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?


Omaha doesn't have it yet.

We don't have the passport echo 2.7 update yet either. It's supposed to be updated end of May early June.

I wounder how cox gets the updates? Do they download from the internet or get the firmware and guide updates on a cd/dvd. They are also still saying the 2.7 software has bugs, but if other cox locatins are using it does it mean thier 2.7 software is buggy also?

ajwees41

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.


I am in Hampton Roads (Yorktown) and I received the update Sunday night (4/30). My system reports 12.31

I am in Hampton Roads (Yorktown) and I received the update Sunday night (4/30). My system reports 12.31

Hmmm, I'm in Va Beach myself. That's promissing, though I still had the flashes last night while watching tv.

Omaha doesn't have it yet.

We don't have the passport echo 2.7 update yet either. It's supposed to be updated end of May early June.

I wounder how cox gets the updates? Do they download from the internet or get the firmware and guide updates on a cd/dvd. They are also still saying the 2.7 software has bugs, but if other cox locatins are using it does it mean thier 2.7 software is buggy also?

ajwees41

Well any software will have bugs. I think there just trying to figure out how to get rid of at least the most serious bugs before they send it out.

Well any software will have bugs. I think there just trying to figure out how to get rid of at least the most serious bugs before they send it out.


If the software has bugs why did Kansas and the other cox locations that have the 2.7 update decide to install it?


If they did not find bugs why did Omaha get bugs with the 2.7 update?

ajwees41

Not sure but it could be due to what Omaha is working with as far as existing equipment and other software maybe?

If the software has bugs why did Kansas and the other cox locations that have the 2.7 update decide to install it?

It's my understanding they wanted to do a soft rollout of the new features and see the reaction before they went systemwide.

Howdy group - Hope this is the right place to post, do advise if not.....

I’ve had a Tivo since 1999, and about a month ago got fed up with D* and went with Cox and got a pair of Moto 6416’s. I figured, “They can’t be -that- bad.”

They are. Or are starting to seem like it, and I’m hoping some of you might be able to shed some light on my troubles. Most of my problems are with Series recordings.

1) Is it just me, or does Passport not look for (or find?) the flags in the guide that tell it whether the show is new or repeat? This week’s American Idol, for example. I have it set to record First Run Only, and it didn’t record it, nor schedule the one on Wednesday.

2) Should it be recording only -half- of an episode? Here’s what I think it does: Say I have three different shows in a Series I created, A, B, & C, and they’re also listed in that priority order in the Series options. So if A is on from 7-7:30, B is also at 7-7:30, and C is on from 7-8, then it records A, B, and the last half of C.(!). Is this by design? If so, who would want this?

3) I love Family Guy. It’s on what seem like ten different channels on any given day. I don’t mind repeats being recorded, but if the same episode is on three times in a day, it will record all three. Same thing if it’s on prime time, like NBC, it will record the NBC SD version, along with the NBC HD version. This is ridiculous.

Add in the fact that it seems to have about a 4GB HD inside.....

So, please tell me I’m doing something wrong. That I’m slow. That I’m an idiot. I like it. Please. But is this really what the Fake-O crowd is used to? I’m not trying to troll, I just can’t believe that this is acceptable. I know the Tivo Series 3 are somewhere around the corner, but sheesh.....

What don’t I understand?

1) Is it just me, or does Passport not look for (or find?) the flags in the guide that tell it whether the show is new or repeat? This week’s American Idol, for example. I have it set to record First Run Only, and it didn’t record it, nor schedule the one on Wednesday.


I've had off and on problems with this. I don't think it's passport, I think it's Cox providing the guide.


2) Should it be recording only -half- of an episode? Here’s what I think it does: Say I have three different shows in a Series I created, A, B, & C, and they’re also listed in that priority order in the Series options. So if A is on from 7-7:30, B is also at 7-7:30, and C is on from 7-8, then it records A, B, and the last half of C.(!). Is this by design? If so, who would want this?

I can understand the desire not to have this situation. But take my situation of last night. Shows A, B, C, & D again in that priority. A: 9:00 - 10:02, B: 9:00 - 10:00, C: 10:00 - 10:30, and D: 10:00 - 11:00. So D looses two minutes from the begining. So while I don't like that I'm missing 2 minutes of show, would I rather have 96% of the show or 0%?


3) I love Family Guy. It’s on what seem like ten different channels on any given day. I don’t mind repeats being recorded, but if the same episode is on three times in a day, it will record all three. Same thing if it’s on prime time, like NBC, it will record the NBC SD version, along with the NBC HD version. This is ridiculous.


I love Good Eats (Show C above), but the way Food Netowrk repeats shows could drive one to drink. Passport has a feature that lets you restrict a series recording to both a Specific channel and/or a specific time slot. So I have 2 programs for GE, one that records First Runs at 10p and another that records repeats at 11p. So I get a good supply of shows w/o a hefty chunk of repeats. Not I also tell it to only keep 5 shows as to not overwhelm the HD space.


Add in the fact that it seems to have about a 4GB HD inside.....


Series 3 actually has 160GB, which is a good bit of SD television, but don't expect to record too much HD on it.


So, please tell me I’m doing something wrong.

I'm not sure that you're doing anything worng, I think you're just trying to do what you did on TiVo, and this is familiar enough, but just enough different to drive you nuts :) Hopefully I've been able to help.

filthyc, I think jditoro3 answered most of your questions. The Passport Echo software has really come a long way from it's humble beginnings - consider yourself lucky to not be around in the early days. As with any DVR software when you switch to a different one it takes some getting used to and you can't do things quite the same way you were used to.

But Passport Echo starting with software version 2.5.x has been very, very stable and reliable for me. I used to have to backup every recording on my ReplayTVs but that is no longer necessary. Unfortunately Cox recently signed a deal with TV Guide and there is a good chance that towards the end of the year they will be switching to Iguide software and away from Passport. If you think Passport is bad, wait until you have to deal with Iguide which, from most accounts I've read and from the Comcast AVS forum thread is still filled with problems and limitations.

I was anxiously waiting for Tivo S3 as well, but now Cox may be transitioning towards Switched Digital Video which requires 2-way communications for tuning channels and which any current CableCard device (including S3) can't do. For more on that visit the Tivo forums where it has been discussed at length. So chances of S3 working well with Cox cable for the next few years are slim.

So chances of S3 working well with Cox cable for the next few years are slim.

GACK! For crying out loud. If this turns out to be true.....sigh.

Well, that is a problem for me. I love(d) my Tivo. I miss my Tivo. Sure, the Moto is a different beast, but what some might deem as 'different', I consider flawed. I mean, Tivo freed me from the TV, oddly enough. I spend more time now just doublechecking the Moto to make sure it does what I expect it to.

Cox. Whaddya do. I guess I'm glad I left my dish mounted to the house. :(

Note that Switched Digital Video is not just a Cox thing. Time Warner is ahead of the pack and already deploying Switched Digital Video (SDV) in some markets as a trial. Other cable companies including Comcast are watching Time Warner and Cox to see how their experiments with the technology go and could well follow as well. Then again, the whole experiment could prove to be a disaster and backlash from customers with CableCard could force cable companies to back away from it altogether so this may turn out to be a non-issue. However the fact that this looms large right now makes me think twice about investing a lot of money in S3 only to find it is rendered useless for recording digital cable. Of course it could still be used to record analog and OTA ATSC without issue but that lessens it's value considerably.

On a similar note, I noticed last night that my area may have started simucasting digital chanels on previously analog. I've been meaning for a while to put in an amplifier before the splitter because of my signal on ABC (Ch: 13). But last night the picture was crysal clear. Is there anyway to determine this specically or am I just on speculation here.

On a similar note, I noticed last night that my area may have started simucasting digital chanels on previously analog. I've been meaning for a while to put in an amplifier before the splitter because of my signal on ABC (Ch: 13). But last night the picture was crysal clear. Is there anyway to determine this specically or am I just on speculation here. It's pretty easy to check for digital simulcast with DCT64xx boxes:

1. Make sure nothing is currently recording.
2. Tune to channel 2 (or a known analog station)
3. Swap
4. Tune to channel 13
5. Power off, select, select
6. Scroll down to d06 and right click
This menu gives you information about each tuner. Digital channels will show QAM 256 (or QAM 64) whereas analog channels will be described as Analog. You can get frequency of the channel currently tuned (which you can then map to an RF channel) and if digital you also can tell if channel is encrypted.

NOTE: If channel 2 is analog then the frequency will be 57MHz so that helps you determine which tuner is which in the d06 menu - obviously channel 13 will be the other non-57MHz one in the above example.

In any case, the key is to see if a channel is QAM 256 or QAM 64 in the above diagnostics then that means it's digital.

NOTE: Using above it's time-consuming but you can build a headend map of all channels in your market and get a good idea of how many digital channels are crammed together and other good info. I have an Excel spreadsheet for Cox Orange County built with the help of these diagnostics.

P.S. Depending on your equipment hookup another easy way to tell is if sound is reported by your receiver as stereo or Dolby Digital - obviously Dolby Digital => digital channel.

My 6412 III is quite hot, even when turned off with the power cable in. It's also quite loud when watching TV, especially when fast-forwarding a recorded show. Almost like a clicking noise.

Has anyone had this experience? Is this normal?

My 6412 III is quite hot, even when turned off with the power cable in. It's also quite loud when watching TV, especially when fast-forwarding a recorded show. Almost like a clicking noise.

Has anyone had this experience? Is this normal?
Make sure it's in a place where it's getting plenty of ventilation, a closed cabinet may be a bad idea. Also, the box never "shuts off" unless you pull the plug on it. Turning it off simply disables the A/V outputs and the front panel display, but all components of the internal "computer" continue to run and pull power (hard drive, mother board, ram, etc.).

Make sure it's in a place where it's getting plenty of ventilation, a closed cabinet may be a bad idea. Also, the box never "shuts off" unless you pull the plug on it. Turning it off simply disables the A/V outputs and the front panel display, but all components of the internal "computer" continue to run and pull power (hard drive, mother board, ram, etc.).


It doesn't disable the avoutputs if it did you wouldn't beable to check the diagnostic pages by turnining off the box and pressing select.

ajwees41

My 6412 III is quite hot, even when turned off with the power cable in. It's also quite loud when watching TV, especially when fast-forwarding a recorded show. Almost like a clicking noise.

Has anyone had this experience? Is this normal?
My old one clicked, it was the hard drive. I brought it to cox for a new one and its much quieter.

Just read the following post on Norfolk, VA - HDTV thread:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Received an email from Cox Communications to participate in a 10 minute survey online. The survey was based around DVR technology. Here was one of the questions...

As you may or may not know, Cox offers DVR service. The DVR is built into the Cox digital receiver box and is operated using a Cox digital service remote control. While Cox currently offers its own DVR service, the Cox DVR may soon be powered by TiVo, and include the features that TiVo owners have come to expect. If Cox were to offer digital cable service with a TiVo branded DVR for about the same price as you are currently paying for satellite service each month, how likely would you be to switch from satellite TV to Cox cable that featured this TiVo branded DVR service?

ajwees41

A tivo branded Cox DVR sure would keep me from switching to satellite. I've put up with the Motorola option on one TV because it offered HD, and just haven't switched to sat. yet, but I have been thinking about it. A Tivo DVR would keep me for sure.

Maybe we should start some sort of poll and post it in all the Cox forums. Anyone know how to go about that?

Meh, the Motorola option does what it is suppsoed to... Would I PAY THE SAME, for tivo, sure. But I dont want to pay more. What does this do to the deal with TVGuide.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/05/cox-communications-mulling-partnership-with-tivo/

Sounds like it could be a better deal than the Tivo S3 series which runs the risk of having problems with Switched Digital Video. Problem is you are now renting hardware again from cable company so hard drive upgrades would not be possible, so unless Tivo software can enable external storage via SATA (as they do with S3) that is a downside. Also without Tivo To Go, home networking and some of the other features it wouldn't be much of an improvement over the current solution so it remains to be seen how crippled the Tivo software will be on these cable company platforms - guess we will find out later this year when supposedly Comcast will offer Tivo with DCTx4xx boxes.

If cox does end up going with Tivo I wounder what the non dvr boxes will use?

ajwees41

Hmm Tivo and Cox sounds good.

It doesn't disable the avoutputs if it did you wouldn't beable to check the diagnostic pages by turnining off the box and pressing select.

ajwees41
Ah, thanks for the correction i must be thinking of one of the other STB's which does shut off A/V outputs. Front panel turns off is all............system put in standby.

This info is included on our May bill.

Important notice to Cox Digital Cable customers:Cox
Communications is upgrading its network.The upgrade may
negate any filters installed on the outside of your house.To
block unwanted channels, please use parental control features
found within your digital guide.Visit www.cox.com/takecharge
to learn how to activate parental controls.


What could it mean? Start digital simulcasting?

ajwees41

This info is included on our May bill.

Important notice to Cox Digital Cable customers:Cox
Communications is upgrading its network.The upgrade may
negate any filters installed on the outside of your house.To
block unwanted channels, please use parental control features
found within your digital guide.Visit www.cox.com/takecharge
to learn how to activate parental controls.


What could it mean? Start digital simulcasting?

ajwees41 Sounds like a possible 750MHz->860MHz network upgrade in your neighborhood which would make plenty of room for simulcast.

Sounds like a possible 750MHz->860MHz network upgrade in your neighborhood which would make plenty of room for simulcast.
Lucky, we NEED A* to upgrade us to 860 MHz so we can get the HD already available around SoCal!!!!

Response to my email to cox.


We are upgrading our network so that all of our digital boxes will output a digital picture on channels that our right now broadcast with an analog signal (channels 1-72)

Andrew Wees

Question on Cable Signal Levels on the 6412 Phase II

What rang should they be at to for the best pictures and few Pizelaztions on the QAM channels.

When I go into the DVRS service menu (Power off then push Select and select again)

I get

For the OOB screen
=================
SWR 18 Fair
AGC 19 Good

For the InBand screen
=========================
Tuner 1
SWR 35% Good
AGC 56% Good

Tuner 2
SWR 34 Good
AGC 53 Good

What should these be at? Are mine any good?

AMP
==========
The installer put the DVR on a 3 way splitter after the 11db Cable amp. The Cable amp has Two 11 db outs, it this the best config? Is it possible to over power this DVR with too much signal power after an Amp?

Question on Cable Signal Levels on the 6412 Phase II

What rang should they be at to for the best pictures and few Pizelaztions on the QAM channels.

When I go into the DVRS service menu (Power off then push Select and select again)

I get

For the OOB screen
=================
SWR 18 Fair
AGC 19 Good

For the InBand screen
=========================
Tuner 1
SWR 35% Good
AGC 56% Good

Tuner 2
SWR 34 Good
AGC 53 Good

What should these be at? Are mine any good?

AMP
==========
The installer put the DVR on a 3 way splitter after the 11db Cable amp. The Cable amp has Two 11 db outs, it this the best config? Is it possible to over power this DVR with too much signal power after an Amp? That should be SNR as in Signal to Noise ratio (not SWR) and the higher the better (the units are dB not %). For AGC = Automatic Gain Control the lower that number the better. Your tuner 1&2 numbers are fine. The OOB is Out of Band Tuner and is expected to be low when going through an amp without an amplified return path. My OOB tuner has always been at Fair and doesn't seem to cause any issues.

Question on Tweaking my HDTV.

I have the 6412 on Componet for HD. The Blacks and peoples faces do not look right.

I used to have Dishnetwork HD and before that Direct TV HD.

For Dish and Direct it seemed the TV needed to be a WARM, for Cox I am not sure maybe COOL.

Also for Analog defaulted to 480i, it seems like I need to turn the Brightness up a lot more and the Contrast way down as compared to Dish and Direct.

Is there a better way to tweak with Cox? Are there any test patterns like there is with Dish and DIrect TV and the HDNET channel?

What are others setting there HDTVs at? I want the best picture.

Question on Tweaking my HDTV.

I have the 6412 on Componet for HD. The Blacks and peoples faces do not look right.

I used to have Dishnetwork HD and before that Direct TV HD.

For Dish and Direct it seemed the TV needed to be a WARM, for Cox I am not sure maybe COOL.

Also for Analog defaulted to 480i, it seems like I need to turn the Brightness up a lot more and the Contrast way down as compared to Dish and Direct.

Is there a better way to tweak with Cox? Are there any test patterns like there is with Dish and DIrect TV and the HDNET channel?

What are others setting there HDTVs at? I want the best picture.

Scott I just learned that within a month cox Omaha is supposed to start digital simulcasting.

ajwees41

Question on Tweaking my HDTV.

I have the 6412 on Componet for HD. The Blacks and peoples faces do not look right.

I used to have Dishnetwork HD and before that Direct TV HD.

For Dish and Direct it seemed the TV needed to be a WARM, for Cox I am not sure maybe COOL.

Also for Analog defaulted to 480i, it seems like I need to turn the Brightness up a lot more and the Contrast way down as compared to Dish and Direct.

Is there a better way to tweak with Cox? Are there any test patterns like there is with Dish and DIrect TV and the HDNET channel?

What are others setting there HDTVs at? I want the best picture.



I have my TV setup for both component and HDMI. The component hookup is much darker then the HDMI hookup.

I have my TV setup for both component and HDMI. The component hookup is much darker then the HDMI hookup. I noticed same thing with my DCT6416 and actually prefer component hookup. For HDMI the default brightness is way too high and I prefer the contrast of the component hookup even after tweaking the TV settings. The other thing I noticed with HDMI hookup is for 16:9 channels broadcasting 4:3 content (with sidebars) the sidebars are not completely black whereas when I use component they look more like the normal black.

Scott I just learned that within a month cox Omaha is supposed to start digital simulcasting.

After checking as above, I confirmed that Cox Hampton Roads (At least Va Beach) is digital simulcasting most of the major chanels. Random < Ch72 channels are still analog only, but those are things like the VB version of CSPAN, and other low end channels.

Bout time COX here in Omaha got the ball rolling with digital simulcasting.

Has anyone tried using the firewire on 6412 to a tv that also has firewire?

Does it work?

ajwees41

Has anyone tried using the firewire on 6412 to a tv that also has firewire?

Does it work?


Yes firewire works with both a pII and pIII 6412 boxs. It outputs only the program, no on screen display. I don't use it because you can't see the menus. Great for capture but of questionable value for an everyday viewing connection. Also, could not see measurable difference between firewire and component PQ.

Questing on VIdeo on Demand and this Model.

How does it work? In some posts on AVS Forums someone talks about how they have about 7 Analog channels avl for VOD and each Analog can do maybe 16 QAM channels for VOD.

But I thought VOD was Video over IP and that this box has a cable modem like device in it.

Newbie here
how does it really work?

Questing on VIdeo on Demand and this Model.

How does it work? In some posts on AVS Forums someone talks about how they have about 7 Analog channels avl for VOD and each Analog can do maybe 16 QAM channels for VOD.

But I thought VOD was Video over IP and that this box has a cable modem like device in it.

Newbie here
how does it really work? This is way over-simplified but hopefully gives some notion of how it works:
The Cox cable distribution system has a total bandwidth of around 750-860MHz. Within this bandwidth there are RF carrier channels each 6MHz apart - so there are about 117 to 125 RF channels total. For traditional analog (NTSC) only 1 analog channel fits per RF carrier. For digital QAM 256 modulation is typically used which allows many channels to fit under a single RF carrier (as many as 16 per RF channel is not uncommon).

For current VOD system there are a certain number of dedicated RF channels. When there is a request from a user (involves 2 way communications using Out Of Band tuner) the headend allocates a sub-channel within one of the pre-determined RF channels to send video to a certain node - the node being a neighborhood which could typically serve around 600 homes not a specific house. By design though only the requesting set top box can decode the specific VOD channel even though it is made available to the entire node. Note that since this is unencrypted if you happen to have your own unencrypted QAM tuner you can actually find and watch VOD requests happening in your neighborhood. Note that this system is pretty wasteful though since several RF channels are pre-allocated and cannot be used for other services.

Cox and others are looking at a more efficient system: Switched Digital Video as an alternative means to provide VOD and less popular channels. The concept is pretty simple - only send channels down the pipe that are actually want to be viewed by subscribers. This involves dynamically switching in and out video to different nodes on a demand basis instead of blindly sending everything down the pipe. This system requires 2-way communications however so current CableCard devices will not work and until a common standard is defined you would be forced to use cable company set top box under that system.

The cable modem in the 6412 is not even active. The vod comes over the cable.

ajwees41

For current VOD system there are a certain number of dedicated RF channels. When there is a request from a user (involves 2 way communications using Out Of Band tuner) the headend allocates a sub-channel within one of the pre-determined RF channels to send video to a certain node - the node being a neighborhood which could typically serve around 600 homes not a specific house. By design though only the requesting set top box can decode the specific VOD channel even though it is made available to the entire node. Note that since this is unencrypted if you happen to have your own unencrypted QAM tuner you can actually find and watch VOD requests happening in your neighborhood.


Whoa ... this explains the couple of new 'channels' of completely irregular and random programming I 'discovered' during a recent QAM channel search on my TV :)

Interesting. I wonder whether I could figure out the entire range of numerical representations corresponding to the available set of RF frequencies over which all VOD happens. Not that I want to watch random folks' VOD demands, but it would be entertaining to cycle through the set :)

My regulars (locals) are 101-3, 103-1, 103-2, 107-1 or (107-2) for FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS (yes, no WB HD), and I've discovered channels (likely ongoing VOD streams) in the 107s, 108s and higher (I think one 113-x). I onder whether I can enter channel numbers of untuned channels and will lock on to the signal if there is one present?

Whoa ... this explains the couple of new 'channels' of completely irregular and random programming I 'discovered' during a recent QAM channel search on my TV :)

Interesting. I wonder whether I could figure out the entire range of numerical representations corresponding to the available set of RF frequencies over which all VOD happens. Not that I want to watch random folks' VOD demands, but it would be entertaining to cycle through the set :)

My regulars (locals) are 101-3, 103-1, 103-2, 107-1 or (107-2) for FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS (yes, no WB HD), and I've discovered channels (likely ongoing VOD streams) in the 107s, 108s and higher (I think one 113-x). I onder whether I can enter channel numbers of untuned channels and will lock on to the signal if there is one present? Typically if you scan weekend nights it seems VOD useage is much higher than during week nights. I've mapped out most of them for my local headend I think over time and found there are about 7 dedicated RF channels but even during busiest times not all RF channels are used and only 1 to 4 sub-channels each so it's actually a pretty big bandwidth hog right now and I'd much rather Cox give us more HD channels in place of all this wasted VOD space. It looks like they may have to cut back on a couple of VOD channels to make room for remaining digital simulcast channels not yet deployed. I have an Excel spreadsheet of my local headend map generated with help of DCT64xx diagnostics and a QAM tuner that is fairly up to date here:
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/Cox_OC_headend3.xls

%INHD HD Test Pattern

The brightness just does not seem right with this DVR. It must be my TV.

Does anyone know when the INHD Test Pattern is on. Some say its Saturday AM but its not listed on the Guide data or the INHD web site.

%INHD HD Test Pattern

The brightness just does not seem right with this DVR. It must be my TV.

Does anyone know when the INHD Test Pattern is on. Some say its Saturday AM but its not listed on the Guide data or the INHD web site. With HDMI connection the brightness is way too high for standard settings of my LCD HDTV - component is much more normal brightness and I like it better. Also SD digital sharpness level is way too high. I wish there were adjustments that could be made on the DVR itself for such settings. I go through an A/V receiver for all connections to TV so input to TV is the same for all so it's not possible to adjust TV settings that will apply on to DVR input. On my Phillips HDTV the component and HDMI input seemed to be tied together as far as settings (other SD inputs all have independant settings) so that doesn't help either.

My 6412 Phase III just kept rebooting, sometimes every 15 Mins so I took it back to the counter and ended up with a

6416 Phase III. Through the vent I could see the Hard Drive. It is fast.
=====================================
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160023AS

Specs on the Web for that model number say:
• 160GB
• Serial ATA interface
• 7200 rpm
• 8MB buffer

Package TAPE COLOR CODES
=========================
The Rep mentioned the Color code tape as I begged and asked supper nice for a 6416.

For Omaha it looks like YELLOW TAPE means its a 6416 and Red means a 6412 Phase III.

Its big thick tape on the back holding the plastic on. One big piece on each side.
So the next time you need to swap, ask the Rep for one with Yellow tape, you just might get a 160 Gig HD. Different Cities may very.



THE NEXT POOR SUCKER TO TO MY OLD BAD DVR
====================
I told the guy want we wrong so he could fill out a problem ticket. He said they just mark it as bad and the techs figure it out, I said but unless they plug it in and use it for a while it will never start rebooting.
The guy at the count said they just put it in the bin and the techs run Diags.

Now I know why there are so many bad DVRs out there being swapped. Unless the Tech run them for a hour or so they will never see the root cause, they will just tape them back up and send them to the next un lucky person.

Hint hint hint - - - - - - - - -Any COX Reps out there reading this?

You need to have the counter reps write down the details of the problem so you can properly trouble shoot the DVR, just dont plug them in run Diags and send them back out the door. My counter rep said they dont write down anything about what is wrong with the DVRs that come back. Remember they are Computers not toasters.

Recently I lost my component out signal, at least at it's destination. I have yet to determine whether it isn't coming out of the 6412 III or my Pioneer receiver isn't switching it over to my projector.
Has anyone experienced losing the component out on their 6412??? It will be a pain to hook the pj directly to the dvr; I may just take it in and try to switch out for a 6416 if they are available.

TIA

My last 6412 phase II did that even when it wasn't hooked up to the cable. Does the 6416 have rf out?

ajwees41


THE NEXT POOR SUCKER TO TO MY OLD BAD DVR
====================
I told the guy want we wrong so he could fill out a problem ticket. He said they just mark it as bad and the techs figure it out, I said but unless they plug it in and use it for a while it will never start rebooting.
The guy at the count said they just put it in the bin and the techs run Diags.

Now I know why there are so many bad DVRs out there being swapped. Unless the Tech run them for a hour or so they will never see the root cause, they will just tape them back up and send them to the next un lucky person.

Hint hint hint - - - - - - - - -Any COX Reps out there reading this?

You need to have the counter reps write down the details of the problem so you can properly trouble shoot the DVR, just dont plug them in run Diags and send them back out the door. My counter rep said they dont write down anything about what is wrong with the DVRs that come back. Remember they are Computers not toasters.[/QUOTE]

My 6416 does not have RF out, no problem though with the help and research of this thread I figured out how to use an OLD VCR to run the output out the Coax on channel 4 to 2 other TVs.

I ordered a 2nd remote from Ebay and I bought one of those RF extended, now its like the Dish DVR with its UHF remote.

Now this summer I want to figure out to run either Componet or HDMI up to the Bedroom from the Main level which is One level up and one room over.

I see in other threads some are using CAT 5 for HDMI or 3 Coax RG6 for Componet, anyone try this yet?

I will have a Home DVR solution someday at this rate (before Cox comes out with one next Jan 07'

[QUOTE=ScottChez]My 6416 does not have RF out, no problem though with the help and research of this thread I figured out how to use an OLD VCR to run the output out the Coax on channel 4 to 2 other TVs.


The csr I talked to lied then I was told Omaha had 6416 with rfout.

ajwees41

Scott, what I did was make two Ethernet to S-Video and audio L/R adaptor. Since the S-video uses 4 wires, and the Left/Right use 2 wires each, Ethernet was perfect. I then ran both a phone wire and a CAT5 wire from the bedroom to the living room. The phone wire is for the Remote, the Ethernet is for the audio/video. It works mint, I have access to the DVR content on the two main TVs in the house and I was able to return one of the digital boxes I had.

Scott, what I did was make two Ethernet to S-Video and audio L/R adaptor. Since the S-video uses 4 wires, and the Left/Right use 2 wires each, Ethernet was perfect.
?! :eek:

... how does the video look? The characteristics (not to mention the expected impedance) of video and that of Ethernet are vastly different!

What about outputing the 6412 to a vcr and then using the rfout of the vcr to a tv tuner/capture card? Wouldn't that work for capturing 5c protected channels? I know it's not HD.

ajwees41

What about outputing the 6412 to a vcr and then using the rfout of the vcr to a tv tuner/capture card? Wouldn't that work for capturing 5c protected channels? I know it's not HD.

ajwees41
It would definately work, but quite degraded quality. You could also hook the RF out of the STB DIRECTLY into a PCI TV Tuner capture card. You could also use the S-video/Composite out of the STB into an A/V capture card. There's no need to go through a VCR, and this will degrade the quality further.

It would definately work, but quite degraded quality. You could also hook the RF out of the STB DIRECTLY into a PCI TV Tuner capture card. You could also use the S-video/Composite out of the STB into an A/V capture card. There's no need to go through a VCR, and this will degrade the quality further.


The problem with that is none of the 6412-6416 that omaha has have rfout.

ajwees41

The problem with that is none of the 6412-6416 that omaha has have rfout.

ajwees41
Just use composite or S-video then, with an analog audio splitter of course (if you use RCA analog audio with component or DVI to your display).

?! :eek:

... how does the video look? The characteristics (not to mention the expected impedance) of video and that of Ethernet are vastly different!

The video looks fine. It has the same characteristics that it does on my big screen. It is a 27" tube tv in the bedroom and the length of cabel is about 80 feet or so. I am kind of fussy, so if it wasn't good enough I would just put the digital box back in. The Ethernet plugs and stuff didn't really cost me anything, and I got the S-Vid jacks from Lowes for $9 each. I used 3.5mm stereo jacks, just because they fit in the box nicer, from radio shack for a couple of bucks for the pair, and I had the RCA to 3.5mm cables kicking around the house unused.

Make sure to keep an eye on your DVR's tonight. With the President's speech, it is going to mess up some of the primetime programming. According to my Cox guide last night, it accounts for the President's speech on a couple of channels (20 minutes), but not all, plus if it goes over that 20 minute time period then everything is messed up.

Example:

Tonight I have Grey's Anatomy 2 hour finale, CSI:Miami and 24. On my Cox guide, CBS does not allocate time for the president speech, Fox does and ABC does not. So in this scenario, the way things are scheduled, I won't get 24 recorded because it says in the guide 8:20-9:20 where Grey's says 8-10 and CSI-Miami 9-10. If the guide was updated correctly, things would be from 8:20-10:20, 8:20-9:20 and 9:20-10:20 and I would get all 3 shows. I am betting I'll have to see when the president is done and set my recordings manually. Just wanted to give a heads up.

Heh. That's one advantage we left-coasters have- no pre-emptions by the Prez! (If he's ever on live in the PDT Primetime, we've got way bigger problems than missed shows!)

Make sure to keep an eye on your DVR's tonight. With the President's speech, it is going to mess up some of the primetime programming. According to my Cox guide last night, it accounts for the President's speech on a couple of channels (20 minutes), but not all, plus if it goes over that 20 minute time period then everything is messed up.

Example:

Tonight I have Grey's Anatomy 2 hour finale, CSI:Miami and 24. On my Cox guide, CBS does not allocate time for the president speech, Fox does and ABC does not. So in this scenario, the way things are scheduled, I won't get 24 recorded because it says in the guide 8:20-9:20 where Grey's says 8-10 and CSI-Miami 9-10. If the guide was updated correctly, things would be from 8:20-10:20, 8:20-9:20 and 9:20-10:20 and I would get all 3 shows. I am betting I'll have to see when the president is done and set my recordings manually. Just wanted to give a heads up.

Abc made a last minute change the ball that was supposed to be on at 7 will be on next week at 7. Grey's should be fine. Prez is on at 7.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/television/14584417.htm


ajwees41

excuse me if this was asked before but i could not find the answer

when i was with comcast and had a 6412 i can always go to the menu and look at other show times on programs i did not see from the beginning...with cox cable i now have the 6416 but i can not find this particular function...is it just a different menu and i am not just finding it or it is no longer available?

thanks for any help

excuse me if this was asked before but i could not find the answer

when i was with comcast and had a 6412 i can always go to the menu and look at other show times on programs i did not see from the beginning...with cox cable i now have the 6416 but i can not find this particular function...is it just a different menu and i am not just finding it or it is no longer available?

thanks for any help


different software. Did you use Iguide or did you use Passport Echo before?

ajwees41

thanks for the response

it was probably the iguide but when i go to the menu i see 5 or 6 icons for various categories, one of them is show times...i am not familiar with passport and there is no mention of it in the dvr and product guide

thanks for the response

it was probably the iguide but when i go to the menu i see 5 or 6 icons for various categories, one of them is show times...i am not familiar with passport and there is no mention of it in the dvr and product guide



You mean now with cox or when you had comcast? I far as I know cox uses Passport Echo for the 6412's

ajwees41

i had the menu icons with comcast 6412...with cox all i get in menu are the settings like favorites, sap, caption, etc...completely different menus

i have 6416 with cox if that makes any difference, no passport

seems to me the show times function should be around someplace since it is such a convenience

i had the menu icons with comcast 6412...with cox all i get in menu are the settings like favorites, sap, caption, etc...completely different menus

i have 6416 with cox if that makes any difference, no passport

seems to me the show times function should be around someplace since it is such a convenience


Hit guide on ur remote not menu.

Hit guide on ur remote not menu.


i guess i have not made myself very clear...in comcast 6412, if i missed part of a program, like a discovery show, i can watch it again in full by finding the next scheduled show...i can do this by going to the menu and finding the show times icon where it shows all the times this show is available

cox does not have this as far as i know...i suppose i can scroll through the guide for the next showing but that could take several pages if it is available at all

I FOUND IT!...i went to guide again like OmahaTVAddict said and hit the search button...duh!
<slap myself upside the head>

thanks everybody

I FOUND IT!...i went to guide again like OmahaTVAddict said and hit the search button...duh!
<slap myself upside the head>

thanks everybody
Just out of curiosity, have you been able to decide which software your STB is running on? Passport or iGuide?
If your guide looks like this (http://www.i-guide.tv/A23/index.html), then you have iGuide.

I suspect you have Passport though.....................

Just out of curiosity, have you been able to decide which software your STB is running on? Passport or iGuide?
If your guide looks like this (http://www.i-guide.tv/A23/index.html), then you have iGuide.


that is exactly what i have with comcast, so i guess i have passport with cox

i am used to iguide and find it more convenient than the cox software...maybe in due time passport will be just as good

Just out of curiosity, have you been able to decide which software your STB is running on? Passport or iGuide?
If your guide looks like this (http://www.i-guide.tv/A23/index.html), then you have iGuide.


that is exactly what i have with comcast, so i guess i have passport with cox

i am used to iguide and find it more convenient than the cox software...maybe in due time passport will be just as good :)

that is exactly what i have with comcast, so i guess i have passport with cox

i am used to iguide and find it more convenient than the cox software...maybe in due time passport will be just as good :)
Ok so your problem was that you were dealing with a whole new software system, not that they "got rid of a feature." The software has ALL TO DO with how the STB functions and how the user interface performs.

that is exactly what i have with comcast, so i guess i have passport with cox

i am used to iguide and find it more convenient than the cox software...maybe in due time passport will be just as good :)


I posted recently Cox has signed up Iguide to replace the ipg's currently in use.

ajwees41

I posted recently Cox has signed up Iguide to replace the ipg's currently in use. And a big step backwards now that Passport Echo has become reliable/stable.

Things are gonna suck unless they find a way to surpass Passport Echo.

I posted recently Cox has signed up Iguide to replace the ipg's currently in use.

Any idea when that is supposed to happen?

[QUOTE=KnightShade]Any idea when that is supposed to happen?[/QUOTE
The press release I read said 2007.

ajwees41

Anyone have any idea when Cox will release Passport Echo 2.7 in the CT market?

It really looks like some very nice features have been incorporated...

Anyone have any idea when Cox will release Passport Echo 2.7 in the CT market?

It really looks like some very nice features have been incorporated...


From what I have been reading not all the features have been implamented at the same time. I mean no one with 2.7 has reported folders, passport weather or games. Also they haven't start the video mosaic channels.



ajwees41

I haven't been actively following this thread for awhile, so this may or may not have been mentioned lately. I just wanted to remind everyone to do a periodic reboot to recover "lost" hard drive space. I know this problem has been discussed before. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that shows were getting the "soon to be deleted" hourglass when there were only a few things recorded. I checked the "hidden" menu before and after a reboot and the drive space increased substantially. I don't know what's causing this glitch, but I feel sorry for the "average" Cox customer that is losing functionality and doesn't realize what's happening.

Brett, the lost disk space problem where shows you thought you deleted were not so has been fixed with Passport Echo 2.5.x release. Remember that tuner buffers are always buffering and for the 6412 occupy about a combined 20GB of space leaving only about 88GB of space for recordings. When you first reboot they haven't yet been filled up which is why it looks like you have more space available at first. I would suggest you upgrade to 6416 if available in your market - it certainly made a big difference for me even though an extra 40G didn't sound like a lot.

Well, mine is on Echo ver. 2.7.027, so I would have to disagree with that :) . When I rebooted yesterday, available recording space went from around 31xxx KB to 80xxx KB. I need to read up on the latest with the 6416. I kind of avoided it because it sounded like a lot of people had problems with it.

From what I have been reading not all the features have been implamented at the same time. I mean no one with 2.7 has reported folders, passport weather or games. Also they haven't start the video mosaic channels.

ajwees41

Actually, we have a relatively new (within a few weeks) thing that pops now when you press "menu." It's a box with options for games, weather, sports, and news. These can also be found in the 900s on the guide after all the music channels. You have to press "menu" again to get to the real menu, which is a pain if you're just trying to switch on CC or something. The real menu has changed quite a bit as well. It looks nicer, but is less functional IMO because you have to go through multiple sub menus to accomplish a simple task (again CC, for example). We've had the grouping option for recorded shows (assuming this is what you mean by "folders") for quite awhile - see my posts on p. 84.

Well, mine is on Echo ver. 2.7.027, so I would have to disagree with that :) . When I rebooted yesterday, available recording space went from around 31xxx KB to 80xxx KB. I need to read up on the latest with the 6416. I kind of avoided it because it sounded like a lot of people had problems with it. Maybe 2.7 introduced a new disk leak, but 2.5 is very well behaved at least for me...

... and my 6412 locks up every month or so and spontaneously reboots anyway.

I just got the update from 12.27 to 12.31 last week. Tonight when I tried to tape Batman Begins on HBO HD I got the subscription bug. I know this because when I noticed it wasn't taping I checked the channel and for about two seconds I got the message to call Cox. I didn't have any problems with the suscription bug with 12.27 and now after months of no problems it's back. Does 12.31 re-introduce this problem? If this is the case I am going back to D*.

FWIW, I've had a 6416 and a 6412 in the OC place since early Jan 06 and have yet to see the "Subscription Bug" I'd read about here.

I just got the update from 12.27 to 12.31 last week. Tonight when I tried to tape Batman Begins on HBO HD I got the subscription bug. I know this because when I noticed it wasn't taping I checked the channel and for about two seconds I got the message to call Cox. I didn't have any problems with the suscription bug with 12.27 and now after months of no problems it's back. Does 12.31 re-introduce this problem? If this is the case I am going back to D*.


Could be a signal problem.

ajwees41

The subscription bug was fixed with Passport Echo 2.5 update not a firmware update and I haven't had the problem since we got 2.5 quite a long time ago.

The subscription bug was fixed with Passport Echo 2.5 update not a firmware update and I haven't had the problem since we got 2.5 quite a long time ago.


Actually, I'm pretty sure that I had 2.5 before I had 12.27 and I had the bug before I got 12.27. In reference to the signal problem, I'm not sure how it could be since I haven't touched the cables. It seems kind of coincidental that right after the firmware update the bug pops back up.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that I had 2.5 before I had 12.27 and I had the bug before I got 12.27. In reference to the signal problem, I'm not sure how it could be since I haven't touched the cables. It seems kind of coincidental that right after the firmware update the bug pops back up.



The signal problem could be in the outside cable also(loose,unshielded) also it be do to weather.

ajwees41

Ive been noticeing a few times a day that my screen goes blank with no audio also for a few seconds,maybe 5 top's.
I'm using HDMI out to my plasma, i've used hdmi and component before and never had this problem.
Possibly since we got a firmware update recently this started to happen, i'll reboot the box and see if that helps.
Also my scheduled Soprano's episode didn't record as i forgot and was recording a movie at 8-10pm.

I'm in the SoCal area, San Pedro/Rancho Palos Verdes. When I go to channel 28 (KCET), the sound quits after 10 to 15 seconds. Other channels seem to be fine. If I change channels, the sound is good, then I switch back to 28 and it goes out after 10 seconds again. Anyone else having this problem, or is it my STB? I'm calling tech support this morning, so any help would be appreciated.

Also my scheduled Soprano's episode didn't record as i forgot and was recording a movie at 8-10pm.

Sorry, just hopped in - do you not have dual tuners activated?

I was SOOOOO pleased <READ: SARCASM> to find that both my 6416's neglected to record my season pass of Sopranos last night. Maybe because it started at 8:05, instead of the normal 8:00?

Tell you what, I had Tivo for way too long, I guess. I'm about ready to throw this POS out the window. Maybe the next time I walk by for the DAILY REBOOT it needs I'll just yank it and give it a toss.

Anyone else not get The Sopranos?

Ive been getting the Soprano's all season long, possibly it didnt record 2 channels at once is there wasnt enough space left, was something like 15 gigs left at that time.
I know if your recording 2 channels at the same time you cant change the channel.

Ive been getting the Soprano's all season long, possibly it didnt record to channels at once is there wasnt enough space left, was something like 15 gigs left at that time.
I know if your recording 2 channels at the same time you can change the channel.


That should say if recording two channels you can't change channels.

ajwees41

Ha ajwees41, i was correcting that when you beat me too it!!

Sorry, just hopped in - do you not have dual tuners activated?

I was SOOOOO pleased <READ: SARCASM> to find that both my 6416's neglected to record my season pass of Sopranos last night. Maybe because it started at 8:05, instead of the normal 8:00?

Tell you what, I had Tivo for way too long, I guess. I'm about ready to throw this POS out the window. Maybe the next time I walk by for the DAILY REBOOT it needs I'll just yank it and give it a toss.

Anyone else not get The Sopranos?


If you look into your recorded list does it list the Sopranos with a start and stop time being the same?

Anyone else not get The Sopranos?
FWIW, I got it OK; my entry is "RECORD FIRST-RUN ONLY" and "RECORD ANY TIME" (and "PAD 5 MINS", but HBO's been good this year about ending on-time).

If you look into your recorded list does it list the Sopranos with a start and stop time being the same?

Not sure what you mean. But no, nothing got recorded at all. I also had it set on "8:00PM Only" for times, so as usual, I assumed this box had an inkling of logic and would pick up things like later start times and the like. Guess not. (What's up with HBO starting it late, anyway?).

You know, I don't really -mind- working around the software's limitations, but it's a catch 22. For instance, I started watching the Top Chef series. In fear of missing a new episode, I told it to record them all. Heh. Little did I know, Top Chef is on about 40 times a week. And some days they'll play the same episode 4 or 5 times.

Sheesh. I love my HD, but I've about had enough. I'm thinking more and more of getting standard cable and a plain 'ol Tivo and getting back to my life. Or what little I had before the 6416 crept into my home.....

I think it's a master plan of Tivo somehow. At this point, I'd pay $2,000 for a Series 3......

Im not sure I have the Sharpness and Contrast set right for my new 6416 DVR.

Many have said to use the IN HD Test pattern on Sat AMs, but I cant find it on there web site guide or on any of the Guides on the DVR.

Anyone know when it is on, I want my HD Picture to be perfect to show off my new TV to my freinds and with the 6416, Im just not sure its right.

Not sure what you mean. But no, nothing got recorded at all. I also had it set on "8:00PM Only" for times, so as usual, I assumed this box had an inkling of logic and would pick up things like later start times and the like. Guess not. (What's up with HBO starting it late, anyway?).

You know, I don't really -mind- working around the software's limitations, but it's a catch 22. For instance, I started watching the Top Chef series. In fear of missing a new episode, I told it to record them all. Heh. Little did I know, Top Chef is on about 40 times a week. And some days they'll play the same episode 4 or 5 times.

Sheesh. I love my HD, but I've about had enough. I'm thinking more and more of getting standard cable and a plain 'ol Tivo and getting back to my life. Or what little I had before the 6416 crept into my home.....

I think it's a master plan of Tivo somehow. At this point, I'd pay $2,000 for a Series 3......


The 8:00 start time you set is probably the reason. The reason I asked if it showed the Sopranos in you list as starting and stopping at the same time is this is indicative of the subscription bug which has plagued this machine. I agree with you about the Series 3, I am not going back to D*, but Cox in my market dosen't have local NBC, ABC or Fox in HD because of greed and I really need that OTA ATSC tuner that the Series 3 will have.

I'm still having the blank screen syndrom at random times, rebooting didnt help, ever since the firmware went to 12.31 the problem started, time to go back to Component!

I think it's a master plan of Tivo somehow. At this point, I'd pay $2,000 for a Series 3......

While I agree with your sentiments, I HATE that you rich folk are going to make us regular people wait forever to be able to afford one of these dream machines!

;)

Living through 6412 hell as well. My 3 TiVos make life easier ... now if only they could record HD!

While I agree with your sentiments, I HATE that you rich folk are going to make us regular people wait forever to be able to afford one of these dream machines!

That's funny. I assume you know I was exaggerating a touch (a lot), but the feeling is there. Though I may be guilty of shelling out much more money on things then a reasonable person should. Rich? No. Debt piling up? Yes. But I NEED MY TIVO!!!!! :^)

It's just amazing to me when I talk with friends who have a Moto box, and have never had a Tivo. They almost look at me as if I'm speaking foreign tongues when I speak of the 'magic' of the Tivo. While I appreciate what the Moto can do, it's almost silly compared to a Tivo. The only thing that outweighs the silliness is my distaste for D*.

So I'll quit whining now and go reboot my 6416.....

Filthtyc, I'm not sure why you have so much trouble but as another data point here my 6416 is very stable and reliable ever since we got Passport Echo 2.5 software. It records what I want and I don't have to backup it's recordings with my ReplayTVs like I used to anymore. It just works and I never have to reboot it. It's not the perfect solution but I find it more than adequate for recording HD especially given the relatively low monthly cost.

Still having a weird problem. I'm in San Pedro, with the Palos Verdes Cox cable, and on channel 28, the sound cuts out after about 10 seconds. I traded for another STB, then had tech support come out and they put in a 6416, but still the same thing. Service guy said he'd been on another call with similar problem, but no idea what to do about it. He called in and checked, and said there's no problem at the head end. If I switch to another channel, the sound is fine, and when I switch back I get 10 seconds again. Anybody have any ideas? Is anyone else having the same problem?

Still having a weird problem. I'm in San Pedro, with the Palos Verdes Cox cable, and on channel 28, the sound cuts out after about 10 seconds. I traded for another STB, then had tech support come out and they put in a 6416, but still the same thing. Service guy said he'd been on another call with similar problem, but no idea what to do about it. He called in and checked, and said there's no problem at the head end. If I switch to another channel, the sound is fine, and when I switch back I get 10 seconds again. Anybody have any ideas? Is anyone else having the same problem? If it's the same as Orange County headend then channel 28 = WGN is now a digital simulcast channel on RF 95 (93MHz) and therefore with poor cable shielding you could be getting FM band interference. That would be my best guess. As a comparison, take coax cable directly to your TV antenna input instead of the 6416 and tune to channel 28 with the TV tuner - that way you get the analog version which is on a different carrier frequency and I bet the audio problem is not there. If that's the case then you can tell Cox it's the digital simulcast version that is giving you trouble.

In San Pedro, 28 is KCET, which is an analog broadcast. According to the service tech, they changed to digital at one point, but it caused problems for people with cable cards (he said something to the effect that they get their guide information on that channel). I'll use my VCR to check the OTA signal, but I'll bet it's ok. FM interference sounds like a good theory. Weird that it just started two weeks ago.

In San Pedro, 28 is KCET, which is an analog broadcast. According to the service tech, they changed to digital at one point, but it caused problems for people with cable cards (he said something to the effect that they get their guide information on that channel). I'll use my VCR to check the OTA signal, but I'll bet it's ok. FM interference sounds like a good theory. Weird that it just started two weeks ago. If it's analog for sure then FM interference at that frequency (RF 28=249MHz) is not the issue. FM band is in the RF channel 95-97 (93-105MHz) range. Analog KCET channel carries TV Guide On Screen guide listings that some TVs & set tops support which is what the tech was referring to - when they digitize the channel for digital simulcast the TVGOS information is lost.

Thanks for the info. That was what the tech said, I just didn't trust my memory that much. If it's not FM interference, it sounds like there's some signal problem between the head end and my area.

New versions of the guide will be released in Omaha hopefully before the end of July. There are still some bugs in the software that our system needs to use that are being addressed.

The iTV applications: Mosaics, Games, and Weather will be launched subsequently after the guide upgrade. There will most likely be a period of testing after the guide upgrade to make sure everything is configured correctly before launching the iTV applications.


ajwees41

Ah well it's June 1st now so we got a good 8 weeks to wait and see.

After many months of flawless service the 6416 really screwed up Thursday. I had 6 shows scheduled to record on Thursday and 3 on Friday, it recorded none of them. More puzzling; was when I looked at "list" on Friday it showed all the Thursday programs as scheduled even though Thursday had passed. I rebooted and then it started to record a previously scheduled program midstream and removed the Thursday night shows from the scheduled list. The only thing that was weird the whole week was the EOD kept looking up and the recorder rebooted itself a couple of times. Ultimately the EOD did work. Bottom line I don't trust it again and have to back up all programs on my other recorder.

Trust and Motorola 64xx really shouldn't be in the same sentence, unless you use a suitable prefix (dis or mis) before the 'trust' ;)

For programs I want to make sure are recorded, worry-free, I use my TiVos. For HD movies/sports, and anything I'm prepared to lose or babysit to ensure I don't, I use the Motorola HD abominat^H^H^HDVR!

For HD movies/sports, and anything I'm prepared to lose or babysit to ensure I don't, I use the Motorola HD abominat^H^H^HDVR!

Or as me and my friend like to call it, "the Cox BlowVR(tm)".

I also tend to back up any important shows with my TiVo unless I have some other show that the TiVo is already scheduled to record. The BlowVR has gotten better since I first got it, but it still screws up on occasion. It failed to record 2 season finales this year.

I am SO looking forward to the TiVo S3.

I am SO looking forward to the TiVo S3. Me too, but I hope Cox doesn't get carried away with Switched Digital Broadcast thus rendering Tivo S3 useless for those channels being switched. Though I must say the 6416 just does what it is expected to do lately and ReplayTV backups hardly ever needed anymore as used to be the case.

I have a Tivo and a Cox DVR. The Cox DVR seems more reliable than my Tivo as my Tivo has lost recordings.

The key to the Cox DVR being at 100% is to put it on a UPS. It has a design problem where if there is the slightest power flicker or outage it is unstable until your reboot it.

It will loose tend to miss recording until you reboot it again or till it has time to do its clean up cycle at night.

A UPS is the key. Remember these things are computers.

After many months of flawless service the 6416 really screwed up Thursday. I had 6 shows scheduled to record on Thursday and 3 on Friday, it recorded none of them. More puzzling; was when I looked at "list" on Friday it showed all the Thursday programs as scheduled even though Thursday had passed. I rebooted and then it started to record a previously scheduled program midstream and removed the Thursday night shows from the scheduled list. The only thing that was weird the whole week was the EOD kept looking up and the recorder rebooted itself a couple of times. Ultimately the EOD did work. Bottom line I don't trust it again and have to back up all programs on my other recorder.

I had exactly the same thing happen in CT. I had several programs scheduled to record and it recorded NONE of them even though they showed up in the list to be recorded. I also could not record anything, even if I was watching something and hit the record button. I had to power cycle the box and that seems to have fixed it. I think that there was an EOD upgrade though. I tried to use EOD and it didn't work, when I called in there was a message about an EOD upgrade happening.

I have a Tivo and a Cox DVR. The Cox DVR seems more reliable than my Tivo as my Tivo has lost recordings.

BS. :rolleyes:

:D

Do you have your Cox DVR on a UPS, if not how can you say BS if you have not tried the UPS?

FYI, I don't have my 6416 DVR on a UPS and it's still very stable. IMO you will never change the mind of Tivo lovers though. To each his own.

I haven't had any problems with my 6416 either other then missing a recording last night but that was due to the damm EAS that popped up around midnight last night.

The EAS will get you everytime. The one last night seemed to be a regularly scheduled test.

Anyone know the schedule for these test so we can avoid recordings or have a Tivo Back up. Its an other Design Problem of this DVR (other than the Power Outage/ Surge recorvery design flaw).

Do you have your Cox DVR on a UPS, if not how can you say BS if you have not tried the UPS?

Your UPS line of discussion is moot ... note the part of your message I actually quoted and called BS on :D

In all fairness, my 6412 (less than a month old) hasn't ever 'missed' a recording yet, but I record only HD movies and sports/music events on it anyway. ALL shows are recorded on my TiVos. The viewing convenience/reliability/experience is so vastly superior, that am willing to overlook the lack of HD! For now. It (the 6412) is completely unintelligent, though. I certainly don't want multiple duplicates of sports/fitness shows that repeat 4 times a day. It also needs too much babysitting to control the projected lifetime (auto-deletion).

And my TiVos haven't ever missed a show (that Guide info was accurate and/or correctly updated for). I've gone through 6 different units, not even counting units my roommates/landlords over the years have owned and added to the group account for convenience.

Seeing as I have no missed-recording experience with my cable DVR, I'm objecting to your claim of MORE missed TiVo recordings. With my limited experience with the 6412 so far, it is on par with my TiVos in that it hasn't MISSED a recording yet. That it catches FAR too many is altogether a different discussion :)

Like I said, your quoted comment is BS :p

<edit> Ooohh, I even forgot to mention that on the 6412, I've had NUMEROUS HD shows that recorded
- and did not play back completely (occupied space corresponding to the stated duration, but freeze up consistently and unplayably at a fixed mark during playback, say 34 minutes for a 60 minutes show). highly irritating
- with extreme pixelation/blocking for patches of a few seconds to a few minutes (never happens during live HD viewing, so I blame the recording)
- freeze up the entire unit during trickplay. As I forward through an ad or boring section of a recorded sports/music event, it will get stuck on FF speed 1, and NEVER exit the mode. Pause, Stop, Exit, FF, REW do NOTHING until the DVDR forwards the entire show at a painfully slow 1X and then (ultimately, after pondering the problems of the known universe for an indeterminate amount of time) asks whethe I want to delete the show :rolleyes:

Abominable 'DVR', indeed. Ha.

Tonight while trying to get into the Diagnostics screen (Menu, then Down, B, Up, B). I accidentally did Menu, then Down, B, Menu, B and I got a "General Settings" menu where you can change other stuff, you can make the LCD show the Channel or the Channel and Time, and not just the Time, also like AC Outlet on or off and RF output channel. My older box I got in January didn't have a RF out, but my newer box I got recently does. This feature isn't important to my anyways.

Forgive me if this is old news, but I never heard about this menu.

For the record, I'm using a Motorola 6412 Phase 3 with Software 2.7.027, Firmware 12.27, and I do not have Cox, but another provider.

-Derek-

And now, I just hit Menu and then Menu again and it brought up the General Settings menu. Perhaps this has always been there, but I have never noticed it. Or it's coming up right away now since I "unlocked" it with the Menu->Down, B, Menu, B. Any insight?

-Derek-

Tonight while trying to get into the Diagnostics screen (Menu, then Down, B, Up, B). I accidentally did Menu, then Down, B, Menu, B and I got a "General Settings" menu where you can change other stuff, like AC Outlet on or off and RF output channel. My older box I got in January didn't have a RF out, but my newer box I got recently does. This feature isn't important to my anyways.

Forgive me if this is old news, but I never heard about this menu.

For the record, I'm using a Motorola 6412 Phase 3 with Software 2.7.027, Firmware 12.27, and I do not have Cox, but another provider.

-Derek-



Doesn't work with a phase 3 no rfout and 2.5 passport echo.

ajwees41

So you guys don't think I'm crazy, here's a picture:
http://216.120.231.15/~unprodi/generalsettingsmenu.jpg

-Derek-

I'll also mention, it works on both my boxes, both are the same, except one doesn't have a RF Out and the other one does.

Both have same software and firmware as listed before.

-Derek-

Tonight while trying to get into the Diagnostics screen (Menu, then Down, B, Up, B). I accidentally did Menu, then Down, B, Menu, B and I got a "General Settings" menu where you can change other stuff, you can make the LCD show the Channel or the Channel and Time, and not just the Time, also like AC Outlet on or off and RF output channel. My older box I got in January didn't have a RF out, but my newer box I got recently does. This feature isn't important to my anyways.

Forgive me if this is old news, but I never heard about this menu.
Same menu you get when you select menu and then A (Advanced Settings). It's been there for a long time and is documented (see my link below).

Hmm, by your new picture above it is a little different than what I reference above, but those kinds of settings are available there as well in addition to other stuff.

ahh. That never worked for me. When I hit "A" the hard drive on my boxes start to think and then the thing freezes about 30secs later and then it reboots by itself.

but, B and C pages work for me. Just A never did.

-Derek

Well, at least this way you can unlock it for good. Just do Menu, then Down, B, Menu, B. Click Exit, and now you can just hit Menu, Menu to get into it.

-Derek-

Doesn't work with 2.5 software... And the page I'm talking about is simply: menu, A.

Menu, then A does nothing on my boxes.

-Derek-

Maybe a new feature in the upgrade to 2.7.

ajwees41

Maybe a new feature in the upgrade to 2.7.

ajwees41 Could be... but then again Derek is with a different provider so maybe the Motorola box is programmed a little different.

National Geographic HD Channel

I was watch National Geographic SD on Video on Demand last night.

At the end of the show was a comerical saying NatGeo HD was coming soon and that it was the most request HD channel ever. Not to get everyone excited, it was NOT a cox comercial but it was a National Geo HD comercial.

But since it was on Cox on Demand does this mean they have reach an agreement, or was this just some national comercial that is on every cable systems on demand system?

When I called a CSR they said there were no plans to add this channel and mine was the first request for that HD channel she had.


I told her I would even pay extra for this channel and ESPN 2 like you do with Dishentwork and Direct TV, I really want it.

When I called a CSR they said there were no plans to add this channel and mine was the first request for that HD channel she had. lol, that's what they say about every new HD channel request I have ever put in... I highly doubt they even take your request seriously and actually log it somewhere central where anybody at Cox can access the information.

As far as paying extra... in my Orange County market we have to pay $5/month extra already for ESPNHD & DiscoveryHD. Asking to pay even more per month for other HD channels I don't think would fly - they would have to put NGHD under that bucket as well.

National Geographic HD Channel

I was watch National Geographic SD on Video on Demand last night.

At the end of the show was a comerical saying NatGeo HD was coming soon and that it was the most request HD channel ever. Not to get everyone excited, it was NOT a cox comercial but it was a National Geo HD comercial.

But since it was on Cox on Demand does this mean they have reach an agreement, or was this just some national comercial that is on every cable systems on demand system?

When I called a CSR they said there were no plans to add this channel and mine was the first request for that HD channel she had.


I told her I would even pay extra for this channel and ESPN 2 like you do with Dishentwork and Direct TV, I really want it.


I would say it was probably a national feed and not a local Omaha ad. It might have shown on the program when it aired on National Geo in the first place.



ajwees41

New VOD menu

Cox Omaha has a new look to the vod menus on 998.

ajwees41

Yep they do. Just one more step toward the overhaul it looks like.

I wounder why the vod screens list help as an option, but when clicked it says help unavailable.

ajwees41

So is the new VOD as slow and crappy as the old one (though from what I recall New England and Orange County have a different VOD provider anyway)? Also first and only time I tried VOD the quality was so inferior to DVD I vowed never to purchase again especially since it was around $4 for the movie. What's quality like in your parts?

So is the new VOD as slow and crappy as the old one (though from what I recall New England and Orange County have a different VOD provider anyway)? Also first and only time I tried VOD the quality was so inferior to DVD I vowed never to purchase again especially since it was around $4 for the movie. What's quality like in your parts?


I don't notice any difference in speed. The only change I see is the new look on the menu.

This is in Omaha Nebraska.

ajwees41

The quality is fine at least where I'm at. Don't know about other parts of Omaha.

OK thanks. Yes that's a completely different look than we have here in The OC.

In Omaha the Bit rate is the same for VOD as for the Digital Teir so it looks good.

In fact with my MYTHTV DVR (linux based), I can scan all the QAM channels and see any active VOD feed, they are the same rate as the encyrypted Digital tiers, there just not encyrypted.

My guess is there VOD software does not have enough memory to handle the encyrption so they dont encrypt VOD.
They have different software and a diffent channel for the Adult VOD is it is encrypted.

Note: the VOD QAM channel number change everytime. So when ever a customer goes to VOD they get a new QAM number. The Channels are not active unless someone is watching it. This makes it real hard to just turn to one. You have to keep re scanning.

Has the cox areas that have Digital Simulcasting going replaced the 6412 with the 3412 and the new 3080?

ajwees41

http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/DCT3080.html

I don't think any Cox market (including Orange County which was among the first to start deployment) has finished the digital simulcasting deployment yet so it's too early for digital only boxes. For Orange County there are still around 30 analog channels or so left that don't have digital simulcast yet and many of those are the most popular channels (like the network channels). The strategy seems to have been let's start with less popular channels, see what breaks or who complains and then gradually get to the most popular channels once we are more confident and the kinks have been worked out. Looks like they hit a roadblock for a while and now are continuing deployment albeit pretty slowly.

Probably part of the problem is having to shift things around and get new equipment to mux in new RF channels to deal with the bandwidth requirements. There are currently 5 RF carrier channels with up to 10 digital simulcast each and if they plan to keep <= 10 channels per carrier they are going to have to make another 12MHz (2 RF channels) available to complete simulcast. This probably doesn't leave much room for any HD channel additions in the short term which would have been much more desireable from my standpoint as the quality of these digital simulcast channels I actually find mostly inferior to their analog counterparts.

Has the cox areas that have Digital Simulcasting going replaced the 6412 with the 3412 and the new 3080?

ajwees41

http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/DCT3080.html


Why would you want to? According to Moto's site the 3080 dosen't output HD. If you look at the back there are no component, DVI or HDMI outputs.

Why would you want to? According to Moto's site the 3080 dosen't output HD. If you look at the back there are no component, DVI or HDMI outputs.



The 3080 would be good for people who don't have an HDTV.

ajwees41

Cox in Tulsa just upgraded the software on my Motorola DVR. It now functions much more quickly than before. I know how to get into the service menus by hitting the menu or select keys while the unit is off. Where do I find the software version? Is there another service menu that I am unaware of? (Sorry if this has already been adressed.)

# DCT6412 should be on
# Press Menu to display Quick Settings Menu
# Press Down, B, Up, B (within 5 seconds)
See here (http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Tips_and_Tricks)

press menu
arrow down
press b
arrow up
press b
it should bring up a sreen that says Echo 2. something TC 12.something

ajwees41

Thanks. What are the current versions that everybody seems to be running? Mine says Echo 2.7.040 TC 10.13

Scroll up in that link I provided. You will see a bunch of information including current versions for most markets. You have an older model box which is why TC=firmware=10.13 instead of 12.x. Your passport version is newer than most Cox markets.

Thanks. What are the current versions that everybody seems to be running? Mine says Echo 2.7.040 TC 10.13

T-Town as well, Brookside. Same specs as yours upgrade shows 6/8. Noticed on your recorded shows, if you hit info you get a full description now.

T-Town as well, Brookside. Same specs as yours upgrade shows 6/8. Noticed on your recorded shows, if you hit info you get a full description now.

Thanks for the tip, I hadn't noticed that yet.

Whats the progress of the passport upgrade for Omaha?

Whats the progress of the passport upgrade for Omaha?


I heard end of july.

Also DS is supposed to be done by then also.

ajwees41

Some Comcast markets reportedly getting ESPN2HD in time for World Cup Soccer:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7801631&&#post7801631

Again Cox dissapoints when it comes to adding new HD channels in a timely manner... oh yeah, I'm sorry we have Universal HD now - yippie! (NOT)

Cox Omaha will not carry any 3208,3412, or 3416's




ajwees41

vod error 103

anybody know this error means?

It only happens when trying to watch one show. Aly&AJ's Rush Video on Freezone.

ajwees41

The new software(2.7) is awfully nice. The box is faster, the menus are faster, the look is nicer. It also showed me when I was looking at my recordings, how much space I had left. I must have misclicked or something but I saw this.

Thumbs up here.

The new software(2.7) is awfully nice. The box is faster, the menus are faster, the look is nicer. It also showed me when I was looking at my recordings, how much space I had left. I must have misclicked or something but I saw this.

Thumbs up here.


Can you post some pictures? What did you see?


ajwees41

i have my cox dvr output formats set to 1080i for my hdtv. under options for the 1080i setting, i was wondering if i should set it at preserve 4:3 pic 480i or preserve 4:3 pic 480p. which one of these options will give me the best picture quality? thanks a lot for the help.

Chances are your TV does a better job of scaling than the DVR so "preserve 4:3 pic - 480i" is the better choice for 4:3 channel handling for most.

Downside of selecting one of the "preserve 4:3" options is when you change channels from an HD channel to a SD channel your TV input changes from 1080i to 480i/p which causes a flickering re-sync on most TVs. In contrast the Sidebar or Stretch 4:3 Pic options will keep the input to your TV at 1080i so no re-sync needed. So if you don't really notice a difference in PQ either way then avoiding re-sync choice is the better one.

i have my cox dvr output formats set to 1080i for my hdtv. under options for the 1080i setting, i was wondering if i should set it at preserve 4:3 pic 480i or preserve 4:3 pic 480p. which one of these options will give me the best picture quality? thanks a lot for the help.

When I had my 6412 set to output Progressive scan with any SD source I began noticing really bothersome artifacts on my Panasonic TH50X50U plasma (technically, I believe it is called "combing"): BTW - pic is from the 13th Ghost :)

http://members.cox.net/grimd/NDVD_002.JPG

Notice the "combing" all around the man's head; single stepping the frames does not cause this, only full motion video (I captured a still of my vid camera). Maybe I'm just more sensitive to it than other people???
Anyhow, with Progressive scan turned OFF the rendering is now fine (I like to stretch my 480i content though). I should mention that I have NO PROBLEM watching progressive scan on the digital HD channels, no anomolies.
Has anyone else noticed this? I can't be the only one.

The new software(2.7) is awfully nice. The box is faster, the menus are faster, the look is nicer. It also showed me when I was looking at my recordings, how much space I had left. I must have misclicked or something but I saw this.

Thumbs up here.

Hi Shane. I don't see anything like that on the LIST screen. Maybe a button combo you hit..

That combing is due to bad deinterlacing: see here (http://www.100fps.com/) for more details.

That combing is due to bad deinterlacing: see here (http://www.100fps.com/) for more details.

Yeah, I had come to the conclusion that the 6412 has a terrible deinterlacer. I'm really surprised I've never seen this brought up more often; I feel like I'm the only one that has issues with it.

I just try not to watch that much SD. :)

Yeah, I had come to the conclusion that the 6412 has a terrible deinterlacer. I'm really surprised I've never seen this brought up more often; I feel like I'm the only one that has issues with it.



I dont have an HDTV, but I have suggestion. Is your local cox doing digital simulcasting yet? Also it might be something in your picticular 6412. What phase is it? The phase 3 or new newer are supposed to handle Analog and SD better than the 1 or 2 nd phase 6412.

ajwees41

I dont have an HDTV, but I have suggestion. Is your local cox doing digital simulcasting yet? Also it might be something in your picticular 6412. What phase is it? The phase 3 or new newer are supposed to handle Analog and SD better than the 1 or 2 nd phase 6412.

ajwees41

It's a 5-month old Phase III. Most of the local affiliates are simulcasted in HD (not NBC!). If it is a true HD show, I have no progressive scan issues (ie. filmed in 720P).

=======TOP 10 HINTS for 100% Up Time and DVD quality Pic & never missed recordings

I have a 6412 III and a 6416 Phased III. Based on lots of good info in this Forum and my observations, here is my Top Ten. (sorry about the Spelling and Gramar, just dont have time to correct it today).

I have NEVER EVER had a problem with this DVR. Two other people at work have never had a problem. We all follow this list. We all live in the Omaha Cox market.

I am a Computer Engineers, and have been building PC based DVRs has a hobby. I have had TIvos, Direct TV, Dishnetworks DVRs.
I thought we would share my Notes on this DVR as this is what I am using now.


Personal Notes:


1. Stable Power, Get an UPS (dont but the MONSTER brand Power).

Buy a Computer UPS, this DVR is a Computer.

a. it has a power surge revocer problem. After you get one, its un stable. Same with if there is a full power outage, it does not recover nice if there is a recorded event that is active. It will often then miss the recorded event.

b. Get a UPS for your Cable AMP if you have one, it it goes out due to a power outage the DVR has the same problem has in #1

2. Set the Auto Channel at power to your Local News station like channel 1.

a. For my area this is Channel 1 News on One where the local news repeats every 30 Mins. THis will give you new on demand as you can rewind to the weather or something when its first turned on as long as you do not change channels right away.

b. The Big reason for doing this is to get one of the Turners OFF a QAM channel. When the Auto Channel on is set it goes to this channel right away when you power the box off (not when its powered on). This cause the box to start streaming a NON QAM channel.

c. This will help with DVR recordings when the box is not powered on. Really the box is always powered on, its just it knows it can do updates. The major bug is with updates messing up recordings, our studies show that if you got at least one channel Not on a QAM channel (80 or above), you get 100% reliability on recordings.

Word is that even after the Digital Simulcasting conversion is done, there will still be at least one NON QAM channel mapped for this DVR (not sure what channel that will be).

3. Reboot it weekly, if you dont it will not be as stable. (HOLD DOWN POWER FOR 5 Seconds) make sure the red light is not on (recording ) when you do this.

4. FOR BEST PIC

a. in HD- If you have HD, put it in the Native mode of your TV, if your watching sports on HD put it in 720P.

b. For BEST PIC in SD (the non HD channels)- set your HD but leave the SD option at 480i preserve, if you dont the Pict will look bad, your TV is design to handle SD cable. They work on making this look good when they design the TV, they DONT work hard on making SD at 720P or 1080i look good.

5. For never missed Recordings.

a. Always choose record a Season, NEW and REPEATS, you can always delete the repeats.

It seems that were are several part Timers updating the Cox Cable guide after they get the main guide info from the national source. Sometimes they just get things wrong on NEW and Repeats. Never just the source. Record all. It takes you 1 second to delete the repeats and besides, maybe it was your favorite and you want to watch it again anyway.

b. Dont use Season passes based on titles.

This is not TIVO. Use Named based recording based on a schedual show that you push select on in the guide.

c. Dont let the Hard Drive get too full.

Yes it will auto delete, but there is a bug, sometimes it auto deletes AFTER the timing was going to fire, THUS you just missed the recording. Its a timing issue that depending on your software version may already be fixed, but you never know so be safe and DELETE to free up space. You can check your Free space here:

DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select
d13 PVR/HDD STATUS - PVR information including current and max temperature, and details about hard drive space and partition allocation

IM sure there are better methods for doing the free space check (please add your ideas to this thread).


6. If you use Firewire, reboot after use.

Yes there is a confirmed FF RR bug, but there is more, it seems after a while the software on the DVR gets a Memory leak when you use Firewire, rebooting clears this right up.

7. Do NOT LET IT GET HOT,

a. put nothing on top EVER! It will get unstable if you do.
Do not put it in a closed stereo case. Leave room on the sides for air.

b. once a Month use a can of Compressed Air from Office Depot or Staples to blow out the dust of the box. Do this while its not plugged in. Dust gets near the heat sensor chip and gives you false readings, it can even cause random reboots.

c. You can check your current TEMP here:

DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select
d13 PVR/HDD STATUS - PVR information including current and max temperature,

8. Outputs

a. If you have HD, check your TVs inputs, EVERY TV IS DIFFERENT. Some do better with Compoent HDTV than HDMI, some like HDMI better.

b. If you dont have HD, try both Svideo and the Yellow jack, you never know what might look better on your TV.

Also compare both channesl 1-80 and above 100, you will get different results on in the Clear channels and QAM.

9. TWEAK TWEAK and RE TWEAK YOUR TVs setting,

a. every DVR mode is different, you have to se the Brightness, Sharpness ect for every model number change and Phase number change Also for ever different Cable change. FOr example a 6416 Phase III will need different settings on your TV. HDMI will also need different. If they do a SOFTWARE upgrade you may also need to TWEAK your TV again.

b. After you Tweak tweak again, also tweak with different room light and have others give you feed back, you CAN get a DVD quality picture with this DVR if you Tweak the TV right!

c. WARNING: DO NOT USE DVE or AVIA to tweak your DVR, those are made for DVD players, and for some reason, but 64xx models do not follow the standard output levels of DVD players, eye ball it looking at peoples suites on NBC nightly news and other know shows that you know how they should look, try to record INHDs test patterns, TWEAKING is very hard, I have troubles with it myself so other hints would help please.

10. Watch our for interferance leakage. If ANY of your Analog channels look bad you may have some loose Coax connectors, this may also effect the QAM channesl (above 80). Watch for LINEs cycling through on the TV on solid backgrounds, this is sign of leakage from a near by Over the air station. In OMaha, you can even get leakage all the way up on Channel 66 (WB 15s translator).

A lot of good diagnostic information is available on this page. NOTE: Activating this page kill any recordings currently in progress, so be careful.

You can also check your QAM signal by doing this. Set both Turners to a channel above 100 the

1. DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select

2. Check
d04 INBAND STATUS - Information about both tuners (only relevant for digital channels).
SNR = Signal to Noise ratio - the higher this number the better
AGC = Automatic Gain Control - the lower this number the better. Represents amount of work the box is doing to keep the signal tuned to the "sweet spot".
CORRECTABLE ERRORS - Number of error corrections in the last 5 second sample. These errors don't cause any visual distortion of the digital channel but could indicate a signal level problem.
NON-CORRECTABLE ERRORS - Number of hard uncorrectable errors in the last 5 second sample. If you are seeing these then there is definately a problem and you will see image distortion.



SUPER BONUS TIPs
===============

1. Watching recordings on a 2nd TV (like the DISH DVRs).

If you want to watch your DVR on a 2nd TV, say your bedroom, use a VCR. Run an extra COAX to the Bedroom TV.

Use the Yelow Video Out of the DVR to the Video in of the VCR, Set the VCR to Out on Channel 3 or 4.

Buy a 2nd Remote on Ebay (there about $7 + 10 Shipping).

Buy a IR Extender, but do not buy the Jensen IR extender at best buy as the IR out is not powerfull enough for this DVR, use the X-10 PowerMind.

Set the bedroom TV to Channel 4. Connect FULL cable to an other VCR in the Beed room and connect it the full basic cable line for channels 1-80 or buy and A B switch if you have a need to watch 2 different shows at a time (one in the bedroom and one in the Living room).


2. Upgrading the Hard Drive.

a. Dont do it. Here is why.

Yes you can upgrade from the120 GIg to the 160 Gig, the auto format table is set for this, but nothing bigger. Also if you go with a 160 Gig or Bigger and its the wrong model you run into major HEAT issues so you have to go with an External HD incloser. THere are other threads dealing the upgrade out here.

b. You better off just playing CSR roulet and upgrading to a 6416 model.
Heres out. Learn ther Color Coding system for your Market.

For Omaha there is Big RED Duct Tape THink tape on all 120 GIg Phase Three model DVR in that Magical Cabinet behind the CSRs desk. THere is Yellow Tape on all 6416 Phasee IIIs the last two digits is the Hard Drive size so 6416 is a 160 GIg HD and it will have Yellow tape holding the plastic wrapper on it.
When you go to the CSR, ask real nice for Yellow taped 6416, tell them you have a HD TV or something and it will make you real happy and smile a lot.
They might just find you one (they they dont have to if your a but about it).

========================================================
Good luck everyone and feel free to add your own help ful tips from your Observations.

Remember we are all here to HELP.

Great tips man. My picture on all the analog and QAM channels is perfect for this little box I have. I do need to get the dust off the thing tho I figure same with my reciever too. I need to copy and paste all this on a word document for later.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but in Omaha with passport Echo 2.5 the diskspace leak is still there. I checked before I deleted a few programs and was at about 9000 free after deleting a few programs was at 11000 free and after reboot now at 16140.


ajwees41

Anyone know how to skip 100 channels at a time in the guide with the new passport software? Now when you hit 'A' in the guide the sorting options pop up.. I'd like the feature to jump 100 channels at a time back...

FWIW ScottChez, I've never needed to do any of that precautionary/PM stuff ... it just works here in SoCal. I never power it off, and I have two DVRs (6412 and 6416).

Perhaps part of the issues are your provider?

I should mention that these are only Tips. Every market has a slightly different system as Cox has bought up and merged a buntch of systems.

They may not all have the same Head End equipment and Software versions, though most are close to the same though so most of these tips will help make life with this DVR better.

I recall Cablevision use to operate in Bellevue back in the day or someone similar.

Anyone know how to skip 100 channels at a time in the guide with the new passport software? Now when you hit 'A' in the guide the sorting options pop up.. I'd like the feature to jump 100 channels at a time back... Don't know since our market hasn't received the new software yet. Consider yourself lucky though to have new software with some good new features while most of the rest of us may be stuck with 2.5 indefinately until the switchover to crappy Iguide happens (at which point I will probably contemplate switching to Tivo S3).

To see how much space is left in meter format (like the guy above is talking about). Go to List, then hit A, go down to "View Disk Info", and click OK. It's sort of a crappy meter though. The Menu, Down, B, Up, B is more precise (exact bytes left).

-Derek-

To see how much space is left in meter format (like the guy above is talking about). Go to List, then hit A, go down to "View Disk Info", and click OK. It's sort of a crappy meter though. The Menu, Down, B, Up, B is more precise (exact bytes left).

-Derek-


That tip only works with the 2.7 passport Echo.

ajwees41

I have probably just gotten used to SD being 'bad' compared to HD so it doesn't bother me to let the 6412 deinterlace. I used to set it to preserve 480i, but changed it to sidebar or even stretch (my family doesn't like the sidebars). The tradeoff may be slightly worse picture, but my tv doesn't black out for a second switching between SD and HD

Yeah, I had come to the conclusion that the 6412 has a terrible deinterlacer. I'm really surprised I've never seen this brought up more often; I feel like I'm the only one that has issues with it.

Hi everyone,
i'm sure this question has been beaten to death be4, and i'm sorry for asking, but i can't look thru 98 pages right now to find the specific answers i need.

I have several programs on my Cox DCT-6412 pIII that i want to get onto a DVD. Now obviously i can just hook up my DVD recorder to the output of the box, but i don't really want to sit thru 13 hours of shows i've already seen.

I read through the guides on using firewire to capture the video, and that's great, but it's also going to require full playback of the shows.

So my question is, is there any way to hook up the 6412 to my PC and just pull the mpeg files of the shows i want off it's hard drive and on to mine? Similiar to what you would do when hooking your laptop to you PC and transfering files? Aside from opening up the unit and pulling the hard drive, which i assume is slightly illegal.

I am pretty sure the answer is no, there is no way to download recored programs from the 6412.
I'm still waiting and hoping I can hook up an external harddrive, mostly for just additional storage, but maybe it would allow downloading if you connected the external hard drive to your PC.

Hi everyone,
i'm sure this question has been beaten to death be4, and i'm sorry for asking, but i can't look thru 98 pages right now to find the specific answers i need.

I have several programs on my Cox DCT-6412 pIII that i want to get onto a DVD. Now obviously i can just hook up my DVD recorder to the output of the box, but i don't really want to sit thru 13 hours of shows i've already seen.

I read through the guides on using firewire to capture the video, and that's great, but it's also going to require full playback of the shows.

So my question is, is there any way to hook up the 6412 to my PC and just pull the mpeg files of the shows i want off it's hard drive and on to mine? Similiar to what you would do when hooking your laptop to you PC and transfering files? Aside from opening up the unit and pulling the hard drive, which i assume is slightly illegal.

well... um... IS it illegal to take the hard drive out of the 6412 so i can do a file copy?

If Cox ever does support external storage on their DVR's, it is almost certain that the data will be encrypted to prevent you from downloading it. Also, the external drive will probably be married to the internal drive, making the external drive useless without the internal drive being present (you can't plug it into a computer).

well... um... IS it illegal to take the hard drive out of the 6412 so i can do a file copy?



That would do you no good because the files aren't in a format that a computer can see.



ajwees41

LogicSequence, no. There wouldn't be a huge firewire extraction thread if it was as easy as that. Pulling the hard drive wouldn't accomplish anything other than possibly having Cox make you pay for tampering - the files on the hard drive are encrypted and the filesystem is not a regular windows/linux filesystem.

Well that's nice and $ucky of them. I had always assumed they were writting as a standard MPEG2 encoded .mpg file. D@mn DRM hounddogs.

All right... well... Can i use the Ethernet port to play the files to my computer and capture them? i have a 50' cat5 cable, and i'd rather not have to uncouple the DVR from it's A/V nest in my living room. Or is the easiest option just to route the output to my DVD recorder and record it that way?

The video files are actually standard mpeg2 transport streams, but stored on the hard drive on an encrypted filesystem - they are unencrypted before reaching the DCT decoder. No ethernet port doesn't work either - firewire is only option and that is limited to non 5C protected material (i.e. premium channels won't work) and in real time capture mode only. Note that using a DVD recorder also implies real time capture so is really not better in terms of time savings, not to mention the D->A->D and re-encoding process you go through that degrades picture quality considerably compared to firewire capture method.

Also note that since the DCT box does not output anamorphic widescreen to S-video/composite outputs any HD material you record to DVD recorder will be letterboxed. Using firewire capture method you can generate anamorphic widescreen DVD that is not letterboxed.

Well the shows i want to get on DVD are standard 4:3 format on a non-premium channel. And if i can just write them to the DVD via DVD recorder and be done with that, it will save me alot of time and effort. I'm not going to go DVR -> DVD -> PC -> DVD, just DVR -> DVD. I'll just finalize the disc in the DVD recorder and be done with it. Besides u can make little menus with my DVD reorder anyways.

My last question, unless something is horribly wrong with my statement above. Do the front panel RCA ports work?

Well the shows i want to get on DVD are standard 4:3 format on a non-premium channel. And if i can just write them to the DVD via DVD recorder and be done with that, it will save me alot of time and effort. I'm not going to go DVR -> DVD -> PC -> DVD, just DVR -> DVD. I'll just finalize the disc in the DVD recorder and be done with it. Besides u can make little menus with my DVD reorder anyways.

My last question, unless something is horribly wrong with my statement above. Do the front panel RCA ports work?



The front rca ports do nothing.

ajwees41

I'm not going to go DVR -> DVD -> PC -> DVD, just DVR -> DVD. That still means D->A->D + re-encode:
D->A: Source transport stream to DVR analog output
A->D + re-encoding: DVD Recorder analog input -> DVD VOBs

MEH oh well

The front rca ports do nothing.

ajwees41


that's... stupid...

that's... stupid...



Why is it stupid? What are you wanting to do?


ajwees41

Is my 6412 about to die? I'm running 2.5.04, 10.12 on Cox in Orange County (the box is about 18 mos old) and has missed every recording since last Friday....that's 5 manual recordings (3 on Speed, 1 on Animal Planet, 1 on Bravo), and a handful of series recordings (including last night's Entourage on HBO, at least one show on Discovery HD, and a couple on Nat Geo). I'm gonna try rebooting tonight (last reboot was 5/28) and setting my start up channel to 1 as suggested earlier by ScottChez.

I'm connected to my HD Plasma via component and have plenty of HD space (73 or so GB). Anyone want to offer me some words of encouragement?

Lardoggy, I'd say it's time you swap out your unit for a 6416 at one of the 2 OC retail centers. I don't like the HDMI output of the 6416 but component is fine and that's what you are using already so that shouldn't be an issue. My box hasn't missed a recording since the last EAS a couple of months ago - the 2.5 Echo software is really good and stable IMO.

I think HDMI looks real bad compared to componet which is perfect. I guess every TV handles componet and HDMI differently.

Yes the EAS bug is a problem. Every time there is a Storm Warning bye bye active recordings.

Well, to my suprise the reboot may have done the trick. As soon as it fiinished rebooting, it immediately begin recording a show that had just started (series recording). I asked it to record some random show on Speed last night and it did that as well. There are a handful of things that need to record to today and if they happen as planned, I'll consider myself in the clear.....for now.

Having said all that, I tend to agree with your suggestion Moyekj, prolly time for an upgrade. We'll see what happens!

Sadly my 6412 from January of 05 gave up the ghost this past Friday. Cox came out and after having some issues with their network got my guide loaded on a new 6416 phase III box. We'll see how this one goes. I got a new remote out of the deal as well which I'm mixed on opinions thus far on it.

The box is quieter(fan wise) and has a better analog picture than my previous box.

So far so good...

On another note, they brought out 2 other dvr boxes but neither one of them would boot up. 2 doa's. UGH.

Everything seems to be back to normal on my old 6412 (ie., it has recorded everything I've asked it to over the last two days)! Thanks again Scott for the Public Service Announcement. I'll be rebooting weekly until I eventually get a new one ;)

Having said that, what advantages are there in stepping up to the 6416???

Having said that, what advantages are there in stepping up to the 6416??? Compared to a DCT6412 phase II unit:
Advantages: 40G more hard drive space, runs cooler (better internal ventilation) and hence more reliable, better analog channel encoders (though with digital simulcast deployment this will no longer be much of an issue as there will be no analog channels to encode).

Known problems: Firewire capture causes FF/REW not to work - rebooting solves the problem.

Potential problems (apparently not for everyone): HDMI output looks washed out compared to component, SD digital decoding is over-sharp.

Compared to a DCT6412 phase II unit:
Advantages: 40G more hard drive space, runs cooler (better internal ventilation) and hence more reliable, better analog channel encoders (though with digital simulcast deployment this will no longer be much of an issue as there will be no analog channels to encode).

Known problems: Firewire capture causes FF/REW not to work - rebooting solves the problem.

Potential problems (apparently not for everyone): HDMI output looks washed out compared to component, SD digital decoding is over-sharp.



The 6412 phase 3 has all those features except for the 40G more hard drive space.


ajwees41

phase 3s can be either 120GB or 160GB.

phase 3s can be either 120GB or 160GB.


I mean the 6416 phase 3 has 160 GB hard drive.


ajwees41

Anyone hear any thing more about Cox and Tivo and the dvr's?


ajwees41

Here's further confirmation that Cox is planning to use switched digital to carry additional HDTV channels. And notice how they brush off the issue of non-compatibility with existing cable cards as if it's no big deal:
http://www.digitalstraighttalk.com/2006/06/hdtv_capacity_theres_more_to_t.shtml#more

Why is this a big deal you may ask? It means CableCard slot in your fancy HDTV cannot be used. It also means the yet to be released Tivo Series 3 cannot be used for these switched channels. I need to figure out where to lodge a complaint with FCC on this.

Here's further confirmation that Cox is planning to use switched digital to carry additional HDTV channels. And notice how they brush off the issue of non-compatibility with existing cable cards as if it's no big deal:
http://www.digitalstraighttalk.com/2006/06/hdtv_capacity_theres_more_to_t.shtml#more

Why is this a big deal you may ask? It means CableCard slot in your fancy HDTV cannot be used. It also means the yet to be released Tivo Series 3 cannot be used for these switched channels. I need to figure out where to lodge a complaint with FCC on this.



If you read it it says it will be compatable with cablecards that are two way.

ajwees41

Yes, and there are no such products released as of yet. In fact the 2-way cable card standards have not even been finalized yet. Existing CableCard devices and Tivo S3 do NOT have 2-way compatibility and will be crippled by switched digital. See this Tivo thread for all the gory details:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=302714
Essentially what this means is at least in the near term we will be forced to rent equipment from the cable company in order to receive the channels they choose to implement as switched digital - which appears to mean some/most HD channels they may add in the future. I was hoping that if/when Iguide was forced down our throats that Tivo S3 would be a viable alternative....

Well the problem is no one can predict what new future development is gonna come down the tubes in the next few years. I guess I'm fortunat that I don't use a cable card or own a Tivo at this point in time.

Knowing that two way services such as VOD were already being used by the cable companies, why would they even release a one way cable card to begin with?

I spent a few years working as an electrical engineer, and wanted to mention that if you buy one of the standard APC computer UPS's, you are wasting your time. all you need is a very high quality surge protector. All those UPS's people buy only use the battery power when the power drops..most of the time you're directly connected to the power grid, and the only thing protecting you is the UPS's surge protector. A surge protector is a lot cheaper and lighter than an offline UPS.

Unless of course you want to spend lots of money and buy what's called an online UPS..but I doubt anyone would buy one of those things for a PVR.


=======TOP 10 HINTS for 100% Up Time and DVD quality Pic & never missed recordings

I have a Buy a Computer UPS, this DVR is a Computer.

a. it has a power surge revocer problem. After you get one, its un stable. Same with if there is a full power outage, it does not recover nice if there is a recorded event that is active. It will often then miss the recorded event.

b. Get a UPS for your Cable AMP if you have one, it it goes out due to a power outage the DVR has the same problem has in #1

2. Set the Auto Channel at power to your Local News station like channel 1.

a. For my area this is Channel 1 News on One where the local news repeats every 30 Mins. THis will give you new on demand as you can rewind to the weather or something when its first turned on as long as you do not change channels right away.

b. The Big reason for doing this is to get one of the Turners OFF a QAM channel. When the Auto Channel on is set it goes to this channel right away when you power the box off (not when its powered on). This cause the box to start streaming a NON QAM channel.

c. This will help with DVR recordings when the box is not powered on. Really the box is always powered on, its just it knows it can do updates. The major bug is with updates messing up recordings, our studies show that if you got at least one channel Not on a QAM channel (80 or above), you get 100% reliability on recordings.

Word is that even after the Digital Simulcasting conversion is done, there will still be at least one NON QAM channel mapped for this DVR (not sure what channel that will be).

3. Reboot it weekly, if you dont it will not be as stable. (HOLD DOWN POWER FOR 5 Seconds) make sure the red light is not on (recording ) when you do this.

4. FOR BEST PIC

a. in HD- If you have HD, put it in the Native mode of your TV, if your watching sports on HD put it in 720P.

b. For BEST PIC in SD (the non HD channels)- set your HD but leave the SD option at 480i preserve, if you dont the Pict will look bad, your TV is design to handle SD cable. They work on making this look good when they design the TV, they DONT work hard on making SD at 720P or 1080i look good.

5. For never missed Recordings.

a. Always choose record a Season, NEW and REPEATS, you can always delete the repeats.

It seems that were are several part Timers updating the Cox Cable guide after they get the main guide info from the national source. Sometimes they just get things wrong on NEW and Repeats. Never just the source. Record all. It takes you 1 second to delete the repeats and besides, maybe it was your favorite and you want to watch it again anyway.

b. Dont use Season passes based on titles.

This is not TIVO. Use Named based recording based on a schedual show that you push select on in the guide.

c. Dont let the Hard Drive get too full.

Yes it will auto delete, but there is a bug, sometimes it auto deletes AFTER the timing was going to fire, THUS you just missed the recording. Its a timing issue that depending on your software version may already be fixed, but you never know so be safe and DELETE to free up space. You can check your Free space here:

DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select
d13 PVR/HDD STATUS - PVR information including current and max temperature, and details about hard drive space and partition allocation

IM sure there are better methods for doing the free space check (please add your ideas to this thread).


6. If you use Firewire, reboot after use.

Yes there is a confirmed FF RR bug, but there is more, it seems after a while the software on the DVR gets a Memory leak when you use Firewire, rebooting clears this right up.

7. Do NOT LET IT GET HOT,

a. put nothing on top EVER! It will get unstable if you do.
Do not put it in a closed stereo case. Leave room on the sides for air.

b. once a Month use a can of Compressed Air from Office Depot or Staples to blow out the dust of the box. Do this while its not plugged in. Dust gets near the heat sensor chip and gives you false readings, it can even cause random reboots.

c. You can check your current TEMP here:

DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select
d13 PVR/HDD STATUS - PVR information including current and max temperature,

8. Outputs

a. If you have HD, check your TVs inputs, EVERY TV IS DIFFERENT. Some do better with Compoent HDTV than HDMI, some like HDMI better.

b. If you dont have HD, try both Svideo and the Yellow jack, you never know what might look better on your TV.

Also compare both channesl 1-80 and above 100, you will get different results on in the Clear channels and QAM.

9. TWEAK TWEAK and RE TWEAK YOUR TVs setting,

a. every DVR mode is different, you have to se the Brightness, Sharpness ect for every model number change and Phase number change Also for ever different Cable change. FOr example a 6416 Phase III will need different settings on your TV. HDMI will also need different. If they do a SOFTWARE upgrade you may also need to TWEAK your TV again.

b. After you Tweak tweak again, also tweak with different room light and have others give you feed back, you CAN get a DVD quality picture with this DVR if you Tweak the TV right!

c. WARNING: DO NOT USE DVE or AVIA to tweak your DVR, those are made for DVD players, and for some reason, but 64xx models do not follow the standard output levels of DVD players, eye ball it looking at peoples suites on NBC nightly news and other know shows that you know how they should look, try to record INHDs test patterns, TWEAKING is very hard, I have troubles with it myself so other hints would help please.

10. Watch our for interferance leakage. If ANY of your Analog channels look bad you may have some loose Coax connectors, this may also effect the QAM channesl (above 80). Watch for LINEs cycling through on the TV on solid backgrounds, this is sign of leakage from a near by Over the air station. In OMaha, you can even get leakage all the way up on Channel 66 (WB 15s translator).

A lot of good diagnostic information is available on this page. NOTE: Activating this page kill any recordings currently in progress, so be careful.

You can also check your QAM signal by doing this. Set both Turners to a channel above 100 the

1. DCT6412 should be on
Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select

2. Check
d04 INBAND STATUS - Information about both tuners (only relevant for digital channels).
SNR = Signal to Noise ratio - the higher this number the better
AGC = Automatic Gain Control - the lower this number the better. Represents amount of work the box is doing to keep the signal tuned to the "sweet spot".
CORRECTABLE ERRORS - Number of error corrections in the last 5 second sample. These errors don't cause any visual distortion of the digital channel but could indicate a signal level problem.
NON-CORRECTABLE ERRORS - Number of hard uncorrectable errors in the last 5 second sample. If you are seeing these then there is definately a problem and you will see image distortion.



SUPER BONUS TIPs
===============

1. Watching recordings on a 2nd TV (like the DISH DVRs).

If you want to watch your DVR on a 2nd TV, say your bedroom, use a VCR. Run an extra COAX to the Bedroom TV.

Use the Yelow Video Out of the DVR to the Video in of the VCR, Set the VCR to Out on Channel 3 or 4.

Buy a 2nd Remote on Ebay (there about $7 + 10 Shipping).

Buy a IR Extender, but do not buy the Jensen IR extender at best buy as the IR out is not powerfull enough for this DVR, use the X-10 PowerMind.

Set the bedroom TV to Channel 4. Connect FULL cable to an other VCR in the Beed room and connect it the full basic cable line for channels 1-80 or buy and A B switch if you have a need to watch 2 different shows at a time (one in the bedroom and one in the Living room).


2. Upgrading the Hard Drive.

a. Dont do it. Here is why.

Yes you can upgrade from the120 GIg to the 160 Gig, the auto format table is set for this, but nothing bigger. Also if you go with a 160 Gig or Bigger and its the wrong model you run into major HEAT issues so you have to go with an External HD incloser. THere are other threads dealing the upgrade out here.

b. You better off just playing CSR roulet and upgrading to a 6416 model.
Heres out. Learn ther Color Coding system for your Market.

For Omaha there is Big RED Duct Tape THink tape on all 120 GIg Phase Three model DVR in that Magical Cabinet behind the CSRs desk. THere is Yellow Tape on all 6416 Phasee IIIs the last two digits is the Hard Drive size so 6416 is a 160 GIg HD and it will have Yellow tape holding the plastic wrapper on it.
When you go to the CSR, ask real nice for Yellow taped 6416, tell them you have a HD TV or something and it will make you real happy and smile a lot.
They might just find you one (they they dont have to if your a but about it).

========================================================
Good luck everyone and feel free to add your own help ful tips from your Observations.

Remember we are all here to HELP.

Website showing Passport Echo 2.7 features.

http://www.aptivdigital.com/passportecho/itvt.asp

ajwees41

Question about the hard drives on these units.
Do you guys encounter many failed or failing drives on the 6412 phase3?

I have two of these, and occasionally (well 3 times a night somet days) it will popup a box saying it can't bring up the recordings list, and it gives me the option of rebooting the box. That's incredibly annoying.
I called Cox and they want to send a guy out here to check my signal once again...I'm sick of entertaining these guys at home and having them do nothing.
I never had problems with DirecTV...I just wanted the HD.....

Omaha is now Digital Simulcasting.

ajwees41

omarh, I've never seen that popup before?? (didn't even know there was such a feature)

Omaha is now Digital Simulcasting.

ajwees41

Whoa when did they turn the switch on? I don't see anything different on my tv. Any idea what channels are currently being simulcasted?

OmahaTVAddict, you can check for yourself which traditionally analog channels (below 100) are now digital using box diagnostics. See my earlier post in this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7602723&&#post7602723

Whoa when did they turn the switch on? I don't see anything different on my tv. Any idea what channels are currently being simulcasted?


You need a digital box. I think they are all digital. MY 6412 reports all digital didn't check my DCT 2000.



Channels 1-40 are either listed as ENC Digital or UNE Digital.

I have checked 41-71 yet. I know what ENC is, but I never heard of UNE.



Just checked 41-71 all are digital.


ajwees41




ajwees41

UNE = unencrypted
By FCC regulations any locally broadcast channels re-transmitted by cable companies must remain unencrypted, so all the local channels should be unencrypted (as should the HD local channels).

UNE = unencrypted


thanks

moyekj

ajwees41

OmahaTVAddict, you can check for yourself which traditionally analog channels (below 100) are now digital using box diagnostics. See my earlier post in this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7602723&&#post7602723

Thanks I was looking for that post.

Taking a look I saw that CNN was broadcasting using dolby digital and I was like that's funny. Seeing this now confirms what i've been wondering. Checking out some to of the channels above 40 it seems there digital too.

Taking a look I saw that CNN was broadcasting using dolby digital and I was like that's funny. Seeing this now confirms what i've been wondering. Checking out some to of the channels above 40 it seems there digital too.


They are all digital even channel 19 and 20.

ajwees41

Channel 20 being the nothing channel is digital. That's just sad. They need to just do something with it.

So has do the simulcast channels look to you guys in NE? Personally I wasn't very impressed with the ones here in Orange County, CA. I have to turn sharpness level on my TV to lowest it goes for picture to look half decent without a lot of artifacting.

So has do the simulcast channels look to you guys in NE? Personally I wasn't very impressed with the ones here in Orange County, CA. I have to turn sharpness level on my TV to lowest it goes for picture to look half decent without a lot of artifacting.


I say they look about the same, but I don't have an HDTV to really tell. The real test will be on how much space I have left after recording a 1 hour SD program with theDS completed versus before with analog.

ajwees41

No doubt the space savings is quite significant - analog encoded channels are roughly 1.6x bigger than SD digital channels for my headend. However I use the box mostly for HD recordings anyway (leaving SD recordings for the vastly superior ReplayTVs) so the savings doesn't mean much to me.

On an HDTV SD channels actually look worse than on a good old SD CRT tube so the image you see now would only look worse on an HDTV set.

So has do the simulcast channels look to you guys in NE? Personally I wasn't very impressed with the ones here in Orange County, CA. I have to turn sharpness level on my TV to lowest it goes for picture to look half decent without a lot of artifacting.

I see a lot of TVs out there that need the sharpness turned way down. Don't think of sharpness as a bad to good adjustment. Think of adjusting the sharpness as if you were looking through binoculars, every pair is different.

I see a lot of TVs out there that need the sharpness turned way down. Don't think of sharpness as a bad to good adjustment. Think of adjusting the sharpness as if you were looking through binoculars, every pair is different. Yes but 3 other device inputs to the same TV (ReplayTV, OTA tuner, DVD player) through the same component input (I go through an A/V switcher that has a single component output for all devices to one input on HDTV) look fine with default sharpness level. Then again others in my market didn't really notice so the problem definately also relates to the TV you have. For my LCD HDTV I have never been at all impressed with SD broadcast quality though DVDs look excellent.

One of the resons tht DVD's look excellent is that most of them are based on films and therfore no de-interlacing motion compensation is required since the even line field and the odd line file came from the same film frame.

Further evidence of what a joke Iguide still is. Latest release (not even available to most markets yet) has these enhancement gems:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7928961&&#post7928961
Hey on the bright side another 2 years and they will catch up with Passport Echo 2.5.x.
It's 2nd half of the year so < 6 months for Tivo S3 debut... should be interesting.

In need of 2 HDMI cables maybe even three, good location to purchase online for cheap?

Further evidence of what a joke Iguide still is. Latest release (not even available to most markets yet) has these enhancement gems:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7928961&&#post7928961
Hey on the bright side another 2 years and they will catch up with Passport Echo 2.5.x.
It's 2nd half of the year so < 6 months for Tivo S3 debut... should be interesting.

I know its probably a ways off but:
Have they addressed the FF/RW speeds and "15 minute" jump during FF/RW?
I wonder if we'd lose all saved recordings in the switch?
Does IGuide offer any great features we currently dont see? Like archiving shows to an external drive, multi-room playback, internet scheduling, download to "secured" portable devices (laptops/ipods), ect?

Where's the value added?

In need of 2 HDMI cables maybe even three, good location to purchase online for cheap?

This place has GREAT prices on cables:

http://www.monoprice.com/

What happens if I buy 28AWG for 5 dollars each with ferrite cores, versus 22AWG for 95

I know its probably a ways off but:
Have they addressed the FF/RW speeds and "15 minute" jump during FF/RW?
I wonder if we'd lose all saved recordings in the switch?
Does IGuide offer any great features we currently dont see? Like archiving shows to an external drive, multi-room playback, internet scheduling, download to "secured" portable devices (laptops/ipods), ect?

Where's the value added? No 15 minute skip-to-tick functionality, so to get well into a show you just have to FF through it (ridiculous). There are a couple of upsides that I know about:
- 30 second skip hack
- 2 weeks of guide data - Though I believe this is also why there are so many problems with unresponsiveness and why guide downloads take forever.
Other than that I think it's mostly negatives compared to Passport Echo and some silly bugs remain like volume is muted after a recording completes or you turn the unit "off" not to mention unresponsive to remote at times and other bugs detailed in Iguide thread. And the system is not smart enough to auto-swap tuners as needed such that if you only have 1 recording and change channels it's not smart enough to handle it on it's own. Looks like a swap function is upcoming in next release.

Why did Cox sign with these guys?

Why did Cox sign with these guys? Probably because of what drives almost every business decision: $$

I had a strange problem with my 6412 PIII yesterday ...

I had no saved recordings and scheduled the World Cup match (3 to 5:30pm) on ESPNHD to record. When I got home at 7:30 nothing. The match still showed in the Scheduled Recording screen and was still scheduled to record on the program guide. The saved recordings list was still empty.

I rebooted the 6412. Now, 2 shows I deleted on Friday returned to the saved recording list and both yesterdays WC match and todays disappeared from the schedule.

I tried to play one of the "resurrected" recordings and the box said it was playing it but continued to show the live network feed. When I pressed the info button it said it was playing the recorded show but actually was playing the live feed.

Cox tech support answer ... reboot the box (which I have already done), delete the fantom recordings, and reschedule the todays recording. Will see if the records todays match when I get home tonight.

Anyone else see anything like this??????

Update 7/06 ... it failed again ... this time it recorded first 45 min of Wednesday's World Cup game (ESPNHD) then stopped. After more than an hour on the phone with Cox tech non-support they agreed to replace the box.

Talked to a Cox tech today, he was at my shop as we service Cox vehicles, he said something of a 6417-8 box?

Talked to a Cox tech today, he was at my shop as we service Cox vehicles, he said something of a 6417-8 box?


With the deployment of ADS I don't think we will see higher than the 6416's. I think it will go to 3412-3416's. maybe higher capacity drives on the 3400 series.

ajwees41

Well after being with Cox and the Motorola box for almost 2 years, I have moved out to Palm Springs and now have TWC with Passport Echo and the SA8300 box. Guess what, the first box already has failed and a replacement is on it's way. The moral to this story, the software is not equal to the hardware no matter who the provider or STB manufacturer is.
Thanks to everyone in this forum for all the good advice and interesting opinions for many years