Gemstar went out of business
Nope. I work for them technically. We bought them and now we're Gemstar TV Guide inc :) I can print up a pay stub if necessary to prove it :)

I'm betting he is talking about the old tan guide or before.

I did have my first hiccup last night on my 6412. I was watching a live recording of Apprentice on CNBC(because they interrupted the NBC feed this past week) and it froze up at the 38 minute mark. I changed channels and it froze. I hit the power but on and off with the remote and it seemed to finally fix itself.

Just a hiccup as far as I can see. No other issues. I may have a few instances of the subscription bug but they are not affecting the programs I care most about yet. Mostly analog channels at best or a digital recording or 2 on TechTV.

Originally posted by Jimbo Moran
If the next firmware upgrade does absolutely nothing but fix my subscription bug problems I will be ecstatic. Any other fixes or features will be pure gravy.

I guess Im lucky but Ive had the 6412 for a little over a week (and recorded 40 shows already and still havent had a bad recording yet)

Originally posted by Shane Martin
Nope. I work for them technically. We bought them and now we're Gemstar TV Guide inc :) I can print up a pay stub if necessary to prove it :)

I'm betting he is talking about the old tan guide or before.

I did have my first hiccup last night on my 6412. I was watching a live recording of Apprentice on CNBC(because they interrupted the NBC feed this past week) and it froze up at the 38 minute mark. I changed channels and it froze. I hit the power but on and off with the remote and it seemed to finally fix itself.

Just a hiccup as far as I can see. No other issues. I may have a few instances of the subscription bug but they are not affecting the programs I care most about yet. Mostly analog channels at best or a digital recording or 2 on TechTV.



Cox omaha switched to Pioneer IPG from the Starsight IPG because cox said that Starsight went out of business. I liked the starsight guide better. Can tell me if the Gemstar guide can do one touch recording on a dvd/vcr combo?


Andrew Wees

This past week the subscription bug returned. It got so bad that channel 704 completely disappeared for over 2 hours. No matter what I did I could not get the channel. No subscription bug screen, just a blank screen. I missed 4 shows this week. Fortunately I back every recording up on my Panasonic E80, but it's not HD. I sent an email to Cox tech support to complain and I asked if there was a firmware fix scheduled for May as many in this forum keep pointing to as the fix to many of our problems. . I got this reply:

I do apologize for the inconvenience with your HD/DVR service. Motorola is working on the fix for the different issues we are experiencing with this box. Unfortunately they have not given us an exact date when the fix will take place. They are just giving us the timeline summer time to work with. Right now they are beta testing it and working on it and they will be rolling it out as soon as they completely fix all the quirks. Sorry I couldn't be more definite on the exact timeline.

That's probably agenernic answer no one knows for sure. The local cox office in omaha doesn't even know abot the phase 2 dvr's or the multi room dvr solution.

Andrew Wees





Originally posted by marc1023
This past week the subscription bug returned. It got so bad that channel 704 completely disappeared for over 2 hours. No matter what I did I could not get the channel. No subscription bug screen, just a blank screen. I missed 4 shows this week. Fortunately I back every recording up on my Panasonic E80, but it's not HD. I sent an email to Cox tech support to complain and I asked if there was a firmware fix scheduled for May as many in this forum keep pointing to as the fix to many of our problems. . I got this reply:

I do apologize for the inconvenience with your HD/DVR service. Motorola is working on the fix for the different issues we are experiencing with this box. Unfortunately they have not given us an exact date when the fix will take place. They are just giving us the timeline summer time to work with. Right now they are beta testing it and working on it and they will be rolling it out as soon as they completely fix all the quirks. Sorry I couldn't be more definite on the exact timeline.

Pioneer IPG from the Starsight IPG
Starsight(before we bought them) was a completely different company than Gemstar. Starsight was bought out and last I checked people are still using them.
Can tell me if the Gemstar guide can do one touch recording on a dvd/vcr combo?
I do not know. That is part of our hardware division.

Yesterday, I lost all guide data. Reboots didn't help. I called Cox, and they did a reset also, and it didn't help. Today, I get no shows at all. The cable has signal, since I can move it the Antenna input and watch analog channels. But nothing from the Motorola now at all live, although I can watch what was already recorded.

So I assume they will replace the box. Any idea of the new Motorola box is ready yet with the better analog encoding?

Chris

No sign of the phase 3 box AFAIK. As mentioned before they most likely will not be available until mid to late summer and Cox will likely not automatically be replacing older boxes unless you need a replacement or other good reason. I'd expect to see a press release from Motorola about the new hardware before it becomes available publicly.

Originally posted by marc1023
This past week the subscription bug returned. It got so bad that channel 704 completely disappeared for over 2 hours. No matter what I did I could not get the channel. No subscription bug screen, just a blank screen. I missed 4 shows this week. Fortunately I back every recording up on my Panasonic E80, but it's not HD. I sent an email to Cox tech support to complain and I asked if there was a firmware fix scheduled for May as many in this forum keep pointing to as the fix to many of our problems. . I got this reply:



Was it blacked out due to sports blackout reasons? That has been happening to me relativly frequently out here, black screen on INHD, and on further research the game is on an analog channel instead of HD.

schmitter;

No sports show, I was trying to record 3rd Watch. I noticed that the red record light didn't come on at 9:00 PM as programmed. I went to 704 and got the subscription bug message. I changed channels to get rid of the bug so I could manually record it but the station had just vanished. I went to analog channel 4 and was able to record that version. But 30 minutes in the box shut itself off, the display went blank and then "boot" appeared and then 12:00 was the time. I just keep getting a credit from Cox for their BETA box.

Haven't been on the Forum for a while so if this has been answered, I apologize - please provide me the post #.

I have been through 4 boxes in the last 6 weeks because the unit reboots after it becomes unresponsive. I thought the units were defective, but now I think it's a bug since I've been through so many of them. The problem occurs when I am using the transport functions, usually when I'm in the buffer. I could be fast-forwarding, and then the remote controller commands to stop, pause or play do not work. In fact. no functions work, except the fact that if I keep pressing keys, it eventually reboots, thus losing the buffer. Cox has, of course "never heard of this problem", and "it must be a defective unit", which I doubt.

Anybody else have the a similar problem? The only thing a little bit different is that I have the TV hooked up through the DVI port. The problem happens on standard broadcast channels, as well as HD.

sucha deal! since you have been through so many units I doubt that all units could be inherently bad. With all the rebooting it sounds to me like perhaps a heat problem. These units do not behave well at all if there is not much ventilation.

A rough check of heat is to check the hard drive peak temperature that you are getting in the Status menus:
1. DCT6412 should be on
2. Press Cable, Power off, Select, Select
3. Scroll down to module d13 (PVR/HDD STATUS) and then click right to see the statistics. You will see some current and peak temperature numbers there. My peak temperature is around 129F and no reboots due to overheating reported. If you are running hotter than 129F that could be a problem.
I don't know how accurate these numbers are, so even if the numbers are not high you should still be sure as a test to leave the DCT6412 in a wide open space to see if the problems persist.

sucha deal! I've experienced the same perplexing reboot problem as you've described a couple of times. It happened to me while I was reviewing the buffer contents (not a recorded program). After all remote commands ceased to function, I knew it was just a matter of time before the box would go into reboot. My unit is pretty well ventilated, so I don't think heat has anything to do with the situation. I blame the problem on rewinding or fast forwarding too quickly, as it seems the buffer has a hard time trying to simultaneously keep recording the channel AND play back all those frames so rapidly. To remedy this, I've either used the 15 minute increment rewind or fast forward function to go quickly to the beginning or end. I've abandoned using the fastest rewind speed in conjunction with rapid bursts of the pause and play keys. In my opinion, the unit just can't "think" fast enough if it's given too much to do while reviewing the buffer contents.

Yes, the rebooting occurs mostly when I'm "exercising" the transport functions quite a bit, fast-forwarding over commercials using the fastest speed and then reversing direction to get to the exact beginning of the scene. I do this fairly quickly, and sometimes swapping between both buffers, thus enabling me to see two shows at the same time without recording either one. The box is sitting out in the open, with no other equipment above or below it, and it is well ventilated.

As more of these units get out there, and as people become more familiar and comfortable with its capabilities and operations, I think this problem will get more noticeable. I think we should add it as one of the bugs in your list, moyekj. This way, others will not needlessly exchange their units, and Cox/Motorola/VideoGuy can work on a fix. If anyone else has some suggestions for some work-arounds, please post. For example, I notice that the very first time I find a non-responsive transport function, if I don't touch any other buttons and leave the unit alone for a few seconds, it will clear itself up. It's only after I'm pressing a bunch a buttons in a row, that it inevitably will reboot. But this isn't always easy to remember to do.

FYI for those using DVI connection to your HDTV. I found out the hard way that my HDTV (and many HDTVs on the market supporting DVI) does not overscan on DVI input. Therefore, in some cases the first few lines at the top of the display would show up as noise - very frequent on analog channels and also when watching 4:3 programming on 16:9 channels. I always assumed this problem was the 6412, however connecting through component and displaying the same channel the noise goes away. After some research I found that it's because overscan is not supported on DVI connection for many HDTVs, however for component connection it is. The DVI connection for my TV was really only designed for connecting a computer as the source (which does not require overscan) - which is really absurd because it does support HDCP.

Therefore, for those using DVI connection and seeing noise at the top of the screen, the problem is most likely your HDTV and the solution is to use component connection instead.

I ended up buying an AV receiver with 3 HD-compatible component inputs to allow 3 component connections to my HDTV which only has 1 HD component input available, so no need to use DVI connection now.

The "noise" is not necessrily noise. It is more likely a data stream imbedded into the channel. They used to have stock market tickers that would have live up to the minute data that used this data stream.

Yeah, I know it's really embedded data stream like CC etc., but it looks like noise if you don't overscan (hence moving it off the top of the screen). In any case it looks like 3 or 4 scan lines of constantly changing noise on the top of the screen - very distracting for an otherwise good looking picture and certainly not something anyone would want to see.

I have another strange one. Channel 702, CBS, doesn't fill the entire width of the screen in HD. There's a thin band, maybe 1/8th of an inch on the side. Alll the other HD channels fill the screen. Any ideas??

I have a Sony KD34XBR960 hooked up to the 6412 w/Pioneer via component video. It is in 1080i mode.

BUG: If I tune to a high defintion widescreen channel, then hit the [POWER] button the the 6412, the sound goes out. A 4:3 type black square fills the center of the screen. The DVR continues to play whatever video in the edges of the 16:9 screen.

jmccorm, yes that's a pretty well known bug with the Motorola firmware - people with auto-sensing video switches have complained about it before.

First time this has happened to me in a quite a while. I had two recordings scheduled early this morning, one from 4 am to 4:30 am on the digital Sci Fi channel, it recorded only from 4:22 to 4:30 AM. The 2nd on FoxSportsSW (an analog channel) started on time at 4:30 AM scheduled for 30 minutes but ran for 7 hours 24 minutes and 21 seconds.

I notice that my daily box updates normally occur sometime between 4 and 5 AM. Anyone think this may have something to do with either of these oddities? Is anyone else here still experiencing these ocassional unscheduled marathon recording sessions?

Just for the record, my 6412 seems to be rebooting quite a bit. I started watching 24 while it was recording tonight and 12 minutes in (while recording was at 41 minutes) it just locked up, rebooted and forgot that it was recording. I was there, and hit record, so I lost 3 minutes.

It is weird that it just all of a sudden dies and reboots during the day. I've seen it 2 times in 2 days.....

Right now this DVR is starting to fail the wife test. I love recording in HD, but the menus, the 9.11 firmware, the EDT/EST bug, the catch up buffer, etc, is really making me want to put the Tivo back on the big TV, even if it's SD...

Oh, here's a question I don't believe it's been posted here before :

I have a Samsung DLP (Kirk) model...the settings on the Passport confuse me. I am using component output to my A/V Receiver which then goes to my TV.

Anyway, on the 'advanced' settings page right now it's set for 1080i and 4:3 sidebars.

As far as I know (yes, probably a different place to post), my TV is only set up for 720p -- now if i set up my cable box (6412) to output 720p, I can't see the picture at all...

Does that make any sense?

Originally posted by IcedCornholio
Oh, here's a question I don't believe it's been posted here before :

I have a Samsung DLP (Kirk) model...the settings on the Passport confuse me. I am using component output to my A/V Receiver which then goes to my TV.

Anyway, on the 'advanced' settings page right now it's set for 1080i and 4:3 sidebars.

As far as I know (yes, probably a different place to post), my TV is only set up for 720p -- now if i set up my cable box (6412) to output 720p, I can't see the picture at all...

Does that make any sense?

I have the Samsung model HLN-507W DLP (it's the previous years model) I also use component output from the 6412, however, I don't have component switching on my A/V receiver, so the component goes straight into the TV. The fact that you can't get 720p may have something to do with the component switching on your receiver. Do you need to set something on the receiver to tell it to use 720p?

It's not really a problem though, because you should be using 1080i output anyway. The reason for this is because the Faroudja chip in the DLP does a much better job at converting to 720p than the 6412 does. So my advice is to leave the 6412 set to 1080i output.

Last I heard the new firmware was scheduled for sometime in May. Anyone have a more exact date yet?

Chris

Originally posted by cpteague
Last I heard the new firmware was scheduled for sometime in May. Anyone have a more exact date yet?

Chris


I haven't heard anything in omaha yet. I hope we get some warning so we don't have any programing erased.

Andrew Wees

Originally posted by schick81
I've experienced the same perplexing reboot problem as you've described a couple of times. It happened to me while I was reviewing the buffer contents (not a recorded program). After all remote commands ceased to function, I knew it was just a matter of time before the box would go into reboot. I blame the problem on rewinding or fast forwarding too quickly, as it seems the buffer has a hard time trying to simultaneously keep recording the channel AND play back all those frames so rapidly. To remedy this, I've either used the 15 minute increment rewind or fast forward function to go quickly to the beginning or end. I've abandoned using the fastest rewind speed in conjunction with rapid bursts of the pause and play keys. In my opinion, the unit just can't "think" fast enough if it's given too much to do while reviewing the buffer contents.

Since the time I have followed schick81's advise, I have not had any reboot issues. I don't use triple-speed-fast-forward/rewind anymore and I use the 15 minute transport function whenever possible. I used to have reboots all the time, so this is another verified bug that has an easy work-around, but still should be fixed in a future software patch.

FYI, I have a macro assigned to a button on my universal remote which automatically takes me to triple FF speed which I press at commercial start and then I hit play once I pass commercial end. I use this method for skipping commercials for everything I record and haven't had freezes/reboots as a result even if unit is busy recording 2 other HD programs while playing back another. So for me triple-FF speed doesn't cause any issues and I'd be very upset if it did. I hardly ever use triple-REW (10-second skip back or 15-min back works better for me for searching far back).

Originally posted by moyekj
FYI, I have a macro assigned to a button on my universal remote which automatically takes me to triple FF speed which I press at commercial start and then I hit play once I pass commercial end. I use this method for skipping commercials for everything I record and haven't had freezes/reboots as a result even if unit is busy recording 2 other HD programs while playing back another. So for me triple-FF speed doesn't cause any issues and I'd be very upset if it did. I hardly ever use triple-REW (10-second skip back or 15-min back works better for me for searching far back).

moyekj: I see you don't have any problem using triple FF speed while watching a RECORDED program. I don't either. It's when using triple FF or REW speed when playing a program that's still recording in the buffer that causes potential lockups, particularly if you switch from rewinding to playing frequently.

Regarding using triple speed followed by hitting "Play," I've never had much luck hitting "Play" after triple FF, as the machine seems to want to go to the nearest one minute mark rather than where I want it to start, so I usually hit "Pause" first, then "Play" after fast forwarding or rewinding.

Hmmm, that's interesting, for many programs I simply time-shift them by 20-30 minutes and then start watching them (while they are still recording) and use triple FF without problems. Live buffers I never use and actually wish I could turn them off (at least when powering off the 6412) to minimize hard drive noise when unit is not in use.

Also, Play after triple FF I find works well for me on HD channels - seems to jump back a fairly consistent amount. On SD channels I find it fairly unpredictable.

Has anyone had this happen to them? A few weeks ago, I was recording the Fox comedy lineup in HD on Sunday evening from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Central time. I had used the program guide to set up to record each of the four 30-minute shows in this two-hour time block. I also had another HD show set to record on another channel from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Since I had done this before without incident, I switched video inputs and watched a third HDTV program from my TV's internal ATSC tuner from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. I usually look at the record light on the front of the 6412 to see if's actually recording and all looked well as I watched my third show.

After viewing more HD shows until 10:00 pm and thinking everything was OK, I went back to check the recorded shows in the list and found the first three hours from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Fox had recorded fine. To my horror, though, I found that the last half hour from 7:30 to 8:00 had the dreaded zero length recording time, as it showed a start AND end time of 7:30 pm. I figured that the subscription bug was to blame, and sure enough, tuning to the Fox HD channel brought up the subscription banner. Curiously, the other one hour show I recorded on the other channel from 7:00 pm to 8:00 recorded just fine.

What baffles me is how can the subscription bug rear itself when the desired channel is already being recorded on? It's not like the 6412 has to retune in the signal when it switches to the next show on the same channel.

My only plausible explanation is that when the recordings started at 6 pm, the Fox HD shows were being recorded in the background buffer. At 7 pm, the other buffer kicked in, which swapped the Fox shows to the foreground buffer. Then at 7:30, the foreground buffer attempted to retune and failed because of the subscription bug, even though it was already recording that channel!!!

Long story short, even though I was babysitting the machine, I still got hosed by the subscription bug, as this was a situation I had never encountered. What really peeved me, though, was missing the season finale (possibly series finale) of Arrested Development, the only show that was a 'must see' for the evening. I just caught about 30 seconds of the beginning of the show, as it was contained in the previous show's recording as the 6412's clock is rarely set exactly to network time and the unit didn't quit precisely at 7:30. In hindsight, I probably should have checked on the unit sometime during the hour, but what happens when you're not at home and you're relying on the 6412 to record without incident and interaction? Yes, I could have done what I've done in the past and set up a VCR backup of the analog channel, but of course, that negates watching the show in HD, so this was really my only record option.

For future upgrades in the 6412's hardware, it sure would be nice to have TWO record lights contained on the 6412's display, so that you if you're recording two shows simultaneously, you could quickly confirm that the thing was recording on both buffers. It would reinforce that your recordings were progressing correctly and alert you to a potential problem if one buffer's LED wasn't illuminated. You could concentrate on watching your third show, and not have to constantly switch inputs and call up menus just to make sure your shows are being recorded!

That's the annoying problem with subscription bug. Pre-tuning to the HD channels that are supposed to record actually AGGRAVATES the subscription bug. Note that the unit does try to re-tune to a channel even if it's already on the right one and in that process is where something goes wrong and subscription bug turns up. That's why the workaround that works most of the time for me is to tune both tuners away from the HD channels every night in preparation for next night's HD recordings.

It's been a while since we had an update from VideoooooGuy but would be nice to know when the next firmware is being released since the subscription bug is one of the main problems to be addressed - my guess is June.

moyekj: I WAS doing your workaround when this happened. I had one buffer set on channel 5 and the other on channel 6 with the 6412 turned off. So, when 6:00 pm rolled around, the box's record light illuminated, tuned to Fox on 604 and recorded the first three half hours of my two hour block just fine. Why it failed to record the fourth half hour, when it was already recording the incoming stream and didn't have to tune in the channel at all, is just beyond description...

Originally posted by schick81


What baffles me is how can the subscription bug rear itself when the desired channel is already being recorded on? It's not like the 6412 has to retune in the signal when it switches to the next show on the same channel.

[/B]

schick81,

I have had something similar happen to me. I used the guide to select 2 shows to record in HD. the first from 9:00 to 10:00 and the second from 10:00 to 11:00. Both shows on the same channel. I set both buffers to analog channels and then swithed to OTA to watch something else. The first selected show recorded fine and the second was a zero length recording.

I have been patiently waiting for the firmware update that is rumored to fix the subscription bug problem. I am still waiting but no longer patiently.

Originally posted by schick81
What baffles me is how can the subscription bug rear itself when the desired channel is already being recorded on? It's not like the 6412 has to retune in the signal when it switches to the next show on the same channel.
[/B]
schick81,

I have had something similar happen to me. I used the guide to select 2 shows to record in HD. the first from 9:00 to 10:00 and the second from 10:00 to 11:00. Both shows on the same channel. I set both buffers to analog channels and then swithed to OTA to watch something else. The first selected show recorded fine and the second was a zero length recording.

I have been patiently waiting for the firmware update that is rumored to fix the subscription bug problem. I am still waiting but no longer patiently.

I just started a new thread, but was glad I found this one. So I'm not the only one with problems!!

About a week after my HD PVR was installed, I had to turn off the power to work on some lighting in the house. The HD PVR was off (as off as it gets) and after it started back up I started having problems. It wouldn't display HD channels, then it wouldn't display SD channels (very fuzzy), and then it wouldn't record (probably because of lack of signal?). I called COX, and they had me unplug it-plug it back in, and that fixed it, for a short time. By the next day it was doing it again. I repeatedly unplugged it and plugged it back in, and each time it would be fixed for less and less amount of time, until it wouldnt fix it at all. So they came out a week later and replaced the box. Problem solved.

Today SCE cut the power to my neighborhood for some scheduled maintenance. Now tonight, it didn't record one show (it shows up in the list but it recorded from 8:59 to 8:59--nothing), and another show it recorded the wrong channel at the wrong time.

Any ideas? The first time the PVR was plugged into a regular surge protector. The second time I had it plugged into a very high quality surge protector, and it still did it. I can't believe it's a surge, because nothing else is being affected.

I get to call COX today and probably go swap the unit. I'm starting to really hate this.

Ive started to have 0 sec recordings on my local CBS station now.... so its better to have it on a different channel when it records?

Looking for tips to limit bad recordings.... since this is my first experince with this.

Subscription bug workaround that mostly works for me:
Every night in preparation for next day's recordings do the following:
- Channel through every channel that you will record (in my case the HD channels) to make sure any channels stuck with subscription bug are cleared out
- Then tune 1 tuner to analog channel, swap to other tuner and tune it to a different analog channel

Originally posted by moyekj
Subscription bug workaround that mostly works for me:
Every night in preparation for next day's recordings do the following:
- Channel through every channel that you will record (in my case the HD channels) to make sure any channels stuck with subscription bug are cleared out
- Then tune 1 tuner to analog channel, swap to other tuner and tune it to a different analog channel

You have made this same post several times yet you never address how you would overcome two back to back recordings on an HD channel which is what the main problem is for many of us.

Jimbo, was answering jagouar question who may not have seen it yet. It's about 90% effective for me and I have back to back or multiple per day HD recordings on same channel practically every day. When I forget to employ the workaround I get hit with subs bug almost every time. I can't explain why it works at all and works for me and not others - I know I'm not the only one it helps since the workaround was first found and suggested by someone else. Will be great when the day comes we don't have to worry about it anymore hopefully in another month or so.

I don't tune both tuners away from HD channels to clear the subscription bug. I just tune the "foreground" tuner to some channel (in my case an audio channel cause we listen to music mostly). I leave the box ON at all times.

The "background" tuner reliably records pretty much all of the HD stuff we want, without incident now (mostly 702 CBS HD, CSI's).

If I leave the box OFF, or leave it tuned (showing on the TV) to 702, it will mess up almost every time.

Unfortunately the box rebooted twice this week with the buffer problem again. I have not been using triple-speed, but it still happens when I hit some combination of transport keys - possibly straight from rewind to fast-forward or the other way around. I am not recording - just using both buffers to watch 2 (or more) shows and skipping commercials.

Sure hope this is a recognized problem that will also be fixed with the next software release.

Sorry if already posted, I did try to search for it, but how do you do the 15 minute skip forward and back. Thanks

Originally posted by gpttigers
Sorry if already posted, I did try to search for it, but how do you do the 15 minute skip forward and back. Thanks Start single speed FF or REW then use the right or left arrows to jump 15 mins forwards or back per press.

Got another quick question.... is there a "no duplicate" feature? I record quite a few "repeat" shows that are shown multiple times a night (Married with Children for example). It will record the same show multiple times. Is there a workaround or hopefully a new software version to fix this?

Originally posted by jagouar
Got another quick question.... is there a "no duplicate" feature? I record quite a few "repeat" shows that are shown multiple times a night (Married with Children for example). It will record the same show multiple times. Is there a workaround or hopefully a new software version to fix this? There is no concept of duplicate recordings for this DVR as far as I know (Tivo has it). I'm still at work but I seem to recall there is an option to specify number of episodes to keep which may help in reducing number of copies of the show that get recorded - but if you set it to 1 you would have to watch/archive every day or next showing would delete the previous recording so it probably doesn't help a whole lot.

yeah i have that set too but still there should be a way to not record duplicate shows.

In order to prevent 2 copies of the same American Chopper, I set mine to only record the 10pm showtime.

I've only noticed this on KNBC news, but it seems like everytime they put up a static graphic such as a weather chart the audio starts cutting out. As soon as they go back to video with motion everything is fine. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it my DCT6412 or KNBC or Cox?

I've encountered most of the glitches other mention, but I still love my DVR and HD ... and I'm only watching 480p.

Chuck

Can seem to find the answer to this, how to you check SW ver on the 6412?

I think I may have gotten a software update yesterday, box powered on and off like 3 times by itself.. (up in CT)

Matt

Originally posted by Mgalin
Can seem to find the answer to this, how to you check SW ver on the 6412?

I think I may have gotten a software update yesterday, box powered on and off like 3 times by itself.. (up in CT)

Matt
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/DCT6412_Passport.html#Tips_and_Tricks

Diagnostics Page
This is a quick means of obtaining software and firmware version information as well as available hard drive space for recordings. Also lists recently downloaded files from the headend.

1. DCT6412 should be on
2. Press Menu to display Quick Settings Menu
3. Press Down, B, Up, B (within 5 seconds)
4. Use Page- and Page+ to scroll pages
5. Press Exit to exit this page

Originally posted by VideooooGuy
It's the Broadcom 7038 chip which is used in lots of DVRs. Specs are here:
http://www.broadcom.com/products/Cable/Digital+TV/BCM7038

We're still hoping to get the new Phase 3 DVRs into customer homes starting in May.

It is now mid May. Has anyone seen a "Phase 3" DVR? We are still at firmware version 9.12 in CT.

Customer non-Service still denies any knowledge of the bugs documented here. The local techs know about them but have no info on when a fix will be available.

VideooooGuy, how about an update, please.

Just returned today from 1 week on vacation and most of the shows that were scheduled to record did not! I checked and double checked before I left that the shows were highlighted in red in the guide, and showed up under "scheduled to record" in the list section. I set up to record "ER" on Thursday night, "24" on Monday, and "American Idol" and "House" on Tuesday. The only one that recorded was ER. There were no 0-minute recordings, nothing at all showed up under the list of recorded shows. I was wondering if something happened over the weekend that would have reset all my recording settings. Did a software update happen? Did this happen to anyone else? Fortunately I also set up my VCR to record them also, and that worked, saving my marriage. But I should not have to do that! Any thoughts? Thanks, BOB

Very often once you get the subscription bug on specific channels, the Upcoming Recordings list no longer will list any recordings associated with those channels and they may or may not record. To fix this you have to of course first clear up subscription bug on all offending channels by tuning to them. Then I go to the Series Recordings setup and change to Record First Run only then back to my usual Record First Run and Repeats for every series recording on the offending channels. Doing this triggers the Upcoming Recordings list to be updated and now all the missing shows will appear again and should record (if subscription bug doesn't hit you again).

I find a soft reboot (hold the power button down until "boot" shows on the display) will bring back the missing recordings. I reboot every night when I get home from work and only miss a few recordings.

It is now mid May. Has anyone seen a "Phase 3" DVR? We are still at firmware version 9.12 in CT.

I'm in CT and was told 5 or 6 weeks ago that we'd have version 9.15 by the end of April. That hasn't happened so I'm giving them till the end of this month then I'm gonna call back - I have about 0% confidence that we'll get it by the end of this month. I just wonder when a customer complains does it actually get logged somewhere so they can see their customers are annoyed or is it forgotten about as soon as the phone call ends?

gahans,
The CSR did log the call and send it out to the local office. The CSR said they never heard of the problems but, since I have had the box replaced 3 times, they would have a local manager call me. A local tech did call back. He knew there were some problems with the box but had no details. I told him how he may be able to duplicate the Subscription bug in the office. All I asked was to put me on the top of the list for a replacement box once the new ones are released.

At least CT has techs that know about the new 6412's, but omaha's techs still have no idea about new boxes they still think the PIP will be enabled in a software update not a hardware change.

Andrew Wees

Andrew, same here in CT. The only reason the CT tech knew about the new box is because I told him. He knew some kind of software fix would be available sometime but nothing about new hardware.

Allen do you know if cox in CT will have a multi room dvr omaha doesn't plan to have it.

Andrew

In Omaha we still have 9.12 and the non dvr dct 2000's were supposed to get a guide update to have a guide similar to the dvr.

Andrew


Originally posted by gahans
I'm in CT and was told 5 or 6 weeks ago that we'd have version 9.15 by the end of April. That hasn't happened so I'm giving them till the end of this month then I'm gonna call back - I have about 0% confidence that we'll get it by the end of this month. I just wonder when a customer complains does it actually get logged somewhere so they can see their customers are annoyed or is it forgotten about as soon as the phone call ends?

Originally posted by apaulct
Customer non-Service still denies any knowledge of the bugs documented here. The local techs know about them but have no info on when a fix will be available.

I am very displeased the way Cox has failed to take ownership of this problem. Is not informing the phone techs a way of managing the customers so they don't get upset that you've had major bugs for months and still can't get them fixed?

For the last two nights I have had trouble receiving any analog channels thru the 6412 box. I either get a black screen or distorted pixilation, but only on the analog channels. All the HD and digital channels come in fine. At my other televisions where I'm not using a box I get the channels with no problem. Bad Box??

Sounds like either a bad analog tuner / decoder in the box or low signal strength. Since the HD and digital channels work fine, I would guess it is the analog tuner in the 6412.

Did you plug your DVR cable feed directly into a tv tuner? If the direct feed to the tv works using the tv's built-in tuner, I would assume it is the box. If the direct feed does not work, I would check any splitter in the line and the cable / connectors. One other thing to try (if you have not already done so): do a hard reboot of the box. Unplug the AC for 30-60 seconds then plug it back in. It may help, it may not, but is worth a try before calling customer (non)service.

Originally posted by ajwees41
Allen do you know if cox in CT will have a multi room dvr omaha doesn't plan to have it.

Andrew
Andrew, the people I spoke to in CT did not even know a new box was planned. All I know is what VideooooGuy has posted on the forum.

Hi all,
I just got a Motorola PVR box installed by Cox cable. I am getting occassional automatic channel changing while I'm watching. Was wondering if plasma glare is being picked up by my IR distribution system and causing that or is it a box bug?

Also, I can't find the 15 minute forward/back button that people have talked about. Didn't get a manual for this box...does anyone have a link to one?

Thanks much!!!

Welcome EJcal. A bunch of info (including 15 min skips) and links to manuals, etc. can be found in my bottom sig link below.

wow, great info. Thanks! Another newbie question...on the analog output I can choose 480i or 480p....I assume I want 480p, no? My box was set on 480i...any reason not to set it to 480p?

Originally posted by EJcal
wow, great info. Thanks! Another newbie question...on the analog output I can choose 480i or 480p....I assume I want 480p, no? My box was set on 480i...any reason not to set it to 480p?

The scaler in my Sony is better than the one in the 6412 so I output 480i and let my display do the progressive conversion, YMMV.

Without reading through 80 pages, lately I've had trouble recording. I leave the box on all the time, but it doesn't record until I start watching TV and changing the channels. It's like it can't record in sleep mode. Previously, I had no trouble. Anyone else experiencing this? They must've had a firmware revision or something.

I have tried doing a hard reboot but still have a problem with the analog conversion from the box. The problem right now is that I have hours of programming from season ending shows that we haven't yet watched and I'm not taking this box back to Cox until we view the shows. I guess thats one of the problems in having your cable box and dvr combined. We will just watch analog programming on another tv until we get some of these shows viewed. Thanks for the advice!

Originally posted by apaulct
Sounds like either a bad analog tuner / decoder in the box or low signal strength. Since the HD and digital channels work fine, I would guess it is the analog tuner in the 6412.

Did you plug your DVR cable feed directly into a tv tuner? If the direct feed to the tv works using the tv's built-in tuner, I would assume it is the box. If the direct feed does not work, I would check any splitter in the line and the cable / connectors. One other thing to try (if you have not already done so): do a hard reboot of the box. Unplug the AC for 30-60 seconds then plug it back in. It may help, it may not, but is worth a try before calling customer (non)service.

Does anyone have trouble with their box changing channels on its own? About 4 times today the box just changed channels. I'm wondering if this is a Motorola box issue or if I'm getting some radiation from my new plasma screen with the IR repeater that could be causing it. TIA

EJcal, never heard of your "self channel changing" issue before in this or any other thread related to DCT6412 so I'd say it's either an issue with your IR repeater setup or a bad box, but most likely the former.

Originally posted by dwcliff703
We will just watch analog programming on another tv until we get some of these shows viewed.

Does your main TV (the one your box is connected to) have a built-in analog tuner? If so, just split the cable and run it directly into the TV. Use the TV tuner for analog and the box for digital, HD and DVR. All my analog viewing is done this way ... the TV is much better at displaying analog channels than the 6412.

This past Wednesday, I have the Passport equivalent of Season Passes for American Idol, Lost and Alias.

This thing went 0-3 on recordings. The weird thing is that only one show gave me the subscription bug. The other 2 didn't even bother trying to record.

I see them all in season manager so I'm totally stumped as to why they didn't record.

Does anyone know if there's something similar to the recorded history on the Tivo on this box?

I love being able to record in HD but the "only 3 of my last 30 recordings are missed" is not acceptable. I'm thinking of going back to SD tivo....

OH and PS I have 9.11 of the firmware. You think 9.12 is rough. Try having Daylight Savings Time F Up all of your season passes.

EJcal, never heard of your "self channel changing" issue before in this or any other thread related to DCT6412 so I'd say it's either an issue with your IR repeater setup or a bad box, but most likely the former.

Thanks for responding...ok I feel pretty stupid. Turns out the channel changing was due to my TIVO emitter still being plugged in and although the emitter was not near the new Cox cable box, it still picked up the signal. Doh!

Well I'm stuck...my guide has gone totally blank since yesterday. There is nothing at all in it, every field says "No Data". It doesn't even know what channel is what!
I tried forcing it do download the guide again, no change...I also rebooted it and unplugged it (the power and the cable)...nothing changes...
I also talked to Cox support and they tried to refresh it and restart it, nothing worked....
I can still watch tv, but no guide, and no recording except manual recordings!
Whats worse..they say they can't send someone until june 16 or so....
sheesh! that's more than 2 weeks....they didn't offer any discount on my monthly service either.
I am about to call them up and say I don't want to pay for the next two weeks. without a guide, and my recordings, its totally worthless to me. I don't like channel hopping...that's why I got a PVR.

omarh sounds like the internal cable modem can't talk to headend. Check d03 and d07 on Status Page (Power off, select, select) for clues of what may be wrong.

Cheer up folks, June is almost here and I think it's very likely we'll get new firmware/software with the much anticipated subscription bug fix (and perhaps other fixes and enhancements) by mid June or so which is only 2-3 weeks away. Too bad summer is here and there's not much worth recording on TV... time to re-start my Netflix subscription for the summer I think.

I am having absolutely NO luck with getting my firewire connection working with my Cox Motorola DCT-6412. I have tried all the drivers on this site and it doesn't seem to work. I have followed the instructions to the tee... no luck at all! I'm frustrated and want to get this working. Can someone help??

My advice is use the Motorola drivers (there's a link in my sig link below) but before connecting firewire run Start->devmgmt.msc and then choose View->Devices By Connection and leave it running. Then, when you plugin firewire you should monitor which devices are showing up. For me in some cases I have to re-plug the firewire cable about 10 times before the initial handshaking works. For cases when it doesn't work devmgmt.msc does not show the AV/C tuner device but some other kind of bus device, so I know right away I have to unplug and try again until I see the AV/C tuner device. It takes patience but eventually I can get it to work.

Moyekj - Thank you very much for the help! Those new drivers helped it grab right away! The only question is that the device doesn't appear on control panel unless i select "show hidden devices" AND then i can see the motorola 6412.... but it comes up fine with CapDVHS....

Thanks again!

Now, how can i grab shows without having to have the box on the same channel?

Moyekj - Thank you very much for the help! Those new drivers helped it grab right away! The only question is that the device doesn't appear on control panel unless i select "show hidden devices" AND then i can see the motorola 6412.... but it comes up fine with CapDVHS....

Thanks again!

Now, how can i grab shows without having to have the box on the same channel? You can only capture what's currently output by the box - either a live show on foreground tuner or a pre-recorded show you are playing back. Captures are always real time and make sure to not use any transport functions (pause, rew, ff, etc) while capturing or you will screw up A/V sync of the capture.

You can only capture what's currently output by the box - either a live show on foreground tuner or a pre-recorded show you are playing back. .

I wasn't able to get CapHD to recognize playbacks of pre-recorded shows... any tips with doing that?

Not exactly sure what you mean by "not recognizing". Check that the channels (you recorded from) don't have 5C protection enabled. It's described in my guide how to check for 5C on a channel. Also make sure Motorola device is selected in CapDVHS or you won't be able to record anything.

Anyone have a phase 3 dvr yet? with Picture in Picture?

Andrew Wees

The scaler in my Sony is better than the one in the 6412 so I output 480i and let my display do the progressive conversion, YMMV
My experience is a complete 180 of that. YMMV of course :)

I just got a flyer from Cox in the mail that says they are enhancing the features of the DVR. The list of enhancements are:

* Auto prompt for extended record time for sporting and live events
* Enhanced skipped channel settings
* Separate ratings for parental control
* Improved title/keyword search
* One step process for purchasing and recording PPV events

I hope the firmware upgrades are also coming along with that.

This is supposed to be happening the week of June 6 between 12 am and 8 am, at least in Chesapeake, VA.

Here is Cox's link for more info on each feature:

http://www.cox.com/hr/cable/dvr/

Personally, there is nothing they could do to enhance the channel skipping functionality that will help. What lame Cox needs to do is enhance the crappy Guide to allow you to only display the channels a subscriber is interested in seeing. I may be wrong, but as far as I know EVERY OTHER guide provides this EXCEPT Cox.

Iguide and MSFT don't and I think Moxi doesn't either and I think most cable and satellite co. PVR solutions don't. I totally agree that's a very nice feature that's lacking and my ReplayTVs have had that capability from day 1 and it's in my top 5 wishlist, but unfortunately I don't see it happening. I think the reckoning is that somehow if you see all these wonderful channels you are missing you may somehow change your mind and decide to subscribe - I know it's pretty lame reasoning but I can't think of any other reason why this capability would be missing.

MSFT guide s/w for the 6412 allows you to select the channels you wish to have displayed on the guide pages. Also, only those channels will appear in the "up/down" remote selection. Any channel may be selected for viewing by number. Pretty nice.

Personally, there is nothing they could do to enhance the channel skipping functionality that will help. What lame Cox needs to do is enhance the crappy Guide to allow you to only display the channels a subscriber is interested in seeing. I may be wrong, but as far as I know EVERY OTHER guide provides this EXCEPT Cox.


Don't blame Cox. Remember, this is Pioneer's software, not Cox's.

While it is true the software is from Pioneer, Cox is the "purchaser" of the software and could add this as a requirement. Also, every guide used by Cox since the old StarSight guide has lacked the feature. So it appears to me Cox has no interest in providing it.

The main reason I purchased ReplayTV boxes a few years ago was to have a decent program guide instead of the junk Cox uses.

I'm quite surprised as to how much certain posters are bothered by the inability to skip channels on your guides. I can't count the number of times I was scrolling through the channels and found a gem of a show I would never have seen if I had restricted my ability to see all the selections. To each his (or her) own I suppose.

Jimbo, what about all the channels you don't subscribe to and channels like PPV, foreign language, shopping network and music channels? You really care to see all those too? And when you type in a search and a whole bunch of matches come back for channels you don't subscribe to - how useful is that?

moyekj,

You make a good point except I subscribe to every channel offered so if it is there I am able to watch it. I agree that I could do without the Holy Roller channels but I choose to live in the Bible Belt and take the good with the bad. The only foreign language channels here are all grouped together (except for one analog UNIV). I just don't hover near 450 to 469, besides they are a different color in my guide so no bright blue digital channels higher than 261 for me. :) I might as well address the digital music while I am at it: From 901 to 946, again all grouped together so they are easy to skip.

Perhaps I just go with the flow and choose to either take what is offered or shop elsewhere. Gotta love economics!

At my age becoming disgruntled over an STB feature (or in this case I suppose a non-feature) might shorten those few decades I have left. :)

Hello Guys,
I have a Motorola DCT6412 from cox cable in New Orleans. My question is; Is there an output from the STB to a VCR or DVD recorder.
I have read the threads on sending the signal to a PC but that option is not available to me.
What are my alternatives?

silverdou, there are composite and S-video outputs that can go to most any VCR or DVD recorder. These outputs are always active regardless of the channel type you are tuned to. For the case of HD channels you will get letterboxed output (black bars on top, bottom and sides and looks even smaller horizontally for 4:3 content on a 16:9 channel) which is less than ideal when compared to firewire extraction.

I had an update in KS yesterday, but I'm not sure what it does so far other than screw up my recordings :mad: . The only reason I knew was because I missed several things yesterday. No letter or anything. All the series recordings with specific times (instead of "all showings") showed the correct times on the main series screen, but when I went into "recording options" the times were all screwed up! I had to delete and re-enter multiple series recordings. I think it's great that they are trying to improve things, but they need to figure out a way to do it seemlessly or send out a letter instructing users to update their recordings on such and such day. The screen in the diagnostic menu that lists the firmware is completely different, and I think there is at least one new entry on the diagnostic menu.

Brett, use the following to get Motorola Firmware and Pioneer Passport revs:
- 6412 should be turned on
- Press Menu to bring up Quick Settings menu
- Press Down, B, Up, B (within 5 seconds)

My guess is the new Firmware will be 10.x and new Passport rev 2.x
(Older rev numbers were: Motorola 09.12, Passport Echo 1.6.026)

Will be interesting to see if subscription bug is fixed and what fixes/enhancements there are.

Brett, use the following to get Motorola Firmware and Pioneer Passport revs:
- 6412 should be turned on
- Press Menu to bring up Quick Settings menu
- Press Down, B, Up, B (within 5 seconds)

My guess is the new Firmware will be 10.x and new Passport rev 2.x
(Older rev numbers were: Motorola 09.12, Passport Echo 1.6.026)

Will be interesting to see if subscription bug is fixed and what fixes/enhancements there are.

I received the upgrade in the past few days as well. When I hit menu, I no longer get the Quick settings menu. It comes up with a small window on the left side of the TV. That window says "Movies" at the top of it and the only actual content in the window for me is "HD In Demand." If I select that, it takes me to my INHD1 channel. Strange.

If I just hit menu again after getting the "Movie" window, it takes me to a settings page where I can set SAP, CC, etc., but it is a very bland, gray, interface, not like the interface I had before. So to get to the settings, I have to hit Menu twice.

Anyway, the Down, B, Up, B trick still works on the initial "Movie" window but the diagnostics seemed to be trimmed way down. There are now only 2 pages of info.

Here is how they break down:

Echo 2.5.037
TC 10.09

Page 1
Recording Status
Recordable Space (in MB)
Total Recordings (in MB and hour/min)

Disk Volume Status
Info about the disk volumes

Page 2
DVR Internal Temp
Current and Max temps (btw, my current is 113F and max was 115F!)

Tuner Status
Tuner 1 Frequency
Tuner 2 Frequency

lebowsky, thanks for the info... did you have to re-do series recordings as was the case with Brett? Any new features you noticed (other than diagnostics and quick settings menu differences)? Also, if you were having subscription bug problems before are they now resolved? Don't be alarmed by the high running temperature - my box runs quite a bit hotter than that, I think around 125F with a max of 132F so comparatively yours is running pretty cool. Phase III hardware hopefully will resolve this temperature issue.

lebowsky, thanks for the info... did you have to re-do series recordings as was the case with Brett? Any new features you noticed (other than diagnostics and quick settings menu differences)? Also, if you were having subscription bug problems before are they now resolved? Don't be alarmed by the high running temperature - my box runs quite a bit hotter than that, I think around 125F with a max of 132F so comparatively yours is running pretty cool. Phase III hardware hopefully will resolve this temperature issue.

All of my series recordings are set for "All Showings" so I don't think I will have the issue. Looking at the shows that are scheduled to be recorded on my DVR in the near future seems to confirm this.

Cox cable in the Hampton Roads area is pretty pathetic so I rarely record HD. The only network we get is CBS and there isn't much on that channel that I want to watch anyway. So I can't really comment on the subscription bug.

I still need to dig around to see what new features have been added. I didn't notice I had even gotten the update until I saw Brett's post and decided to check it out myself.

I spoke with Cox Customer service last night. They admitted there is an issue with series recordings. As of last night there was no patch. Cox is "putting pressure" on Motorola due to the complaints. However, they could not give me a time parameter for resolution.

I spoke with Cox Customer service last night. They admitted there is an issue with series recordings. As of last night there was no patch. Cox is "putting pressure" on Motorola due to the complaints. However, they could not give me a time parameter for resolution. Is the issue just with setups you had with the old software or when re-doing the series setups with new software it still doesn't work? If it's a 1-time change due to software upgrade I can live with re-doing the setups - it's not like we get a lot of software updates anyway.

I got the upgrade too... Happened Monday night around 1am.

When I press Settings or Menu, I get the USELESS pop-out menu that does nothing! Whats up with that? It has "Movies" at the top and INHD in the middle of the menu. You cant move or change anything. Anyone know how to work this "new" feature?

Also, my series recordings set to record at a specific time no longer appear in the upcoming recordings screen. I had to go in and manually redo all those recordings.

As for the new and faster search enhancements, I don't see any change in the search method.

Like lebowsky said, we only have CBS and PBS HD here. However, I record lots of CBS shows, and have never had the "Subsciption bug". I've never had a HD show not record.

When I first received the box, I did have trouble tuning the HD channels with it stating that I needed to subscribe. I called Cox and they asked for the serial numbers off the box and sent some voodoo magic signal to the box and that seemed to clear it up!

Long time reader, first time poster!
Later!


I received the upgrade in the past few days as well. When I hit menu, I no longer get the Quick settings menu. It comes up with a small window on the left side of the TV. That window says "Movies" at the top of it and the only actual content in the window for me is "HD In Demand." If I select that, it takes me to my INHD1 channel. Strange.

I got the upgrade too... Happened Monday night around 1am.

When I press Settings or Menu, I get the USELESS pop-out menu that does nothing! Whats up with that? It has "Movies" at the top and INHD in the middle of the menu. You cant move or change anything. Anyone know how to work this "new" feature?

I couldn't figure out what this was for either. I checked it out again today and it has changed. Now there is an option for "Movies" and "Family." You can scroll between them and choose between some channels (all of which I don't subscribe to). I think this thing is still a work in progress.

Also, my series recordings set to record at a specific time no longer appear in the upcoming recordings screen. I had to go in and manually redo all those recordings.

As for the new and faster search enhancements, I don't see any change in the search method.

I only have one series recording that is set to a certain time but it is not being aired anytime soon (I checked the guide out as far as it goes) so I can't verify whether it is broken or not. I'll keep checking it to see what happens. Sounds like I'm going to have to redo it though.

I didn't notice that the search was any faster either but I did notice that there is an option for "new" in the upper left of the search window. This allows you to blank out your current search without exiting the screen and coming back in. I didn't see that option before but I might have overlooked it.

I messed around with the skipped channels a little bit and it works as advertised - which is that the channels you mark are only skipped when channel surfing with the Up/Down keys. If you open the guide, the channel window in the upper left will have a little green checkmark in it showing it has been skipped.

I also had my first spontaneous reboot yesterday afternoon. This is the first time my box has ever rebooted itself so I hope that is not a sign of things to come!

No upgrades in CT yet. This morning I was still on firmware version 9.12. Called Cox and no schedule is available. They did not even know upgrades were being done around the country. But they did give me the Menu - up arrow - B - down arrow B trick to find out how much disk space was available ... Cox is now publishing that.

Imagine the following scenario:

Current time is 8:05pm

8pm-9pm Show A (currently recording)
8pm-9pm Show B (currently recording)
8pm-9pm Show C (NOT recording because A & B are recording)

All three shows are series recordings.

You notice that Show A is a repeat so you stop it. You then erase the 5 minute recording of Show A. Show A no longer appears in the Recorded Shows nor the Scheduled Recordings screen. You turn the channel to watch something else. Without warning, the DVR automatically starts recoding Show A again, even though you just removed it from the scheduled recording list by “Cancel this Recording”. Sometimes, no matter how many times you try to cancel a recording in the Scheduled Recordings list, it WILL NOT remove it from the list and keep trying to record it.

If you try to cancel all three shows in the Scheduled Recordings list, and then erase any partial recordings made of those shows, the DVR will Automatically “reschedule” them and change the tuners to the A & B and start recording again. If you just want to watch regular TV by canceling currently recording shows, the DVR makes it much harder. Seems to me once you Cancel a particular recording in the Scheduled Recordings list, it should NEVER try to record that show again.

Also, now to cancel an upcoming recording, you have to cancel it twice. Once to disable it and then again to remove it from the scheduled recordings list.

I like 9.12 much better!!

I made an observation tonight that I hadn't noticed before.

I was simultaneously watching a recording from SpikeTV via Firewire from the DCT6412 at the same time I was watching it on component out on a Sony TV. Component out is locked at 1080i, but with 480P output on a 4:3 image.

What I noticed is that in the firewire stream, I was seeing a picture that was wider and slightly taller than what I was seeing on my Sony CRT. The taller part could have been explained by overscan on the CRT, but not the fact that the firewire MPEG2 stream was wider than what was displayed on the HDTV CRT.

I set the DCT6412 to keep 4:3 images in 1080i, but to use sidebars. At that point, the full image was being displayed on the component video output.

It probably has something to do with the video size being 720x480. Yeah. For SpikeTV of all things. I got that from my firewire capture software. So it actually is a 3:2 aspect ratio.

So I suppose there is something that says that if the video would be wider than a 4:3 ratio, and you are outputting 4:3 video in 480p (and I'm assuming 480i), then crop the edges.

Someone have a rational summary/explanation of this?

Welcome EJcal. A bunch of info (including 15 min skips) and links to manuals, etc. can be found in my bottom sig link below.

THANK YOU. This solves a major complaint in my household.

VideoLan Client startup parameters (Windows) in order to have it automatically launch and play the firewire input (without having to go through the menu options):

"C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\vlc\vlc.exe" "dshow:// :dshow-vdev="Motorola AV/C Tuner Device" :dshow-adev="" :dshow-size="" :no-dshow-config :no-dshow-tuner"

Create a new desktop shortcut with that as the target, and you'll have an icon you can double click and automatically see what is on TV. :cool:

(Slight modification may be required depending on VideoLAN's install path or alternate device naming.)

EDIT/UPDATE: The purpose of this is to turn your PC into a display. With the proper drivers and the VideoLan Client, you can double click this icon and see on your computer screen whatever is playing on your DCT6412 HD-DVR. (Unless it is 5c protected.)

Hey guys, GREAT thread!

I've been on the Cox DVR service for about a day now and so far, everything's been great! Only one minor problem though is in some series recording, it will not let me fast forward. If I do try that, it gets me back to the start of the recording.

I do have one question - can I buy a DCT 6412 unit on eBay for my other TV and expect it to work? I'd gladly rent another DVR box from Cox but my monthly bill is over $100 now and doing so will bump it to the near $130 a month.

Thanks!

I do have one question - can I buy a DCT 6412 unit on eBay for my other TV and expect it to work? Nope won't work. The GI # of the box needs to be registered with your local Cox headend or it won't even boot up properly let alone allow you to tune to and record channels you subscribe to. As soon as you register another GI # they are going to want to charge you for digital service and PVR service for an extra box and perhaps even for box rental charge (even though you own the box).

After only TWO days with the Cox DVR service, I'm already having problems:

1. It doesn't let me fast forward some recorded shows.
2. IT DOESN'T RECORD SHOWS THAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO RECORD!!!

The first one is OK but NOT the second one! I mean, this is why I got the DVR service in the first place - to set it to record something and then forget about setting it again!

It did well on the first day - recorded everything that it's supposed to record. However, tonight, I was sad and disappointed to see it didn't record HALF of the shows it recorded successfully the other day! I have about 10 shows that I record daily - all on the same channel - and it's set to record all show times, first run & repeats, etc. and strangely, tonight it recorded, say, the 5pm show but NOT the 5:30pm show and then recorded the 6pm show, the 7pm show but NOT the 7:30pm show and so on.

I don't know what's going on... I don't have HDTV or any of that. Just a regular 24-inch TV and the DVR box. No surround system, no nothing! Just the TV and DVR box...

One more incident like this and I'm going back to recording shows the old way - using a VCR!


~And no, I do not want to set up my VCR as back-up. If that's the case, I wouldn't have ordered this service in the first place! :/

Also, now to cancel an upcoming recording, you have to cancel it twice. Once to disable it and then again to remove it from the scheduled recordings list.

Yeah, my girlfriend discoved that as well the other day. What purpose does that serve?! For those that haven't yet received the update, the first cancel greys out the selection on the list and adds a circle with a slash through it. The second cancel actually drops it from the list the way it did on the old firmware.

I don't think I have this new "movies" menu that others have reported. When I press "menu" it looks the same as before. My firmware is the same as reported above:
Echo 2.5.037
TC 10.09 .

Anyone know what the new stuff is on the diagnostic menu?

There was a question about temperature above. Mine runs about 130 deg. F! The component rack is open on all sides and there is 4 1/4 inches of space above to the next shelf. I'd be happy with 115 :) . What's everyone one else's temperature?

The only good thing about this new release I've discoved is a fix to the clumsiness when you start watching a program while it's still recording. Before there was no way to "stop." You had to hit the "live" button to get the channel back, then go into the list and delete the recording. Now the program will stop itself at the end and pop up the save or delete screen. You no longer have the extra step.

I got a question for those with the new firmware.... On mine now if I do chasing playback the slider bar doesnt update as the show continues to record (ie only shows as far as it was when I started the playback). Has this been addressed in the latest firmware?

Here's another thing I noticed.. The DVR now records partial shows, even if its greyed out in the scheduled recordings list. If you are recording two shows that run 8pm to 9pm and there's a show that runs 8:30 to 9:30, when the first two end, the DVR will record the last half hour of the third show even though it was greyed out/disabled in the list.

The only positive I can see for this is that maybe the DVR will record a show that starts at a weird time, like 8:59pm. It may miss the first minute, but at least it'll pick up the rest of the show after that???

I still liked the previous version when it came to managing upcoming shows. In the 8 months I've had the unit, It's only missed ONE show.

Also, the little slide out menu when you push settings/menu has finally populated. It has several categories: News, HDTV, Movies, Family, Local, Sports. In each category it shows the channels applicable. Kind of wish it would take in account my "skipped" channels list when showing them here. I only subscribe to HBO, yet I see all the MAX, SHO, TMC, Starz... Kind of dumb... But I DO like the skipped channels list!


Imagine the following scenario:

Current time is 8:05pm

8pm-9pm Show A (currently recording)
8pm-9pm Show B (currently recording)
8pm-9pm Show C (NOT recording because A & B are recording)

All three shows are series recordings.

You notice that Show A is a repeat so you stop it. You then erase the 5 minute recording of Show A. Show A no longer appears in the Recorded Shows nor the Scheduled Recordings screen. You turn the channel to watch something else. Without warning, the DVR automatically starts recoding Show A again, even though you just removed it from the scheduled recording list by “Cancel this Recording”. Sometimes, no matter how many times you try to cancel a recording in the Scheduled Recordings list, it WILL NOT remove it from the list and keep trying to record it.

If you try to cancel all three shows in the Scheduled Recordings list, and then erase any partial recordings made of those shows, the DVR will Automatically “reschedule” them and change the tuners to the A & B and start recording again. If you just want to watch regular TV by canceling currently recording shows, the DVR makes it much harder. Seems to me once you Cancel a particular recording in the Scheduled Recordings list, it should NEVER try to record that show again.

Also, now to cancel an upcoming recording, you have to cancel it twice. Once to disable it and then again to remove it from the scheduled recordings list.

I like 9.12 much better!!

So it can skip channels now?

This problem has been fixed.

I got a question for those with the new firmware.... On mine now if I do chasing playback the slider bar doesnt update as the show continues to record (ie only shows as far as it was when I started the playback). Has this been addressed in the latest firmware?

Only when "surfing" channels up and down the lineup. You still see them in the program guide.

So it can skip channels now?

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

Cox attempted an upgrade on my box last Thursday with terrible results. Now the status menu states that the last reboot was Jan 6, 1980 and the box thinks it's Mon, Jan 7, 1980! My box has gone back to the past! I have repeatedly tried to reboot it myself and with the help of Cox customer service with no success. As a result I have no guide info (since none exists for 1980) and cannot record except for making a manual recording. A service call has been scheduled for a new box. I just celebrated my first anniversary with this box and have never had a problem with it (besides the usual bugs). Maybe there is a new box running around with a larger HD? Wishful thinking.

Just wondering ... did Cox pull the firmware update? We still have not seen anything here in CT. Could there be problems and they stopped it's release?

Omaha still has the subscription problem even with the new firmware. I tried taping something yesterday on Boomerang and it recorded only 1 min because of the stupid subscription bug. Also I have noted if the guide data need to be refreshed it is done faster now.

Andrew Wees


Just wondering ... did Cox pull the firmware update? We still have not seen anything here in CT. Could there be problems and they stopped it's release?

Since the upgrade I haven't had a problem with any failed recordings (subscription bug or just-plain-skipped-recordings) with my Cox 6412 in Omaha. Finally it's recording what I want. I noticed recordings started showing up in the guide last week that hadn't been recording since the first month that I got the box.

Knock on wood.

The skipped channels feature is a POS... I want the ability to remove channels from the guide, not just skip them when using channel up/down. Really dissapointed with this.

I haven't seen the pop up menu thing... how do you access this? When I hit menu or settings it just brings up the settings menu.

in omaha as well, got the upgrade last week at 12:55am....stopping a recording i had going. so that wasn't good.

hadn't had any problem with the 0 min recording problems until the upgrade, and now i've had 2 in a week. of course calling cox doesn't really do any good, all they want to do is swap out the box...thus losing anything saved on the HD.

got the update in College Station, TX.

Is there a full list somewhere of stuff that was added?

AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

Cox attempted an upgrade on my box last Thursday with terrible results. Now the status menu states that the last reboot was Jan 6, 1980 and the box thinks it's Mon, Jan 7, 1980! My box has gone back to the past! I have repeatedly tried to reboot it myself and with the help of Cox customer service with no success. As a result I have no guide info (since none exists for 1980) and cannot record except for making a manual recording. A service call has been scheduled for a new box. I just celebrated my first anniversary with this box and have never had a problem with it (besides the usual bugs). Maybe there is a new box running around with a larger HD? Wishful thinking.

I had the same problem on my 6412 after the update last week with missing guide data and a system date of 1/7/80. It was after a two and a half hour power failure on Friday last week that the guide data started turning up missing. Numerous reboots didn't solve the problem and finally last night the box wouldn't even get past the Passport welcome screen (only 7 of the 11 progress dots) for over 30 minutes. Then, when I tried to play a show from the recorded programs list, I got a "Subscription Required" banner and no playback whatsoever. In addition, the normal whirring of the hard drive wasn't present, so it may have finally fried. There was an incoming cable signal coming into the box as my VCR's and TV all were accessing the Cox service fine, so it doesn't seem to be an issue where the box didn't know how to "phone home."

Not wanting to wait five days for a service call, I went to the local office and swapped out my box today for another unit and hopefully this one will actually be able to acquire guide data and let me record something!!!

It appears the latest update has turned on the 5C copy protection flag. I cant even route the picture through my JVC 30K via firewire without audio/video distortion and dropouts. Is there any setting I am missing or is the era of D-VHS archiving over?

Has anyone used the "on-demand" feature much? I guess it would be great if we didn't have a pvr....but I think the interface isn't as good as something actually recorded on our pvr's...of course the advantage is their library is huge.
One thing I dont' get is, how it appears you can view various HBO programming through on demand...but I am not subscribed to HBO at all....weird eh?

EOD is not working for me right now here in Orange County - hitting Select when tuned to EOD channel doesn't take me to EOD menu. Reportedly the delay for Orange County getting the new software update is they use a different EOD service than most other Cox markets and there was a problem with the integration with new software - may explain why EOD is not working here right now.

EOD is not working for me right now here in Orange County - hitting Select when tuned to EOD channel doesn't take me to EOD menu. Reportedly the delay for Orange County getting the new software update is they use a different EOD service than most other Cox markets and there was a problem with the integration with new software - may explain why EOD is not working here right now.
EOD has been working in the Coto area of South Orange County for a few months, so maybe they're rolling it out a city at a time?

EOD has been working in the Coto area of South Orange County for a few months, so maybe they're rolling it out a city at a time? Steve, EOD had been working for a few months for me too until just recently (I'm in Mission Viejo). Not exactly sure when it stopped working as I hardly ever use EOD however. I mentioned it mostly for the correlation to the delay in OC software/firmware update.

EOD is working here in Irvine. However, you cannot record anything shown on channel one. I called Cox and they said it was a copyright issue. Under the old On Demand system you could record. Of course, you can record any HBO show shown on the regular channels so I guess the non-record function is to prevent recording of the PPV movies

EOD is working again tonight in Mission Viejo, Orange County... who knows when we'll get the software update though. You can record EOD movies via firewire port... but quality of the EOD movies is pretty bad compared to the DVD equivalent.

How do I check if 5C copy protection is on in omaha?

Andrew Wees



It appears the latest update has turned on the 5C copy protection flag. I cant even route the picture through my JVC 30K via firewire without audio/video distortion and dropouts. Is there any setting I am missing or is the era of D-VHS archiving over?

How do I check if 5C copy protection is on in omaha?

Andrew Wees
http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html#DCT6412_Firewire_mpeg2_capture_using

It appears the latest update has turned on the 5C copy protection flag. I cant even route the picture through my JVC 30K via firewire without audio/video distortion and dropouts. Is there any setting I am missing or is the era of D-VHS archiving over?

This does not make sense. The 30K is 5C compliant for 'record once', which should include all premium channel (except the movies on demand). Maybe your cable company has set the 'record never' flag.

Try a different firewire cable. With 5C, it works or it doesn't (you get white noise if it fails, not a picture with dropouts).

Rich4av-
I switched out another firewire cable, but it didnt help. I get a message that says-

Copy Protected Prog
Output 480I Video
(302)

I recently tore apart my system to accomodate a new TV and the software download was at about the same time. The only thing I hooked up different was replacing the S-Vids with Component on the Sony DVR the 6412 is connected to via Component also. My friend is in the same Cox area and his box is working OK. I hope this is something that can be fixed by Cox or I may have to switch back to Dish Network.

How do I get the firmware upgrade and is it available in Norfolk, VA? Thanks.

How do I get the firmware upgrade and is it available in Norfolk, VA? Thanks.


It happens when your cable company makes the decision, there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

How do I get the firmware upgrade and is it available in Norfolk, VA? Thanks.

I got it a couple weeks ago in Va Beach, so I'd think you'd have it already...

It appears we got the upgrade here in Tulsa this morning. However I do not see any functional changes other than the increased difficulty in cancelling a program previously scheduled to record. I suppose we did also get that skip channel function that seems to be so popular. Pressing the settings button still brings up the same menu as before.

any word on new firmware in Cox New England?

Cox Omaha is giving out a newer model Silver remote for the dvr. The cable light on the remote lights now when the PIP buttons on the remote are pressed.

Andrew Wees

I'm in New Hampshire, but not on Cox -- on a company called Metrocast. We're still on 9.11. And the older firmware. I have asked about it through the company, they say they are testing the software.

Fingers are crossed...

I had the same problem on my 6412 after the update last week ... It was after a two and a half hour power failure on Friday last week that the guide data started turning up missing. Numerous reboots didn't solve the problem and finally last night the box wouldn't even get past the Passport welcome screen (only 7 of the 11 progress dots) for over 30 minutes. Then, when I tried to play a show from the recorded programs list, I got a "Subscription Required" banner and no playback whatsoever. In addition, the normal whirring of the hard drive wasn't present, so it may have finally fried. There was an incoming cable signal coming into the box as my VCR's and TV all were accessing the Cox service fine, so it doesn't seem to be an issue where the box didn't know how to "phone home.",

Not wanting to wait five days for a service call, I went to the local office and swapped out my box today for another unit and hopefully this one will actually be able to acquire guide data and let me record something!!!

I have the 10.09 here in Manhattan, KS.

I had the same problem as schick81, stuck with 4 dots left on "please wait" and finally going through (after hours!) only to have No Data in the guide and absolutely no channel labels (?!), and no ability to play recorded shows. Error code was -1, Subscription Required.

I also do not have that "pop-out" window when I press Menu. We don't have On Demand here, so maybe that's it?

Sorry to hear you took back your box! They told me last night that's what I would have to do, but I just left it on all night -- it was still stuck with 4 dots left, and I couldn't even hold down the power button to make it reset. Had to unplug it, but then it popped right up with the guide data and everything. So, I won't lose my recordings after all!

...but that may not matter as my first few attempts at recording to the PC via firewire seem to be having skipping issues. Still have more testing to do there.

It seems that maybe the reaction-time-compensation might be more reasonable now! "Fast"-forwarding past commercials before, I had to do a slow 3-count before hitting play to try to time it right. Now it seems that this isn't always the case. The problem is, I'm not sure it's always consistent. Always something...

I'm really hoping the subscription bug is fixed -- the other day I called to complain about missing recordings and they offered to credit me $0.64. Are you kidding me? $96 a month and they want to credit me less than a can of pop. If only Dish had a firewire box...

I seem to have the same problem on my COX 6412 here in Tulsa. My symptons actually started when I noticed that the hd channels on the dvi connector had green sparklies. The green sparklies were only on the HD channels and only when going through the DVI cable, not via component. So of course I tried rebooting, and this is when my real problems with the box started. it would get stuck with 4 dots left.
After numerous reboots and unplugings, the final result is, the time is off, and there is no channel guide. My recorded shows show up but I get the -1 subscription error.
I went to the cox office yesterday , but they had closed before I got there, so I guess I will swap it out on Monday.

I am in the OC, Ladera Ranch, and just got a 6412 III as a replacement for an older model that went bad (same green sparklies on the HD channels using DVI and the hard drive kept locking up) after 8 months.

I can see that it does not have DVI but now has HDMI. Anyone know what other changes have been made?

The Motorola site does not show the new model.

I have not received the latest update either as I have Echo 1.6.026 TC 12.15. I do not see anything useful but free space and record time when I use Menu, Down, B, Up, B. I do not see temp or anything else.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am in the OC, Ladera Ranch, and just got a 6412 III as a replacement for an older model that went bad (same green sparklies on the HD channels using DVI and the hard drive kept locking up) after 8 months.

I can see that it does not have DVI but now has HDMI. Anyone know what other changes have been made?

The Motorola site does not show the new model.

I have not received the latest update either as I have Echo 1.6.026 TC 12.15. I do not see anything useful but free space and record time when I use Menu, Down, B, Up, B. I do not see temp or anything else.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.


I also noticed that with no recording yet there is only just under 91MB of free space!?!? Does anyone know if the newer models really have smaller drives?

My software version is Echo 2.5.037 TC 10.09 (boot date/time is invalid)

I think your 91mb is either 91 gig, or you are looking at the sys volumn or something. My SYS volumn has 1mb used, 237mb free.
But my PVR_content total is 109944MB or about 110gig

You have newer firmware than Omaha has with an older model 6412. The only difference I see is the Firmware Version. Does PIP work?

Andrew Wees






I am in the OC, Ladera Ranch, and just got a 6412 III as a replacement for an older model that went bad (same green sparklies on the HD channels using DVI and the hard drive kept locking up) after 8 months.

I can see that it does not have DVI but now has HDMI. Anyone know what other changes have been made?

The Motorola site does not show the new model.

I have not received the latest update either as I have Echo 1.6.026 TC 12.15. I do not see anything useful but free space and record time when I use Menu, Down, B, Up, B. I do not see temp or anything else.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I seem to have the same problem on my COX 6412 here in Tulsa. My symptons actually started when I noticed that the hd channels on the dvi connector had green sparklies. The green sparklies were only on the HD channels and only when going through the DVI cable, not via component. So of course I tried rebooting, and this is when my real problems with the box started. it would get stuck with 4 dots left.
After numerous reboots and unplugings, the final result is, the time is off, and there is no channel guide. My recorded shows show up but I get the -1 subscription error.
I went to the cox office yesterday , but they had closed before I got there, so I guess I will swap it out on Monday.

Don't swap it out yet! If you don't have recordings you care about, swapping it out *will* be the fastest way to fix it -- but if you long to keep your recordings patience will pay off, at least it finally did for me. I simply left it on overnight after the Cox phone support person reset my box (I think she sent a code and when I left it unplugged for more than 35 seconds, it came back with flashing "Send Init" which I couldn't make it do on my own). Once it came back to the welcome screen, it stuck again at 4 dots. I left the box on and turned the TV off. The next morning I turned the TV back on to find 4 dots still empty. By then I couldn't turn the 6412 off, or even get it to reset by holding down the power button, but unplugging it and plugging it in (waited about 5 or 6 seconds) had it up again in perfect order! I was relieved, if not more than a bit surprised as this same sequence had not worked in the 2 days prior. The magic ingredients, I beleve were whatever mojo the cox rep sent me, as well as not touching any buttons after powering it up post-Init.

Perhaps this is what happens when a firmware update is interrupted? I'm simply AMAZED that it could even handle such a thing (especially considering its other software glitches). Most computer devices in my experience would be totally S-O-L after such an event. So while I must give both thumbs down for not having a simple message that says "firmware update in progress - don't even breathe!", many kudos to the programmers for keeping the box from destroying itself.

Another update: the fast-forward reaction-compensation DOES appear to have been considerably shortened. It's taking some getting used to, but I am oh so very happy that I no longer have to count to 3 before I hit the play button after commercials! Was I the only person who was really irked by this? :o

I swapped it. Well, it seemed to work at first, it had all the entire program guide, but it would not show any channels. nothing, blank.
I rebooted, and had them send a signal, and still nothing, channel guide was there but would not tune to any channel, you could go to the channel but it would be blank. If you hit info, it would show the information, but never the program, not digital, not analog, not hd.
I removed all splits and the amplifier and rebooted and it again seemed to get stuck with 4 dots left, but then it worked. It seems to be working now, but I will have to rehook all the splits and amplifier back up, or everybody else in the house will be mad.
I hooked all the splits and the coax amplifier backup, and it still works, but i don't have the nerve to reboot it now and see if it completes or not.

Ran into my first bug and on the new software no less =/

Zero length recording on ESPN HD for the Home Run Derby last night.

Cox Tulsa.

That is a bummer Shane. I haven't had a zero length recording since the update, (Knock on wood)

I had to power down my 6412 today, and it came back up good, so it doesn't seem to be any issue with splitters and amplifiers at least on my end.

I have never had the zero length recordings on anything other than my local hd channels.

I am now getting a beeping / chirping sound that periodically occurs when we are watching something that has been recorded. The little red message light in the upper left hand corner of the front screen on the dvr also flashes periodically.

My software version is Echo 2.5.037 TC 10.09
Ditto as it should be for the same city.

When I tried to record the baseball game it came up with a screen saying "no subscription" then it popped in. I wonder if that is the culprit. I can go to ESPN HD now or even last night and it was fine :(

Luckily for me, the whole home run derby lasted over 3 hours so I got to see the end. No skin off my back. It's been rather reliable most of the time(99.9%).

got a different question.... does anybody know if there is a way to have a single button do closed captioning? Im looking at programming my harmony remote when I hit the mute button on my receiver it would turn on closed captoning (its a nice feature alot of TV's have) but I havent seen a way to get closed captioning on a single button.

When I fast forward either recorded or live tv at full speed the 6412 reboots. What could be causing this?

Andrew wees

After I got the new box, I seem to be having trouble setting up the output format in the general settings to give me the best picture (ie. 1080, etc.....).

I have a Mits 62725 DLP.

Any suggestions on the best setup?

I've got a 6412 hooked up via component to a 52725. I use 1080i Wide, Preserve 4:3 pic - 480p.

Picture quality is really poor on analog channels (1-100), very good on digital SD channels, and really good on HD channels.

The analog channels look a lot better when using the TV's analog tuner.

I don't change the format/aspect ratio on my TV for 4:3 content... degrades picture quality too much for my tastes.

Since you are using component you could try 4:3 override set to 480i and it might improve your analog channels, however, it might degrade your SD digital channels.
Using DVI with my 6412 connected to a DLP RPTV with override set to 480p I get excellent analog channel video and can not tell the difference from using the TVs internal analog tuner. I also have a very strong cable signal which I think helps.
I understand that the new 6412 model 3 units have an improved analog tuner.

Since you are using component you could try 4:3 override set to 480i and it might improve your analog channels, however, it might degrade your SD digital channels.
Using DVI with my 6412 connected to a DLP RPTV with override set to 480p I get excellent analog channel video and can not tell the difference from using the TVs internal analog tuner. I also have a very strong cable signal which I think helps.
I understand that the new 6412 model 3 units have an improved analog tuner.

I have my 6412 model 3 hooked up to my DLP via HDMI and I would say that the analog channels are quite a bit better than before. I am much more willing to watch the analog or digital channels than I was before. While they do not get close to the HD channels, it is no longer painful to watch.

Although I am having a lot of hard drive noise in this new model (sounds like a bird chirping) so I am getting it swapped out tomorrow.

How do I determine which model of 6412 I have. I got my 6412 not long after they were made available here in Omaha.

How do I determine which model of 6412 I have. I got my 6412 not long after they were made available here in Omaha.

The easiest way I can see is on the front. Mine says "6412 III". The version III also has HDMI and USB 2.0 while the version II has DVI and USB 1.1 (i think).

I too have a 6412 here in RI. How do you use the dual tuner function. It would be nice to view PIP from one source on my Pioneer 4350. :eek:

Thanks in advance for the help.

I too have a 6412 here in RI. How do you use the dual tuner function. It would be nice to view PIP from one source on my Pioneer 4350. :eek:

Thanks in advance for the help.

I don't think it will work with PIP. There is only 1 video stream output AFAIK. The dual tuners allow you to record 2 shows at the same time. You can watch a 3rd show off the hard drive. The swap button will switch between the 2 tuners, but only 1 will be outputing video at one time.

Chris

Chris, you are correct. PIP does not work with the 6412 II box. I have heard it may be available in the 3rd generation box but no one has confirmed it. Here in CT (and I assume the rest of New England) we have not seen the III G box and are still on the old 9.12 firmware.

I don't think it will work with PIP. There is only 1 video stream output AFAIK. The dual tuners allow you to record 2 shows at the same time. You can watch a 3rd show off the hard drive. The swap button will switch between the 2 tuners, but only 1 will be outputing video at one time.

Chris
My old dual tuner DirecTV Ultimate TV box with Microsoft software provided PIP by building the PIP screen image in the STB and then outputtingthe image it over its 1 video stream output. So it is certainly possible 5 years later that another dual tuner STB can have the internal firmware to do the same thing.

Sorry, new here- so if this needs to be posted somewhere else, let me know. I just saw this thread and you guys are kind-of talking about it, but I just wanted to come right out and ask for advice or a pointer to info already posted:

I have a motorola dct6400 series and the cox dvr service
I want to know how do I connect drives or even a network connection (wireless possibly) to get the movies off the dvr drive and store them somewhere else. Even getting movies onto the DVR from my PC. It has all the USB, etc. on the unit, but I have no idea how to talk to it once I get something connected. Is there any place that explains this? the instructions give no advice (but they do have specs):


Thanks for tolerating a newbie.

You can do that with 6412 at present time.

Andrew Wees


Sorry, new here- so if this needs to be posted somewhere else, let me know. I just saw this thread and you guys are kind-of talking about it, but I just wanted to come right out and ask for advice or a pointer to info already posted:

I have a motorola dct6400 series and the cox dvr service
I want to know how do I connect drives or even a network connection (wireless possibly) to get the movies off the dvr drive and store them somewhere else. Even getting movies onto the DVR from my PC. It has all the USB, etc. on the unit, but I have no idea how to talk to it once I get something connected. Is there any place that explains this? the instructions give no advice (but they do have specs):


Thanks for tolerating a newbie.

I have a motorola dct6400 series and the cox dvr service
I want to know how do I connect drives or even a network connection (wireless possibly) to get the movies off the dvr drive and store them somewhere else. Even getting movies onto the DVR from my PC. It has all the USB, etc. on the unit, but I have no idea how to talk to it once I get something connected. Is there any place that explains this? the instructions give no advice (but they do have specs):



You can use the firewire output of the 6412 to connect to a Windows XP PC to caputure the digital feed. I've done that myself. See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695

Also, there is a nice set of instructions at: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html

Chris

If your local cox has implamented 5c copy protection for Digital channels firewire will not work. It will be garbage.

Andrew WeesYou can use the firewire output of the 6412 to connect to a Windows XP PC to caputure the digital feed. I've done that myself. See: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695

Also, there is a nice set of instructions at: http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html

Chris

Does anyone know if PIP works on the Phase 3?

Did the Motorola Diagnostic pages change at all with the addition of SATA on the Phase 3? In other words, is there now a SATA diag page? If so what does it display?

Thanks

At 8:15AM this morning, my cable box went out, then it showed on the display a DL and then one LED moving through the bottom half of the first 8 in a circle for about 20 minutes.

Like a kid at Christmas, I could hardly wait...could this be the big upgrade from firmware 9.11?

YES! 9.19 is in the house. Echo version is 1.6.026...remote response seems much faster.

Still wish it would explain why a show isn't being recorded in the guide -- you just see REC with a line through it. UNHELPFUL!!

Still wish it would explain why a show isn't being recorded in the guide -- you just see REC with a line through it. UNHELPFUL!!

I get that all the time, Iced. The guide changes from Red and REC to Black and REC with a line through it. All shows on that channel also disappear from the "scheduled recordings" window. A reboot will usually help. I think this is also related to the subscription bug.

BTW, we are still on 9.12 here in Cheshire, CT. I have been in contact with the local office and they are trying to get info on firmware updates, Phase III boxes, etc. Nothing yet :mad:

At 8:15AM this morning, my cable box went out, then it showed on the display a DL and then one LED moving through the bottom half of the first 8 in a circle for about 20 minutes.

Like a kid at Christmas, I could hardly wait...could this be the big upgrade from firmware 9.11?

YES! 9.19 is in the house. Echo version is 1.6.026...remote response seems much faster.

Still wish it would explain why a show isn't being recorded in the guide -- you just see REC with a line through it. UNHELPFUL!! That's not the "new" software and firmware others have received. Looks like some minor firmware upgrade probably trying to address some issue. That Passport Echo version is the "old" one. I won't get excited until firmware version changes to 10.x and Echo changes to 2.5.x.

I wish selective firmware/software upgrades could be done. Personally I don't care if our VOD doesn't work with the new software so wouldn't care if that's the price for getting the firmware/software update now rather than who knows when.

I thought 9.19 was the most recent firmware?

Doesn't this version (or at least anything later than 9.11, my previous firmware) fix the daylight savings issue, the play delay (hitting play after FF doesn't rewind an extra minute) and so forth?

The FAQ may be outdated, as it shows 9.12 being the latest and my echo passport version being the latest of the software.

Or is that just wish list thinking of you?

Omaha NE is on Passport version 2.5.037 and firmware 10.09.

Andrew Wees


I thought 9.19 was the most recent firmware?

Doesn't this version (or at least anything later than 9.11, my previous firmware) fix the daylight savings issue, the play delay (hitting play after FF doesn't rewind an extra minute) and so forth?

The FAQ may be outdated, as it shows 9.12 being the latest and my echo passport version being the latest of the software.

Or is that just wish list thinking of you?

IcedCornholio, I haven't updated my web page because in Orange County as in New England we haven't received the new software and firmware yet. I want to see the software for myself before updating the features, bug list, version #s etc. Look back a few posts and you will see firmware and Echo software versions others in Cox markets that have the update have reported.

I missed it a few pages ago in the thread. I thought it was just a firmware update, not a whole new Passport. Thanks for the update.

For the record, I'm not on Cox, I'm on MetroCast (http://www.metrocastcablevision.com), which I believe is not a nationwide company. They've actually been pretty good, I was surprised to get that firmware right after I said there was an udpate.

Fingers crossed on the new passport. Sorry for the confusion.

I have a new phase 3 box from Cox in Orange County, and tonight I got the dreaded subscription bug and 0 length recording on CBS-HD. The box had been on all day, and I'd had no trouble getting this channel. I really hope they fix this soon.

When I do the down, B thing in the settings menu, it shows Echo 1.6.026 and TC 12.15. I also looked at the detailed diagnostics page, but where do I find the firmware version? I expected it would be 9. something, but I didn't see it anywhere I looked.

The TC 12.15 is the firmware version.

Andrew Wees


QUOTE=Whitearrow]I have a new phase 3 box from Cox in Orange County, and tonight I got the dreaded subscription bug and 0 length recording on CBS-HD. The box had been on all day, and I'd had no trouble getting this channel. I really hope they fix this soon.

When I do the down, B thing in the settings menu, it shows Echo 1.6.026 and TC 12.15. I also looked at the detailed diagnostics page, but where do I find the firmware version? I expected it would be 9. something, but I didn't see it anywhere I looked.[/QUOTE]

I have a new phase 3 box from Cox in Orange County, and tonight I got the dreaded subscription bug and 0 length recording on CBS-HD. The box had been on all day, and I'd had no trouble getting this channel. I really hope they fix this soon.

When I do the down, B thing in the settings menu, it shows Echo 1.6.026 and TC 12.15. I also looked at the detailed diagnostics page, but where do I find the firmware version? I expected it would be 9. something, but I didn't see it anywhere I looked. TC = Thin Client = Firmware version as stated above. For Phase III boxes it is 12.x and for older models of 6412 boxes 9.x or 10.x. Obviously the newer model has different hardware components that require different firmware than the earlier models.

Do any of the hardware/firmware combinatins work correctlY?

I just put my 6412 III in a case and the temp runs as high as 115 when I have the cable on for a while. When the cable is off, it runs around 108.

Does anyone know how high the temp can be continuously on the 6412 without causing any probs?

I got my Phase III STB a couple of days ago and am disappointed at how hot it is running.

The only place I have to put it is fully enclosed with only a 6" wide vertical ventilation slot at the back of the cabinet.

My Phase III runs at around 120 degrees whereas my prior 6412 ran about 125.

Not much of a dif? However, I hav't had any probs that I could attribute to high heat with either box.

I understood that the Phase III came with a new internal fan that was operated by a thermostat to come on at a certain temp and shut off when the box cooled to a preset temp.

If my unit has a fan, I have never heard it nor felt any air coming out of the "grille" (many small holes) at the back at the upper right of the box.

Can anyone with a Phase III unit, comment on this "fan" and indicate how it operates and how effective it is....I am concerned that my fan is defective as I have never been aware yet of it coming on?

Anyone with a new 6412 phase III what's the model number? Omaha has a 6413 model, but I can not find any info on it.

Andrew Wees

Do any of the hardware/firmware combinatins work correctlY?


LOL. That's a great question & I think the jury is still out on the 6412 with 10.x. Here in OC we're still on 9.x with the 6412.

The worst remaining bug that I exprerience with the 6412 on 9.x is zero-length recordings because of the subscription error. This is supposed to be fixed with 10.x. If anyone on 10.x can say for sure I'd love to hear it. The whole point of having a DVR kind of goes out the window when the shows you have scheduled for recording don't acutally get recorded.

I also don't know if 12.x on the phase III is equivalent to 9.x or 10.x on the others. Anyone in the limited group of phase III owners still get the subscription bug?

Compared to the subscription bug, everything else to me is a "nice to have" but not "must have" fix. To me the others don't undermine the very core reason for having a DVR.

For those new to the thread, we've certainly come a LONG way in the year since this service rolled out. Those around in those days will remember the search feature when you could only search as far as the first letter of a program name. In one case I counted something like 200 presses of "page down" to get to the program I was after.

Even that was not as heinous as the zero length recordings that OC still doesn't have the fix for.<g>

Cheers,
Ray

LOL. That's a great question & I think the jury is still out on the 6412 with 10.x. Here in OC we're still on 9.x with the 6412.

The worst remaining bug that I exprerience with the 6412 on 9.x is zero-length recordings because of the subscription error. This is supposed to be fixed with 10.x. If anyone on 10.x can say for sure I'd love to hear it. The whole point of having a DVR kind of goes out the window when the shows you have scheduled for recording don't acutally get recorded.

I also don't know if 12.x on the phase III is equivalent to 9.x or 10.x on the others. Anyone in the limited group of phase III owners still get the subscription bug?

Compared to the subscription bug, everything else to me is a "nice to have" but not "must have" fix. To me the others don't undermine the very core reason for having a DVR.

For those new to the thread, we've certainly come a LONG way in the year since this service rolled out. Those around in those days will remember the search feature when you could only search as far as the first letter of a program name. In one case I counted something like 200 presses of "page down" to get to the program I was after.

Even that was not as heinous as the zero length recordings that OC still doesn't have the fix for.<g>

Cheers,
Ray

Ray...we have the updated 6412 box here in Tulsa, OK (TC 10.19) and I haven't had a single '0' minute subscription issue since the upgrade. I used to have about a 40% chance of actually getting a good High Def recording because of the issue but now set all my programs to record in High Def if available and haven't missed one in about a months time. My biggest problem now is that High Def uses up so much more of the hard drive space that I lose programs too fast if I don't watch them soon enough.

Danny

I got my Phase III STB a couple of days ago and am disappointed at how hot it is running.

The only place I have to put it is fully enclosed with only a 6" wide vertical ventilation slot at the back of the cabinet.

My Phase III runs at around 120 degrees whereas my prior 6412 ran about 125.

Not much of a dif? However, I hav't had any probs that I could attribute to high heat with either box.

I understood that the Phase III came with a new internal fan that was operated by a thermostat to come on at a certain temp and shut off when the box cooled to a preset temp.

If my unit has a fan, I have never heard it nor felt any air coming out of the "grille" (many small holes) at the back at the upper right of the box.

Can anyone with a Phase III unit, comment on this "fan" and indicate how it operates and how effective it is....I am concerned that my fan is defective as I have never been aware yet of it coming on?
Fan is on the bottom of the unit.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9931/dcp11560yk.th.jpg (http://img120.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcp11560yk.jpg)

Ron

I also don't know if 12.x on the phase III is equivalent to 9.x or 10.x on the others. Anyone in the limited group of phase III owners still get the subscription bug?

Yes. I just got the phase III box on Thursday and I've had the zero-length recordings on the HD channels. I'm in OC running Echo 1.6.026 and TC 12.15.

I've also had:

-- recordings going way over their scheduled times (hours) by apparently random amounts

-- the box turning itself off (I left it on and no off timer was set; when I come back
and power on, the tuners are on channel 2 & 3).

-- the "message" light on the front of the box panel blinking randomly

Most of these problems have happened when I've been away. If I'm there and the box is on, the recordings seem to work ok.

Man, I wish Cox would just pony up and pay for TiVo software. I've had a TiVo for 3 years and never seen such nonsense with the box's basic functions. Not even mentioning how much better TiVo is at handling things like not trying to record the same episode of a show 6 times in a week.

...I talked to a Cox supervisor today. She's sending out a new phase 3 box for me, and said the update "should" hit Orange County on Aug. 10th. Just wanted to let people know, since I've read so much helpful info here....

...I talked to a Cox supervisor today. She's sending out a new phase 3 box for me, and said the update "should" hit Orange County on Aug. 10th. Just wanted to let people know, since I've read so much helpful info here.... Thanks for the date info... it's the first I've heard of a date and I guess 2 more weeks is not that long to wait considering how long we've already been waiting in Orange County. At least it will be in place before fall season kicks in and NFL.

like not trying to record the same episode of a show 6 times in a week.

This has been one of my pet peeves since DAY 1. In other words, go ahead and record episodes even if they're re-runs, but don't record duplicate re-runs.

-T

Ray...we have the updated 6412 box here in Tulsa, OK (TC 10.19) and I haven't had a single '0' minute subscription issue since the upgrade.
I had one about 2 weeks ago :(

Hey!

Did Cox New England fall into the Atlanic Ocean this summer, where's our updates!

This has been one of my pet peeves since DAY 1. In other words, go ahead and record episodes even if they're re-runs, but don't record duplicate re-runs.

-T

Yes... you really wouldn't think this would be so hard. The TiVo software has understood this distinction since its very first series 1 box was introduced. To get duplicates you actually have to select "All with duplicates" instead of "first run and repeats."

I am really, really praying this upgrade fixes the subscription bug. It is making the DVR functions almost worthless... nothing records correctly unless I am sitting there to make sure the box is on the right channel when recording is set to begin.

Secondarily I hope it fixes the problem with recordings going over. I had a 2 hour recording suck up almost 5 hours of hard drive space.

They are basically beta-testing this equipment on paying customers. Grr.

They are basically beta-testing this equipment on paying customers. Grr.

I think it's ridiculous to suggest that we are being used as beta testers for their product,,,, you meant alpha testers didn't you? :rolleyes:

Well yesterday morning sometime my 6412 collapsed. It turned off and the clock reset to 12:00. No amount of resetting, unpluging, or hits from the headend would help it recover. The darn CS rep couldn't tell me I could exchange the box but after I said that was my intent she said they couldn't stop me from trying so I'm heading to Cox tomorrow at lunchtime. I am scheduled for a service call on Sunday morning but I am not going tolerate being without my DVR till then. I am hopelessly hooked on it now and am already experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

I hope I get a new Phase III box, if so I'll purchase a SARA HDD asap and report back on external storage capability.

I did get a new 6412 but alas no Phase III box. At least the markings on the front are the same as the old one and the rear connectors are all identical. The upside is that I am back in recording mode again.

Jimbo, i recently got a new 6412 in Tulsa as well and didn't get the new phase 3 box. I asked then about the new phasee 3 boxes and just got blank stares. Did you happen to ask them if they would be getting the new boxes anytime soon?

I have one of the new boxes from Cox OC.

I had the box for a couple of days and it seemed to run okay (except for the subscription bug). My brother came over three days later and brought an HDMI cable for me to try. We plugged it in and didn't really notice any significant PQ difference between the component and the HDMI on my TV (a Sony WEGA 42" RP). We left it hooked up so I could try it over a few days and decide if it was really any better.

Almost immediately, the cable box started going wonky. It turned itself off, rebooted, reset the clock, and wouldn't stay on or record anything properly when the TV was off. moyekj's workaround for the subscription bug didn't work, either.

I remembered reading something about some HDMI devices "handshaking" with the TV and decided that since the problems were happening when the TV was off, the HDMI might have something to do with it. I unplugged the HDMI cable and voila, it's working properly again, and things are recording when the TV is turned off.

Maybe they will fix this eventually, but I will be curious to see if anyone else has a similar problem with the HDMI connection and the new 6412 box, or maybe it just doesn't play well with the Sony TV.

I have one of the new boxes from Cox OC.

I had the box for a couple of days and it seemed to run okay (except for the subscription bug). My brother came over three days later and brought an HDMI cable for me to try. We plugged it in and didn't really notice any significant PQ difference between the component and the HDMI on my TV (a Sony WEGA 42" RP). We left it hooked up so I could try it over a few days and decide if it was really any better.

Almost immediately, the cable box started going wonky. It turned itself off, rebooted, reset the clock, and wouldn't stay on or record anything properly when the TV was off. moyekj's workaround for the subscription bug didn't work, either.

I remembered reading something about some HDMI devices "handshaking" with the TV and decided that since the problems were happening when the TV was off, the HDMI might have something to do with it. I unplugged the HDMI cable and voila, it's working properly again, and things are recording when the TV is turned off.

Maybe they will fix this eventually, but I will be curious to see if anyone else has a similar problem with the HDMI connection and the new 6412 box, or maybe it just doesn't play well with the Sony TV.

I have the new box, Mits 62725 and am using HDMI without any problems. Of course I still have the subsription issue though.

I had one of the first boxes when the DVR service was launched in Omaha. For the most part I didn't encounter almost any of the problems that have been mentioned on here.....until tonight and I don't know if it has been reported as I can't find anythng on it.

I went to check to see if Big Brother was recording tonight and all I see on the front is a short 8 on the left side blink and then all 4 of the front 8888 lights go on for a couple of seconds and it just keeps doing that over and over.
I unplugged it for different periods of time and plugged it back in. Immediately went back to this 8 then 8888 on the front. I held the power button and the menu button and get it to show BOOT on the front, but that is it. Then eventually goes back to the 8 and 8888. My cable is working fine because I can take the cable directly to the antenna part on the TV and works great. The DVR is not passing anythng through.

Called Cox. They tried to send a signal but no luck, errored out. They didn't do much to try and troubleshoot anything. They are sending a tech tomorrow. We'll see what happens. So I had the box for almost exactly 1 year.

What stinks is that I still had 5 episodes of 24 to watch and about 4 episodes each of Entourage and Six Feet under on there. Maybe my Hard Drive was maxxed out and it just puked.

I'll update when I see what happens tomorrow.

I also am seeing weird problems on my 3rd dvr. The problems started last night and contined until I mainually rebooted the dvr. The problem was only one tuner would work and the ff and rewind didn't work. ABCHD worked, but NonHD ABC didn't want to tune. Thankfully the brodcast hd stations work on a non HDTV TV.

Wildjays keep me posted please.


Andrew Wees




I had one of the first boxes when the DVR service was launched in Omaha. For the most part I didn't encounter almost any of the problems that have been mentioned on here.....until tonight and I don't know if it has been reported as I can't find anythng on it.

I went to check to see if Big Brother was recording tonight and all I see on the front is a short 8 on the left side blink and then all 4 of the front 8888 lights go on for a couple of seconds and it just keeps doing that over and over.
I unplugged it for different periods of time and plugged it back in. Immediately went back to this 8 then 8888 on the front. I held the power button and the menu button and get it to show BOOT on the front, but that is it. Then eventually goes back to the 8 and 8888. My cable is working fine because I can take the cable directly to the antenna part on the TV and works great. The DVR is not passing anythng through.

Called Cox. They tried to send a signal but no luck, errored out. They didn't do much to try and troubleshoot anything. They are sending a tech tomorrow. We'll see what happens. So I had the box for almost exactly 1 year.

What stinks is that I still had 5 episodes of 24 to watch and about 4 episodes each of Entourage and Six Feet under on there. Maybe my Hard Drive was maxxed out and it just puked.

I'll update when I see what happens tomorrow.

Here is what happened now. I unhooked everything from the unit and left it fora while. Then I plugged it back in. This time it goes out and starts blinking Hunt and then it appears to find a connection and starts the DL with the little cursor moving similar to when a firmware upgrade occurs.

This goes on for about 20-30 minutes and then it displays EF and then FP and then there are 4 dashes and then almost acts like it reboots. The first thing it does is display an E609 and then starts with the HUNT thing again and basically keeps looping like this. It has done it about 3 times now. I'm about ready to go to sleep and see what it looks like in the morning if it keeps continuing.

I think you interrupted a firmware upgrade. I thought Cox scheduled these for like 3AM? During prime time is a bad time for an upgrade....

I had one of the first boxes when the DVR service was launched in Omaha. For the most part I didn't encounter almost any of the problems that have been mentioned on here.....until tonight and I don't know if it has been reported as I can't find anythng on it.

I went to check to see if Big Brother was recording tonight and all I see on the front is a short 8 on the left side blink and then all 4 of the front 8888 lights go on for a couple of seconds and it just keeps doing that over and over.
I unplugged it for different periods of time and plugged it back in. Immediately went back to this 8 then 8888 on the front. I held the power button and the menu button and get it to show BOOT on the front, but that is it. Then eventually goes back to the 8 and 8888. My cable is working fine because I can take the cable directly to the antenna part on the TV and works great. The DVR is not passing anythng through.

Called Cox. They tried to send a signal but no luck, errored out. They didn't do much to try and troubleshoot anything. They are sending a tech tomorrow. We'll see what happens. So I had the box for almost exactly 1 year.

What stinks is that I still had 5 episodes of 24 to watch and about 4 episodes each of Entourage and Six Feet under on there. Maybe my Hard Drive was maxxed out and it just puked.

I'll update when I see what happens tomorrow.

For those that are interested, a fan on my DVR stopped working and blew out another component. I received a new box that has an additional fan on the bottom.

My versions are Echo 2.5.037, TC--12.13

While my DVR was on the fritz, it overwrote everything that was on there. Stinks.

Anyway, just wanted to provide an update. I'm watching everything now and everything works great except for my HBO HD which gives me the subscription thing so I had to get a new signal to it.

BTW, on the bottom of the box it says it is a Phase 3.

Do you have the new dvr phase III or is it the same version you had before? Does Picture in Picture work?

Andrew Wees

For those that are interested, a fan on my DVR stopped working and blew out another component. I received a new box that has an additional fan on the bottom.

My versions are Echo 2.5.037, TC--12.13

While my DVR was on the fritz, it overwrote everything that was on there. Stinks.

Anyway, just wanted to provide an update. I'm watching everything now and everything works great except for my HBO HD which gives me the subscription thing so I had to get a new signal to it.

BTW, on the bottom of the box it says it is a Phase 3.

They told me it was a "Brand New" box and I checked and it is a Phase 3, but I guess I don't know if the PIP works because it appears that the current programming of my remote, the PIP buttons don't do anything. I don't see any lights going on the remote nor the DVR box, so I guess it doesn't work, or I don't have the right programming on my remote.

So it appears from wildjays post above that NE now has the new Passport Echo software (2.5.x). Looks like Orange County will be the last to receive the update which last I heard was scheduled for 8/9 or 8/10 time frame (next Tues or Wed). I haven't seen too many complaints about the new software so I assume it's working OK for most.

So it appears from wildjays post above that NE now has the new Passport Echo software (2.5.x). Looks like Orange County will be the last to receive the update which last I heard was scheduled for 8/9 or 8/10 time frame (next Tues or Wed). I haven't seen too many complaints about the new software so I assume it's working OK for most.

OC is not alone ... we don't even have a date for a firmware upgrade in New England. Neither Customer Service or the local office knows anything about the phase III box or a software upgrade :(

do you have a black dvr remote? They now have silver remotes that are for all the digital boxes. I wounder if PIP works with the new silver remote? all I have is a phase I dvr that does not do PIP.

Andrew Wees

They told me it was a "Brand New" box and I checked and it is a Phase 3, but I guess I don't know if the PIP works because it appears that the current programming of my remote, the PIP buttons don't do anything. I don't see any lights going on the remote nor the DVR box, so I guess it doesn't work, or I don't have the right programming on my remote.

Black remote--same that I got with the original phase 1 box. I didn't receive a new one.

Yeah, I'd say...they did a firmware update the other day at 11:45 while we were watching a movie...and it kept playing too

I think you interrupted a firmware upgrade. I thought Cox scheduled these for like 3AM? During prime time is a bad time for an upgrade....

Does the phase 3 box have rf out to tv/vcr?

Andrew Wees



They told me it was a "Brand New" box and I checked and it is a Phase 3, but I guess I don't know if the PIP works because it appears that the current programming of my remote, the PIP buttons don't do anything. I don't see any lights going on the remote nor the DVR box, so I guess it doesn't work, or I don't have the right programming on my remote.

wildjays, any improvement of analog picture quality with the phase 3 box? I hope so, I would love to swap boxes if it is improved.

I should say, any improvement of analog picture quality over component inputs?

Also, did you get that from the Cox office on 370?

I use component cables, and I do notice better analog channels. Now, it's still not perfect, but it is better. They already have to replace this box though....the hard drive keeps making a high pitched clicking noise....especially when I fast-forward or rewind.

Getting a new box on Monday, and hopefully the update a day or 2 later. I hope that will be the end of the problems.

I use component cables, and I do notice better analog channels. Now, it's still not perfect, but it is better. They already have to replace this box though....the hard drive keeps making a high pitched clicking noise....especially when I fast-forward or rewind.

Getting a new box on Monday, and hopefully the update a day or 2 later. I hope that will be the end of the problems.

I had the exact same problems with the first III box they gave me. It sounded like a bird chirping when it was accessing the hard drive. The replacement they gave me has been fine.

Can anyone who lives in the Omaha area answer my question please? Does the Phase3 6412 have rf out?

Andrew Wees

Makes you wonder if they even test these units out before shipping them.

No RF out on the phase 3. Just the RCA out to a VCR.

To answer another question it does appear to me that the analog channels look better than before on the phase 3.

Also I am a little slower on the draw when fast forwarding. I used to have it down to hitting the replay button when I get back to the show and it went back to the end of the last commercial but now I seem to have to hit it multiple times, or else it FF a lot faster than before.

Thanks Wildjays

Have you noticed any changes to the guide software from the phase 1 to phase 3 dvr's?

Also how many days of guide info does the phase 3 hold?

Andrew Wees

QUOTE=wildjays] No RF out on the phase 3. Just the RCA out to a VCR.

To answer another question it does appear to me that the analog channels look better than before on the phase 3.

Also I am a little slower on the draw when fast forwarding. I used to have it down to hitting the replay button when I get back to the show and it went back to the end of the last commercial but now I seem to have to hit it multiple times, or else it FF a lot faster than before.[/QUOTE]

Good and bad news in CT...

:) The phase III boxes have shown up.

:( They have the old firmware and an upgrade is not scheduled until sometime in September (both old and new boxes). This is per a local senior tech.

Heylo folks, I have a few questions/concerns about this subject that I think fall best into this thread; so here goes!

I am a total HD newbie. I am quite cheap and just this weekend went out and purchased myself a 23" LCD HDTV for the bedroom/office. It's wonderful and does okay using normal composite video from my TiVo. So, in order to get into the whole HD thing, I, last month, started subscribing to digital cable, HBO and Showtime. It's been quite great on an SD television using my Series 2 TiVo. Now that I like digital cable and have the HDTV, I'm all set to get the HD service and DVR. I called up Cox and they are coming to set me up this Wednesday. I'm going to have them hook it all up w/ Composite cabling since they supply it, but also try DVI since I have a dual DVI-D one hanging around.

So, my questions are these: Orange County is supposed to be getting the new Passport Echo software on Wednesday (the same day I'm getting HD and the DVR installed), so would this already have the software or would I get it that night, or even further out? Also, how would I know if I am getting a Phase III box from them (or whichever is the latest one w/ HDMI and all the goodies)? I doubt they wouldn't, but I want to make sure I get myself set up with the latest as I am a first timer.

I've tried to gather as much information as I can by reading this whole entire thread over the past hour and a half (a wealth of information). So I'd appreciate any help since I am sort of freaking out at the cost of all this in the end ($48.00 more per month over the analog cable I had just a month ago). I must be able to watch American Idol and sports in HD :D

EDIT: Ooooh, also: Is there anything important/annoying that I might have missed/should know about?

- Carlos (trying to get in HD, cheaply and cautiously ween himself away from TiVo).

It says phase III right on the front of the box, and has a fan outlet on the bottom. If you want one, call and make sure they are sending one. I think you meant component, not composite.

They just replaced my phase III, and boosted the signal to my big screen. Analog channels have NEVER looked this good. I'm glad I finally got a good tech out here...the last guy that tried to boost the signal couldn't get my internet to work, so he just gave up. I thought I would have to live with it as it, but it's awesome now. Hopefully this hard drive doesn't start chirping.

Bad news though, he said the upgrade failed testing and was post-poned. So no Aug. 10th upgrade I guess. He said they are still trying to get it done by September. Hope so....

What upgrade are people talking about?

Andrew Wees



It says phase III right on the front of the box, and has a fan outlet on the bottom. If you want one, call and make sure they are sending one. I think you meant component, not composite.

They just replaced my phase III, and boosted the signal to my big screen. Analog channels have NEVER looked this good. I'm glad I finally got a good tech out here...the last guy that tried to boost the signal couldn't get my internet to work, so he just gave up. I thought I would have to live with it as it, but it's awesome now. Hopefully this hard drive doesn't start chirping.

Bad news though, he said the upgrade failed testing and was post-poned. So no Aug. 10th upgrade I guess. He said they are still trying to get it done by September. Hope so....

The passport echo update to fix the subscription bug that we've been waiting for all year...

Two questions

What should the Passport Echo version be for the Subscription bug fix? Anyone with a 6412 phase 3 notice a temperature change between the old 6412 phase 1 or 2 without the fan compared to the 6412 phase 3?

Andrew Wees

What is this Phase 3 box? Should I ask for one?

Ben

"There is no such thing as a phase III box nor has there ever been any revisions to the 6412 Motorola DVR."

Oh, I love it.

What should I do, call back and hope to get someone who knows anything about anything?

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

2nd Person: "There is no way to check or to even request a certain type of DVR. <repeated schedule information>.

*click*

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

*sigh*

Passport Echo 2.5.x presumably has Subscription Bug fix. OC and New England markets are now not expected to get this software until September some time. Meanwhile other Cox markets already have had that software for several weeks.

Phase III box has among other things:
* improved analog channel mpeg encoding (so analog channels look better)
* HDMI instead of DVI port (active but some have indicated potential problems using HDMI)
* a fan on the bottom for improved cooling
* SATA port (not yet active in the software)
* USB 2.0 ports (older boxes had 1.x. These ports do provide power but nothing else useful)

Unfortunately nobody in this thread has confirmed that show extraction via firewire port still works with phase III box. I would guess it does but would like confirmation.

Omaha Nebraska already has Pasport Echo 2.5.037 and Firmware 10.09 on a phase 6412.

Has anyone figured out if the 6412 phase 3's are capable of doing Picture in Picture?

Andrew Wees

Passport Echo 2.5.x presumably has Subscription Bug fix. OC and NE markets are now not expected to get this software until September some time. Meanwhile other Cox markets already have had that software for several weeks.

Phase III box has among other things:
* improved analog channel mpeg encoding (so analog channels look better)
* HDMI instead of DVI port (active but some have indicated potential problems using HDMI)
* a fan on the bottom for improved cooling
* SATA port (not yet active in the software)
* USB 2.0 ports (older boxes had 1.x. These ports do provide power but nothing else useful)

Unfortunately nobody in this thread has confirmed that show extraction via firewire port still works with phase III box. I would guess it does but would like confirmation.

Omaha Nebraska already has Pasport Echo 2.5.037 and Firmware 10.09 on a phase 6412. By NE I actually meant New England markets (I have clarified in my post above). New England is not due for an update until September time frame like Orange County, CA.

moyekj


Thanks for the clarifacation. I hope you update your webpage when you get the updated Passport echo. Also Omaha still has the subscription bug problems sometimes, so I wouldn't call it totally fixed.

Andrew Wees

Random note: moyekj - you freaking rock; thanks for the DCT6412 info page, it's been so helpful.

That and all your other helpful posts :D

Thanks Ink :) Just wish OC would get the software update already so I can work on updating the web page. Looks like not until September some time at minimum.... and all because of EOD which I never use anyway.

I've been noticing some problems with my 6412 lately. for about a week, maybe 2 now, it's been freezing up very often. Exactly like a computer freeze, nothing works and 10 sec later it reboots itself.

This has been happening VERY often, usually when stopping recorded video, switching to live video, or trying to play a recorded video. I'd say it's happening 1 out of 5 times i try to do one of those actions.

It's very annoying as i could be in the middle of recording a show and it freezes, reboots, and i've lost 5 minutes of recording waiting for it to sink back up once it reboots. it's just been acting really weird.

I have no idea what is causing it... Was there a firmware update (with even more crappy firmware) i didn't know about (Baton Rouge, LA)? Did a firmware update go bad? Is it a random f*ck up?

And what should i do about it? is there a way to fix things such as this? or do i need to make a trip to the cox building to get a new dvr unit?

I really appriciate any help anyone has to offer, and thanks ahead of time.

I myself would try a reboot of the 6412 and see if that fixes it also it could a signal problem. If the reboot fails to fix the problem I would say it is time to replace the 6412.

Andrew Wees











I've been noticing some problems with my 6412 lately. for about a week, maybe 2 now, it's been freezing up very often. Exactly like a computer freeze, nothing works and 10 sec later it reboots itself.

This has been happening VERY often, usually when stopping recorded video, switching to live video, or trying to play a recorded video. I'd say it's happening 1 out of 5 times i try to do one of those actions.

It's very annoying as i could be in the middle of recording a show and it freezes, reboots, and i've lost 5 minutes of recording waiting for it to sink back up once it reboots. it's just been acting really weird.

I have no idea what is causing it... Was there a firmware update (with even more crappy firmware) i didn't know about (Baton Rouge, LA)? Did a firmware update go bad? Is it a random f*ck up?

And what should i do about it? is there a way to fix things such as this? or do i need to make a trip to the cox building to get a new dvr unit?

I really appriciate any help anyone has to offer, and thanks ahead of time.

I know this was a few threads ago, but I just wanted to publicly say thanks also to moyekj and the FAQ provided.

Although I'm on a completely different cable system than you guys (Metrocast), I have found out quite a few things on this thread as I use the same cable box and Echo Passport.

I just splurged and got a Logitech Harmony 880 and it works great with the DCT, there's still no PIP in it...hopefully it will come.

Is you 6412 a phase 3 or phase 2? Phase 2 hardware can not do PIP, but the phase 3 might be able to do PIP. I don't have a phase 3 to check my therory in Omaha NE, but I have a new silver remote though which has a PIP button it and when pressed the light on the remote blinks.

Andrew Wees




I know this was a few threads ago, but I just wanted to publicly say thanks also to moyekj and the FAQ provided.

Although I'm on a completely different cable system than you guys (Metrocast), I have found out quite a few things on this thread as I use the same cable box and Echo Passport.

I just splurged and got a Logitech Harmony 880 and it works great with the DCT, there's still no PIP in it...hopefully it will come.

On Wednesday, I got set up w/ HD and the 6412 DVR.

It's a phase III (luckily I got an installer who knew something) and it uses the same shiny silver new remote as others have seen with the PIP buttons. It blinks for me, but does absolutely nothing and the installer said that they are inactive and may be used in the future. I'm in Orange County but we don't have that new software (delayed until mid-September), but I'm still quite sure this doesn't function on any other boxes.

Hopefully this provides any clarity on the PIP issue.

BTW: This thing rocks. I <3 dual HD tuners :D

I myself would try a reboot of the 6412 and see if that fixes it also it could a signal problem. If the reboot fails to fix the problem I would say it is time to replace the 6412.

Andrew Wees


How would i do that?

Hold down power for five seconds

^ @ Logic

umm isn't that gonna just do the same thing it's been doing every time it turns itself off, goes all 88:88, and then resinks in with the system?

Ink Noise

What's the firmware and software version on your 6412 phase 3?

Andrew Wees







On Wednesday, I got set up w/ HD and the 6412 DVR.

It's a phase III (luckily I got an installer who knew something) and it uses the same shiny silver new remote as others have seen with the PIP buttons. It blinks for me, but does absolutely nothing and the installer said that they are inactive and may be used in the future. I'm in Orange County but we don't have that new software (delayed until mid-September), but I'm still quite sure this doesn't function on any other boxes.

Hopefully this provides any clarity on the PIP issue.

BTW: This thing rocks. I <3 dual HD tuners :D

Pioneer Passport Echo: 1.6.026
Motorola DVR Firmware: 12.15