well i can only assume i'm getting the 8300 since most other brighthouse customers are.... ? i sure hope so.

Unless you specify that you want *only* the 8300, you could end up with an 8000. What did you ask for, an HD-DVR ??

yeah HD DVR... i'm going to call back and make sure it's an 8300! of course, i'll be on hold for 15 minutes while trying to get through :\

For what it is worth to those of you in New York City, I received the following response from TWC to an email asking if (i) the SA8300HD would be available in NYC any time soon and (ii) DVI would be enabled on the SA8000HD any time soon (you'll note that they didn't even address the second question):

--SNIP--
Currently we are using the new SA 8000 HD DVR Home Communications Terminal manufactured by Scientific Atlanta.

At this time we have no information in regard to the SA83000HD HD DVR.

Time Warner Cable is always looking toward the future and as more information, special services and technology becomes available; we will share it with our customers.
--SNIP--

I guess I'd take this with a grain of salt, though, as these very same people once told me that DVI is active on the 8000HD.

I went to pick one up yesterday in Queens and all l they had was SA 8000 and did not know anything about the SA 8300 either. By the way I have a problem with channel 705 just a gray screen. All the other channels are fine. I heard some other users complaining about the same problem. So I guess I will bring this box back also..

Can we get a list of what TWC affiliates have the SA 8300HD box so far?

I'm curious as to where the boxes have shown up already so as to give those markets that DO NOT have them yet some hope.

if anyone is interested here's a link to the 8300HD setup manual and user guides from TWC Minnesota. So that's one place that has it.

ww.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/FAQ/TWCFAQCategories.ashx?CatID=172&MarketID=29

I wish it was available here. It looks like a big improvement in all areas. My TV is HDMI only as well so it would be more compatible.

Sorry, no direct link privileges.

Originally posted by VisionOn
if anyone is interested here's a link to the 8300HD setup manual and user guides from TWC Minnesota. So that's one place that has it.

ww.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/FAQ/TWCFAQCategories.ashx?CatID=172&MarketID=29

I wish it was available here. It looks like a big improvement in all areas. My TV is HDMI only as well so it would be more compatible.

I'm pretty sure that link is for the SARA version which is different from the DVRs in this thread which have Pioneer Passport software. It doesn't apply to our DVRs.....

http://www.timewarnercable.com/Media/29/User%20Documentation/mn_getting_started_8300HD_8300DVR.pdf

Yeap, as soon as it mentions the startup "wizard", I'm pretty sure it's SARA-software..... Passport doesn't have this. It also mentions things like a 'recording space % left' and others that Passport doesn't have (yet ?).

I had a bad experience with the SA8000HD DVR with the Passport software due to the fact that it does not output 480i on the component outputs if any of the other output formats are enabled. Can anyone here state conclusively that 480i is available on the component outputs when the HD modes are enabled? Our local cable operator has not yet started offering the SA8300HD DVR, but I would like to know whether or not the box will work for me.

As an aside, how does the picture compare to other devices. While I had the SA8000 I noticed that the HD picture was definately inferior to the Pioneer BD-V3510HD. Its a shame Pioneer got out of the set top box business.

Today I called TWC Columbus, OH to make a change to my service. I asked about the SA8300 and was told they are installing them starting Feb. 1. I am scheduled for a replacement of my SA8000 soon after that. :)

My "contact" at TW-Western OH told me this about a week ago:

"We've currently testing the SA 8300HD DVR and it has
the new version. We do expect the next version of the SA 8000HD DVR Echo
to be released by the corporate labs in the next few week and they'll
initiate an upgrade schedule shortly after this, but we my have the
8300HD available before then. Please check back with me in a couple
weeks and I'll let you know if there is any news."

Needless to say, he's not a CSR or technician.

Originally posted by RandyWalters
I have a good cable-company-supplied 3-way splitter behind the TV. From the splitter i send the signal to the TV antenna input and to both DVRs. The regular SA8000 is connected to a Video input and the SA8000HD is connected via component.

I have "successfully" implemented the design Randy described for his set up. Works great. However I do appear to be having a PQ issue with my SD images. They appear blurry or washed out. Defiantly worse than on my old tube TV. Much worse. I'm thinking it's not a TV issue, but a signal issue. I replayed a show stored in my SD DVR yesterday (taped prior to the new install) and the picture was good. Any suggestions on improving PQ? Does it make sense that the picture would be this bad? Should I be checking any settings on either the STB or the TV (it's a pio plasma)? HD channels are outstanding.

Originally posted by mgonzales
These two issues confuse me too.

I want to have HD at 16:9 @ 1080i and SD at 4:3 Native 480i and let me TV
(Fijorda sp? chip) do the stretch/zoom instead of the crappy 8000's performance.

Can someone suggest the proper setup for this w/o the 2 bars added?

thanks - m.



I would like to know the answer to this as well.
Please advise.
I have also read upconverting 480i to 1080i distorts the picture. Output 480i/480p if possible and let the tv do the work.
Is this correct?

mgonzales/b4ll3r: I seem to recall that I was able to do this with my Toshiba RP, though I couldn't see an improvement by doing it. I also got the very annoying screen-flicker/mode-switch when going from an SD channel to a non-SD channel.

Is it possible your TV won't do this, or allow it, to any signal coming through the component or DVI input ?? Mine (TV) will *not* allow me to do anything to anything programming that's already 16:9 (or is it 1080i ??). For that matter, I think it will ONLY change the picture size (Full, Natural, TheatreWide 1/2/3) on 480i signals. 480p/720p, and 1080i are non-modifiable.

Originally posted by hall
mgonzales/b4ll3r: I seem to recall that I was able to do this with my Toshiba RP, though I couldn't see an improvement by doing it. I also got the very annoying screen-flicker/mode-switch when going from an SD channel to a non-SD channel.

Is it possible your TV won't do this, or allow it, to any signal coming through the component or DVI input ?? Mine (TV) will *not* allow me to do anything to anything programming that's already 16:9 (or is it 1080i ??). For that matter, I think it will ONLY change the picture size (Full, Natural, TheatreWide 1/2/3) on 480i signals. 480p/720p, and 1080i are non-modifiable.

While we're on this befuddling topic... what resolution format should I set my SA800HD to? My plama's native resolution is 1080i. Do I just check 1080i, or all of them? TWC told me nothing.

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.

Originally posted by PaulInParkSlope
While we're on this befuddling topic... what resolution format should I set my SA800HD to? My plama's native resolution is 1080i. Do I just check 1080i, or all of them? TWC told me nothing.

If this is a dumb question, I apologize.

It depends where you think the better scaler is. My PJ is 720p native (an AE700). Here were my observations on my PJ:

- I thought that 1080i programming looked better on my PJ with the SA8000HD set to output 1080i than with it set to output only 720p.
- I could not tell the difference between 720p programming with the SA8000HD set to output it at 720p or at 1080i, except for during SD commercials, when I occasionally saw interleaving artifacts if the SA8000HD was outputing 720p as 1080i. But I never see this during live programming.
- I hated the delay when switching between 720p and 1080i channels if the SA8000HD was set for both.
- I also hate the way the SA8000HD scales 480i 4:3 programming to 16:9 ... those annoying gray bars on the side. However, I rarely watch 480i programming.

So I set my SA8000HD to output 480p and 1080i. Most of the time, I have no delay when changing channels since I'm almost always on a 720p or 1080i source. I realize this means that I'm scaling 720p programming to 1080i just to have my PJ scale it back down to 720p.

By setting the SA8000HD to output 480i 4:3 programming as 480p with stretching (there are three options on the STB, stretch, zoom, and sidebar), I am then able to use the aspect adjustment on my PJ to adjust the image back to the proper 4:3 aspect, but I get black bars instead of gray bars. Yea. My PJ will not let me adjust aspect on 720p or 1080i source material, always displaying it as 16:9. There is a delay when switching to an SD channel, but I almost never watch those.

So there ya go ... there is no one right answer -- you'll need to evaluate both 720p and 1080i material on your display and see where you prefer to have things scaled. If you can't tell the difference, then I believe it is beneficial to set the SA8000HD to output only one of {720p, 1080i} so that you don't have the delay when switching between the two as the SA8000HD reconfigures itself.

Whether or not you choose to have the SA8000HD output 480p depends upon whether you like the gray columns the SA8000HD outputs to what your display does with 4:3 material.

j.

I have mine set to output 1080i only. The delay of the TV to switch modes was just too annoying (and slow).

I've been having pixelation, stuttering, and freezing problems with my 8000HD. TWC came out and installed several new splitters and cable in my basement leading over to the box. However, I'm still having the same problems. The image problems are coming in that way, because if I rewind/replay they duplicate in the same spot. So, I went into diag mode (hold center select button + exit button, then press exit) and see on the first page some frequency and decibel ratings that are real-time. I moved some of the splitters around and then numbers changed (I had both tuners tuned to high-def channels). I was hoping people who read this forum would post their decibel ratings for the tuners and two other categories. I'm trying to find out what the optimal range is and whether or not I need to try a signal booster.

I just got a new SA8300HD box with an HDMI port installed yesterday here in Rock Hill, SC. It is running Passport software (haven't checked the version yet). Hooray for me, eh?

I was HOPING to get a box with a DVI port, and in fact was waiting for my local cable company to get DVI boxes (they already had HDMI boxes available). However, the cable company contacted me and the tech informed me that DVI ports were either "never available or no longer available". How true that statement is, we all can decide on our own.

Just thought some people would find that interesting to hear. Does anyone have an SA8300HD (passport) with a DVI port?

Originally posted by Shadowjack
Does anyone have an SA8300HD (passport) with a DVI port?

There is no such animal.

Originally posted by gillers29
I've been having pixelation, stuttering, and freezing problems with my 8000HD. TWC came out and installed several new splitters and cable in my basement leading over to the box. However, I'm still having the same problems. The image problems are coming in that way, because if I rewind/replay they duplicate in the same spot. So, I went into diag mode (hold center select button + exit button, then press exit) and see on the first page some frequency and decibel ratings that are real-time. I moved some of the splitters around and then numbers changed (I had both tuners tuned to high-def channels). I was hoping people who read this forum would post their decibel ratings for the tuners and two other categories. I'm trying to find out what the optimal range is and whether or not I need to try a signal booster.

I was at -14db before doing the same thing you did, which got me to -10 or -11db. (I consider this borderline from what I've read on this forum). The problem persisted, until twc changed the box, and then was resolved.
Note: I had no recorded content saved, so I didn't mind the swap, while others have.

Originally posted by gillers29
I've been having pixelation, stuttering, and freezing problems with my 8000HD. TWC came out and installed several new splitters and cable in my basement leading over to the box. However, I'm still having the same problems. The image problems are coming in that way, because if I rewind/replay they duplicate in the same spot. So, I went into diag mode (hold center select button + exit button, then press exit) and see on the first page some frequency and decibel ratings that are real-time. I moved some of the splitters around and then numbers changed (I had both tuners tuned to high-def channels). I was hoping people who read this forum would post their decibel ratings for the tuners and two other categories. I'm trying to find out what the optimal range is and whether or not I need to try a signal booster.

I get a good clean signal from TWC and have no freezing or pixelating or any other problems with my SA8000HD or my SA8000. Picture quality is excellent. Neighborhood is wired with Fiber Optic. I have RG6 cable directly from the pole behind my house to the back of my entertainment unit, where i have a good quality 3-output TWC splitter feeding both DVRs and TV itself. Too many splitters will degrage your signal. The dB fiqures on my regular SA8000 improved last year when i went from 3 splitters to one.

Here's what my SA8000HD's readings are right now:

SA8000HD Ch 1999 info from 1/29/05

Tuner 1: 675.000 Mhz - 4 dBmV

Tuner 2: 681.000 Mhz - 9 dBmV

FDC: 104.000 Mhz - 7 dBmV

RDC: 15.000 Mhz - 45 dBmV

QAM SNR: 35 34 (these both fluctuate from 34 to 36 in real time)

Last Cold Boot: 1/5/05

Last Warm Boot: 1/29/05 5:46:47 (which is what time i turned it on this morning)

It's going to be somewhat difficult to compare "apples to apples" here. Each *channel*, which will vary by TW franchise, and can further vary within the franchise, could potentially show very different numbers. We need a cable engineer type or a "senior" tech who can tell us is a good range of numbers, a bad range, and so on.

Just got my SA8000HD yesterday. Couple observations. The picture is slightly softer compared to my Pioneer set top. So I kept both boxes for now. Also as mentioned earlier, the output format is flaky. At first I had the box set at outputs for 1080i and 480i. At first it was all working. For SD, it was being output at 480i and for HD 1080i. Then it seemed to get confused and output everything at 1080i. I tried to reset from the output menu but no luck. It does seem to work, at least for one day, setting the outputs to 480p and 1080i. SD is now displayed at 480p and my TV will allow aspect ratio changes in 480p. Any more comments on this? Also...the composite video does not output anything no matter how I set it up.

As for the features of DVR itself, it seems kind of neat. But selecting the shows to record is PAINFUL. They have to come up with a better way to skip days/hours in the guide of shows.

As for TWC service itself..it is amazing. I called and asked for the 8300 model based on this thread that indicates you can get a better HD picture. They said they would do that. Well the tech comes out and says that don't have the 8300 yet (here in OC). This always seems to be the case..no one really knows what is going on. I have asked for an 8300 replacement as soon as it comes in.

I have several HD shows recorded on my SA8000 that I have transfered to my Panasonic DVD recorder by switching the 8000 to SD mode. The only problem is the HD shows have grey bars on the top and bottom of the picture. When I transfer non HD shows the picture does not have the bars. Does anyone know of a way to transfer the HD shows without the SA8000 displaying the grey bars?

Originally posted by dave1216
Just got my SA8000HD yesterday. Couple observations. The picture is slightly softer compared to my Pioneer set top. So I kept both boxes for now. Also as mentioned earlier, the output format is flaky. At first I had the box set at outputs for 1080i and 480i. At first it was all working. For SD, it was being output at 480i and for HD 1080i. Then it seemed to get confused and output everything at 1080i. I tried to reset from the output menu but no luck. It does seem to work, at least for one day, setting the outputs to 480p and 1080i. SD is now displayed at 480p and my TV will allow aspect ratio changes in 480p. Any more comments on this? Also...the composite video does not output anything no matter how I set it up.

Dave,

Not sure how you were able to output 480i for SD but the current behavior you are seeing is, unfortunately, the way the box is supposed to work. The 8000HD has two modes - HD mode and SD mode. The only way to switch between the two is to hold a few of the buttons on the box itself (can't do it from the remote). You pretty much always want to keep your box in HD mode for normal viewing. Unfortunately in HD mode, the 8000HD won't output 480i over component. You have to choose another format - in your case you chose 480p for SD and 1080i for HD. In my setup (Samsung DLP) I chose 720p for SD since that's my display's native resolution. I then have it set for 720p or 1080i for HD depending on what channel I'm on - so Fox and ABC come in at 720p, and most of the others come in at 1080i.

Also when the box is in HD mode, all outputs besides component are disabled. So you can't use composite, s-video or coax to simulteaneously output SD and then use the components for HD (like you can on most other STBs, including the Pioneer). Another example of poor design but you'll get used to it.

Enjoy.

Hi folks, I'm relatively new to this thread and just thought I'd post some observations and (maybe) questions. (I've found answers here to most of the questions I had but haven't read exhaustively.) I'm currently a DirecTV subscriber and decided to try out TWC and the HD-DVR since they have a great deal for satellite customers, and require no upfront cost or commitments. I've been drooling over the HD-Tivo but obviously the cost is a hurdle there, and with the upcoming DTV DVR changes (MPEG4 and UCentric) its future is uncertain. I'm in Durham NC, so I've got the SA 8000HD w/Passport. Apologies if I'm covering a few things that have are sore spots or old topics.

I had a nice long discussion last night with a TWC tech guy, who was sympathetic and interested in my feedback since I'm a DTV customer who's been using DVRs for 5 years. One thing he did mention is that the 8300HD is something they're just starting to look at doing some field testing with, so it won't be available any time very soon.

Executive summary: the SA 8000HD is dumb as a box of rocks. I'm used to UltimateTV and a few friends with Tivo, and the 8000HD just seems like a HD cable box with a drive dumped into it and no thought about making it usable. Seems to have very few features to speak of that take advantage of the DVR having a drive in it that can store data and do things with it.

1) The biggest, dumbest thing missing: no search?! I really was floored by this. TWC didn't even provide a manual with the 8000HD, which I guess should have been a clue that it really didn't have any "fancy" features requiring a manual. Sheesh. :rolleyes:

2) No way to customize channel listings? And the Favorites function just cycles sequentially thru however many channels are on the list. So if you have 12 favorite channels, you have to press the button 11 times to get from 1 to 12. And I have to page thru HUNDREDS of channels in the guide, many of which are redundant, or not active. It's quickly feeling like bashing my head with a hammer.

3) No auto-record features, of course. Ok, this combined with the above makes this thing almost useless to me as a DVR. The whole point is to find shows you want to see and record them. My UTV or Tivo have been doing this for years. Hell, even my crappy Dishplayer did a little bit. For example, I have UTV setup to record any event with my school's name in it, so I get football, basketball games etc. without having to figure out what channel they're on. Games tend to show up on surprising channels sometimes because I'm not in the same geographic region, so a game that's a local CBS broadcast "back home" may be on a Fox RSN here, or ESPN Gameplan etc.

4) The documented lack of simultaneously active HD & SD outputs. Thanks to folks here I did find that there's at least some workaround for this one, but still more trouble than it should be. I'm one of the folks with a projector plus a regular TV, so this means constantly switching back and forth. Ugh.

5) Audio has dropped out a few times while using pause/rew functions. Usually comes back if I pause/rew a time or two, but still, again with the ugh.

6) Audio levels are WILDLY different on some channels, from one that's virtually inaudible to a handful that are way, way loud. I suspect this is something more on my local cable provider's end, not actually the 8000HD.

7) No expansion ability? This box only has 150 Gb of recording space, which is fairly limited for HD. I've been using a MIT MyHD PC based setup to record OTA HD for over a year, and I'm not sure the 8000HD has enough capacity for me to keep a nice selection of HD movies plus various HDTV series and so on. Admittedly, I may be a little spoiled by having expanded my UTV to about 95 hour capacity for SD and enjoyed the luxury of stockpiling shows.

I'm essentially using the next few weeks for an evaluation period, but the early results are disappointing, obviously. "You get what you pay for" seems to really apply here, and at this point I think I'm more likely to pony up for an HD-Tivo in a month or so, than keep TWC and the 8000HD.

Originally posted by dave1216
Just got my SA8000HD yesterday. Couple observations. The picture is slightly softer compared to my Pioneer set top. So I kept both boxes for now.

As for the features of DVR itself, it seems kind of neat. But selecting the shows to record is PAINFUL. They have to come up with a better way to skip days/hours in the guide of shows.

I have asked for an 8300 replacement as soon as it comes in.

Yes the SA8000HD's picture is softer and doesn't have the punch of my previous Pioneer 3510HD converter. At least now i can record the HD shows that i normally would have had to miss. Many who turned their SA8000HD in for an 8300HD report better HD and SD picture quality so there is room for improvement here.

As for skipping ahead in the guide, a list of tips and tricks were posted earlier in this thread with two different methods of skipping ahead while in the guide.

One way is to press and hold the Right Arrow key which after a slow start will suddenly go into hyperspeed and advance the hours very rapidly until you let off the button. Hold this key down for 5 seconds and you'll have advanced about 24 hours in the guide. Try it, you'll see what i mean.

You can also skip forward any number of days in the guide by hitting a number key then quickly tapping the Right Arrow key. The 2 key will take you exactly 2 days (48 hours) ahead, and the 5 key will take you 5 days ahead etc. You have to hit the Right Arrow key very soon after the number key otherwise it will just change channels instead. So do it quickly.

Try both these tricks and let us know if they work for you :)

Originally posted by pheroy

3) No auto-record features, of course....
5) Audio has dropped out a few times while using pause/rew functions. Usually comes back if I pause/rew a time or two, but still, again with the ugh...
6) Audio levels are WILDLY different on some channels, from one that's virtually inaudible to a handful that are way, way loud. I suspect this is something more on my local cable provider's end, not actually the 8000HD.

I'm over in Raleigh,w/TWC.
3) True, except for the "record the series" selection after hitting record or selecting the show. No other intelligence (I know of).
5) Check your signal strength (Channel 999). If its good, problem may be the box.
6) True, and magnified for those with surround (most everyone @ avsforum).

Thanks for posting. I've found descriptions like yours extremely helpful in sorting out the TV .vs STB .vs Wiring .vs Provider....

Originally posted by IamtheWolf
I'm over in Raleigh,w/TWC.
3) True, except for the "record the series" selection after hitting record or selecting the show. No other intelligence (I know of).
5) Check your signal strength (Channel 999). If its good, problem may be the box.
6) True, and magnified for those with surround (most everyone @ avsforum).

Thanks for posting. I've found descriptions like yours extremely helpful in sorting out the TV .vs STB .vs Wiring .vs Provider.... I have also at times lost a channel. Actually the same one (FOX Local). I am thinking from what I have read that it could be a signal issue also..

Thanks for the response, IatW.

3) Yep, I realize you can record a series... once you find the show in the guide. It's the whole "finding" aspect that is lacking. For a series, I agree it's not a big deal, as long as you have some idea when/where the show is.

5) I assume the signal strength is in the Summary screen, for each tuner? If I have that right... I turned on PIP to a channel so both tuners displayed something, and they both show 10 dB. I think that's good from what I've read here?

6) Naturally, I'm using the digital (coax) output to a surround system. As it turns out, my 2nd unit is only connected via analog right now (just a stereo setup anyway so I may leave it analog if digital continues having emotional issues... :p ) and the audio levels there seem to be fairly consistent. So this seems to be strictly related to the digital out.

I've added a few items to the list of complaints, mostly minor:

8) Guide shows no indication in the grid whether a program is in HD or not. I have to press "Info" for a program to get the full description which then includes an HDTV symbol. Not a bug, just annoying and again less smart than the DTV EPG. While I'm bitching about the EPG, it only shows 6 days out (7 day total) and doesn't retrieve info for future days until I try to display it, making me wait several seconds.

9) Hard drive sure is a rattly thing, ain't it? Chirps along even while the DVR is off.

Speaking of things that happen while it's off, I'm getting audio and a dim picture when it's off. Not a big concern I think, but just kinda weird.

But, I can record non-OTA channels in HD, and it does actually work, which is nice. (Had to throw in at least one positive comment! :D )

1) The "next" software version for my area reportedly includes a "search" function. We've got X.X.159 currently. Not sure what version # it will be though. This information is from my local TW's network engineering head. When will we see it ?? No firm date....

2) Yeap, you're forced to see every, single, freaking channel that they offer, right down to (20) or Nascar In Car channels, all the (soft) porn, and so on. Really annoys me with this one.... At least let me block the adult channels. I can't wait for my son to start reading some of those titles. I think the idea is so that you see what you're missing. Well, I assure you, it will NOT tempt me to buy add'l channels. I do have to say though, I've got HBO and Showtime because my package allows for (2) movie channels. Both are lacking, IMO. From what I can see in the guide, it looks like Starz would be a good one to have. Only downside: No StarzHD for us here.

5) Seems quite common with many DVRs, actually. My Dish 522 did it quite a bit too and I've even seen comments from TiVo owners saying theirs does it too. It's simple enough to "fix" though....

6) Not the box at fault, but the tv station or network or maybe the cable company. Does your TV have a "stable sound" setting or similar ?? Mine does, a Toshiba, and it works great.

7) Do any DVRs have expansion options ?? Even the TiVo is a "hack" to add a bigger drive. The 8300 though is supposed to work with external HDDs.

8) Do other guides ?? I'd blame the guide provider (TV Guide for us) for this shortcoming.

9) Turn it to an OnDemand channel or a "help" channel (my channel 100 is a bunch of short "how to" videos). Supposedly those are not recorded (or buffered). What's happening is the DVR never turns "off", so it's always buffering (2) channels, and hence the constant HDD activity. Since switching my bedroom DVR to one of those special channels, it's much quieter. Problem is you have to turn it to one, with both tuners, before turning it (semi) off. One thing to do is set to the "power on channel" to one of those. Then turn the box off, back on so it tunes to those channels, then off again.

Originally posted by RandyWalters


As for skipping ahead in the guide, a list of tips and tricks were posted earlier in this thread with two different methods of skipping ahead while in the guide.

One way is to press and hold the Right Arrow key which after a slow start will suddenly go into hyperspeed and advance the hours very rapidly until you let off the button. Hold this key down for 5 seconds and you'll have advanced about 24 hours in the guide. Try it, you'll see what i mean.

You can also skip forward any number of days in the guide by hitting a number key then quickly tapping the Right Arrow key. The 2 key will take you exactly 2 days (48 hours) ahead, and the 5 key will take you 5 days ahead etc. You have to hit the Right Arrow key very soon after the number key otherwise it will just change channels instead. So do it quickly.

Try both these tricks and let us know if they work for you :) Thanks Randy, worked exactly like you said. Appreciate the help.

Dave

Another guide navigation tip that I assume most people know, which I find extremely useful, is if you hit the "A" key when searching the grid by "Time" it skips 100 channels at a time. A few presses and I'm in the 700's where all of the HD channels are. Can't imagine having to page down to get there.

Originally posted by EricScott
Another guide navigation tip that I assume most people know, which I find extremely useful, is if you hit the "A" key when searching the grid by "Time" it skips 100 channels at a time. A few presses and I'm in the 700's where all of the HD channels are. Can't imagine having to page down to get there.

Of if you want to see what's on a specific channel while in the Guide, just enter that channel number using the number keys and the guide jumps directly to that channel.

I've noticed some of the same things pheroy did, and have actually asked TWC [my provider] about them, specifically Search and customizable Guide. [for instance, hiding the adult stuff and the channels I don't sub to would be good, along with those channels I'll *never* watch.]
The only other DVR's I've used were the Dish 501 and 508, I like some things about the 8000HD, and there's some things the Dish ones did better.

One big problem I've got with the 8000HD, and would appreciate any help:

It crashes/reboots at random. Today, around 1100, it rebooted itself. It wasn't even on, I was watching a DVD. I don't think it was recording anything. I heard 'click' and saw it go through the soft reboot thing. It looks like it does that at least once a week, and not at like 0300 when odds are no one is watching [which I could understand if it was getting upgrades].
Another big thing is it freezes up. Sometimes when going from one channel to another, it'll reboot on its own.
And sometimes when trying to access the List of stuff that's on the HD, it says something like "Cannot access list, please press A to retry, B to restart." Hit A, same message; B does nothing. I have to go hard reboot it by unplugging it. For some reason this seems to happen when I'm trying to load up Dora the Explorer for my two year old son, and toddler's aren't the most patient. It's definitely frustrating.
Last time this happened, I called and had the service guy come out; he was surprised I knew what channel 999 was, and surprised that I actually had things recorded on the DVR [funny, I thought that's what it was for.] His 'solution' was to--slow down, let the unit respond to button presses; and don't record a lot, and don't keep a lot on the hard drive. :rolleyes: Well, since then, I have been purging it, and have set the series-recorder to only keep 3 eps of most series [which I might have done at the beginning if they had given me an instruction manual], but it happened again today. According to channel 999, we had almost 40 GB free out of 150 GB. I would think that would be plenty, but we'll see what the service guy says when he comes out next Saturday.

Anyway, has anyone else run into this problem, and what did you do about it? I asked the CSR to tell the service guy I'd like a new box, seeing as how I'm doing exactly what the service guy said last time he was here, but he said "I can't tell him to give you a new box". Is this my unit, system wide, a known issue, etc? I see this thread is 27 pages long, so I'll read through it now, and will edit my post if it's a duplicate. If someone has posted something similar, then please count this post as a 'me too' : )

Originally posted by dtcarson
One big problem I've got with the 8000HD, and would appreciate any help:

It crashes/reboots at random.

Another big thing is it freezes up. Sometimes when going from one channel to another, it'll reboot on its own.

And sometimes when trying to access the List of stuff that's on the HD, it says something like "Cannot access list, please press A to retry, B to restart." Hit A, same message; B does nothing. I have to go hard reboot it by unplugging it

His 'solution' was to--slow down, let the unit respond to button presses; and don't record a lot, and don't keep a lot on the hard drive. :rolleyes: Well, since then, I have been purging it, and have set the series-recorder to only keep 3 eps of most series [which I might have done at the beginning if they had given me an instruction manual], but it happened again today. According to channel 999, we had almost 40 GB free out of 150 GB. I would think that would be plenty, but we'll see what the service guy says when he comes out next Saturday.


These problems are not normal operation - the DVR must be defective. I've had my regular SA8000 for 18 months and i think it's only self-rebooted a half dozen times, mostly in the first half of it's life. Aside from that it runs flawlessly every day, except for a two-month period where the previous version of Passport software was defective and caused constant freezing and pausing nation-wide. Even then, my DVR didn't reboot itself but the freezing problem was irritating millions of cable customers. The current software (version 1.5.159) fixed the freezing problem completely and it's run flawlessly ever since.

My SA8000HD is several months old and it never reboots on it's own and never freezes up or locks up, and generally runs perfect. It's true that pushing the buttons too fast can confuse the DVR - it doesn't like to be rushed and that may have been my problem a few times when i first got my first one. I have been able to intentionally cause a lockup and automatic reboot by pressing the buttons in rapid succession so there is something to not pressing the buttons too fast. I've learned to relax and pause a bit before hitting the next key and it seems to work.

As for having too much on the hard drive, well i don't think that should cause a problem either. I often have mine filled with maybe an hour or less to spare before i run out of space but still they both run fine when filled to the limit. I'd say mine work as they were intended. Anything less that the performance i'm getting then i think there's a problem.

Have them give you a new DVR. Ask if they have the 8300HD :D

Originally posted by RandyWalters
Of if you want to see what's on a specific channel while in the Guide, just enter that channel number using the number keys and the guide jumps directly to that channel. My DT/HD channels are also in the 700-range. When I want to "jump" there, I just type in "700" and "SEL". Though there isn't a channel "700" for me, it jumps to the next one, "707", in my case.

I'd read (here) about the "press '2', then right-arrow" to jump two days ahead, but pressing the "A" key to jump '100' channels is new to me. How do people discover these, by being told by a Scientific Atlanta programmer ?? I mean, some are so obscure you'd only stumble on them by mistake ! No way someone figured them out.

Originally posted by dtcarson
I've noticed some of the same things pheroy did, and have actually asked TWC [my provider] about them, specifically Search and customizable Guide. (for instance, hiding the adult stuff and the channels I don't sub to would be good, along with those channels I'll *never* watch.) Dish receivers are nice in that you can cycle through "ALL CHAN" or "SUB CHAN" by pressing the "GUIDE" button. I *wish* my 8000 would do this but I'm convinced the cable providers don't want this.
Originally posted by dtcarson
One big problem I've got with the 8000HD, and would appreciate any help:

And sometimes when trying to access the List of stuff that's on the HD, it says something like "Cannot access list, please press A to retry, B to restart." Hit A, same message; B does nothing. I have to go hard reboot it by unplugging it. The HDD is dying. Get the box replaced.... Question for you: Is the box getting good ventilation ?? Our non-HD 8000 is in our bedroom, in an armoire, with the TV on top of it. I was told that's not a good idea.... We're on our 3rd 8000 too. :) The 8000HD in the living room is still the original though. :) It's not inside a cabinet, but an open AV shelf, and has nothing on top of it.
Originally posted by dtcarson
Last time this happened, I called and had the service guy come out; he was surprised I knew what channel 999 was, and surprised that I actually had things recorded on the DVR What does he think they're for ?? Oh, I know, for pausing live tv *only* !! Excellent training program your local TW there has.....

Originally posted by hall
7) Do any DVRs have expansion options ?? Even the TiVo is a "hack" to add a bigger drive. The 8300 though is supposed to work with external HDDs.

Well, yes, if you want to get technical about it... ;) But the fact is, I could do it to my UTV or (if I had one) Tivo, so it's a consideration. Interesting to know about the 8300 though! Boy, that thing is starting to sound like the Holy Grail for TWC subscribers, hee hee.

8) Do other guides ?? I'd blame the guide provider (TV Guide for us) for this shortcoming.

Doesn't really matter to me if it's TVG or TWC. It's the guide on the DVR, and I can't switch it, and it's less capable than I'm used to. Not a show-stopper in itself, just another in a growing list of annoyances.

Thanks for the tip on tuning to a non-buffered channel channel keeping things quieter. I bet that also helps with HDD life & reliability.

Yeah, I was somewhat nonplussed by the feedback from the service guy. 'Wow, you have a lot of stuff on there.' 2 or 3 movies, 1 HD movie, and about 15 kids programs. 'Most people don't have that much stuff on there.' I thought that was the whole point of the auto-purge, and, of course, of a DVR in itself.

Selectable guide: That's one thing I really liked about the Dish units. I could have my channel set, the missus could have hers, then we could jump to 'All subscribed' to browse everything. Not having that option wouldn't be so bad, if we had the option to view more than 5 channels at a time [again, like the Dish unit--set the guide to take up full screen or partial screen, thus showing different amounts of channels].

Ventilation: Hmm, I don't know. It's on an open shelf [the only component rack I could find that was affordable and fit everything is basically a shelving unit], and there's about 1-2" above it to the next shelf, and the component above it is a switchbox that doesn't produce much heat. Below it, about 4 inches below, I think, is a 5-disk dvd changer. There's nothing directly on top of it, and nothing electronic directly below it. I'll try raising it up a bit and seeing what happens.

I checked last night, and assuming I'm looking in the right place, I think I have version x.x.159 software as well. I do recall one time it was having a lot of problems, but it didn't download the software upgrade automatically for some reason, so the guy called in and had the office 'push' the upgrade. But that was a while ago, when it was rebooting every 2-4 minutes like clockwork.

I do need to get my wife to be a little more patient with the buttons; she doesn't use it much, but when she does, half the time it crashes, and I have to somehow tactfully say "this time it's not the box."

Anyway, the guy is coming on Saturday. Even if the HDD isn't dying [which I tend to believe it is, like you say, Hall], this unit is somehow buggy/defective/etc, it shouldn't be giving me this much trouble. The 8000 I had previously didn't do this badly. I'll try to get the guy to give me a new box on Sat, but if they don't do something other than say 'Don't record that much stuff' on Sat, I'll just keep a log of when things happen, and call in for service every time it happens and annoy them into giving me a new one.

Originally posted by dtcarson
Anyway, the guy is coming on Saturday. Even if the HDD isn't dying [which I tend to believe it is, like you say, Hall], this unit is somehow buggy/defective/etc, it shouldn't be giving me this much trouble. The 8000 I had previously didn't do this badly. I'll try to get the guy to give me a new box... I've mentioned this before and I consider us lucky here in Western OH, but they have NO ISSUES with customers walking into the local office(s) with their box and swapping it for a new one. The first time I did it I did call before to see what they thought plus I figured they'd note my account that the box is acting up and I'll be in to swap it. The next time though, I just went on my own. I get to the window, tell 'em it's displaying "hard drive errors all the time" and "I'd like to get a new one". They do it NO QUESTIONS ASKED. It certainly doesn't require a tech visit either.

I had my 2nd DVR crash a week ago - couldn't access any recorded shows and box wasn't changing output formats properly. The first time this had happaned (3 months ago) TWC replaced the box after we had rebooted it numerous times and TWC said there wasn't anything that could be done to save all of the recorded programming.

This time they had a new solution:

Unplug the DVR
Hold down the Volume (-) button on the box (left button on the circular controls)
Plug in the DVR while continuing to hold the volume button until the clock came back up.

After the DVR finished rebooting, everything was working properly and I was able to access and watch all of my recorded shows. 3 hours later, the DVR crashed again (I swear it wasn't my fault!!!) and after following the reboot procedure again everything has worked great since

I am a frequent recorder and a notorious 'fast button pusher' so I probably am somewhat at fault for the crashes, but so far this new reboot procedure seems to be working.

Does anybody have any idea what this reboot procedure is doing differently?

(Just to clarify - the normal reboot procedures [on/off button for 10 seconds & unplugging the box] were not having any positive affect on the DVR)

Hmm, I didn't think about that....*looks on website* There is a Customer Care Center that allows Box Swap about 8 miles from me, maybe I'll see if they do walk-in box swaps and bring it in tomorrow. And you'd think they'd rather have me bring it in so they can check it out, rather than wasting possibly revenue-generating service calls on me.

Jsipe: I'll definitely try that tonight and see if it helps.

Originally posted by dtcarson
Hmm, I didn't think about that....*looks on website* There is a Customer Care Center that allows Box Swap about 8 miles from me, maybe I'll see if they do walk-in box swaps and bring it in tomorrow. And you'd think they'd rather have me bring it in so they can check it out, rather than wasting possibly revenue-generating service calls on me.

Where i'm at, TWC allows us to get or swap regular digital converter boxes and the regular SD DVR, but do not give out or swap the SA8000HD over the counter. They require a tech to come to the house since they don't feel the average customer can get it working with their HDTV. Thankfully TWC doesn't charge for this in-home visit.

Originally posted by dtcarson
Hmm, I didn't think about that....*looks on website* There is a Customer Care Center that allows Box Swap about 8 miles from me, maybe I'll see if they do walk-in box swaps and bring it in tomorrow. And you'd think they'd rather have me bring it in so they can check it out, rather than wasting possibly revenue-generating service calls on me. Only thing to check on is that they have the boxes on-hand before going. There are (2) centers near enough to me that the drive is no big deal. There's ALWAYS a line though and I had to wait in line (45) minutes one time .... to be told they didn't have any replacements !!!! Arghhhhh !! I mean, how hard would a sign on the door saying "No 'xxxxx' boxes available today" be ??

That's true, I was going to call to make sure they had one in stock they'd give me, and if they do it on customer request.

RandyWalters: That's bizarre. It's not that difficult to hook up, and in my case, I'd be sticking the new one in the exact same place as the old one. But I guess I can kinda see that, if there were any problems, the customer would pitch a fit and blame TWC. I don't think the tech even did much when he came and did the original install.

when i got my hd-dvr i asked if i could just swap my regular dvr with hd-dvr, and they said no because the tech needs to check the line and make sure hd will work, and if it won't he needs to go do whatever he does to make it work.

Regarding some franchises not handing out the 8000HD (or 8300HD) for self-install, a few comments:

-- The 8000HD has a larger HDD than the standard 8000 and some will try and get it for that reason alone
-- The HD boxes were in short supply, and usually are, when they're first released at a franchise. They don't want to give them out to people who don't have HD sets. Remember, many people think that this HD box will make their 9-year old TV an "HDTV". That's not a joke....
-- The HD boxes do seem to require a good, clean incoming signal so let a tech run new wiring if necessary, as well as remove extra splitters that are no longer needed, and so on.

Now, if a customer already has an 8X00HD box and wants a replacement, there should be no need for a tech visit as it negates two of the three reasons listed above. If the original install tech did his/her job when you rec'd the 8X00, # 3 is ruled out too.

Note, these reasons are my own speculation, not something official.

Originally posted by hall
Regarding some franchises not handing out the 8000HD (or 8300HD) for self-install, a few comments:

-- The 8000HD has a larger HDD than the standard 8000 and some will try and get it for that reason alone
-- The HD boxes were in short supply, and usually are, when they're first released at a franchise. They don't want to give them out to people who don't have HD sets. Remember, many people think that this HD box will make their 9-year old TV an "HDTV". That's not a joke....
-- The HD boxes do seem to require a good, clean incoming signal so let a tech run new wiring if necessary, as well as remove extra splitters that are no longer needed, and so on.

Now, if a customer already has an 8X00HD box and wants a replacement, there should be no need for a tech visit as it negates two of the three reasons listed above. If the original install tech did his/her job when you rec'd the 8X00, # 3 is ruled out too.

Note, these reasons are my own speculation, not something official.


I agree with you they should keep a supply on stock for current users, since these things seem to break so often. And when I talked with a CS guy, asking about future TWC hd-dvr he told me that once new ones come out I should be able to just do a swap, w/o needing the tech to come, and it sounded like it was the same for if my box does break i could just do a swap.

It is TWC policy that if you show up to a customer service center with a proof of purchase or user's manual (I think this is sufficient as well) for an HDTV, then they will give you the 8000HD without having to send out a tech. When I switched from my non-HD DVR to 8000HD, all I did was bring my HDTV receipt.

Originally posted by ksscher
It is TWC policy... I'd bet money that they didn't get that memo distributed.... :)

Originally posted by hall
My DT/HD channels are also in the 700-range. When I want to "jump" there, I just type in "700" and "SEL". Though there isn't a channel "700" for me, it jumps to the next one, "707", in my case.

I'd read (here) about the "press '2', then right-arrow" to jump two days ahead, but pressing the "A" key to jump '100' channels is new to me. How do people discover these, by being told by a Scientific Atlanta programmer ?? I mean, some are so obscure you'd only stumble on them by mistake ! No way someone figured them out.

I think that the A key to jump 100 channels (as well as the 2 then right arrow for 2 days ahead) was on the intro to HD channel 5 minute "movie" that plays on one of the in-demand channels. I have a vague recollection of hearing the words coming out of a syrupy sweet voice.

When my 8000HD stopped entering the recorded list menu because of 'disk error' I took it to the local TWC office in So Cal. They tried to replace it with a standard 8000 box.

Even for a swap, they insist on a tech coming out. 4 days later, I got it replaced... :(

Originally posted by ksscher
It is TWC policy that if you show up to a customer service center with a proof of purchase or user's manual (I think this is sufficient as well) for an HDTV, then they will give you the 8000HD without having to send out a tech. When I switched from my non-HD DVR to 8000HD, all I did was bring my HDTV receipt.

Well then TWC policy obviously varies region to region. TWC where i'm at simply will not give you an SA8000HD over the counter. They already knew i had an HDTV because i'd been renting a regular HD converter for months and even though the tech behind the counter knew that i knew how to connect it and stuff he simply could not issue me an SA8000HD over the counter because their policy is that a tech has to come out to the house to set it up. So i had it installed a few days later. The guy that brought it called in the serial number to the main office and a few minutes later it was activated.

Originally posted by DJ Frustration
Can we get a list of what TWC affiliates have the SA 8300HD box so far?

I'm curious as to where the boxes have shown up already so as to give those markets that DO NOT have them yet some hope.

TWC Minneapolis has both the 8300HD and the 8300HD Media Center.

The folks on the Yahoo SA8000 group are claiming that the AVS folks have posted that the 8300 is available for Time Warner NYC. I have not found this AVS thread, though.

-barry

Yes. Available as of today in NYC. Have one and so far am very happy. Check the TWC NYC thread.

Originally posted by hall
I'd read (here) about the "press '2', then right-arrow" to jump two days ahead, but pressing the "A" key to jump '100' channels is new to me. How do people discover these, by being told by a Scientific Atlanta programmer ?? I mean, some are so obscure you'd only stumble on them by mistake ! No way someone figured them out.

depends on the person, I'm sure there are some like me who experiment with different button presses to see what happens.

Another way to quickly skip through channels in the guide is to press the FAV button. It will jump to all your favorites and is actually more useful than when watching live TV. Faster in the guide at least.

The B and C buttons also serve the same function in their respective menus as the A button. Press B in the theme guide and you'll jump ahead by category eg. movie -> sport -> lifestyle etc.

Originally posted by VisionOn
depends on the person, I'm sure there are some like me who experiment with different button presses to see what happens.

Another way to quickly skip through channels in the guide is to press the FAV button. It will jump to all your favorites and is actually more useful than when watching live TV. Faster in the guide at least.

I've been compiling all the tips and tricks i and others have discovered since i got my 1st DVR in mid 2003 and you're the first to find this FAV trick in the guide (or at least the first to post it on AVS or the Explorer_8000 list). Nice. On my universal remote i already have the Ch+ key reprogrammed as my FAV key so this trick will come in real handy and is a much better way to channel surf without actually having to change channels ( and lose the buffer ).

Thanks !

Title edited to include the 8300HD per request.

Just wanted to confirm the availability of the 8300HD at the Manhattan 23rd Street location. I stopped by this morning on my way to work and swapped boxes. It looked like there was a good supply. When I first read about this last night I tried to call customer service to confirm. After a very long time on hold, I was connected to a cs rep in Canada who had no idea what I was talking about. She checked with her supervisor who said that there might be "a few" units available. I figured I'd just take a chance this morning and see for myself. I'll get it hooked up tonight. BTW, keep your power, component cables and remote as they are all interchangeable. There was no hdmi cable included.

Originally posted by adrman
Just wanted to confirm the availability of the 8300HD at the Manhattan 23rd Street location. I stopped by this morning on my way to work and swapped boxes. It looked like there was a good supply. When I first read about this last night I tried to call customer service to confirm. After a very long time on hold, I was connected to a cs rep in Canada who had no idea what I was talking about. She checked with her supervisor who said that there might be "a few" units available. I figured I'd just take a chance this morning and see for myself. I'll get it hooked up tonight. BTW, keep your power, component cables and remote as they are all interchangeable. There was no hdmi cable included. They will only swap out for you if you live in Manhattan. If you live in Queens forget it....:mad:

Originally posted by RandyWalters
On my universal remote i already have the Ch+ key reprogrammed as my FAV key so this trick will come in real handy and is a much better way to channel surf without actually having to change channels ( and lose the buffer ).

The FAV guide trick has worked on all the Passport enabled boxes I've used, although I always forget to use it. The other thing which I've only just recently realised (which may or may not be obvious to everyone else) is that channels marked as favorites are indicated by a star alongside the channel logo in the browsing info bar and guide.

I've been compiling all the tips and tricks i and others have discovered since i got my 1st DVR in mid 2003.

Care to share you compilation with the rest of the world? :)

I just got my 8000HD box this morning and it's really a pain in the arse to try to wade through hundreds of pages to try to find tips & tricks...

Thanks.

Troy
HD DVR armed!

Originally posted by Troy LaMont
Care to share you compilation with the rest of the world? :)

I just got my 8000HD box this morning and it's really a pain in the arse to try to wade through hundreds of pages to try to find tips & tricks...Thanks.


I had posted them here a few months ago - go back to page 10 of this thread and you'll see it under the subheading: Passport Tips and Tricks

I think i'll post an updated version when i get home (info is on my home PC but i'm at work now).

Thanks!

Troy

I was browsing the 8000HD user guide (from SciAtl web site) and it says you can hit LIST->"B" and it will show you disk space remaining.

I figured that the Passport Echo software didn't carry that feature over?

Troy

[i]I think i'll post an updated version when i get home (info is on my home PC but i'm at work now). [/B]
That would be great. Does it include how to program the FAV button? :)

That would be great. Does it include how to program the FAV button?

Nope, but I'll tell ya (for a small fee!) ;)

There's actually two ways to do that;


While tuned into any channel, hit SETTINGS. You should be able to select that channel as a Favorite from here.
Go into SETTINGS, and hit "A" for more SETTINGS. Scroll to Favorites. While inputting channels into favorites, you can type in each channel and hit ENTER to add that to the list. This is the fastest way to enter all your favorites at once.


Being a Passport user for years now I already knew all of the Tips that Randy had provided, but thanks anyway.

Troy

Well I just called and specifically requested if I could come in and swap out for a new box [once yesterday and once today it needed a cold reboot, and once today, upon first boot up and hitting List, it froze up and rebooted itself after about 1.5 minutes]. I already had a service ticket open for Saturday and he said he would tell them I wanted a new box [which the guy who opened my call the other day said he couldn't tell specifically request from the on-site guy]. I guess I can wait till Saturday, the main urgent user of the DVR is my boy, and we have a Dora the Explorer dvd that will fill in in the meantime if the unit acts up from now till them.

List -> B, I believe, shows Upcoming Recordings on the Passport software, but I'll double check. Each recorded item does show a 'Will Be Erased In X Days' tag, and I'm pretty sure that estimates based on the size of that file and any upcoming recordings.

I like the FAV trick, but it's a pain to set up favorites, so I never bothered even with that much : (.

Originally posted by Troy LaMont
I figured that the Passport Echo software didn't carry that feature over?
In case you're asking, the answer is "no, it didn't carry over". Hitting that will show you "Scheduled Recordings".

something else I just noticed using the multi function (A) button.

Anyone else notice that when in the diagnostics channel (999 for me) pressing A will toggle between 3 levels of information overlay transparency? The fourth setting removes it completely so you can see the channel you were watching but the box remains on the diagnostic channel.

Originally posted by dtcarson
Well I just called and specifically requested if I could come in and swap out for a new box [once yesterday and once today it needed a cold reboot, and once today, upon first boot up and hitting List, it froze up and rebooted itself after about 1.5 minutes].

Can somebody tell me the specs of the hard drive in the 8300? I was dismayed when I found out the 8000 used a Maxtor drive because ever since I got stuck with one of their infamous "double beep" units (failure of the drive to wake/boot up) I've avoided them like an IBM Deathstar.

Sure enough, in two days I've had the drive stick in a loop while the box was off and today it failed to boot and record something from standby. :mad:

I'm curious to see if the general improvements on the 8300 are a result of a different (more reliable) drive.

VisionOn

In NYC (Passport), I have a 160GB maxtor drive in my 8300HD (got it 2 days ago).

Originally posted by EricScott
VisionOn

In NYC (Passport), I have a 160GB maxtor drive in my 8300HD (got it 2 days ago).

Thanks, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hopefully for us all the 8300 drive breaks the Maxtor effect I'm getting used to.

Maxtor drives in DVRs are very, very common, I think. My Dish DVR had one and both my SA8000 and SA8000HD have them. FWIW, I have had to return the 8000 because of HDD issues.

As someone who's spent time working in storage systems engineering groups, I think that a fear of Maxtor drives is unfounded. They are top-shelf products, no matter what person's experience with them may be.

The reason why they're common in DVRs, etc is their "Quickview" line of products, 5400 RPM drives optimized to the DVR application space (quieter, cooler running w/built-in heat monitoring, improved streaming performance--there's a spec-sheet here (http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/quickview_data_sheet.pdf)). They claim it's been spec'd in 50+ consumer products (of course, all of those products may not have made it to market :)).

Their competitors must have similar offerings.

Just checked Western Digital's site (search on "dvr") and I see press releases like

WESTERN DIGITAL HARD DRIVES SELECTED FOR USE IN TIVO SERIES2 DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER


WESTERN DIGITAL HARD DRIVES QUALIFIED FOR LEADING SET-TOP BOXES

and one that should interest many of us

WESTERN DIGITAL ANNOUNCES NEW SUBSIDIARY; ENTERS JOINT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA

Originally posted by michaeltscott
The reason why they're common in DVRs, etc is their "Quickview" line of products, 5400 RPM drives optimized to the DVR application space (quieter, cooler running w/built-in heat monitoring, improved streaming performance--there's a spec-sheet here (http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/quickview_data_sheet.pdf)). They claim it's been spec'd in 50+ consumer products (of course, all of those products may not have made it to market :)).

Thanks, that's pretty interesting. The "Quiet Drive" feature is a bit lacking though. The DVR drive is one of the noisiest I've heard. I can actually hear it chirping above the fan on my TV. Although that is a double edged sword, on one hand it's a bit annoying but on the other I can tell when something isn't right.

Originally posted by hall
and one that should interest many of us

WESTERN DIGITAL ANNOUNCES NEW SUBSIDIARY; ENTERS JOINT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA

I like WD drives, everyone I've used has been rock solid and reasonably fast and quiet.

edit: additional info

"Western Digital Corp. today announced the formation of its new subsidiary, Keen Personal Media Inc. (Keen PM), a company that provides interactive broadband software, services and hardware for television and Internet content management and television-based electronic commerce. Keen PM also announced a joint development agreement to develop and license its digital video recorder (DVR) storage management subsystem software to Scientific-Atlanta, a leading supplier of set- top boxes, broadband transmission networks, digital interactive subscriber systems for video, and data and voice networks.

The software provided to Scientific-Atlanta under the agreement includes selected components of Keen PM's TV4me™ personal video recording software suite and will be integrated with the PowerTV Operating System into Scientific-Atlanta set-top boxes. Scientific- Atlanta will also support the development of Keen PM's SideCar™ personal video recorder (PVR) peripheral to attach to Scientific- Atlanta's existing Explorer® digital set tops."

more details here (http://www.semiconductorfabtech.com/datatech/industry.news/0010/18.05.shtml)

Haven't read it all (have to work) but it sounds unrelated to Passport based stuff.

Another interest PR is this one: Maxtor and Time Warner Cable Deliver External Storage for DVR Set-top Boxes (http://www.shareholder.com/maxtor/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=151856&reltype=Product&maxtor_section=press). Maxtor is shipping their Quickview drives as external SATA sidecar storage expansion boxes for the SA8300HD.

Originally posted by patrickpiteo
They will only swap out for you if you live in Manhattan. If you live in Queens forget it....:mad:

So go to the Queens TWC Service Center. I went to the Kissena Blvd. office last night and swapped my 8000HD for an 8300HD. The lady shouted "We need another one!" without naming the 8300HD and the guy immediately knew to retrieve the right box. There's a ginormous stack of them there.

Ok, I have searched, and the local cable "customer support" rep attitude was "like, why would you want to do that?" so I have to come to you guys, which is where I probably should have started.

HDNET is broacasting test patterns at 8:00 AM every Tuesday in February, and I thought I might use the opportunity to fine tune the HDTV settings as if I were using Video Essentials. Unfortunately, I am at work at 8:00 AM, so I wanted to record the broadcast and replay it at my convenience. Simple, right?

Well, it turns out that the Guide shows an 8-HOUR "Intro to HDNet" listing from 6AM to 2PM. I don't want to record 8 hours of HDTV and fill up the disk! This means scanning for the correct spot in the saved file AND it means I can't afford to keep it for possible re-use.

Soooo, if I am sitting in front of my home theater system this evening (Feb. 4), how can I set the SA8300HD to record channel 370 from around 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM on Tuesday February 8? or can I?

Still no 8300's in Staten Island as of this morning.

Originally posted by Shadowjack

Soooo, if I am sitting in front of my home theater system this evening (Feb. 4), how can I set the SA8300HD to record channel 370 from around 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM on Tuesday February 8? or can I?

Not sure if the manual recording method is different for the 8300 but on the 8000 all you have to do is go to the channel you want, hit the record button on the remote and there is an option to create a manual recording. Press enter and select the date and time you want to record.

Another idea on manual recording:

Select the 6am-2pm "program" and tell it to record it. Now go to your List, "B" for scheduled recordings, and find that program. Select it and see if you get a "Recording options" item. In there, you can tell it to start early or late and to end early or late (I think). You may not get enough choice though, i.e. start 5-minutes early or 10-minutes late. You might be able to get away with starting at 6am, or as late as possible, and ending it at 9am or 10am. Granted, a 4-hour HD program will eat up space so that may not be much good either.

I talked to the people at TWC in Los Angeles area, and they said that they are currently "testing" the 8300 and have no idea when they will be rolling them out. That sucks.

Originally posted by kilmar
So go to the Queens TWC Service Center. I went to the Kissena Blvd. office last night and swapped my 8000HD for an 8300HD. The lady shouted "We need another one!" without naming the 8300HD and the guy immediately knew to retrieve the right box. There's a ginormous stack of them there. I was there and heard the same thing.. what time 6PM? :D Also got a 8300SD

what are the benefits of the 8300 over the 8000?

does it have a working DVI out?

Originally posted by illdefined
what are the benefits of the 8300 over the 8000?

does it have a working DVI out? AFAIK, the 8300 always has a working HDMI connection (there are HDMI-DVI converter cables). It does simultaneous downconverted output of HD content through its analog connections. It's significantly smaller, though maybe too much smaller--it sounds as if it's narrower than the traditional 17", making difficult to stack. People report that it produces a noticeably sharper picture than the 8000HD, which many people felt had "softer" output than their previous, non-DVR HD STBs.

Some models are multi-room; they can be accessed by other non-DVR STBs in your home attached to other televisions. (I believe that TWC is going to be only distributing this model with Passport). They all have a Serial ATA connection on the back for attachment of an external expansion HDD, to add storage for additional recording time.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
AFAIK, the 8300 always has a working HDMI connection (there are HDMI-DVI converter cables). It does simultaneous downconverted output of HD content through its analog connections. It's significantly smaller, though maybe too much smaller--it sounds as if it's narrower than the traditional 17", making difficult to stack. People report that it produces a noticeably sharper picture than the 8000HD, which many people felt had "softer" output than their previous, non-DVR HD STBs.


I would also add:

- Appears to more stable with less dropouts/pixellation (although I've ony had mine for a few days so can't say for sure)
- Smoother/faster navigation through menus & the IPG
- Latest Passport software with a useable Search feature (a la Tivo, where you can enter mutliple letters of the title, not just the first; also a keyword search)
- Quieter hard drive
- Much nicer looking overall including better LED display which actually shows the output resolution for the current channel.

BTW, the box is only slightly narrower than the 8000 (I'd say 1-2" at most). It's also not as deep (probably by 3-4") but it is actually slightly taller. You wouldn't want to stack anything on top of the box anyway b/c it gets quite hot.

Really just a better box in every possible way.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
They all have a Serial ATA connection on the back for attachment of an external expansion HDD, to add storage for additional recording time. Is TWC in Queens offering this? If so, how much does it cost? How much extra time will it allow?

Originally posted by Larry Geller
Is TWC in Queens offering this? If so, how much does it cost? How much extra time will it allow? Here (http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.ba88f6d7cf664718376049b291346068/?channelpath=/en_us/Products/ATA%20Hard%20Drives/Digital%20Entertainment/QuickView%20Expander&productview=Overview) is a page on an external unit designed to be used with this DVR (and others), Maxtor's QuickView Expander. (Several posts back, I link to a PR from last month saying that these were now shipping to TWC). It claims to add an additional 54 hours of 17.8 Mbps HD video, or 300 hours of 2 Mbps SD video (300 GB model). Its capacity for video at other bitrates would vary proportionately.

I have no idea when even my local San Diego TWC office will be distributing these things, much less Queens, which is nearly as far away from here as you can get and still be in the States :D.

Regarding the externally accessible HDD, how many people really *need* this ?? When we had Dish Network and the 522 DVR (roughly 100 hours of storage), we rarely ever had more than 50% of it full and there were times we'd record A LOT of stuff just to have "for a rainy day". What we found out is we never (or rarely) ended up watching one of those shows or movies, so with the 8000, we don't do it (as much ... my wife has (1) movie "stored").

Given our current usage habits, we'd never use the add'l capacity. Are others like me or am I (we) the oddball ??

Originally posted by hall
Regarding the externally accessible HDD, how many people really *need* this ??

Well, correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't the 8300 have about 20 hours of HD space. To me, that is not a lot.

IMHO, tons of people would use it. Lots of people with families record a lot of shows, many of which are only watched by one member of a family of four or five.

For myself, I watch almost exclusively HDTV, giving me 18-25 hours capacity on the 160 GB DVR. I record movies that I want to see, but I have to be in the right mood to watch any particular movie. I often end up sacrificing things that I want to watch due to lack of space. More space would give me a sort of short-term archival storage.

My sister, who doesn't have an HDTV, keeps dozens of timeshifted films on her DISH DVR. When I was at her home for Christmas, there was something she'd recorded two months back that we watched together. She didn't bother to erase it afterwards.

There are a bunch of little cottage industry companies which specialize in expanding the storage of TiVos that have been out there for years.

What does an external SATA HD like that run for? I'm assuming we would be responsible for buying our own.

Originally posted by EricScott
What does an external SATA HD like that run for? I'm assuming we would be responsible for buying our own.

I think that TWC would rather rent you one. See THIS ARTICLE (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050105/sfw017_1.html)

the HDMI in the 8300 by TW in New York is confirmed to work?

i know you can convert HDMI to DVI, but does it have its own working DVI output?

is there anything you have to claim or do to switch boxes?
thanks

Originally posted by illdefined
the HDMI in the 8300 by TW in New York is confirmed to work?

i know you can convert HDMI to DVI, but does it have its own working DVI output?

is there anything you have to claim or do to switch boxes?
thanks

Yes, no, no.

Originally posted by Manatus
I think that TWC would rather rent you one. See THIS ARTICLE (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050105/sfw017_1.html)

Very interesting.
They probably would prefer to rent them to us but I would be happy to own one- or more depending on space and price. I couldn’t ever imagine purchasing a set top box but this would make sense. With these, you keep forever and set up a nice viewing library. Eventually, down the road, burn them on HD DVDs for secure archiving.

Larry

Originally posted by Manatus
I think that TWC would rather rent you one. See THIS ARTICLE (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050105/sfw017_1.html) That's the same Maxtor PR that I linked to above--several dozen sites have posted it.

It doesn't say that TWC will be leasing them, but it's not unreasonable to assume that they will. The spec-sheet linked to by that page on it at Maxtor's site states that your provider has to enable the drive--you can't just plug it in (well you can, but it won't see it until the the cable provider tells the box that its OK).

Originally posted by patrickpiteo
I was there and heard the same thing.. what time 6PM? :D Also got a 8300SD

Yep, 6PM. I'm guessing you were the guy who walked down the stairs with me? The one with the Nextel?

Originally posted by kilmar
Yep, 6PM. I'm guessing you were the guy who walked down the stairs with me? The one with the Nextel? YUP.. too funny... :D

any NYers with the 8300:

how's the new software?
are there any more output options? how does it handle changing from HD to SD resolutions?
can you finally change the color of the 4:3 bars?

thnx again

Originally posted by patrickpiteo
YUP.. too funny... :D

I'm still peeved they made us wait on the 2nd floor for 30+ minutes and then told us to go to the first floor. Made me late for a party :(

Originally posted by illdefined
any NYers with the 8300:

how's the new software?
are there any more output options? how does it handle changing from HD to SD resolutions?
can you finally change the color of the 4:3 bars?

thnx again

- way better - faster/smoother; search function is much better than Title
- can output over HDMI and component, s-video and coax at the same time; still can't output 480i over HDMI or Component - have to scale to 480p
- can't change the gray bars - so annoying.

check out the twcnyc thread - lots of talk about the box

a MAJOR improvement over the 8000 in every way.

Originally posted by kilmar
I'm still peeved they made us wait on the 2nd floor for 30+ minutes and then told us to go to the first floor. Made me late for a party :( Then when we went downstairs they were going to send us back up stairs.. LOL. That person at the window on 2 looked like she was going to be there all night...

Originally posted by illdefined
any NYers with the 8300:

how's the new software?
are there any more output options? how does it handle changing from HD to SD resolutions?
can you finally change the color of the 4:3 bars?

thnx again

1. Good
2. See above post
3. MUCH better than the 8000HD
4. No

Apparently I registered at SA's website at some point. So of course today I get spammed with this:

It's no secret that people love their Scientific-Atlanta DVRs. Tell us what you love about yours in 100 words or less and you could win an iPod® Photo, iPod shuffle or fine chocolates.

Yeah, um, I can think of some words besides "love."

j.

Originally posted by EricScott
-check out the twcnyc thread - lots of talk about the boxNot a NYer, but you probably should have linked to this thread. What forum is it even in?

Originally posted by michaeltscott
Not a NYer, but you probably should have linked to this thread. What forum is it even in?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=297592

Originally posted by Shadowjack
HDNET is broacasting test patterns at 8:00 AM every Tuesday in February, and I thought I might use the opportunity to fine tune the HDTV settings as if I were using Video Essentials. Unfortunately, I am at work at 8:00 AM, so I wanted to record the broadcast and replay it at my convenience. Simple, right?
Soooo, if I am sitting in front of my home theater system this evening (Feb. 4), how can I set the SA8300HD to record channel 370 from around 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM on Tuesday February 8? or can I?
If you can be there at 6AM when it starts tune to the channel you want to record. Press the record button and choose create a manual recording. You will get a screen that will allow you to pick an exact start and stop time of your choosing.

thanks for the suggestion! sounds like that may be the only way to get close to this one.

new feature request -- simple time-shifting a la the old VCRs...(channel, start time , end time)

Originally posted by Shadowjack
new feature request -- simple time-shifting a la the old VCRs...(channel, start time , end time) It's there--it's called "Manual Recording". See the Passport doc.

Just got my 8300HD and I'm extremely happy with it so far. A question I've been meaning to ask (relevant to both the 8300HD and the 8000HD) but which I never got around to asking before now: Are there discrete codes to turn closed captions on and off, or do I have to go through the settings menu every time? Discrete codes would be a huge boon. I know I could program a macro to turn them on and off with one button through the menu, but discreet codes would be infinitely preferable.

is the firewire enabled?

Originally posted by neo0285
is the firewire enabled?

There is no (at least on my 8300HD) firewire to enable.

Originally posted by bigd86
There is no (at least on my 8300HD) firewire to enable. Firewire ports are "optional". Your local TW may not order boxes with Firewire ports (and save a few dollars).

Does it appear that ONLY this particular brand of hard drive - Maxtor - will work?
Wouldn't an internal drive that costs much less be as effective? All you have to do is buy an external enclosure for about $30 and put the internal HD into it. I've done that with a 250g. hard drive that I use for my backups.

My only major problem with they 8000HD is the audio drop outs over digital coax and/or optical. Does the 8300HD fix this problem?

Originally posted by hall
Firewire ports are "optional". Your local TW may not order boxes with Firewire ports (and save a few dollars). Oh, I'd imagine the support hassle avoided saves more than "a few dollars". All the people calling up complaining about how they can't get it to work with their Mitsubishi televisions or JVC D-VHS recorders, etc, etc. The FCC only requires that they support a single box with 1394 until July--might as well wait until you have to to start buying other boxes with it.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
Oh, I'd imagine the support hassle avoided saves more than "a few dollars". All the people calling up complaining about how they can't get it to work with their Mitsubishi televisions or JVC D-VHS recorders, etc, etc. The FCC only requires that they support a single box with 1394 until July--might as well wait until you have to to start buying other boxes with it. That comment only applied to the up-front costs from Scientific Atlanta, of course. The issues you bring up are reasonable, but I doubt that the type of person who has D-VHS, for example, aren't going to call support anymore than any of us here will.

Originally posted by AvsGoblin
My only major problem with they 8000HD is the audio drop outs over digital coax and/or optical. Does the 8300HD fix this problem?

Dramatically improved on the 8300. Have had almost none since Tuesday when I got the box and I've been watching mostly HD including CSI which used to always drop out.

The one time I think I had a drop out it wasn't the same as 8000 where it totally drop outs and you hear clipping sounds. It's more of a digital stuttering sound.

Originally posted by hall
That comment only applied to the up-front costs from Scientific Atlanta, of course. The issues you bring up are reasonable, but I doubt that the type of person who has D-VHS, for example, aren't going to call support anymore than any of us here will. What? Highly tech-sophisticated people who participate here post about their problems getting satisfaction from cable customer support on that very issue and other's like it. I can point you to threads on it. There's the infamous "EPN flag" problem that people back and forth with their cable providers about because it prevented recording with their D-VHS decks.

i have a question guys. If i connect an external sata drive to the 8300 and record something on that drive, can i then disconnect from the 8300 and connect to my pc and have my recordings on my pc?

Originally posted by michaeltscott
There's the infamous "EPN flag" problem that people back and forth with their cable providers about because it prevented recording with their D-VHS decks. Fair enough.... Now, was tech-support able to resolve an issue like this ??

Originally posted by neo0285
i have a question guys. If i connect an external sata drive to the 8300 and record something on that drive, can i then disconnect from the 8300 and connect to my pc and have my recordings on my pc? Safe to say, no. The recording will be encrypted and only the DVR will be able to decrypt it.

Originally posted by hall
Fair enough.... Now, was tech-support able to resolve an issue like this ?? Not the CSRs on the phone--they're just the tip of the tech-support iceberg. But if you complain about it, someone there has to figure out why it doesn't work, and if it's their fault, fix it. Eventually it will get referred to real technical support and they spend hours going back and forth with the customers experiencing this problem and with their equipment supplier, researching it. Hours that they wouldn't have had to spend if they didn't have the 1394 port on the product. Now, once it works, the 1394 port is a boon to us, the consumer, but like any complex new feature, it does constitute a support headache for the cable provider. If I'm field support management, I certainly don't want to have to deal with multiple products with a complicated brand new feature that I have no experience with. Let's get it right with one product then add new ones. Since we have to support a non-DVR STB with 1394, that's the one we use to cut our teeth on.

Some cable providers have choosen to introduce a DVR with recordable 1394, which they have to support simultaneously with a non-DVR model, whose 1394 implementation may very well have a different set of problems. This is brave of those providers, but I certainly don't fault those who have chosen not to go that route.

Sorry if this was asked elsewhere, but why if the hard drive constantly working 24/7 even when the power is off? Is it recording the last channel tuned to...or disk defragmenting?

Originally posted by dave1216
Sorry if this was asked elsewhere, but why if the hard drive constantly working 24/7 even when the power is off? Is it recording the last channel tuned to...or disk defragmenting?

It's constantly recording the buffer whether it's on or off. I can quiet it down a bit by tuning both tuners to different PPV channels which are never buffered. It goes from a cricket sound to a heartbeat sound.

If i connect an external sata drive to the 8300 and record something on that drive, can i then disconnect from the 8300 and connect to my pc and have my recordings on my pc?

Does ANYONE actually have an external HD hooked up to a 8300HD? I've seen press announcements, but haven't seen anyone actually doing it. From the announcements, it seems like you'd have to go to your cable company to enable the sata (and pay a monthly fee no doubt).

Originally posted by dave1216
but why if the hard drive constantly working 24/7 even when the power is off? Is it recording the last channel tuned to... In fact, it's buffering/recording two channels since it's a dual-tuner box.

Originally posted by work permit
Does ANYONE actually have an external HD hooked up to a 8300HD? I've seen press announcements, but haven't seen anyone actually doing it. From the announcements, it seems like you'd have to go to your cable company to enable the sata (and pay a monthly fee no doubt). We were talking about these just a bit earlier in this thread. I found a page on Maxtor's site about a compatible product (with a PR saying that TWC had ordered a bunch) and linked to it in this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5122626#post5122626) post. The spec sheet for the product, linked to on Maxtor's page, says that use of it by the DVR would have to be enabled by the cable company.

Doubtless this scheme is designed for the cable providers leasing these expansion drives, and not customer's buying them and adding them, though the latter would remain an option at the cable provider's discretion.

Originally posted by hall
In fact, it's buffering/recording two channels since it's a dual-tuner box. I find that if I haven't been watching using both tuners for a long while, the second one seems to get "turned off". If I hit the swap button to see the program on it, the channel there will be 1 or 2 (some shopping network on my local system) and there will be no accumulated trick-play buffer.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
I find that if I haven't been watching using both tuners for a long while, the second one seems to get "turned off". If I hit the swap button to see the program on it, the channel there will be 1 or 2 (some shopping network on my local system) and there will be no accumulated trick-play buffer.

Same exact thing here on both my DVRs almost every morning. This seemed to start happening several months ago. Sometimes my other non-buffered tuner would be on PBS or the Information channel. This happens whether the DVR is on or off. The primary tuner always has a buffer going though, it's just the secondary tuner that kinda "sleeps" overnight. I think this might be the Passport light version of the dreaded midnight shutdown command that the SARA users have forced upon them.

What if you set the tuners to say one of the music channels (no video)?

Joxer: I'm not sure about the SA boxes, but with Dish Network, I read that you could record the music channels with the DVR (I never tried this myself).

Regarding the buffer, dual-tuners, and so on: I have my "Power-on channel" set to "100", which is the "TW, How-to, help" channel (how to use your DVR, your remote, ordering PPV, etc) and is supposedly a non-buffering channel. I can turn the box off and back on and it returns to ch 100. If I hit "Swap" though, I get some channel other than 100 (whatever channel *we* had swapped to). Not sure why BOTH tuners don't default to 100.

Because of that and the fact that my DVR is now very quiet at night when we turn it off (since switching the power-on channel to 100), I believe the 2nd-tuner-goes-to-sleep theory may be true.

Originally posted by Joxer
What if you set the tuners to say one of the music channels (no video)?

I don't know about other cable systems, but i can record all my Music Choice channels, and they are buffered.

Originally posted by hall
Fair enough.... Now, was tech-support able to resolve an issue like this ??

No. To my knowledge, no cable system anywhere has been able to solve this problem. My TWC in Charlotte has simply given up on it, and I can forget about recording "copy freely" flagged channels to D-VHS. I'm not happy about it but after a year of badgering them to fix it, I'm simply worn out.

I will say this about my local TW and Firewire (and likely related to D-VHS): They do have "some" HD set-tops (non-DVR) available with Firewire output connections that are available on special request. You can't just go swap for one. This is one where like many areas, they require a tech to install it. I'm guessing that maybe a specially-trained tech does these jobs or maybe even has an engineer along for the job.

Two weeks in, my first 8000HD casualty. Failing to boot and lock-ups during recording and playback reached a peak this weekend so I'm having a potential swap out tomorrow.

Asked the tech about the 8300 and he said he didn't think that unit was available in NC yet. Still at least he knew what it was which is a good thing.

Not sure if it's mentioned earlier here, but discovered my new 8300HD from NYC's TWC, presumably with Passport, has a formats/screen-width setup mode accessible by using SETTINGS/MORE SETTINGS on the remote control. Discovered it accidently after trying all the GUIDE/INFO and similar options mentioned here to access setup. -- John

Originally posted by archiguy
No. To my knowledge, no cable system anywhere has been able to solve this problem. My TWC in Charlotte has simply given up on it, and I can forget about recording "copy freely" flagged channels to D-VHS. I'm not happy about it but after a year of badgering them to fix it, I'm simply worn out. Well, there are cable systems that never had the probelm with their 1394 ports and cable systems where they "solved" the problem by marking all of the Copy Freely content as Copy One Generation.

Did you try working this through the FCC?

Originally posted by michaeltscott
Well, there are cable systems that never had the probelm with their 1394 ports and cable systems where they "solved" the problem by marking all of the Copy Freely content as Copy One Generation.

Did you try working this through the FCC?

I tried talking them into flagging all the HD channels "copy once", but they won't do it, and won't tell me why. Might be because I'm the only customer in this TWC area (Charlotte) that's requested an STB w/ firewire - guess they don't feel I'm important enough. :( Interesting that there are cable systems that don't have this issue, didn't know that; wonder why not?

Haven't tried getting the FCC involved since they have technically done what's required by giving me the SA3250 box w/ firewire. It just doesn't work with all the HD locals! Which isn't that big a deal to me since I'm mostly interested in archiving movies and concerts to tape, and they mostly run on "copy once" premium channels. One of these days, though, I'm going to want to tape something from a big four network or PBS and I'm not going to be able to do it. And then I'll be pissed. ;)

Originally posted by John Mason
...presumably with Passport, has a formats/screen-width setup mode accessible by using SETTINGS/MORE SETTINGS on the remote control. You mean the menu item with "16:9 - Widescreen" and "4:3 - Sidebar, Zoom, or Stretch" options ?? That's on the 8000HD too. Problem is, it's a per-channel setting. At least on the 8000HD it is.... I can tell one 4:3 channel to "stretch", change to another 4:3 channel and it's got sidebars. One would think it applies to *all* 4:3 channels.

Originally posted by hall
You mean the menu item with "16:9 - Widescreen" and "4:3 - Sidebar, Zoom, or Stretch" options ?? That's on the 8000HD too. Problem is, it's a per-channel setting. At least on the 8000HD it is.... I can tell one 4:3 channel to "stretch", change to another 4:3 channel and it's got sidebars. One would think it applies to *all* 4:3 channels.

I don't have that problem with the 8000HD. I have the apsect ratio set to 16:9 and stretch 4:3 picture. All of my 4:3 channels fill the screen without any side bars no matter how often I switch them.

Our 8000HD doesn't change the aspect ratio settings per channel, but it does change some settings around when switching from 4:3 playback to 16:9 live: it causes my Zoom mode to work (-normally doesn't-) until the aspect ratio is changed dropping back into Squeeze mode.

I've written several times about the wonky apect controls using Passport on both the Pioneer STB and the SA DVR here.

SA 8000HD (also Pioneer VoyagerHD)
Passport
TWC-KC
4:3 TV

v/r,
C-F

Originally posted by beatles6
I don't have that problem with the 8000HD. I have the apsect ratio set to 16:9 and stretch 4:3 picture. All of my 4:3 channels fill the screen without any side bars no matter how often I switch them. It does remember what you've set a particular channel to. Try a 4:3 channel that you've NEVER tuned to before. Surely there's a few.... :)

Originally posted by archiguy
Haven't tried getting the FCC involved since they have technically done what's required by giving me the SA3250 box w/ firewire.No, they haven't. The regulation gives a lists of standards that the 1394 connections must conform to; if the box they gave you is non-compliant to those specs (and if it were, Copy Freely content should be recordable through 1394/DTCP by your D-VHS deck) they are in violation of those regs.

I think that Matt Stevens and at least one other person in these forums has been through the "FCC appeal" route with at least some degree of success. It requires a paper letter to the FCC documenting your trials and tribulations, explaining your problem in detail which should be CC'd, on paper, to your cable provider. (It would have been good if you'd kept a log of the names of the people you'd dealt with and the specific results of your dealings with them).

The FCC is very serious about getting these issues ironed out. Plug-and-Play DTV over cable is essential to successful completion of the digital television transition.

Originally posted by hall
It does remember what you've set a particular channel to. Try a 4:3 channel that you've NEVER tuned to before. Surely there's a few.... :)

Went to several 4:3 channels that I have never watched before and they were stretched just like the others.

Originally posted by beatles6
I don't have that problem with the 8000HD. I have the aspect ratio set to 16:9 and stretch 4:3 picture. All of my 4:3 channels fill the screen without any side bars no matter how often I switch them.

I never use the stretch mode of the box, it has too much vertical image distortion. I leave everything at 4:3 sidebar setting and use my 16:9 TV to stretch the image. The box stretch mode is more akin to the "Full" mode on my JVC, by which I meant it compresses and stretches a regular picture to fit it completely into a 16:9 aspect. My JVC panorama mode stretches only the edges but adds more overscan.

This means I only have to switch aspect ratios on the TV when viewing true HD channels and in most cases they have black bars in the signal on regular upconverted stuff so I don't bother changing the aspect if I stay on a HD channel.

possible tip: on the UR5-8400 in cable mode the STB aspect is controlled by both the * keypad and the "video source" button, although the onscreen prompt refers to the source button as the bypass button.

Originally posted by hall
You mean the menu item with "16:9 - Widescreen" and "4:3 - Sidebar, Zoom, or Stretch" options ?? That's on the 8000HD too. Problem is, it's a per-channel setting. At least on the 8000HD it is.... I can tell one 4:3 channel to "stretch", change to another 4:3 channel and it's got sidebars. One would think it applies to *all* 4:3 channels.
Yes, but our TWC NYC 8300HD SETTINGS/MORE-SETTINGS menu includes 480p, 720p, 1080i selection, too. They aren't accessible via Guide + Info or similar combinations (apparently).

Didn't deal much with my 8000HD during about 2 months use because SD, requiring front-panel switching, wasn't even considered. Haven't explored it much yet, but find cases where one program source (mostly H/DTV) makes side panels part of the image and can't be stretched, while all SD sources seem stretchable.

I've set up S-video, too, because my CRT RPTV does a better job of stretching 4:3 to 16:9 than the 8300Hd's zoom or stretch modes. S-video colors are weaker than YPbPr's, but B&W resolution seems about the same. -- John

Originally posted by John Mason
Yes, but our TWC NYC 8300HD SETTINGS/MORE-SETTINGS menu includes 480p, 720p, 1080i selection, too. They aren't accessible via Guide + Info or similar combinations (apparently). Unless I'm misunderstanding something, the 8000HD has those settings too.

FWIW, the 8000HD and 8300HD *share* their software code. My local TW contact says that the 8300s they're testing have a s/w version that's going to being sent to the 8000 boxes "soon". Or, the 8300s have a slightly newer version than their 8000s currently have.

REMOTE CONTROL TWO 8300HD BOXES???

I exchanged my 3250HD for a 8300HD on Saturday and it's been great so far. The 20 hour capacity for HD is killing me. Until the external storage solution is available from TWCNYC, I am seriously considering paying for another 8300HD box to double the capacity, and FOUR tuners!!

Now, the big question is this: can I set the second 8300HD box to respond to a second set of remote IR signals, like the way it can be done with ReplayTVs? Both boxes would be in the same living room controlled by the same remote(my Harmony 680). Anyone out there having two 8300HDs in the same room?

Make sure one is always turned "off" if the other one is ever "on". Pressing Power on the remote will turn one off and the other on and vis-versa.

One of the people who post in this thread do the same thing with (2) matching boxes (should not matter if it's a 3250, 8000, or 8300).

Originally posted by ChuvaKuhn
REMOTE CONTROL TWO 8300HD BOXES???

Now, the big question is this: can I set the second 8300HD box to respond to a second set of remote IR signals, like the way it can be done with ReplayTVs? Both boxes would be in the same living room controlled by the same remote (my Harmony 680). Anyone out there having two 8300HDs in the same room?

You can't change the IR signals - you're stuck with one remote controlling both boxes.

However, i have an SA8000 next to a newer SA8000HD both connected to the same TV. What i do is leave one DVR turned off while the other is turned on. When i want to watch what's on the other DVR i simply hit the POWER key on the remote which turns the on one off and the off one on, then i switch the TV to the appropriate input. Apparently turning the DVR off just turns off the video outputs but the box will still perform all scheduled recordings. I've been doing this for several months and it works great ! I haven't missed a single scheduled recording. I presume the SA8300 will work the same way.

http://gallery.avsforum.com/data/504/60995DVRs_with_Panny_TV_10-19-04_Living_Room_a.jpg

Thanks for all the 2-boxes info. I have thought about the one-off and one-on method but also wanted to know if there is a better solution. I have assumed that the 8300HD will spin down the hard disk if it is off and there are no scheduled recordings, just like the ReplayTV. If it is left on, wouldn't it keep storing the current live show to the hard disk? That wouldn't affect the recording capacity? If you turn off the unit in the middle of a show playback, it will stop playing and resume the next time the unit is turned on? If the unit is left on and just the TV is turned off, it will continue playing a show till the end. I guess you must have to stop/pause a show on the unit which is left on, before turning off the TV.

Sorry for the questions. BTW, you have a nice setup, Randy. I like the TV stand, what is it?

Originally posted by ChuvaKuhn
I have assumed that the 8300HD will spin down the hard disk if it is off and there are no scheduled recordings, just like the ReplayTV. If it is left on, wouldn't it keep storing the current live show to the hard disk? That wouldn't affect the recording capacity? No, it only buffers for approx one hour (and it's assumed approx 30 minutes or so on an HD channel). When that hour is up, it records the next hour on top of the previous hour , overwriting it.
If you turn off the unit in the middle of a show playback, it will stop playing and resume the next time the unit is turned on? If the unit is left on and just the TV is turned off, it will continue playing a show till the end. Yes and yes. When you stop a show before it's over, it will actually ask you to save it or erase it. If you save it, the next time you go to play it back you'll have the option to watch it from the beginning or "Resume playback" from where you stopped it. On the 2nd one, of course it will keep playing. It has NO idea if the TV is off or on, nor does it care.

I think you are right. When my 8300HD is turned off, you can still hear the hard drive churning along all the time. I guess the software is not programmed to conserve energy or prolong the life of the hard drive. Well, since it's only a rented box, it's not a big concern; however, I still think it's wasteful to have the hard drive unnecessarily spinning away 24/7.

Originally posted by ChuvaKuhn
I think you are right. When my 8300HD is turned off, you can still hear the hard drive churning along all the time. I guess the software is not programmed to conserve energy or prolong the life of the hard drive. Well, since it's only a rented box, it's not a big concern; however, I still think it's wasteful to have the hard drive unnecessarily spinning away 24/7. My TiVo also makes noise and never stops.. not a lot but enough..

ChuvaKuhn: I realize this thread is long, but when you're bored or have a lot of time, read it. It's been discussed what *we* can do about the continual recording/buffering, i.e. "to conserve energy or prolong the life of the hard drive".

Originally posted by ChuvaKuhn
Thanks for all the 2-boxes info. I have thought about the one-off and one-on method but also wanted to know if there is a better solution.

There is. Some higher-end remotes will give you a nice solution to that dilemma. I use the URC MX-800; it's RF capability can be used to control multiple devices which use the same IR codes. Works great.

Originally posted by hall
ChuvaKuhn: I realize this thread is long, but when you're bored or have a lot of time, read it. It's been discussed what *we* can do about the continual recording/buffering, i.e. "to conserve energy or prolong the life of the hard drive".

It would be nice to have someone summarize those methods in a new post, though. It could then be referenced by post number when this question inevitably comes up again.

archiguy: Since you volunteered.... :D

Got my 8300HD (TWC NYC) and it's working fine.

Anyway to set:

1) the gray letterbox bars on the S-video output to black?

2) the gray pillor bars when using 1080i output but the station is 4:3?

I've got all LCD devices and have no need for burn-in protection!

Unfortunately Passport doesn't have any way to change grey sidebars or letterbox-bars from gray to black, SARA does however have a setup item for it.

Originally posted by d-v-c
Got my 8300HD (TWC NYC) and it's working fine.

2) the gray pillor bars when using 1080i output but the station is 4:3?

Pressing the remote's # key toggles between zoom and stretch, with some PQ reduction (slight noise) for both and either top/bottom and sides image loss or too-wide people resulting IMO. So I switch to S-video, when possible, and view SD with my RPTV's better stretch circuit. Component does deliver 'richer' (wider bandwidth) color (http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=1605115#post1605115), although luma (B&W) is about equal between the two formats. -- John

Time Warner West Valley just swapped out my 8000HD for a 8300HD. Old unit started to give me all sorts of troubles. Technician said HDMI port is activated now on the 8300HD but DVI still not on the 8000HD. I ordered an HDMI male to DVI-D female adapter on line to connect to my system cable. Can't wait ti try it out. So far connection is RGB

First reaction is that switching channels is much much improved now. Old unit when through quite a lengthy sequence especially when switching to channels with different broadcast resolutions,- Mine was set to accept them all as my plasma could handle them all quite well.

Picture quality looks equivalent but have not really had a chance to check it out.

This was the only 8300 the tech had on his truck but it looks like they are starting to deploy them here. I had specifically requested it when I got the first box installed about a month ago but was told they didn't have them. I again requested the 8300 on this request and lucked out.

just got my 8300 3 days ago, i tryed to use the 1394 ports on the back of the box ,into my cpu ,but they must not be active,anyone else tryed them yet ?? thanks



dice

From my reading this thread, looks like NY and CA are the only 2 places where TW is currently rolling out the 8300HD. Is this correct or did I miss some places? Thanks!

At this rate, it will take forever to roll out in Wisconsin! :(

Originally posted by JK27
From my reading this thread, looks like NY and CA are the only 2 places where TW is currently rolling out the 8300HD. Is this correct or did I miss some places? Thanks!

At this rate, it will take forever to roll out in Wisconsin! :(

From another thread (Raleigh, NC)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5152106#post5152106

My local TW is supposed to receive their first "big" shipment of units in mid-Feb to March.

From my reading this thread, looks like NY and CA are the only 2 places where TW is currently rolling out the 8300HD. Is this correct or did I miss some places? Thanks!
Orlando, FL.
This thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5166146#post5166146)
With Passport OS. Haven't seen near as many problems as described by the SARA users, imho.

Originally posted by JK27
From my reading this thread, looks like NY and CA are the only 2 places where TW is currently rolling out the 8300HD. Is this correct or did I miss some places? Thanks!


Cincinnati, Ohio has them too.

with Passport software

Originally posted by JK27
From my reading this thread, looks like NY and CA are the only 2 places where TW is currently rolling out the 8300HD. Is this correct or did I miss some places? Thanks!


Add Charlotte NC as well.

Believe TWC NYC started issuing 8300HDs only this month. From the many 8300HD-intro posts it was beginning to look like we were going to be the last location. -- John

The SARA version of the 8300SD/HD came out a few months before the Passport version. I think TWCNY was actually one of the earlybirds to release the Passport version.

-barry

Anyone get a 8300 in Orange Co, CA? I'm waiting because I don't want to get a 8000

Originally posted by margoba
The SARA version of the 8300SD/HD came out a few months before the Passport version. I think TWCNY was actually one of the earlybirds to release the Passport version.Correct. In this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4307920#post4307920) post, someone in Rochester, NY reported that they'd begun deploying them there back at the beginning of September--TWC SOs using Passport have just started distributing them in the last month or two. archiguy is the first person I noticed saying that he had one in this forum (about a month ago, in this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4989634#post4989634) post); of course, they could have been out somewhere else before he got his.

But those North Carolina TWC subs get everything first, damn their eyes :). Time Warner seems partial to the Southland. Must be the Turner influence.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
But those North Carolina TWC subs get everything first, damn their eyes :). Time Warner seems partial to the Southland. Actually, I was told that TW has some sort of "research and development" type facility there.

I'm from Orange County and I heard the other day on the phone with CS that they were coming out with the 8300HD but that the techs have a few on hand and they were testing them! I am very interested to know if the HDMI port is going to be active in this area! I want to use it!

Just placed an order for my 8300 here in Gardena CA (Los Angeles). Looks like they are readily avaiable in the Southbay area. Operator had no clue about the HMDI being active so I'm hoping it is. This will free up a component in for my TV as I have 2 HDMI ports. I'll be swapping out my 8000 as the DVI never worked and this box is starting to freeze alot.

Install is Friday the 18th so I'll report back. :)

Originally posted by robshdtv
Just placed an order for my 8300 here in Gardena CA (Los Angeles). Looks like they are readily avaiable in the Southbay area. Operator had no clue about the HMDI being active so I'm hoping it is. This will free up a component in for my TV as I have 2 HDMI ports. I'll be swapping out my 8000 as the DVI never worked and this box is starting to freeze alot. Install is Friday the 18th so I'll report back. :)

Wow if they're available in Gardena then they're probably available in El Segundo a few miles west of you (we have the same TWC affiliate and channel lineup). Now all i need is a good reason to upgrade, but my dual-DVR setup is working out so well i can't find a good enough reason for me to trade em in for 8300s :)

A co-worker lives in Gardena and is going to dump DirecTV when his contract is up in a few months and will be switching back to TWC cable so i'll have him get the 8300 instead of the 8000 i've been telling him about.

Time Warner Columbus installed a new SA8300HD Thursday.

I am very happy with the unit. I especially like the new search capability that made it easy to restore all my series recordings. Also, I have not seen any pixelation or audio droppouts.

I recommend it to everyone!

:)

does anyone know if Sharp's AQUOS GDx line, the ones WITH the tuner and built-in CableCard ability (which SHOULD mean it can decode 5.1..) can accept (and then output) the 8300's HDMI 5.1?

thanks and sorry if this is recurring question, i looked back pretty far.

does anyone know if Sharp's AQUOS GDx line, the ones WITH the tuner and built-in CableCard ability (which SHOULD mean it can decode 5.1..) can accept (and then output) the 8300's HDMI 5.1?
Your geographical location's features may vary (especially if your 8300 has SARA - this thread is focused on the Passport-deployed 8300's).

In our area (Orlando, FL), the HDMI currently only carries 2-channel audio. And there are problems with the audio channels carried over HDMI. HDMI -> DVI users do not experience any problems. Bright House is expecting a firmware update soon to correct this.

sorry didn't clairify. in nyc -passport software

Anyone having trouble with the (Passport) SA 8300HD's series program recordings (new only) that ARE on the program list not actually recording even though the shows are new? I look ahead in the guide to check and there are several that are not "red" even though new. I'm having to reset these to record from the guide.

I also can't get a manual recording of American Idol to start at 9:03 to avoid overlapping the LONG Lost and West Wing as I did last week (this is after deleting the previous "manual " as I had it starting at 9:01)

Will a reboot help? Any other ideas?

Guys,

I never had this issue till I got an SA8000HD DVR. Every so often, sometimes several times a min, I lose audio for 1 second. I can make this happen when I

1. Plug my laptop in the wall

2. Turn on/off the lights

3. Even when the dryer buzzer goes on or off... I will get a 1 sec lose of audio when that occurs.

I assume all other dropouts are things like HVAC kicking in, etc etc....

The 8000 records the audo fine, its there, but sending thru coaxial out is a problem. Can this be solved with some piece of power conditioning hardware, or is the 8000 just bad?

Thanks,

Mark

Originally posted by chazcron
I also can't get a manual recording of American Idol to start at 9:03 to avoid overlapping the LONG Lost and West Wing as I did last week (this is after deleting the previous "manual " as I had it starting at 9:01) Do you have American Idol set as a "Series" recording ?? If so, you can fine-tune the start and end times *after* they're "set up". I don't know if you can tell a recording to start late (or end early) though. Normally, a show can run long, so allowing it to record an extra 5 minutes, for example, makes sense, but rarely does a program run short.

I guess you aren't going to be home around 9pm that night, huh ??

Wait, I'm positive you can fine-tune the recordings like I described. We've had to do it before. It was related to ER on Thursday night since it starts at 9:59pm. We had (2) programs recording from 9-10pm and that created a conflict with ER. I told ER to start at 10:01, if I recall correctly.

With kids you never know. I deleted any scheduled AI recordings prior to setting the manual. I heard something about the "cache" not clearing old scheduled shows or some such. Passport, in their limited wisdom, only allows you to start a program early or end it late, not start it late or end it early. Maybe that will change.

Originally posted by hall
Wait, I'm positive you can fine-tune the recordings like I described. We've had to do it before. It was related to ER on Thursday night since it starts at 9:59pm. We had (2) programs recording from 9-10pm and that created a conflict with ER. I told ER to start at 10:01, if I recall correctly.

I'm pretty sure that you do not recall correctly. You can adjust the start/end times of an existing scheduled recording, but you can only make the start time earlier, or make the end time later. You cannot shorten the recording interval. I wish you could. I'd shorten Lost so that it ends promptly on the hour.

In fact (are you listening Time Warner?) I'd like a checkbox on scheduled recordings that says something like "Enforce prompt beginning and ending"

-barry

Anyone know if there is a way to change the name of a manual recording from "untitled recording" or whatever its default name to an actual name? Like that page that lists the alphabet to enable a "search"?

Originally posted by msink
Guys,

I never had this issue till I got an SA8000HD DVR. Every so often, sometimes several times a min, I lose audio for 1 second. I can make this happen when I

1. Plug my laptop in the wall

2. Turn on/off the lights

3. Even when the dryer buzzer goes on or off... I will get a 1 sec lose of audio when that occurs.

I assume all other dropouts are things like HVAC kicking in, etc etc....

The 8000 records the audo fine, its there, but sending thru coaxial out is a problem. Can this be solved with some piece of power conditioning hardware, or is the 8000 just bad?

Thanks,

Mark

I had audio drop/lag after forwarding and rewinding shows on the unit I had a week ago that had a failing hard drive but the replacement 8000 unit has had none of those problems so far.

Have you got your HT equipment hooked into a surge protector? That may help if it's a power related problem. Not sure the best method to check if it's the power without manually shifting components around. Are you using the 8000 AC power outlet?

Yeah, everything is plugged into Surge Protector, even w/o it, I get the same results.

Originally posted by hall
Wait, I'm positive you can fine-tune the recordings like I described. We've had to do it before. It was related to ER on Thursday night since it starts at 9:59pm. We had (2) programs recording from 9-10pm and that created a conflict with ER. I told ER to start at 10:01, if I recall correctly. Using Passport .159 you can't make any such adjustment to the series recording entry. You can have it start earlier than the beginning or stop recording later than the end of the program's scheduled time, but you can't specify that it should start after the scheduled time or stop before the end of the scheduled time. Basically, you can't tell it to make an automatically truncated recording of the program.

I actually think that the networks are doing this to screw up DVR schedules. If Lost this week runs 2 minutes longer than an hour, and you have something lower-priority scheduled to be recorded on another channel at 9 PM (on a single-tuner DVR), your DVR will automatically cancel the other recording, because it overlaps a higher priority "Season Pass". Conversely, if Lost is the lower-priority recording, it will be cancelled. On a dual tuner device, if Lost runs long, and you have two programs scheduled to be recorded at 9 PM on two channels other than ABC, then the lower-priority recording will be dropped.

I took out my "Series Recording" entry for ER and replaced it with a manual, repeating recording starting at 10 and ending at 11 every Thursday. Of course, if ER's preempted some week, that entry will still record an hour of whatever's scheduled at that time, but what can you do?

There needs to be a "Record Partial If Overlapped" option in the Series Recording entries, meaning, when asserted, "If the beginning or end of the program is overlapped by a higher-priority scheduled recording, make a recording of the balance of the program, anyway."

Something else that I'd like is a time-of-day range, so I could say "record this if it comes on this channel any day of the week, and starts between the hours of 8 PM and 11 PM". I'd like to catch episodes shown "on a special day and time", but when I say "on this channel, any time, any day", I get recordings of CSI reruns which are on at 11:35 PM on Sunday nights (non-HD on the digital channel :rolleyes: ), etc.

I knew I had a similar problem before and that I solved it *somehow*....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4643204#post4643204

:)

I know I read about this issue somewhere but now I can't find anything about it....

Does anyone know if SA or TWC is working on a "fix" for the fact that if a display handshakes with the SA8300 as able to pass only 2.1 audio, all audio from the 8300 reverts to 2.1? I'm so frustrated with this issue--I can't (well....won't) use HDMI on my system as a result!!

Originally posted by sspector
Apparently knowledgeable salesperson at TWC Los Angeles told me DVI works but has been disabled because it does not block channels not subscribed to- everything passes. Requires a software change. When I asked when that could be expected I got the response that it was not a priority as TW was pushing its cable phone service as a priority.

It is ashame we have to guess but I guarantee this is NOT the primary issue with DVI activation. My TW node has NO PROBLEM blocking HD tiers -- ESPN HD, HD NET for example, unless you sub.

No, I think the PRIMARY issue remains DVI's handshake issues with SOME displays. TW simply does not want to have to deal with multiple call backs on HD installs, not to mention customers with a $100+ in useless wires. They'd much rather say, use the fool-proof component connection and then try to upsell you their digi phone service.

By sheer luck I landed a Pioneer box with the DVI activated so I've got no complaints there. But I'm convinced we'll not see HDMI activation by CATV vendors for many, many years, which is a disgrace considering HDMI display are already on the market.

Originally posted by sspector
Apparently knowledgeable salesperson at TWC Los Angeles told me DVI works but has been disabled because it does not block channels not subscribed to- everything passes. Requires a software change. When I asked when that could be expected I got the response that it was not a priority as TW was pushing its cable phone service as a priority.

It is ashame we have to guess but I guarantee this is NOT the primary issue with DVI activation. My TW node has NO PROBLEM blocking HD tiers -- ESPN HD, HD NET for example, unless you sub.

No, I think the PRIMARY issue remains DVI's handshake issues with SOME displays. TW simply does not want to have to deal with multiple call backs on HD installs, not to mention customers with a $100+ in useless wires. They'd much rather say, use the fool-proof component connection and then try to upsell you their digi phone service.

By sheer luck I landed a Pioneer box with the DVI activated so I've got no complaints there. But I'm convinced we'll not see HDMI activation by CATV vendors for many, many years, which is a disgrace considering HDMI display are already on the market.

Originally posted by big-monkey
By sheer luck I landed a Pioneer box with the DVI activated so I've got no complaints there. But I'm convinced we'll not see HDMI activation by CATV vendors for many, many years, which is a disgrace considering HDMI display are already on the market. [/B]

Hmmm....HDMI works here in NYC via TWC, albeit with the problem I earlier mentioned.

What does their digital phone service have to do with the DVI connection ?? I must have missed something....

My TV's owners manual (Toshiba 57H83) does mention that the TV and a DVI set-top need to be turned on in a certain order for initialization or sync'ing up properly. It's the one turn-off I have to using DVI if/when I swap for an 8300HD.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
I actually think that the networks are doing this to screw up DVR schedules. If Lost this week runs 2 minutes longer than an hour, and you have something lower-priority scheduled to be recorded on another channel at 9 PM (on a single-tuner DVR), your DVR will automatically cancel the other recording, because it overlaps a higher priority "Season Pass".

Definitely done with that in mind, even TV guide made a comment on this. Plus ABC can jam more ads into Lost (and there seem to be more than any other show I watch) and get another 60 seconds of ad revenue. Although it feels like they use that extra minute to promo their own shows.

Something else that I'd like is a time-of-day range, so I could say "record this if it comes on this channel any day of the week, and starts between the hours of 8 PM and 11 PM". I'd like to catch episodes shown "on a special day and time", but when I say "on this channel, any time, any day", I get recordings of CSI reruns which are on at 11:35 PM on Sunday nights (non-HD on the digital channel :rolleyes: ), etc.

A feature which is overdue on the DVR boxes is something similar to Program Delivery Control found on UK VCRs. A scheduled recording was never missed if the timeslot was bumped around. At the start and end of the scheduled program the broadcaster would send out a PDC signal and the VCR would wait for the signal before recording. That way if a live event over ran the VCR would not start recording until the program actually started and and not stop until the end PDC signal was received. Also useful if the show was interrupted.

Right now the recording is dependant on the guide schedule (subject to change) or manually recording.

I just picked up the 8300HD from TWC Topanga, CA. They wouldn't let me have it unless I switched out my old 8000HD. HDMI is active as are the other analog outputs. I got sound through the HDMI also, but was unable to verify if it passed DD 5.1. Picture quality was noticeably better after I recalibrated with the HDMI connection. No more pops and dropouts for me! Finally, I'm satisfied with my setup.

TWC replaced my old 8000HD with a new 8300HD today. I have to agree with previous posts that the picture quality has improved noticeably. It's like a fog has lifted from the TV screen. The technician said that he had at least seven more customer orders to swap in 8300HD boxes that afternoon. The bad buzz on the old 8000HD must be spreading like wildfire this side of the San Fernando Valley...

Hey adalva-

Which TWC office did you go to, or did they come to your house? Were you able to specify the 8300, or did they give you the line, "We can't accept requests?". I want to replace my 8000 for the 8300, but they are not cool about it.

Trying to exchange my 8000 DVR for 8300 DVR have to wait for technician to come out to swap the box. This in South Pasadena / San Marino system. Can't just walk in to swap the box. Don't know why they insist on sending someone out. The last time the technician came out he got all argumentative about how my Pioneer HD Box is connected to my stereo. I have to use a coxial / optcial adaptor to connect to my stereo.

Does the 8300 remember the picture zoom options when powered off?

For example on my 8000 HD - I have it set to stretch for 4:3 content. But, If I turn the box off on HD channel - then when I turn it on next time. The HD channel will be stretched and SD channel with have grey bars. The only way to prevent this is powering off while on SD channel.

Hey there powertoburn. I'm in South Pas, and they always want to come out too. Its really annoying. Did they tell you that they were bringing you an 8300, or are you just crossing your fingers? Let me know if you get one! Thanks!

Originally posted by GrantMeThePower
Hey adalva-

Which TWC office did you go to, or did they come to your house? Were you able to specify the 8300, or did they give you the line, "We can't accept requests?". I want to replace my 8000 for the 8300, but they are not cool about it.

I called the TWC office in West San Fernando Valley and they were very polite and professional about it. I initially called on Monday Feb 7 to inquire about the 8300HD and the phone rep said the unit was not available yet. I called again on Monday Feb 14 and another phone rep said that it was now available. The rep asked me what my complaints were with the existing 8000HD (poor picture quality, audio dropouts, video freeze...) then scheduled for a technician to drop by on Wednesday Feb 17. TWC's policy with DVRs is to send in a technician. There is no option to pick up a DVR at their office.

The bottom line is that the 8300HD units are now available. If you are unhappy about the 8000HD, you should exercise your customer right: voice your complaints about the 8000HD's shortcomings and ask for a better machine. There is no reason they should lose customers to the competition.

Originally posted by GrantMeThePower
Hey there powertoburn. I'm in South Pas, and they always want to come out too. Its really annoying. Did they tell you that they were bringing you an 8300, or are you just crossing your fingers? Let me know if you get one! Thanks!

When I called - I was told they were expecting a shipment of 8300HD and the rep let me make an appointment for next week. The rep did confirm I would get a 8300. The earliest appointment I was given was for Wednesday Feb 23.

I am able to swap the SD 8000 DVR at the office in South Pasadena. It's just the HD DVR they are insiting to bring out. At least the 8000 HD has been reliable in terms of hard drive failures. The SD 8000 one seems to fail every few months.

I am just hoping the 8300 resolves the issue with 8000 HD DVR fogetting the stretech options. Otherwise I am pretty much satisfied with the 8000HD. Just being able to timeshift HD is incredible.

Hey guys. Thanks for the tips. I've really been frustrated with my 8000HD for sometime. Not only with the picture quality (which is obviously less than steller) and not only with the DVI never being enable (which pissed me off) but it would crash every three days and need a hard reboot and still froze on every other recording. I wanted to switch it out, but because they wouldn't let me just come in and I needed an appointment for them to come out, I was unable to do that.

When I heard that you guys had info that the 8300 was out, I called TWC South Pas and talked to technical support (this is all yesterday afternoon). I asked the guy if the 8300 was in, and he said yes, and I said I wanted to come in and exchange my 8000. He was really cool and said sure, but that he couldn't promise that any would be in. He said that they just got them in in the morning.

Well, in about five minutes he called me back at work (caller id?) and told me to personally ask for him and that he pulled one aside for me. I got there after work and he had checked it out, authorized it and everything for me. Furthermore, he said I was the first one to get one from that branch. (sweet!).

So, first of all, I don't know why they changed their policy all of a sudden, second, thank you all for posting on here so that I knew to even try, and third of all, I'm happy with the way the gentleman at TWC helped me out.

I haven't hooked it up yet because I need to get a HDMI to DVI adaptor today, but it'll get hooked up tonight.

I actually thought that someone else from here was in the store yesterday when I went. There was a customer with 2 8000HD's that he looked like he was exchanging for 8300's. I almost asked him if he was from AVS. Anyway, he was just getting new 8000's! The guy helping him brought out two new ones for him. So i guess they're still giving out the 8000's along with the 8300's if you don't ask for it specifically.

I know that members here, that have the 8300 have been complaining about the HDMI not having the 5.1 but 2.1 but dosen't it have a Optical or Coaxial audio port that will provide that? Unless you all have some really new high end recievers that have a HDMI port but mine doesn't! I guess I'm a poor whitee!!

Hey guys, I'm in Torrance and the first time I called up the rep didn't want to help me at all, saying they don't send out techs with new boxes and all this BS, so I told her "you aren't very helpful, I'll call back and talk to someone else"

The second time I called the girl was super cool, set me up with an appointment TODAY to swap my 8000 for an 8300....I can't freakin' wait!! Thank you AVS!!!!

Originally posted by X5-452
I know that members here, that have the 8300 have been complaining about the HDMI not having the 5.1 but 2.1 but dosen't it have a Optical or Coaxial audio port that will provide that? Unless you all have some really new high end recievers that have a HDMI port but mine doesn't! I guess I'm a poor whitee!!

The back of the 8300 I just picked up has an optical audio out.

Originally posted by X5-452
I know that members here, that have the 8300 have been complaining about the HDMI not having the 5.1 but 2.1 but dosen't it have a Optical or Coaxial audio port that will provide that? Unless you all have some really new high end recievers that have a HDMI port but mine doesn't! I guess I'm a poor whitee!!

The problem isn't that the 8300 does not have optical or coax - it has both and they are both active. The problem is that the box either passes 5.1 digital audio to all 3 digital outputs (optical, coax, HDMI) or none. Why is this a problem? Because HDMI is a two-way auto-sensing technology. So if you hook the 8300 up to a display with an HDMI input, unless the display can accept 5.1 audio (very few can - only those with built in HD tuners can I believe), then the 8300 automatically switches from 5.1 to 2 channel stereo. And since it's an all or nothing deal, all of the digital outputs downconvert 5.1 to 2 ch.

In the SARA software, you can simply disable HDMI audio and then the box behaves normally. With Passport software there is no way to tell the box to not pass 5.1 to HDMI but to send it to optical and coax.

The way around this, is to use an HDMI - DVI hybrid cable (assuming your display has a DVI input), since the audio is immediately cut off over HDMI. The other option if you want 5.1 is to use component (obviously not a good solution).

To make matters worse, even if you do have a display that can accept 5.1 digital audio, I think people are still having problems with the 8300, where the audio is downconverted to 2 Ch. I believe this morning someone on the TWC NYC thread reported that they changed some option on their Sony display (to disable audio) and got 5.1 out of coax while connected with straight HDMI. But AFAIK, that's the first report of the Passport box working the way it should.

Bet you would like to know when TWC Raleigh will get the SA 8300 HD DVR!

The answer is they have them already. Check out this reply email I just got! They are scheduled to swap my 8000HD for an 8300HD on Sunday. They tried to charge me $18 for the truck fee but they waived that. The HDMI is still not supposed to be active though.

Inquiry:Several cities in California, New York, Ohio, and Charlotte North Carolina all have the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD DVR available now. When will TWC for the Raleigh/Cary area have this DVR available? Currently the 8000HD that the local TWC uses has a DVI port but it is not active. When will this be active if we do not get the 8300 box? There is also a significant softening of the picture with the 8000HD box compared to using my TV’s built in cable digital tuner and it has been reported that the 8300HD fixes all of these issues. When will the 8000HD DVR be replaced with a new model or will these defects be corrected?

RESPONSE:
Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable.

We just received a shipment of the SA8300HD DVR. There still is no timeframe as to when Scientific Atlanta will send us the software update.

The SA8300HD DVR seems to provide a better picture -- but this is really up to the eye of the beholder.

It should be noted that the SA8300HD DVR has an HDMI port and not a DVI. The HDMI is currently inactive in software - similar to the DVI port on the 8000 model.

Feel free to give us a call at 1-866-4-TWC-NOW if you are interested in the new SA8300HD DVR. We can schedule your box swap and installation.

Thank you for taking the time to email us. Let us know if you have any additional questions.

Please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance.

Thank you for using Time Warner Cable.

Time Warner Cable Support
Raleigh, NC
919-595-4892
1-800-897-0662

Originally posted by mpgxsvcd
Bet you would like to know when TWC Raleigh will get the SA 8300 HD DVR!

Nope, had mine delivered already (today). My experience does match your description.

Just got my 8000HD DVR switched out to the 8300HD DVR TW Gardena. Tech was super cool and even called me early (All day appointment) this morning to be his first stop. He did say that TW in this area just got these boxes in last week and that they were going to be rolling these out with new installs and only swapping out the 8000 if someone requested. HDMI works fine and unfortunately the passport software is pretty much like the old one. Response time from the box seems a little faster and you can now search for your shows by keying in the letters (more like Tivo) which is nice. Everything else is the same, screens, setup, menus, etc..

The advanced settings are very basic. I did not see anywhere with the passport software for disabling audio on the HDMI output or changing the component out to pass through instead of letting the box up-convert for you like the Scientific Atlanta web pages show for this model using Sara. I don't know why Time Warner uses the Passport software instead of Sara?!? Sara seems like it gives you more options. Maybe that's why, they don't want the average Joe screwing things up and placing service calls.

I have not tested the 5.1 out yet on my rig. I have the optical cable going to my receiver and the HDMI to the TV. Does anyone know if the KDF55XS955 allows 5.1 through the HDMI? I have not had a chance to look at the manual yet. If so I guess that would enable 5.1 through the optical cable from what I've read in earlier posts. Kind of a bummer that there could not be separate output settings for each connection if it was capable.

I'll report back any findings tonight when I have more time to fiddle with it.

Originally posted by robshdtv
I did not see anywhere with the passport software for disabling audio on the HDMI output or changing the component out to pass through instead of letting the box up-convert for you like the Scientific Atlanta web pages show for this model using Sara. I don't know why Time Warner uses the Passport software instead of Sara?!? Sara seems like it gives you more options. Maybe that's why, they don't want the average Joe screwing things up and placing service calls.Believe me--Passport Echo is by far the more capable DVR IPG, which is what this is all about it. It implements analogs for most of the features of TiVo in very TiVo-esque ways. If it wasn't buggy, and I had the most recent version with the mutli-character title/keyword search, I'd be reasonably satisfied with it.

I don't understand your pass-thru thing. My SA8000HD w/Passport has an option to say whether your television can do any combination of 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i--if you said it can do the format that the signal is in, it just passes it through in that format (480i pass-thru doesn't seem to work properly and gets turned into 480p). I just choose 1080i only because my television takes a couple of seconds to switch formats and what it does while it's doing it is not pretty.

Is there some reason that you want an option to inhibit sound output through HDMI? I can't imagine that it doesn't simultaneously do it through coax, SPDIF (if it has both) and stereo RCA. I always have the output of my television speakers turned off.

Originally posted by michaeltscott
Is there some reason that you want an option to inhibit sound output through HDMI? I can't imagine that it doesn't simultaneously do it through coax, SPDIF (if it has both) and stereo RCA. I always have the output of my television speakers turned off.

I thought that was the big issue people have been reporting? Connection through HDMI automatically switches audio to 2.1 if your set can't handle 5.1 through the HDMI. I'd have to go back through posts to double check but in doing that it also either disables the coax/optical out or outputs only 2.1 after the handshake.

I don't care if the 8300 outputs only 2.1 through HDMI as long as 5.1 is going through the other jacks to my receiver or I can switch off the HDMI audio causing the problem to send the signal to my receiver and TV through RCA and optical jacks.

Originally posted by VisionOn
I thought that was the big issue people have been reporting? Connection through HDMI automatically switches audio to 2.1 if your set can't handle 5.1 through the HDMI. I'd have to go back through posts to double check but in doing that it also either disables the coax/optical out or outputs only 2.1 after the handshake.Sorry--I just did a thread search for HDMI and found this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5202585#post5202585) post, which explains the issue you're talking about. It does say that someone got around it using an HDMI cable on his Sony television by changing an option on his television to disable audio output.

Thanks to GrantMeThePower I now have the 8300HD. Well, I had 20 hours of shows recorded so I lost all those. They will all repeate again hopefully.

I called the office this morning and I was told I can just walk in and swap my 8000HD for the 8300HD if I already have the HD DVR. It's new policy that just started this morning. There was only two boxes left so I had one placed on hold. I picked it up with it authorized.

The LED display is a lot nicer. Switch channel & guide broswing is now a lot faster. Picture quality is also improved - colors seem less dull. Now just need to get an HDMI to DVI adapter.

However, the box still has the bug of stretching HD content when turned off on an HD channel.

The box does seem smaller then 8000HD. Also, the color seems more like the DirecTV DVR box.

Originally posted by IamtheWolf
Nope, had mine delivered already (today). My experience does match your description.

Well I actually got a second reply email from TWC. Check this out! The HDMI port is actually active! I will test on Sunday. Kinda cool that they admitted that they were wrong.

Response:
We stand corrected! We have just been told that all outlets are active on the SA8300 with the exception of the front input ports. So, the HDMI outlet is indeed active.

We apologize for any confusion. Thank you for being a Time Warner Cable customer.

Please let us know if we can be of any additional assistance.

Thank you for using Time Warner Cable.

Time Warner Cable Support
Raleigh, NC
919-595-4892
1-800-897-0662

which HDMI adapter would I need?

Monster Cable Male-HDMI-to-Female-DVI Adapter
Model: VA HDMI-DVI SL

Monster Cable Male-DVI-to-Female-HDMI Adapter
Model: VA DVI-HDMI SL

I assume since I am going to be using an adapter no audio is output therby not having to worry about audio downcovert to 2.1 through optical jack?

Originally posted by michaeltscott
I don't understand your pass-thru thing. My SA8000HD w/Passport has an option to say whether your television can do any combination of 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i--if you said it can do the format that the signal is in, it just passes it through in that format (480i pass-thru doesn't seem to work properly and gets turned into 480p). I just choose 1080i only because my television takes a couple of seconds to switch formats and what it does while it's doing it is not pretty.

Is there some reason that you want an option to inhibit sound output through HDMI? I can't imagine that it doesn't simultaneously do it through coax, SPDIF (if it has both) and stereo RCA. I always have the output of my television speakers turned off.

The disabling of the audio on the hdmi would enable 5.1 pass through to your optical or coax out if your tv mixes 5.1 down to 2 channel through the hdmi connection as stated in other threads in this forum. In other words the box sets all the outputs to 2 channel if you use the hdmi cable and your tv does not accept 5.1 through hdmi.


I have also noticed that on the Scientific Atlanta page, under support for the 8300 there are far more features listed that this box can do that are not available under the Passport system. For example the manual on their website states that you can change the color of the side bars when in 4:3 mode which I don't see as any of the menu choices with TW. I'm assuming then that this feature is enabled with the Sara system. (Unless the example screens are neither and just showing you the "possible" features if your cable company supports it.) I'm not complaining though, I just wondered why some of the more advanced features are not available to us on the TW Passport Echo system. If the box is capable of this is there a service menu where you can change these things?

Originally posted by mpgxsvcd
We stand corrected! We have just been told that all outlets are active on the SA8300 with the exception of the front input ports. So, the HDMI outlet is indeed active.

Please let me know how this works out. I have the box, but don't have HDMI cables, yet. In the Service Menu it says HDMI "Blocked"

Also, I think this box has more Memory than the 8000, and the software Version is different. How much memory is in your 8000? Hard drive looks the same, Maxtor 150+GB. Also, if you have other Service Menu comparison questions list 'em, and I'll take a look and compare.

Originally posted by robshdtv
I have also noticed that on the Scientific Atlanta page, under support for the 8300 there are far more features listed that this box can do that are not available under the Passport system. For example the manual on their website states that you can change the color of the side bars when in 4:3 mode which I don't see as any of the menu choices with TW. I'm assuming then that this feature is enabled with the Sara system. (Unless the example screens are neither and just showing you the "possible" features if your cable company supports it.) I'm not complaining though, I just wondered why some of the more advanced features are not available to us on the TW Passport Echo system. If the box is capable of this is there a service menu where you can change these things? Small nit--that's "SARA", an acronym (Scientific Atlanta Resident Application)--I've never seen anyone spell it with a lowercase "ara" before the last few posts of this thread and the term is used many hundreds of times in the SARA thread. (But don't let me stop you--just sayin', in case you didn't know). In the SARA thread, Passport's lack of sidebar color control was discussed. Some find this important and some, like myself, do not. What other options do you find on the SARA box that you think are missing in Passport?

What I find to be much more interesting is SARA's crappy recording options. For instance, in Passport, there are two options for how long to keep a automatic recording: "Until Space Is Needed" or "Until I Delete". SARA has 1, 2, 7 or 14 days and "Until I Erase". which is just braindead software design. Why would you want it to automatically erase anything before it needs the space to record something new? You may not have watched whatever it is, and if there's plenty of space left erasing it doesn't make sense, no matter how long it's been around. Passport has a rich set of recording options. You can say, for instance, "Record this program when it comes on this channel at any time on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays". In Passport, you can sort the Series Recordings list by their importance to you, which the device will use to resolve conflicts. If episodes of series on 3 different channels overlap, the 2 highest priority ones will be recorded; I don't see where this is an option in SARA. (BTW, that SARA User's Guide is one of the worst pieces of documentation I have ever seen. It does have the advantage of being freely available from the manufacturer; it's difficult to find Passport doc). In Passport's Saved Recordings list, you can sort the list in the order that you want things to be deleted when space runs out--not applicable to SARA.

Passport will warn you, 3 days before it will have to delete something to make space, by placing an hour glass on that recording's entry in the list; if you move the cursor down to that recording, it will give you a continually updated estimate of how long the recording will be retained, based on the current list of scheduled recordings. If something's important to you, you can grab it and move it up toward the top of the list. Of course, SARA has an option to display a meter showing what percentage of the HDD space has been used, which some people prefer (I think kind of useless, since it's a poor indicator of remaining recording time, but to each his own.

SARA does have a nicely implemented "Copy To VCR" function which Passport lacks.

BTW, in looking through that SARA User's Guide, I notice that the 8300 Multi-Room only supports standard-definition satellites, which can only play back standard-definition recordings (and which cannot schedule recordings). Not as exciting as I'd thought.

I agree with michaeltscott. While there are some menu options in SARA that aren't available on Passport (turning HDMI audio off; sidebar color etc), the IPG and DVR options are far superior on Passport. Passport is still a long ways away from Tivo in terms of features and ease of use but at least the basic concepts (To Do List, Season Pass Manager, Search by Title on the new 8300 boxes) are there. SARA has some really poorly designed aspects of the software that can be quite infuriating from what I understand.

Personally I have managed to get around the menu shortcomings in Passport (the gray sidebars and the HDMI audio) using an HDMI/DVI cable and stetching 4:3 material on the 8300 and shrinking it back with black sidebars on my Samsung. So I am very pleased with my setup. I understand that not everyone will be so lucky but at the end of the day, this is a DVR and DVR functionality should be of paramount importance.

Well the 8300 is certainly a step in the right direction. Maybe SA or TW will implement the best of both "PASSPORT" and "SARA" which would allow features that we all could use. I'm not going to hold my breathe but just enjoy what I have for now.

My HDMI works, previous 8000's DVI never did, image quality looks a little sharper, the menu speed is better, search feature has improved, and so far no lock ups or reboots. Lastly the upgrade was free!!!

My new 8300HD somehow died - there is no clock display on it this morning and when I turn on my tv I just hear popping noises. Tried unplugging and plugging it back in and still nothing. Too bad it's a Saturday. My office is not even open.

Originally posted by robshdtv
Well the 8300 is certainly a step in the right direction. Maybe SA or TW will implement the best of both "PASSPORT" and "SARA" which would allow features that we all could use.I'm sure you know this and are just mocking me, but "Passport" is not an acronym for anything. Just being my normal pedantic self. ;)

This DVR product is actually "Passport Echo", as distinct from vanilla "Passport" and "Passport DCT", the non-DVR versions for SA and Motorola boxes, respectively. See Pioneer Digital Tech's page on it here (http://www.pioneerdigital.com/). (There's a new "Getting Started" guide for Passport Echo Rel 1.6 there).

The things that TiVo has that Passport Echo lacks that I miss are relatively few. I know that a lot of people miss Wishlists, but I never used them for recording--I used them like the Theme guide feature, which is more or less as handy. Showcases were completely useless. What I do miss is the nearly two-weeks worth of guide data. I miss the "Recording History" (or whatever it was called) where you could go and see exactly why it chose to skip a Season Pass recording that you were expecting it to make. I really, really miss multi-character incremental guide search. Of course, I miss its virtually bug-free-ness.

There are some things about TiVo that I definitely do not miss. When scheduling a recording in the future, TiVo would warn you that, based on the current load of scheduled programs, 7 days from now (or whatever) when the event that you were trying to schedule came around, there would not be space to hold it, so, in order to schedule this event, it will be necessary to cancel one of the other recordings. This warning speciously presupposes that you will not watch and delete any of the recording that are scheduled to be made in the days between; there should have been an option to say "take this request on spec--if there's space when it comes round, do it; if not, forget about it".

Just got the SA8300HD to replace one of my boxes (also have SA8000HD, Pioneer BD-V3510HD).

TWC Kansas City
Passport Echo
TXM3297HF (4:3 CRT)
Zektor 4:1 component A/V switch

I am using a component connection.
I have the Title Search with the keypad in place of the old search thing.
Everything seems ok except the aspect controls (a continuing bug/feature/annoyance).

-----EDIT-----

There are no Firewire ports on this 8300, pads are present on the circuit board, Diagnostics screen seemed to recognize the ports, but the physical connectors are not soldered on.

-----END EDIT-----




Aspect controls:
8300: currently allows all three aspect ratios (using 4:3 TV 16:9 signal)
..........LETTERBOX - sends SQUEEZE type signal.
..........SQUEEZE - sends a funny signal close to ZOOM
..........ZOOM - sends the ZOOM signal
No idea why this seems to be different.

8000: currently allows one aspect ratio:
..........LETTERBOX - sends SQUEEZE type signal.
..........SQUEEZE - sends the SQUEEZE signal.
..........ZOOM - sends SQUEEZE type signal.
If playing a 4:3 recording, and drop out to a 16:9 channel, the aspect ratio changes to a ZOOM signal until the aspect ratio is changed: using either the remote (Video source button), or using the Settings menu. After this, it reverts back into SQUEEZE (all settings, all the time as above).

3510: Worked correctly with all three modes for one month in 2003, then only allows one aspect ratio:
..........LETTERBOX - sends SQUEEZE type signal.
..........SQUEEZE - sends the SQUEEZE signal.
..........ZOOM - sends SQUEEZE type signal.
No tricks found that modify this signal.

<<good thing I can use the TV's WIDE mode to view the SQUEEZE signal>>

Version numbers for any who want them


Version page 1.
..............................8300.......................... ...........8000HD
ResApp Version:...Passport Echo 1.8.095...................1.5.159
OS Vesion:..........PowerTV 6.8.9.4sp.......................6.4.11.1sp
Driver Version:.....1.............................................. .1
ResApp Date:.......Dec 14 2004 10:53:00..................9 Oct 04 02:15:24
OS Date:............Aug 11 2004 12:32:01 PM.............8 Oct 04 08:46:45 PM
PowerKEY:..........PKey_3.7.5.110-p +dvrs3...............3.5.21.6-p +dvr
PowerKEY Date:..17:10:15 Oct 20 2004.....................08:17:11 Jun 19 2004

Version page 2.
..........OS 6.8.9.4sp................................................6.4 .11.1sp
..........OS Home Server Ed. 1.4.................................1.3
..........HAL Driver (Drv_1.0.31.1070)..........................HAL2 1.1.13.17010
..........8300-prd:HAL Driver+OS:6.8.9.4sp...................8010HD-prd 6.4.11.1sp
..........PHAL3 Driver (PHAL 3.5.11.1001).....................3.5.8.3
..........8300:PHAL3 Driver +OS:6.8.9.4sp....................8010HD 6.4.11.1sp
..........PowerKEY LIB (PKEY_3.7.5.110)......................3.5.21.6
..........e8kg3-mrdvr-p:PowerKEY LIB +OS:6.8.9.4sp.....e8010HD-p 6.4.11.1sp
..........Passport Echo (1.8.095).................................1.5.159
..........Passport Echo +OS:6.8.9.4sp..........................6.4.11.1sp

Hardware page.
Bus Speed..........133................110
CPU Speed..........250...............164
CPUtype.............usparc...........usparc
Version..............1...................1
Driver Version.....1...................1

Memory page.
Total....................54,169,560....................27,00 0,832
Video....................33,554,432.....................3,14 5,728

v/r
C-F

Thanks for that comparison CANNON-FODDER!

Just got my 8300 model here in Orange County. Two questions:
1) What is the hard drive storage amount on the 8300?
2) Has anyone tried using the external drive? Do you get that from TWC or buy it from an electronic store.

The HD picture quality is definitely better than the 8000.

As for getting the box itself, what a hassle. I am constantly given mis-information from people on-line, over the phone, or in the store. Made a real stink today, but was finally able to get one of the few 8300's available here in OC right now. I do notice that the 8300 will not properly send an SD signal when 480i is selected..just like the 8000. On both, the 480p output does work so on my Pioneer TV I can use my stretch modes. The composite out does work for HD or SD signals and produces a better picture for SD signals than the component out signals.

Looks like gettting my box replaced will be a hassle :(

I will have to wait until Monday to see if the local branch has the 8300HD. I got one of the last ones. Or wait for my appointment on Wednesday - and hopefully an 8300HD will be brought out.

I found if I tap on the upper left hand corner - the box will power up & boot and work fine for a few minutes then shut off again. It seems like the power connection inside is loose or something.

Cary People,

I got an email on 2/17 asking me to call and schedule an apt. for an 8300HD swap. I called, and got the run-around about how they arent swapping boxes w/ people who already have an 8000. Someone finally talked to a Manager, and they scheduled to have someone come out today betweem 3 and 5. I just got a call from the service guy telling me TWC is out of 8300's, and they dont know when they will be in. Now, Im on another useless LIST to have the swap done!! GREAT! So, Cary, Raleigh folks, if you are scheduled for an 8300, please let us know what happens next. Im really upset about this.

Mark

Originally posted by msink
Cary People,

I got an email on 2/17 asking me to call and schedule an apt. for an 8300HD swap. I called, and got the run-around about how they arent swapping boxes w/ people who already have an 8000. Someone finally talked to a Manager, and they scheduled to have someone come out today betweem 3 and 5. I just got a call from the service guy telling me TWC is out of 8300's, and they dont know when they will be in. Now, Im on another useless LIST to have the swap done!! GREAT! So, Cary, Raleigh folks, if you are scheduled for an 8300, please let us know what happens next. Im really upset about this.

Mark

Please don't get annoyed at this suggestion, but call again. Last Wed PM I called TWC Raleigh (Atlantic) and they had no idea. I hung up and called back, but this time I hit the button for new sales. I asked about the box, and was offered one month free HDTV package, which I took. I had the box delivered yesterday, and it was installed without a hitch.

Originally posted by powertoburn
which HDMI adapter would I need?

Monster Cable Male-HDMI-to-Female-DVI Adapter
Model: VA HDMI-DVI SL

Monster Cable Male-DVI-to-Female-HDMI Adapter
Model: VA DVI-HDMI SL

I assume since I am going to be using an adapter no audio is output therby not having to worry about audio downcovert to 2.1 through optical jack?

Hey there. First, i'm glad you got ahold of the 8300, but it really sucks that it broke already. Hopefully they can get you another one. In the mean time, just stick a few books on top to weigh it down! :)

Anyway, my girlfriend and I went to the store yesterday to get an adaptor. Best Buy said they had both but they really only have the male dvi one. You'll probably want the male HDMI one, which I got by going down the street to Ken Cranes (they had one left in stock last night, so you might be able to still get it-they want 10 bucks more, but if you ask them to match best buys price they'll do it) You'll probably want that one because they you can use an extra dvi cable. Otherwise you'll need to buy an HDMI cable to go from the adaptor to the female end of the adaptor.

I've found that this box works better in every way than the 8000hd, EXCEPT that it is very sensitve to the HDCP handshake issue. You must have your display turned on first and set to the DVI/HDMI input before turning on the cable box, otherwise it gets pissed off.

Good luck, man!

Unfortunately, the box now does not want to power on anymore - even if books are put on top.

When using the DVI connection does your television flicker when switching between the 480i to 1080i? The Pioneer 3510 box would do this with my Sony set.

The hard drive on the 8300 seems to not make very much noise. I can barely hear it when in quiet room. But the 8000HD it was very audible. The speed of the 8300HD was also impressive. The hard drive on the SD 8000 DVR seems very quiet too.

Now hopefully, the office will be open on Monday considering it's a holiday. Sometimes I wish TWC was more responsive to emergency issues. Good thing my appointment for Wednesday is still open.

If it comes down to it - hopefully I can get the 8300HD on Monday from office. If not at least an 8000HD then Wednesday an 8300HD. That way I won't be without an HDTV DVR for too long.

Originally posted by dave1216
1) What is the hard drive storage amount on the 8300?
2) Has anyone tried using the external drive? Do you get that from TWC or buy it from an electronic store. 1) 160gb. According to TW, it should hold either 90 hours of standard definition programming or 20 hours of HD programming. Those numbers are by no means absolute either; it will certainly depend on the "type" of programs. I am curious if the SD number is for pure analog channels, pure digitals, or half-and-half.

2) It's thought at this point that it will only work with a specific Maxtor model. Then again, I'm not sure that this feature is enabled yet. Anyone seen options related to it in their DIAG screens or settings menus ??

I'm thinking of getting an DVD recorder which will be used exclusively to backup shows off my 8300HD. I have the 8300HD connected to my display using HDMI/DVI with 480p/720p/1080i as selected output formats. That frees me up to use the component and/or S-Video out for the DVD recorder.

Has anyone had any success using DVD recorders with the 8300HD? I know passport doesn't have an archive to VCR feature so I'm prepared for a manual process.

I really think I'd prefer a DVD recorder that had a component input since I'm going to be archiving mostly HD and want the best PQ possible. But it seems like most of the recorders with component inputs (Philips makes a few) only accept 480i and my 8300 won't output 480i over component (only 480p and up). Anyone know of recorder that accepts 480p? If not is there a way to force the 8300 to output 480i over component - maybe by putting the box in SD mode (don't even know how to do that)?

Since most of what I record is HD, it is very important that the recorder will preserve the 16:9 aspect ratio. I'm assuming most do this, but I really don't know much about these things.

So anyone have any suggestions? Price is definitely a factor. I don't need a hard drive and could care less about VCR+ and those type of features. I will not even hook the box up to cable out of the wall. Would like to spend around $300.

Any tips for getting these things to work with the 8300? Do you put the box in SD mode? If so how? Do most people use S-Video? If the results over S-Video are good then I'd be ok with that I suppose.

Thanks,
Eric

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I've found that this box works better in every way than the 8000hd, EXCEPT that it is very sensitve to the HDCP handshake issue. You must have your display turned on first and set to the DVI/HDMI input before turning on the cable box, otherwise it gets pissed off.
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Finally got an HDMI to DVI adapter for the 8300HD and initially got the HDCP error message so using the above I repreogrammed my MX500 remote to sequence on the Fujitsu plasma screen first in DVI mode then the audio sytem and finally the cable box. But I still got the error massage so I thought I would turn off the cable box alone using the remoteand then turn it on to see if the plasma turn on delay was responsible for the error message. One cable box power push brought in the picture. The box did not cycle off and on- it just cleared the HDCP error messagewith a single power button push. strange but true.

But the picture on my unit is not as good as the 8000HD I had before the hard drive failed. Not as sharp by a long shot even in DVI mode. I've called Time Warner to replace the box and see if this unit just is not up to what others are reporting.

Originally posted by IamtheWolf
Please don't get annoyed at this suggestion, but call again. Last Wed PM I called TWC Raleigh (Atlantic) and they had no idea. I hung up and called back, but this time I hit the button for new sales. I asked about the box, and was offered one month free HDTV package, which I took. I had the box delivered yesterday, and it was installed without a hitch.

I got the same call that they were out of the boxes. I am going to call the new sales also.

The 8300HD seems to be very sensitive to power surge or TimeWarner South Pasadena just got a bad batch. This evening while at a friend's house - we were watching HBOHD - all of a sudden heard a pop and the 8300HD shut off. And won't power on. Similar to my 8300HD that went south. Tapping on my friends got it working for a little while just like mine. I have to wait until Tuesday to get a replacement since Monday is a holiday. Using the 8000SD for now.

Please let us know if anyone else actually takes delivery of the 8300 HD in the Cary/Raleigh North Carolina area. Apparently, they are only giving them to new HD customers. I tried calling the new sales department and they said they would deliver it but that they had no way of checking whether it was actually in stock or not.