P.S. For anyone with DCT6416 having issues I have included a description of a problem + workaround I ran into for my DCT6416 here:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Known_Problems_and_Workarounds

In summary the problem I ran into was many "hiccups" or missed frames when viewing 1080i channels and with DCT6416 set to 1080i output mode. Workaround that works for me is change output mode to 480p and then change it back to 1080i again (I have to do that once after any reboot).

I have a 6412 Series III that had a serious case of hiccups last night during the olympics. I tried this workaround, left it in 480P for 10 minutes, didn't see any hiccups, reverted to 1080i, and within a few minutes the hiccups were worse than ever! I'm trying 720p tonight. If it makes any difference, I am viewing on an InFocus 4805 projector at 92" diag. fed via component thru Pioneer VSX-1015TX.

Could my box be heading down the failure path or might this have been a problem at the source? I did notice all night long that when the broadcast switched to local commercials there was an audio dropout of a second or two.

If there is any major change tonight I'll post back.

Tom

I have a 6412 Series III that had a serious case of hiccups last night during the olympics. I tried this workaround, left it in 480P for 10 minutes, didn't see any hiccups, reverted to 1080i, and within a few minutes the hiccups were worse than ever! I'm trying 720p tonight. If it makes any difference, I am viewing on an InFocus 4805 projector at 92" diag. fed via component thru Pioneer VSX-1015TX.

Could my box be heading down the failure path or might this have been a problem at the source? I did notice all night long that when the broadcast switched to local commercials there was an audio dropout of a second or two.

If there is any major change tonight I'll post back.

Tom


The problems last night were with NBC, not with your box. It was doing that nationwide, I believe.

The problems last night were with NBC, not with your box. It was doing that nationwide, I believe. That doesn't explain why in 480p mode the problem wasn't there for him. Also, I watched NBC from 9:00-11:35pm (timeshifted of course) on my 6416 in 1080i mode and didn't see any hiccups so I don't think this was a nationwide transmission problem.

I suspect that Motorola firmware 12.27 on Phase III boxes is the real culprit so this problem is not only restricted to 6416 boxes but any Phase III box with 12.27 firmware. However, in Orange County thread only those with 6416 boxes were posting problems, don't remember anyone with 6412 III posting about the hiccup problem. Also, I think the output setting you choose and the TV you have obviously factor into the equation as well.

When i first got my PIII 6412 it had bad trouble on 1080i(stuttering), but it quit the next day, I just wrote it off to the box "breaking in" for lack of a better word. But I rewired some things and rebooted it a few weeks later and it did it again, but this time it only lasted an hour or so and no trouble since.

When i first got my PIII 6412 it had bad trouble on 1080i(stuttering), but it quit the next day, I just wrote it off to the box "breaking in" for lack of a better word. But I rewired some things and rebooted it a few weeks later and it did it again, but this time it only lasted an hour or so and no trouble since.

Mine too; stuttered on High def only and stopped a day later.

The problems last night were with NBC, not with your box. It was doing that nationwide, I believe.

I don't think so. Olympics on NBC have been perfect (except for the picture going black for a few seconds every once in a while) on my 6416. I have yet to see this stuttering issue everyone is talking about.

I don't think so. Olympics on NBC have been perfect (except for the picture going black for a few seconds every once in a while) on my 6416. I have yet to see this stuttering issue everyone is talking about.

As a matter of fact, a week ago watching the Olympics on UNIHD (Cox CT) it was stuttering (audio, pixelation, blank screen) every 15-20 seconds. I had to tune in to the analog broadcast to watch; this was the only HD channel to stutter on me, ever. I choked it up at the time to the broadcast.

Has anyone had trouble with closed captioning on the HD channels? They were working fine until several weeks ago: When you put it on an HD channel now, you get one, maybe two lines of text, then one line with a smaller box, then a line with an even SMALLER box, then maybe two letters, then nothing. I used to watch a lot in HD, but with no captions it's really ticking me off. The other, non-HD channels are fine.

Thanks

I haven't noticed any trouble on the 6416 in the front.

Can someone tell me what the "ConvertLOD Failed" in the debug log indicates? I've had some recordings that indicate "recording failure" and this is the only suspect line in the log.

Actually, if the discussion I read here was right (or if I'm remembering it correctly), most "Convert LOD Failed"s are benign. What was killing my records was "tuner timeout" or such- do you see any of those? (I still get a "Recording Error" regularly on Tuesdays at 11:00, even though it's a daily-taped show and is still on the schedule).

You get ConvertLOD Failed messages (LOD=Live Off Disk=Buffer) when the tuner that is chosen to record a show is already on the correct channel - i.e. no need to convert. If tuner changes channels then the Buffer must be reset or "converted". So that message can be ignored as far as failures.

Below is a picture of what looks to be best feature of Passport 2.7 IMO that someone was kind enough to send me. It shows Guide in Time mode with FAV button having been pressed. It puts a little symbol next to A indicating FAV mode and Guide only shows channels you have put in your Favorites list (only 2 in this example):
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/motoechofavguide.jpg

That is not from a cox customer, so the passport echo update for cox could have that feature, or not.

Andrew Wees














Below is a picture of what looks to be best feature of Passport 2.7 IMO that someone was kind enough to send me. It shows Guide in Time mode with FAV button having been pressed. It puts a little symbol next to A indicating FAV mode and Guide only shows channels you have put in your Favorites list (only 2 in this example):
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/motoechofavguide.jpg

That is not from a cox customer, so the passport echo update for cox could have that feature, or not.

Andrew Wees See a few posts above by Brett Miles in Cox KS market indicating this is indeed a feature of his 2.7 update so I'm sure it is there. Also noticed in Brett's post that you can get FULL show info from Recorded Show list which is also a great feature that was on my wishlist. Of course recent history suggests my market won't get the Passport update for months and perhaps ever due to TV Guide contract with Cox.

Yep, it looks just like that, except with the Cox and TV guide logo in the bottom left. I prefer the way the favorite button worked before, with it jumping to the channel in the guide rather than changing the guide format. It seems kind of redundant with the ability to remove skipped channels from the display. As it stands now, I have the guide set to not display skipped channels. Press fav. once and the display changes like the pic above, showing all favorites + the channel you were on when you pressed the button. Press fav again and it reverts to full guide. You have to go back into the menu to change back to the customized guide. It still needs some work, but I like the direction they're moving overall.

In other news, I discovered one more change this week. When you stop a recorded show and choose the delete option, it now gives you a second "are you sure?" window to finally delete. Some might find it a pain, but it will make it less likely to accidently delete a show when you stop in the middle.

... I discovered one more change this week. When you stop a recorded show and choose the delete option, it now gives you a second "are you sure?" window to finally delete. Some might find it a pain
My GF will love this! She's forever hitting "A" instead of "B".

See a few posts above by Brett Miles in Cox KS market indicating this is indeed a feature of his 2.7 update so I'm sure it is there. Also noticed in Brett's post that you can get FULL show info from Recorded Show list which is also a great feature that was on my wishlist. Of course recent history suggests my market won't get the Passport update for months and perhaps ever due to TV Guide contract with Cox.



Moyekj

Have you tried emailing the local cox office and see what they say?

Andrew Wees

Have you tried emailing the local cox office and see what they say? I suppose it's worth a shot - but most of the time the response is just a generic canned one that does not give you a definitive answer and certainly not a firm date.

Yup, that picture came from me...

the software version is 2.7.027 and Firmware 12/27

and I have Service Electric Cable TV. but I'm sure the Cox market upgrade will be the same.

-Derek-

Alan when you get time will you please post some more pictures?


Andrew Wees














QUOTE=alanisrox69]Yup, that picture came from me...

the software version is 2.7.027 and Firmware 12/27

and I have Service Electric Cable TV. but I'm sure the Cox market upgrade will be the same.

-Derek-[/QUOTE]

A couple of questions

I have wndows xp media center, so I might use the 6416 with how do I do it with the firewire connection?

Also when will the 6416 firewire drivers be able to capture more than an hour?

Andrew Wees







Try using these updated drivers I got from Tim Moore:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/firestb_012306.zip
(FF/REW on Phase III boxes still get killed more often than not but I've managed several 1 hour captures without issues)

I have wndows xp media center, so I might use the 6416 with how do I do it with the firewire connection?
Also when will the 6416 firewire drivers be able to capture more than an hour? MCE is covered at Tim Moore's site:
http://www.thegreenbutton.com/community/shwmessage.aspx?ForumID=26&MessageID=104152
There is no limitation of 1 hour on capture time - can be any amount of time you want. Problem is you will very likely find firewire captures screw up FF/REW at minimum on the 6416 to where you will have to reboot it all the time

On mine it does adjust the internal volume of the box. It isn't going to fix anyone's HD vs Analog programming volume difference, but you can adjust what it is putting out. You probably have to change it from Fixed output to variable output in the menu for the slider to do anything, however. That's how I have mine set anyway.



Will that work on the S/PDIF out as well. Im trying to get away from using my AVR remote to adjust the volume. I just want to use the DVR remote to adjust the system volume. Most of what I do is with the DVR remote anyway, I just can't adjust the system volume with it. If I can get this configured I will be a happy camper..

Andrew, I'm not sure what other pictures you want. LOL.

The Fav Guide thing is the only difference between 2.5 and 2.7, isn't it??

and yes, after capturing via Firewire, you need to reboot the box for FF/RW to work. and on my box if I don't reboot after capturing, all programs I go to playback, playback with major audio/video glitches. And also, any programs that I record after the capture won't playback if I don't reboot first. They show up in the List, however, when I go to play them back I immediately get the "A Stop and Erase" and "B Stop and Save", if I click "B Stop and Save", then try to replay the movie it's just a black screen with the timer bar at 0:00 with no playback. Even if I reboot the box, the program still won't play, FF and RW don't do anything. *shrug* Pretty annoying that I have to reboot the box after a capture to my computer...hopefully this will be fixed soon!

-Derek-

Also, I think Andrew was referring to 1 hour capture on FAT32 hard drives. I remember trying to capture from my camcorder on Windows 98 via Firewire and there was a 2GB AVI file limit, which was roughly an hour of video...

-Derek-

I was looking for a picture of the setings page. I wanted to see how the 1/4 screen video looks.

Andrew Wees

-Andrew, I'm not sure what other pictures you want. LOL.

The Fav Guide thing is the only difference between 2.5 and 2.7, isn't it??

and yes, after capturing via Firewire, you need to reboot the box for FF/RW to work. and on my box if I don't reboot after capturing, all programs I go to playback, playback with major audio/video glitches. And also, any programs that I record after the capture won't playback if I don't reboot first. They show up in the List, however, when I go to play them back I immediately get the "A Stop and Erase" and "B Stop and Save", if I click "B Stop and Save", then try to replay the movie it's just a black screen with the timer bar at 0:00 with no playback. Even if I reboot the box, the program still won't play, FF and RW don't do anything. *shrug* Pretty annoying that I have to reboot the box after a capture to my computer...hopefully this will be fixed soon!

-Derek-

How much hard drive space whould an hour show take up on a NTFS drive?

Andrew Wees

You can see the 1/4 video in the top right hand corner of the picture I already posted.

and size of a show is subjective in HDTV...could be 6gb, could be 10gb! All depends on the bitrate!

-Derek-

What the space for a SD recording?

Andrew Wees

Did 2.7 show the space meter in hours or GB avaliable. I imagine it would be in data or % given all this talk of differing bit rates and resolution. Can we get a foto?

What the space for a SD recording? Can also vary a lot so you can't get a specific size/hour number. Some sample captures of all different types are here but keep in mind those are for specific shows and can vary quite a lot:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Sample_Mpeg2_Transport_Stream

2.7 doesn't show what's left unless you access the hidden menu, by hitting Menu, Down, B, Up, B. then you get this which tells you what is used and what is left (I think this feature works in 2.5 too):
http://www.unprodigalalanis.com/passportechomenu.jpg

in this menu you can also get to different pages by hitting A and C (B is the default menu). But, I don't reccomend going into the A menu, it makes my box "think" for a minute, and then my box just reboots. Don't know why that happens...menu "A" has nothing useful anyway, just the files your box downloaded from the cable co.

-Derek-

How much hard drive space whould an hour show take up on a NTFS drive?

Andrew Wees

Andrew, the file would be basically the same size on NTFS as on FAT.

The difference is that the maximum size of a FAT drive is 2GB, so at 1 hour(2GB) a FAT drive is full.

I don't recall the partition size limit on NTFS but it's REALLY big.

Cheers,
Ray

Andrew, the file would be basically the same size on NTFS as on FAT.

The difference is that the maximum size of a FAT drive is 2GB, so at 1 hour(2GB) a FAT drive is full.

I don't recall the partition size limit on NTFS but it's REALLY big.

Cheers,
Ray

Isn't it filesize can't be over 2GB on FAT? not disk size?

Isn't it filesize can't be over 2GB on FAT? not disk size?

Its the partition that is maxed at 2GB...

The 2-GB partition limit is imposed by the maximum number of clusters and the largest cluster size supported by the FAT file system. The FAT file system is limited to 65,525 clusters. The size of a cluster must be a power of 2 and less than 65,536 bytes--this results in a maximum cluster size of 32,768 bytes (32K). Multiplying the maximum number of clusters (65,525) by the maximum cluster size (32,768) equals 2 GB.

That doesn't explain why in 480p mode the problem wasn't there for him. Also, I watched NBC from 9:00-11:35pm (timeshifted of course) on my 6416 in 1080i mode and didn't see any hiccups so I don't think this was a nationwide transmission problem.

I suspect that Motorola firmware 12.27 on Phase III boxes is the real culprit so this problem is not only restricted to 6416 boxes but any Phase III box with 12.27 firmware. However, in Orange County thread only those with 6416 boxes were posting problems, don't remember anyone with 6412 III posting about the hiccup problem. Also, I think the output setting you choose and the TV you have obviously factor into the equation as well.

FWIW, I haven't experienced any more stuttering on my 6412 series III box, just last Friday.
Has anyone else with the 6412 had it pop up? I'm hoping that's the last of it for me!

There's "FAT", and then there's "FAT32". I've made partitions as large as 20GB (and I think the limit's 32GB) on FAT32. I'd be highly surprised if anyone's using the older version, as even SD/CF cards > 256MB are using that now. I think the filesize limit on either FAT filesystem is 2GB, though.

That menu feature was in 2.5 not new. What if you look at the list of recorded programs any new graphics or features there?

Andrew Wees










2.7 doesn't show what's left unless you access the hidden menu, by hitting Menu, Down, B, Up, B. then you get this which tells you what is used and what is left (I think this feature works in 2.5 too)

in this menu you can also get to different pages by hitting A and C (B is the default menu). But, I don't reccomend going into the A menu, it makes my box "think" for a minute, and then my box just reboots. Don't know why that happens...menu "A" has nothing useful anyway, just the files your box downloaded from the cable co.

-Derek-

Andrew, when you quote a post with an image it's best to take out the .... portion so that posts don't keep repeating the image over and over.

That menu feature was in 2.5 not new. What if you look at the list of recorded programs any new graphics or fatures there?

Andrew Wees

I don't know what they looked like before really. My box was brand spanking new when I got it a few weeks ago, still shrinkwrapped with all the plastic tape over the buttons and stuff, came with the 2.7 software from day 1. My previous box was the single tuner 6208 with the TV Guide guide and menu system.

-Derek-

I found something else I hadn't seen before or mentioned.

When on a channel, if you hit Info, then Info again you get this screen, giving a description of the program with 3/4 video. Also, if you use the up and down arrows you can view the description of what's on the channel you go to (using the up and down arrow as channel up/down) but the video stays on the original channel that you hit Info, Info on.

Picture:
http://www.unprodigalalanis.com/infoinfo.jpg

Don't know if this was in 2.5, but just throwing it out there.

-Derek-

Not new already in 2.5.

Andrew Wees

Audio loss question:

Since there is no Discrete code for power on/off, I leave the 6412 III on all the time. At night, I turn the receiver and TV off and go to sleep. The next day, when I turn the tv/receiver on to watch TV the next day, I have NO AUDIO on the channel its been tuned to overnight (does not matter what channel I was last on, digital or analog). The only way to get audio back is to either change channels or power the 6412 off/on again.
This is NOT a receiver or TV issue, purely the 6412. Cox has been to the house and I have ZERO signal quality issues and the 6412 is on an UPS as well.
Is it worthwhile to swap the 6412 for another one or is this a known issue?

Try hitting "jump back"; this is a known software bug (a new box won't cure it).

Or try hiting live tv on the remote.

Andrew Wees


Try hitting "jump back"; this is a known software bug (a new box won't cure it).

Audio loss question:

Since there is no Discrete code for power on/off, I leave the 6412 III on all the time. At night, I turn the receiver and TV off and go to sleep. The next day, when I turn the tv/receiver on to watch TV the next day, I have NO AUDIO on the channel its been tuned to overnight (does not matter what channel I was last on, digital or analog). The only way to get audio back is to either change channels or power the 6412 off/on again.
This is NOT a receiver or TV issue, purely the 6412. Cox has been to the house and I have ZERO signal quality issues and the 6412 is on an UPS as well.
Is it worthwhile to swap the 6412 for another one or is this a known issue?


It is a known issue. Another thing that will sometimes happen is the picture will freeze for no apperent reason. It also has nothing to do with overnight. I lost audio a few times when I was home sick and watching/sleeping through a lot of TV. Chanel up, chanel down will also bring the audio back.

It is a known issue. Another thing that will sometimes happen is the picture will freeze for no apperent reason. It also has nothing to do with overnight. I lost audio a few times when I was home sick and watching/sleeping through a lot of TV. Chanel up, chanel down will also bring the audio back.
When recording an sd station and and hd station at the same time, while watching that HD station that is taping, the picture studders and skips like crazy. It isn't a one time thing either, and happens during the beginning of the show mostly. Not quite sure why. We also lose audio once and a while and will have to change the station back and forth to get it back. I know bugs and problems are unavoidable, but these problems really start to bother me after a while, and I wish they would be fixed.

When recording an sd station and and hd station at the same time, while watching that HD station that is taping, the picture studders and skips like crazy. It isn't a one time thing either, and happens during the beginning of the show mostly. Not quite sure why. We also lose audio once and a while and will have to change the station back and forth to get it back. I know bugs and problems are unavoidable, but these problems really start to bother me after a while, and I wish they would be fixed.
Got that for the first time on my 6412 III last night during Numbers; lots of stuttering and breakups in the first few miuntes. I had the box set for 1080. Changed it to 720, and the problem went away. Watched the recording this morning, and NO stuttering or breakups on the recording. Hm.

Got that for the first time on my 6412 III last night during Numbers; lots of stuttering and breakups in the first few miuntes. I had the box set for 1080. Changed it to 720, and the problem went away. Watched the recording this morning, and NO stuttering or breakups on the recording. Hm.
Mine is always on 720...

Phase III boxes with 12.27 firmware set at 1080i definately seem to have their share of issues. Luckily the workaround of switching to 480p & back to 1080i seems to work for me. Would be nice to get a firmware update to correct this problem though.

On the good front Subscription Bug is a DISTANT memory for me ever since Passport 2.5. In fact the only messed up recordings I have had were once due to EAS (Emergency Alert System) kicking in during recordings. The 6416 has become very reliable for recording what I schedule and I even don't find a need to backup every recording with my ReplayTVs anymore.

It is getting much better overall. Still some issues, but not anything like it used to be. I am watching mine more now that I am running audio and video to the bedroom tv over ethernet, and have a remote repeater to control it.

There's "FAT", and then there's "FAT32". I've made partitions as large as 20GB (and I think the limit's 32GB) on FAT32. I'd be highly surprised if anyone's using the older version, as even SD/CF cards > 256MB are using that now. I think the filesize limit on either FAT filesystem is 2GB, though.

FAT has a 2 GB partition size limit (and file size).

FAT32 has a 137 GB partition size limit. I have a 120 GB drive with FAT32, all one partition.

FAT32 has a 4GB filesize limit. For high def (1080i), I can only get about 35 minutes or so before I hit the 4GB limit. SD can go more though. I'm going to convert it to NTFS shortly to get rid of this 4GB limit.

Chris

With Tivo's recent announcement about the end of Lifetime service and increased monthly prices for "bundled" hardware + service all of a sudden the S3 doesn't look so attractive anymore (no doubt the montlhy prices for S3 will be quite a bit higher than S2):
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290514

I was hoping that by the time the switch to Iguide rolled around in our markets we would have a viable and reasonably priced alternative - reasonably priced just went out the window. All of a sudden Passport Echo looks that much better especially if I get 2.7 in my market.

I think we have to wait and see what the price will be if you buy the hardware vs. this hardware + service thing. If it works out to be a couple of bucks a month more than the Moto box, it will be well worth it to me just for the extra drive space.

The writing's been on the wall about lifetime service for sometime now, IMO. But I think the resale value of my lifetime service series 2 box just went up :)

Cox is still a better deal $14.90
$9.95 box rental/$4.95 dvr service a month versus


The price for a TiVo box and a one-year service commitment is $19.95 a
month or $224 prepaid
* The price for a TiVo box and a two-year service commitment is $18.95 a
month or $369 prepaid
* The price for a TiVo box and a three-year service commitment is $16.95 a
month or $469 prepaid


Andrew Wees












With Tivo's recent announcement about the end of Lifetime service and increased monthly prices for "bundled" hardware + service all of a sudden the S3 doesn't look so attractive anymore (no doubt the montlhy prices for S3 will be quite a bit higher than S2):
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290514

I was hoping that by the time the switch to Iguide rolled around in our markets we would have a viable and reasonably priced alternative - reasonably priced just went out the window. All of a sudden Passport Echo looks that much better especially if I get 2.7 in my market.

The prices quoted above are for the current S2 boxes. If those apply to S3 boxes (which I highly doubt) it may still be worthwhile, but most likely the S3 prices will be 30-50% higher. If you do the math on the above the 3-year deal is still much more attractive than monthly deal - problem is if something goes wrong with the box after 90-day warranty expires it's not at all clear what would happen - most likely you'd have to pay something to get box replaced or repaired.

MLB Extra Innings (On OC Cox) Will Cox offer the HD games, or this isn't possible since none of the MLB package channels are in HD?

MLB Extra Innings (On OC Cox) Will Cox offer the HD games, or this isn't possible since none of the MLB package channels are in HD?



I think the only baseball in HD will be on ESPN HD or local fox or INDemand HD and Indemand HD2.

Andrew Wees

FYI, looks like DIgital Simulcast rollout has begun in Orange County market. See my post in OC thread for more details:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7319190&&#post7319190

Question

Would a faulty hard drive in a 6412 cause pixalation ? I just power reset my dvr to reclaim some hard drive and it deleted the the rest of the saved programs and all the setup recordings.



The programs look like they are still there, but the list is blank.

What is considered good signals. I think omaha has techs who just want to blame the signal, but if it was bad signal wouldn't the dvr not even lock on to a signal?

Andrew Wees

My trustly old Phase two box bit the dust last night. I went to the Cox office and swapped it for a 6416. Seems pretty good. Still has Passport Echo 2.7.027, but I noticed it has firmware 12.31 on it, which seems to be newer than what is reported out there (although I could have missed it somewhere).

The box seems to work fine, maybe a little slower at channel changing when on HD channels than before. Anything anybody would like me to take a look at or try?

3 bugs with the DCT6416 (though with firmware 12.27 not sure about 12.31):
1. SD digital channels look worse than DCT6412 III or earlier models, especially if output is set to scale 480i to 1080i wide.
2. "Hiccup" problem when displaying 1080i channels and set to 1080i mode.
3. FF/REW stop working properly after firewire capture - reboot to fix it.

I believe bugs 1 and 2 are due to an inferior scaler that the DCT6416 must have compared to earlier boxes.
Bug 3 may have been resolved with newer firmware.

The only reason I live with these bugs with my DCT6416 is I don't watch/record SD channels with it, don't have the need much for firewire capture and have a workaround to the "hiccup" problem. The little extra disk space and the very quick FF speeds is what makes me hang on to it for now.

Moyekj. I've looked at the new digital channels available in the "800's" and right now I don't see a difference. I have the 6416 box. I can only hope that Cox isn't finished tweaking the channels as the "test No Data" has been there for months
I wonder how the digital channels are delivered to Cox, is it a digital feed from a satellite or does Cox just convert the analog signal to digital??

Moyekj. I've looked at the new digital channels available in the "800's" and right now I don't see a difference. I have the 6416 box. I can only hope that Cox isn't finished tweaking the channels as the "test No Data" has been there for months
I wonder how the digital channels are delivered to Cox, is it a digital feed from a satellite or does Cox just convert the analog signal to digital??
If you're only using the signal from the DVR box when you flip back and forth between the 800 channels and the equivalent analog channels, you won't see a difference. When you tune to, say, Food Network (56), the DVR is actually showing you the same signal that's on 856.

If you're only using the signal from the DVR box when you flip back and forth between the 800 channels and the equivalent analog channels, you won't see a difference. When you tune to, say, Food Network (56), the DVR is actually showing you the same signal that's on 856. Exactly, you have to run a coax feed directly to your TV RF input to compare the analog channel quality to what you see now via the DVR box. I'd be very surprised if anyone finds that viewing the channel via the DVR box is better than viewing the analog channel directly via the TV tuner (well I suppose some may have lousy cables, splits, amps which may introduce noise in the analog in which case could be things improved).

I'm a little confused. I do have a coax to the TV. How do I get it to tune a channel in the 800's?? The TV can only tune in the 100's If the signal to the DVR is the same on channel 56 and 856 what's the point??

I'm a little confused. I do have a coax to the TV. How do I get it to tune a channel in the 800's?? The TV can only tune in the 100's If the signal to the DVR is the same on channel 56 and 856 what's the point??
Using TV tuner when you tune to channel 56 you get the analog channel.
Using DCT box if you tune to channel 56 or 856 you get the digital channel.

Perhaps the source of confusion is cleared up if you keep in mind that with the DCT box the channel numbers really have nothing to do with the frequencies being tuned. There is an internal mapping mechanism which Cox can setup to be whatever they want that controls what tuner frequencies go with what channel numbers. In the example above 56 & 856 are being mapped to the same digital channel frequency. For your TV analog tuner however there is no such mapping and the channel you tune to corresponds to a specific frequency. Continuing the example channel 56 via your TV tuner tunes to the frequency at which the analog channel is being carried which is different than what the DCT box is being mapped to.

Note that Cox has control over the DCT box channel mapping mechanism. Before the simulcast channels were deployed when you tuned to 56 it was mapped to the analog 56. After deployment the mapping was changed by Cox and now it maps to a different frequency. If you have a CableCard for your TV it uses the same mapping mechanism as the DCT box.

Still confused, if I use the 6416 should 856 look better then 56? If they are the same then again, what's the point.

When viewed through the DCT6416 channels 856 & 56 are the *same* digital channel - they should look identical. If you bypass the 6416 by running the coax directly into your TV and tune to 56 it will look different since it's analog. (856 is just a placeholder during testing period and will likely go away shortly since 56 gets you the same thing).

Hello newbie here who happens to subscribes to Cox and uses the phase I box that I accquired at the end of 2004. I was just wondering if anyone else in Omaha who's on here happens to know if the phase III box is available for rental. Thanks in advance.

I just picked up a phase 3 dvr from the 340 N 76th location. Haven't hooked it up yet.

Andrew Wees






Hello newbie here who happens to subscribes to Cox and uses the phase I box that I accquired at the end of 2004. I was just wondering if anyone else in Omaha who's on here happens to know if the phase III box is available for rental. Thanks in advance.

Include with the phase 3 was the a new instruction booklet and it lists the folling.



Estimated Reording hours for
Model Drive Size Analog SD HDTV

6412 120GB 24 to 32 38 to 73 10 to 15
6416 160GB 35 to 43 55 to 100 14 to 21




Andrew Wees

I have no problems to report with my 6416 here in Omaha. We've had it about 2 months now.....

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning for just going to the 16 now instead of the phase III. Although I'm reading about bug that still need to be hammered out. I guess it's probably just something that happens when you first boot it up. I had problems the first night I had my phase II but it worked out eventually.

I tried to get the 6416 today at the 340 N 76th location, but they were out.

Andrew Wees

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning for just going to the 16 now instead of the phase III. Although I'm reading about bug that still need to be hammered out. I guess it's probably just something that happens when you first boot it up. I had problems the first night I had my phase II but it worked out eventually.

I have no problems to report with my 6416 here in Omaha. We've had it about 2 months now..... Lucky you, so you don't see any of these bugs I reported above (link below)?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7325757&&#post7325757

Our 6412 phase 3 in Omaha NE also has firmware 12.31.

Andrew Wees








Lucky you, so you don't see any of these bugs I reported above (link below)?
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7325757&&#post7325757

Interesting, so perhaps 12.31 killed off some of the bugs in 12.27... as usual Orange County is behind the times in firmware/software.

This is my first phase 3 box, so I have nothing to compare it to. It came with firmware 12.31.


I don't have an hdtv either, so I don't know if it fixed any HDTV problems either.


Andrew Wees










Interesting, so perhaps 12.31 killed off some of the bugs in 12.27... as usual Orange County is behind the times in firmware/software.

Andrew,

can you do some test captures to Windows XP and see if 12/31 fixes the problem where FF/RW stop working (or work VERY slow) after capturing?

-Derek-

Sorry I can't I do not have a firewire card in my pc.



Andrew Wees



Andrew,

can you do some test captures to Windows XP and see if 12/31 fixes the problem where FF/RW stop working (or work VERY slow) after capturing?

-Derek-

Has any cox market deployed the new passport echo 2.7 updates yet?

Andrew Wees

whats better for home theater on 6416 III fiber optic or fire wire my fiber works well wondering if there is a difference

Application server

Application server

I just noticed on the diagnostics for the phase 3 there is an actual entry in the Application Specific Information there is a server entry. I wounder why the earlier phase 1 and 2 6412 had no info? Anybody know what the server is for?

Andrew Wees

======== NEW SERVER DVR from COX for the whole House? =============

I just called a COX Rep in Omaha, Ne looking at switching from Dish to Cox.

They said there is a limit of ONE DVR per house right now as they are in short supply.

I said that was a NO GO as I have Two DVRs with Dish and the family cant live with out them.

The person then said that they are working on a One DVR solution that would stream recording to the reset of the house so you would need only one DVR.

Is this true, will it be this year? Would they use the current DVR to stream to a standard Digital box?

It sounds like he was talking abot the Whole house dvr solution from Motorola.


http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00.html

It sure would be cool to beable to watch the dvr programs throughtout the whole house.

It would need the onscreen guide for the non dvr boxes to support it, but it currently does not.

Also there is talk about cox switching to the Iguide which currently doesn't have whole house dvr software.

Andrew Wees










======== NEW SERVER DVR from COX for the whole House? =============

I just called a COX Rep in Omaha, Ne looking at switching from Dish to Cox.

They said there is a limit of ONE DVR per house right now as they are in short supply.

I said that was a NO GO as I have Two DVRs with Dish and the family cant live with out them.

The person then said that they are working on a One DVR solution that would stream recording to the reset of the house so you would need only one DVR.

Is this true, will it be this year? Would they use the current DVR to stream to a standard Digital box?

One DVR in the house would be nice. But we have enough trouble with storage space now. A one DVR solution would require multiple tuners (more than 2) and a significant increase in storage space before I would be interested.

It's not actually a whole house dvr, but the ability to watch shows recorded on the dvr on a non dvr. I don't know why Motorola called it that.

Andrew Wees








One DVR in the house would be nice. But we have enough trouble with storage space now. A one DVR solution would require multiple tuners (more than 2) and a significant increase in storage space before I would be interested.

That would make more sense, and actually be a great additional feature. But it seems like Cox is trying to sell it as a whole house DVR, discouraging multiple DVR's etc.

I would not be happy if they would not let us have multiple DVR's because they are in short supply, but then never add to the inventory because the DVR's can stream.

Depending where the cox location is they could be out or they could be waiting until they get more 6416 or 3412's.


Andrew Wees






That would make more sense, and actually be a great additional feature. But it seems like Cox is trying to sell it as a whole house DVR, discouraging multiple DVR's etc.

I would not be happy if they would not let us have multiple DVR's because they are in short supply, but then never add to the inventory because the DVR's can stream.

So there running low huh? I was thinking about calling them during the day to see about getting a 6416 as I wanna stay ahead of the game as much as I can.

Has Cox reduced the bandwidth on HD channels? Here in the CT market, I have noticed more motion related problems with the HD feed especially on CBS-HD during the NCAA games. Also, HD recordings did take up to 10GB per hour and now my DVR is reporting an average of 7GB per hour. Wonder if the two are related or I just have a flakey tuner in my 6412-III.

Andrew,

What is the 3412?

More trouble with the 6416. After a very quiet period my 6416 had some problems yesterday. First I had a zero length recording error and then even more troubling it only recorded 14 minutes of a one hour show. It was supposed to record a show from 5 to 6. In list it showed 5 to 5:14. When can I ever trust it to record a show with no errors? It's still a piece of unreliable junk.

More trouble with the 6416. After a very quiet period my 6416 had some problems yesterday. First I had a zero length recording error and then even more troubling it only recorded 14 minutes of a one hour show. It was supposed to record a show from 5 to 6. In list it showed 5 to 5:14. When can I ever trust it to record a show with no errors? It's still a piece of unreliable junk. Yesterday in Orange County there was another Emergency Alert System event at 5:14pm. As I discovered and posted about before EAS FORCE tunes both tuners to the EAS alert and cancels any ongoing recordings and what's worse does not resume recordings once EAS alert completes - this is totally ridiculous and affects all DVR models (not just the 6416). I also had a recording error (American Idol on FOXHD) last night and the DVR log reported it as error 14, whatever the heck that means. It wasn't subscription bug as when I tuned to FOXHD there was no subscription banner. Luckily I have my trusty ReplayTVs as backups for all recordings to fall back on (and they are not affected by EAS).

It's an all digital version of the 6412.

Andrew Wees



Andrew,

What is the 3412?

Yesterday in Orange County there was another Emergency Alert System event at 5:14pm. As I discovered and posted about before EAS FORCE tunes both tuners to the EAS alert and cancels any ongoing recordings and what's worse does not resume recordings once EAS alert completes - this is totally ridiculous and affects all DVR models (not just the 6416). I also had a recording error (American Idol on FOXHD) last night and the DVR log reported it as error 14, whatever the heck that means. It wasn't subscription bug as when I tuned to FOXHD there was no subscription banner. Luckily I have my trusty ReplayTVs as backups for all recordings to fall back on (and they are not affected by EAS).

I experienced the EAS problem once a couple weeks ago, but other than that, my 6416 has been extremely reliable. I went on vacation a few weeks ago and it recorded every single program I asked it to - 16-1/2 hours of HD without a single glitch. I'm not saying I trust it as much as my Tivo, but it has certainly come a long way and is much improved.

The software for the non dvr's needs to be developed first. SA dvr's and non dvr's already have that option, but not Motorola's.

Andrew Wees







That would make more sense, and actually be a great additional feature. But it seems like Cox is trying to sell it as a whole house DVR, discouraging multiple DVR's etc.

I would not be happy if they would not let us have multiple DVR's because they are in short supply, but then never add to the inventory because the DVR's can stream.

Thanks Moyekj for the EAS update. I wonder why it doesn't recover when the EAS is over. Last week I had to change a light fixture and tripped the breaker. The 6416 was on that circuit. I didn't remember that I was recording at the time. That night in List is showed that the recording was 4 to 4:19 then 4:26 to 5. In essence once power was restored recoding started up again.

I agree about the EAS problem. They ran a EAS test in Hampton Roads a couple weeks ago during PRIME TIME... It screwed me on both my DVRs... I dont mind the EAS I guess, but why not pick up recordings afterwards?

Either that or run EAS tests at 4am...

If you look at DVR log the day an EAS happens you will see it shows something to the effect that both tuners are forcibly tuned away from their current channels (if not recording then the buffers are changed), so to be able to do that obviously it has to cancel whatever is currently recording/buffering - that's one design flaw. The fact it then also doesn't resume recording after that (similar to power loss) that is clearly another design flaw too. The whole implementation is absurd. At bare minimum Passport software should indicate a recording error and give EAS as the reason, but somehow I think the implementation is tied at a lower Motorola firmware level that overrides whatever Passport wants to do.

And I don't think it's coincidence that before the most recent firmware/software updates I never had this problem. Somewhere along the line this "feature" was added probably to conform to some crazy FCC regulation.

I still wish there were a way to opt-out of ANY EAS notification!

Never gonna happen unfortunatly due to federal law.

DIrect TV and DIshnetwork do not have EAS and never drop recordings due to EAS, why should cable customers have to loose recordings? I would think you should be able to go to the menu and turn it off. We should start a petition.

Look what I just found on the FCC website.


The EAS is designed to provide the president with a means to address the American people in the event of a national emergency. Beginning in 1963, the president permitted state and local level emergency information to be transmitted using the system. Since then, local emergency management personnel have used the EAS structure to relay local emergency messages via broadcast stations, cable, and wireless cable systems. In October, 2005, the FCC expanded its rules to require EAS participation by digital television (DTV) broadcasters, digital cable television providers, digital broadcast radio, Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS), and DBS systems. These rules go into effect December 31, 2006, except for the DBS rules, which take effect on May 31, 2007. While participation in national EAS alerts is mandatory for these providers, state and local area EAS participation is currently voluntary.


ajwees41











DIrect TV and DIshnetwork do not have EAS and never drop recordings due to EAS, why should cable customers have to loose recordings? I would think you should be able to go to the menu and turn it off. We should start a petition.

Well I had some problems with my unit tonight and had to do a reboot by unplugging. Took forever before I called a rep at Cox. He said that something was up with the box having to go around the connection with the tv. So all in all took me an hour to get it rebooted. I'm thinking I just might go and replace the unit anyway despite the fact that we got it working. Also he said they were doing somekinda update on friday. Probably a firmware update maybe?

What model of box do you have?

ajwees41














Well I had some problems with my unit tonight and had to do a reboot by unplugging. Took forever before I called a rep at Cox. He said that something was up with the box having to go around the connection with the tv. So all in all took me an hour to get it rebooted. I'm thinking I just might go and replace the unit anyway despite the fact that we got it working. Also he said they were doing somekinda update on friday. Probably a firmware update maybe?

Looking at the box it said 6412/2000 so I'm thinking it's a phase II maybe?

According to this you have a phase one.

ajwees41



There are 3 known versions of the 6412, called the Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III.

Phase I is identified by the model number DCT-6412/2000 on a label on the bottom of the unit.

Phase II is identified by the model number DCT-6412/2005 on a label on the bottom of the unit.

Phase III is identified by:

6412 III logo on front of unit.
HDMI port on back of unit instead of the DVI port on older versions.
SATA port on back of unit.
(optional) RF output jack on back of unit.








Looking at the box it said 6412/2000 so I'm thinking it's a phase II maybe?

Boooo that's it I'm definatly getting a different box tommrow. Definatly won't be going back to the Cox office on 76th and Dodge.

Try and find out what the upgrade is for. According to an email I got there is no update on friday,so the person was wrong.

Try to get a 6412 phase 3 or 6416.

If you do get a 6416 please post if it has a rf out please.

ajwees41

Boooo that's it I'm definatly getting a different box tommrow. Definatly won't be going back to the Cox office on 76th and Dodge.

I'll try my best wish me luck haha. Gonna see if the folks at the office on 132nd St. will have a good phase 3 or 6416.

Ok so I got a phase III. The lady said they were out of the 6416 which kinda blows but is understandable especially if theres a demand for them and Motorolla can't make enough of em.

As for that update I didn't get no info although I'm thinking that it might have to do with the fact that Cox is adding a new channel on here soon. Basically another PBS channel in the digital tier.

As for that update I didn't get no info although I'm thinking that it might have to do with the fact that Cox is adding a new channel on here soon. Basically another PBS channel in the digital tier.

They are adding PBS kids and Fox Reality on the fourth of April.

Andrew Wees

... Beginning in 1963, the president permitted state and local level emergency information to be transmitted using the system.
Great- which means every time we get a WINTER! STORM! WARNING! (which for those not in California, is merely just a little stupid rain :rolleyes: ) we have to get these loud messages we can't even tune past.

state and local area EAS participation is currently voluntary
So, in other words, they don't even have to do this?!

Sucks to be you man dealing with just a little rain and have folk out there call it a winter storm warning.

Has anyone tried using the Windows XP Media Center DVD burning program to burn a dvd from the video captured through the fire wire?

ajwees41

FYI. Anyone looking forward to getting a DCT6416 don't bother, it has major picture quality problems for standard definition channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7393812&&#post7393812

I would have figured it's the same as a DCT6412/III with just a bigger hard drive but evidently there must be other differences as well that makes SD decoding real bad.

FYI. Anyone looking forward to getting a DCT6416 don't bother, it has major picture quality problems for standard definition channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7393812&&#post7393812

I would have figured it's the same as a DCT6412/III with just a bigger hard drive but evidently there must be other differences as well that makes SD decoding real bad.

I've got one, I can't say that I have any complaints about the quality. I think the menus are slightly slower, but other than that, it is mostly like the Phase II box I had, but has a larger hard drive.

The Cox Kansas market does seem to have a newer software and firmware revision on these than other markets however, so that may be making the difference.

Brian

My 6416 ain't as bad as all that, though.

What firmware revision do you guys have down there? As for my phase III box so far I've had no problems with it. Runs smoothly.

Here in Orange County, CA market all Phase III units (DCT6412 & DCT6416) are still on firmware 12.27. It's possible that things are improved with 12.31, but then why does a DCT6412/III with same firmware not have the same problem??

I guess it's also possible that there was a "bad" batch of DCT6416 units and I just happened to get 2 from that batch. In any case, at least for Orange County market I would not recommend risking it, or if you do be sure to keep your DCT6412/III for a little while just in case.

What firmware revision do you guys have down there? As for my phase III box so far I've had no problems with it. Runs smoothly.

Firmware 12.31, Passport Echo 2.7.027, though I'm assuming the firmware is the only thing that could possibly have to do with it, and maybe not even that, who knows...

You have the latest software and firmware. How is the Passport Echo 2.7? Any new features that really stand out?

ajwees41




Firmware 12.31, Passport Echo 2.7.027, though I'm assuming the firmware is the only thing that could possibly have to do with it, and maybe not even that, who knows...

Firmware 12.31, Passport Echo 2.7.027, though I'm assuming the firmware is the only thing that could possibly have to do with it, and maybe not even that, who knows...

Cool. I wonder when Omaha will get it.

You have the latest software and firmware. How is the Passport Echo 2.7? Any new features that really stand out?

ajwees41 It's already been covered earlier in this thread - look back a few pages. Best standout features are ability to filter out channels from guide and to display show details from the recorded list.

What I meant was did the Video Mosaic capability and the iSubscribe capability launch with the passport echo update? Also if you have a regular digital box and the Video Mosiac and isubscribe were part of the Passport echo update are they also avalable on the non dvr digital boxes?

ajwees41



It's already been covered earlier in this thread - look back a few pages. Best standout features are ability to filter out channels from guide and to display show details from the recorded list.

What I meant was did the Video Mosaic capability and the iSubscribe capability launch with the passport echo update? Also if you have a regular digital box and the Video Mosiac and isubscribe were part of the Passport echo update are they also avalable on the non dvr digital boxes?


They actually haven't managed to launch either of those features at this point. I'm assuming they are coming, but we haven't seen them so far.

I'm pretty sure the video mosaic is coming, as I was tuning around on my unencrypted QAM reciever a month ago or so and noticed the channels are out there for the video mosaic, but the box doesn't display them or use them yet. There was a news one, a kids one, and a sports one, I believe.

One more question about the 2.7 upgrade. If you had multiple recordings of the same show, but different episodes were they put into a folder?

ajwees41

One more question about the 2.7 upgrade. If you had multiple recordings of the same show, but different episodes were they put into a folder?

ajwees41

Nope..it does the same thing it has always done, it just lists them all in the order in which they were recorded. It does now show in bold the ones that you have not viewed, which is fairly handy.

According to this the Passport Echo 2.7





Passport Echo also provides customers with powerful new enhancements such as, sorting features in the IPG and improved management of saved programs on the DVR. For example, with Passport Echo, customers can watch all of the recorded episodes of a series in one sitting by grouping a show's episodes together in one folder and then selecting the new Auto Play feature. All of the episodes will then be played back-to-back.


It sounds like either cox or Aptiv left out the ability to group the shows.

ajwees41





Nope..it does the same thing it has always done, it just lists them all in the order in which they were recorded. It does now show in bold the ones that you have not viewed, which is fairly handy.

Anyone see anything new with there boxes these days?

FYI. Anyone looking forward to getting a DCT6416 don't bother, it has major picture quality problems for standard definition channels:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7393812&&#post7393812

I would have figured it's the same as a DCT6412/III with just a bigger hard drive but evidently there must be other differences as well that makes SD decoding real bad.


I have a 6416 box and the SD picture is EXCELLENT. The picture is better than what I saw from my Tivo.

I have a 6416 box and the SD picture is EXCELLENT. The picture is better than what I saw from my Tivo. I got my 3rd DCT6416 last night and exact same result: basketball game on SD digital channel recorded tonight was absolutely horrible. Same basketball game recorded from analog version of the channel with my ReplayTV looks MUCH better.

I'm taking the box tomorrow to the Cox store with the recording on it and will have them hook it up to one of their TVs to show them exactly how bad it looks.

EDIT: Wow, I decided to hook up the DCT6416 to the TV using composite (RCA) connections and the picture looks MUCH, MUCH better. So looks like the flaw with the DCT6416 is with SD channels going out the component or HDMI outputs.

Hmm what kinda tv are you using?

EUREKA - I finally figured it out! Seeing that composite connections looked OK I hooked the DCT6416 back up via component connections again. Looked horrible. So I started fiddling with TV settings. If I turn sharpness setting on the TV all the way down to 0 then finally the basketball game looks OK - all the ghosting around the edges and most artifacting goes away.

So it looks like the sharpness level put out by the DCT6416 via HDMI/component is much higher than previous models and you can compensate by adjusting your TV settings. So I think I can learn to live with it and will keep the DCT6416 now. It's not normal to have sharpness set to 0 and with other inputs (ReplayTV, DVD) it looks way too soft but that setting looks OK with the DCT6416.

Cool.

What firmware does the 6416 have?


ajwees41














EUREKA - I finally figured it out! Seeing that composite connections looked OK I hooked the DCT6416 back up via component connections again. Looked horrible. So I started fiddling with TV settings. If I turn sharpness setting on the TV all the way down to 0 then finally the basketball game looks OK - all the ghosting around the edges and most artifacting goes away.

So it looks like the sharpness level put out by the DCT6416 via HDMI/component is much higher than previous models and you can compensate by adjusting your TV settings. So I think I can learn to live with it and will keep the DCT6416 now. It's not normal to have sharpness set to 0 and with other inputs (ReplayTV, DVD) it looks way too soft but that setting looks OK with the DCT6416.

EUREKA - I finally figured it out! Seeing that composite connections looked OK I hooked the DCT6416 back up via component connections again. Looked horrible. So I started fiddling with TV settings. If I turn sharpness setting on the TV all the way down to 0 then finally the basketball game looks OK - all the ghosting around the edges and most artifacting goes away.

So it looks like the sharpness level put out by the DCT6416 via HDMI/component is much higher than previous models and you can compensate by adjusting your TV settings. So I think I can learn to live with it and will keep the DCT6416 now. It's not normal to have sharpness set to 0 and with other inputs (ReplayTV, DVD) it looks way too soft but that setting looks OK with the DCT6416.

Are you still having the artifacting? I am in Baton Rouge and traded in my phase 1 for a 6416 last week. I am seeing a lot of artifacting on some of my digital SD channels - especially the movie channels.

I like the idea of the larger hard drive, but the artifacting can ruin movie watching.

Thanks for everyones' great input on this thread!

ajwees41 in our Orange County market the 6416 has same firmware as 6412/III in our market - 12.27.

HDwannabee as I mentioned above the solution is when watching SD digital channels with the 6416 turn sharpness level to the lowest setting on your TV. The 6416 sharpness is way to high for component/hdmi outputs. For other inputs to my TV I have to set sharpness level back to normal levels for picture to look right but for DCT6416 SD digital all the way down to 0 to avoid ghosting + artifacting. What's weird is for analog or HD channels I also can put the sharpness setting back to normal on the TV and they look fine - only SD digital suffers from the oversharpness problem.

One more question about the 2.7 upgrade. If you had multiple recordings of the same show, but different episodes were they put into a folder?

ajwees41

I am in the Wichita, KS area and have firmware 12.31, Passport Echo 2.7.027 and it has the capability to group shows into folders on the 6416. Just go to the PVR list, and hit the A key when Saved Shows is highlighted and you get the option to group or list individually as well as disk space information.

Cool. I wish the guys up here would get 2.7 out for us. Maybe they'll do it soon.

I am in the Wichita, KS area and have firmware 12.31, Passport Echo 2.7.027 and it has the capability to group shows into folders on the 6416. Just go to the PVR list, and hit the A key when Saved Shows is highlighted and you get the option to group or list individually as well as disk space information.

Wow, I'd never figured that out. The grouping is definitely there, as is the disk space usage breakdown...man, I'm bad at finding new features on this box.

Brian

For those that would like the National Geographic Channel in HD on Cox

I found this out when I called there Marketing Department Friday.

National Geo HD is trying to get Cox cable to add right now, but Cox is telling them, that not very many of there customers want it and they they may add the MTV HD or FOOD HD channel instead (they have limited bandwidth).

So they setup a web site and a 1-877 number so you can vote to say you want it. Go to it the site and also call. They said they would be meeting again with Cox in 3 week again to show them charts and stats, that Yes there customers do want the HD channel.

The web page only reports how many HITS they got. The 1-877 records your Zip code and that you want the HD Channel. You can only vote once as all 1-800 numbers also record your caller id number even if its blocked.

Here is the link

http://getngc.cablesource.net/greeting.asp?page=cookie_redirect

It will then give you the 1-877 number to call and VOTE to get National Geo HD.

Here is the phone # info I got
=========================
NGCHD
National Geographic Channel High Definition (NGCHD) is not currently offered by Cox Communications. Please call 877-77NGCHD (877-776-4243) to request that NGCHD be added to your channel line-up!
=========================


Good luck everyone in your market.

Hmm MTV HD. I'm still in the age bracket that watches MTV. I wonder if they got BET HD yet?

Cool. I wish the guys up here would get 2.7 out for us. Maybe they'll do it soon.





On April 4th we are getting PBS Kids Sprout and Fox Reality, so I don't think we will see 2.7 until next week or even next year. LOL

ajwees41

Hmm I dunno I think we'll still get 2.7. Just a matter of them making sure it works fine for the equipment here.

I hope we get it soon, but I was saying that I don't think it will be on the 4th because we are getting the two new channels. Also I just noticed EOD is unavailable mayabe they are working on the server for updating passport DCT and Passport Echo 2.7.

We can only wish.

ajwees41












Hmm I dunno I think we'll still get 2.7. Just a matter of them making sure it works fine for the equipment here.

Hmm server down. Well I hope it is due to an upgrade I know that they are also adding adult on demand.

Hmm server down. Well I hope it is due to an upgrade I know that they are also adding adult on demand.

Where did you hear they were adding adult on demand?

When they added content to ondemand before the ondemand was still viewable.

ajwees41

On the guide. Check out the listing for channel 592. It'll tell you that channel 590 (hot choice) will be removed as of today for adult on demand effective tommrow.

I wounder why they don't use channel 202 for anoucements anymore? I wounder why any cox locations don't anouce software uprades, incase people set up recordings on the dvr, so they can set up a vcr if they have one.

ajwees41

Maybe they wanna surprise people maybe I dunno.

I could see not anoucing channel, but it would be nice if they anouced the software upgrades so we wouldn't loose any recordings.

ajwees41











Maybe they wanna surprise people maybe I dunno.

Maybe they don't wanna annouce due to the fact that they'd probably confuse alot of folk or worry some people.

Did anyone with the passport echo 2.7 update also get access to PassTime™ Games and Passport Weather?

ajwees41

FYI. Orange County, CA got firmware upgrade from 12.27->12.31 this morning (no Passport Echo update). Unknown at this point if there are any noticeable bug fixes.

You guys are just now getting 12.31? I'm surprised given you guys have simulcasting. Here I saw the new channels that we got although I'm still searching for the AOD they supposedly were suppose to add.

Connecticut is still on 12.27 and 2.5.40. Seams like we are the last to get everything :confused:

What is "AOD"? Is it Adult on Demand.

Speaking Digital on Demand . . . .

Does any one have the National Geo Graphic, MTV, Speed, and DIscover channel HD ON DEMAND like some have? Is it limited to just some parts of the citry or Head ends?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76341&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=810087&

MTV Networks - Programming from MTV's family of networks including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick Jr., VH1, CMT and BET
PBS Kids Sprout - Programming devoted to pre-schoolers and their care givers
G4 - Programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions
National Geographic Channel - Programming includes episodes from series', specials and a library of award-winning documentaries
Speed - Programming coming from the world of motor sports and for the auto enthusiast featured on Speed Channel
Fuse - Programming features hit music videos, artist interviews, concert footage and more
TV Guide SPOT - Programming includes a sampling, catch-up, and preview some of the most popular shows on television

Yes AOD is Adult on demand

Omaha has all of the ondemand listed in the pressrelease except for TVGuide spot ondemand.

ajwees41





What is "AOD"? Is it Adult on Demand.

Speaking Digital on Demand . . . .

Does any one have the National Geo Graphic, MTV, Speed, and DIscover channel HD ON DEMAND like some have? Is it limited to just some parts of the citry or Head ends?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=76341&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=810087&

MTV Networks - Programming from MTV's family of networks including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick Jr., VH1, CMT and BET
PBS Kids Sprout - Programming devoted to pre-schoolers and their care givers
G4 - Programming includes breaking video game industry news, trends, reviews, the hottest games and gear, celebrity interviews and insider opinions
National Geographic Channel - Programming includes episodes from series', specials and a library of award-winning documentaries
Speed - Programming coming from the world of motor sports and for the auto enthusiast featured on Speed Channel
Fuse - Programming features hit music videos, artist interviews, concert footage and more
TV Guide SPOT - Programming includes a sampling, catch-up, and preview some of the most popular shows on television

I thought I read that Omaha had all the On Demand.

Both by Brother and Grandma live in Sarpy County. Brother in Papillion, and Grandma in Bellvue.

They only have HBO, Cinmax, Starz, and some chezzy local on demand. None of the other on demand.

I am wondering if the Server at some Head End offices dont offer all of it or am I looking at the wrong channel 998?

An other Question.

My Brother got one of the 6412 phase III last month, it would not work till Cox came out and put an Amp on (he had too many TVs I guess).

Whats the best amp to get, one from Cox cable (about how much is it?)

OR
one of the Channel Vissions or Electrotine from the Store that some one mentioned here last year.

In Omaha we have all the ondemand except for tvgude spot. They might not have all the ondemand, but that is what our Omaha area has.

ajwees41



I thought I read that Omaha had all the On Demand.

Both by Brother and Grandma live in Sarpy County. Brother in Papillion, and Grandma in Bellvue.

They only have HBO, Cinmax, Starz, and some chezzy local on demand. None of the other on demand.

I am wondering if the Server at some Head End offices dont offer all of it or am I looking at the wrong channel 998?

I would have Cox come out and check you might beable to get a free one that will for sure work with cox.

ajwees41











An other Question.

My Brother got one of the 6412 phase III last month, it would not work till Cox came out and put an Amp on (he had too many TVs I guess).

Whats the best amp to get, one from Cox cable (about how much is it?)

OR
one of the Channel Vissions or Electrotine from the Store that some one mentioned here last year.

I don't like the sound of this too much. Cox is actively exploring Switched Digital Transmission:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DIZ/is_2005_Dec_5/ai_n15953833

Basically this is like VOD but for a neighborhood node instead of an individual house. It means bandwidth saving since only video for channels being watched in the neighborhood is delivered. So for cable companies this can mean big savings on bandwidth consumption.

The implication however is that this requires 2-way communication such that when you tune a channel with a STB it must communicate that back to the node to be sure to make that channel available (switch it in if necessary). This means that devices using current CableCard technology will be obsoleted since they are not 2-way. This also means, for example, the upcoming Tivo Series 3 would also not work.

I'm not sure how actively Cox is pursuing this and what the timeframe would be if they were to switch to it. Time Warner apparently is already testing this technology.

Why do you not like the sound of it? It sounds like a good thing.




ajwees41












I don't like the sound of this too much. Cox is actively exploring Switched Digital Transmission:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DIZ/is_2005_Dec_5/ai_n15953833

Basically this is like VOD but for a neighborhood node instead of an individual house. It means bandwidth saving since only video for channels being watched in the neighborhood is delivered. So for cable companies this can mean big savings on bandwidth consumption.

The implication however is that this requires 2-way communication such that when you tune a channel with a STB it must communicate that back to the node to be sure to make that channel available (switch it in if necessary). This means that devices using current CableCard technology will be obsoleted since they are not 2-way. This also means, for example, the upcoming Tivo Series 3 would also not work.

I'm not sure how actively Cox is pursuing this and what the timeframe would be if they were to switch to it. Time Warner apparently is already testing this technology.

Why do you not like the sound of it? It sounds like a good thing. The reason I don't like it is because if you have your own Set Top Box or CableCard tuner they will not work with this system and thus you are forced to use cable company set top box. Alternative DVRs such as the upcoming Tivo Series 3 for example would not work and so this is taking away choice for us as consumers. If this really takes off and is deployed then a whole new class of consumer set top boxes would have to be developed and we would have to replace anything we currently own with them. There's also a "Big Brother" kind of ring to this where cable company could keep track of exactly what you are watching and when.

This brings up some interesting discussion. With the cost of programming and the a la cart thing the feds want the cable companies to do, where is video delivery going to be in 5 years or 10 years. Will there even be TV channels? Every program could in theory be on VOD and you watch the programs you want to watch and nothing else. I think the first big test is going to be in 2008 or 2009 when the analog broadcast stations need to shut down. It will be interesting to see how the digital converter situation works out for the 18 some odd million analog only TVs that are currently out there. The only thing I know for sure is that it is an interesting time to be alive.

Firmware 12.31 Does not fix capture from firewire problems with ff or rewind.

Sorry


ajwees41

Haven't seen any change in behavior for 12.31 vs. 12.27. As mentioned the firewire problem is still there, the delay in menus coming up when you press Guide or List is still there, the freeze frame issue when you change channels is still there, diagnostic menus all look the same.

I haven't noticed the "hiccup" problem on 1080i channels since by box was rebooted with the new firmware and I haven't been employing the 1080i->480p->1080i workaround so perhaps that problem was fixed.

If they've got rid of the ANNOYING AS HELL sound-drops-for-no-good reason problem, that's good enough for me. I have a DVD recorder I use to make copies of shows and I have to scan thru the damn thing every time I make one 'cause I don't know if the DCTs had a dropout.

I'd be nice if they'd fixed the EMS recording-stop problem, too- but I know better'n to be that optimistic ....

It sounds like cox in Omaha will not get the passport echo 2.7 upgrade according to a post in the local cox community omaha newsgroups.

ajwees41

It sounds like cox in Omaha will not get the passport echo 2.7 upgrade according to a post in the local cox community omaha newsgroups. Was this inside info or a reason given? A quick search through Omaha thread didn't turn up anything so could you post a link? I thought transition to Iguide would take a while (about 1 year) and in the meantime we would get 2.7 especially as at least 1 Cox market is on 2.7. It could well be in some markets testing with 2.7 revealed problems and since the transition to Iguide is coming they don't want to have to spend time/effort to debug/fix it.

Was this inside info or a reason given? A quick search through Omaha thread didn't turn up anything so could you post a link? I thought transition to Iguide would take a while (about 1 year) and in the meantime we would get 2.7 especially as at least 1 Cox market is on 2.7.

It wasn't in the threads on avs forums, but the cox community forum available through outlookexpress.

ajwees41

No 2.7 for Omaha but IGuide next year. Kinda sucks cause I like my stuff to be up to date.

I think there is still a chance for Omaha to get 2.7. The person who posted the info said they talked to tech support plus he's a new poster. I have never seen him in ther before. ajwees41

New update for Passport Echo in the Omaha area. Email I recieved a few minutes ago.



They are testing it. There are bugs. Not all systems will get the software. One system will get something so they can test it out first.
Once most of the bugs are identified, then it will be rolled out to other locations.

Kansas has though, so I don't understand why the other cox locations don't have it.















I just recieved an email response that states they are doing testing and if all goes well we could see it in June.

ajwees41

What kind of bugs I wonder tho and how long would it take to get them out?

Maybe they are waiting until they can launch the zone channels with Itv with the passtort echo update. Just a guess.


Also maybe the EOD for Omaha doesn't work with the passport echo update.

ajwees41














What kind of bugs I wonder tho and how long would it take to get them out?

Maybe they are waiting until they can launch the zone channels with Itv with the passtort echo update. Just a guess.


Also maybe the EOD for Omaha doesn't work with the passport echo update.

ajwees41

I'm guessing that we have it here in Kansas because we are their test for 2.7. We don't yet have the zone channels or EOD here in KS at all yet...I keep hoping for EOD in particular, but it has yet to surface.

Brian

I wounder why Kansas was picked? They should have picked a location with EOD.

ajwees41













I'm guessing that we have it here in Kansas because we are their test for 2.7. We don't yet have the zone channels or EOD here in KS at all yet...I keep hoping for EOD in particular, but it has yet to surface.

Brian

http://www.cox.com/Omaha/Info/More_PDFs/pricenotification.pdf

If you go to the above website it says the passport echo 2.7 is coming early 2006, but June doesn't seem early to me.

ajwees41

More like mid-year.

I wounder why cox omaha would let the pamphlet out saying it's coming early 2006 then?

ajwees41

Easier way to make a dvd from SD captures

I captured a show off of the National Geographic channel (250) and all that was need to do to burn a dvd was to use Nerovison to convert the mpeg from the the 6412 to dvd.

ajwees41

6416 running FW 12.31 PE 2.7.027
After selecting a show that will air in the future, you are given the option to "View this channel now". After I select this option, it seems to go to some random channel.

If this is a bug, does anyone know where to report it or is this forum monitored by someone who has a contact to report it to?

More info on the bug. Rather than random, it appears like it is an offset error or something. If I select a show on channel 102 via "View this channel now", it went to channel 69. 103 -> 70, 104 ->71, etc. Between 102 and 69 is 7 channels on my lineup.

I really hate bugs.

Same results from anyone else or is it just my box?

Report to your local cox location.

ajwees41









More info on the bug. Rather than random, it appears like it is an offset error or something. If I select a show on channel 102 via "View this channel now", it went to channel 69. 103 -> 70, 104 ->71, etc. Between 102 and 69 is 7 channels on my lineup.

I really hate bugs.

Same results from anyone else or is it just my box?

Hope wedo get Iguide

The next version the the Iguide is going to have multidvr capability.

TV Guide Interactive is a leading developer of innovative navigation solutions for a wide variety of cable set tops and consumer electronic devices. i-Guide, digital cable’s most widely deployed interactive program guide, helps consumers quickly and easily navigate advanced features such as VOD, HDTV and DVR. Debuting this year is TV Guide’s OCAP-compatible guide solution and new features including integrated search and multi-room DVR.

ajwees41

Passport has multi-room capability as well and a long time ago VideooooGuy mentioned this was on the radar at some point but nothing ever happened - it's up to Cox to choose to deploy it. Last I heard Comcast cancelled their plans for multi-room DVR. So just having capability is a small piece of the puzzle.

Iguide has no 15-minute skip capability - you are stuck with FF/REW for navigating well into a show - for a 3+ hour recording that could mean minutes before you can get to where you want! This is the biggest limitation I know about but if you look at Comcast/Iguide thread there are plenty of other issues/limitations as well. Passport has actually become a pretty stable/reliable solution and I wish we could opt to keep it.

At one point I figured by the time Iguide was deployed that I could opt for Tivo Series 3 if I didn't like it, but with lifetime option taken away and the fact that the S3 won't work with Switched Digital Broadcast that Cox may be deploying that may not be a good option anymore.

Passport has multiroom, but not passport dct which the motorola non dvr's run on.

ajwees41

Passport has multiroom, but not passport dct which the motorola non dvr's run on.

ajwees41 http://blog.itvt.com/my_weblog/2006/02/aptiv_powers_mu.html

http://blog.itvt.com/my_weblog/2006/02/aptiv_powers_mu.html

Where does it say it runs on Motorola equipment

Multi-room digital cable set-top technology hardware transforms the cable wiring in a home into an RF network that (on an SA platform) allows for up to three basic digital set-tops (clients) in a home to access a central DVR set-top (server). Passport®, an IPG for basic digital cable set-tops, and Passport Echo™, an IPG for DVR digital cable set-tops, have always been complementary applications as they are similar in appearance and functionality, and are typically deployed together into digital cable homes with multiple set-tops. Now with the new Multi-Room DVR application, the two IPGs can operate directly together to offer customers the ability to view their stored programming anywhere within the cable home network.

Passport runs on
Explorer™ 2000, 2010, 2100, 2200, 2000HD, 3100, 3200, 3250, 3100HD, 3250HD


Passport DCT runs on DCT700, DCT1000, DCT1200, DCT1700, DCT1800, DCT2000, DCT2500, DCT5100, DCT6200

ajwees41

*** COX in OMAHA LIMIT OF ONE DVR PER HOUSE WORK A ROUND***

I know this has been asked before, but I want to make sure before I switch to cable.

In my Cox market we do not have the Coax Out on the 6412s.

I want to run a feed to the bedroom. If I have the DVR connected to my HDTV using the componet (RED GREEN AND BLUE0

is the Yellow Video OUT also active at the exact same time so I can run it to the bedroom?

Also I have a IR rabit repeater, will cox rent me a 2nd Remote or can I buy it?

I want to watch recorded show in the bed room sometimes and in OMaha they have a limit of ONE DVR per house right now.

You do realize even if that does work you will be watching watever the other output is showing. It's not like satelite were they can have dvr functions in two rooms.

The 6416's have the rfout I am told.

ajwees41

Yes we would watch only one TV at a time so this would be perfect. Just need to make sure they are all active.

I know on the Direct TV HD DVR, if Componet is connected to the TV some of the other ports shut off.

The Dishnetwork HD DVR has all active all the time.

Has anyone tied it with Cox? One way to test would be to put the Yellow video into the back of your TV say on TV2 or 3 or something.

Yes we would watch only one TV at a time so this would be perfect. Just need to make sure they are all active.

I know on the Direct TV HD DVR, if Componet is connected to the TV some of the other ports shut off.

The Dishnetwork HD DVR has all active all the time.

Has anyone tied it with Cox? One way to test would be to put the Yellow video into the back of your TV say on TV2 or 3 or something.

That's how it works with my 6416. I've got an HDTV connected to the component outputs, and a Slingbox connected to the S-Video. I haven't tried the other output, but I imagine it will work as well.

Interesting about the one DVR per house rule...we have two here in KS at our apartment.

EDIT: I should say, it also does work with a Phase 2 6412, although it did not output the graphics overlays (over svideo) when viewing HD channels. The 6416 does output them, however.

DCT6416 in Orange County market don't have RF output. There is no 1 DVR/household restriction here either - I even had 2 DCT6416 in my house for a while.
Yes all DCT outputs are always active at the same time. HDMI/DVI, component, S-video, composite, 2*firewire.

I don't have any other input on my tv to try. I would like to know also if it works.

ajwees41

The Cox Omaha Market has a big shortage on DVRs.

I called cox again, each time they say limit one DVR per house, but the good news is there ONE DVR sharing over in House Coax to regular cable boxes solution will be out soon.

Maybe Cox is setting Omaha up to be the test market for this? Creating a shortage on purpose? DOnt know for sure, I would take it as a rumor, the CSRs dont seem to have a clue as to what there talking about.



PS You guys that do have more than ONE DVR is there a DVR charge per Box or just one per house like with Direct TV? Omaha has the DVR at $14.90 but there price sheet breaks it down as a DVR cost plus the HD/DVR rental fee for a total of $14.90

It might be soon for the one dvr to regualar box, but the software needs to written for the non dvr's The SA's have software support, not the Motorola's.

ajwees41




I would say it is $14.90 for each just a guess.

ajwees41

I have 2 HD DVRs... it is 14.90 per DVR and 1.49 for additional Digital output ports (Basically a scammed fee) Who gives a crap if you need digital service in every coax jack in your house or in none. I suppose they are saying they had to amp up the signal at the box, but I highly doubr it, because had I not ordered the 2 DVRs they would never know I had 2 HD TVs (with digital service)

When I had a second box for a while the extra charges were:
box rental charge: $9.90
DVR service charge: $5
Extra digital service: $1.50
So DVR charge is per box at least in our market.

What are the charges for an extra regular digital box in you locations? Omaha is $4.75 for each regular digital extra outlet includes box rental.

ajwees41

[QUOTE=ScottChez]The Cox Omaha Market has a big shortage on DVRs.

I called cox again, each time they say limit one DVR per house, but the good news is there ONE DVR sharing over in House Coax to regular cable boxes solution will be out soon.

Soon as in next year.

ajwees41

Where did you hear that?

ajwees41

It's one dvr per house right now because of a shortage according to a email I got this morning.

ajwees41

Passport Echo appears to have a very nice way of handling schedule overlaps. For cases when there are more than 2 recordings set to record at the same time it will make partial recordings as soon as possible of shows that initially lost out in recording priority. For example:

Show 1 from 8:00-9:01pm
Show 2 from 8:00-10:00pm
Show 3 from 9:00-10:00pm

In the above scenario one may expect that Show 3 would never record because at it's scheduled start time both tuners are busy recording Show 1&2. However, from what I have seen recently Show 3 actually does start recording as soon as Show 1 completes. Furthermore the Scheduled Recordings list highlights the start time of Show 3 as a different color indicating it did not start on time.

Very nice feature that my ReplayTVs don't have and I believe only very recently did Tivo add something similar.

(Bet you Iguide doesn't have this :( )

Early one some where saying that Standard Deg SD recordings looked bad on this box. Did they fix that with a software upgrade or do you have to wait for your local Cox city to convert to digital simulcast?

I dont want my Sci Fi recordings to look bad.

What model do you currently have the phase 3 6412's have a better analog tuner than the phase 1 and 2 6412's.

ajwees41












Early one some where saying that Standard Deg SD recordings looked bad on this box. Did they fix that with a software upgrade or do you have to wait for your local Cox city to convert to digital simulcast?

I dont want my Sci Fi recordings to look bad.

Early one some where saying that Standard Deg SD recordings looked bad on this box. Did they fix that with a software upgrade or do you have to wait for your local Cox city to convert to digital simulcast?

I dont want my Sci Fi recordings to look bad.

I believe that is the 6416 that people are referring to with the analog problems. I have one, and I can't say I have a single complaint about the analog quality on my box. I'd love for Cox to get analog/digital simulcast here, but the analog codec on the 6416 gets no complaints from me.

Some markets do have an older firmware and an older version of Passport. The firmware may make a difference, I doubt the Passport version has anything to do with it.

After a relatively quiet period my 6146 acted up this weekend. I recorded Elizabeth I on HBO HD Saturday night. It was unwatchable with pixelation and sound drop outs every 10 to 15 seconds. As an experiment I recorded the Sopranos at 2 different times and on 2 different channels. On channel 200 (digital) everything was OK. On channel 700 (HD) the problem reoccurred. Is this the 1080i wide problem I've read about? I changed the output to 780 from 1080 but after the recording was already saved and it didn't make any difference when played

After a relatively quiet period my 6146 acted up this weekend. I recorded Elizabeth I on HBO HD Saturday night. It was unwatchable with pixelation and sound drop outs every 10 to 15 seconds. As an experiment I recorded the Sopranos at 2 different times and on 2 different channels. On channel 200 (digital) everything was OK. On channel 700 (HD) the problem reoccurred. Is this the 1080i wide problem I've read about? I changed the output to 780 from 1080 but after the recording was already saved and it didn't make any difference when played
I'm assuming you're in Orange County in which case, there have been many many issues over the past two days or so with HBO HD and TNT HD with massive artifacting, video breakups and audio dropouts. Digital SD channels and the other HD ones seem to be just fine. So, not an issue with the output of the box but a signal issue with Cox for a bunch of people.

I alo had similiar problems with Cox Orange County channel 707 with my 6412 the last couple of days.

CT just got 12.31... Anyone know what's fixed?

CT just got 12.31... Anyone know what's fixed? Compared to 12.27 nothing that I have noticed... At least it didn't seem to break anything compared to 12.27 though.

Looks like with 12.31 firmware User Settings Menu has some new settings:

User Settings Menu (Power Off, Menu, Menu):
ADDITIONAL HDMI SETTINGS >>>
HDMI/DVI MODE: *DVI, HDMI
COLOR SPACE: *RGB, YCC 4:4:4
AUDIO OUTPUT: *AUTO, L-PCM, PASS THROUGH

*default value

I alo had similiar problems with Cox Orange County channel 707 with my 6412 the last couple of days.

I'm in San Pedro, and my recording of Elizabeth 1 in HD was poor as well, with lots of sound dropouts and artifacts. I am new to cable (just quit D* over the fees for their HD DVRs), and I wasn't sure if it was the DVR or the cable reception. Anyone else in the PV Cox service area have problems?

I'm in San Pedro, and my recording of Elizabeth 1 in HD was poor as well, with lots of sound dropouts and artifacts. I am new to cable (just quit D* over the fees for their HD DVRs), and I wasn't sure if it was the DVR or the cable reception. Anyone else in the PV Cox service area have problems?

I'm in OC, and I saw that problem on Big Love sunday night. Haven't had that for a long time, so I think it's the cable feed, not the box.

My Sunday night recording of the Sopranos on 700 was so bad in Irvine I re-recorded tonight's midnight rebroadcast. Constant dropouts and pixellation.

I got the DCT6416 III a couple of months ago and it is working fine. I would like to use the SATA port to add a drive for greater recording capacity. Does anyone know if this is working or how to try to see if it is implemented? Thanks.

I got the DCT6416 III a couple of months ago and it is working fine. I would like to use the SATA port to add a drive for greater recording capacity. Does anyone know if this is working or how to try to see if it is implemented? Thanks.



So far I don't think any cable company has enabled the sata port.

ajwees41

So far I don't think any cable company has enabled the sata port.

ajwees41 For Motorola DVRs AFAIK that is correct. Time Warner SA 8300HD w/ SARA software have had external SATA for quite a while now:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=516559

Some semi-interesting listening - various podcasts from Cox here:
http://www.digitalstraighttalk.com/podcasts/

Podcast from Cox CTO Chris Bowick:
http://www.digitalstraighttalk.com/podcasts/Bowick_pod.mp3

Bandwidth saving schemes to be employed over the next few years (some of it happening already):
1. 64->256Q
2. Premium Analog->Digital
3. VOD service group reductions: several nodes to 1 or 2
4. Advanced multiplexing: more SD & HD together
5. HD VOD using mpeg4
6. Reclaim analog channels
7. 750->860MHz bandwidth upgrades
8. Docsis 2.0
9. Switched Digital Broadcasting <<< This one scares me the most as I've mentioned before since it obsoletes CableCard or unencrypted QAM tuners you have today and makes Tivo S3 worthless.

Does anyone know if there is a 30 Second skip tweak for this box?

I tried to do a search but could not find the answer.

Does anyone know if there is a 30 Second skip tweak for this box?

I tried to do a search but could not find the answer. Nope, Pioneer Passport Echo intentionally disabled that feature. There is a 15 min skip ahead and skip back similar to Tivo skip to tick functionality.

Hello everybody, just found this thread. I recently switched from DirecTV to Cox cable and I have a Moto 6416 III hooked up thru components to my Toshiba 42hp95 plasma.

So far, knock on wood, I have not had any problems with my current box. But this is the third 6416 I have had, the first two died rather quickly. The first one the installer brought when they came to connect me never worked, it got stuck during the initial download and it never outputted a picture. The second one they brought later that night lasted about 1 week. Then the picture on the HD channels started breaking up and stuttering so back it went.

I have not had any time to learn tweaks in this box since I have been concentrating on some problems between the plasma and my upconverting DVD player but I was intrigued by something I read in one of the previous pages. When I asked Cox they told me that here in OC I could only have one DVR but I've read that some of you got around that. Does anyone know what the "real" policy is? I might be interested in getting another DVR for the bedroom when I find a display for it but I would like it to be HD-DVR.

I did have another question: has anyone compared the video quality between the HDMI and the component outputs?

Thanks,
MC

Just go into the Quail Hill office; you'll get another one.

I did have another question: has anyone compared the video quality between the HDMI and the component outputs? It's subjective... try both and see which you like. In theory HDMI should be better since it is digital connection versus component being analog and hence subject to interference. In practice however I find both pretty good, though with my DCT6416 the component connection is a little darker than HDMI connection by default, but with TV adjustments both can be made to look the same.

In case you didn't find it already, 3rd link in my sig below has a bunch of info on the DCT6412 w/ Passport Echo for someone not familiar with it.

Does anyone know of another software program to capture the firewire stream other than Capdhs?

ajwees41

Does anyone know of another software program to capture the firewire stream other than Capdhs? dctrecord (http://home.comcast.net/~brzez2/dctrecord.html)

I was thinking maybe it's either the 6412 drivers or the software that we use to capture the stream that is causing the ff/rw bug.

ajwees41

New functionality over night here in Kansas. Menu brings up "Quick Menu" with Weather, Games, Kids Zone, News Zone and Sports Zone. The zone options has several channels on one screen. Does everyone else have this already?

New functionality over night here in Kansas. Menu brings up "Quick Menu" with Weather, Games, Kids Zone, News Zone and Sports Zone. The zone options has several channels on one screen. Does everyone else have this already?

We noticed the same thing yesterday...not a bad feature. I did notice, they don't appear to be using local video feeds on the mosiac channels. The weather channel tile showed the national feed, with no local on the 8's for us.

Nice feature though.

Cool, nice to know Cox is continuing to expand on Passport, even though they have set its excecution date. Hopefully OC will get some of the love too.

Good news on the 1 DVR per House Limit.

I said I would switch from Dish to Cox if I could get Two DVRs like I have with Dish.
3 CSRs said no. I found an installer who gets a commission for refering me. He contacted his installer Manager and he granted me my request for Two DVRs.

They install Tuesday.

I guess if you need 2, you should tell them your going back to Dish or Direct TV as they allow for more than one.

Cox has a big shortage of these right now, so they say. I was at my local Mega electronics store (Nebraska furtinure mart) and they had a pallet of the Phase III DVRs stacked up on the sales floor.


PS
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Will I need to by an Amp for Two DVRs and also Two regular cable ready TVs and one cable modem for a total of 5 outlets?

Does anyone know if it's possible for Cox to offer XM radio like the way they provide FM radio channels? Also, is there an XM thread here as well?

I HOPE they don't! I have XM in the car, but Music Choice is 110% NO TALK. I started off with Sirius 'cause I was trying to get away from all the talk and commercials on FM, and they weren't much better, with yappy DJs who wouldn't shut up and talked over songs and commercials (thinly-disguised as 5-60 second promos) for the same damn channel you were listening to. I quickly dropped 'em and went to XM, which is better, but still more talk than Music Choice. I was really disappointed when I heard DTV dropped MC for one of the satellite stations.

... but every genre is well-represented on MC- is there something you could only hear on XM?

kcrudup - i was think more about the sports channels on xm than the music stuff. i have such a horrible time getting am reception (in fact cannot get it) i thought getting xm through cable might help.

I've been a happy user of 2 DCT6412s for a while. I just had an issue with one that wouldn't respond to the spike and stopped reciving guide data and time. So the replacement was the new 6416 series 3. Everything seems fine except for one thing. When changing channels, the screen goes black (except for the info bar), flashes the last frame of the previous channel, then switches to the channel selected.

Is this standard for this series of units, or should I call it in defective and get a new one?

Ah. I'll bet that then becomes a licensing thing (since XM/Sirius corp. pay extra for that, as opposed to their DJs, which come "in house"). The 3rd-party content providers would want more $$ for recasting onto cable.

When changing channels, the screen goes black (except for the info bar), flashes the last frame of the previous channel, then switches to the channel selected.
Is this standard for this series of units, or should I call it in defective and get a new one? Yes, all the phase III units (later model DCT6412 + DCT6416) since receiving firmware 12.27 or later have this "feature".

Yes, all the phase III units (later model DCT6412 + DCT6416) since receiving firmware 12.27 or later have this "feature".

Moyekj,
Are you sure you meant it this way??? When I received 12.31 it corrected this "feature". Yes, there definitely is a pause, but at least it doesn't come back and flash the last frame of the previous channel.

Moyekj,
Are you sure you meant it this way??? When I received 12.31 it corrected this "feature". Yes, there definitely is a pause, but at least it doesn't come back and flash the last frame of the previous channel. Interesting. I know the problem was there in 12.27. For 12.31 we only received it in my area fairly recently and since I hardly ever channel surf I guess I hadn't noticed any change. I'll definately give it a try tonight and confirm... thanks for the heads up. I've been looking for any meaningful changes for 12.31 compared to 12.27 so I guess this must be one of them in addition to the ADDITIONAL HDMI SETTINGS user options menu.

Moyekj,
Are you sure you meant it this way??? When I received 12.31 it corrected this "feature". Yes, there definitely is a pause, but at least it doesn't come back and flash the last frame of the previous channel. Confirmed that 12.31 fixed that problem for my DCT6416 as well.

Well hopefully Hampton Raods, VA will be updating sometime soon. I confirmed last night that I'm on 12.27. I'll have to see about repacing my 6412 downstairs with a 6416 after we update versions. Then I'll have to decide if I want to go back to Componet cables or buy a HDMI cable to replace the DVI->HDMI I'm curently using.