Press and hold Power button Yeap, just like an ATX-spec PC. Holding it down for officially (7) seconds, I believe, will reboot it. There's also a 3-button combination, VOL+, VOL-, and something else that does it too, but I can't recall now.

Yeap, just like an ATX-spec PC. Holding it down for officially (7) seconds, I believe, will reboot it. There's also a 3-button combination, VOL+, VOL-, and something else that does it too, but I can't recall now.
Does the 7-second button press do a full cold reboot, or just a soft reboot, semi-soft reboot or, um . . a semi-hard reboot? I thought that a PC needed power removed from the mobo to achieve a cold reboot.

Does the 7-second button press do a full cold reboot, or just a soft reboot, semi-soft reboot or, um . . a semi-hard reboot? I thought that a PC needed power removed from the mobo to achieve a cold reboot.

Holding down the power switch on ATX Compliant power supply causes a forced DC power off... not a reboot.

Holding down the power switch on ATX Compliant power supply causes a forced DC power off... not a reboot.
On the 8300HD, too?

Ooops, on a PC holding down the power button does turn the machine *off*. On the 8300, it causes it to reboot.

Press and hold Power button


Yes, this happens. All you need to do is change channels (up/down), not re-boot
ok thanks. i have been unplugging the thing from the back each time i switch to watch a DVD or other source.

as for changing the channel. that dosent work for me. my box does not respond at all. holding the power button is my only option until they fix this mess.

thanks again

ok thanks. i have been unplugging the thing from the back each time i switch to watch a DVD or other source.

as for changing the channel. that dosent work for me. my box does not respond at all. holding the power button is my only option until they fix this mess.

thanks again
8300HD, HDMI to NEC 50XR5, TWC Orange County, CA
This behavior is happening all the time to me. Holding the power button down for a very long time 15 sec or more no longer reboots, the box is totally un-responsive. I have to unplug the STB. Ocassionally after being frozen for 5 min or so, it will re-boot on its own. My neighbor is seeing the exact same behavior. I am trying to mitigate by have the box boot to a non HD channel, make sure I do not have audio out set to Dobly Digital (ahh you laugh, but that makes it worse). Definitely happens which chaning sources, especially to a non HDCP compliant source. Really hope there is a fix coming for this soon.

8300HD, HDMI to NEC 50XR5, TWC Orange County, CA
This behavior is happening all the time to me. Holding the power button down for a very long time 15 sec or more no longer reboots, the box is totally un-responsive. I have to unplug the STB. Ocassionally after being frozen for 5 min or so, it will re-boot on its own. My neighbor is seeing the exact same behavior. I am trying to mitigate by have the box boot to a non HD channel, make sure I do not have audio out set to Dobly Digital (ahh you laugh, but that makes it worse). Definitely happens which chaning sources, especially to a non HDCP compliant source. Really hope there is a fix coming for this soon.
The power button works for me, I just cant change any channel when the box is displaying the Digital Snow on the screen. as for having your box booting up to a non HD channel, that is and idea I may have to try.

8300HD, HDMI to NEC 50XR5, TWC Orange County, CA
This behavior is happening all the time to me. Holding the power button down for a very long time 15 sec or more no longer reboots, the box is totally un-responsive. I have to unplug the STB. Ocassionally after being frozen for 5 min or so, it will re-boot on its own. My neighbor is seeing the exact same behavior. I am trying to mitigate by have the box boot to a non HD channel, make sure I do not have audio out set to Dobly Digital (ahh you laugh, but that makes it worse). Definitely happens which chaning sources, especially to a non HDCP compliant source. Really hope there is a fix coming for this soon.
There are lockups that cannot be dealt with by any other means than yanking the plug. Fancy button-pushing just doesn't get 'er done. :)

Interesting article regarding the possible future of our DVRs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060530/media_nm/media_cablevision_timewarner_dc_1

Interesting article regarding the possible future of our DVRs.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060530/media_nm/media_cablevision_timewarner_dc_1Yeah--we've discussed that before (earlier in this very thread). Some company's scheme for network DVR service tried to get around the legal hassles by allocating private storage for every subscriber, insteading of making a single copy of every broadcast program and serving it on demand to anyone who requests it, which is more elegant. The private-storage scheme is little different from the private storage leased to you in the DVR equipment in your home.

My only concern is that, if my provider were to switch to network DVR, it has to be much more responsive than their current Video On Demand system is.

I have a question about the 8300HD. I used to live in Charter Cables area, and my roomate had an HD tv so we had a Moxie. Now I am on TWC and have the 8000 non-HD (because I only have an SD right now) One thing that I miss from the Moxie was the ability to do a real search, not the stupid sort by title junk that the 8000 does. Does the 8300HD let you do real searches? Also if I call TWC and tell them I am getting an HD will they swap my box for the 8300HD? I could really use the extra space over the 8000 and if it lets you do a real search that would seal the deal.

I have a question about the 8300HD. I used to live in Charter Cables area, and my roomate had an HD tv so we had a Moxie. Now I am on TWC and have the 8000 non-HD (because I only have an SD right now) One thing that I miss from the Moxie was the ability to do a real search, not the stupid sort by title junk that the 8000 does. Does the 8300HD let you do real searches? Also if I call TWC and tell them I am getting an HD will they swap my box for the 8300HD? I could really use the extra space over the 8000 and if it lets you do a real search that would seal the deal.
Yes, the 8300 does allow true searching -- for keywords in the titles or the description. And the 8000 has the same functionality in some areas that have up-to-date firmware on the box.

It is my understanding that TWC doesn't support the 8000 anymore, so if you take your 8000 for a trade-in (making up any excuse about the thing being unstable, rebooting, or whatever), you will walk out with an 8300 from the service center. The 8300s will have a newer firmware that allows for searching.

Will even the 8300 non-HD have the search function? Or is that just a feature on the HD version.

Will even the 8300 non-HD have the search function? Or is that just a feature on the HD version.
Both have the same EPG.

Also if I call TWC and tell them I am getting an HD will they swap my box for the 8300HD? I could really use the extra space over the 8000 and if it lets you do a real search that would seal the deal.It will be nice if they allow you to switch to an HD box; in my area, TWC once required a installation service call to do that, probably to make sure that it was being hooked up to an actual HDTV. Otherwise, people would get hip to the greater storage capacity, and they'd get deluged with calls for the more expensive HD boxes.

I still have my trusty old 8000HD--I don't see any sense in "upgrading" until the external SATA capability works. In San Diego, TWC is running the same Passport Echo firmware revision on both the 8000HD and 8300HD. Of course, when the upgraded the 8000HD to 2.5.02x back in September, I lost 11.4GB of recording capacity to new, larger trick-play buffers, but I did get the incremental searches.

I just noticed on my 8300HD Explorer (Adelphia) that I now have 4 levels of FF/REW compared to 3 just a few days ago. Is there a list anywhere with new features that this firmware may have besides this?

I just noticed on my 8300HD Explorer (Adelphia) that I now have 4 levels of FF/REW compared to 3 just a few days ago. Is there a list anywhere with new features that this firmware may have besides this?Well, that's interesting. So, do you have 2, 3, 4 and now 5 arrows?

Is Adelphia SARA or Passport? He posted the same info in the SARA Tips thread.

Is Adelphia SARA or Passport? He posted the same info in the SARA Tips thread.
Thanks, I thought I was experiencing deja vu . . . all over again.

Is Adelphia SARA or Passport? He posted the same info in the SARA Tips thread.

Dave,

He is in a suburb of Buffalo, NY. They are SARA and are about to be taken over by Time Warner. He probably does not know the difference (between Passport & SARA).

Dave,

He is in a suburb of Buffalo, NY. They are SARA and are about to be taken over by Time Warner. He probably does not know the difference (between Passport & SARA).

Actually, I did check this when I first got the system, but I don't really remember what it was. I did post this in another topic, but after I posted, I realised that that was for SATA drive compatability.

I had 3 arrows for both forward and rewind, now there are 4 displayed. That is the only change I have noticed so far (with faster rewind/ff at the 4th arrow). Yes, Time Warner is coming in, but nothing has been relayed to us yet.

I had 3 arrows for both forward and rewind, now there are 4 displayed. That is the only change I have noticed so far (with faster rewind/ff at the 4th arrow). Yes, Time Warner is coming in, but nothing has been relayed to us yet.I'm fairly certain that there's been a four arrow speed for REW and FF in Passport Echo for as long as I've used it (2 years, starting with rev 1.5.xxx). Two arrows is the slowest speed (the universal graphical symbol for REW is "<<" and for FF is ">>"), three arrows is the second speed and four arrows is the third speed.

I'm fairly certain that there's been a four arrow speed for REW and FF in Passport Echo for as long as I've used it (2 years, starting with rev 1.5.xxx). Two arrows is the slowest speed (the universal graphical symbol for REW is "<<" and for FF is ">>"), three arrows is the second speed and four arrows is the third speed.

Yeh, but he is SARA and the new version he is talking about has 4 speeds (1 thru 4 arrows).

Yeh, but he is SARA and the new version he is talking about has 4 speeds (1 thru 4 arrows).
Maybe it's like Passport: One arrow is simply play. And four arrows is triple FF or Rew . . .

No, pepar, 1 arrow is both Play and FF1 on SARA. SARA version 1.88.x.x has 4 speeds now (4x, 10x, 30x, and 128x). FF4 is pretty much too fast for commercial skipping and if there were bookmarks for indivdual recordings, it probably wouldn't be needed at all. :)

Can someone help clarify the output resolutin settings on the 8300HD for me?

I have a Vizio 37" LCD TV. Per the Vizio specs the native resolution is 1366x768 and it supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i "signal compatibility" and 720p for "display compatibility".

I'm trying to figure out what modes I should enable on the 8300HD to get the bst picture quality on the TV for HD and SD broadcasts.

Can someone help clarify the output resolutin settings on the 8300HD for me?

I have a Vizio 37" LCD TV. Per the Vizio specs the native resolution is 1366x768 and it supports 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i "signal compatibility" and 720p for "display compatibility".

I'm trying to figure out what modes I should enable on the 8300HD to get the bst picture quality on the TV for HD and SD broadcasts.
My preference is to have the 8300HD pass all signals as it receives them and let my display(s) do the scaling/deinterlacing.

My preference is to have the 8300HD pass all signals as it receives them and let my display(s) do the scaling/deinterlacing.

When you say pass signals, do you mean coax into CABLE IN then coax from CABLE OUT to the TV?

Does using those ports bypass the 8300HD and not do its recording function?

If you use the CABLE OUT connection, there's no point owning an HDTV or renting an HD set-top.

What he means is, if an incoming channel is 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i, he has the 8300HD send that same signal *untouched* effectively to his TV. His TV has a native resolution of let's say 1080i and it will convert 480i or 480p or 720p to 1080i and probably do a BETTER job of conversion than the 8300HD can.

Not the cable RF, just set the output options to enable all resolutions via HDMI or whatever you hook up the display with and the 8300HD will send programming in whatever resolution it comes in and the display will convert to what the display hardware support.

The other way to go is to set the output options to what your hardware supports, which is 720p I think.

What works best, gets messed up the least, depends on what you have.

The choice is which box, cable or display, does the best job of converting to the hardware resolution. The worst option is when the stuff gets confused so it converts twice.

I plan to "also" run a Cable RF connection from my splitter to the TV so I can watch at least some things when the Cable box is busy.

I plan to "also" run a Cable RF connection from my splitter to the TV so I can watch at least some things when the Cable box is busy. When you try this, and it will obviously only work on the analog channels, tell me if you think the picture quality is MUCH better than the same channels seen through the set-top.

The other way to go is to set the output options to what your hardware supports, which is 720p I think.

NO.................his hardware is 768, so virtually everything is converted by the set. If he sets the 8300 to convert everything to 720p then most stuff will indeed be converted twice - 480i to 720p in the 8300, then 720p to 768p in the display.

I plan to "also" run a Cable RF connection from my splitter to the TV so I can watch at least some things when the Cable box is busy.

I'm confused about the function of the RF CABLE OUT port on the back of the 8300HD. Isn't using that to go to the TV the same as using a splitter on your RF line? If so, you don't need a splitter????

I'm confused about the function of the RF CABLE OUT port on the back of the 8300HD. Isn't using that to go to the TV the same as using a splitter on your RF line? If so, you don't need a splitter????
You should ignore that RF out if you an HDTV. That output was used at a means of getting the signal - the standard definition signal - into TVs without any other input than a cable connection. It's quite vestigial these days.

A different topic - I connected the 8300HD to my Pioneer DVD recorder using S-Video and the audio ports on OUT 2.

If I want to send the output from the composite ports of OUT 2 to a different piece of equipment, is there a way to split the sound RCA cables? I don't have a digital audio in.

I'm confused about the function of the RF CABLE OUT port on the back of the 8300HD. Isn't using that to go to the TV the same as using a splitter on your RF line? If so, you don't need a splitter????

The cable out RF works like a splitter, except when the Cable box is outputing something, say tuned to channel 122, the RF will have the tuned program on channel 3 (depending on how its setup).

There is no penalty for hooking up the Cable out RF to the display, except running the cable, and it does allow you to watch the analog channels even when the cable box is off or busy on other tasks.

When you try this, and it will obviously only work on the analog channels, tell me if you think the picture quality is MUCH better than the same channels seen through the set-top.I had that set up in KS with the listed equipment, and the noticeable difference was the color. There might have been a slight improvement in (clarity/sharpness) with the SciFi (target) channel, but not much. The wife liked the brighter (saturated?) colors from the SA8300HD and component better than the relative washed out look off the RF/TV tuner. I guess this could have also been a calibration (not calibrated for the RF tuner) or color-space issue for the TV on the inputs...

Samsung TXM3297HF 4:3
Scientific Atlanta 8300HD - Passport 1.8.112
Zektor component switch


v/r,
C-F

So it appears that Passport v. 2.5.051 is the one that enables the SATA port on the back of the 8300HDs, right? I have heard that Staten Island NY has the "newest" firmware that does allow activate the SATA port.

Can someone IN SI confirm this? Both the version number and the fact that he/she has successfully added an additional HD?

As a FWIW, in order (in NYC) to get a 8300HD (which has the 160G drive) one had to provide a receipt for a HD TV. It seems that qualification has been dropped. When I went down to get the HD box, I brought my receipt. They didn't even ask. A pal of mine wanted the extra space but didn't want to buy a HD set. He photoshopped my receipt, went down and got he 8300HD without showing a receipt. In both cases, we had "called ahead" and gotten a confirmation number.

One COULD speculate they really want the 8300HDs in as many homes as possible...

So it appears that Passport v. 2.5.051 is the one that enables the SATA port on the back of the 8300HDs, right? I have heard that Staten Island NY has the "newest" firmware that does allow activate the SATA port.

Can someone IN SI confirm this? Both the version number and the fact that he/she has successfully added an additional HD?
I think it is not quite correct to refer to any versions of Passport yet as "supporting" the SATA port. From what I've read here, there's been sort of a creeping towards full support. As far as Aptiv is concerned, .052 is the version that is now in beta testing and the one that *they* consider as enabling it. However, even with that, there is no version of code that "supports" the SATA port. The words from Aptiv were that it is enabled and "mostly functional", but it is not supported by Aptiv as of yet.

What is Passport - What is SARA?

I am using the 8300HD from Time Warner in the San Fernando Valley (L.A.).

What is Passport - What is SARA?

I am using the 8300HD from Time Warner in the San Fernando Valley (L.A.).
They are the software that provides the program guides and various settings for controlling the 8300HD's operation.

They are the software that provides the program guides and various settings for controlling the 8300HD's operation.

Is there a way I can tell which I have and what the Version # is from my box?

Is there a way I can tell which I have and what the Version # is from my box?
I'm not at home now, but I *think* going to the channel guide will show if it's Passport. Otherwise, when rebooting from being unplugged the box will display a bootup sequence - similar to a computer - where it displays the software loading. Also, going into the DIAG screen will show it.

I'm not at home now, but I *think* going to the channel guide will show if it's Passport. Otherwise, when rebooting from being unplugged the box will display a bootup sequence - similar to a computer - where it displays the software loading. Also, going into the DIAG screen will show it.

How do you get to the DIAG screen? I don't recall seeing anything about it. As you can guess - I'm an HDTV newbie and greatly appreciate your help.

How do you get to the DIAG screen? I don't recall seeing anything about it. As you can guess - I'm an HDTV newbie and greatly appreciate your help.
On my Passport box I press and HOLD "SELECT" and "EXIT" until "DIAG" appears on the 8300HD's display. If you have your system on, you may hear a "ding" as well. After the ding and DIAG, press "SELECT" again. Your TV should then show the DIAG screens. You can scroll through the screens until you get to "versions" and that will tell you what software you have. Of course, since I have Passport, this may not work for SARA.

Ok, lets talk output formats and conversions a little.

Passport software is what I've got (I asume all TWC/BrigthHouse does?). I can't find nearly as much stuff on the Passport as you can for SARA.

I'm trying to understand the upconverting logic in the Passport software.

The SARA has the following:
--
Fixed - Displays all content at whatever resolution you selected, based on what you selected in the wizard. You force the output to a single output and the box scales to that input. Easily changed in the settings menu of the box.

Pass Through - Passes the input signal through to the output with no change, unless you disable certain resolutions. For example 480i in to 480i out, 480P in to 480P out, 1080i in to 1080i out, 720P in to 720P out. If you disable 720P, 720P in will go to 1080i out.

Auto HDMI/DVI - If you are using the HDMI port, you will see this option instead of the Pass Through option. Resolution is automatically formatted to the scan rate supported by the TV.

UpConvert 1 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get upconverted to 1080i.

UpConvert 2 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get converted to 720P


Right now I have my box set to 720p and 1080i only. In my testing for SD, it seems the scaler in my 8300 is better then the scaler in my Vizio 37" LCD (not surprised, the Vizio has to be inexpensive for a reason). I couldn't tell the difference in 480p and 720p for SD broadcasts, so I didn't enable 480p.

Additionally, since the scaler in the 8300 is better for SD, it should also be better for HD as well, and considering my TV needs to scale up to 768p because that's nastive res, I might as well only have to scale 720p->768p instead of 480p->768p.

Ok, so, what I don't understand is how the 8300HD figures out when to use 720p and 1080i. Is it using any of the logic behind the SARA options above? Someone else indicated in a very old post their box displays 720p broadcasts as 720p, and 1080i broadcasts as 1080i. Why would it not upconvert 720p to 1080i? Will it not upconvert HD, or only upconvert certain resolutions?

Anyone have a chart?

Ok, lets talk output formats and conversions a little.

Passport software is what I've got (I asume all TWC/BrigthHouse does?). I can't find nearly as much stuff on the Passport as you can for SARA.

I don't know about BrightHouse, but quite a few TW systems (like all of upstate NY) use SARA. So that's not a good assumption.

I'm trying to understand the upconverting logic in the Passport software.

The SARA has the following:
--
Fixed - Displays all content at whatever resolution you selected, based on what you selected in the wizard. You force the output to a single output and the box scales to that input. Easily changed in the settings menu of the box.

Pass Through - Passes the input signal through to the output with no change, unless you disable certain resolutions. For example 480i in to 480i out, 480P in to 480P out, 1080i in to 1080i out, 720P in to 720P out. If you disable 720P, 720P in will go to 1080i out.

Auto HDMI/DVI - If you are using the HDMI port, you will see this option instead of the Pass Through option. Resolution is automatically formatted to the scan rate supported by the TV.

UpConvert 1 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get upconverted to 1080i.

UpConvert 2 - All 480i and 480P signals get upconverted to 480P. All 720P and 1080i signals get converted to 720P


Right now I have my box set to 720p and 1080i only. In my testing for SD, it seems the scaler in my 8300 is better then the scaler in my Vizio 37" LCD (not surprised, the Vizio has to be inexpensive for a reason). I couldn't tell the difference in 480p and 720p for SD broadcasts, so I didn't enable 480p.

Additionally, since the scaler in the 8300 is better for SD, it should also be better for HD as well, and considering my TV needs to scale up to 768p because that's nastive res, I might as well only have to scale 720p->768p instead of 480p->768p.

Ok, so, what I don't understand is how the 8300HD figures out when to use 720p and 1080i. Is it using any of the logic behind the SARA options above? Someone else indicated in a very old post their box displays 720p broadcasts as 720p, and 1080i broadcasts as 1080i. Why would it not upconvert 720p to 1080i? Will it not upconvert HD, or only upconvert certain resolutions?

Anyone have a chart?

Ok, so, what I don't understand is how the 8300HD figures out when to use 720p and 1080i.The 8300HD simply outputs 720p when the broadcast is 720p and 1080i when the broadcast is 1080i - in those two cases there is no coversion at all.

Why would it not upconvert 720p to 1080i? You would not want to convert 720p to 1080i for a set that is native 720p. For one you would end up with additional conversions (not good) and you would also lose progressive ("p" to "i") thus introducing motion artifacts.

Will it not upconvert HD, or only upconvert certain resolutions? If you want it to (use Fixed) it will convert everything to 1080i or 720p, whichever you have it set for.

Note: Most HD broadcasts are 1080i (only ESPN, FOX & ABC are 720p), if you watch a lot of SD and decide that Fixed is what you want then 720p/1080i decision will depend on what you watch most and which works best (I suspect that 1080i will look better on your set than 720p). I am a SARA person, but the above applies to both. I'm not sure about the ability to change Fixed resolutions from the user menu in Passport, but it is relatively easy in SARA.

vegggas has indicated in previous posts that 480p should be enabled to avoid image freezes under certain conditions, but I don't recall the specifics.

For SD channels, the biggest difference between 480p and 720p is the ability to use your TVs stretch modes to get rid of the side bars. If you have the 8300 send everything as 720p (or 1080i for that matter), most HTDVs will not be able to stretch the images to fill the screen. That is probably not an issue on your 37" LCD, but it is on CRT-based HDTVs (burn-in) and larger screens, especially when used in a theater-like environment. Some channels use grey sidebars and they can be quite bright, ruining the theater experience.

Also, if you only use 720p, then most HD channels are being converted from 1080i by the 8300 and then to 768 by your TV. I noticed in one of your posts that you said the TV supports 720p for display (while it also accepts that and all other signals), I'm not sure exactly what that means.

The passport doesn't have a specific "fixed" mode, but if I choose only 1 of the 4 available output formats (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i), it becomes fixed on that output, so I can do fixed.

I have it set to 720p and 1080i only right now, and I can stretch all SD broadcasts on my 37" LCD just fine with those 2 modes only selected. DoubleDAZ, were you saying I CAN'T Stretch if I use 720p/1080i only, or I CAN stretch if I use those mode? I was a little confused on that comment.

My LCD is 1366x768 native resolution. The spec sheet says "Display Compatibility: 720p"and "Signal Compatibility: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i". I don't know exactly what that means.

It does make sense that for HD broadcasts, the Passport software will give you 720p or 1080i per what the actual broadcast is, and not force 720p -> 1080i if I have both 720p and 1080i enabled because of conversion factors and native res on the majority of sets people own today.

Ok, so now that we know I can watch SD at 720p and stretch on my TV just fine, is there any reason to not leave everything forced to 720p (if it's 480i or 480p) ? As it stands now, I see NO way to force SD broadcasts up to 1080i. The most I've ever seen them go is up to 720p. So this is obviously Passport specfic territory now.

The cable out RF works like a splitter, except when the Cable box is outputing something, say tuned to channel 122, the RF will have the tuned program on channel 3 (depending on how its setup).

There is no penalty for hooking up the Cable out RF to the display, except running the cable, and it does allow you to watch the analog channels even when the cable box is off or busy on other tasks.

I'm pretty sure that this is NOT true. The cable out RF sends the same video signal as all the other outputs - i.e. whatever channel/program you are watching.

-barry

I'm pretty sure that this is NOT true. The cable out RF sends the same video signal as all the other outputs - i.e. whatever channel/program you are watching.

-barry

When the cable box is turned on, YES, but I think its like a VCR when its off and just passes through the Cable RF input.

***********
What I have actually done in the past is to hook up the TV with, Cable1 from a splitter pre cable box, Cable2 from the cable box RF out, and video input from the receiver.

In practice 99.99% of the time I use the video input, but if I remembered I had the other stuff hooked up it might only be 99.7% of the time or so.

My LCD is 1366x768 native resolution. The spec sheet says "Display Compatibility: 720p"and "Signal Compatibility: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i". I don't know exactly what that means. I don't think that display compatibility note is entirely correct (technically). I guess 720p is the closest to your set's native, or "ideal", resolution of 768. What it means by signal compatibility is that you can supply it with any of those (4) resolutions and your TV's scalar will convert it to 768.

As it stands now, I see NO way to force SD broadcasts up to 1080i. The most I've ever seen them go is up to 720p. So this is obviously Passport specfic territory now. I presume you're checking the resolution from a menu on your TV ?? You can certainly "force" SD broadcasts to 1080i with the 8300HD: Set 1080i as the *only* output resolution. Problem is, your TV is going to convert it down to 768 anyway.

I don't think that display compatibility note is entirely correct (technically). I guess 720p is the closest to your set's native, or "ideal", resolution of 768. What it means by signal compatibility is that you can supply it with any of those (4) resolutions and your TV's scalar will convert it to 768.


Makes sense

I presume you're checking the resolution from a menu on your TV ?? You can certainly "force" SD broadcasts to 1080i with the 8300HD: Set 1080i as the *only* output resolution. Problem is, your TV is going to convert it down to 768 anyway.

Nope, I'm selecting the resolutions on the 8300HD. My TV itself has no options in the menus to select a resolution (perhaps in the service menu, but I've not been in there yet).

If I choose 1080i ONLY as the only output format in the 8300HD, it shows my SD channels as 1080i (per the front display on the 8300HD). I've got no way to verify if it's really doing that I suppose, as I don't know of a way to see a display/menu option that shows the source signal my TV is seeing.

This same premise applies if I select any of the 4 options ONLY. I select 480i, everything shows as 480i, if I select 720p, everything shows as 720p (agian, per the 8300HD front display). As I select multiple resolutions, it's starts to upconvert or display in the native broadcast format, depending on how many options I select. (again, per the 8300HD front display)

So far, testing shows that SD will upconvert to 720p max if that mode is selected on the 8300HD, and HD will come in at 720p or 1080i (if both are enabled). If I enable 720p only, then the HD downconverts to 720p (agian, per the display).

That make sense?

And a question, since my LCD is 768p native, does it make sense to force all HD down to 720p, so the TV's scaler doesn't ned to downconvert 1080i to 768p? Instead, it would just have to upconvert 720p -> 768p ?

A "quicker" way to ascertain your current software rev level is to go to channel 996.

The service/diagnostic menu (select-exit etc). is useful as way way down the list, it will tell you what size HD you have, how much disk space is used and how much remains. A real pity that this information isn't easily accessible via the normal UI.

Sorry, but I am one of those guys that will never, ever use the stretch mode! That being said, I sort of use it... from a tip I read here, I set the 8300 to do 4:3 as stretch. Which essentially sends a stretched image to the TV... at the TV, I set it to do 4:3. The net effect is that I eliminate the light gray sidebars!

I tried deselecting the 480p option on my 8300's Output Formats. PQ looked identical to when I had it set on. The ability to stretch the image seems to be identical whether 480p is set on or off in the 8300 HD.

Another tidbit... it appears to me that the is some "communication" between the 8300 and the TV when setting Output Formats! I say this because someone a block away with the exact same box & TWC service (but a XBR to my Sammie) CAN set both 480i and 480p on her 8300. I can only set 480p (by "set" I mean set and have it stick... if I "set 480i & 480p I only get 480p, if I turn off 480p and leave ONLY 480i, I get no 480 at all).

As for the SATA port, that is disappointing. Then again, I also seem to hear there are some additional issues/troubles with the 051 software, so that fact that you speak of a 052 seems to confirm that in a way. Might you know what kernel they are using (my hope would be a Linux variant... but I suspect not as there would be ways found to hack into the OS!).

A "quicker" way to ascertain your current software rev level is to go to channel 996.Unfortunately, this channel is different from system to system. On my system it's 998--others have reported that it's in the 1000s where they are.
Another tidbit... it appears to me that the is some "communication" between the 8300 and the TV when setting Output Formats! I say this because someone a block away with the exact same box & TWC service (but a XBR to my Sammie) CAN set both 480i and 480p on her 8300. I can only set 480p (by "set" I mean set and have it stick... if I "set 480i & 480p I only get 480p, if I turn off 480p and leave ONLY 480i, I get no 480 at all).If you're using HDMI or DVI to connect your television, there is communication between the monitor and the STB. The STB will read a block of information called the Enhanced Extended Display Identification Data which will tell it exactly what resolutions your display can handle. There's been some suspicion voiced here that this may not be properly interpreted by some recent Passport Echo releases; at least one person has reported that his resolution choices have been limited to 1080i only when using HDMI.
Might you know what kernel they are using (my hope would be a Linux variant... but I suspect not as there would be ways found to hack into the OS!).They are using a custom RTOS called "PowerTV" which is not in any way Unix derived, AFAIK. In any case, embedded Linux apps are only readily hackable on systems like TiVo which include, for whatever bizarre reason, a running shell and a serial comm port over which to use it. It's as though the TiVo engineers went out of their way to allow their user-base to futz with their software :).

If you're using HDMI or DVI to connect your television, there is communication between the monitor and the STB. The STB will read a block of information called the Enhanced Extended Display Identification Data which will tell it exactly what resolutions your display can handle. There's been some suspicion voiced here that this may not be properly interpreted by some recent Passport Echo releases; at least one person has reported that his resolution choices have been limited to 1080i only when using HDMI.


I have been working on this problem with reading the EDID file. Your suggestion in an earlier post was correct. Aptiv enabled the EDID read function between .103 (off) and .112 (on). The EDID files I have pulled from various displays show lots of errors so the 8300 is typically unable to authorize many of the main 4 resolutions. An example of a file error is a scan rate coded as 29Hz when the 8300 is looking for 30Hz so it rejects that resolution. Since there is no way to upload new software into most consumer displays in the field this could be a big problem for some people who wish to use DVI/HDMI.

I have it set to 720p and 1080i only right now, and I can stretch all SD broadcasts on my 37" LCD just fine with those 2 modes only selected. DoubleDAZ, were you saying I CAN'T Stretch if I use 720p/1080i only, or I CAN stretch if I use those mode? I was a little confused on that comment.
Obviously, your TV is able to stretch 720p/1080i images, many cannot and that is why they need 480i enabled. In your case, you don't.

FWIW, I think you are making way too much of all this converting, etc. You appear to have tried just about every possible setting and it's time to settle on what looks best to you. :) The fact that one or more conversions may be taking place is simply a discussion exercise. What matters is what you actually see on the TV and if the setup works for you. Oftentimes nitpicking between 720p and 1080i is simply a personal preference. There is no "best" setup because someone with the same TV/8300 might prefer a different setting. "Best" is what works for you.

Thanks Mike, I should have said 996 for TWC-NYC-Passport!

I DO notice that the button press shuffle to get into the 8300 disgnotic shell displays a channel 1999 that is not "tuneable" as such.

Ah, RTOS... pretty sure I've heard about this one... somewhere back in time for embedded systems, something like that. Hey, I'm a computer guy, although my days of accessing shells are long over!

Anyone have any idea when the ubiquitous black masks that often appear when starting up will disappear? They are easy to get rid of, but why can't Aptiva just do it right?

I DO notice that the button press shuffle to get into the 8300 disgnotic shell displays a channel 1999 that is not "tuneable" as such.

Ah, RTOS... pretty sure I've heard about this one... somewhere back in time for embedded systems, something like that. Hey, I'm a computer guy, although my days of accessing shells are long over!Interesting. On my system, you press and hold SEL+EXIT until "dIAG" appears in the LEDS and then EXIT once more to get into the diagnostics. Once you've enabled the diagnostics, you can get to them by either pressing EXIT again on the box (not the remote) or by tuning 611, which cannot be tuned if the diags aren't enabled. (Pressing EXIT on the STB always works, even when both tuners are in use for recording. Dismissing the diag display without using a tuner can be tricky :)). Are you sure that you can't tune 1999 when the diags are enabled?

RTOS is an acronym for Real-Time Operating System and describes the genre of OSen which are designed to provide low latency to realtime event processing and which have features for real-time programming. Most embedded systems apps are mounted on one RTOS or another, since most are realtime applications.

Does anybody have a DIAG page titled SATA with "SATA: Enabled" on it? If so, what Passport version?

Does anybody have a DIAG page titled SATA with "SATA: Enabled" on it? If so, what Passport version?It has been reported for 2.5.051 in the hdtv.forsandiego.com TWC forum, in this (http://hdtv.forsandiego.com/cgi-bin/show.cgi?tpc=2&post=24445#POST24445) post. (In the post, the guy described having problems getting an external drive running, which he later solved). Of course, the only live trick-play function which works with a drive connected in that revision is "PAUSE"; you can resume from where you left off, but you can't FF/REW through the accumulated buffer.

A few folks in that forum are using external drives with .051 despite the live trick-play problem, the expanded storage being more important to them.

edit: Is there a way to subscribe to the thread? (I didn't see one.)Unfortunately not. The Discus package that the forum uses is substantially less powerful than vBulletin. However, it's much, much less busy than AVS Forum and you can easily check out what's going on using the "Last 1 | 3 | 7 Days" links at the top of the root page.

Mine reads: SATA Status: Enabled

Mine reads: SATA Status: Enabled
Rev?

Does anybody have a DIAG page titled SATA with "SATA: Enabled" on it? If so, what Passport version?

Mine is Echo 2.5.048

It has a SATA Page. The page has a single value: SATA Status: Authorized.

Mine is Echo 2.5.048

It has a SATA Page. The page has a single value: SATA Status: Authorized.
Thanks. I just got 052 with the same page/info.

Recently, I set my 78-year-old mother in Shreveport, LA up with a TWC 8300HD running Passport. Part of the reason she agreed to try this newfangled gizmo was because I promised her she'd be able to use closed captions on her non-closed-caption-capable TV. (Yes, I got her an HD box for use on an SD TV. I'm moving one step at a time! A better TV will be coming soon enough.)

Unfortunately, once I got the box set up and working, I went to triumphantly demonstrate the closed captions...and they wouldn't come on.

I can't recall the menus exactly, and I live 250 miles away so I can't just go pull 'em up real fast, but I remember there being CC options both in the "first" Settings menu (Settings, up, up, right: ON/OFF) and in the second Settings menu (stuff like which subchannel to decode, font style options, etc.). I turned CCs on in the first menu, flipped around to dozens of channels/programs that should certainly have CCs, and got nothing. So then I went to the second settings menu and tried a variety of different subchannel options, still with no luck.

I called Shreveport TWC to ask for help, and at first they tried to tell me the box didn't have an option for CCs. Once I finally got them to admit the menu options did exist, they put me on hold for 10 minutes, only to come back to tell me, "We don't enable CCs on our STBs." Um, what? Why not? "Because most folks have TVs that will decode CCs." Um, so what? What does it hurt to enable CC functionality in the STB? "We just don't do it." What about people who have their TVs connected via HDMI or component video, and/or have HD monitors without a built-in tuner? "Not many people do that." Um, WHAT?!?

I never got a decent explanation for why the CC function was disabled in the STB.

My questions to the group:

Is it really possible that the CC function is completely disabled in Mom's version of Passport? (I don't have the ver#, unfortunately.) Are there 8300HD customers in other Passport markets out there who have no CC functionality?
Did I miss some subtle setting in the STB menus that's the secret to getting CCs to work?
Is it likely that the CC function just doesn't work with the composite video output and/or 480i output? (Why wouldn't it?!)
Is TWC telling the truth, and to get CCs to work I'll need to have the STB pass its HD signals through the coax to the TV's built-in tuner and let the TV decode the CCs? (Is that really an option?)

Eventually, I'm going to get Mom a 21st-century HDTV with component or HDMI connectors, and set her up nice. When I do, I'd like to be able to get the CCs to work!

For what it's worth, they also told me Comcast was taking over the Shreveport market from TWC. Dunno if that's a good thing, bad thing, or other...

Thanks,
Jim

Anyone have any idea when the ubiquitous black masks that often appear when starting up will disappear? They are easy to get rid of, but why can't Aptiva just do it right?

Mine actually have stopped ever since the last firmware upgrade. I'm in the Time Warner , Milwaukee, WI area. I do get the snow problem now when switching inputs from my Xbox 360 back to TV. I channel change to a non-HD channel and back solves that problem.

Is TWC telling the truth, and to get CCs to work I'll need to have the STB pass its HD signals through the coax to the TV's built-in tuner and let the TV decode the CCs? (Is that really an option?)
all I can say is that CC definitely works here on 8300HD using HMDI and Component using 480i and has done on since Passport 1.8. Digital channels offer the digital text enhancement and standard channels regular CC text accessed as you tried through the primary settings toggle.

My 2000 STB does not have setting for CC at all, the TV has to do all the work there.

The only thing I can think of is adjusting the CC type in the secondary 8300 menu - CC1, CC2 etc. There is also an analog and digital on/off setting for CCs in the secondary menu as well.

I share your pain, my mother lives 3000 miles away. It's always fun helping her to install components and talk them through menus you can't see over the telephone.

Rev?As I recall, hall got .051 about a week before we got it here in SD.

all I can say is that CC definitely works here on 8300HD using HMDI and Component using 480i ...

The only thing I can think of is adjusting the CC type in the secondary 8300 menu - CC1, CC2 etc. There is also an analog and digital on/off setting for CCs in the secondary menu as well.Many thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty sure I found the analog/digital on/off options in the secondary menu, but I know I did not try every permutation/combination of settings. Next time I visit, I guess I'll sit down with the remote and give my fingers a workout going through all the possibilities....

Interesting. On my system, you press and hold SEL+EXIT until "dIAG" appears in the LEDS and then EXIT once more to get into the diagnostics. Once you've enabled the diagnostics, you can get to them by either pressing EXIT again on the box (not the remote) or by tuning 611, which cannot be tuned if the diags aren't enabled. (Pressing EXIT on the STB always works, even when both tuners are in use for recording. Dismissing the diag display without using a tuner can be tricky :)). Are you sure that you can't tune 1999 when the diags are enabled?

RTOS is an acronym for Real-Time Operating System and describes the genre of OSen which are designed to provide low latency to realtime event processing and which have features for real-time programming. Most embedded systems apps are mounted on one RTOS or another, since most are realtime applications.

Fooled around some more <g>. Now I realize that once you "enable" diagnostics with the SEL+EXT, you can get to the it's set of screens at any time until you turn the box off. Tuning 611 just goes to a music choice channel, but manually tuning 1999 does work! And I see that the diagnostic screen seems to retain the last age you visited (very cool, the one I'm most interested in is way, way down at the bottom of the list of pages!).

So RTOS is more of a generic term than specific to one collection of code? That could be, I just remember hearing about it a long time ago!

There sure is a bunch of interesting sounding stuff in the diag. set of pages. At the bottom, there are 3 ones labeled DVR Info, DVR AVFS and DVR ITFS. AVFS lists space used, free space and total space. So are we saying that if there is a SATA page, then that port is enabled? My 1.8.112 doesn't even have a SATA page!

So RTOS is more of a generic term than specific to one collection of code? That could be, I just remember hearing about it a long time ago!I just found an article on the term RTOS at Wikipedia, here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTOS); it gives a pretty decent explanation of what makes an OS "real-time" and lists a bunch of example RTOSes. I write embedded software for a living, initially for networking devices (switches, routers, etc) and more recently for office and consumer electronics. The RTOSes I've used for these projects include LynxOS, QNX, pSOS, VRTX, VxWorks and most recently REX, which is Qualcomm's proprietary system for programming their mobile phone chips, which contain ARM processor cores. Decades ago, I used DEC's RT-11 and RSX-11 for real-time research laboratory automation apps--I'm surprised that the article lists those but omits VMS, another DEC product that I used for the same purpose.
There sure is a bunch of interesting sounding stuff in the diag. set of pages. At the bottom, there are 3 ones labeled DVR Info, DVR AVFS and DVR ITFS. AVFS lists space used, free space and total space. So are we saying that if there is a SATA page, then that port is enabled? My 1.8.112 doesn't even have a SATA page!I'm glad that you're having fun with the diags. I don't really care about free-space, but I used the DVR AVFS page to keep a log of the filesizes of the recordings that I made; the filesize can be used to calculate a rough average transmission bitrate. I logged bitrate stats for over 1200 hours of content, recorded from 15 HD channels on my TWC system, before I got bored with it, about a year ago :).

The presence of the SATA diag page is a strong indication that the connection will at least kinda sorta work, though there have been reports here of partial functionality in some 1.8.xxx release. I believe that the earliest release that anyone's reported seeing the SATA page in is 2.5.048.

I believe that the earliest release that anyone's reported seeing the SATA page in is 2.5.048.
Passport is "sorta kinda" creeping toward official SATA support - late summer maybe. And lemme hit the macro here: "Availability of SATA support in Passport is no guarantee that any given cable operator will choose to deploy it."

... DVR Info, DVR AVFS and DVR ITFS...I put all those numbers from a couple of eSATA set-ups (and a SARA upgraded internal HDD I think) in a spreadsheet, a couple of pages ago.

v/r,
C-F

... CC...I used CC all the time on the SA8300HD with PASSPORT connected over component (TWC-KC). The HD captions there can be set to a nice small translucent scheme, but I never found a way to get there or reduce the huge white/black in-the-way SD captions.

v/r,
C-F

I have ordered a Samsung DLP tv, native 1080 resolution (HL-S6187W). In preparation for its arrival I went to Time Warner today and picked up an 8300 HD DVR. HDMI cable was not provided, but some other cables were provided (but no hook-up documentation).

I received a coax cable to connect cable outlet to the 8300. I received a set of blue/red/green cables that go from the "out" on the back of the 8300 to the tv - - why 3 cables ?- - is one for audio? I was also given a set of red/white cables - - these are for?

We do have a low-end Sony surround sound system which includes Sony DVD player. Would appreciate description of best type (not the brand) of cables to connect the various parts.

Thanks.

Greetings,

My 8300HD has recently been upgraded to the 2.5.051 Passport Echo firmware. Since then I have an issue where each time the box is powered up I get sound but no picture ( just snow ). The only way to get the picture is to switch to a channel that has a different resolution than the current channel.

For example if the box was powered while set to Fox HD ( 720p ) I need to switch the channel to CBS HD ( 1080i ) to get my Sony HS51 and the 8300HD to link up. If I switch to ABC HD which is also 720p there is no change in the snowy picture.

This was never an issue until this latest upgrade. Prior to that when everything powered up I got a picture regardless. While this is not a big issue it is certainly an annoyance.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Regards,

Yep, just got my 8300 yesterday after the previous 8000 died on me. Nice color snow when I power up both STB and TV. As you said, changing to a channel with different resolution (I guess you're right), from an HD channel to a low-numbered one or vice versa, helps. Another way is to press "Video Source" button a few times, just make sure you return to your favorite Stretch/Zoom mode. You're saying it didn't happen with the older firmware? Bummer....

P.S. SA is connected to JVC HD-P61R1U (1080p D-ILA) through HDMI.
P.P.S. Passport Echo is version 2.5.048, TWC/Raleigh

I have ordered a Samsung DLP tv, native 1080 resolution (HL-S6187W). In preparation for its arrival I went to Time Warner today and picked up an 8300 HD DVR. HDMI cable was not provided, but some other cables were provided (but no hook-up documentation).

I received a coax cable to connect cable outlet to the 8300. I received a set of blue/red/green cables that go from the "out" on the back of the 8300 to the tv - - why 3 cables ?- - is one for audio? I was also given a set of red/white cables - - these are for?

We do have a low-end Sony surround sound system which includes Sony DVD player. Would appreciate description of best type (not the brand) of cables to connect the various parts.

Thanks.

The blue/red/green cable is a Component Video cable. It carries an analog (HD or SD) video (but not audio) signal. The red/white cable is an analog stereo audio cable. You should either buy an HDMI cable or a high quality Component cable because the one supplied by your cable company is probably shoddy. Some basic but slightly dated info about cables and jacks can be found HERE (http://www.samsungusa.com/dtvguide/module_6_1.html). To hear surround sound on your audio system, you will need a digital audio cable, not the analog cable that came with the DVR.

The blue/red/green cable is a Component Video cable. It carries an analog (HD or SD) video (but not audio) signal. The red/white cable is an analog stereo audio cable. You should either buy an HDMI cable or a high quality Component cable because the one supplied by your cable company is probably shoddy. Some basic but slightly dated info about cables and jacks can be found HERE (http://www.samsungusa.com/dtvguide/module_6_1.html). To hear surround sound on your audio system, you will need a digital audio cable, not the analog cable that came with the DVR.


Many thanks.

Hello everybody,

I have two questions. First, I just got my 8300HD and I noticed that the firmware version is Echo 1.8.112 dated Aug 31, 2005! Is there anyway to force un update? I am with Brighthouse in Orlando. Should I just call them and ask them to update it?
Secondly, is there a way to connect the box to two TV and watch the output of the two tuners separately? With my old Sa8000 I could do that but I needed to have the PIP little screen on one TV while the other TV was showing me the PIP channel full screen.

Thanks!

I have two questions. First, I just got my 8300HD and I noticed that the firmware version is Echo 1.8.112 dated Aug 31, 2005! Is there anyway to force un update? I am with Brighthouse in Orlando. Should I just call them and ask them to update it?1.8.112 is the most common version of Passport Echo deployed anywhere; these 2.5.xxx revisions are sort of "beta test". In any case, the revision of Passport Echo in use in your area is up to the cable providers. In generally, they won't upgrade unless a new revision is made available to them which fixes some bug that they're getting a lot of complaints from the customers about, or if it implements some new feature that they're interested in marketing.

In every system that I've heard of, when you plug a box up, if it isn't running the firmware revision currently in use on the system, it will automatically download the latest update.

1.8.112 is the most common version of Passport Echo deployed anywhere; these 2.5.xxx revisions are sort of "beta test". In any case, the revision of Passport Echo in use in your area is up to the cable providers. In generally, they won't upgrade unless a new revision is made available to them which fixes some bug that they're getting a lot of complaints from the customers about, or if it implements some new feature that they're interested in marketing.

In every system that I've heard of, when you plug a box up, if it isn't running the firmware revision currently in use on the system, it will automatically download the latest update.
I was told that my cableco's move to 2.5.043, the currently installed version for everyone but a few doing beta testing, was necessitated by a new HARDWARE revision being shipped by Scientific Atlanta. (The previous rev here was 2.2.020.) I would imagine that is a country-wide issue, and wouid expect all providers using the 8300/8300HD to make the "upgrade" sooner rather than later. Unless they're sitting on a boatload of "old" boxes.

HDMI cable was not provided, but some other cables were provided (but no hook-up documentation).

Thanks.

It depends on where you live. I had a Time Warner tech here today - Los Angeles - West San Fernando Valley - and he said they do not support HDMI because it would cost extra money for them to supply and carry the cables on the trucks.

I purchased inexpensive HDMI cables online and had problems. See my earlier posts for details. Using a $125 Monster cable, I had the same problems and I returned it. I am using component cables and get a great picture and no box reboots in the middle of recording.

TW doesn't support HDMI or DVI for a variety of reasons. The most likely one is the lack of proper support for the HDMI or DVI spec, be it the fault of the TV manufacturers or Scientific Atlanta. Also, no one should expect TW to stock component, HDMI, and DVI (DVI has (5) variations !) cables on their tech's trucks. Use component. It (almost) always works and the picture quality from it is completely HD capable.

You should either buy an HDMI cable or a high quality Component cable because the one supplied by your cable company is probably shoddy.FWIW, you can certainly go the HDMI route, but I've compared a Monster Component cable to the one supplied with the 8300 and can see absolutely no difference, so I wouldn't recommend wasting more money on another Component cable.

What's the logic behind Passport features between boxes? My old SD DVR was a Sci Atlanta 8000. It has a few key features my 8300HD software lacks

1) When you are watching a recorded program and press stop, or it hits the end, it would ask you to save and erase or save and keep on the 8000. On the 8300HD it just takes you back to live TV

2) When you have 2 recordings scheduled to start at the same time, and you were watching a 3rd channel (which was not one of them 2 to be recorded), the 8000 would prompt you to switch to one of the channels, you could pick which. The 8300HD just chooses one for you and does it. It doesn't even warn you

But alternately, the 8300HD has a search mode in the guide that the 8000 did not. So there is a new feature I love, but two totally valid "old" features lost. I don't get it.

FWIW, you can certainly go the HDMI route, but I've compared a Monster Component cable to the one supplied with the 8300 and can see absolutely no difference, so I wouldn't recommend wasting more money on another Component cable.

Different cable companies supply different cables. I've seen some that were pretty decent and I've seen some (the one set TW supplied me) that were crap! I sure agree that Monster cable is highly overpriced, but there is some real junk out there too.

Well, I'm sure that's true. The point was not to buy something until you knew it was needed vs "probably" crap just because it was provided by the cableco. :) Actually, I believe the cables are initially provided by SA, mine was a sealed box, but no telling what the trucks carry and how many boxes now are used units. I just don't believe in suggesting someone spend money until there is a reason to suspect the cables are not up to par.

To hear surround sound on your audio system, you will need a digital audio cable, not the analog cable that came with the DVR.I don't want to get into a "what cables are best" discussion, but I do want to point out that you do not need any special "digital audio cable" to get a digital signal to your receiver that it can process into surround sound. Just about any RCA cable that's not outright defective will be good enough to pass a signal the receiver can process, even a $1.99 cable from Radio Shack. (Obligatory disclaimer: "Even though the receiver processes the signal, that doesn't necessarily mean you're getting the best sound possible.")

okbyme, your new TV will have component connectors and you can use the cableco-supplied component video cables to get a video signal from your 8300HD to the new TV. You can then use half of the red/white cable pair to connect the digital coax output from the STB to your Sony sound system to get your surround sound. That will at least get you started.

Then, at your convenience, you can purchase better quality (or at least more expensive) cables, and swap them with the cableco-provided ones to see if you can tell a significant enough improvement to keep the new cables.

Jim

Edit: Whoops, missed the next page of the thread. DoubleDAZ just said essentially the same thing right above this reply...

Well, I'm sure that's true. The point was not to buy something until you knew it was needed vs "probably" crap just because it was provided by the cableco. :) Actually, I believe the cables are initially provided by SA, mine was a sealed box, but no telling what the trucks carry and how many boxes now are used units. I just don't believe in suggesting someone spend money until there is a reason to suspect the cables are not up to par.
If this is one's first experience with high quality gear, one may not know that "the (included) cables are not up to par." okbyme just purchased a 1080 DLP - I'd bet he can afford something better than using the included stereo RCA cable to pass coaxial digital. While not technically incorrect, I think it's bogus advice to tell him it'll be OK and in the same breath tell him he may not be getting the best sound. But maybe that's just me. :)

Are there any known audio issues with the 8300HD and Passport software when using digital coax? The sound jumps all over the place on Dolby Digital broadcasts. Voice sections of broadcasts are extremely low so I need to turn the volume way up, and then when i tcomes to a sequence with a lot of effects (such as explosions), it's WAY too loud.

Are there any known audio issues with the 8300HD and Passport software when using digital coax? The sound jumps all over the place on Dolby Digital broadcasts. Voice sections of broadcasts are extremely low so I need to turn the volume way up, and then when i tcomes to a sequence with a lot of effects (such as explosions), it's WAY too loud.
Sorry, have to ask: Did you set your speaker levels with a sound level meter and test tones?

I know of no issues regarding your compalint.

But I didn't say anything of the sort, pepar, so I don't know why you are quoting me. Someone else is discussing audio cables, I only mentioned Component cables (Monster vs those supplied by SA making no difference). IMHO, it's not a matter of being able to afford anything, it's a matter of needing something better (more expensive) for better's sake.

You get no argument from me on optical/coax digital cables vs RCA cables for audio, but unless you have reason to suspect your Component cables are not up to par, IMHO you are just wasting your money. There is no doubt in my mind that Monster cables are "technically" better than those supplied by SA, as are A/R, Belkin, etc., but that doesn't mean you can "see" any difference on your equipment, expensive or not.

Now, if you just want to say someone should "try" better cables "that can be returned", I'll agree with you all day. But too many people get hung up on getting the best there is for no other reason than bragging rights and there are a lot of sales people out there depending on that. ;)

Sorry, have to ask: Did you set your speaker levels with a sound level meter and test tones?

I know of no issues regarding your compalint.

Yes, and I've had no issues with my DVDs or my old 8000 SD PVR which was only connected over composite audio. I guess I'll gve the optical a try and see if I notice the same issue or not.

I suppose it could be this particular broadcast I was watching.

But I didn't say anything of the sort, pepar, so I don't know why you are quoting me. Someone else is discussing audio cables, I only mentioned Component cables (Monster vs those supplied by SA making no difference). IMHO, it's not a matter of being able to afford anything, it's a matter of needing something better (more expensive) for better's sake.

You get no argument from me on optical/coax digital cables vs RCA cables for audio, but unless you have reason to suspect your Component cables are not up to par, IMHO you are just wasting your money. There is no doubt in my mind that Monster cables are "technically" better than those supplied by SA, as are A/R, Belkin, etc., but that doesn't mean you can "see" any difference on your equipment, expensive or not.

Now, if you just want to say someone should "try" better cables "that can be returned", I'll agree with you all day. But too many people get hung up on getting the best there is for no other reason than bragging rights and there are a lot of sales people out there depending on that. ;)
Sorry, Dave, I wrapped jruhnke's post into my reply, but your "until there is a reason to suspect the cables are not up to par" was my launch point with my reply being that someone new may not know included cables are not up to par.

I have utter contempt for the uber-expensive, snake oil-coated cables and an extremely low opinion about anyone who buys them, but telling someone they can use half of a low-end - freebie - stereo RCA cable for digital audio, well . . . I'll stop right there.

Next time I'll try to be more clear on just who I've got a beef with. :)

Yes, and I've had no issues with my DVDs or my old 8000 SD PVR which was only connected over composite audio. I guess I'll gve the optical a try and see if I notice the same issue or not.

I suppose it could be this particular broadcast I was watching.
I can't see that the optical output would be any different than the coaxial. If you've only noticed it on one broadcast, I'd suspect the broadcast.

Has anyone gotten their 8300HD to work through a receiver and then to the HDTV via the HDMI port? I have heard there is a HDCP issue with passing it through a receiver first, just wondering if anyone has gotten it to work or if there has been a firmware upgrade to the 8300HD that has fixed this issue.

Thanks

Pp

No problem, pepar, just wanted to set the record straight. :)

As for the audio, wasn't he talking about just using the Composite (RF) connection? I agree there wouldn't be a difference between optical or coax digital connections, but might there not be differences using the Composite? I doubt that is the cause of his complaint, but it seems to me it would have been easy enough to check that by simply changing the channel or checking out the next broadcast, etc.

Has anyone gotten their 8300HD to work through a receiver and then to the HDTV via the HDMI port? I have heard there is a HDCP issue with passing it through a receiver first, just wondering if anyone has gotten it to work or if there has been a firmware upgrade to the 8300HD that has fixed this issue.
Top right, this page, "Search this Thread."

... but telling someone they can use half of a low-end - freebie - stereo RCA cable for digital audio, well . . . I'll stop right there.

Next time I'll try to be more clear on just who I've got a beef with. :)Oh, come on. Your beef is with me telling the truth? What's up with that?

Please go back and re-read my message. My "beef" is with blatant misinformation: "To hear surround sound on your audio system, you will need a digital audio cable, not the analog cable that came with the DVR." That is absolutely false, and I felt obligated to point that out. (I also did explicitly caveat that using an inexpensive cable is not necessarily the best thing to do.)

I wanted to make sure okbyme knew he didn't *have* to buy new cables to get his system set up the first time. I offered a suggestion, which he is free to follow or not as he sees fit: Instead of buying cables before his equipment arrives because someone tells him he needs them even to get his system to work, wait until his equipment is in his house. He's got cables in hand that will work just fine to get sound and video out of his new equipment so that he can start enjoying it immediately. ("That will at least get you started.")

Then, after whatever amount of research/shopping he wishes to do ("at your convenience"), he can spend the bucks to buy new cables. By comparing them to the "free" cables he started with, he can actually evaluate any difference for himself and decide whether the new cables are worth the price he paid. Since everyone involved in this brief exchange has acknowledged that there's a great deal of snake oil in the cable business, we should all agree that this is a reasonable approach.

If he really is unfamiliar with what different quality cables can do for a system, then this A-to-B comparison will give him an opportunity to learn. If all he does is succumb to peer pressure to run out and buy some cables that some sales rep tells him are great, and he never has an opportunity to compare them to anything else, then he'll never really know if he got good cables or sold a bill of goods. I have a beef with people recommending that he take that route, because I believe it is a disservice to him.

Instead of misinformation, unsupported opinion, or a dose of scornful attitude, I offered okbyme the truth and a suggestion for how he can learn for himself what dfference cables can make in a system. Now, I invite you to tell me exactly what I said that you have a beef with. But I request you do it via PM so we don't waste further bandwidth in this thread.

(And DoubleDAZ, I sincerely apologize for associating you with my first post and getting you caught in the backlash. I didn't mean to "drag you down" with me!)

Jim

No problem, pepar, just wanted to set the record straight. :)

As for the audio, wasn't he talking about just using the Composite (RF) connection? I agree there wouldn't be a difference between optical or coax digital connections, but might there not be differences using the Composite? I doubt that is the cause of his complaint, but it seems to me it would have been easy enough to check that by simply changing the channel or checking out the next broadcast, etc.
I was thrown off by "composite audio." :)

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that either. Composite usually refers to the RF Out, but he could mean the L-R Out (RCA) or the Digital Out (Coax). Guess we'll have to see if he posts again with more info.

Ppowr,

The issue is probably both with the 8300 and the receiver. The receiver is acting as a repeater in this case. There are all sorts of issues with 8300's working through a repeater. The issues are generally on both sides due to the poor quality of the HDMI and HDCP specs and the lack of an interoperability suite that is mandated and used by all.

I run my 8300's through a DVDO VP30 scaler and their thread is as long as this one. All sorts of issues, and different sources (eg dvd players,HD DVD, other DVR's) have similar but different problems.

I was home contemplating this issue and said aloud "I wonder if this will ever get fixed". There was a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder and a booming ethereal voice that said, "YES . . . but not in MY lifetime"

No, composite normally refers to baseband video (as opposed to video modulated on an RF carrier which is normally referred to as RF) in which all of the various signal components have been encoded into a signal on a single wire. This is in contrast to S-video where there are "Two" wires (actually wire pairs) that carry different components of the video signal (Chroma and Luminescence)

Oh, come on. Your beef is with me telling the truth? What's up with that?
It was part of an ongoing effort on my part to be less confrontational: Quote someone else! :)

Please go back and re-read my message. My "beef" is with blatant misinformation: "To hear surround sound on your audio system, you will need a digital audio cable, not the analog cable that came with the DVR." That is absolutely false, and I felt obligated to point that out. (I also did explicitly caveat that using an inexpensive cable is not necessarily the best thing to do.)
AFAIC, IMHO, telling someone they can use half of a cheapie 2-ch RCA cable to get a digital signal to their receiver borders on - borders on - misinformation. Two coat hangers would probably work as well. And caveating it until the cows come home doesn't make it good advice.

I wanted to make sure okbyme knew he didn't *have* to buy new cables to get his system set up the first time. I offered a suggestion, which he is free to follow or not as he sees fit: Instead of buying cables before his equipment arrives because someone tells him he needs them even to get his system to work, wait until his equipment is in his house. He's got cables in hand that will work just fine to get sound and video out of his new equipment so that he can start enjoying it immediately. ("That will at least get you started.")

Then, after whatever amount of research/shopping he wishes to do ("at your convenience"), he can spend the bucks to buy new cables. By comparing them to the "free" cables he started with, he can actually evaluate any difference for himself and decide whether the new cables are worth the price he paid. Since everyone involved in this brief exchange has acknowledged that there's a great deal of snake oil in the cable business, we should all agree that this is a reasonable approach.
What makes you think his question here isn't his research? And the first reply he got was "you can use the RCA cable." It'll work, but it's . . just . . wrong.

If he really is unfamiliar with what different quality cables can do for a system, then this A-to-B comparison will give him an opportunity to learn. If all he does is succumb to peer pressure to run out and buy some cables that some sales rep tells him are great, and he never has an opportunity to compare them to anything else, then he'll never really know if he got good cables or sold a bill of goods. I have a beef with people recommending that he take that route, because I believe it is a disservice to him.
Again, back to my point that someone new to this hobby may not know how to properly A-B, and he may not have enough of an educated ear to know what to listen for when A-B'ing. And don't put words in my mouth; I said nothing about - nor did anyone - "running out", bill of goods" or "sales rep." (Did you have a bad experience like this?)

Instead of misinformation, unsupported opinion, or a dose of scornful attitude, I offered okbyme the truth and a suggestion for how he can learn for himself what dfference cables can make in a system. Now, I invite you to tell me exactly what I said that you have a beef with. But I request you do it via PM so we don't waste further bandwidth in this thread.
Nice, you get in the last volley and want to go PM? Isn't it clear by now my beef is with your suggesting it's OK to use a stereo audio cable for digital audio. In spite of your caveat, I felt it wasn't clear enough that nearly everyone else would chuckle at the idea.

(And DoubleDAZ, I sincerely apologize for associating you with my first post . . . .
You didn't; I did. And I explained and apologized for doing so.

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that either. Composite usually refers to the RF Out . .
I'm more familiar with it in reference to video from the yellow RCA jack.

For what it's worth, when I rec'd my 8300HD, the tech gave me a set of Python component cables. They were seperate from the box so as far as I know, my local TWC buys them on their own.

As for audio cables, I am in fact using half of a low-cost (under $10) RCA for my coaxial (digital) audio. Quite simply, it works. Cables, IMO, are a huge ripoff. The ones I'm using I bought at Big Lots and they're certainly nice looking cables. They by no means look cheap. Just to be on the safe side, I bought 2-3 instead of the one I needed presuming that they'd fail. The original set is still working just fine. Also, cables will probably NEVER fail if they're plugged in and left alone. What I've seen most often is cables that are plugged in and unplugged constantly fail.

1) When you are watching a recorded program and press stop, or it hits the end, it would ask you to save and erase or save and keep on the 8000. On the 8300HD it just takes you back to live TV Mine does NOT do that. It asks me to save it or delete it. With the latest 2.5.051 software, it's added a 2nd delete confirmation, in fact (annoying at first, now used to it).
2) When you have 2 recordings scheduled to start at the same time, and you were watching a 3rd channel (which was not one of them 2 to be recorded), the 8000 would prompt you to switch to one of the channels, you could pick which. The 8300HD just chooses one for you and does it. It doesn't even warn you Mine prompts me and has prompted for many versions. If you ignore the prompt, I can't recall which channel it decides to flip to though.

As for audio cables, I am in fact using half of a low-cost (under $10) RCA for my coaxial (digital) audio. Quite simply, it works.
:eek: :)

8000 ... save and erase or save and keep ... 8300 ... just takes you back to live TV ...
8000 would prompt you ... 8300HD just chooses one for you and does it...I think this is all in the firmware, which generally would be the same on both STB on the same cable system.

I turned mine in for the move, but I remember 1.8.112 having at least the [Stop and Erase...] message. You might try toggling the [message or show messages] in Settings/More Settings.


v/r,
C-F


(You meant Stop and Erase or Stop and Keep, right?)

with regard to digital coaxial (S/PDIF) cables, Do not use plain audio cables. What you want is a cable with a 75 ohm characteristic impedance. The standard composite video cable (the one with the yellow RCA jacks for the jargon challenged) is, or rather is supposed to be, 75 ohm and will work just fine. In the digital world, length matters very little. If the signal gets there it gets there. Don't get me wrong, a one mile cable will probably not work, but up to about 100 feet I do not think there will be a problem.

with regard to digital coaxial (S/PDIF) cables, Do not use plain audio cables. What you want is a cable with a 75 ohm characteristic impedance. The standard composite video cable (the one with the yellow RCA jacks for the jargon challenged) is, or rather is supposed to be, 75 ohm and will work just fine. In the digital world, length matters very little. If the signal gets there it gets there. Don't get me wrong, a one mile cable will probably not work, but up to about 100 feet I do not think there will be a problem.

Talking about 75 ohm impedence in the same sentance with RCA jacks does not make much sense: First, any system using such connectors IS NOT a uniform 75 ohms (too many discontinuities in the construction). Second, the importance of matched impedences is limited to minimizing reflections in the cable. With the lengths we are normally talking about these reflections make no difference.

The sound jumps all over the place on Dolby Digital broadcasts. Voice sections of broadcasts are extremely low so I need to turn the volume way up, and then when i tcomes to a sequence with a lot of effects (such as explosions), it's WAY too loud.

With all of the ranting and such generated about the digital audio connection, the actual "problem" you presented has not really been addressed.

It appears that you are likely experiencing a common problem with Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcasts today. All too often simple 2 channel (stereo) audio sources are simply fed into the left front and right front bit streams, yet the 5.1 "flag" is left on. Your receiver then feeds your speakers as straight stereo and there is no center channel contents.

Locally, only our CBS & Fox stations have 5.1 and I have often heard this problem - particularly on commercials, but I've heard it on some cable networks (UniversalHD for one) on program material as well. Chalk this up to the "learning curve".

My solution is to run BOTH the analog stereo (oh yes, those Red/White RCA cables) from the 8300 to the surround receiver as well as the digital audio connection (either co-ax with RCA plugs or optical), and switch between DD and analog on the receiver. Normally I use the DD, but when they screw programs up (and there is no center channel content) I switch to analog (Pro Logic II)

Are there any known audio issues with the 8300HD and Passport software when using digital coax? The sound jumps all over the place on Dolby Digital broadcasts. Voice sections of broadcasts are extremely low so I need to turn the volume way up, and then when i tcomes to a sequence with a lot of effects (such as explosions), it's WAY too loud.
Maybe I am missing something in all this discussion but that is exactly how very good / dynamic DD 5.1 sound is supposed to behave (assuming you have done some calibration etc, and there are no "error/issues" in the source or setup) DD has a very wide dynamic range, and it is very clean (depending on your components), so you turn it up, the simple "unenthusiastic dialog" is at a moderate level, then something loud happens explosion etc and it is extremly loud...thats the dynamic range I am paying for/enjoy. Most decent AV receivers have Dynamic Compression settings to reduce the dynamic range...effectivly making the range between soft and loud much smaller, good for watching TV at late night so as you don't wake up the neighbors, with each explosion (maybe you should try that). I was wathing SWIII:ROTS on HBO HD and the DD sound and full dynamic range, It was awesome! just how I like it!....pretty much how you describe... with the volume at a good level to hear the dialog and then BOOOM!!! or light sabers all around :D

Maybe I am missing something in all this discussion but that is exactly how very good / dynamic DD 5.1 sound is supposed to behave (assuming you have done some calibration etc, and there are no "error/issues" in the source or setup) DD has a very wide dynamic range, and it is very clean (depending on your components), so you turn it up, the simple "unenthusiastic dialog" is at a moderate level, then something loud happens explosion etc and it is extremly loud...thats the dynamic range I am paying for/enjoy. Most decent AV receivers have Dynamic Compression settings to reduce the dynamic range...effectivly making the range between soft and loud much smaller, good for watching TV at late night so as you don't wake up the neighbors, with each explosion (maybe you should try that). I was wathing SWIII:ROTS on HBO HD and the DD sound and full dynamic range, It was awesome! just how I like it!....pretty much how you describe... with the volume at a good level to hear the dialog and then BOOOM!!! or light sabers all around :D
And perhaps it's not the sound coming from the speakers, but rather what the room does to it. Bad acoustics can cause one to turn up the volume to hear dialog and then when an explosion occurs, it is deafening. With a decent system in a room with good acoustics, whispers will sound like whispers - and be perfectly intelligible - and explosions will sound like explosions. And everything else will fall into place in between.

Yes, and I've had no issues with my DVDs or my old 8000 SD PVR which was only connected over composite audio. I guess I'll gve the optical a try and see if I notice the same issue or not.

I suppose it could be this particular broadcast I was watching.

I use the coax as well and know what you mean. However I put it down to whoever is doing the mixing on a particular show.

King of Queens is a good example. The dialog is fine and on par with other shows, but the opening theme is the equivalent of having a speaker rammed in your ear.

...

It appears that you are likely experiencing a common problem with Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcasts today. All too often simple 2 channel (stereo) audio sources are simply fed into the left front and right front bit streams, yet the 5.1 "flag" is left on. Your receiver then feeds your speakers as straight stereo and there is no center channel contents.

BTW, I have experienced that too... I usually leave my setting on HDMI (as opposed to DD) ... which feeds non-DD (PCM) via the optical to my AV then my reciever will do D Prologic II or some other synthetic to provide decent sound, I usually only turn on DD 5.1 for the content that I know or have learned that the DD 5.1 is "done" properly (most the big shows, CSI, LOST, HBO etc).... yeah when its done wrong...it can be bad.

And perhaps it's not the sound coming from the speakers, but rather what the room does to it. Bad acoustics can cause one to turn up the volume to hear dialog and then when an explosion occurs, it is deafening. With a decent system in a room with good acoustics, whispers will sound like whispers - and be perfectly intelligible - and explosions will sound like explosions. And everything else will fall into place in between.
agreed... and in sub-optimal accoustics the Dynamic Compression feature for DD (or any type) and or sound level tuning can help there too...but I guess thats a different thread

With all of the ranting and such generated about the digital audio connection, the actual "problem" you presented has not really been addressed.

It appears that you are likely experiencing a common problem with Dolby Digital 5.1 broadcasts today. All too often simple 2 channel (stereo) audio sources are simply fed into the left front and right front bit streams, yet the 5.1 "flag" is left on. Your receiver then feeds your speakers as straight stereo and there is no center channel contents.

Locally, only our CBS & Fox stations have 5.1 and I have often heard this problem - particularly on commercials, but I've heard it on some cable networks (UniversalHD for one) on program material as well. Chalk this up to the "learning curve".

My solution is to run BOTH the analog stereo (oh yes, those Red/White RCA cables) from the 8300 to the surround receiver as well as the digital audio connection (either co-ax with RCA plugs or optical), and switch between DD and analog on the receiver. Normally I use the DD, but when they screw programs up (and there is no center channel content) I switch to analog (Pro Logic II)

Thank you! This makes a lot of sense, but not something I'd expect HBO to screw up. Why not just switch your digital input to Pro Logic II? Why have to switch to an analog input?

Maybe I am missing something in all this discussion but that is exactly how very good / dynamic DD 5.1 sound is supposed to behave (assuming you have done some calibration etc, and there are no "error/issues" in the source or setup) DD has a very wide dynamic range, and it is very clean (depending on your components), so you turn it up, the simple "unenthusiastic dialog" is at a moderate level, then something loud happens explosion etc and it is extremly loud...thats the dynamic range I am paying for/enjoy. Most decent AV receivers have Dynamic Compression settings to reduce the dynamic range...effectivly making the range between soft and loud much smaller, good for watching TV at late night so as you don't wake up the neighbors, with each explosion (maybe you should try that). I was wathing SWIII:ROTS on HBO HD and the DD sound and full dynamic range, It was awesome! just how I like it!....pretty much how you describe... with the volume at a good level to hear the dialog and then BOOOM!!! or light sabers all around

I am all for dynamic range, but when the voice track is SO LOW you have to turn up your receive 15dB to hear it, something is definitely wrong with the mastering, or flagging of the type of audio, etc.

Thank you! This makes a lot of sense, but not something I'd expect HBO to screw up. Why not just switch your digital input to Pro Logic II? Why have to switch to an analog input?
I don't think you can engage DPL (Dolby ProLogic) on a digital input when there's a DD signal present.

I am all for dynamic range, but when the voice track is SO LOW you have to turn up your receive 15dB to hear it, something is definitely wrong with the mastering, or flagging of the type of audio, etc.
Instead of an overall volume increase, you could boost the CC volume a bit.

Thank you! This makes a lot of sense, but not something I'd expect HBO to screw up. Why not just switch your digital input to Pro Logic II? Why have to switch to an analog input?

Sorry, I've not seen HBO to screw things up like CBS and others do. I wonder if your issue is the set-up or dynamic range (as others have discussed).

RE: Switch to Pro Logic II. My receiver does not allow me to override the DD flag (unless it is DTS). The only thing I can do to ignore DD is to switch to analog.

I think this is all in the firmware, which generally would be the same on both STB on the same cable system.

I turned mine in for the move, but I remember 1.8.112 having at least the [Stop and Erase...] message. You might try toggling the [message or show messages] in Settings/More Settings.


v/r,
C-F


(You meant Stop and Erase or Stop and Keep, right?)


Just check my version:

PASSPORT Echo 1.8.112
PowerTV 6.14.43.3.sp

I have Messaged Enabled and I don't seem to be getting the stop and erase or stop and keep after watching a recording and lettering the recording go all the way to the end. If you stop the recording playback manually, you get prompted.

My old 8000 would give you the prompts when you let a recorded playback go all the way to the end itself. This may just be a fundamental change in the way they did things?

The switching channels without prompting seems to be "missing" in this releease.

HDClown,

I know we're all over the map on your question, but were you able to determine if it was that one broadcast or do you still think you are having a problem?

barrygordon,

As for being "jargon challenged", I'm simply not used to referring to RCA connections as Composite vs the RF Out. I generally refer to them as Video/L-R Audio to avoid any confusion. I suppose though that in the world of HD and STBs, Composite and RF Out would be better terms and still avoid any confusion. So, I defer to your expertise. :)

Sorry, I've not seen HBO to screw things up like CBS and others do. I wonder if your issue is the set-up or dynamic range (as others have discussed).

RE: Switch to Pro Logic II. My receiver does not allow me to override the DD flag (unless it is DTS). The only thing I can do to ignore DD is to switch to analog.
Yikes!/Oops!... think I wasn't clear... and caused even more confusion...so to do a little more map wandering...

I use HDMI straight to panel, toslink optical to the AV.
The Audio Digital Out format to the digital optical on the SA8300HD has 3 modes
Stereo = 2ch Stereo
HDMI = This is a bit of a strange mode, my experience...Only passes Analog PCM via digital optical. Thus my reciever can and will decode the D PL II, no DD 5.1 is passed in this mode.
Dolbly Digital = Dollby Digital 5.1


So my point was I leave the SA8300 in HDMI thus Analog/PCM thus D PLII for vast majority of content, then switch the 8300 to Dolby Digital when I know/want DD5.1 My receiver auto detects Analog/PCM/DPL II vs DD 5.1 thats what I meant, I am not switching/overiding with my AV... simply changing the Audio Digital Out format on the SA8300, ...If there is a show that is DD and not working I just switch the to the HDMI mode and I get Analog/PCM thus D PL II.

EDIT: For example right now as I write this... the NBA Final on ABC HD ... the DD5.1 is pretty poor, so I just have the SA 8300 Audio Digital Out on HDMI... recieving Analog/PCM and decoding D PLII... and it sounds much better...a real world example.

Also I too have never had a problem with HBO DD 5.1, nor have I with any of the lack of proper term Flagship shows...Lost, CSI, don;t now about the CBS sitcoms...


I am all for dynamic range, but when the voice track is SO LOW you have to turn up your receive 15dB to hear it, something is definitely wrong with the mastering, or flagging of the type of audio, etc.


With respect to Dynamic Range... again when properly setup, configured balanced etc.. I expect a great / large dynamic range.... if/when I/you cant hear the dialog at a reasonable volume... I totally agree...something is most likely amiss...

Of course I could be completely delusional... wouldn't be the first time...

... Stop and erase ... This may just be a fundamental change in the way they did things? ... The switching channels without prompting seems to be "missing" in this releease.You are probably right, they could have gone away and I never missed them. I remember seeing the messages, but they may have stopped last year when 112 came out, and I am still between boxes. (I may be the only one glad that BSG et al. are waiting for October...)

If it is a concern, maybe it works like the DD toggle bug which drops DD while leaving it enabled in the more settings menu. That requires [the generic you] to toggle DD off and then toggle it back on to regain the DD output, you could try that on the message toggle(s) also.

v/r,
C-F

Ah bvader, I also posted about DD via HDMI. My attamept was a bit more complex (HDMI to panel, panel's optical out to avr) so there was a possibility the passtrough on the panle had an issue. I'm also glad you brougtup dynamic range, that trips a lot of folks up who aren't well versed in audio issues.

As for issue with the 8300's OS, I have definitely seen most of them (hitting stop does NOT bring up the dialog to erase or save, FF or RW not working when watching a recorded show, etc.). But only very occasionally. AND I remember seeing this on my plain old 8000SD.

Fodder, no BSG until October??? Bummer. BUT, UnHD just started from the beginning (Sundays in my area) with a weekly HD broadcast of each episode!

I have Messaged Enabled and I don't seem to be getting the stop and erase or stop and keep after watching a recording and lettering the recording go all the way to the end. If you stop the recording playback manually, you get prompted.


what exactly does Message do? I always thought it was to inform you of direct notices from the cable co.

Pressing info ona highlighted settings menu usually tells you what the item is supposed to change, but hitting info about messages just brings up a list of terms that you might have seen in the menu or guide.

Perhaps a dumb question, but just where are messages turned on (or off)?

Perhaps a dumb question, but just where are messages turned on (or off)?

In the secondary General Settings menu. It's buried at the bottom of "My Preferences."

In the secondary General Settings menu. It's buried at the bottom of "My Preferences."
Thanks, I found it. I never noticed it before. It was disabled, but I ALWAYS get the dialogs asking if I want to "Stop and Erase", "Stop and Save", "Play from beginning", etc. I have enabled it just to see what difference it makes.

Thanks, I found it. I never noticed it before. It was disabled, but I ALWAYS get the dialogs asking if I want to "Stop and Erase", "Stop and Save", "Play from beginning", etc. I have enabled it just to see what difference it makes.

when you have messages highlighted in the list press the info button and see if it brings up a more logical description of what it does. Other menu settings have clear explanations in the info panel, but Messages is just random phrases for me.

what exactly does Message do? I always thought it was to inform you of direct notices from the cable co. Same here.... This is a common menu option on satellite receivers too, which of course is rarely used (in my experience).

Oh well, I never knew what it was actually for. I saw it once and thought it was for those messages and alerts (probably when they stopped...). I figured it was quick to toggle and it couldn't hurt to try it.

I think I will be in SARA land at the end of the move - just when the eSATA is beginning to come into play for PASSPORT.

v/r,
C-F

when you have messages highlighted in the list press the info button and see if it brings up a more logical description of what it does. Other menu settings have clear explanations in the info panel, but Messages is just random phrases for me.
For me, too. Jibber-jabber.

Thanks, I found it. I never noticed it before. It was disabled, but I ALWAYS get the dialogs asking if I want to "Stop and Erase", "Stop and Save", "Play from beginning", etc. I have enabled it just to see what difference it makes.

Playback a recorded show and fastforward to almost the end. Let it automatically play ALL the way to the end, don't ever press stop. Does it prompt you for stop/erase or stop/save or play from beginning, or just go back to LiveTV?

Let me know what OS you have if it prompts or. On my 1.8.112 box, it just goes back to live TV.

However, If you press STOP while watching a playback, it will ask.

HDClown,

I know we're all over the map on your question, but were you able to determine if it was that one broadcast or do you still think you are having a problem?



My sound level problems with the HBO HD broadcast I watched last week appear to be a fluke, or a possible bug related issue.

Right now I'm watching Be Cool on SHO HD and when it started, my receiver picked up Dolby Pro Logic. I had to go into more settings and flip the box to PCM, and then back to Dolby Digital for the receiver to pick it up. The dynamic range sound difference is definitely normal on this broadcast.

I have a feeling if I would have done the DD->PCM->DD flip on the HBO HD broadcast I watched last week, the sound issue may have been resolved.

Thanks for the update. :)

Playback a recorded show and fastforward to almost the end. Let it automatically play ALL the way to the end, don't ever press stop. Does it prompt you for stop/erase or stop/save or play from beginning, or just go back to LiveTV?

Let me know what OS you have if it prompts or. On my 1.8.112 box, it just goes back to live TV.

However, If you press STOP while watching a playback, it will ask.

I frequently play back shows all the way to the end (without any of the specific fast forwarding you suggest), and I get the save/erase prompt without ever pressing stop. I'm running 1.8.112.

The prompt box does disappear after some period of time.

-barry

I'm running 1.8.112 and yes, every now and then (i.e. rarely) I don't get the save/erase prompt when a recording is finished; it just goes to live TV. I've also seen recordings tat will NOT FF or REW. I've also seen recordings that the STOP button doesn't, er stop. In other words, I have experiences all these little quirks. But like I have also said, they do not happen with any degree of frequency that I'm going to stat swapping boxes for.

Regarding audio and DD, there is one thing I am noticing... there are times when my receiver won't switch when I know it should. A trip to Settings on the 8300, a switch to PCM and back to DD and it's working fine. I was also losing certain "settings" on my TV for no apparent reason.

But I think I have this figured out! More so than ever before, I am visiting both the 8300 and the TVs service menus. Not to change anything, but to look (the 8300 to see how much free space on the HD, the TV to see how many hours I have on the panel). THIS is what's causing some settings to be lost! Oddly enough, for 2 very different devices. Like I said, not for a bunch of settings, but for some subtle ones!

Can those of you with 2.5 software comment if you've been seeing the problems such as:

-DD/PCM signaling not being picked up by your receiver
-Loss of save/erase or save/keep at end of watching a recorded show
-inability to FF/RR/STOP a recorded show?

I'm hoping that whenever this area gets bumped to a 2.5 release, these problems with go away. The most annoying one of them all is the DD/PCM thing to me. I can live with the others, but having to go into the STB menu all the time kind of stinks.

Playback a recorded show and fastforward to almost the end. Let it automatically play ALL the way to the end, don't ever press stop. Does it prompt you for stop/erase or stop/save or play from beginning, or just go back to LiveTV?

Let me know what OS you have if it prompts or. On my 1.8.112 box, it just goes back to live TV.

However, If you press STOP while watching a playback, it will ask.
Passport Echo 2.5.052

When playing to the end of a recording, I am offered A, B and C. Erase now, don't erase now and play from the beginning. On one occasion Showtime movies that were listed as DD, did not playback as such. I unplugged the box and rebooted. After doing that, the recordings that had not shown "DD" on my AVR's display now did so. I've never had any problems with the trick play features on live TV or FF, Stop or Rew on recorded material.

FWIW, I had 2.2.020 on the boxes when I picked them up nearly a year ago, and was moved to 2.5.043 about 2-3 months ago. Last week they pushed 052 to me.

Oh, come on. Your beef is with me telling the truth? What's up with that?

Jim
I apologize, Jim, for any parts of my post that came across as disrespectful, or you perceived as disrespectful. The PMs we exchanged seemed to have exacerbated the situation as I tried to understand and respond to - inneffectively - your sense of indignation. I erred in public and I'm apologizing in public.

I haven't changed my opinion on using an analog audio cable where a 75-ohm digital audio cable should be used. :)

Thanks, Pepar. For my part, I don't suppose I'll ever offer up that option again! :)

Thanks, Pepar. For my part, I don't suppose I'll ever offer up that option again! :)
If ya do, my lip will be bloody from biting it. :)

Has anyone else had trouble using this cable box with the DVDO iScan vp30? The box goes nuts after a few minutes-turns on and off...when I first turn it on, I get a black L-shape over half the screen.


Has anyone else had this?

Has anyone else had trouble using this cable box with the DVDO iScan vp30? The box goes nuts after a few minutes-turns on and off...when I first turn it on, I get a black L-shape over half the screen.


Has anyone else had this?
Top of this page - "Search this Thread."

Are there any known audio issues with the 8300HD and Passport software when using digital coax? The sound jumps all over the place on Dolby Digital broadcasts. Voice sections of broadcasts are extremely low so I need to turn the volume way up, and then when i tcomes to a sequence with a lot of effects (such as explosions), it's WAY too loud.

I "feel your pain" with this issue. I don't know whether to fault the networks, the local affilliate stations, or the cable company (TWC in my case). The DD 5.1 audio is just about as flat and unimpressive sounding as it could possibly be. I output digital audio via the optical connector on the 8300 to my Harmon Kardon (AVR7200) receiver and listen to all programs using the Logic 7 mode which emulates DD and produces a much larger more enveloping sound field that any of the DD coming out of the 8300. BTW, I have HDMI output selected in the audio digital out selection options.

Basically I have given up on the DD5.1. Even when the 5.1 indicator lights up on the receiver, it has no bearing on what is actually being broadcast or much less heard via your speaker setup. The whole DD audio implementation has become a bad joke!

I just answered this on the DVDO VP30 thread. Look over there.

Actually, I'm not at all convinced that "bad" DD audio should be blamed on the chain bringing it to you. I think there's a lot of just plain bad "sound design" from the source. Just because the technology allows the use of 5 discrete channels doesn't mean they will be used effectively.

Pro Logic is essentially a 4 channels system, yet how many times can one say anything is coming from the back? Well, I have very, very occasionally heard the rea channel used for ambiance... when done, it sounds great.

Face it, sound design is an art; and there's a lot of bad sojund design art out there!

I have time warner cable in newburgh ny. I have the SA explorer 8300hd running passport echo 2.5.052 I've been to pioneer's site where they say that v2.7 is available. the box has sata and firewire ports that aren't activated. I called customer support to ask when the software will be updated and when the ports will actually be useful. The best they could say was "we don't know". I asked if there was at least a way to be notified when the features would be available and was I told that I would have to wait until I saw advertising for it. Most customers service operators know less than actual customers. why is this? Can anyone give me any advice or info on software updates and port activation?

Actually, no. Each TWC system updates its software on an individual basis. Some systems are way behind yours.

I have time warner cable in newburgh ny. I have the SA explorer 8300hd running passport echo 2.5.052 I've been to pioneer's site where they say that v2.7 is available. the box has sata and firewire ports that aren't activated.How do you know that the SATA connection isn't active? Have you been into the diagnostics to see? (Reaching the multi-page diagnostics is explained in the last paragraph of the "Passport Tips and Tricks (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4547722)" post). 2.5.052 should have a page for SATA (hit the UP and DOWN arrow keys to go from page to page), which folks have said contains a single item, an indication of whether the connection is enabled or not.

There are multiple participants here using the SATA connection on STBs running Passport Echo 2.5.048, 2.5.051 and 2.5.052. The one complaint is that trick-play functions (PAUSE, REW, FF, SLOW, FRAME ADVANCE, etc) don't work while watching "live" television with an external drive attached. (They work fine while watching recordings). Use the "Search this thread" link above the top post of this page to find posts containing "SATA".

As for Passport Echo 2.7.xxx, no one here has said that their box is running it yet. The one feature of it that I believe that some people will be pleased with is a free-space indicator in the main UI. The features that Aptiv Digital are emphasizing in their PR ("Interactive Video Mosaic" and "Impulse Subscription") are mainly things which will make the cable companies happy (particularly "iSubscribe").

2.5.052 should have a page for SATA
"Could have a page for SATA" is a bit more accurate as my cable co has just pushed 052 MINUS the SATA support. Apparently, they have a way of turning individual features on or off.

"Could have a page for SATA" is a bit more accurate as my cable co has just pushed 052 MINUS the SATA support. Apparently, they have a way of turning individual features on or off.Mike was just saying that 052 has a diagnostics page with "an indication of whether SATA support is enabled or not".

You had previously reported (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7786357&highlight=052#post7786357) that you could see this diagnostic page, pepar. Does your page now say "Not Authorized", or did that page disappear entirely?

Given what I read about folks having to go through to get the external drive actually functioning (I fully expect someone saying it only started working when they juggled the box for 3 minutes), it doesn't surprise me 051 allowed it and 052 didn't. These guys seems to be so totally clueless on how one deals with software...

Having a free space indicator is another one of those things that is trivial to do. The fact these boxes and their OS versions have been out so long without this is absurd. While diagnostic mode does have the information, just accessing it will change several defaults I've set on the box (SD in 4:3 stretch, "Dolby Digital" actually allowed it, etc.)... every time I visit it, I have to reset a few things!

"Could have a page for SATA" is a bit more accurate as my cable co has just pushed 052 MINUS the SATA support. Apparently, they have a way of turning individual features on or off.Yes, they can turn the feature on and off remotely. I read that in the Maxtor Quickview Expander datasheet, back when Maxtor announced that they were shipping drives to TWC at the beginning of 2005:
* Your service provider must enable and continue the connection from your set top box or DVR to the QuickView Expander external hard drive to operate.One option for cable providers would be to lease expansion drives; if they were doing that, they'd probably want to disable the feature for customers who weren't leasing one. If I had to maintain these STBs, I doubt that I'd want customers connecting external devices that they cobbled together from randomly purchased drives and external enclosures. I've heard that some providers using SARA (not Passport) have requested that the feature be removed from the firmware and the connectors not be provided on future boxes that they purchase. I imagine that this is due to their getting service calls to fix problems caused by tech-savvy customers connecting incompatible drives to their STBs.

pepar, have you actually tested a DVR from some other customer in your system and confirmed that it doesn't have the SATA page? Weird that they'd omit it, since the only thing it appears to say is whether use of a drive is enabled or not (and customers aren't supposed to have access to the diags anyway).

Having a free space indicator is another one of those things that is trivial to do. The fact these boxes and their OS versions have been out so long without this is absurd. While diagnostic mode does have the information, just accessing it will change several defaults I've set on the box (SD in 4:3 stretch, "Dolby Digital" actually allowed it, etc.)... every time I visit it, I have to reset a few things!I've argued this before, but this feature is essentially a useless idiot-meter (kind of like a tachometer on the dashboard of a car with an automatic transmission :)). Having the information doesn't help Joe Average in any way whatsoever. Knowing that one quarter of the space is free doesn't easily indicate how much more programming it will hold. The only predictable bitrate is for recordings of analog channels, since those are converted to digital by the STB at a constant bitrate; SD digital and HDTV content will probably vary in bitrate from channel to channel. On my system, one quarter of the available space would hold 8 hours of Fox HD (at an average 10 Mbps) or 4 hours, 42 minutes of ABC HD (which averages 17 Mbps) or approx. 26 hours, 30 minutes of digital simulcast SDTV (packed 13 to a 6 MHz QAM carrier on my system at a maximum 3 Mbps). Unless you know this (highly unlikely for the average customer), the feature can't help you at all.

They've probably added the feature in 2.7 because of the whining of customers to whom it will give a false sense of security (and because SARA has it :D). In any case, it doesn't hurt anything for the meter to be there, even if it doesn't help.

Having a free space indicator is another one of those things that is trivial to do. You mean having THREE free space indicators would be trivial to do, right ?? Analog, digital, and digital HD all take up varying amounts of data. Also, two different one-hour programs in HD could take up differing amounts of space.

How accurate does this indicator need to be ??

Wow, hall--I've never seen two posts with identical timestamps before :).

Mike was just saying that 052 has a diagnostics page with "an indication of whether SATA support is enabled or not".

You had previously reported (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7786357&highlight=052#post7786357) that you could see this diagnostic page, pepar. Does your page now say "Not Authorized", or did that page disappear entirely?
I might have been too quick on the keyboard - HAH! As if that's never happened before! - as members have posted seeing the page in 048 and, I believe, 051. As none of those versions "officially" support/supported the SATA port, I'm guessing the presence of that page is not necessarily an indicator.

Given what I read about folks having to go through to get the external drive actually functioning (I fully expect someone saying it only started working when they juggled the box for 3 minutes), it doesn't surprise me 051 allowed it and 052 didn't. These guys seems to be so totally clueless on how one deals with software...
I guarantee that someone inside each technical department knows exactly what the code does and doens't do. And members have attached drives to 048 and 051 with some success at getting the box to recognize, format and use it. Live TV trick-play is broken though.

I saw your post said more or less the same as mine once it posted. Since they had the same timestamp, I feel confident that no one will accuse me of copying your answer. :D

Here in Dayton, OH I'm running passport 2.5.066. Has anyone tried sata with this version? I haven't seen 2.5.066 mentioned yet so i thought I'd ask. In the diag menu the "SATA Status" says authorized. The next menu page is "MR-DVR" which is multiroom dvr. The status for that is blank, meaning not a yes or no, just nothing. Maybe multiroom is in the plans. If that happens I'll definitely need a sata drive as the 146GB just isn't enough!

Here in Dayton, OH I'm running passport 2.5.066. Has anyone tried sata with this version? I haven't seen 2.5.066 mentioned yet so i thought I'd ask. In the diag menu the "SATA Status" says authorized. The next menu page is "MR-DVR" which is multiroom dvr. The status for that is blank, meaning not a yes or no, just nothing. Maybe multiroom is in the plans. If that happens I'll definitely need a sata drive as the 146GB just isn't enough!
Your's is the first mention (that I've seen) of 066. MR is in Aptiv's plans, but not necessarily your cableco's. Ditto SATA support. If you have an SATA drive lying around and can lay your hands on an enclosure, you could try attaching it. Worst that would probably happen - notice the caveat! :) - is that it would not work. At best, the box would recognize it and offer to format it. At that point, it would work though the conventional wisdom is that you'd lose trick-play features on live TV. Keep us "posted!"

Here in Dayton, OH I'm running passport 2.5.066. Has anyone tried sata with this version? I haven't seen 2.5.066 mentioned yet so i thought I'd ask. In the diag menu the "SATA Status" says authorized. The next menu page is "MR-DVR" which is multiroom dvr. The status for that is blank, meaning not a yes or no, just nothing. Maybe multiroom is in the plans. If that happens I'll definitely need a sata drive as the 146GB just isn't enough!I haven't heard anyone mention that version here yet either. You're 14 point releases ahead of anyone else. If I were you, I'd buy a drive from someone that I could easily return it to and try it. I'd love to hear your results :).

So far, I haven't heard anyone who's tried connecting a drive using .048 and above not getting some functionality, with, as pepar points out, no live trick-play. Who knows? That many releases forward, they may have fixed it.

BTW, what's that 146GB? You should have 150.6GB total space (161.7 "marketing GB", aka billions of bytes), minus the 16.8GB dedicated to the two trick-play buffers leaves 133.8GB for recording.

news of interest:

Interactive TV middleware and applications provider, OpenTV, has secured the first deployment of its middleware with a major US cable operator: the company said last week that it has signed a multi-year license agreement with Time Warner Cable that will see the latter using the OpenTV platform to deploy its advanced "Digital Navigator" EPG on Motorola set-top boxes.

The initial launch of OpenTV's middleware- -both on Motorola DCT2000's and on more advanced Motorola set-tops (i.e. set-tops with HD and DVR capabilities)--is scheduled for late 2006. [itvt] asked OpenTV chairman and CEO, Jim Chiddix (note: Chiddix was formerly Time Warner Cable's CTO), why he believes Time Warner Cable decided to adopt the company's middleware: "We bring value in an area where they've got a particular issue they need a solution for: which is finding a way to quickly get their new electronic program guide onto Motorola set-top boxes," he explained. "They're determined strategically to roll out a new EPG that they've been working on themselves for the past couple of years. To date, they've been very focused on building it for Scientific-Atlanta set-top boxes, because Scientific-Atlanta boxes account for most of their set-top base."

more notes about Sci-Atl boxes in the full article here:
http://www.itvt.com/wvwwitvtissue6.79pt2.html#technology.02

It looks like we'll be stuck with Aptiva for a while yet.

So far, I haven't heard anyone who's tried connecting a drive using .048 and above not getting some functionality, with, as pepar points out, no live trick-play. Who knows? That many releases forward, they may have fixed it.
I'd certainly be interested in *that* news!

Hardware . . software . . and in between is firmware. Can someone define "middleware" far me? Is it something that is clearly defined, overlaps other categories and/or marketing jargon?

Hardware . . software . . and in between is firmware. Can someone define "middleware" far me? Is it something that is clearly defined, overlaps other categories and/or marketing jargon?

I always think of it as the thing that makes the idea actually work. As in, if a company has a great product to sell directly to the consumer, UPS or FedEx would be middleware. The creators of the infrastructure that get point A to point B.

That's just a guess though, I haven't got much idea since I don't write software.

well I just got the 8300 a couple weeks ago, its my second, my other one is from april '05. The OS date for the 2.5.066 is MAy 17 2006. Pretty recent. I work in the AV field around dayton and deal with hundreds of stb's every year. it seams all the dayton system upgraded to 2.5.066 back in may. I believe i had 1.8.112 before that.
I'm hesitant to spend the $280 on a sata drive without knowing it works first. I know Hall is in dayton maybe he's more game for it then I am. I'm actually in Huber Heights which is slightly different than the city of dayton systerm (both TWC) so Hall check your OS version. Its hard to believe dayton has the "best" version of anything.

Can someone define "middleware" far me? Is it something that is clearly defined, overlaps other categories and/or marketing jargon?Middleware describes higher-level functions between the operating system and the application. For instance, Qualcomm defines a set of APIs for building mobile phone applications called "DMSS" (for "Dual Mode Subscriber Software"--don't ask; the name is somewhat outdated). These API routines assist in doing things like displaying images, playing videos and music files as well as more prosaic functions. They don't actually display the images, because, for one thing, they don't know where you want them displayed, and what else you might be doing with the display or even what display device is integrated into your product and how to use it. But if you give them, say, a JPEG file, they'll return a buffer containing a bitmap of the image, or the next frame of a video clip. Getting it on the screen is the applications programmer's job.

Middleware describes higher-level functions between the operating system and the application. For instance, Qualcomm defines a set of APIs for building mobile phone applications called "DMSS" (for "Dual Mode Subscriber Software"--don't ask; the name is somewhat outdated). These API routines assist in doing things like displaying images, playing videos and music files as well as more prosaic functions. They don't actually display the images, because, for one thing, they don't know where you want them displayed, and what else you might be doing with the display or even what display device is integrated into your product and how to use it. But if you give them, say, a JPEG file, they'll return a buffer containing a bitmap of the image, or the next frame of a video clip. Getting it on the screen is the applications programmer's job.
Your description, and in this context, leads me to believe it's an app that will "quickly get their new electronic program guide onto" a STB - Moto in this case - w/o rewriting the operating system (which isn't theirs to re-write anyway).

it seams all the dayton system upgraded to 2.5.066 back in may. I believe i had 1.8.112 before that.
I know Hall is in dayton maybe he's more game for it then I am. I'm actually in Huber Heights which is slightly different than the city of dayton systerm (both TWC) so Hall check your OS version. Its hard to believe dayton has the "best" version of anything. Yes, we are running 2.5.066 currently. We only rec'd it in the past few days though, not in May. We got 2.5.051 or .052 in May, I believe. They tested 2.5.062 and 2.5.067 since then, and have settled on 2.5.066. I'm not aware of any new features or settings. I do know they were looking for certain problems to be resolved with these newer versions.

I do have some different menus in DIAG mode. Let me go check and write them down....

Here's a few menu items:

Feature Auth menu
MR-DVR (No check)
SATA (No check)
(there are items like DVR, IPG, VCR Controller, etc, etc here)

Versions menu
Passport Echo 2.5.066
PowerTV 6.14.74.1sp

DVR INFO menu
Storage Devices : 1

SATA menu
SATA Status : Authorized

Under the SETTINGS, "A" (More) menu, I noticed that for "Audio Digital Out" that there is only "Dolby Digital" and "Two channel only". No more HDMI option. Also, I have no menu item for turning "Messages" on or off.

I'm hesitant to spend the $280 on a sata drive without knowing it works first.I know of at least one person who took an spare PATA drive that he had laying around and put it in an PATA-to-SATA enclosure and got that to work.

Here's a few menu items:

Feature Auth menu
MR-DVR (No check)
SATA (No check)
For these two, mine says; "YES (No check)"

Thanks for the help guys, but just as you give me answers TWC give another set of questions.
went to the diag screen and it turns out 4am this morning , my passport software was upgraded to .066 from .052. I've seen others post that they have the same upgrade. should I just pull the trigger and buy an external hard drive?

Here in Columbus, Ohio we also got the upgrade to .066 last night at around 1:20AM. I was up when it happened. I wonder what was changed?

Here in Columbus, Ohio we also got the upgrade to .066 last night at around 1:20AM. I was up when it happened. I wonder what was changed?
I've seen comments that indicate it was to stomp out some bugs. If you do not notice any additional "settings," then that's probably what it does.

Thanks for the help guys, but just as you give me answers TWC give another set of questions.
went to the diag screen and it turns out 4am this morning , my passport software was upgraded to .066 from .052. I've seen others post that they have the same upgrade. should I just pull the trigger and buy an external hard drive?
Unless your provider specifically told you you could attach an external drive, you are taking a chance. If you try it, do so at a low cost and/or with a vendor that allows easy returns.

Fortunately, SA did go for a common standard (SATA) instead of trying to lock the user up with a proprietary solution. Major props to them.

When I finally get access to it, I'd go for it in a flash... I consider it zero risk as I long ago realized that external storage on the computer had to be SATA based, so I put in a 4 external port card. So if it don't work at first, I could press the drive into computer duty. But I know it WILL work at some point, even if it is troublesome at first.

Not only that, but while I can feel disgruntled at being "stuck" at 1.8.112, there DO seems to be issues with the subsequent releases rolling out elsewhere, so when I finally DO get access, I might not have to endure some of the teething issues... a glass half full kinda view, I know!

big problems with the 8300 in Raleigh. the boxes are going ape ****. a bunch of number are loading on the front panel and then it goes to the following (- - - -). this is happening to everyone in Raleigh. can anyone confirm this problem in other states?

big problems with the 8300 in Raleigh. the boxes are going ape ****. a bunch of number are loading on the front panel and then it goes to the following (- - - -). this is happening to everyone in Raleigh. can anyone confirm this problem in other states?

oh thank crap for that, I was just about to ask the same thing! I thought my box had crapped it self and I've been trying to reboot it for the last 30 minutes.

H263 and counting, D267 code

Sounds to me like they tried updating something and it might have gone very wrong.

oh thank crap for that, I was just about to ask the same thing! I thought my box had crapped it self and I've been trying to reboot it for the last 30 minutes.

H263 and counting, D267 code

Sounds to me like they tried updating something and it might have gone very wrong.
it looks like this is just a North Carolina Issue. on the good side of things, if you take a look at the first letter in those 2 codes (H263) and (D267) you have (HD) maybe this means they are adding betwwen 263 and 267 HD channels! :D

it looks like this is just a North Carolina Issue. on the good side of things, if you take a look at the first letter in those 2 codes (H263) and (D267) you have (HD) maybe this means they are adding betwwen 263 and 267 HD channels! :D

Ahhh, interesting observation. I was trying to find out what those codes mean and that never occured to me. It does fall in the free HD tier.

If it was an update gone wrong this is where the "message" service on the box would be helpful. If TWC used that feature so that a box popped up the previous day on power up saying "tomorrow at xxx time we will be updating the box, don't panic." then they would avoid a lot of hassle at both ends.

Strange. Software upgrades are almost always done in the middle of the night to avoid this kind of reaction.

Strange. Software upgrades are almost always done in the middle of the night to avoid this kind of reaction.
Perhaps, but more likely so it's less likely there's any subscribers using the boxes. I like your thinking though.

It appears that you guy's boxes are getting a software update. Mine got an update one day in the late afternoon so I saw it happening. I was expecting it to take a few minutes, but it took more like 5-10.

Nope, we did not get an update. Their fixed/working now. We're at the same version as yesterday. If it was an attempt to upgrade it wouldn't take.

Versions:
ResApp Version: PASSPORT Echo 2.5.048
OS Version: PowerTV 6.14.60.1sp
Driver Version: 1
ResApp Date: March 20 2006
OS Date: Dec 2 2005
PowerKey: PKEY_3.8.4.2-p +dvrs3
PowerKey Date: Sep 9 2005

It appears that you guy's boxes are getting a software update. Mine got an update one day in the late afternoon so I saw it happening. I was expecting it to take a few minutes, but it took more like 5-10.
Did the display cycle through - count down - hexadecimal memory locations?

You get the same effect if they make a change to the channel line-up, though you wouldn't think that that would take 5-10 minutes. I don't think that I've noticed any firmware update taking more than 5 minutes.

Another reason why they usually do this in the wee hours of the morning (generally at 3:00 A.M. herebouts) is that it will screw up DVR recordings. It'll cause the recording to be split into two parts, with a several minute gap missing between them. That's something that might generate a few complaint calls from irate people whose recordings of soap operas and Oprah were messed up ;).

We called and they were having a problem with their digital service. It had nothing to do with an upgrade (at least not FW) or anything like that, just one of those things.

Yes, when it was updating there seemed to be *some* logic to the numbers on the display. The first thing I thought of was hex memory addresses too.

I dunno--on the 8000HD, there are only 4 numeric LEDs, and that's only enough to enumerate 64KB worth of addresses. Even the flash is bigger than that (8 times bigger).

For those who have version .066, can you check to see if you are able to enable multiple output formats (other than just 1080i) when connecting to a display via HDMI. I'm still on .112 but I think many people in later releases were having issues where if you used HDMI it forced 1080i only. Wondering if that problem has been fixed.

Thanks

I had a problem with limited output resolutions from .112 but it turned out to be a badly written EDID files in the displays.

I dunno--on the 8000HD, there are only 4 numeric LEDs, and that's only enough to enumerate 64KB worth of addresses. Even the flash is bigger than that (8 times bigger).
I'm *sure* you already know this, and perhaps I don't understand your comment, but hexadecimal is 16-base that includes some letters along with numerals allowing more items - locations - to be expressed than pure numbers alone.

I'm sure you already know that . . .

:)

Dude--I'm a software engineer and have been programming computers since the age of 15--I learned to use binary, octal and hexadecimal numbers 33 years ago (it was a lot harder for a kid to study computing back then :)).

In any case, I said that the four digit LED display on the 8000HD is only adequate for flipping through the addresses of 64KB of memory; FFFF hex is 65535, 2-to-the-10th * 64 - 1. If I'd been thinking in decimal, four digits would only be good for addressing 10 thousand locations.

Dude--I'm a software engineer and have been programming computers since the age of 15--I learned to use binary, octal and hexadecimal numbers 33 years ago (it was a lot harder for a kid to study computing back then :)).

In any case, I said that the four digit LED display on the 8000HD is only adequate for flipping through the addresses of 64KB of memory; FFFF hex is 65535, 2-to-the-10th * 64 - 1. If I'd been thinking in decimal, four digits would only be good for addressing 10 thousand locations.
Sooo, I was right then - you knew it. :)

Michael, if you thought 33 years ago was tough, you should have seen how hard it was to study computing in 1956

Michael, if you thought 33 years ago was tough, you should have seen how hard it was to study computing in 1956
Good grief, I remember the crudeness of punch cards, PSU Waterloo Fortran and IBM 360 in 1969, what the heck was computing in 1956?

Fortran - I moonlighted on Fortran I development. In 1956 there were analog machines, and a few digital. I was graduating HS and going for my degree in EE. Really got into computing in 1960 when I started working for real. Was on the team that devekloped GPS only it was called something else, Did compiler work before there were compilers, had a great time learning and meeting others with strange ideas about counting. Worked on the IBM 7094 (Big memory, 64K of 36 bit words) played with 1401, and 1620's. The 1620 was the machine that had no adder, did arithmetic by table look up, was a lot of fun to change the tables!!! Oh well look at what man has wrought based on only one concept (on) and its opposite (off)

Fortran - I moonlighted on Fortran I development. In 1956 there were analog machines, and a few digital. I was graduating HS and going for my degree in EE. Really got into computing in 1960 when I started working for real. Was on the team that devekloped GPS only it was called something else, Did compiler work before there were compilers, had a great time learning and meeting others with strange ideas about counting. Worked on the IBM 7094 (Big memory, 64K of 36 bit words) played with 1401, and 1620's. The 1620 was the machine that had no adder, did arithmetic by table look up, was a lot of fun to change the tables!!! Oh well look at what man has wrought based on only one concept (on) and its opposite (off)Wow, Barry! You make me feel like such a punk kid :). I wasn't born until 1958 and the first version of Fortran that I used was Fortran IV (it was the first higher-level language I learned and the first I used professionally).

Even you, pepar, with your 1969 System/360 reference make me feel young. I must admit that I did use punched cards when I started programming.

We should shut down this rathole :D.

Been seeing a fairly consistent problem that is not earth shattering, but slightly annoying. And it mystifies me.

I turn on my 8300HD-based system, first the AVR, then the STB/TV. I hear audio first, then as the TV settles in, video. Generally speaking, the first action I want to do is access the 8300, whether to switch channels to what I want to watch, or to go to the DVR to start something I had recorded. Almost never do I just sit back and watch what happens to be happening.

BUT, the remote doesn't work! Press buttons, nothing. Point it better, nothing.

<mini rant>The remote for my 8000SD was clearly meant to have the "remote signalling" emanating from the front if it as well as the underside; I did NOT have to point the front of it at the box, I could look at the keys with the "front" pointing at the ceiling and get consistent results</mini rant>

Just as consistently, as the box warms up, the remote starts working. A bit haltingly at first, then functioning just fine. All of this takes place within 15-30 seconds, so it's not majorly annoying. Once everything is rolling, I have zero further issues.

Has anyone ever seen this? Weird, no?

Been seeing a fairly consistent problem that is not earth shattering, but slightly annoying. And it mystifies me.

I turn on my 8300HD-based system, first the AVR, then the STB/TV. I hear audio first, then as the TV settles in, video. Generally speaking, the first action I want to do is access the 8300, whether to switch channels to what I want to watch, or to go to the DVR to start something I had recorded. Almost never do I just sit back and watch what happens to be happening.

BUT, the remote doesn't work! Press buttons, nothing. Point it better, nothing.

<mini rant>The remote for my 8000SD was clearly meant to have the "remote signalling" emanating from the front if it as well as the underside; I did NOT have to point the front of it at the box, I could look at the keys with the "front" pointing at the ceiling and get consistent results</mini rant>

Just as consistently, as the box warms up, the remote starts working. A bit haltingly at first, then functioning just fine. All of this takes place within 15-30 seconds, so it's not majorly annoying. Once everything is rolling, I have zero further issues.

Has anyone ever seen this? Weird, no?
You've covered al the basics? Good batteries in the remote, remote set to address the STB, etc?

I'm thinking of getting a Slingbox to hook up to my 8300HD. The sling accepts S-Video, composite or coax so I would imagine I would hook it up via S-Video. Only problem I'm anticipating is the insertion of the gray sidebars/letterboxing by the 8300 (like it did w/ my previous dvd recorder).

Does anyone here have a slingbox connected to an 8300? If so, how does it work and is there anyway to eliminate the gray bars on the remote PC using the sling software? Also does the emitter work well w/ the 8300 in terms of controlling the box?

Thanks in advance for any info.

<mini rant>The remote for my 8000SD was clearly meant to have the "remote signalling" emanating from the front if it as well as the underside; I did NOT have to point the front of it at the box, I could look at the keys with the "front" pointing at the ceiling and get consistent results</mini rant>Infrared remotes are like little flashlights. The emitter at the front is essentially an LED, but the "light" it emits is in a wavelength the human eye can't see.

If you've got a very bright flashlight, you can point it at a flat, white wall (like a ceiling) and the light will bounce off that surface to illuminate objects the flashlight is not pointing at. Similiarly, if your IR remote is strong enough (or if your IR receiver is sensitive enough), you don't have to point the remote right at the box you're trying to control to get good results. (The signal still only emanates from the emitter on the front, it's just either strong enough to bounce off surfaces and still reach the IR receiver on your STB and/or the "light beam" is wide enough to tolerate significant off-angle pointing.)

Just as consistently, as the box warms up, the remote starts working. A bit haltingly at first, then functioning just fine. All of this takes place within 15-30 seconds, so it's not majorly annoying. Once everything is rolling, I have zero further issues.

Has anyone ever seen this? Weird, no?Not too weird. Many electronic components have failure modes that are heat-sensitive, such that when they start to fail, they may seem to operate normally at one temperature and erratically or not at all at another temperature. There may be a flaky component in your IR receiver circuitry that is causing this behavior.

My guess is you'll need to swap out your STB to resolve this problem.

Jim

Just as consistently, as the box warms up, the remote starts working. A bit haltingly at first, then functioning just fine. All of this takes place within 15-30 seconds, so it's not majorly annoying. Once everything is rolling, I have zero further issues.

Has anyone ever seen this? Weird, no?

what model remote is it? Does it for example have the Day +/- buttons?

Are you sure it's not going through a preset sequence of commands on power up for different components? On the U5-8400 it has different toggles for individual components and a system button that turns on a variety of things with one press. The older model I have (U43C) also has basic system buttons.

If it's sending out multiple signals at activation it will delay the remote's normal operation. If that's the case then you need to reprogram the remote to remove the uneccessary component signals.

i have a syntax olevia 37HVX and a Comcast SA 8000HD. When I first purchased the TV I could not get it to show in color. Then I found out about pressing some buttons together on the SA 8000HD to get the color to show up on the olevia. I have tried the GUIDE + INFO buttons to do the resolution but that has not fixed it. Does anybody know the other button fixes to get color back on the TV?

Comcast is clueless, I already called and I have not been able to find anything via search and google. HELP!

With the button-press combinations you're referring to, I'm pretty sure you do NOT have Passport software. You likely have SARA. Check this thread, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=581843, to get you started.

1. Since you only see black&white, it's possible that one of the RGB wires has become undone....or they are mis-wired.

2. If you have SARA, it is possible that the SA8300HD has reverted to the SD mode, with composite video being output on the Green wire--which an HDTV will display as black&white.

SARA setup and operating instructions are found here:
http://www.cox.com/support/digitalcable/dvr/pdf/SA_DVR_740246revD.pdf

3. I thought COMCAST was using Motorola STBs......

I'm thinking of getting a Slingbox to hook up to my 8300HD. The sling accepts S-Video, composite or coax so I would imagine I would hook it up via S-Video. Only problem I'm anticipating is the insertion of the gray sidebars/letterboxing by the 8300 (like it did w/ my previous dvd recorder).

Does anyone here have a slingbox connected to an 8300? If so, how does it work and is there anyway to eliminate the gray bars on the remote PC using the sling software? Also does the emitter work well w/ the 8300 in terms of controlling the box?

Thanks in advance for any info.I use the SlingBox with 8300HD SARA, but I have no HD recorded. But I've been bothered with similar annoyances such as a visible sound track. I have found no masking/expansion feature on the SlingBox.

Addressing your second question, the IR mouse works fine. Only problem, is that I have it attached to the bottom, in the middle. In that position, at least, it has too stick out quite far to work. I worry about it being knocked out of position by someone passing by, but that has not happened in months of use.

Vincent

I use the SlingBox with 8300HD SARA, but I have no HD recorded. But I've been bothered with similar annoyances such as a visible sound track. I have found no masking/expansion feature on the SlingBox.

Addressing your second question, the IR mouse works fine. Only problem, is that I have it attached to the bottom, in the middle. In that position, at least, it has too stick out quite far to work. I worry about it being knocked out of position by someone passing by, but that has not happened in months of use.

Vincent

Thanks for the response. I guess I can live w/ the gray bars. It's too bad the 8300 does this. Makes DVD recorders a real pain to use as well.

Yes, I do know the technology behind these kinds of remotes. Indeed, I sometimes point it at the wall behind me! I still think the 8000SD's remote (made by the same people, Universal Remote) had the right design, for some odd reason I never pried off the shield to see if to was 2 LEDs; my guess is that it was and that's why it got dropped, heaven forbid the one extra half cent in cost might bankrupt them!

Funny, I was kinda dreading you'd come up with the heat issue; I WAS hoping for some other explanation. Fortunately, I don't have a lot recorded; that's a disincentive to swap the box, especially if it's only a smallish annoyance. Oddly enough, the very limited recording time (20 hours of HD) also means you can't get too disappointed if 40 hours of stuff gets wiped!

Then again, the box could belly up in a few days or last for a couple of years!

In any case, this IS one of the benefits of going to "DVR from the cableco" route. I think they send a tech to swap the box if it needs it; although they could view this one as a "if you want a new box, come get one" because the problem isn't THAT serious.

Funny, I was kinda dreading you'd come up with the heat issue; I WAS hoping for some other explanation.Well, there were some other suggestions offered that might be helpful. My "diagnosis" is only my best guess, sight-unseen, and the problem could very well be something else...
In any case, this IS one of the benefits of going to "DVR from the cableco" route. I think they send a tech to swap the box if it needs it; although they could view this one as a "if you want a new box, come get one" because the problem isn't THAT serious.I've had a couple of "opportunities" to swap out STBs, and I've always had the choice of "pickup vs. delivery". I'd be surprised if your local TWC didn't also give you the same choice regardless of how big they perceive the problem to be.

Is there a new remote for 8300HD box?? Im not sure if it has backlight?? Any one know??

It appears that there is an "official" remote that Scientific Atlanta has available and there are numerous 3rd-party remotes. The cablecos obviously are free to buy what they want. The remotes that have been described in the past page or two here are not like the one I've got.

Can anyone PLEASE tell me how to set this 8300HD to 1080I mode? I think that's why it is not showing any video on my samsung hl-s5087W, of course component out didn't show any video on my Akai EDTV LCD either, this thing is really pissing me off since I am getting HORRIBLE video quality with RCA which is the only input that works (next to co-axial haven't tried SVdieo)

I recently got the 8300HD DVR from TWC in Charlotte, NC. My Sony HD TV does 480i, 480p, 720i and 1080i. Do I select all of these in the Output Formats under settings? Or do I just select 1080i? Now I have all of them selected and the picture
will hesitate sometimes when a change to certain channels. Also some of the graphics like on the guide is slightly off. Thanks for any help. I am new to all of this.

I recently got the 8300HD DVR from TWC in Charlotte, NC. My Sony HD TV does 480i, 480p, 720i and 1080i. Do I select all of these in the Output Formats under settings? Or do I just select 1080i? Now I have all of them selected and the picture
will hesitate sometimes when a change to certain channels. Also some of the graphics like on the guide is slightly off. Thanks for any help. I am new to all of this.

you should do a search for ouput formats in this thread. The answer depends on personal opinion. I run out just 720p and 1080i, others like the signal to be sent unconverted, some just run one resolution etc.

My Sony HD TV does 480i, 480p, 720i and 1080i. Your TV might be able to accept those resolutions as input, but it's most likely converting them to one fixed resolution. See next answer...
Now I have all of them selected and the picture will hesitate sometimes when a change to certain channels. It's doing this because your TV really doesn't do all of those formats. It gets a 720p or 1080i signal incoming, then has to convert it. It has to do the same with 480i and 480p too. Figure out what your TV's *native* resolution is. If you want to eliminate the hesitation, choose that resolution as the ONLY one that the 8300 outputs.

I will try to help you on the resolution issue. First of all there is a level of control in the 8300. You can select all resolutions to be output or a subset of these or the minimal of just one.

what you need to understand is that scaling or conversion of resolutions will take place some place. Now the question is Who has the best scaler? the 8300, the Display device or some intermediate scaler like a Lumagen or DVDO Vp30?

What you want is the minimum amount of compound scaling (i.e. unit A scales it to something, unit B scales it to something, unit C....) with too much scaling going on who knows what the outcome will be better or worse. All displays have a native resolution if they are digitally based (Plasma, LCD, DLP) Their native resolution or NR is how many pixels does the screen actually have. 1280x720, 600x400 1360x768 Xx1080 (too lazy to compute X). The display must convert the signal to its native resolution if it is not coming at at the NR.

The 8300 receives from the cable multiple resolutions, each station choosing what it will send out. If you set the 8300 to output all resolutions, then it should do no scaling and if directly connected to a display, the display will scale whatever it gets to its NR. If the 8300 is set to output a single resolution and lets say that it is the same number as the NR of the display, then the 8300 will scale all received material to that one resolution and give it to the display who might or might not rescale it even if it is at the native resolution of the display. For the display not to scale an image that appears to be at its NR, then all timing parameters (and there are at least 8 of them) must be the same ones that the display uses.

My world. My 8300's are set to output all resolutions. They feed into a DVDO VP30, which for all its issues (none too major) is the best price/performance unit on the market (IMHO). In general all my input devices are set not to do any scaling, the DVD players put out 480i since that is what is on the DVD.

The VP30's output has been matched to the NR of my display (a BenQ PE8700). The VP30 manual instructs how to do this and verify that the display is doing no scaling using test patterns generated by the VP30

It is now the VP30's job to do all scaling, and nobody elses in the chain. When a station is is sending a 1280x720p picture it actually goes through (the pixels in the 1280x720 area) with no alteration. Digital from the station or cable head end all the way to the display with no scaling being performed. for all other input resolutions the VP30 adjusts the picture always providing NR to the display.


Hope the above clarifies and helps.

Can anyone PLEASE tell me how to set this 8300HD to 1080I mode? I think that's why it is not showing any video on my samsung hl-s5087W, of course component out didn't show any video on my Akai EDTV LCD either, this thing is really pissing me off since I am getting HORRIBLE video quality with RCA which is the only input that works (next to co-axial haven't tried SVdieo)

With the STB off, press GUIDE and INFO together. Select ADVANCED setup(I believe) and follow the onscreen instructions. Select only 1080i and clear the resolution/formats.

redjr...

Can anyone PLEASE tell me how to set this 8300HD to 1080I mode? I think that's why it is not showing any video on my samsung hl-s5087W, of course component out didn't show any video on my Akai EDTV LCD either, this thing is really pissing me off since I am getting HORRIBLE video quality with RCA which is the only input that works (next to co-axial haven't tried SVdieo)
Did you try setting and then more setings go down the list click on output formats hit on 1080i Good Luck :cool:

I am not sure if still understand. I have the 8300 hooked directly to my tv using component. My tv is a sony KD-30XS955. From what I understand it outputs all of what has been mentioned. If I have all the outputs checked on the 8300 I can see on the 8300 screen what each station is outputing. Most are 480p, a few are 480i(all digital stations), and the rest 1080i (all hd channels). What output settings should get me the best picture possible? Obviously 1080i should be checked, but what else?

DBalone, Read what I posted again. the answer is... it depends. There is no way to know other than some good test gear or your eye. But after all is said and done - whatever looks best to you is the best.

As Barry said, you can set the box to output all, a few or just one signal and you'll still see a picture. The difference between them (and if you can tolerate the flicking between them) will depend on how you personally look at the picture.

:confused: With the STB off, press GUIDE and INFO together. Select ADVANCED setup(I believe) and follow the onscreen instructions. Select only 1080i and clear the resolution/formats.

redjr...

Is this passport software?? :confused:

Can anyone PLEASE tell me how to set this 8300HD to 1080I mode? I think that's why it is not showing any video on my samsung hl-s5087W, of course component out didn't show any video on my Akai EDTV LCD either, this thing is really pissing me off since I am getting HORRIBLE video quality with RCA which is the only input that works (next to co-axial haven't tried SVdieo)
First of all, "triple" check the Red/Green/Blue connections and make sure that you have selected COMPONENT (1 or 2) input on the Sammy. You should at least have some sort of picture, even if it's only 480i.

If not, maybe you also connected the HDMI port to checkout the difference???
An HDMI connection will prevent use of the SA8300HD's component interface.

Reboot the SA8300HD by removing the power cord for a few seconds and plugging it back in. Wait a couple minutes for the software to begin uploading before turning it back on....about 15 seconds after something stable (e.g. time or channel) is displayed on the front panel should do....
On the Sammy's Composite Video input (and hopefully also Component Video), you should see the end of the software upload process and the PASSPORT ECHO by Aptiv logos.
[YMMV--different systems do this differently--if I power up too early it can mess up and if too late I'll miss the logo....]

If you didn't see the logos and the following options don't make any sense, you aren't using PASSPORT ECHO and need to go to the SARA thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=471859
And if that doesn't make sense, you need to contact your cable co and find out what they use...

==========================================
The fol. is for Aptiv PASSPORT ECHO only:

Using the STB's R/C, press SETTINGS and then "A" for "More Settings".

Cursor down to ASPECT RATIO, right cursor once and up/dn cursor to select WIDESCREEN (16:9).
Right cursor again and use up/dn cursor to select SIDEBAR 4:3 PICTURE.
Don't worry about the other 4:3 settings, that's what the aspect control key is for.
On my TWC remote, it's the "#" key, located below the "9" key.

Cursor left to ASPECT RATIO and cursor down to OUTPUT FORMATS.
Right cursor and use up/dn and SELECT button to enable a "dot" next to 480i, 480p, 720p AND 1080i.
This will ensure that whatever resolution is received on a channel is passed unchanged to the Sammy...
although there may be a glitch when changing between resolutions.

Once you get it working, you may want to select ONLY 720p or ONLY 1080i to eliminate the resolution changing glitch--but this means the SA8300HD is doing the format conversion, rather than the Sammy.

I normally enable 720p and 1080i for optimum HD channel reception on my 1080i Plasma and let the SA8300HD convert 480i to 720p.
Since my Hitachi Plasma uses internal 1080p@60Hz proccessing, it can readily accept 720p@60Hz and optimally upconverts for display at 1080p@60Hz.
Both of our 1080p sets will do an effective deinterlace of 1080i to 1080p without downconverting to 720, which is what pre-1080p DLPs have been doing.

You also might want to try only 480i and 1080i or perhaps only 480p and 720p--you'll have to experiment since different people have different experiences...

FYI: For those HDTVs that have native resolution of 720 or 768, disabling the 1080i output may (or may not) yield the best picture...YMMV...

Is this passport software?? No, redjr's information is incorrect for Passport software. Those instructions sound very familiar to what I've read in the SARA "getting started" guide though.

Hollands thank you very much for the detailed explanation. For the time being I have only 1080i output selected since I think I read on one of the HD forums that yields the best results w/ the 8300HD and HDMI.

No, redjr's information is incorrect for Passport software. Those instructions sound very familiar to what I've read in the SARA "getting started" guide though.

My apologies. You may be right. I am away from my STB and was trying to recall the instructions from memory(limited these dayz). :confused: I'm using a SA8300HD STB (TWC in Upstate, NY). Don't know if uses Passport, or SARA as the OS.

redjr...

Hollands thank you very much for the detailed explanation. For the time being I have only 1080i output selected since I think I read on one of the HD forums that yields the best results w/ the 8300HD and HDMI.
I've also used 1080i only mode for quite some time since it eliminates the glitch when changing between most channels.
But it results in SA8300HD converting 720p@60Hz into interlaced 1080i@30Hz (throwing away 1/2 the frames), which is then deinterlaced by your Sammy into 1080p for display (wheeee!!!!)

Enabling 720p@60Hz provides the best picture for sports networks (ABC, FOX, ESPN) since it provides twice the frame update rate for fast moving balls and pucks.

Which is why you should experiment and let your eyes be the judge.

Thanks Hollands. Right now I'm using 720p and 1080i and I notice a pretty bad lag when switching channels. It's kind of sad that this technology is still 'new' to where people deal with all of these different issues. What is the problem with having all of them enabled again? HDMI doesn't pass info to the TV from this unit of 480i/p is on or something?

For users with 720p/768p native resolution HDTVs, selecting fixed 720p in their STB is probably the "best" choice for HD and does not cause glitches when changing channels with different resolution programs.
This means that the STB is doing the 480i to 720p deinterlace and upconversion.
They would need to experiment to determine whether their HDTV does a better deinterlace job by also enabling 480i, and would have to decide if it was worth the channel changing glitches.

===========================================
For those of us who have 1080i or 1080p HDTVs, there may be technical improvements chosing dual 720p and 1080i (vice single 1080i) settings that some people would say justifies the extra glitches--although the difference is probably very subtle for most viewers as they watch fast moving sports programs.

[Of course, you would lose the higher resolution capability of a 1080 HDTV if you selected fixed 720p.]

So once you have decided to use either a single setting (e.g. 1080i) or a dual setting (720p, 1080i), you have to ask whether it is worth the ADDITIONAL resolution change glitches to ALSO enable 480i. I couldn't tell the difference with my HDTV, especially given the sorry state of SD programs....

Using a fixed 1080i setting, the SA8300HD does a "simple" upconvert of 480i to 1080i (no deinterlace), which is probably about as good if you let the Sammy do it (also enable 480i).

Using a dual 720p, 1080i setting, the SA8300HD will deinterlace 480i and upconvert to 720p, which is then reconverted to 1080p for display by your Sammy. I doubt that many people could tell the difference, but the Sammy "should" be slightly better doing the deinterlace to 1080p directly (also enable 480i).
I couldn't tell the difference with most SD programs....so I didn't enable 480i...

The 480p setting is primarily for EDTV use. I can't think of any advantage to enabling 480p for use with HDTV's. It means that the SA8300HD has to do a sub-optimum interleave from 480i to 480p and then the HDTV does a separate upconvertion process for display. But as always, YMMV....

Can you tell the difference??? If not, eliminate the extra channel changing glitches and use 1080i.

BTW: World Cup is a bad test, since it has already undergone a format conversion from Euro 1080i@25fps to ESPN/ABC's 720p@30fps:
http://www.sportsvideo.org/artman/publish/printer_1327.shtml

========================================
Do you even want to know how to look for deinterlace errors??? DON'T LOOK...DON'T LOOK:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/why1080p.htm
http://www.gennum.com/ip/vxp_technology.html#realityexpansion
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_4/dvd-benchmark-part-5-progressive-10-2000.html
http://www.100fps.com/video_resolution_vs_fluidity.htm
http://www.100fps.com/

What is the problem with having all of them enabled again? HDMI doesn't pass info to the TV from this unit of 480i/p is on or something? First, it has nothing to do with the type of connection you use. Now, using my TV as an example, since I know the details of it, my TV converts ALL incoming signals to 1080i (it does list 540p in the settings menus but I think that's some trickery based on 1080i, since it's half the value).


If I tell my 8300HD to output 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i, it sends them all.

If the channel I'm watching is 480i, my TV has to "convert" it to 1080i.
If another channel is 720p, again, my TV has to convert it to 1080i.

This conversion process is what causes an annoying delay and flicker/popping sound while the TV re-syncs. If I'm watching a 1080i channel and change to another 1080i channel, the switch is literally instant, since there's no conversion.

So, my 8300HD is set to output only 1080i. I might be sacrificing picture quality on 720p channels, but my eyes can't tell. Does the 8300HD convert 720p to 1080i better than my TV ?? Don't know... again, my eyes can't tell. What I benefit is not having the slow channel changing and also the program guide looks horrible (fuzzy, stretched-looking) if I enable the other options.

I'm convinced the "annoying delay" in switching channels is more in the design of the TV than anything else. I came to this conclusion because I have spent some time "tweaking" PQ on 2 sets, both 40: LCDs, one a Sony XBR, the other a Samsung. Same cable service, same 8300HD STB. Located one block apart.

8300 set to "deliver" all the resolutions it could (I'm of the "let the TV do the scaling" school). Oddly enough, the Sony allows 480i, but the Samsung won't allow it. The Sony takes 3-4 times as long as the Samsung to switch channels. The Samsung seems to be almost identical to my old SD CRT set-up.

Yes, this delay is coming from the TV. As I mentioned, it has to re-sync to the new resolution. Our computer monitors (CRTs) do the same thing.

Yes, this delay is coming from the TV. As I mentioned, it has to re-sync to the new resolution. Our computer monitors (CRTs) do the same thing.Why does it take a TV so long to switch formats when the 8300HD can do it without being noticed? Bad TV design? Or is there some trick that a cable box has that a TV does not?

Vincent

Why does it take a TV so long to switch formats when the 8300HD can do it without being noticed? Bad TV design? Or is there some trick that a cable box has that a TV does not?

Vincent
The 8300HD, set to output all resolutions, merely passes what it receives. No switching involved. Maybe that's not what you meant . . .

So, I spent most of the evening working on getting my new SATA enclosure working. I'm in the "West Valley" TWC territory in Los Angeles. My box is running Passport 2.5.066. Here's the config for the enclosure:

KINGWIN TL-35CS Aluminum alloy 3.5" USB2.0 and SATA combo Black External Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817121185

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JDRTL 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822144397

Comax eSata/Sata cable.

I finally got this working and wanted to share because the instructions I've seen all over the forums were incorrect in my case. In order to get the drive recognized, I had to plug in the SATA cable of the powered on drive AFTER I was already booted completely into Passport. A prompt came up asking me if I wanted to format, after which the drive was immediately recognized in the diagnostics screen. Most of the instructions I'd seen suggested the drive had to be plugged in prior to boot -- this did NOT work even after dozens of attempts.

Anyway, I've got the same side effect as everyone else, cannot rewind live TV. I think this is fine, as I can always hit "record" before pausing. It's definitely worth it for the extra storage capacity.

I finally got this working and wanted to share because the instructions I've seen all over the forums were incorrect in my case. In order to get the drive recognized, I had to plug in the SATA cable of the powered on drive AFTER I was already booted completely into Passport. A prompt came up asking me if I wanted to format, after which the drive was immediately recognized in the diagnostics screen. Most of the instructions I'd seen suggested the drive had to be plugged in prior to boot -- this did NOT work even after dozens of attempts.
I've seen a couple of posts with the method you just described. I put one up myself. I first tried the hook it up, power it and then power up the 8300HD with zero results. Finally, I hot plugged it and voila!

I've seen a couple of posts with the method you just described. I made one myself.

I had the same situation.
If the drive was connected and powered on when the 8300 booted, the drive was recognized, but only as "not working properly".
When I unplugged the eSATA cable and re-plugged it, Passport recognized the new drive as needing formatting at once.

I haven't followed this thread in a while and was wondering if there was any update to the 8300HD HDMI pass through issue with AV Reveivers. Last I heard the problem with the 8300 not playing nice with HDMI receivers. Has this issue been corrected...is anyone successfully passing HDMI from their 8300HD through their receiver?

Broadwayblue, Audio, Video, or both? I run two SA8300HD's to a VP30 which is worse than running it to a receiver (IMHO), but similar. The issue is that when the VP30 scalar or a receiver switches inputs what does the SA8300 see and then what does it do. Most of the times it sees the HDCP compliance handshake go away, and many times it decides to do stupid things like rebooting while "Off Line" and recording.

The software in the SA8300 is the worst nightmare of junk I have ever seen and there is no excuse for it. I can speak to this as I have been in the software development/digital engineering field since 1960.

Most problems I see are audio based with some video thrown in. None are showstoppers and there is generally something simple which clears it up. As an example, the black masks that show up occasionally on the screen. Turning the guide or list on and off clears it.

Broadwayblue, Audio, Video, or both? I run two SA8300HD's to a VP30 which is worse than running it to a receiver (IMHO), but similar. The issue is that when the VP30 scalar or a receiver switches inputs what does the SA8300 see and then what does it do. Most of the times it sees the HDCP compliance handshake go away, and many times it decides to do stupid things like rebooting while "Off Line" and recording.

The software in the SA8300 is the worst nightmare of junk I have ever seen and there is no excuse for it. I can speak to this as I have been in the software development/digital engineering field since 1960.

Most problems I see are audio based with some video thrown in. None are showstoppers and there is generally something simple which clears it up. As an example, the black masks that show up occasionally on the screen. Turning the guide or list on and off clears it.

I was specifically asking about video. I'm not sure if anyone has been able to pass HDMI through an AV receiver without getting handshake errors. I tried with my friend's new JVC 702B and the 8300HD went haywire. I'm in the market for a new receiver now but don't know what to do considering the 8300HD is one of the main components in my system and I'd rather not spend $ on a high end receiver and not be able to have everything work correctly.