change because WHEN people got changed to Navigator on the Pioneer boxes, many reported slowness and freezing. That is interesting Daniel that you have a Passport IPG and Pioneer box! I did here that TWC did do an update to the software to make Navigator work better on the Pioneer boxes than in past years. I know of maybe 2-4 other people with Pioneer boxes that work OK with Navigator. I don't know if this is because the Pioneer boxes aren't in the field so much anymore, or if there are still problems with Navigator on Pioneer boxes.

I do know that if you want a DVR, you have to take an SA or Samsung box.

Jack

Anybody know the key sequence to display the signal level?

I'm getting acute freezing, audio dropouts and pixilation in East Midtown.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but there was a sign in our lobby this week advising that Time Warner was 'Upgrading' the cable equipment; but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it... :rolleyes:

A_C

Press Select on the remote until mail icon appears then press arrow down arrow left, go to page 5 or 6 of 28, tune to the suspect channel a level of 4 dbmV or less is NG. A good level balance should read 10 db plus or minus 2 db across all frequencies. NY1 channel 1 435.000 Mhz at my house and work reads 12 dbmV.

Press Select on the remote until mail icon appears then press arrow down arrow left, go to page 5 or 6 of 28, tune to the suspect channel a level of 4 dbmV or less is NG. A good level balance should read 10 db plus or minus 2 db across all frequencies. NY1 channel 1 435.000 Mhz at my house and work reads 12 dbmV.

Thanks; I'm getting 7 dbmV on page 5 and 5 dbmV on page 6. Do you think that's the cause of my problems?

A_C

Anybody know the key sequence to display the signal level?

I'm getting acute freezing, audio dropouts and pixilation in East Midtown.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but there was a sign in our lobby this week advising that Time Warner was 'Upgrading' the cable equipment; but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it... :rolleyes:

A_C
DVRed NBC's Dateline (704) at 7 pm Sunday evening (E 40s) and apparently some cable glitch screwed up the signal. During playback later, my 8300HD/Navigator froze about 40 mins into the show. No remote button worked, including master power off; a first, with decades of TWC use. After a cold reboot, I unfortunately pressed resume playback, the same freeze frame appeared, locked up everything, and a second cold reboot was needed. Deleted the Dateline recording after that.

Thanks to Meteor for the new diagnostic-select sequence. Years back I did a fair amount of diagnostics tinkering. Suspect the MPEG error rate, somewhere among all the pages, would be significant, too. Too bad dB, MPEG, etc. readings aren't routinely posted here so cable glitches could be either localized or assumed to be system wide. Better yet, Since TWC can read STB data from head ends (took place here once while talking to C.S.), they should have an extra diagnostics page that shows sampled STB readings system wide, showing troubled areas, real-time, on a NYC map--zoomable, of course :-). -- John

Press Select on the remote until mail icon appears then press arrow down arrow left, go to page 5 or 6 of 28, tune to the suspect channel a level of 4 dbmV or less is NG. A good level balance should read 10 db plus or minus 2 db across all frequencies. NY1 channel 1 435.000 Mhz at my house and work reads 12 dbmV.

Seems 5 and 6 are the same page... and it's called "Power Level." Just did some sampling of different channels. -10 dBmV, -9 dBmV and -8 dBmV on some channels I've had issues with (703 was -8 dBmV, 717 was -9 dBmV, 701 was -10 dBmV).

Anyone have any advice about going to 23rd for a new box and walking out with a 3090? I'm going to swap out my 8300HD for a 3090, but only a 3090 as most of the reason is to be able to swap out the internal drive... so I'd rather not have to keep going down there on a chance they'd have units!

Thanks; I'm getting 7 dbmV on page 5 and 5 dbmV on page 6. Do you think that's the cause of my problems?

A_C

I wasn't clear about page 5/6 but you probably figure it out page 5 for the first tuner and 6 2nd tuner. 5db is on the fringe, are you getting any BER (bit error rate)? What about SNR (signal to noise ratio) or corrected Bytes? Post the channels or frequencies you having problems, ideally amplification should be flat across the spectrum but in the real world you'll find the higher the frequency the weaker the gain.
e.g. FIT TV SD channel 863 freq. 831.000 Mhz, one of the highest frequencies I found in the lineup is reading by me 5 dbmV 36db SNR, picture is fine but corrected bytes count is going up.
Just the opposite is with TCMHD channel 782 123.000 Mhz I get 14db and 38db of SNR.
If you have splitters, remove them and check again they are usually the culprit.

Anyone know if we are getting free Tennis Channel for the US Open, as we did during the French?

Right now, it is not turned on and the recent Tennis Channel fight with Cablevision leads me to believe we won't be getting it.

Seems 5 and 6 are the same page... and it's called "Power Level." Just did some sampling of different channels. -10 dBmV, -9 dBmV and -8 dBmV on some channels I've had issues with (703 was -8 dBmV, 717 was -9 dBmV, 701 was -10 dBmV).

Is it showing minus level? that's BAD you have problems Riverside.

Anyone know if we are getting free Tennis Channel for the US Open, as we did during the French?

Right now, it is not turned on and the recent Tennis Channel fight with Cablevision leads me to believe we won't be getting it.

Is on the schedule TennisHD channel 465 starting 11AM.

Anyone know if we are getting free Tennis Channel for the US Open, as we did during the French?

Right now, it is not turned on and the recent Tennis Channel fight with Cablevision leads me to believe we won't be getting it.

Tennis channel HD is part of the HDXtra package... which many of us canceled when TWC dropped HDNet entirely.

Is it showing minus level? that's BAD you have problems Riverside.

I don't seem to have more issues (relating to the signal) than many already do. I always thought these measurements (dBmV) were typically listed with a "-" in front of them... if +10 is good, and +4 is bad, then -10 should be black, no?

anyone know why my HD and SD picture quality on a 8300HD box look like complete crap but when switched back to component it looks better?

I tried different HDMI cables as well with no luck(as I knew it would)

Tennis channel HD is part of the HDXtra package... which many of us canceled when TWC dropped HDNet entirely.
The Tennis Channel is part of the 'Sports Tier' which costs $3.95/mo, not the 'HDXtra' package. The conflict with Cablevision is resolved and TC will be doing live coverage of the Open starting today at 11am (Ch 465 HD, or 455 SD).

I don't seem to have more issues (relating to the signal) than many already do. I always thought these measurements (dBmV) were typically listed with a "-" in front of them... if +10 is good, and +4 is bad, then -10 should be black, no?

What is the color of your power level numbers?
from 0db to +10db green from 11db and i guess 20db orange above 20db red, if is showing minus levels must be different color.
+4 is on the edge, from experience I start having issues below this level.

yeah i have HDEXTRA and NOT sports tier, tennis is on full HD and looks great too

Is on the schedule TennisHD channel 465 starting 11AM.

Tennis channel HD is part of the HDXtra package... which many of us canceled when TWC dropped HDNet entirely.

The Tennis Channel is part of the 'Sports Tier' which costs $3.95/mo, not the 'HDXtra' package. The conflict with Cablevision is resolved and TC will be doing live coverage of the Open starting today at 11am (Ch 465 HD, or 455 SD).

As I said, just like they did during the French, there is supposed to be a FREE (FOR EVERYONE) Preview of the Tennis Channel during the US Open. Their CEO was on CNBC this morning and mentioned it and here are just 3 instances I found with a quick Google search that mention it:

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Carolinas/learn/programming/sports/special/tennis.html

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090830/SPORTS07/908300316/Time+Warner+offers+free+Tennis+Channel

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/28/us-opens-shift-to-espn2-is-drysdales-return/

Called TWC to see what was up with the Tennis Channel.

Of course the CSR had no clue and I had to explain to him about 5 times that I do not pay for it but there is supposed to be a Free Preview.

Unsolicitied, he offered me a free month of HBO, which I gladly accepted and claims he notified whomever he needs to notify.

As I said, just like they did during the French, there is supposed to be a FREE (FOR EVERYONE) Preview of the Tennis Channel during the US Open. Their CEO was on CNBC this morning and mentioned it and here are just 3 instances I found with a quick Google search that mention it:


Free "preview" access to both 465 HD and 455 SD during the US Open?... Well, I guess not with my D1 Package. I'm on the UWS and both of those channels are currently blocked. I plan to watch the US Open on ESPN2 HD starting at 1PM today. Does TennisHD have different coverage than ESPN2?... Is the coverage on one of these channels tape-delayed?

Called TWC to see what was up with the Tennis Channel.

Of course the CSR had no clue and I had to explain to him about 5 times that I do not pay for it but there is supposed to be a Free Preview.

Unsolicitied, he offered me a free month of HBO, which I gladly accepted and claims he notified whomever he needs to notify.

I've tried calling the 718-358-0900 number a few times, but the line is always busy.

The Tennis Channel is part of the 'Sports Tier' which costs $3.95/mo, not the 'HDXtra' package. The conflict with Cablevision is resolved and TC will be doing live coverage of the Open starting today at 11am (Ch 465 HD, or 455 SD).

The entire sports tier is included in the HD Xtra tier

Free "preview" access to both 465 HD and 455 SD during the US Open?... Well, I guess not with my D1 Package. I'm on the UWS and both of those channels are currently blocked. I plan to watch the US Open on ESPN2 HD starting at 1PM today. Does TennisHD have different coverage than ESPN2?... Is the coverage on one of these channels tape-delayed?

The are on concurrently from 1 PM on while Tennis Channel has the first 2 hours (11 AM - 1 PM) exculsively. So after 1 PM, Tennis Channel is probably going to focus on the outer courts while ESPN2 concentrates on the stadiums & grandstand.

Does TennisHD have different coverage than ESPN2?... Is the coverage on one of these channels tape-delayed?

Tennis Ch. stays on the side courts while ESPN2 has the main courts. Both are live

The entire sports tier is included in the HD Xtra tier

I just realize that, I was going to post I have the entire sports tier.

anyone know why my HD and SD picture quality on a 8300HD box look like complete crap but when switched back to component it looks better?

I tried different HDMI cables as well with no luck(as I knew it would)
Interesting someone else encountered this. Wouldn't say my 8300HD (pre-Navigator) HDMI images were crappy, but was surprised to see a YPbPr hookup gave a better HDNet resolution-wedge reading than HDMI on a new 1080p plasma (~1440 lines versus ~1335 lines). TV images seemed about the same, but I switched from HDMI to YPbPr. Was using a high-end 9' HDMI cable. Not really enough data to judge, but there's a hint that 8300HD HDMI outputs, at least on NYC-TWC, are inferior to YPbPr resolution-wise. There's a recent/current thread in the HDTV-technical section about HDMI vs YPbPr outputs. -- John

EDIT: Scrambled my HDMI/YPbPr order above; now shown correctly in bold-face. Quoted test below isn't accurate.

Interesting someone else encountered this. Wouldn't say my 8300HD (pre-Navigator) HDMI images were crappy, but was surprised to see a YPbPr hookup gave a better HDNet resolution-wedge reading than HDMI on a new 1080p plasma (~1440 lines versus ~1335 lines). TV images seemed about the same, but I switched from HDMI to YPbPr. Was using a high-end 9' HDMI cable. Not really enough data to judge, but there's a hint that 8300HD outputs, at least on NYC-TWC, are inferior to HDMI resolution-wise. There's a recent/current thread in the HDTV-technical section about HDMI vs YPbPr outputs. -- John
im pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I have line interference through the cable line...

I have a humming issue(ground) when the cable line is connected to the cable box

I also just did that Access menu by pressing Select..4dBmV on a lot of my channels if not all(not going through all of them)

I've tried calling the 718-358-0900 number a few times, but the line is always busy.

Do what I do, call 212-358-0900.

:confused:I wasn't clear about page 5/6 but you probably figure it out page 5 for the first tuner and 6 2nd tuner. 5db is on the fringe, are you getting any BER (bit error rate)? What about SNR (signal to noise ratio) or corrected Bytes? Post the channels or frequencies you having problems, ideally amplification should be flat across the spectrum but in the real world you'll find the higher the frequency the weaker the gain.
e.g. FIT TV SD channel 863 freq. 831.000 Mhz, one of the highest frequencies I found in the lineup is reading by me 5 dbmV 36db SNR, picture is fine but corrected bytes count is going up.
Just the opposite is with TCMHD channel 782 123.000 Mhz I get 14db and 38db of SNR.
If you have splitters, remove them and check again they are usually the culprit.

The signal level fluctuates between 4 and 7 dbmV.... SNR between 34 & 35... No corrected bytes.

As luck would have it, it's better today :confused:

A_C

My SA8300HD got "gatored" about a month ago. I like the look and speed of the Mystro interface but I have two issues that may not be related: "Start Over" does not work and Big10HDOnDemand 471 is not available even though I have HDXTRA package. The TW csr told me that since I have an older DVR that I would have to upgrade the box to receive channel 471? Also that that they are working on the "Start Over" issue. Am I getting a run around here or what? Should I do the upgrade? Thanks very much.

Anyone having problems with ESPN HD? It 's been almost unwatchable the last couple of days. Breaking up, stuttering, etc. I don't seem to have any problems on any other channels.

No problems with ESPNHD here at all. Excellent picture and 5.1 sound.

My SA8300HD got "gatored" about a month ago. I like the look and speed of the Mystro interface but I have two issues that may not be related: "Start Over" does not work and Big10HDOnDemand 471 is not available even though I have HDXTRA package. The TW csr told me that since I have an older DVR that I would have to upgrade the box to receive channel 471? Also that that they are working on the "Start Over" issue. Am I getting a run around here or what? Should I do the upgrade? Thanks very much.

That's b.s that you need a new box for Big Ten On Demand! When you get the On-Demand stuff, it applies to all the BTOD channels. If BTOD is really important to you, schedule a service call to check signal levels with your On-Demand Service. Request an In-House Technician and NOT an independent contractor. How well do the other OD channels work? Have you tried ordering any On Demand Movies or Events? (You are getting a run around about the new box for BTOD.) I am about 80% sure of this. Most On-Demand/Signal problems are due to head-end issues.

Start Over seems to work great in several areas, not so good in others. This is a system bug that will need to be worked out, not a box issue.

Jack

I lost cable, phone, and Internet for about ten minutes this morning. Everything is normal now.

im pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I have line interference through the cable line...

I have a humming issue(ground) when the cable line is connected to the cable box

I also just did that Access menu by pressing Select..4dBmV on a lot of my channels if not all(not going through all of them)
My original post just above had the HDMI/YPbPr order scrambled and was corrected (in bold-face). (In edit mode you could cut out my erroneous extracted quote and paste in the edited version...but it's not too significant IMO.)

The resolution difference (1440 lines and 1335 lines) between HDMI and YPbPr, respectively, was because image noise (not noticeable with ordinary motion video) caused the HDMI test-pattern point where converging lines 'merged' to occur at a lower resolution. BTW, have always had an AC voltage between my TWC cable shield (unconnected) and the STB case, enough to cause a voltage 'nip' to hands, but not severe audio hum or apparent video noise caused by a ground loop. (Only using optical 8300HD out to a hi-fi here.) There are various threads in the HDTV-technical section about fixing ground loops (if TWC won't correct them). -- John

Found another issue with MDN.

I just tried voting in a NY1 poll using the "B" button, but instead of voting it calls up the Find Shows window with the keyboard.

That's b.s that you need a new box for Big Ten On Demand! When you get the On-Demand stuff, it applies to all the BTOD channels. If BTOD is really important to you, schedule a service call to check signal levels with your On-Demand Service. Request an In-House Technician and NOT an independent contractor. How well do the other OD channels work? Have you tried ordering any On Demand Movies or Events? (You are getting a run around about the new box for BTOD.) I am about 80% sure of this. Most On-Demand/Signal problems are due to head-end issues.

Start Over seems to work great in several areas, not so good in others. This is a system bug that will need to be worked out, not a box issue.

Jack

SmithonianHDonDemand and HDShowcaseonDemand work fine. I have never ordered any On-Demand movies or Events so I cannot comment on those. I feel since I am paying what I consider to be exorbitant rates for cable services that all features should be available to me. I also feel that exchanging a DVR which works flawlessly for something that may be a buggy headache is not productive either.Incidentally that csr was not even in the US. Thanks.

As it turns out, TWCNYC is screwing us on the Tennis Channel free preview.

http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/the-tennis-channels-battle-for-new-york/

The United States Open has two new cable homes, ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel, which this year have replaced the USA Network. ESPN2 is well-established and available in 98.6 million cable and satellite households.

The Tennis Channel is not nearly as well known and is regularly in about 25 million homes.

But for recent Grand Slam tournaments, that figure has more than doubled, with free two-week previews of the Tennis Channel from cable and satellite operators who normally offer it on a narrower basis.

Those freebies have played an important part in the independent network’s growth-by-visibility strategy.

But at 11 a.m. eastern Monday, when United States Open TV coverage began, Time Warner’s New York cable system was not making the preview available. Only those paying $3.95 a month for Time Warner’s digital sports tier could watch it, a teesny slice of the 1.4 million homes it serves locally.

Still, Time Warner is giving the Tennis Channel a free preview in other markets, like Los Angeles and Dallas.

“We made this decision on a system-by-system basis for a number of factors,” said Maureen Huff, a Time Warner spokeswoman.

Ken Solomon, the Tennis Channel’s chief executive, said it was surprised when Time Warner said it was not considering New York. The New York system had carried free previews of the last three French Opens — all that the cable operator had been offered. “They changed their mind, saying they wanted to sell the sports tier, it’s the U.S. Open, it’s in New York and they’re in New York, and they shouldn’t have to give it away for free,” Solomon said.

He added: “It’s disappointing, but it’s not a giant issue. At the end of the day, we’ll be in 54 million homes, not 55.5 million. This is not a business maker or a business breaker.”

I find it absolutely disgusting that they are choosing not to give us something for free that they are authorized to do. How much can they really make on that $4 sports tier?

For a minute, I considered getting the tier so I can watch the extra matches in HD but I rather feel good about myself not giving TWC an extra couple bucks when I can get it online for free.

Another disgusting tatic of Time Warner is the ad they are currently running with their normal commercial guy (and the old men playing bocce) talking about how FIOS "doesn't care" about NYC sports because they don't offer all the local teams in HD.

Note to Time Warner: FIOS doesn't have MSG & MSG + in HD because Cablevision won't give it to them, not because Verizon chooses not to offer it.

This ad is a blatant lie and Verizon should sue Time Warner to make them take it off.

Another ad that borders on lying is where TWC claims FIOS is lying about having more HD channels. They say FIOS is somehow counting duplicate stations, whatever that means.

I took a look at FIOS's HD lineup and I see the Viacom stations, HDNet stations, WGN, and a few obscure stations that TWC doesn't offer. As far as I can tell, TWC's only HD channel that FIOS doesn't have are NY1, BBC America, CI (who really cares?), G4 (nothing in HD anyway), & HLN (nothing in HD either). I'd much rather have the Viacom channels & WGN than TWC's exclusives.

Found another issue with MDN.

I just tried voting in a NY1 poll using the "B" button, but instead of voting it calls up the Find Shows window with the keyboard.

This is a known issue with ODN/MDN. I even emailed NY1 about it but got no response. You would think they would realize the voting numbers suddenly dropped.

I find it absolutely disgusting that they are choosing not to give us something for free that they are authorized to do. How much can they really make on that $4 sports tier?

For a minute, I considered getting the tier so I can watch the extra matches in HD but I rather feel good about myself not giving TWC an extra couple bucks when I can get it online for free.It does suck. It’s kind of like the local blackout scenario. The US Open is happy. They get to sell more tickets. TW is happy. They get to sell more sports tiers.

For me, I look at it as one of the many sparkling jewels in our great city. The fact that it’s also in my town makes it more special. I’m lucky every year to have tickets fall in my lap but I’d still go just because it’s a fun thing to do. There are always cheap, sometimes free tickets available in the area, whether it’s scalpers or folks with extra tickets.

Not discounting your anger and frustration, I agree, but if you can, try and get there, go to the top row, revel at the sun dipping below the skyline-- and thumb your nose at TW. ;)

It does suck. It’s kind of like the local blackout scenario. The US Open is happy. They get to sell more tickets. TW is happy. They get to sell more sports tiers.

For me, I look at it as one of the many sparkling jewels in our great city. The fact that it’s also in my town makes it more special. I’m lucky every year to have tickets fall in my lap but I’d still go just because it’s a fun thing to do. There are always cheap, sometimes free tickets available in the area, whether it’s scalpers or folks with extra tickets.

Not discounting your anger and frustration, I agree, but if you can, try and get there, go to the top row, revel at the sun dipping below the skyline-- and thumb your nose at TW. ;)

I'm going tonight on 2-for-1 tickets

I'm going tonight on 2-for-1 tickets:cool: Great weather. Enjoy!
I'm still waiting for this years lucky find. :p

:cool: Great weather. Enjoy!
I'm still waiting for this years lucky find. :p

yea what about the NFL NETWORK!!!!

I would love if all sports programming ended up in a special package that I could elect not to buy. I'm tired of subsidizing exorbitantly priced ESPN etc. (that I never, ever watch).

I would love if all sports programming ended up in a special package that I could elect not to buy. I'm tired of subsidizing exorbitantly priced ESPN etc. (that I never, ever watch).

Thing is, you can change "sports" in your statement with "News", "educational", "music", "Childrens", etc. for different people. I am on the cable companies' side when they say ala carte is bad for consumers. If we were allowed to pick and choose which channels we get, you would see many channels go away and no new ones ever to be created.

Thing is, you can change "sports" in your statement with "News", "educational", "music", "Childrens", etc. for different people. I am on the cable companies' side when they say ala carte is bad for consumers. If we were allowed to pick and choose which channels we get, you would see many channels go away and no new ones ever to be created.

I understand the basic premise of that argument, but I'm confident that MY viewing habits are less expensive than those of a sports viewer.

The Tennis Channel is part of the 'Sports Tier' which costs $3.95/mo, not the 'HDXtra' package. The conflict with Cablevision is resolved and TC will be doing live coverage of the Open starting today at 11am (Ch 465 HD, or 455 SD).

While I don't doubt you, I think that "sports tier" is ALSO part of HDXtra. I certainly got Tennis HD until I dropped HDXtra.

What is the color of your power level numbers?
from 0db to +10db green from 11db and i guess 20db orange above 20db red, if is showing minus levels must be different color.
+4 is on the edge, from experience I start having issues below this level.

yeah i have HDEXTRA and NOT sports tier, tennis is on full HD and looks great too

Yellow, as are all the numerical displays on those pages. I think there's some engineering explanation to what I see as negative numbers...

Found another issue with MDN.

I just tried voting in a NY1 poll using the "B" button, but instead of voting it calls up the Find Shows window with the keyboard.

I think there are issues with the 8300HD/MDN that will probably never get resolved.I have all sorts of issues with series recordings, including letting it record first run shows that I watch "live," and then seeing the same episodes scheduled several times later because ALL of them carry the NEW designation.

Another disgusting tatic of Time Warner is the ad they are currently running with their normal commercial guy (and the old men playing bocce) talking about how FIOS "doesn't care" about NYC sports because they don't offer all the local teams in HD.

Note to Time Warner: FIOS doesn't have MSG & MSG + in HD because Cablevision won't give it to them, not because Verizon chooses not to offer it.

This ad is a blatant lie and Verizon should sue Time Warner to make them take it off.

Another ad that borders on lying is where TWC claims FIOS is lying about having more HD channels. They say FIOS is somehow counting duplicate stations, whatever that means.

I took a look at FIOS's HD lineup and I see the Viacom stations, HDNet stations, WGN, and a few obscure stations that TWC doesn't offer. As far as I can tell, TWC's only HD channel that FIOS doesn't have are NY1, BBC America, CI (who really cares?), G4 (nothing in HD anyway), & HLN (nothing in HD either). I'd much rather have the Viacom channels & WGN than TWC's exclusives.

Speaking of ads that are total lies... how about the "Sir Charge-A-Lot" ones TWC ran incessantly a few months ago? All about all the surcharges Verizon ads in?? Well, when I had a Verizon phone service I never saw more than 3 of those additional charges. TWC hit me with 11 extra charges for 17 bucks the first month... then settled down to 9 additional line item charges worth about 11 bucks every single month after that.

I would love if all sports programming ended up in a special package that I could elect not to buy. I'm tired of subsidizing exorbitantly priced ESPN etc. (that I never, ever watch).

With you 100% on this one! Take away all of the sports networks (all ESPNs, MSG, etc.) and give me HDNet and HDNet Movies. :)

I understand the basic premise of that argument, but I'm confident that MY viewing habits are less expensive than those of a sports viewer.

Agreed again -- it's well documented that ESPN charges far more than any other (non pay-movie) channel in its carriage agreements. And no cable company could ever possibly not pay what they're asking! Imagine the revolt if they ever tried to remove ESPN?

Anyone ever encounter this situation….

Last night, one of my boxes had no picture (the other worked fine) but I did have audio and if I hit the guide button, it appeared and functioned. If I changed the channels, the banner display would correctly appear too. Very strange. Is the guide something that’s in the box hard drive- memory?

I was able to get it working right after I rebooted.

With you 100% on this one! Take away all of the sports networks (all ESPNs, MSG, etc.) and give me HDNet and HDNet Movies. :)

+1

-barry

anyone know what the deal w/ lifetime HD is?
got a flier from twc in the mail the other day w/ my bill...
it stated explicitly that we were supposed have had it by aug 19th.

any ideas?

anyone know what the deal w/ lifetime HD is?
got a flier from twc in the mail the other day w/ my bill...
it stated explicitly that we were supposed have had it by aug 19th.

any ideas?

yes - they postponed it (again)

http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/learn/cable/channelchanges.html


The previously scheduled launches of Investigation Discovery HD and Lifetime HD have been postponed until further notice.


They added HSN HD and BBC-America HD instead (unexpectedly)

yes - they postponed it (again)

http://www.timewarnercable.com/nynj/learn/cable/channelchanges.html



They added HSN HD and BBC-America HD instead (unexpectedly)

thanks, berk. was definitely wondering if they released a statement or not...
quite a nuisance...

How many people woke up and said..."Yay...I can now watch the Home Shopping Network in HD!!"? At least BBC America is useful.

I would love if all sports programming ended up in a special package that I could elect not to buy. I'm tired of subsidizing exorbitantly priced ESPN etc. (that I never, ever watch).

100 Percent on the Money.

How many people woke up and said..."Yay...I can now watch the Home Shopping Network in HD!!"? At least BBC America is useful.
My wife did-don't ask!:mad:

How many people woke up and said..."Yay...I can now watch the Home Shopping Network in HD!!"? .

My Mother and all her Yenta friends...

A_C

My Mother and all her Yenta friends...

A_C

LOL! Now you can see their Cubic Zerconia's in STUNNING CLARITY like never before! (Actually, I hear that their Jewelry is pretty reasonable!)

It is surprising the number of people that watch this channel!

Jack

Oh, last week I tried some of the DO channels, they seemed to be far, far better than the typically ultra-crappy performance they used to have. Wanted to see what a movie from FX would be like.. commercials or what? Well, I found out it didn't seem to have commercials, but did have a few breaks mostly to promote their other shows. No animated crap taking up 1/3 the screen, very tolerable.

Several days ago I tried to watch the rest of it. Unavailable. As were every other VOD no matter what channel. Been that way since then.

This is almost worse than what used to be... 3 days in a row now, no VOD.

Anyone got any ideas?

Press Select on the remote until mail icon appears then press arrow down arrow left, go to page 5 or 6 of 28, tune to the suspect channel a level of 4 dbmV or less is NG. A good level balance should read 10 db plus or minus 2 db across all frequencies. NY1 channel 1 435.000 Mhz at my house and work reads 12 dbmV.

Holding down 'select' until mail icon appears on cable box, then 'down arrow' brings up 14 pages (not 28) for me. Nothing on pages 5 or 6 relating to signal strength. Am I doing something wrong?
btw start-over channels bring up 'start over' when 'select' is pressed. I had to go to a non-start-over channel to bring up the menu. Pressing 'left arrow' did nothing.
On channel 996 I get RDC Power 43 and FDC power -10.

8300HDC with ODN Version 3.1.0_11

My Mother and all her Yenta friends...

A_C

My mother was more interested in QVC being "true" HD ealier. HSN, she was like, eh. Well this is after seeing it on mine or my brother's HDTV.

Just swapped the old pioneer box for the SA 3050. So far I can see the big difference in the interface, and PQ is very nice. The only problem I have now is that when I change from one channel to another there seems to be like loss of signal for like 1-2 seconds before the channel can be changed. Is that normal? I'd appreciate any input.

Holding down 'select' until mail icon appears on cable box, then 'down arrow' brings up 14 pages (not 28) for me. Nothing on pages 5 or 6 relating to signal strength. Am I doing something wrong?
btw start-over channels bring up 'start over' when 'select' is pressed. I had to go to a non-start-over channel to bring up the menu. Pressing 'left arrow' did nothing.
On channel 996 I get RDC Power 43 and FDC power -10.

8300HDC with ODN Version 3.1.0_11

28 pages and Page 5 or 6 signal strength/s'n ratio are for 8300HD boxes running MDN.

Holding down 'select' until mail icon appears on cable box, then 'down arrow' brings up 14 pages (not 28) for me. Nothing on pages 5 or 6 relating to signal strength. Am I doing something wrong?
Pressing both DOWN and LEFT brings up first page labeled 1 of 28 here (8300HD/Navigator/Mystro). Pages 5-6 (both tuners) has power level reading for channels tuned, among other data. -- John

Pressing both DOWN and LEFT brings up first page labeled 1 of 28 here (8300HD/Navigator/Mystro). Pages 5-6 (both tuners) has power level reading for channels tuned, among other data. -- John

This scenario works as described for me. Question though... Why would the signal level be different for each of the tuners? On mine for example, the signal on page 5 is typically a DB or 2 higher than for the tuner on page 6.

A_C

This scenario works as described for me. Question though... Why would the signal level be different for each of the tuners? On mine for example, the signal on page 5 is typically a DB or 2 higher than for the tuner on page 6.

A_C

Are both tuners on the same frequency?

Are both tuners on the same frequency?


Oh... :confused:

Is anyone feeling generous and willing to help with a question?

I'm trying to get a 2nd box in my apt, a few months ago when I first looked into it I was told that I could just head down and pick up the box and then install it myself. Now they are telling me the only way to get a second box is to wait for a service guy to come to my place and then pay for installation. Do I have to suck it up and accept the installation? I thought I could just pop in a splitter on the coax and have no problems?

Is anyone feeling generous and willing to help with a question?

I'm trying to get a 2nd box in my apt, a few months ago when I first looked into it I was told that I could just head down and pick up the box and then install it myself. Now they are telling me the only way to get a second box is to wait for a service guy to come to my place and then pay for installation. Do I have to suck it up and accept the installation? I thought I could just pop in a splitter on the coax and have no problems?

I've always been under the impression that they must come in and install any additional boxes. You can only go in to replace equipment.

When i moved to an apartment that was already pre-wired, they still had to come over and... um... turn on the boxes... (yeah, they were in and out in less than 5 minutes)

well, I guess it was all just a dream that never existed... even though I still hate the idea of paying for a service call just so someone can come by and do 5 minutes of work it is somehow less painful knowing that it has always been that way.

I'm trying to get a 2nd box in my apt, a few months ago when I first looked into it I was told that I could just head down and pick up the box and then install it myself. Now they are telling me the only way to get a second box is to wait for a service guy to come to my place and then pay for installation. Do I have to suck it up and accept the installation? I thought I could just pop in a splitter on the coax and have no problems?Are you requesting a DVR box, or just a regular set top box. Reason being, if it’s a DVR, tell them that you are putting it on the same shelf next to your other box and there is no reason for a service call. You are just adding tuners.

Their main gripe is having a customer pick up a box and screw things up and then having to send over a tech after the fact. I’d bitch and moan about it and threaten to leave for satellite or FIOS. Tell them that you’re a long time customer blah blah and that you are looking to add a feature. If they want to charge for this then you might leave. They might have to send over a tech but you should be able to get them to waive the fee.

8300HDs had 160G drives... mine sure did!

The loading of guide data IS far batter than Passport. WIth a week's+ worth of MDN, I am seeing it always have 7 days of data. One of the very few things it has over Passport.

Well I promised I would post additional observations about my switch from the 8300HD to the Sammy 3090. I have found the Sammy 3090 to be sluggish in response to inputs. I get way ahead of it even when using the TWC remote. I also find that the remote port is far less sensitive than the 8300HD. I used to be able to point my remote almost anywhere or even bounce it off the ceiling, but not anymore. Finally, it runs HOT in comparison to the 8300HD. (But remember, mine came with only 1 out of 4 feet, so it's not getting any ventilation from below.)

I cannot get audio output from the digital coax. I don't think its my AVR because I was doing it during setup and it didn't detect a signal. I gave up after 30 minutes and successfully activated AC3 over HDMI. However, I would like the coax for flexibility.

Does anyone know if you need to "activate" the coax output, or do I just have a bad box?

Well I promised I would post additional observations about my switch from the 8300HD to the Sammy 3090. I have found the Sammy 3090 to be sluggish in response to inputs.

Especially where the ff/rw is concerned. I know about hitting pause before going to play, but there's still so much lag/unresponsiveness that I have to believe it's intentional. FWIW, I have the ir emitter from my rf remote positioned directly over the 3090's eye and have tried other positioning as well. The 8300HD was great in this aspect as it had a direct remote input on the back.

TWC sent this out in a promo e-mail this morning:

http://newyork-mail.timewarnercable.com/portal/content/newyork/Ret/Newsletters/2009/september/4143Sept09NJ.aspx?uh=-3544006794088041544&a=View&s=68141&b=54948
Tennis Channel's Inaugural Coverage of the U.S. Open
The Tennis ChannelThe final Grand Slam of the year and the most widely attended sporting event in the world will be featured on the Tennis Channel for the first time! The tournament will air through September 13 with 70+ LIVE hours of tournament coverage in HD (ch. 465) and standard-definition (ch. 455) simulcast with lead commentary by Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova, as well as over 100 hours of original programming. Tennis Channel will kick off with five-hour highlight show Breakfast at the Open, before swinging into live tournament coverage and ending the day with a four-hour primetime show, U.S. Open Tonight. Tennis Channel SD and HD are part of our Digital Sports Tier, available today for an additional $3.95/month

How come they don't mention that it is supposed to be free?

TWC sent this out in a promo e-mail this morning:

http://newyork-mail.timewarnercable.com/portal/content/newyork/Ret/Newsletters/2009/september/4143Sept09NJ.aspx?uh=-3544006794088041544&a=View&s=68141&b=54948


How come they don't mention that it is supposed to be free?

Because they are playing the last of their "we can do whatever we want to customers with no consequences" card, coupled with what seems to be a kind of stall in FiOS rollouts.

Manhattan, Brooklyn/Queens and Mount Vernon

September 4, 2009



From time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers. The following changes are planned:



On or about September 5, 2009 we will launch 4 additional channels featuring games provided by Big Ten Networks. These services will be provided as part of sports tier and appear on channels 473-476.



On or about September 9, 2009 we will launch the previously scheduled Investigation Discovery HD on ch. 723 in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and ch. 771 in Mount Vernon.



On or about September 23, 2009 we will launch Lo Mejor (a Spanish On Demand service) on ch. 798.



In Mount Vernon, on or about October 7, 2009, we will make the following changes for customers with cable ready TV’s and TV’s directly connected to cable without a cable box (“direct hookups”): CSPAN will move from ch. 3 to ch. 6, Gov’t Access will move from 6 to 74, Hotshots will move from 8 to 75 and Public Access will move from 18 to 73.

28 pages and Page 5 or 6 signal strength/s'n ratio are for 8300HD boxes running MDN.

Thanks Riverside. I guess there's no way to find signal strength on ODN boxes.

wow

the whole Big Ten Network HD package - never expected that

Thanks Riverside. I guess there's no way to find signal strength on ODN boxes.

Actually it's possible to have SNR numbers in ODN. You have to use the SA diagnostic menu by pressing Vol+ and Info on the box's front panel.

wow

the whole Big Ten Network HD package - never expected that

As long as they authorize the signal for HD Xtra subs. Still waiting for the BigTen HD on Demand; maybe that will be authorized tomorrow as well. Also, are we sure those games will be in HD for us, BTN's game finder page (http://bigtengames.channelfinder.net/start.asp?zip=Enter%20Zip) doesn't list it in HD.

As long as they authorize the signal for HD Xtra subs. Still waiting for the BigTen HD on Demand; maybe that will be authorized tomorrow as well. Also, are we sure those games will be in HD for us, BTN's game finder page (http://bigtengames.channelfinder.net/start.asp?zip=Enter%20Zip) doesn't list it in HD.

It's very possible that they games arent being sent to us in HD. I just assumed so based on the placement next to the main HD channel and the on demand channel.

Of course that raises the question why they are providing Big Ten Network itself in HD only, and the other channels in SD...

(TWC San Diego is getting all 5 games in HD)

As long as they authorize the signal for HD Xtra subs. Still waiting for the BigTen HD on Demand; maybe that will be authorized tomorrow as well. Also, are we sure those games will be in HD for us, BTN's game finder page (http://bigtengames.channelfinder.net/start.asp?zip=Enter%20Zip) doesn't list it in HD.

stll says not authorized..

Thanks Riverside. I guess there's no way to find signal strength on ODN boxes.

There should be. There are currently 2 boxes running ODN, the HDC and the 3090. Typically, they should show both signal strength and signal to noise ratio for the currently tuned channel.

What I'm not 100% sure if is whether any parts of those diagnostics are hardware specific... I think they are.., based on reading the 3090 in those diagnostics can change the default behavior of AC/23 over HDMI... by entering "3090" as a password.

Typically, a LOT of misinformation is passed around because some may state something as a fact, but never bother to tell what hardware/software they have That is why a lot of us old timers put all that stuff in our sigs. So if I say "this doesn't work" everyone knows exactly what equipment and soiftware it is happening on.

stll says not authorized..

All of these sports channels seem to be a part of 2 different tiers, HDXtra and Sports. Which makes no sense unless you have a history with HDXtra. TWC kept losing channels on that tier, so to make up for it, it seems they added channels from the sports tier. AND the non-sports channels on HDXtra make not much sense (the useless MAV, MGM, Smithsonian + OD) by themselves.

All of these sports channels seem to be a part of 2 different tiers, HDXtra and Sports. Which makes no sense unless you have a history with HDXtra. TWC kept losing channels on that tier, so to make up for it, it seems they added channels from the sports tier. AND the non-sports channels on HDXtra make not much sense (the useless MAV, MGM, Smithsonian + OD) by themselves.

so i pay $7.95 mo for hdxra which you also get the sports teir now what bs are they pulling for the bigten channels how much for that also?
when i get bigtenhd but not the others

so i pay $7.95 mo for hdxra which you also get the sports teir now what bs are they pulling for the bigten channels how much for that also?
when i get bigtenhd but not the others

Part of the issue is that TWC makes less than zero effort to actually tell us what is actually being offered. I was NEVER able to find ANYTHING on the TWC site that actually says what is included... although I DID find one place that said HDXtra was the channels I mentioned and nothing about the sports channels. Berk has always kept us informed, I suspect by being very diligent about what belongs where by observation.

BTW, HDXtra used to be a 5 buck extra when bundled with DVR service.

Hi,

I am thinking of getting the TiVo instead of the 8300HDC. What is the procedure for getting the cable cards? It has to be two, right? Any way of getting these without the service call?

Please let me know. I am in SI.

My Explorer 3100 in the bedroom got MDNed last night... Every time I press B to find shows from the Guide it kills the picture and the sound.... while a Loading... message appears... for about 10 seconds... Not good.

Actually it's possible to have SNR numbers in ODN. You have to use the SA diagnostic menu by pressing Vol+ and Info on the box's front panel.

Thanks hdtvfan. But I must be doing something wrong. Vol+ plus Info on the box doesn't do anything.

Anyone else getting audio dropouts, picture stutter on 782 (TCMHD)? It even disappeared completely for a time last night (during Time Machine).

8300HDC with ODN Version 3.1.0_11

I just found out that I only got 8 minutes of last week's Mad Men on my HDC. Not the first time something like that has happened.


GRRR.

Thanks hdtvfan. But I must be doing something wrong. Vol+ plus Info on the box doesn't do anything.

Anyone else getting audio dropouts, picture stutter on 782 (TCMHD)? It even disappeared completely for a time last night (during Time Machine).

8300HDC with ODN Version 3.1.0_11

You have to hold them until a menu appears. It will then give you a diagnostic menu thats very complex.

Part of the issue is that TWC makes less than zero effort to actually tell us what is actually being offered. I was NEVER able to find ANYTHING on the TWC site that actually says what is included... although I DID find one place that said HDXtra was the channels I mentioned and nothing about the sports channels. Berk has always kept us informed, I suspect by being very diligent about what belongs where by observation.

BTW, HDXtra used to be a 5 buck extra when bundled with DVR service.

i was told i should be getting the extra bigten channels, so the customer service rep told me it would be forwarded over to the tech side..
channels 473-476 and 471 demand

Hi,

I am thinking of getting the TiVo instead of the 8300HDC. What is the procedure for getting the cable cards? It has to be two, right? Any way of getting these without the service call?

Please let me know. I am in SI.

In Manhattan you need a service call, and they give you one M-card instead of two single cards.

You'll love Tivo - it's just much better than TWC boxes.

i was told i should be getting the extra bigten channels, so the customer service rep told me it would be forwarded over to the tech side..
channels 473-476 and 471 demand

Same thing I was told as I called around 1PM

Thanks hdtvfan. But I must be doing something wrong. Vol+ plus Info on the box doesn't do anything.

Anyone else getting audio dropouts, picture stutter on 782 (TCMHD)? It even disappeared completely for a time last night (during Time Machine).

8300HDC with ODN Version 3.1.0_11

I had scheduled both War of the Worlds and Time Machine Friday night on TCM. Was out so the box was on it's own. Both were listed as recorded. WotW actually had about 45 minutes and that was it. When I hit play for TM, I immediately got the save/delete dialog (it has recorded NOTHING).

This software they are foisting on is utter crap. MSG HD notwithstanding, soon as Verizon gets here, FU to TWC.

[QUOTE=Riverside_Guy;17132021]I had scheduled both War of the Worlds and Time Machine Friday night on TCM. Was out so the box was on it's own. Both were listed as recorded. WotW actually had about 45 minutes and that was it. When I hit play for TM, I immediately got the save/delete dialog (it has recorded NOTHING).

This is EXACTLY what happened to me when I tried to record the exact same two movies. I have found that many times on TCM HD the picture will freeze. If I hit live, it forwards to the live portion of the movie-but if I pause it, or rewind, it only goes back to the point where it froze, and will not go further unless I hit live, where it then goes to the current live point in the movie. Very very strange.

I haven't had any problems recording...

Although I'm on the Sammy and ODN...

I haven't had any problems recording...

Although I'm on the Sammy and ODN...

Nor have I with either when I was on the HDC or now currently on the Sammy.

BTW: For the past day, start over and VOD channels have worked off and on. This is a first since the Aug 19 update that they had worked in some form. Before I would get error 106 all the time. Now it is hit or miss

Yup, Navigator has an annoying habit of deciding in the middle of a program that it doesn't feel like recording anymore. It's highly irritating.

I just noticed that they replaced the generic "Local on the 8s" with a real local version. It looks nice.:)

his is EXACTLY what happened to me when I tried to record the exact same two movies. I have found that many times on TCM HD the picture will freeze. If I hit live, it forwards to the live portion of the movie-but if I pause it, or rewind, it only goes back to the point where it froze, and will not go further unless I hit live, where it then goes to the current live point in the movie. Very very strange.

Actually, it was a double whammy... I can't set up a saved, keyword search so when they get re-broadcast, it will automatically pick up on them.

Curious what head end you are from... care to tell us neighborhood?

I haven't had any problems recording...

Although I'm on the Sammy and ODN...

I'm still trying to figure out how to guarantee I get a 3090 if I pack up the HD and head to 23rd street... might ANYONE have a phone number of that location?

Berk, have you done the HDD update to a 320?

I just noticed that they replaced the generic "Local on the 8s" with a real local version. It looks nice.:):cool: Thanks, good to know, since I stopped checking, I'd never have known.

Curious what head end you are from... care to tell us neighborhood?

Upper West Side-Northern head end. I'll bet I'm not to far from where you are!

:cool: Thanks, good to know, since I stopped checking, I'd never have known.

While it is a regional forecast and is no longer a national broadcast, I'd bet that this is the HD Produced feed for NYC (and not generated by an HD weather star located at a TWC head end). Cablevision of Long Island has been using this for a while now.

Supporting this is the wikipedia entry on the The Weather Channel:

No Weather Star currently serves the HD feed, but Cablevision New York viewers get an HD forecast produced by The Weather Channel master control in Atlanta.

TWC isn't a great acronym when talking about Time Warner Cable and The Weather Channel at the same time, so for the purposes of this entry TWC = Time Warner Cable.

Another week of Mad Men eaten by navigator and/or the HDC.

Are they even testing this?

While it is a regional forecast and is no longer a national broadcast, I'd bet that this is the HD Produced feed for NYC (and not generated by an HD weather star located at a TWC head end). Cablevision of Long Island has been using this for a while now.

Supporting this is the wikipedia entry on the The Weather Channel:



TWC isn't a great acronym when talking about Time Warner Cable and The Weather Channel at the same time, so for the purposes of this entry TWC = Time Warner Cable.

Well, it's still better than the national "generic" broadcast. It sucked when I had to change back & forth bet. the HD & SD channel to get a proper local forecast. Traffic reports & tide info (I think) seem to be missing, but that's no biggie.

Is it in the works for us ever to get a truly local forecast on the HD Weather Channel?

Is it in the works for us ever to get a truly local forecast on the HD Weather Channel?

Do you really care that much about "The Weather Channel"? This is the least of our worries lol

Do you really care that much about "The Weather Channel"? This is the least of our worries lol

Yeah, like getting back HDnet and finally getting Spike HD.
i hate time warner. just hate them and their big dumb faces.

Do you really care that much about "The Weather Channel"? This is the least of our worries lol

Yes, I like weather.

I like weather too. Just wish they hadn't started diluting their original product by firing weathermen and putting on those shows.

Another week of Mad Men eaten by navigator and/or the HDC.

Are they even testing this?

I had recorded it... just checked, it LOOKS like it recorded the whole 61 minutes.

I had scheduled both War of the Worlds and Time Machine Friday night on TCM. Was out so the box was on it's own. Both were listed as recorded. WotW actually had about 45 minutes and that was it. When I hit play for TM, I immediately got the save/delete dialog (it has recorded NOTHING).

This software they are foisting on is utter crap. MSG HD notwithstanding, soon as Verizon gets here, FU to TWC.

Not that I disagree with your opinion or intent but why not get a Tivo in the meantime? I don't want to sound like shill or fanboy but I have been living with one for a month now and am pretty satisfied. It's not perfect but it records shows competently. I no longer worry about tempermental DVR software that decides to go on strike while I am at work. And although I still have to deal with Time Warner transmission glitches, the Tivo's ability to receive and record over-the-air signals does allow me to mitigate the risk if network shows are involved. I no longer have to worry about things like that annoying audio dropout problem that was afflicting Ch. 705 Fox HD on Time Warner a couple months ago because I can record the over-the-air channel. And if or when you do switch to Verizon, you can keep your recordings. Besides, isn't the consensus opinion of Verizon's DVR pretty bad?

Not that I disagree with your opinion or intent but why not get a Tivo in the meantime? I don't want to sound like shill or fanboy but I have been living with one for a month now and am pretty satisfied. It's not perfect but it records shows competently. I no longer worry about tempermental DVR software that decides to go on strike while I am at work. And although I still have to deal with Time Warner transmission glitches, the Tivo's ability to receive and record over-the-air signals does allow me to mitigate the risk if network shows are involved. I no longer have to worry about things like that annoying audio dropout problem that was afflicting Ch. 705 Fox HD on Time Warner a couple months ago because I can record the over-the-air channel. And if or when you do switch to Verizon, you can keep your recordings. Besides, isn't the consensus opinion of Verizon's DVR pretty bad?

Gotta agree - Tivo is the way to go. I have both - and rarely go near the TWC box except for HD movies OD and when I need more than two tuners.

Investigation Discovery HD showed up. ch 723

Investigation Discovery HD showed up. ch 723

I got it too.:cool:Any thing else coming soon???:)

spreadsheet

TWC NYC

117 HD channels (+5 announced but postponed)

340 Adult HD On Demand
350 PPV-HD
411 TEAM HD
445/791 GAME-HD
461 NBATVHD******** Postponed to a later date
465 Tennis Channel HD
467 CBS College Sports HD
468 NHL Network HD
471 Big Ten HD On Demand
472 Big Ten Network HD
473 Big Ten 2 HD
474 Big Ten 3 HD
475 Big Ten 4 HD
476 Big Ten 5 HD
480 Outdoor Channel HD
481 Versus HD
482 Golf HD
651 HBO HD
652 HBO2 HD
653 HBO Family HD
654 HBO Comedy HD
655 HBO Signature HD
656 HBO Zone HD
657 HBO Latino HD
658 CineMax HD
659 MoreMax HD
660 ActionMAX HD
661 ThrillerMAX HD
662 WMAX HD
663 @MAX HD
664 5StarMAX HD
665 OuterMAX HD
666 Showtime HD
667 Showtime 2 HD
668 ShowCase HD
669 Showtime Extreme HD
674 TMC HD
675 TMCxtra HD
676 Starz HD
677 Starz Edge HD
678 Starz Kids & Family HD
681 Starz Comedy HD
682 Encore HD
684 Chiller HD******** Postponed to a later date
685 BBC America HD
686 Crime and Investigation HD
687 Live Well HD (WABC 7.2)
689 Style HD
691 Fuse HD
692 G4 HD
699 Showcase On Demand HD
700 Movies On Demand HD
701 NY1 HD
702 WCBS (CBS) HD
703 TNT HD
704 WNBC (NBC) HD
705 WNYW (FOX) HD
706 Nickelodeon HD******** Postponed to a later date
707 WABC (ABC) HD
708 TBS HD
709 WWOR (My Network TV) HD
710 FX HD
711 WPIX (The CW) HD
713 WNET (PBS) HD
714 MSNBC HD
715 CNBC HD
716 USA HD
717 Syfy HD
718 Bravo HD
720 Palladia HD
723 Investigation Discovery HD
724 E! HD
726 SNY HD
727 MSG HD
728 ESPN HD
729 ESPN2 HD
731 WPXN (iON) HD
733 QVC HD
734 Universal HD
736 Spike HD******** Postponed to a later date
738 ABC Family HD
739 HSN HD
740 History Channel HD
743 Fox Business News HD
744 Fox News HD
746 A&E HD
747 WNJU (Telemundo) HD
748 MSG+ HD
749 Disney HD
750 Food Network HD
752 The Learning Channel HD
753 YES HD
754 AMC HD
758 Headline News HD
759 WE HD
760 Disney XD HD
761 Cartoon Network HD
762 Lifetime HD********Postponed (again) to a later date
763 Biography HD
764 HGTV HD
765 National Geographic HD
766 Discovery HD
767 HD Theater
768 Planet Green HD
772 Weather Channel HD
774 Speed HD
775 Science Channel HD
778 CNN HD
780 Lifetime Movie Network HD
781 IFC HD
782 TCM HD
783 MLB Network HD
784 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
786 Animal Planet HD
787 MavTV HD
788 Travel Channel HD
790 TV One HD
792 ESPNews HD
793 ESPNU HD
794 Smithsonian HD On Demand
795 Smithsonian HD
796 MGM HD

Just a reminder of how far we've come...

This was our HD lineup ~3 years ago:

701 HBO HD
702 WCBS HD
703 SHO HD
704 WNBC HD
705 WNYW HD
706 DiscoveryHDTheater
707 WABC HD
708 YES HD
709 UniversalHD
710 TNT HD
711 WPIX HD
712 MSG HD
713 WNET HD
721 InHD
722 InHD2
723 HDNetMovies
724 HDNet
725 ESPN-HD
741 SNY HD

~2 years ago:

702 WCBS HD
703 TNT HD
704 WNBC HD
705 WNYW HD
707 WABC HD
708 TBS-HD
709 WWOR HD
711 WPIX HD
713 WNET HD
718 HD Theater
726 SNY HD
727 MSG HD
728 ESPN HD
729 ESPN2 HD
730 YES HD
740 UniversalHD
776 Cinemax HD
777 Starz HD
779 SHO HD
780 HBO HD
796 MOJO HD
797 HDNetMovies
798 HDNet

and... just ~1 year ago (in Manhattan)

350 HDPPV
703 TNT HD
702 WCBS HD
704 WNBC HD
705 WNYW HD
707 WABC HD
708 TBS-HD
709 WWOR HD
710 CNNHD
711 WPIX HD
713 WNET HD
726 SNY HD
727 MSG HD
728 ESPN HD
729 ESPN2 HD
734 UniversalHD
748 MSG+HD
750 Food Network HD
753 YES HD
764 HGTV HD
765 National Geographic HD
767 HD Theater
776 Cinemax HD
777 Starz HD
779 SHO HD
780 HBO HD
784 Hallmark Movie Channel HD
786 Animal Planet HD
794 Versus/Golf HD
796 MOJO HD
797 HDNetMovies
798 HDNet

Not that I disagree with your opinion or intent but why not get a Tivo in the meantime? I don't want to sound like shill or fanboy but I have been living with one for a month now and am pretty satisfied. It's not perfect but it records shows competently. I no longer worry about tempermental DVR software that decides to go on strike while I am at work. And although I still have to deal with Time Warner transmission glitches, the Tivo's ability to receive and record over-the-air signals does allow me to mitigate the risk if network shows are involved. I no longer have to worry about things like that annoying audio dropout problem that was afflicting Ch. 705 Fox HD on Time Warner a couple months ago because I can record the over-the-air channel. And if or when you do switch to Verizon, you can keep your recordings. Besides, isn't the consensus opinion of Verizon's DVR pretty bad?

Do you have the triple play? I know the DVR option is 11 bucks, but if one goes boxless, how much credit do you get from TWC? Of course, one COULD keep a non DVR box to have a thirds tuner available. BUT, except for the phone and IP access, I am already stretching cash flow by having all the TV services I do have.. so increasing monthly cost isn't an option.

Plus, with a TiVO don't you lose the VOD?

OTA isn't an option for me due to location. So TiVO won't solve the skippage issue. Complicating things, my TV does NOT have a QAM tuner.

So, it ain't a simple decision!

My fellow Yorkers... I need some input! With the advent of MDN, I took a look at signal strengths. I got some fairly wildly different opinions what was an issue or not. I heard that 10 (all in dBmV) was good but at around 4 it was terrible. Then I heard that one didn't need near as much for digital, then that the floor there was -12. I see that I am running from a low of -12 to a "high" of -7.

So I'd like to do a survey... specifically for MDNed 8300HD users. While watching TV, press and hold SEL on the remote... until you see a new icon light on the 8300HDs display... that's the "Mail" icon. Press the down arrow on the directional controls on the remote. You will see a bunch of white text overlay your picture. This is the extended diagnostics. Pat attention to the legend on the bottom, it tells you how to change pages and how to get out of this mode.

Go to PAGE 5. In the middle, you will see a "Power level:" and below it a "SNR:." Tune around to half to a dozen channels... pay attention to 705 and 716, 717, 718. Try a few premiums if you subscribe. Get a general idea of where they are falling and post here. Make sure to list your neighborhood so we have an idea of where the numbers are being drawn from. Even if you happen to be in the same head end I am in.

Like I said, I run -12 to -7 with little discernible pattern... although I did notice the primary premium channel ran -10 and the sub channels -7... something about that doesn't make sense to me. In general, my SNR ran 36, 35, 34.

Thanks...

So I'd like to do a survey...I'll try and get to that tonight.

Do you have the triple play?
That triple play deal is killing me. I called them the other day with my usual -every couple of months game of-- trying to get my TW monthly nut down. I was considering getting rid of their phone service.

It actually would cost me 10 bucks more a month. :eek: That’s because I have their special $99 triple play package, going on two years now. ;) It was due to expire this week and go up to $149. :eek: I got them to cut $30 off that new increase. I also killed three of my four premiums (have the 4 for $29 package) which saves me 15 bucks but for only one premium. They tossed in a second premium free for a year. They were dying to get me into the two year contract with absolutely no luck.

The bottom line is, I lose two premiums and save 5 bucks on my current bill. If I didn’t call, my bill would have went up 45 bucks more with two more premiums.

That triple play deal is killing me. I called them the other day with my usual -every couple of months game of-- trying to get my TW monthly nut down. I was considering getting rid of their phone service.

It actually would cost me 10 bucks more a month. :eek: That’s because I have their special $99 triple play package, going on two years now. ;) It was due to expire this week and go up to $149. :eek: I got them to cut $30 off that new increase. I also killed three of my four premiums (have the 4 for $29 package) which saves me 15 bucks but for only one premium. They tossed in a second premium free for a year. They were dying to get me into the two year contract with absolutely no luck.

The bottom line is, I lose two premiums and save 5 bucks on my current bill. If I didn’t call, my bill would have went up 45 bucks more with two more premiums.

Indeed, this is another bug in my bonnet. We all know about this because we are communicating amongst ourselves (I'd bet you TWC would LOVE it if places like AVS went away... can't have customers actually talking to each other, it would cost them too much revenue). I now KNOW I can get deals from them... but most of their customers sit in ignorance. It really does bother me that I am paying 40 bucks less than most other customers.

I noticed that my "discount" went down this month. The deal I made last fall was phone for 5 bucks more, going to 10 bucks more for the second year. I THINK that may or may not have included the price lock thing... I was assured by PR if I had to cancel, I wouldn't have to pay the fee. I also figured it might be close to that before I had access to FiOS. All this year I hear FiOS would be available in August 09. Not even close, there's no street opening scheduled to lay the trunk, much less the branches to individual blocks. AND I have been told they will only go down an individual block ONLY if and when there are enough raw numbers of customers expressing interest.

FYI, a pal in the East Village just did a deal... his triple play was 89.99! FiOS supposedly cover that area for the past six months, but it's "unavailable" on his block... most likely because it's a block of 4-5-6 story tenements.

FYI, a pal in the East Village just did a deal... his triple play was 89.99! FiOS supposedly cover that area for the past six months, but it's "unavailable" on his block... most likely because it's a block of 4-5-6 story tenements.Wow, $89, this is a great deal. Your pal’s probably a first timer with the triple play (?). After that deal runs out, I’d be curious to see what new deal can be wrangled.

It really does bother me that I am paying 40 bucks less than most other customers
To save a dime, you have to be persistent. I offer my experience so others here can benefit. I gain from this forum so I’ll offer whatever I can. However, if folks don’t try to get their nut lowered, it doesn’t bother me. I look at it this way, if everyone did it—they’d raise our rates to compensate.:D

I got it too.:cool:Any thing else coming soon???:)

We're all waiting on word of the Viacom HD channels...
Those are the significant missing HD channels...

(along with NBATVHD, WGNAmerica, and of course the HDNets)

Do you have the triple play? I know the DVR option is 11 bucks, but if one goes boxless, how much credit do you get from TWC? Of course, one COULD keep a non DVR box to have a thirds tuner available. BUT, except for the phone and IP access, I am already stretching cash flow by having all the TV services I do have.. so increasing monthly cost isn't an option.

Plus, with a TiVO don't you lose the VOD?

OTA isn't an option for me due to location. So TiVO won't solve the skippage issue. Complicating things, my TV does NOT have a QAM tuner.

So, it ain't a simple decision!

I have triple play. In addition to Tivo, I'm keeping the 8300HD for now as a backup and for the two extra tuners and VOD HD movies. Paying a bit more than I like, but we spend 0 on going out to movies, and triple play is a pretty good deal for basic cable, phone and internet service.

Help, need some advice. FIOS held a dog an pony show in mu bldg. Although I signed up for an installation, I am thinking of cancelling. They are offering me the Triple Freedom Package which includes: FIOS Extreme HD TV with all premiums inc onDemand, 25/15Mps Internet, Verizon Freedom Essential phone which includes voicemail. I added a HD DVR and a second standard set top box. The quoted price including tax was $170 inc tax. Also, they throw in a free HP netbook [which you need to pay $35 shipping fee]. Currently I only have cable and internet with Time warner. I have the 8300HDC DVR and a standard desk top. For this I currently pay about $142; adding another $45 for what it ususally costs for my land line phone, bings monthly to $187. Not much in savings but itn's not an exact comparison 'cause with FIOS I get all the premiums; but hen again I don't want all the premiums. My other reservations are: 1[ two of my neighbors have not noticed any performance improvement with FIOS Internet; 2] they made such a mess of the installations.

Any input from you all is greatly appreciated.

we also got an unannounced surprise addition

Adult HD On Demand - ch 340

(i added it to the list above)

quick question: is there any way to create a manual recording using navigator? i liked using that before the switch if i wanted to see a celebrity on a talk show instead of recording the whole episode I would just record a small portion, but i can't figure out how to do it or if it is even a possibility now.

You could press the REC button and it will manually record. You can't do it in advance. Manual recording may someday be considered since TWC does want Navigator to rival Passport some day.

How much HD content is on I.D.? I'm curious as I want the channel.

As for NBA TV, there is not a lot of HD content (only gametime) this time of year.

WGN America HD has a decent amount of content (Games, Legend of seeker, WGN News, Superstars and some other stuff) but like no movies.

Wow, $89, this is a great deal. Your pal’s probably a first timer with the triple play (?). After that deal runs out, I’d be curious to see what new deal can be wrangled.

Actually, yes, it was first time. I suspect there is a hidden mandate to offer great deals in order to get folks using their phone service. My guess is they figure the discounts to be a part of their acquisition cost. AND that he is in a nabe where Verizon says FiOS is available (even though it's not on his block noir is there any idea if or when that might happen).

Thank goodness their phone service is NOT IP based (although it has been a year plus since I had my last IP outage)... and it has worked fine so far.

I agree about paying back around here... when I made my deal, I didn't hesitate to post about it here.

we also got an unannounced surprise addition

Adult HD On Demand - ch 340

(i added it to the list above)

VERY funny!

Come to think of it, many years ago, on a box change, I had everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) wide open. Naturally, I tried some of the naked channels. The ones where you had to pay 10 bucks for 90 minutes. What I discovered was that it was all the exact same soft-core porn that Cinemax and Showtime (and even HBO) can show after midnight. I had never even took a flyer to see what was up... and after this experience I'm glad I didn't throw away 10 bucks.

And speaking of sleaze... I am very curious what the numbers might be if Howard Stern priced his show to gain viewers rather than turn them off... like charging 5 bucks/month rather than what 15??

You could press the REC button and it will manually record. You can't do it in advance. Manual recording may someday be considered since TWC does want Navigator to rival Passport some day.

Hate to break it to you, they simply don't give a crap. Unless they see a serious erosion in their base. Which, given the economic climate, may not happen as soon as it might have happened. I'm see what most likely is a slow down in Verizon installation even though it's been "authorized" with a franchise agreement in my market. How slow is hard to tell, but I do know people in areas that were "covered and available" for the past six months who can't get service "because it's not on your block." I had inside word (from Verizon) it would be generally available in my nabe by August... yet I have yet to see any trucks doing even the trunk runs, nor do I see permits being issued for street openings (last list I saw was 2 weeks ago).

Riverside Guy wrote: I had scheduled both War of the Worlds and Time Machine Friday night on TCM. Was out so the box was on it's own. Both were listed as recorded. WotW actually had about 45 minutes and that was it. When I hit play for TM, I immediately got the save/delete dialog (it has recorded NOTHING).

For some reason this happens almost exclusively on TCM for me, which is the channel I record the most. The same thing happened even more frequently toward the end of my time with Passport. I wonder if somehow it is more a problem with how TW is carrying TCM than the dvr?

Apparently, the real difficulty is in keeping the external drive working over a period of days. There have been issues with the drive sleeping and the box not noticing it. Nonetheless, this is encouraging. I would love to know your version info.

Also, where in the NY area are you located? (You might want to put this in the "location" part of your profile.)

Thanks for reporting this, and congrats on getting it working. I hope it continues to work. That would be truly excellent news.

-barry

I agree with Barry. I had a Samsung drive in an external enclosure and I had my setup working for about a week before things got weird. Shows would not appear- reboots- lost recording. When I removed the external drive- worked perfectly. I would love to say external works flawlessly...and if anyone has a recommendation for a specific drive- please let us know- but so far things don't look good.

we also got an unannounced surprise addition

Adult HD On Demand - ch 340

(i added it to the list above)

woo hoo! lol

Help, need some advice. FIOS held a dog an pony show in mu bldg. Although I signed up for an installation, I am thinking of cancelling. They are offering me the Triple Freedom Package which includes: FIOS Extreme HD TV with all premiums inc onDemand, 25/15Mps Internet, Verizon Freedom Essential phone which includes voicemail. I added a HD DVR and a second standard set top box. The quoted price including tax was $170 inc tax. Also, they throw in a free HP netbook [which you need to pay $35 shipping fee]. Currently I only have cable and internet with Time warner. I have the 8300HDC DVR and a standard desk top. For this I currently pay about $142; adding another $45 for what it ususally costs for my land line phone, bings monthly to $187. Not much in savings but itn's not an exact comparison 'cause with FIOS I get all the premiums; but hen again I don't want all the premiums. My other reservations are: 1[ two of my neighbors have not noticed any performance improvement with FIOS Internet; 2] they made such a mess of the installations.

Any input from you all is greatly appreciated.
My fiancee' has Fios and I LOVE IT.
The Pic Quality is much better than TWC, the internet is faster on the upload and download.
The 2 drawbacks to Fios is their DVR software, it's kinda buggy especially on the multi room dvr if you try to skip forward or backwards in anymode other than double speed fast forward.
The other is that Cablevision refuses to allow Fios to broadcast MSG in HD. SO no Rangers, Nets, Devils, Islanders or Knicks in HD ifyou have Fios.

The upside? HDnet, ALL your major movie networks offer the east AND WEST feed.
ie. you miss something on HBO that started 20 mins ago, well you can just watch it in 3 hours when the west coast feed starts it's broadcast.

I like the History channel, they have Military and International history channels in SD, where we only get the regular history channel on TWC.

They have useful widgets that give you some news and sports headlines, plus weather and some traffic updates which have been somewhat reliable, I think it's the same info that say Yahoo traffic shows on their website.

I like the service alot, and considering if you're a sports fan WGN America is in HD and shows alot of Baseball games, and there is also NHL HD.

The biggest downside to Fios is the dvr software but considering how fussy TWC's has been for years, it's acceptable.

Oh yeah they also seem to have alot of free HD on demand content, much more than TWC has but I might be mistaken on that.