Official Comcast 6412 w/ iGuide Discussion [Text View] - Page 40

gmwedding

05-16-07, 03:23 AM

Hmm...I thought if you set 4:3 Override to OFF, the box would scale SD content to whatever you had HDMI set to (720p in your case). In other words, your box is now doing the SD conversion.

My understanding is that if you want your TV to do the conversion, set 4:3 Override to 480i. I might have it all backwards though :)

Well, establishing the correct settings can be very confusing. I guess we need to back up and always state the same data points when discussing this. Here's our relevant settings:

4:3 OVERRIDE SET TO "OFF"
HDTV Model: Pioneer plasma 4312 (kit) with PDP-4304 display (no tuner)
Motorola Model: DCT6412 Phase III
Cable-HDTV connection: HDMI 1.1 (with a $10 cable)
Comcast Analog/Digital Simulcast signal (using digital channels)
HDTV Resolution Setting: 720p
Motorola 4:3 Override Setting: "Off"
HD picture quality: Excellent (8-foot viewing distance)
SD picture quality: Very Good, but overcompressed (due to bandwidth limitations). Some edge artifacts are visible, but the overall picture appears a bit sharper (8-foot viewing distance)

We've used these settings for the past two years, primarily when Comcast Sacramento was broadcasting channels 2-99 as analog signals. During this time, the SD picture quality was just terrible (and unwatchable) if either 480p or 480i was used for the 4:3 Override. However, this thread got me thinking and I realized I have not tried 480p or 480i for the 4:3 Override since Comcast Sacramento implemented Analog/Digital Simulcast a couple of months ago.

So, I tried the 480i and 480p settings tonight and here is my revised evalution which is very subjective (for what it's worth)...

I still think the 4:3 Override "Off" setting is a bit better for standard definition on this Pioneer plasma HDTV from a digital signal, though perhaps not by much and this is subjective. With the "Off" setting (and scrutinizing details at a three-foot viewing distance), I see more compression artifacts around the edges of objects such as graphics, eyes, lifelines in a faces, etc., but the overall picture (especially facial expressions and skin) appears to be just a little sharper and more appealing to my eye.

4:3 OVERRIDE SET TO "480I"
HDTV Model: Pioneer plasma 4312 (kit) with PDP-4304 display (no tuner)
Motorola Model: DCT6412 Phase III
Cable-HDTV connection: HDMI 1.1 (with a $10 cable)
Comcast Analog/Digital Simulcast signal (using digital channels)
HDTV Resolution Setting: 720p
Motorola 4:3 Override Setting: 480i
HD picture quality: Excellent (8-foot viewing distance)
SD picture quality: Very Good, but overcompressed (due to bandwidth limitations) and perhaps a bit mushy (8-foot viewing distance)

With 480i selected, the edge artifacts disappear, but the skin tones on facical close ups and the details in wide shots look a bit mushy to my eye (with this TV). The 480p setting definitely is fuzzy and far worse than either "Off" or "480i."

The bigger issue may be this: with 480i or 480p selected as the 4:3 Override, our unstretched SD picture is flanked by 15% gray pillar bars. With "Off" selected, the pillar bars are black and this is a much more appealing way to watch unstretched 480p content, though plasma TV owners may risk long term burn-in of those black areas.

So, I've shifted my opinion a bit and do see that the difference between analog and digital cable signals, as well as an HDTV's internal scaling and other technologies (such as comb filters, etc.) also can affect the SD picture quality and the settings used.

This experiment still may not answer RockyMountainD's original point of whether the Moto's "Off" 4:3 Override setting is passing through the raw 480i signal or whether the "480i" setting is delivering this. Does anyone have a new opinion on this? I am willing to listen...perhaps the 480i setting is the raw 4:3 signal after all, since it looks unprocessed and a bit mushy...Then again, tonight I did forget to check the custom Brightness/Contrast/Sharpness settings I originally set up for the TV's cable input...Sheesh...I'm bleary eyed and going to bed...

ExDeus

05-16-07, 03:48 AM

Well, establishing the correct settings can be very confusing. I guess we need to back up and always state the same data points when discussing this. Here's our relevant settings: ...
Good evaluation, but it didn't address the specific point you quoted so much.

Rocky was correct.

4:3 Override:

OFF - The Moto STB does the upconversion to whatever setting you have for the main display (HD content).
480i - The Moto STB outputs 480i to your TV, and you let your TV do the upconversion, stretching, pillarboxing, etc. This is essentially "pass-through" for SD content.
480p - Same as 480i, except the Moto Box deinterlaces the signal before passing it to your TV.

I've always had the best results with 4:3 Override set to OFF, but everyone's experience will differ based on the quality of the upconversion, deinterlacing, and preferences for stretching/pillarboxing performed by their TV in comparison to the Moto STB.

Keep in mind that all digital displays will scale all incoming signals to the native resolution of the display, so essentially everything is upconverted/downconverted to a degree. It's just a matter of which piece of video equipment in your setup does the best job of performing the conversion.

As always, this information is also contained in the wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#4:3_OVERRIDE).

RockyMountainD

05-16-07, 09:31 AM

Well, establishing the correct settings can be very confusing. I guess we need to back up and always state the same data points when discussing this. Here's our relevant settings:

4:3 OVERRIDE SET TO "OFF"
HDTV Model: Pioneer plasma 4312 (kit) with PDP-4304 display (no tuner)
Motorola Model: DCT6412 Phase III
Cable-HDTV connection: HDMI 1.1 (with a $10 cable)
Comcast Analog/Digital Simulcast signal (using digital channels)
HDTV Resolution Setting: 720p
Motorola 4:3 Override Setting: "Off"
HD picture quality: Excellent (8-foot viewing distance)
SD picture quality: Very Good, but overcompressed (due to bandwidth limitations). Some edge artifacts are visible, but the overall picture appears a bit sharper (8-foot viewing distance)

We've used these settings for the past two years, primarily when Comcast Sacramento was broadcasting channels 2-99 as analog signals. During this time, the SD picture quality was just terrible (and unwatchable) if either 480p or 480i was used for the 4:3 Override. However, this thread got me thinking and I realized I have not tried 480p or 480i for the 4:3 Override since Comcast Sacramento implemented Analog/Digital Simulcast a couple of months ago.

I wish Comcast would do that here; the analog PQ is near unwatchable.

So, I tried the 480i and 480p settings tonight and here is my revised evalution which is very subjective (for what it's worth)...

I still think the 4:3 Override "Off" setting is a bit better for standard definition on this Pioneer plasma HDTV from a digital signal, though perhaps not by much and this is subjective. With the "Off" setting (and scrutinizing details at a three-foot viewing distance), I see more compression artifacts around the edges of objects such as graphics, eyes, lifelines in a faces, etc., but the overall picture (especially facial expressions and skin) appears to be just a little sharper and more appealing to my eye.

4:3 OVERRIDE SET TO "480I"
HDTV Model: Pioneer plasma 4312 (kit) with PDP-4304 display (no tuner)
Motorola Model: DCT6412 Phase III
Cable-HDTV connection: HDMI 1.1 (with a $10 cable)
Comcast Analog/Digital Simulcast signal (using digital channels)
HDTV Resolution Setting: 720p
Motorola 4:3 Override Setting: 480i
HD picture quality: Excellent (8-foot viewing distance)
SD picture quality: Very Good, but overcompressed (due to bandwidth limitations) and perhaps a bit mushy (8-foot viewing distance)

With 480i selected, the edge artifacts disappear, but the skin tones on facical close ups and the details in wide shots look a bit mushy to my eye (with this TV). The 480p setting definitely is fuzzy and far worse than either "Off" or "480i."

The bigger issue may be this: with 480i or 480p selected as the 4:3 Override, our unstretched SD picture is flanked by 15% gray pillar bars. With "Off" selected, the pillar bars are black and this is a much more appealing way to watch unstretched 480p content, though plasma TV owners may risk long term burn-in of those black areas.

I'm in the same boat with my RP CRT. To prevent uneven phosper aging, I let the TV stretch all SD content (4:3 override set to 480i on the STB) for day to day viewing. If there's something I really want to watch in SD, I'll turn off the stretching and either put up with the grey pillarbars (ugly) or change them to black (bad for phosper aging). I have an LCD in the bedroom, so I don't stretch anything :)

So, I've shifted my opinion a bit and do see that the difference between analog and digital cable signals, as well as an HDTV's internal scaling and other technologies (such as comb filters, etc.) also can affect the SD picture quality and the settings used.

This experiment still may not answer RockyMountainD's original point of whether the Moto's "Off" 4:3 Override setting is passing through the raw 480i signal or whether the "480i" setting is delivering this. Does anyone have a new opinion on this? I am willing to listen...perhaps the 480i setting is the raw 4:3 signal after all, since it looks unprocessed and a bit mushy...Then again, tonight I did forget to check the custom Brightness/Contrast/Sharpness settings I originally set up for the TV's cable input...Sheesh...I'm bleary eyed and going to bed...

Thanks for the writeup. I've always assumed my TVs' scalers were better, but I should probably play around with 480i vs. 480p vs OFF a bit more.

Petteri

05-16-07, 03:09 PM

deltron0

05-16-07, 03:12 PM

my 6412 is sofa king noisy; i think its the hard drive but i am not sure. has anyone else noticed a high pitched whine coming from their unit? this unit is in my bedroom and it's really annoying when watching tv at night with low volume levels. is there anything that i can do to reduce this noise without restricting airflow to the unit? or should i ditch the dvr for the non-dvr hd STB from comcast?

thx

hondo21

05-16-07, 03:18 PM

I've searched the thread but couldn't find an answer to this problem:

I have two series scheduled to record (Sopranos and Entourage) both have the following problem. When I try to cancel BOTH recordings that are scheduled for the SAME day, it will only let me cancel ONE of them. I'll cancel one, and then go to cancel the other (I'm talking about canceling only one episode here, not the series) and the first show I canceled will be back with the red dot! This is really a problem because although I have the box set to record only new episodes it records them all. Is this a known problem with a fix? Or is my box just buggy? Thanks!I don't know if there is a fix, but I've experienced the same problem. Have a series recording for The Office and when they ran multiple shows I tried to tell it to not record a couple of them but it wouldn't let me do that for all of them. It kept switching the one I already set to not record back to "record." No big deal, I just deleted the show after it recorded. But it could be a problem if you were running tight on hard-drive space or something (which I often am.)

Petteri

05-16-07, 03:20 PM

No big deal, I just deleted the show after it recorded. But it could be a problem if you were running tight on hard-drive space or something (which I often am.)

That's is exactly the problem. I'm often unable to be around to delete these unwanted recordings and the HD fills up..... :mad:

ExDeus

05-16-07, 03:37 PM

When I try to cancel BOTH recordings that are scheduled for the SAME day, it will only let me cancel ONE of them.
If you have firmware <16.20, you can use this solution, found, as always, in the wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#Simultaneous_series_recording_cancellation_problem.2C_a ka_whack-a-mole).

If you have F/W >16.20, then you're SOL.

andyross63

05-16-07, 05:29 PM

I've searched the thread but couldn't find an answer to this problem:

I have two series scheduled to record (Sopranos and Entourage) both have the following problem. When I try to cancel BOTH recordings that are scheduled for the SAME day, it will only let me cancel ONE of them. I'll cancel one, and then go to cancel the other (I'm talking about canceling only one episode here, not the series) and the first show I canceled will be back with the red dot! This is really a problem because although I have the box set to record only new episodes it records them all. Is this a known problem with a fix? Or is my box just buggy? Thanks!
This is the 'whack-a-mole' problem (named after the kids game in those pizza-party places.) When you cancel one series recording, it sees an opening, and reschedules the other to record. This bug/quirk has been in there since day 1. It's an iGuide software issue, not firmware.

Petteri

05-16-07, 06:48 PM

This is the 'whack-a-mole' problem (named after the kids game in those pizza-party places.) When you cancel one series recording, it sees an opening, and reschedules the other to record. This bug/quirk has been in there since day 1. It's an iGuide software issue, not firmware.

Yep, thanks to the posts here I checked the Wiki. It would be nice if they fixed it already... :confused:

unclephil

05-16-07, 08:18 PM

unclephil

05-16-07, 09:31 PM

woohoo! seems to be working now. I think my HDMI port on my box is a little touchy.

-p

dvdmth

05-17-07, 12:19 AM

Yep, thanks to the posts here I checked the Wiki. It would be nice if they fixed it already...
There are a number of annoyances when it comes to canceling individual episodes of a series recording. They include:

* Canceling an episode will reschedule any prior cancellation(s) that overlap with the new cancellation (the problem you had).
* Cancellations are forgotten after a power failure or other reboot.
* Cancellations are forgotten when you create, modify, or remove a series recording or change the series priority.

I believe all of these issues have the same root cause. It appears the DVR does not distinguish between an episode that was canceled manually and one that was canceled due to a schedule conflict. It makes sense for the latter kind to be rescheduled if conditions allow, but in the former case a cancellation should remain until the user reverses the action manually.

Because of the tendency for cancellations to be forgotten, I have decided some time ago to forget about canceling individual episodes, electing instead to delete them after they are recorded (I can afford to do this, because 90% of my recordings are in SD and I have yet to come close to maxing out the HDD capacity). If there are too many extra episodes in a series, I delete the series recording and schedule each show I want individually. The only time I cancel an episode in a series explicitly is if it overlaps with another program and I want to watch something live (mainly sports) instead. Even then, I usually wait until shortly before the show will air before canceling it.

bernie33

05-17-07, 01:26 AM

I feel like a jerk because my answer just might be somewhere in this 350 page thread... but I havent been able to find it.

I just purchased my Samsung LCD, my first HDTV. And I also picked up the HDDVR box from Time Warner out here in LA.

I've been trying to set it all up via HDMI, but I can't get it to work. I've gotten the component connection to work, but I'd like to pass it through HDMI.

Any advice would be appreciated.

..also... I've read a bunch of threads that mention iGuide. I'm a previos TiVo series2 owner amd was hoping that the DVR menu's would be decent, even if not up to TiVo's. But my menu's are all blue and seem pretty rough to navigate. Can I get iGuide somewhere? Or does it have to be pre-intalled on the box.

Okay... I'm done. Thanks for your time. This forum is a wealth of information.
-Phil

iGuide is the Guide that is part of your TWC DVR service. It is essentially what you see when you press the Guide button, and also includes the software at TWC's end and on your DVR that allows you to view and schedule things, and have the schedules updated.

I also come from a Tivo 2 experience. You didn't say which brand of DVR TWC gave you, but since you mention the blue menus I'm guessing it is the Motorola DVR. You'll get used to the Motorola menus and you'll find that you can do almost everything that the Tivo could do, even if they are not as attractive. The main thing I recall being different is that you can't "undelete" shows, and you can't transfer shows from the DVR to your computer via your LAN. If your DVR has firmware 16.35 the menus get a bit nicer.

Alden_Sloe

05-18-07, 05:52 PM

Sorry - I couldn't hear the post above the noise my 6412 makes.

It is noticeably the loudest of 3 DVRs in a rack

The 6412 is consistently noisy - drive and fan.
Just got our 6412. There's got to be something wrong. This thing makes more noise than an old PC with the cover off, seriously. I thought it was fan noise but I can't feel any air movement around the case. I'm starting to think it's disk noise. At times it goes up and down, I guess that could be a fan or diskdrive spinning up/down. I was standing next to one in line at the Comcast Store in Redmond and don't remember such an obnoxious noise. It's quite audible over normal listening levels even with five speaker surround sound. Maybe I'm spoiled by my old ReplayTV which was silent but surely this level of noise can't be acceptable for a DVR? -Bernie

bernie33

05-18-07, 06:04 PM

Just got our 6412. There's got to be something wrong. This thing makes more noise than an old PC with the cover off, seriously. I thought it was fan noise but I can't feel any air movement around the case. I'm starting to think it's disk noise. At times it goes up and down, I guess that could be a fan or diskdrive spinning up/down. I was standing next to one in line at the Comcast Store in Redmond and don't remember such an obnoxious noise. It's quite audible over normal listening levels even with five speaker surround sound. Maybe I'm spoiled by my old ReplayTV which was silent but surely this level of noise can't be acceptable for a DVR? -Bernie

Our 6412 is noticeably noisy, but not to the degree that you mention. (Our Tivo Series 2 is silent.) The sound is obvious to me when the TV is off, but when watching anything, seated about 8-10 feet away, I don't notice the sound. I don't think my wife ever notices it unless I ask her about it.

The noise from our DVR appears to be fan noise because I leave our DVR in "standby/off" mode when we're not watching something. It turns itself on when it needs to record, but the fan noise occurs even when the DVR is off. It does have the up and down sound that you mention, so it is possible that there are times when the drive is also being used to update iGuide data.

I've noticed that the fan is running more than it used to. I've attributed this to it being summertime and we keep the house a bit warmer to save on A/C electric bills. But I really don't know if that is the reason of if something else changed.

bobby94928

05-18-07, 08:33 PM

If it's that noisy get it replaced. There a bunch of them out there with noisy hard drives. And yes, the hard drive is working even in standby mode.

andyross63

05-19-07, 11:43 AM

Normally, the only noise should be a very slight whirring sound (usually inaudible) from the drive. Some of the newer 64xxP3's and 34xx's have a small fan, too. There may also be some chirping from the drive when turned on and buffering data. The drive never powers down as far as I know, even when you turn the power off (from the remote or button, not pulling the plug!)

If it's whining even when turned 'off', then you have a drive going bad.

kjbawc

05-19-07, 10:25 PM

This is really a problem because although I have the box set to record only new episodes it records them all. Is this a known problem with a fix? Or is my box just buggy? Thanks!

What it does is record the first showing in each different time slot, as a "new" ep. This is because the guide info doesn't have it properly flagged, not a problem with the box. This happens with The Daily Show, and Bill Maher's Real Time on HBO, so I have to program them separately, not as a series, or I get a scad of them.

jsesq

05-20-07, 03:02 PM

ExDeus

05-20-07, 04:45 PM

I have just switched from a 6412-phase 2 to a 6412-phase 3 and I am having some issues.

It seems that the picture quality I was getting with the phase 2 at 720p was much better than I am now getting with the phase 3.

The phase 2 was connected to my TV (Vizio VX37L - 720p (1366 x 768) native resolution) via the DVI output through a DVI cable with a HDMI adapter at the TV (the TV only has HDMI inputs - no DVI) and the output set at 720p.

The phase 3 is connected from the HDMI output through a HDMI cable to the HDMI input on the TV. I have been going back and forth between 720p and 1080i and there seem to be compromises either way. The 720p makes all the 6412 generated text look "blocky" or "pixely" (aliased?) - but the picture is smoother and source provided scrolling text moves smoothly. The 1080i picture seems crisper, but scrolling text is choppy or stutters as is scrolls. The 6412 generated text is much clearer and smoother (anti-aliased?).

Is this a phase 3 problem? Do I just have a bad box? Has anyone else experienced this when switching from phase 2 to phase 3?

Thanks.
I upgraded from a 6412-PII to a 3412-PI, which uses mostly the same hardware as the 6412-PIII. As I understand it, they have identical hardware, except with the addition of the analog tuner in the 6412-PIII.

I don't know that I ever checked the 720p output with the 6412-PII, but with the 3412, I do see the pixelated i-Guide problem you mentioned. 1080i channels also look softer, to me, on my display. So I use 1080i output with good results, and I haven't noticed any problems with scrolling text.

KernelG

05-21-07, 05:11 PM

What it does is record the first showing in each different time slot, as a "new" ep. This is because the guide info doesn't have it properly flagged, not a problem with the box. This happens with The Daily Show, and Bill Maher's [i]Real Time]/i] on HBO, so I have to program them separately, not as a series, or I get a scad of them.

True, this is not a bug, but it could be better handled by iGuide. The ReplayTV units I just deactivated would constrain series recordings to the general time of the initially selected show, and you could also add a limit by day of the week. I was actually surprised that the otherwise-very-nice 3416 with dual HD tuners and other modern DVR features had such rudimentary series recording options (and they haven't been improved in iGuide for years).

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go delete 20 old episodes of Stargate SG-1... :o

kkmickleson

05-22-07, 08:17 AM

samsurd2

05-22-07, 11:36 AM

I'm posting this two places because I'm overwhelmed by the 'Official Comcast 6412' thread. (What is the 'iGuide'?)

I just had Comcast switch my non-HD DVR for a 6412 because I'm having a 50" Panasonic plasma installed on Thursday.

Anyone know if this new Comcast box will allow me to record things I save on it to a DVD on a separate DVD recorder? If so, is/are there brands/models of recorders which work with 6412 and those which don't?

I will have installers here to hook up the TV, and want to buy a new recorder for them to hook up to the TV & the Comcast 6412.

Thanks for your help.

Karen
I'm really happy with the Samsung DVD-VR330 (combo VCR/DVD recorder) that I have hooked up to my DCT6412 III using s-video and stereo audio (red & white). I only use the VR330 to burn DVDs of stuff already recorded on the 6412's DVR and to dub VHS tapes to DVD. I don't use the VR330 to record TV programs directly from the cable so I don't even bother with the connection that would let me use the built in tuner. It's not the latest hardware (2006 model) but it's been reliable and is straight forward to use. Here's a link to a review that may be helpful: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-FezssDsav8w/reviews/20061306/vr330.html

hockey2112

05-22-07, 12:14 PM

I have a Moto6412. Yesterday morning, I unplugged the moto completely, in anticipation of a new TV stand that was delivered this evening. After approximately 10 hours of being unplugged, I carefully placed the moto box on the new TV stand and plugged it into my HP plasma TV. I plugged it in just as it was before, with RGB cables for video, and white/red RCA cables for sound.

The moto box is sending the video signal to my TV just fine, but I cannot hear any sound coming from the box. I plugged my PS2 into the same component-in and RCA jacks, and it played fine with video AND sound (so it seems as though it is not the TV). I checked through the moto's settings and spent a couple of hours on the phone getting refresh signals from Cox's tech support, to no avail.

I really don't want to exchange this box for a new one. First, I am afraid that the new box will not be IEEE 1394-enabled, and I will no longer be able to record programs to my computer. Second, I have two "episodes" of the local news recorded on the box, in which my baby girl is featured. I cannot capture via firewire from this local channel, so the box is the only copy I have of the footage; I really don't want to lose it.

The Cox guy wanted to send an initialization code to the box, to essentially wipe it clean and re-load the default settings (but at the same time deleting all of my recordings and settings). Before I do that, I wanted to see what you guys and gals had to say.

By the way, I entered the Diagnostics menu, and hit option d10 (audio/video status). I have attached a few photos of this screen. Please take note of the Audio Mute and Video Mute settings. Doesn't it seem odd that the Audio Mute is set to "On"?? Or is this a normal setting, and it just sort of reads weird? Also, Video Mute tended to switch back and forth between "Muted" and "Unmuted", depending on which channel I was on previous to entering the diagnostics menu. I tried the diag menu while on the local Fox affiliate, and then Cox's TNT-HD channel.

This morning, I tried mapping the a remote button to make it a moto box mute button. The mapping worked, but the box displayed that it was already unmuted when I pressed this newly-mapped button.

Any ideas on what could have caused this, and what I can do to fix it?

Thanks!

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2319/dscf4422hm1.jpg

http://img483.imageshack.us/img483/5736/dscf4423ud5.jpg

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7760/dscf4425kr1.jpg

kkmickleson

05-22-07, 05:07 PM

I'm really happy with the Samsung DVD-VR330 (combo VCR/DVD recorder) that I have hooked up to my DCT6412 III using s-video and stereo audio (red & white). I only use the VR330 to burn DVDs of stuff already recorded on the 6412's DVR and to dub VHS tapes to DVD. I don't use the VR330 to record TV programs directly from the cable so I don't even bother with the connection that would let me use the built in tuner. It's not the latest hardware (2006 model) but it's been reliable and is straight forward to use. Here's a link to a review that may be helpful: http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-FezssDsav8w/reviews/20061306/vr330.html

Thank you so much for responding. I started out this morning reading that review, and was ready to 'go for it'. Then (as I guess is the norm in this whole field), I started finding reviews complaining about sync probs between voice & video on this unit--in several reviews.

I, too, was only going to use it like you, 'to burn DVDs of stuff already recorded on the 6412's DVR and to dub VHS tapes to DVD'. But then I thought if I'm going to try and maximize my DVD quality by getting an ATSC unit, I may as well get one to use as an auxillary recorder to my Comcast 6410 box.

My mind is turning to scrambled eggs :-(

Then I discovered they're (Samsung) coming out with a new ATSC model in June: "DVD-AVR950 ATSC DVD/VHS combo recorder will be available in June 2007 for an MSRP of $319.99"

A question I've come up with is this:

If I have a 1080i plasma (to be installed this week), what, if any, value to me is the Up convert to 1080p feature on the newer ATSC recorders?

Anyone think it's wise to wait for the ATSC Samsung combo unit?

Thanks

bernie33

05-22-07, 05:17 PM

hockey2112

05-22-07, 06:55 PM

My 6412-PIII also says Audio Mute On so that isn't your problem.
Have you tried unplugging the 6412 again so that it reboots to see if that corrects the problem?

Yep, I've probably rebooted it about 15-20 times since last night, to no avail.

I am in the midst of a DVR Authorization and Factory Full Reset. This will supposedly download and reinstall the DVR software, leaving my recordings and settings intact. If this doesn't work, it's wipe and load time! :(

Just tried the reset and the wipe and load. Neither fixed the sound. Guess it's time for a new box. :(

dabhome

05-25-07, 01:49 AM

Yep, I've probably rebooted it about 15-20 times since last night, to no avail.

I am in the midst of a DVR Authorization and Factory Full Reset. This will supposedly download and reinstall the DVR software, leaving my recordings and settings intact. If this doesn't work, it's wipe and load time! :(

Just tried the reset and the wipe and load. Neither fixed the sound. Guess it's time for a new box. :(

Have you tried new cables. Also, are you sure you are connecting to the out audio not the in. Finally, does your TV or Amplifier have a digital audio input. You could try connecting that way.

hockey2112

05-26-07, 08:34 PM

Have you tried new cables. Also, are you sure you are connecting to the out audio not the in. Finally, does your TV or Amplifier have a digital audio input. You could try connecting that way.

I did try three sets of RCA cables, and they were definitely in the audio-out plugs. I do not have any digital audio cables, so I did not try that. I did exchange the box at Cox for a spankin new 3416, which works great! :D

tmajoratl

05-28-07, 12:20 PM

mrbigbri

05-28-07, 12:27 PM

Time Warner Cable, Corona CA (Inland Empire)

Well, after countless e-mails asking to update the firmware from 12.31.... my weekly check displayed an update to 16.35! It's about damn time TWC.

Brian

Phil Tomaskovic

05-28-07, 12:41 PM

Has anyone had a problem with a Motorola 6412 records forever? I had it set to record a 30 minute show and it show up as mutliple recordings for hours and erased all of my shows. This is the second time this has happened.

Any idea if they have a box with a harddrive bigger then 160GB? The Sat boxes are like 300 - 500 GB. At least let me add an external box.....

Todd
I've seen it happen on my box when recording a show which is repeated (even though the guide says it is new). Like when Grey's Anatomy was repeated on Friday nite, if I recorded that (because I had a space shortage on Thurs). Also happened yesterday when I recorded the Sun morning repeat of Ebert & Roeper (first showing is Sat nite in Chicago).

efball

05-29-07, 07:00 PM

Has anyone had a problem with a Motorola 6412 records forever? I had it set to record a 30 minute show and it show up as mutliple recordings for hours and erased all of my shows. This is the second time this has happened.

If a show is on multiple times - and I have a series recording set for the show - and there is a conflict so that it cannot record the first showing - if I manually select a later showing to record - then it will start recording forever and fill up the hard drive. If I do not manually select a later showing to record it will find it and record it automatically, but it will not show up as being set to record for an hour or so after the first showing is over.

ncaahoops

05-29-07, 11:11 PM

Has anyone had a problem with a Motorola 6412 records forever? I had it set to record a 30 minute show and it show up as mutliple recordings for hours and erased all of my shows. This is the second time this has happened.

Any idea if they have a box with a harddrive bigger then 160GB? The Sat boxes are like 300 - 500 GB. At least let me add an external box.....

Todd

As far as I know 160gb is the highest so far with the Motorolas. If you live in an area with rebuilt system and ADS is available (the analog channels (2-99) are also broadcast in digital)), you can switch to that box/system. This will almost double your recording ability for channels 2-99. It won't change anything for 100+.

The analog broadcast [channels 2-99] takes about 3% per hour on the 6412, while the digital version of the analog channels [2-99] is about 1.5% - 2%.

dvdmth

05-31-07, 12:24 PM

If a show is on multiple times - and I have a series recording set for the show - and there is a conflict so that it cannot record the first showing - if I manually select a later showing to record - then it will start recording forever and fill up the hard drive. If I do not manually select a later showing to record it will find it and record it automatically, but it will not show up as being set to record for an hour or so after the first showing is over.
I believe I know what's going on here. After the first time slot expires, the guide sees the episode airing again later, notices that the episode isn't in your library, and schedules it as part of the series. It doesn't check to see if the show was already set to record as an individual recording. As a result, the show gets scheduled TWICE. If you look in the scheduled recordings list, you'll see it listed twice, at the same time and on the same chennel. If you cancel one, both get canceled. Reschedule one and both get rescheduled. The only way to get rid of the duplicate scheduling is to cancel the series recording, at which point one of the entries will disappear. You can then re-create the series recording and the guide will take the manual recording and integrate it properly.

If you don't take out the duplicate entry, apparently the guide will record the show but forget to stop recording (probably due to corruption in the underlying data structures in memory caused by the duplicate entry in the schedule). If I get around to it, I'll do some testing to see if theory holds up (I only encountered the duplicate entry problem once, and I resolved it before the record time).

ultraviolet353

05-31-07, 09:32 PM

I have the 3416 with TWC--Does anyone know if the idiotic iGuide will ever inlcude a feature that will only record a show once within a 24 hour period if it airs multiple times within that day: ie. Daily show, Keith Olbermann, etc.

When I select series recording, new shows only--it still will record every repeat that airs within that 24 hour period--really annoying. I now have to set these shows manually.

jfrosen

06-01-07, 11:14 PM

When I select series recording, new shows only--it still will record every repeat that airs within that 24 hour period--really annoying. I now have to set these shows manually.

I use manual recordings for these kind of shows as well.. set the time and channel, and basically use the box as a VCR. Not so great, especially since the show will be a "Recording" in the list, instead of the actual show name.

I first tried to just manually remove the shows that were repeats, but the wack-a-mole and things being recorded anyway (after adjusting priorities or something else) was driving me nuts.

Coming from DTiVO sure creates some expectations..

ptchristensen

06-01-07, 11:19 PM

I use manual recordings for these kind of shows as well.. set the time and channel, and basically use the box as a VCR. Not so great, especially since the show will be a "Recording" in the list, instead of the actual show name.

I first tried to just manually remove the shows that were repeats, but the wack-a-mole and things being recorded anyway (after adjusting priorities or something else) was driving me nuts.

Coming from DTiVO sure creates some expectations..

There is one way of fixing this, that I know - it's not ideal, but it works...
If you have a weekly manual recording - Do not delete the recording, after you watch it, until the next part is recorded.

taylorshome

06-02-07, 04:42 PM

bicker1

06-02-07, 04:47 PM

That happened to me a couple of times. It's not consistent.

cypherstream

06-03-07, 01:16 PM

bernie33

06-03-07, 03:47 PM

How about this annoyance..
Say you have two recordings scheduled at the same time. One on channel 231, and another on channel 300.

Your currently watching channel 231, and its 1 minute until the recording starts. You get a message asking what to do, change channel in order to record, or cancel recording and stay where you are. Of course this doesn't make sense because your already on one of the channels you have set to record. So in order to not mess up anything you either 1) let it go by itself, or 2) hit change channel when it's time to record.

Now its recording time. The cable box changes you to channel 300, and the LED on the front says REC with a red light. Both tuners are recording fine. But you wanted to watch ch 231 while it records, which is the whole reason you were on that channel to begin with, so the DVR wouldn't have to switch you away from it! So now you have to hit the swap button to go back to 231, which mind you is also recording perfectly.

Why does it ask you to switch channels if your already on the channel set to record. Maybe I want to watch it now, but also record it to save it for another viewing. Why switch my current tuner to ch 300 and the background tuner to 231. If my current tuner is already on 231, just switch the background tuner to 300 and then record both streams. Seems like it's doing more work then it needs to, why providing an annoyance to me.

I can't be sure how it is programmed, but based on my own experience as a programmer and debugger it is actually doing much less work to behave as you described. It sounds like the DVR decides to record Program A on tuner 1, and Program B on tuner 2. If you're watching the channel for Program A, but using tuner 2, the DVR will have to either reprogram itself to switch tuners, or it will have to aks you the question you're seeing. Easier to ask.

Now here is a more complex situation. Lets say Program A is 30 minutes long, and Program B and Program C are 60 minutes long. Is the DVR smart enough to schedule Program A and Program C on one tuner 1, and Program B on tuner2? And if you're watching the channel for Program A but using tuner 2, is the DVR smart enough to reschedule both Programs A and C to tuner 2 and Program B to tuner 1? I don't know, but you can see that as you start working through the various realistic possibilities things get more complicated.

cypherstream

06-03-07, 08:20 PM

Good point bernie33, it can get complex. If there's two recordings at once, can't it just first run a quick if then statement to see if your current visible tuner is on a program scheduled to be recorded? Then it wouldn't have to issue a channel change command because it's already tuned to the proper frequency and PID for recording.

If the current viewable tuner is not on either of the channels, then issue a message saying "were going to switch your channel unless you tell us otherwise".

So psudo code:

If BothRecordings are at same time

Define CurrentRecording
Define Recording1Ch
Define Recording2Ch
Define VisibleTunerCh
Define InactiveTunerCh
If VisibleTunerCh=Recording1Ch or Recording2Ch Then
call procedure to record VisibleTunerCh
call procedure to set InactiveTunerCh to record Recording != CurrentRecording
Else
call procedure to set InactiveTunerCh to record Recording2Ch
call procedure to alert user to switch channel
End

Would this kind of logic work, or introduce too much?

bernie33

06-03-07, 10:47 PM

ncaahoops

06-04-07, 12:02 AM

kjbawc

06-04-07, 12:23 AM

The Comcast software sends the first program to be recorded in the background tuner. Even when two are set to start at the same time there is a pecking order. Apparently they seem to be sorting by channel #.

I think the pecking order might be the order they were programmed in, not channel number. If they are series recordings, there is a priority list you can check.

Apparently the decision which tuner to use is made a few minutes before a recording starts. If you switch tuners the last minute, it will still record on what it thought was the background tuner a few minutes ago.

"A few minutes" is two minutes, to be precise.

dabhome

06-04-07, 02:06 AM

How about this annoyance..
Say you have two recordings scheduled at the same time. One on channel 231, and another on channel 300.

Your currently watching channel 231, and its 1 minute until the recording starts. You get a message asking what to do, change channel in order to record, or cancel recording and stay where you are. Of course this doesn't make sense because your already on one of the channels you have set to record. So in order to not mess up anything you either 1) let it go by itself, or 2) hit change channel when it's time to record.

Now its recording time. The cable box changes you to channel 300, and the LED on the front says REC with a red light. Both tuners are recording fine. But you wanted to watch ch 231 while it records, which is the whole reason you were on that channel to begin with, so the DVR wouldn't have to switch you away from it! So now you have to hit the swap button to go back to 231, which mind you is also recording perfectly.

Why does it ask you to switch channels if your already on the channel set to record. Maybe I want to watch it now, but also record it to save it for another viewing. Why switch my current tuner to ch 300 and the background tuner to 231. If my current tuner is already on 231, just switch the background tuner to 300 and then record both streams. Seems like it's doing more work then it needs to, why providing an annoyance to me.
That is not anywere near as annoying as trying to set a recording and being told that it conflicts with another recording when you can see there is only one recording at that time. I have not seen this recently, but I used to see it.

The question is how complicated is the algorithm going to be. One problem I can see if you choose to keep the same channel, instead of switching, do you ask the user to stay on that channel. What happens if the program decides 2 minutes before the recording to record your program on tuner 1 (the one you are tuned to). If it doesn't inform you, and you switch to another station what should happen? Should it warn you when you try to switch? Should it just switch back when it is time to switch? Or should it tell you it is going to start your program in 2 minutes.

Currently, if you are watching the channel that is going to be recorded (let's assume only one recording), then it switches the other tuner to record the channel. This is probably done because many people channel surf and they want to disrupt the user as little as possible.

So now what if instead of the programs starting at the same time, you are going to record a program that takes 60 minutes, and there is another program that will start in 30 minutes. Do you start recording the program on the other tuner so that you can channel surf? In 30 minutes you now get asked to switch channels. Are you annoyed? What if the recording was going to start in 2 minutes?

One thing that drives me crazy, that would be easier for them to fix, is being able to start a program late or end a program early. Often, the networks extend their programs by 2 minutes and start the next one later. I should be able to decide what happens on the overlap, rather then just have a complete conflict.

cypherstream

06-04-07, 12:27 PM

Ok well what confuses the hell out of me is the following situation:

Two programs are scheduled to record at the same time on different channels. I happen to want to watch the recording that is on HBO while it records. I'll watch the recording on ABC later (because then I can skip commercials :-)

So I put the background tuner on 231 ABCHD.
I put my current viewable tuner on 300 HBOHD.

Ok so both tuners are set to the proper channels to record. Less work for the DVR to do, because I put it on.

Now the recording message comes up saying I have to switch channels. WHY? I'm on 300, let it record, and 231 is already tuned on the background tuner, so let that record as well since it is also set.

Instead it switches channel 300 on Tuner 1 to Channel 231.
At the same time it switches channel 231 on Tuner 2 to Channel 300.

Sounds really unessesary to switch the channels forcing me to do a swap. It's like it doesn't realize that it doesn't have to swap channels. Like it doesn't keep track of what channel each tuner is on. It must just send a real simple command like "Tune first tuner to channel A and record; tune second tuner to channel B and record".

As far as having something record for an hour on one tuner and on the other tuner have a half hour recording, I'll have to do some more testing to see what it does in those situations. I have to admit, I don't remember ever having a problem with that respect (perhaps I rarely schedule recordings in that time slot).

I guess the solution for me is say I want to watch HBO's recording as it happens, but also ABC records at the same time is to be tuned to ABC up until the recording point. Then the box will switch me to HBO.

bobby94928

06-04-07, 01:22 PM

ncaahoops

06-04-07, 07:49 PM

I think the pecking order might be the order they were programmed in, not channel number. If they are series recordings, there is a priority list you can check.

"A few minutes" is two minutes, to be precise.

Oh I forgot about the historical component. Is the order of which they are displayed in the "Scheduled Recordings" the same as the order they will start recording?

That's good to know that is precisely two minutes! That maneuvering could save the contents of a buffer in some rare scenarios :-)

kjbawc

06-04-07, 09:42 PM

Oh I forgot about the historical component. Is the order of which they are displayed in the "Scheduled Recordings" the same as the order they will start recording?

I think probably so. I guess we could experiment, and find out. I rarely have two recordings starting at exactly the same time. The two minutes, I am certain of. Best sync your watch with the STB time display, if you want to make use of it.

andyross63

06-05-07, 05:16 PM

kjbawc

06-05-07, 09:48 PM

Are you sure it's TWO minutes before the start? Unless it can vary from system to system, I've found it to be ONE minute (60 seconds). This is when the warning pops up. Sometimes it's a bit less when the box is having a brain fart and running behind (like when the remote takes forever to respond.)

I'm not talking specifically about the warning pop-up. I have Comcast, with a Moto 6412 PIII. If you wait until two minutes, or less, to swap tuners, before a recording is scheduled, the tuner you swapped to, and are watching, will do the recording. I have timed this in the past. But, that was before I got FW16.2, so maybe they changed the timing. I haven't checked it lately. That possibility hadn't occured to me when I made my original statement.

ncaahoops

06-06-07, 06:40 PM

I'm not talking specifically about the warning pop-up. I have Comcast, with a Moto 6412 PIII. If you wait until two minutes, or less, to swap tuners, before a recording is scheduled, the tuner you swapped to, and are watching, will do the recording. I have timed this in the past. But, that was before I got FW16.2, so maybe they changed the timing. I haven't checked it lately. That possibility hadn't occured to me when I made my original statement.

Unless Comcast is for some reason using the user-specified warning period for the same purpose?

blitzen102

06-07-07, 10:25 AM

andyross63

06-07-07, 05:34 PM

The time when the warning gets issued is a user selectable preference in a setup menu somewhere.
That is the REMINDER warning (the bell icon.)

As far as I can tell, both the the tuner selection and any warnings are made 60 seconds before the recording is scheduled to begin.

chile62

06-12-07, 04:32 PM

How about this one: Watching a recorded show and ff through commercials. Everytime I get to within 7 minutes of the end of the recording, it jumps all the way to the end. It never did this before but now it always does it. Not a huge problem; just irritating...

This happens all the time on my box. :(

Plus...like the old Comcast DVR it will some times tell us the hard drive is full when it is really around 30%.

tex1080

06-17-07, 02:13 PM

I am still having issues with my HDMI connection just wondered if anyone could help. I have the 6412 III receiver hooked up to a Mits 62627 currently with comp. When i first hooked up my system last Oct. I was able to hook everything up via HDMI and everything worked great. I unplugged all of my equipment in December while I went out of town for 2 weeks at Christmas. When I came back and powered on my equipment the HDMI port no longer works. Through research I found that their was a software issue. Last week my DVR received the much awaited software upgrade which I assumed would fix the issue. I hooked up the Moto to my TV via HDMI and still no picture. My HD-DVD player works fine via HDMI so I know it is not the port on my tv. I went into the setup menu on the Moto and when to d11> INTERFACE/PORT SETTINGS > DVI/HDMI > enabled = no. I called Time Warner here in Dallas and asked them about this and they said they could send a pulse to my box which would reset it and allow the hdmi port to work. After 30 minutes of patiently waiting still no HDMI. Does anyone know if the port if their is a way to turn the port on, or should I just demand another unit. Have to wait till tomorrow anyway. If anyone has ran into this issue and found a fix please let me know.

BTW: Has anyone messed with the audio settings in their DCT6412 III interested to find out what settings others have used.

Thanks,

bernie33

06-17-07, 02:37 PM

ultraviolet353

06-17-07, 03:38 PM

Is there still no support for an external hard drive on the Moto 3416?

wrmoore

06-17-07, 04:16 PM

tex1080

06-17-07, 06:11 PM

You need to set your DVR to enable HDMI.

Bernie

When I first received the moto I did have the HDMI settings under the menu but now it is no longer there. Instead it only shows YPbPr Settings and I can change the output resolution. When I go into the other menu OK/Select under d11 it shows DVI/HDMI enabled = no.

kjbawc

06-17-07, 08:31 PM

The Audio settings can be changed from the basic DVR Menu. Go to the Home screen, then Setup, then Audio. Mine is set to Advanced, no compression, stereo. One very knowledgeable TW engineer told me he set his to turn compression on so that there is less of a difference in volume between SD or analog and HD
stations.

Bernie

The audio settings only affect the analog R/L stereo outs. The coax digital, and optical audio outs are unaffected. Of course I listen almost exclusively with optical digital audio out.

I set mine to advanced matrix, light compression. That seems to provide good audio recordings on my DVDR.

bernie33

06-17-07, 11:15 PM

When I first received the moto I did have the HDMI settings under the menu but now it is no longer there. Instead it only shows YPbPr Settings and I can change the output resolution. When I go into the other menu OK/Select under d11 it shows DVI/HDMI enabled = no.

Is your hdmi cable firmly seated at both ends? The online Motorola manual is dated, but it seems to indicate that if you don't have a dvi or hdmi connection then you will only see the YPbPr Settings. http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/customer_docs/user_guides/512659-001-a.pdf page 11.

If the problem persists you should call Time Warner and have them schedule a call. You don't have to "demand a new unit". If it is a setting the tech will fix it. If it is a problem with the box the tech should have another box with him. In my (limited) experience they usually have a few with them.

andyross63

06-18-07, 05:40 PM

I'm pretty new to all this HDTV stuff, and I have a question. We watched our first Pay-per-view movie on Friday and now the display on my 6412 III (Comcast) shows the channel number 166 most of the time and the channel its actually tuned to replaces the 166 for about a second maybe every 30 seconds. Everything seems to be functioning fine, but the channel display seems to be mostly stuck on 166. Whatsup with that?
Try:
POWER off for a few seconds, then back on. (Just plain POWER button, not unplugging.)

Use the swap button to swap back and forth. Change channels on both tuners.

Go to the user setup and toggle the display from showing the time, then back to showing the channel. Save each setting, exit out of the menus, then go back, just to be certain:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Using_i-Guide/User_Setup#Front_LED_Display

Watch all recordings. Write down all series and scheduled recordings, just in case. Then POWER off, wait a few seconds, then unplug. After about 30 seconds, plug it back in. Wait about a minute before trying to POWER back on. It will take a few minutes for all menus to reload, about 30 minutes for near-term (6-8 hours) of Guide data to load, and about 8-24 hours for the full 2-week Guide data to load. You should not lose recordings or scheduled recordings, but bugs in the current firmware/software have caused losses during reboots. That's why I mention writing everything down and watching anything important first, just in case.

Finally, try the DVR Authorization and Factory Full Reset from the Wikibook:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Resets

wrmoore

06-18-07, 09:33 PM

andyross63,

Thanks for your help. Meanwhile, I did a swap and changed the channel there and this behavior disappeared.

Randy

supworld

06-20-07, 09:02 PM

I have been searching forever to find something. without going into detail...does anyone know how to clone the MAC from one 6412 to another?
Thank you

ajwees41

06-20-07, 09:04 PM

I have been searching forever to find something. without going into detail...does anyone know how to clone the MAC from one 6412 to another?
Thank you

why would you want to do that?

ajwees41

supworld

06-20-07, 09:21 PM

why would you want to do that?

ajwees41

guess I got ripped off...hmmmm..great

ajwees41

06-20-07, 09:33 PM

I have a 6412 from rented from provider and bought my own, same model. Now they want to charge me a service fee for the use of my own dvr. Not a rental fee. its less but to give them my mac on my own dvr they want to charge me. So I wanted to clone the mac so I will receive the signal from the provider. This is how the signal is sent...they have the MAC registered don't they? and send signal to that?

Please correct me if I am wrong..I am pc tech, just got into the DVR thing. Newbee with it.

That would be stealing

Are you in the US Comcast will not autorize a 6412 that was bought. They only rent them.

ajwees41

bradzilla

06-23-07, 10:50 AM

This is a huge thread and I skimmed it a bit but can't seem to find an answer to this.

I understand that any HDTV is supposed to take an incoming signal and scale it to it's native resolution. Why then, when I press info on the TV remote does it show it displaying as 720x480i? Because when I watch an upconverted DVD, it shows it displaying at 1280x720p. Also, I was at a friend's house last night, and they appeared to have a new Motorola box. The only way I could tell it's different is because there are no front A/V inputs and the red light was in the top right corner instead of the top left corner. This box appeared to be changing all 4:3 signals to 16:9. We weren't watching any of the shows in HD, I can be sure of that. So how do I get the aspect ratio to change from 4:3 to 16:9?

Thanks.

Mikef5

06-23-07, 11:32 AM

swank6

06-23-07, 05:20 PM

Hi all,

Tried to search through the thread as well as the wiki and I can't seem to find the answer to this... it seems really simple.

How do I mute the audio on the HDMI output? I've got my 6412 connected to my TV via HDMI, but I've got audio going out via coax SPDIF and I don't want it to use the TV speakers. Right now it's outputting both at the same time so I have to mute the TV every time. Is there a way to mute from the box?

scanpa

06-23-07, 05:27 PM

turn the tv volume down to zero

also in the user settings menu, under HDMI advanced options you can disable the STB HDMI Audio.

bernie33

06-23-07, 05:36 PM

swank6

06-23-07, 05:38 PM

turn the tv volume down to zero

also in the user settings menu, under HDMI advanced options you can disable the STB HDMI Audio.

Thanks. (I'm retarded)

Bob Miller2

06-23-07, 08:11 PM

ncaahoops

06-25-07, 12:08 AM

Hello All:

I may have posted incorrectly . . . wanted to start a new thread . . .sorry!

Anyway, the issue is that TV shows recorded will first pixellate [I call it artifacts from working with video] then lock up when playing them.

I am on my third box so it seems it is an issue with these boxes.

I have done a HDD Reset [as per wiki] but the problem persists.

Time for a new boxx?

Thanks for any help!

Bob

Does the box actually lock up (eg you cannot press any button) or does the picture remain blank? Sometimes where there's a bad segment in the recording you may be able to jump over with the commecial skip or the fast-forward buttons.

As to your main concern, are you getting this with every prorgram recorded on every box? How about going back and forward on the live tuner buffer? Is there a pattern on the type of channels (eg 2-99, or 100+)?

Bob Miller2

06-25-07, 08:39 AM

Does the box actually lock up (eg you cannot press any button) or does the picture remain blank? Sometimes where there's a bad segment in the recording you may be able to jump over with the commecial skip or the fast-forward buttons.

As to your main concern, are you getting this with every proAs far as what channel, it isgram recorded on every box? How about going back and forward on the live tuner buffer? Is there a pattern on the type of channels (eg 2-99, or 100+)?

Thanks for your reply!

Based on your wording, it doesn't lock up - trying fast forward results in an error screen [I will try to get the error number the next time it happens]. If I hit the "last" button, it takes me back to regular TV. The recorded program can then be re-started but typically will again 'freeze' - not necessarily at the same point. Sometimes recordings are perfect but not usually.

As far as what channel, 2 to 99.

Bob

ncaahoops

06-27-07, 02:24 PM

Thanks for your reply!

Based on your wording, it doesn't lock up - trying fast forward results in an error screen [I will try to get the error number the next time it happens]. If I hit the "last" button, it takes me back to regular TV. The recorded program can then be re-started but typically will again 'freeze' - not necessarily at the same point. Sometimes recordings are perfect but not usually.

As far as what channel, 2 to 99.

Bob

I haven't seen this exact error as you describe it.

I did have one box that had issues with the ADS channels 2-99, the picture would not show during fast-forward or back-forward but the position would move. And the picture reappeared after I pressed play. So this could perhaps be another ADS-related problem? (I am assuming it is not happening with the 100+ channels?)

iblaineman

06-28-07, 05:40 PM

I just had a problem with my 3412. It was recording all the time. It would be recording a show but the recording doesn't show up on the dvr recordings lists. It was actually recording the same show on both tuners. I canceled one of the recordings and it just started recording another channel.. I rebooted so it is not doing that any longer but my hard drive is pretty full now. I have like 4 recordings saved and it says over 70 percent full. I guess I am going to format the hard drive.

Blaine

plambert66

07-04-07, 08:28 PM

I have a Motorola DCT 6412 III set-top box and I'm unable to find the DVR menu item under the Quick Access Guide. It normally is the second item from the left but for some reason it has disappeared and is no longer a possible selection.

I did a regular power down of the box but that didn't solve the problem.

Any tips or suggestions? I plan on calling the cable company tomorrow since they were closed today for the 4th of July.

Thanks for any advice!

bicker1

07-04-07, 08:39 PM

After a power-cycle of the box, it takes a period of time before it regains all of its features.

plambert66

07-04-07, 08:48 PM

After a power-cycle of the box, it takes a period of time before it regains all of its features.
Thanks for the response. Do you know approximately how much time it will take for the menu selections to return to normal? My power-cycle took place about four hours ago.

I appreciate any additional insight.

bicker1

07-04-07, 08:51 PM

If the box and the head-end are both operating properly, it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes. However, that does open the door to two possible avenues, before considering even deeper issues: The box could have encountered a fault that wasn't there before, or your area's head-end could be experiencing a problem. Regardless, you've done all you can reasonably due. Call Comcast.

Northcountry

07-04-07, 11:34 PM

I have a Motorola DCT 6412 III set-top box and I'm unable to find the DVR menu item under the Quick Access Guide. It normally is the second item from the left but for some reason it has disappeared and is no longer a possible selection.

As already stated it could be a problem with the guide data, but the missing button could indicate a defective hard drive. If you can't access the recordings using the list button on the remote then the drive isn't being picked up by the DCT. Big company like Comcast should have 24/7 support :-)

rebkell

07-06-07, 01:18 PM

wdkerbow

07-06-07, 02:15 PM

Is there anyway to jump to the start and end of the buffer? TIVO has this and it's handy, but I haven't seen any way to get to the start of the buffer other than rewinding until you get there, I know that I can hit the live button to get to live which I guess would be the same as jumping to the end of the buffer, but wondering if there is anyway to get to the start of the buffer other than rewinding?

No direct way that I know of, but here's a work around that I use:

Hit "record" , let it start recording. Go to the Recording list, select the show from the list. Then select "Play from Beginning" This might not work if a show stopped and another one started in the middle of the buffer.

rebkell

07-06-07, 05:09 PM

No direct way that I know of, but here's a work around that I use:

Hit "record" , let it start recording. Go to the Recording list, select the show from the list. Then select "Play from Beginning" This might not work if a show stopped and another one started in the middle of the buffer.

Thanks.

dfunk44

07-06-07, 07:26 PM

ajwees41

07-06-07, 07:38 PM

cox has no solution to this...just upgraded to the dig cable in omaha. plugged the box in and get the guide but no channels. rebooted, refreshed, got a replacement box and still no dice. any suggestions?

This is a Comcast forum not Cox. That being said I am in the Cox Omaha area and have no problems. What box did you get?

ajwees41

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10915702#post10915702

kjbawc

07-07-07, 01:02 AM

Well, it may or may not go back to the beginning of the buffer, but if you hit the "REC" button, all of the program you are watching that is in the buffer will be stored, so you can go to your recordings, and start from the beginning of that program. If you are watching SD, on a channel that has hour length programs, and you want the program that has just ended, you can back the indicator up until it is in the just-ended program, hit "REC," and the program will be saved. If some of the program is no longer in the buffer, it will just save from the beginning of the buffer. I am assuming that the 16.35 firmware hasn't changed things...

deputylynch

07-07-07, 09:15 AM

andyross63

07-07-07, 11:11 AM

Can someone tell me if there is a way to transfer a show from my 6412 that needs to be replaced to the new one that would be provided from Comcast?

This box has been flaky for a while and they have wanted to replace it but I have Super Bowl XL recorded on it in HD and want to keep it!

Can I transfer it to my laptop then into the new box or do a direct transfer between them?
The two solutions are:
1) Record onto another medium. You can use VHS or DVD recorder, but that will reduce it to SD. For HD, there is D-VHS, but copy protection flags may prevent it.

2)Use FireWire to copy it to a computer. There is information on this in the Wikibook (although again, copy protection flags may limit the usability):
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firewire

You CANNOT copy data back into another box. It can only record from the cable system itself.

cypherstream

07-07-07, 03:24 PM

That firewire trick should work to get the Superbowl on your laptop. All basic channels and HD Network channels are recordable in our system. Anything over Ch 28 (minus the network HD's and weatherscan) record fine. All other channels say "Garbage Data", and no one has figured out how to decode the encrypted data on 5C protected channels.

It's a shame the AV inputs don't work on any Motorola Box. It would be cool if you could record from one of the sets of inputs, or record HD over firewire.

Edit: I should say in this system. All systems vary, perhaps yours will let you record off of firewire for more channels than just limited basic.

hybucket

07-08-07, 03:49 PM

kjbawc

07-08-07, 08:13 PM

So..now I get a week's worth of listings, after that, I get spotty listings for the second week, with many TO BE ANNOUCED listings. But it comes and goes...sometimes it's all there, sometimes it's not. Wacky. I'm in SE Mass. I've got the 3412 box.

I get the same in SE Michigan, with a 6412 box. If it is happening all over, maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll fix it.

hybucket

07-08-07, 10:13 PM

I get the same in SE Michigan, with a 6412 box. If it is happening all over, maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll fix it.

I asked the CSR I talked to at Comcast, and he said he's gotten no complaints about the guide TBA problem. I just switched from D* to Comcast - D* had lots of problems with their HD TiVO last year, and everyone on the forums was complaining, but when you called D*, the CSR would almost always said it was the first they'd heard of it. Let's hope it's not the same with COmcast. They're sending a tech down to see if it's a) the 3412, or b) the line is too weak. After hearing that someone else is having a problem similar to mine, I'll bet there are others, and it could be an issue.
We'll see. The tech is coming next week.

kjbawc

07-09-07, 12:38 AM

I can't remember in which thread, but someone else said it was a known problem, caused when the memory was assigned to something else, after the schedule loaded.

bicker1

07-09-07, 06:34 AM

So..now I get a week's worth of listings, after that, I get spotty listings for the second week, with many TO BE ANNOUCED listings. But it comes and goes...sometimes it's all there, sometimes it's not. Wacky. I'm in SE Mass. I've got the 3412 box.That sounds completely normal (though not what we'd like to see perhaps).

mcamden

07-09-07, 08:12 AM

I get the same in SE Michigan, with a 6412 box. If it is happening all over, maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll fix it.
I had this happen with a 6412 last year -- turned out the hard drive was dying. About a month after this problem started, it started exhibiting other errors until the hard drive died completely. When I called CCast, the CSR had "never heard of the problem". After the hard drive died, and tech visited, he told me that loss of guide data is a symptom of impending hard drive failure.

hybucket

07-09-07, 08:32 AM

good_ol_boy

07-09-07, 06:50 PM

I had this happen with a 6412 last year -- turned out the hard drive was dying. About a month after this problem started, it started exhibiting other errors until the hard drive died completely. When I called CCast, the CSR had "never heard of the problem". After the hard drive died, and tech visited, he told me that loss of guide data is a symptom of impending hard drive failure.

I had a similar problem with a Moto 3412 about a month and a half ago. First it started responding slow (a lot slower than usual), then the IPG data started to go crazy, (on some channels I couldnt go more than a few hours out.), then my recordings started becoming 'unstable'. Then I woke up one morning and heard the HDD making a clicking noise and that was all she wrote for that DVR. From start to finish it's demise was about 5 days.

The good news was when I swapped it out CC gave me a 3416, that extra 40 gigs comes in handy.

andyross63

07-14-07, 09:31 AM

After putting up with the TBA issue for over 18 months, it suddenly seems to have cleared itself. It doesn't look like it was rebooted (menus still opened up where I last left them), but I now have titles for the full 2 weeks, although there are generally no descriptions unless the program airs during the first week. Even more, it seems to be responding much faster. I haven't had one of those big delays so far.

There is no software/firmware change. Either they altered the size or format of the Guide data, or uploaded some configuration changes.

Mike20878

07-14-07, 03:11 PM

As already stated it could be a problem with the guide data, but the missing button could indicate a defective hard drive. If you can't access the recordings using the list button on the remote then the drive isn't being picked up by the DCT. Big company like Comcast should have 24/7 support :-)

Comcast does have 24/7 support, but I was in Cox country recently on vacation and discovered they close at 9pm! We were just trying to order a PPV movie.

ajwees41

07-14-07, 03:38 PM

Comcast does have 24/7 support, but I was in Cox country recently on vacation and discovered they close at 9pm! We were just trying to order a PPV movie.

Why were you calling to order the movie? Cox digital customers can order through the box itself.

ajwees41

bicker1

07-15-07, 08:12 AM

After putting up with the TBA issue for over 18 months, it suddenly seems to have cleared itself. It doesn't look like it was rebooted (menus still opened up where I last left them), but I now have titles for the full 2 weeks, although there are generally no descriptions unless the program airs during the first week. I expect most of this issue centers on things going on at the head-end, not things going on in our deployed STBs.

st0v0kar

07-15-07, 10:08 PM

hi all...just a few quick questions about the 6412...anyone run across the error code e609...just started and it looks like it is trying to download something...but it is taking forever...any ideas? i see a few regarding the 6208...about the 4 capacitors...but nothing on the 6412..i am fairly good with electronics...so i wont be afraid of some technical answers...thanks for your time jamie

Northcountry

07-15-07, 11:22 PM

hi all...just a few quick questions about the 6412...anyone run across the error code e609...just started and it looks like it is trying to download something...but it is taking forever...any ideas?

Its most likely an eb09 which is a boot cycle error code and yes it is trying to download the firmware for some reason. eb09 is the check failed see explanation from the manual below:
Eb 09 Check failed Reset within two minutes of a complete
software object download
No action required
because the set-top
repeats software object
download process

If it keeps doing this then there could be a problem with the signal getting to the box or an issue with the DCT itself. It sounds like its having trouble locking onto the stream where the firmware code resides. If this is a new DCT it may have to be authorized to get the firmware first, but I'm not certain though. Good luck.

Mike20878

07-16-07, 11:52 AM

Why were you calling to order the movie? Cox digital customers can order through the box itself.

ajwees41

There was a block on the account that we were calling to have removed.

The other thing with their On Demand was that each time I exited a program the menu would resize so that it didn't fit the screen. I had to exit On Demand and re-enter to get a menu I could read.

KWhit

07-16-07, 03:16 PM

Question for you guys:

I just purchased a Pioneer PDP5016HD and set it up with my existing Comcast cable box/DVR - Motorola 6412. I have had the box for a while, before upgrading to the Comcast HD package, but it seems that I have a problem.

I am receiving a nice HD image for the most part, but it is displaying strangely. On my HD channels, I am getting black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. I have checked setup menus for both the TV and the cable box and can find nothing obvious that I need to change.

I suspect that there may be some sort of service menu in the cable box that that I need to modify so that the image is output in proper format.

Anyone have any ideas?

bobby94928

07-16-07, 04:11 PM

KWhit

07-17-07, 08:54 AM

Well that was easy.

That was the menu that I had seen before ages ago but couldn't remember how I had accessed it.

Thanks for the help. Problem solved.

opus312

07-17-07, 09:39 AM

Well that was easy. That was the menu that I had seen before ages ago but couldn't remember how I had accessed it.

Not surprising, has to be about the dumbest possible way to access a menu...

Of course, if you simply remember it's Comcast, that would remind you to check for the dumbest possible way to do just about anything...

bicker1

07-17-07, 01:32 PM

That's not Comcast. That's Motorola. All Motorola DVRs work that way, even those used by cable systems other than Comcast.

Go Hard

07-25-07, 12:07 PM

Comcast is replacing our not so great MS guide with the iGuide and I went home yesterday to 5 recordings of Dark Angel. I've never watched the show before. I also had multiple season recordings set for show I don't watch, Q13 news (I watch 5 in HD), the Bob Costos show and a bunch of others. After spending about 45 minutes erasing the misc shows and trying to clean up what I wanted recorded, I have encountered the "can't delete the show" bug. I'm not very impressed with the new guide.

I liked that I could change the color of the menus and the 30 sec skip works great w/my harmony remote. I also had to try switching between buffers.

So how long until this guide is updated to fix some of these problems?

BTW, don't forget about the Comcast Forum: http://comcastcentral.lithium.com/c...ategory.id=Help

Mike20878

07-25-07, 03:08 PM

BTW, don't forget about the Comcast Forum: http://comcastcentral.lithium.com/c...ategory.id=Help

Page not found.

andyross63

07-25-07, 05:21 PM

Comcast is replacing our not so great MS guide with the iGuide and I went home yesterday to 5 recordings of Dark Angel. I've never watched the show before. I also had multiple season recordings set for show I don't watch, Q13 news (I watch 5 in HD), the Bob Costos show and a bunch of others. After spending about 45 minutes erasing the misc shows and trying to clean up what I wanted recorded, I have encountered the "can't delete the show" bug. I'm not very impressed with the new guide.
When it was converted, did they 'save' your previous settings as much as possible? If so, there may be some bad data someplace. You may be better off doing a DVR HDD Reset so you start with a clean slate.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Resets

Go Hard

07-26-07, 11:38 AM

Page not found.

Sorry, try this:

http://comcastcentral.lithium.com/comcastcentral/

tydfan

07-27-07, 05:56 AM

I tried to search for this topic within this thread but for some reason my work computer won't allow me to view the results. I can view the main forum however...go figure.

The background.....I just purchased an HL-T6176S, a 61" Samsung DLP set. I have Comcast and a 6412 set top HD/DVR box. I have the 6412 connected to my TV via component, with a dvd recorder connected directly to the TV via HDMI. There is no external sound system connected (yet :) ). I'm saving the 6412's DVI port for my PC.

Now, here's the question....Most of the time my SD channels (2-99) display a vertical white dotted line about an inch or two to the right of the picture. I also periodically get some distortion at the very top. I can adjust for the problem at the top by using the TV's picture adjust menu, but it seems like it comes back periodically, not always on the same channel, but always on SD programming. There seems to be nothing I can do about the dotted lines. If I adjust the picture to the right, the whole picture moves, including the lines. The strange thing is that it isn't a problem all the time. I can turn on the TV one day and there are no lines on the SD channels, but turn it on later that same day and there they are. My digital channels (100 through whatever) and my HD programming are fine. Just for reference, I have had Comcast internet and digital TV (on and old Sony 27") for two years, and no problem. It wasn't until I got the new TV that the dotted lines started. One more note, when they hooked me up two years ago, the tech placed a power booster on the line because the signal was weak.

My guess is there is some setting on the 6412 that needs to be changed (I have the 480 setting set to OFF, but changing it to 480i or 480p doesn't help and the stretched picture looks real bad!), or the signal is the problem. I haven't called Comcast yet; I wanted to get a little more educated before I deal with their customer service people. Thanks in advance!

nywst

07-27-07, 10:44 AM

Questions:

1. how do I know I have PII, or PIII 6412?
2. Which model supports external SATA drive?
3. What is the latest model Comcast offers in my area (NJ, 08520)?

Thanks a lot!

bobby94928

07-27-07, 12:15 PM

1. If it has HDMI, it's PIII, if not it's PI or II
2. None of them

nywst

07-27-07, 12:21 PM

1. If it has HDMI, it's PIII, if not it's PI or II
2. None of them

Thanks a lot, so mine is PIII.

Is it also the latest model Comcast has?

bobby94928

07-27-07, 01:57 PM

The latest is the 34xx series, but it is for use in digital only areas. The only difference between the 34xx and 64xx is that the 64's have analog tuners.

Al Shing

07-28-07, 07:27 PM

When it was converted, did they 'save' your previous settings as much as possible? If so, there may be some bad data someplace. You may be better off doing a DVR HDD Reset so you start with a clean slate.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Resets

They did save all of the existing settings, recordings, and series settings.

However, this new stuff almost seems like a primitive attempt to implement Tivo's predictive recording technology. Ie. based on what series are set, and what is already recorded, it will try to fill the hard drive with stuff it thinks you like.

So, based on my Doctor Who series recordings, and a Japanese news program, it thought I might like BBC World News. Or since I have sports recordings, it set a series recording for FSN Live.

But if they are going to do that, they should warn you, and give you a way to turn it off. Instead, you have to be constantly vigilant, and watch out for this extraneous stuff that has to be deleted manually.

ZippoMan

07-28-07, 09:43 PM

ExDeus

07-30-07, 05:38 PM

Hi Folks,

I posted in the 6412 HDMI thread as well. Today COX dropped off a DCT6412 III and HDMI does not work with my Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD - it says something about HDCP Authentication Failed. Do I have any hope? The firmware is 16.38. I really hate using component. I just moved so I had to switch from Time Warner, I believe I previously had a 6412 and HDMI worked just fine!

Have you tried these (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#When_turning_the_box_on_while_using_a_digital_video_con nection.2C_the_picture_may_not_be_visible_or_correct) remedies for similar problems described in the wikibook?

Steve Goff

07-30-07, 05:55 PM

bobby94928

07-30-07, 06:14 PM

Comcast just changed the software on our cable boxes in Olympia Washington from the Microsoft guide to iGuide, and I'm missing some features a lot. For example, late at night I often decide not to watch a show but to record it with the DVR and watch it later. With the Microsoft guide I'd simply hit the record button and then the Power button to turn off the box. But I can't seem to do this with the iGuide. Instead it gives me the option of canceling the recording (NO!), changing to the other tuner (after which, you still can't turn it off), or going back. Can it really be true that you can't turn off the box when it is recording? If so, this is a big change for the worse.

The box never really goes off anyway even when you turn it off. It only goes into standby. If you set a recording while the program has started, the box must be left on. If you set a recording for a future program, the box can be put in standby and it will turn on to record the program and then return to standby when it is finished recording. You'll get used to it.

kjbawc

07-30-07, 06:24 PM

Can it really be true that you can't turn off the box when it is recording? If so, this is a big change for the worse.

Most people never turn their boxes off, because they are prone to have more problems than if they are left on all the time. I almost never turn mine off, and that doesn't really cause any problems. Once in a while, I will lose Dolby Digital. I will turn the box off for a few seconds, then turn it on again, and all is well!

ZippoMan

07-30-07, 10:16 PM

Have you tried these (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#When_turning_the_box_on_while_using_a_digital_video_con nection.2C_the_picture_may_not_be_visible_or_correct) remedies for similar problems described in the wikibook?

Thanks for the link, but none of that worked. I ended up going to a COX store and got the latest and greatest 3416 that just came out last week, this thing looks SLICK and HDMI works like a pro!

http://www.cybertheater.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/motorola_dch3416_440.jpg

ridgefamus

07-31-07, 01:17 PM

Thanks for the link, but none of that worked. I ended up going to a COX store and got the latest and greatest 3416 that just came out last week, this thing looks SLICK and HDMI works like a pro!

http://www.cybertheater.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/motorola_dch3416_440.jpg

I wonder how they can call something that looks so radically different from my 3416 a "3416"? I know the "16" part describes the HD size but shouldn't there be a new series for the changed look?

ZippoMan

07-31-07, 01:25 PM

I wonder how they can call something that looks so radically different from my 3416 a "3416"? I know the "16" part describes the HD size but shouldn't there be a new series for the changed look?

I noticed the same thing. In the COX store on display were the old 3416s that look identical to the 6412. I wasn't expecting this new redesigned one when he handed it over to me. It really looks nice in person, but I don't know what advantages it has. The interface is faster than the 6412 III I returned.

ajwees41

07-31-07, 01:36 PM

I noticed the same thing. In the COX store on display were the old 3416s that look identical to the 6412. I wasn't expecting this new redesigned one when he handed it over to me. It really looks nice in person, but I don't know what advantages it has. The interface is faster than the 6412 III I returned.

there is no advantages the only thing different is the cable card
there is a difference between the 6412 and the 3416 the 6412 has a smartcard slot in the front the 3416 does not.

Why would you go to a cox store when this is a comcast forum?

ajwees41

ExDeus

07-31-07, 05:06 PM

I wonder how they can call something that looks so radically different from my 3416 a "3416"? I know the "16" part describes the HD size but shouldn't there be a new series for the changed look?
It is a new model series. The old boxes are DCT-x4xx, for Digital Cable Tuner(?). The new boxes are DCH-x4xx, for Digital Cable Host, as they support M-Cards and MoCA networking (not that it will necessarily be enabled).

ExDeus

07-31-07, 05:12 PM

there is no advantages the only thing different is the cable card
there is a difference between the 6412 and the 3416 the 6412 has a smartcard slot in the front the 3416 does not.

Why would you go to a cox store when this is a comcast forum?

ajwees41
Do you know there are no hardware updates that might alleviate some of the common problems?

ajwees41

07-31-07, 05:23 PM

Do you know there are no hardware updates that might alleviate some of the common problems?

I don't understand your question.

ajwees41

ExDeus

07-31-07, 05:43 PM

I don't understand your question.

ajwees41
You were saying there are no advantages to the DCH models, so I'm asking if you know the hardware is the same as the DCT boxes. If the hardware is different, and the firmware could be different, then some of the common ailments with the DCT series might be resolved.

Can someone with a DCH box follow the procedure (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#How_To_Check_Your_Firmware_and_Softwar e_Versions_.28i-Guide.29) to get the software and firmware versions and build date?

ajwees41

07-31-07, 05:46 PM

You were saying there are no advantages to the DCH models, so I'm asking if you know the hardware is the same as the DCT boxes. If the hardware is different, and the firmware could be different, then some of the common ailments with the DCT series might be resolved.

Can someone with a DCH box follow the procedure (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#How_To_Check_Your_Firmware_and_Softwar e_Versions_.28i-Guide.29) to get the software and firmware versions and build date?

I am guessing it is the same except for the security is on the the cablecard instead of in the box.

ajwees41

cypherstream

07-31-07, 07:13 PM

You were saying there are no advantages to the DCH models, so I'm asking if you know the hardware is the same as the DCT boxes. If the hardware is different, and the firmware could be different, then some of the common ailments with the DCT series might be resolved.

Can someone with a DCH box follow the procedure (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#How_To_Check_Your_Firmware_and_Softwar e_Versions_.28i-Guide.29) to get the software and firmware versions and build date?

Ditto to ExDeus

I've been trying to get someone to post this information since the beginning of the month. Someone please post!

Hmm... Should I upgrade my Motorola DCT-6412 Phase 2 with the new DCH box?

FredSRichardson

07-31-07, 09:23 PM

ajwees41

07-31-07, 10:03 PM

[QUOTE=FredSRichardson]I've done a bit of searching around but I didn't have any luck finding a match for this particular problem.

I have a DCT-6412 III from Comcast in the Boston, MA area. I have it hooked up to an Onkyo HT-SR800 receiver via HDMI (audio is hooked up via the coax connector), and the receiver is connected to a Sony 32XBR4 TV.

The problem I have is that when I turn off the receiver, the cable box will eventually lock-up. The time will remain frozen at whenever it decided to crash (could be hours from when I turned off the receiver), and the only thing I can do is unplug/re-plug the box to reboot. I've also noticed that the LCD display on the DCT-6412 will flicker/flash slightly when I turn off the receiver. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Any idea of Comcast can do anything about it? I've had the 6412 for a long time (about a year and a half), but just moved to an HDMI TV a few weeks ago.

Thanks for any help figuring this out!

can't help with the box freezing, but a suggestion on the time flicker time possible a fuse ready to blow

The reason I mention that I have a 3416 that the time leds was going dim and the fuse in the basement finally blew and since it was replaced the time hasn't flickered once

ajwees41

bernie33

07-31-07, 10:57 PM

I've done a bit of searching around but I didn't have any luck finding a match for this particular problem.

I have a DCT-6412 III from Comcast in the Boston, MA area. I have it hooked up to an Onkyo HT-SR800 receiver via HDMI (audio is hooked up via the coax connector), and the receiver is connected to a Sony 32XBR4 TV.

The problem I have is that when I turn off the receiver, the cable box will eventually lock-up. The time will remain frozen at whenever it decided to crash (could be hours from when I turned off the receiver), and the only thing I can do is unplug/re-plug the box to reboot. I've also noticed that the LCD display on the DCT-6412 will flicker/flash slightly when I turn off the receiver. Anyone have any idea what's going on? Any idea of Comcast can do anything about it? I've had the 6412 for a long time (about a year and a half), but just moved to an HDMI TV a few weeks ago.

Thanks for any help figuring this out!

-Fred

My guess would be that you're seeing two different "problems". The light flickering when you turn off the receiver may well just be that you're taxing the power available to your equipment now that you've added a new, more power hungry TV. Same effect as when an air conditioner turns on or off.

The DVR locking up at random intervals sounds more like a box experiencing an intermittent failure and you just haven't experienced it yet while watching it. I'd call Comcast and they should replace the DVR.

Bernie

Barovelli

07-31-07, 11:19 PM

Ditto to ExDeus

I've been trying to get someone to post this information since the beginning of the month. Someone please post!

Hmm... Should I upgrade my Motorola DCT-6412 Phase 2 with the new DCH box?

All ya had to do was ask. Had one since June

DCH 3416
S/W Ver: 74.53-3321
Firmware 18.21

ExDeus

08-01-07, 03:52 AM

All ya had to do was ask. Had one since June

DCH 3416
S/W Ver: 74.53-3321
Firmware 18.21
Cool! New firmware! Surely with bugfixes and bugs of its own!

Hopefully the bugfixes outweigh the bugs. Any comments on general performance or the presence/absence of the common DCT series bugs/issues?

FredSRichardson

08-01-07, 08:58 AM

My guess would be that you're seeing two different "problems". The light flickering when you turn off the receiver may well just be that you're taxing the power available to your equipment now that you've added a new, more power hungry TV. Same effect as when an air conditioner turns on or off.

The DVR locking up at random intervals sounds more like a box experiencing an intermittent failure and you just haven't experienced it yet while watching it. I'd call Comcast and they should replace the DVR.

Bernie

Thanks for the response! The flicker is actually periodic (it pulses about twice a second). This only happens when I turn off the receiver and it doesn't always happen. I don't think it's a power level issue.

I'm pretty sure the DVR only freezes when I turn off the receiver. Maybe it's some HDMI handshaking problem? I'm running a test now leaving both the receiver and DVR on to see if the 6412 will lock up.

I've seen this happen with computers where they work fine for years, then you move them around and they suddenly become unstable (one time we had to move a computer room at work and ended up with a bunch of dead units after the move). This unit likes to run hot so maybe there're some thermal issues (fatigue?).

RockyMountainD

08-01-07, 09:37 AM

...I'm pretty sure the DVR only freezes when I turn off the receiver. Maybe it's some HDMI handshaking problem? I'm running a test now leaving both the receiver and DVR on to see if the 6412 will lock up...

If you can, try HDMI from the 6412 straight to your TV. I've seen quite a few posts from folks having problems using their AVR as an HDMI pass-through device.

FredSRichardson

08-01-07, 09:54 AM

If you can, try HDMI from the 6412 straight to your TV. I've seen quite a few posts from folks having problems using their AVR as an HDMI pass-through device.

That's a little sad, but I think you're right. I was hoping the receiver would be a switch for everything. But then if the cable box crashes when the TV is turned off I'll know the problem goes beyond the receiver.

I guess if I bug Comcast I could end up with a newer unit, though not necessarily a better one ;)

-Fred

cypherstream

08-01-07, 12:44 PM

All ya had to do was ask. Had one since June

DCH 3416
S/W Ver: 74.53-3321
Firmware 18.21

Awesome, can't wait until a knowledgeable insider can post the firmware fix details on the How to use Motorola DVR wiki.

Now finally ahead of Verizon's firmware 17.xx :-)

Steve Goff

08-01-07, 02:10 PM

The box never really goes off anyway even when you turn it off. It only goes into standby. If you set a recording while the program has started, the box must be left on. If you set a recording for a future program, the box can be put in standby and it will turn on to record the program and then return to standby when it is finished recording. You'll get used to it.
But when the box is in standby it doesn't continually record to the hard drive like it does when it is on. And it used to put the time up when the box was off, a useful clock that I came to rely upon. And I've found that several of my recordings are cut off before the show is over, something that never happened with the Microsoft software. I know now to put in buffers before and after the show, but this was taken care of by the Microsoft guide.

I may get used to it, but that doesn't mean I'll like it.

ridgefamus

08-01-07, 03:31 PM

But when the box is in standby it doesn't continually record to the hard drive like it does when it is on. And it used to put the time up when the box was off, a useful clock that I came to rely upon. And I've found that several of my recordings are cut off before the show is over, something that never happened with the Microsoft software. I know now to put in buffers before and after the show, but this was taken care of by the Microsoft guide.

I may get used to it, but that doesn't mean I'll like it.

You can change the user settings in Setup to display the clock all the time. My DCT-3416 (since we don't have a separate thread yet for the DCH series :rolleyes: we must differentiate!) only changes to the channel number when I choose to change channels. In 2 seconds, the time reappears.

Most of the time the iGuide reflects the end time of shows that it knows runs past the top of the hour, e.g., Lost so there is no need to buffer manually. It is a pain to have to keep on top of that, though, for other shows that run over. Where did Microsoft gather the better data to preclude that from happening in your old guide?

Hang in there.

ncaahoops

08-01-07, 05:00 PM

You can change the user settings in Setup to display the clock all the time. My DCT-3416 (since we don't have a separate thread yet for the DCH series :rolleyes: we must differentiate!) only changes to the channel number when I choose to change channels. In 2 seconds, the time reappears.

Most of the time the iGuide reflects the end time of shows that it knows runs past the top of the hour, e.g., Lost so there is no need to buffer manually. It is a pain to have to keep on top of that, though, for other shows that run over. Where did Microsoft gather the better data to preclude that from happening in your old guide?

Hang in there.

I think he may be talking about cases where either the network/channel or the box are a few seconds off and you may miss the start or finish. Just recently SciFi screwed up with the timing of a Stargate episosde and abruptly cut off the usual "next week on..." stuff. I usually add 2-3 minutes of buffer to each program just to be safe, after seeing quite a few recordings missing a few seconds from the start or the finish.

bobby94928

08-01-07, 06:23 PM

Brand new to using this box, so please excuse my ignorance if it shows.
Is there any way to set the box to output hd channels at the resolution of the channel? I can only figure out how to set it to output at 1080i or 720p for high def.One or the other. Thanks

Quite simply, no...................

dewdman42

08-02-07, 06:04 AM

timecop

08-02-07, 06:44 AM

You can say only record new run shows, but all week long it re-records the same show even after I watched it and deleted it. LAME! Its driving me crazy.

See, you gotta think like the software developers. The reason it records it again because you watched and deleted it :)

-tc

dewdman42

08-02-07, 06:49 AM

no, the reason it recorded it again is because its too stupid to keep track. Unlike the previous guide system that did not have this problem....and don't get me started about how much smarter Tivo is.

dewdman42

08-02-07, 06:50 AM

Honestly with the pluthera of shows now on TV that have repeat showings throughout the week, a series recording feature that functions the way the current one does is just plain brain dead and stupid.

RockyMountainD

08-02-07, 09:27 AM

I hope someone knows the answer. Comcast recently updated my area to a new TV guide(Seattle). Does seem improved in some ways, but one way that it seems positively worse and stupid is the way it records series on the DVR. There are a number of series that I record from HBO and other sources that have numerous repeats during the week of the same episode and this stupid software records them all! The old software had a way to specify to only record the show at a particular time and/or channel, but this software seems brain dead to me. You can say only record new run shows, but all week long it re-records the same show even after I watched it and deleted it. LAME! Its driving me crazy.

I sure hope the makers of the software will fix it. Its ridiculous.

This is my biggest gripe with the iGuide DVR software. It has no "memory" of what's been recorded (and deleted) as do MOXI, TiVO and others.

There are two ways around this: don't delete the recording until the repeats for the week are over or go manual. It shouldn't be this way, but it is. :mad:

Hopefully, the TiVO software for these boxes will do it correctly.

opus312

08-02-07, 09:52 AM

bicker1

08-02-07, 08:24 PM

No, it's Motorola. :rolleyes:

ncaahoops

08-02-07, 08:32 PM

See, you gotta think like the software developers. The reason it records it again because you watched and deleted it :)

-tc

And if you change the default setting to "keep 1 episode, it will delete the previous week's episode when it starts recording this week's episode. So you just watch the episode, but don't delete it. This is probably the most automated way to do it (other than Comcast implementing the feature in a better way!)

HBO doesn't take a lot of time on the hard disk (unless of course it is HBO-HD).

ajwees41

08-02-07, 11:07 PM

No, it's Motorola. :rolleyes:

Actually it's the guide software that decides if it's a repete or not.

ajwees41

Couch Patato

08-03-07, 07:02 AM

I'm just a bit confused what you guys are saying. I've Never had my box delete anything by itself. On a series recording I set everything up that I want.

To record the show on all channels or just one. Just one most of the time for me.

"I" delete only.

Record NEW eps only.

On the main 3 networks most of the time they start shows about 2 minutes early than what the guid says or even the news paper guid. Darn networks.:D So I set the prefrance to start 2 minutes early.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v169/Colorado59/Sony%20T7%20general%20Photos/DSC06641.jpg

As long as the guid describes the show as "new" & repete it has no problems keeping track of what I want recorded

RockyMountainD

08-03-07, 09:15 AM

I'm just a bit confused what you guys are saying....

The iGuide software doesn't keep track of what's already been recorded, then deleted.

For example, Discovery might premier a new episode of Monster Forensics on Tuesday night, then repeat that same episode Friday night, then again Sunday night.

It records Tuesday's show, you watch on Wednesday, then delete. IGuide then records the show again on Friday. You notice it Saturday, delete it, and guess what? It'll record it again on Sunday.

All 3 episodes were tagged as "new", so it's just doing what it's told :rolleyes:

hybucket

08-03-07, 09:29 AM

The iGuide software doesn't keep track of what's already been recorded, then deleted.

For example, Discovery might premier a new episode of Monster Forensics on Tuesday night, then repeat that same episode Friday night, then again Sunday night.

It records Tuesday's show, you watch on Wednesday, then delete. IGuide then records the show again on Friday. You notice it Saturday, delete it, and guess what? It'll record it again on Sunday.

All 3 episodes were tagged as "new", so it's just doing what it's told :rolleyes:

In my simple little mind, this seems to be a no-brainer. If it's a guide issue (and it certainly appears to be), why don't they just do, as the TiVO guide does, and just list the episode as "NEW" the first time it's shown? That way, the unit would only record it once. There must be SOMEONE who works at whatever place does the guide that must realize this. Then, issue resolved. This recording-and-keeping-til-the-next-one is ridiculous!

mhaider

08-03-07, 09:52 AM

In my simple little mind, this seems to be a no-brainer. If it's a guide issue (and it certainly appears to be), why don't they just do, as the TiVO guide does, and just list the episode as "NEW" the first time it's shown? That way, the unit would only record it once. There must be SOMEONE who works at whatever place does the guide that must realize this. Then, issue resolved. This recording-and-keeping-til-the-next-one is ridiculous!

That sounds like it would work, but what about this situation, let's say on Sunday night for example, you have three different shows you'd like to record and all three are on at 8 pm, one of them won't be recorded because of priority settings, but the lowest priority show is on again the next night and there aren't any other shows conflicting with it, so you'd want it to record the skipped show from the night before, if it's listed as new in the guide it should record, if it's listed as a repeat it shouldn't record. I feel the best solution is the way Tivo handles what's been recorded, watched, than deleted.

I had DirecTV for ten years, had an SD & HD Tivo with them from the time they were both introduced. Last year I switched to one of my local cable companies, during the past year I can honestly say the only thing that I miss from the Tivo is that it knows not to re-record shows that you've already recorded, watched and deleted.

hybucket

08-03-07, 10:26 AM

That sounds like it would work, but what about this situation, let's say on Sunday night for example, you have three different shows you'd like to record and all three are on at 8 pm, one of them won't be recorded because of priority settings, but the lowest priority show is on again the next night and there aren't any other shows conflicting with it, so you'd want it to record the skipped show from the night before, if it's listed as new in the guide it should record, if it's listed as a repeat it shouldn't record. I feel the best solution is the way Tivo handles what's been recorded, watched, than deleted.

I had DirecTV for ten years, had an SD & HD Tivo with them from the time they were both introduced. Last year I switched to one of my local cable companies, during the past year I can honestly say the only thing that I miss from the Tivo is that it knows not to re-record shows that you've already recorded, watched and deleted.
I am also with DireTV at my permanent address with an HD TiVO HR10, but am thinking of switching when I move in a couple of months. I was going to ask, which is better, the DirecTV HR-20, the Comcast Moro 3412, or the TiVO Series 3, but I guess it's like comparing apples and oranges, in that some like one, some like the other. My main complaint with the Moto is the guide - I barely get a week of programs, and the repeat recordings. Other than that, some of the features of the Moto are better than the TiVO. IT's a tough decision.

RockyMountainD

08-03-07, 10:37 AM

hybucket

08-03-07, 11:43 AM

MOXI keeps a 30 day history of recorded shows, and uses that to prevent repetitive recordings. This seems to work well for both for "new" and "repeat" airings.

All well and good if you've got MOXI...is it available retail?

RockyMountainD

08-03-07, 12:14 PM

All well and good if you've got MOXI...is it available retail?

Not yet. The Moto 9012 was the HD DVR choice for Adelphia before they went under. Its MOXI interface was nice, and with the 4.1 version, allowed USB drives to be connected by users. The moto hardware, however, ran hot and was very sensitive to signal strength.

Their retail product should be out this fall (http://www.moxi.com/home.htm).

mhaider

08-03-07, 01:04 PM

I am also with DireTV at my permanent address with an HD TiVO HR10, but am thinking of switching when I move in a couple of months. I was going to ask, which is better, the DirecTV HR-20, the Comcast Moro 3412, or the TiVO Series 3, but I guess it's like comparing apples and oranges, in that some like one, some like the other. My main complaint with the Moto is the guide - I barely get a week of programs, and the repeat recordings. Other than that, some of the features of the Moto are better than the TiVO. IT's a tough decision.

I can only comment on the DirecTV Tivo's and the Moto 6416 III that I have with Midcontinent cable in South Dakota, Midco is partially owned by Comcast. Anyway, when I used the DirecTV Tivo's, I had mostly excellent luck with them, they worked great. During that time I regularly visited the TivoCommunity Forum, just like these forums, there were plenty of people that had troubles and thought they were a piece of junk. In May of 2007 I decided to drop D* and try cable, for various reasons. At the time of the cable install I got two new Moto boxes and I've had pretty much the same experience with them as I did with the Tivo's (knock on wood). Like I said in my other post, the only thing I really miss is how much better the Tivo handled not re-recording stuff, now I'm just in the habit of going through the Future Recordings and cancelling stuff I've already watched.

bernie33

08-03-07, 03:39 PM

And if you change the default setting to "keep 1 episode, it will delete the previous week's episode when it starts recording this week's episode. So you just watch the episode, but don't delete it. This is probably the most automated way to do it (other than Comcast implementing the feature in a better way!)

HBO doesn't take a lot of time on the hard disk (unless of course it is HBO-HD).

if you want it to work that way be sure to set the series to "delete when space is needed" If you have it set to "save until I delete it" it will never delete an old show to make room for a new one.

The problem arises because i-Guide often doesn't list shows as repeats for some reason. As someone else mentioned, we tend to go through future recordings and tell it not to record the many rebroadcasts of The Colbert Report or other shows where it would record duplicates.

There is another annoying problem and I'm not sure if it is Time Warner's problem or iGuide's. Some channels are listed with the same name in both their analog and digital versions. We always set the DVR to record the digital channel. But eventually it will switch to the analog channel. Someone once explained that because the names are the same, at some point the DVR thinks the channel has moved to the lower (analog) channel and it tries to ensure that you won't miss a recording by changing to the :new: channel number.

The Motorola 6416 does run hot and the fan is on all the time on ours (I have our box go to standby mode when we're not watching it so the disk should not be turning except when it is actually recording something while in standby). Our Tivo Series 2 is much quieter. But the Motorola box does everything we want except making suggestions, and it is much more cost effective than a Tivo.

Steve Goff

08-03-07, 07:24 PM

The Microsoft software would only record a new show in a series once, if that was what you told it to do. It defaulted to recording two minutes on either side of the show, and it never cut off the beginning or end of a show. And it let you record a show and turn off the box when it was still recording. And it let you choose to see channels when the box was on and the clock when the box was off. And it had a search function with the whole alphabet rather than a scroll.

In all, I'm really not impressed by the iGuide. I hoped it would be better than what I had, but it is worse.

Murphy

08-04-07, 05:38 PM

The Motorola 6416 does run hot and the fan is on all the time on ours (I have our box go to standby mode when we're not watching it so the disk should not be turning except when it is actually recording something while in standby).

The disk is always turning and the only thing standby does is to turn off the video and audio output circuits.

bernie33

08-04-07, 06:02 PM

The disk is always turning and the only thing standby does is to turn off the video and audio output circuits.

It also turns off the display.

I've never opened the box to check the disk drive but if you are correct I'd call that a poor design. There is no reason for the disk drive to be turning when the box is in standby. In standby it is not recording anything at all. When the processor determines that it needs to record something it turns the unit on, including the front lights, and then returns to standby again when it is through recording.

Murphy

08-04-07, 08:53 PM

It also turns off the display.
Not if you have the display set to show the current time.

I can hear the hard disk when the room is relatively quiet.

ExDeus

08-05-07, 12:48 AM

Not if you have the display set to show the current time.

I can hear the hard disk when the room is relatively quiet.
Yeah, I can hear and feel it's on 24/7 as well. I'd imagine there are other settings and information stored on the HDD for the box, and for communicating with the cable provider. It seems the guide listings are stored in RAM, as they're lost on power loss, and the comments relating to how the timeframe for the guide listings has been shortened to improve performance.

bernie33

08-05-07, 02:52 AM

Yeah, I can hear and feel it's on 24/7 as well. I'd imagine there are other settings and information stored on the HDD for the box, and for communicating with the cable provider. It seems the guide listings are stored in RAM, as they're lost on power loss, and the comments relating to how the timeframe for the guide listings has been shortened to improve performance.

I think the cooling fan is on all the time because the box runs so hot and that it is temperature sensitive as as it is in other devices. I thought that when our house was cooler in the winter time and when the DVR was in an area with much greater air flow, that the sound did come and go as the fan cycled on and off -- but I'm not certain if that was the case or if I'm imagining it.

cybob

08-05-07, 10:07 AM

I think the cooling fan is on all the time...

Yes, I wonder if that's what is being heard, and not the drive. It wouldn't seem to make sense to have the drive endlessly spin without writing to it, but we know it's not because there's nothing in the buffer when you turn the box on.

I know the common wisdom is to never turn the box off, but that's never worked out well for me. At least in my case, keeping it on all the time makes it a little loopy. When problems arise, it always seems that a little standby time clears it up. And my guide seems to refill faster after a power outage if the box is off.

ExDeus

08-05-07, 11:39 PM

Yes, I wonder if that's what is being heard, and not the drive. It wouldn't seem to make sense to have the drive endlessly spin without writing to it, but we know it's not because there's nothing in the buffer when you turn the box on.

I know the common wisdom is to never turn the box off, but that's never worked out well for me. At least in my case, keeping it on all the time makes it a little loopy. When problems arise, it always seems that a little standby time clears it up. And my guide seems to refill faster after a power outage if the box is off.
It's a small fan on the bottom of the box, compared to the HDD right at the top of the box. With lots of experience building PCs, I can hear and feel that the HDD is always spinning. A HDD makes a distinctive sound and vibration.

As I mentioned, the HDD would have to be used for more than just the DVR. It makes sense to have the HDD powered on whenever the box is plugged in.

The fact that the guide fills up faster when the box is off makes sense, as the system resources are not being consumed by other activities. And it also reinforces the idea that the box is doing things (i.e., communicating with the cable provider and storing information) and needs access to the HDD even if the box is off.

Go Hard

08-06-07, 12:08 PM

I have a 6412 in our bedroom and when we had the Microsoft guide, I could heard the drive as it was writing. When the show was over, and the rec light would go off, it would be dead quiet. Now with the iGuide, I hear it writing all the time, 24/7. Its not a fan, its writing to the drive.

Lurker Steve

08-06-07, 10:31 PM

I think he may be talking about cases where either the network/channel or the box are a few seconds off and you may miss the start or finish. Just recently SciFi screwed up with the timing of a Stargate episosde and abruptly cut off the usual "next week on..." stuff. I usually add 2-3 minutes of buffer to each program just to be safe, after seeing quite a few recordings missing a few seconds from the start or the finish.

Except now you have to do it manually - the old Microsoft guide did this automatically.

I did finally get a Comcast guy on the line to talk about the software, and he admitted how frustrated he was at the lack of automatic buffer, the way that you search for programs to record ('A', press button, 'B', press button...) and that they were planning on releasing an upgrade - next year.

But in the meantime, sucks to be us.

I liked the old Microsoft product better.

ncaahoops

08-09-07, 01:25 AM

Except now you have to do it manually - the old Microsoft guide did this automatically.

I did finally get a Comcast guy on the line to talk about the software, and he admitted how frustrated he was at the lack of automatic buffer, the way that you search for programs to record ('A', press button, 'B', press button...) and that they were planning on releasing an upgrade - next year.

But in the meantime, sucks to be us.

I liked the old Microsoft product better.

On top of that there was a series recording bug that if you started an instance of a series recording earlier (not through the Series recording setup) but through the individual recording you could get a freeze/crash. I think this bug is solved now on most systems (but I could be wrong)

thestewman

08-09-07, 09:33 PM

bobby94928

08-09-07, 10:46 PM

Loudness of commercials and program breaks

With Comcast and a Motorola 6412, anyone else have a problem, especially with CBS, when going to a station break or commercial the violume increases dramatically. Maybe more than twice as loud as the program.

It has nothing to do with Comcast or your Motorola 6412. It has everything to do with your local CBS station.

thestewman

08-11-07, 12:45 PM

bobby94928

08-11-07, 01:41 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by thestewman
Loudness of commercials and program breaks

With Comcast and a Motorola 6412, anyone else have a problem, especially with CBS, when going to a station break or commercial the violume increases dramatically. Maybe more than twice as loud as the program.

It has nothing to do with Comcast or your Motorola 6412. It has everything to do with your local CBS station.

__________________
Bobby C

This is CBS Chicago. I find it hard to believe a large viewing

audience like this has put up with this for so long.

Have any suggestions ? It is very annoying.

I had something similar in the San Francisco Bay Area on our local ABC station. I emailed the engineering department to tell them that their volume on commercials was going up 12db. They fixed it. You might try the same. BTW, I have a sound level meter so when I said 12db, I was exact.

thestewman

08-11-07, 03:42 PM

Thanks for the info

I have an idea this has something to do with changing from their HD video signal with 5.1 audio back to a SD video signal with 2 channel stereo.

keithj

08-15-07, 08:22 AM

I'm not sure to post this in the Comcast forum or here so I guess I'll put it here.

I have the Motorola 6416 III and I record Eureka on Sci-Fi on Tuesday nights. I don't record the 8-9pm showing but I record the 11p-12a showing. I don't record the show any differently than I do other shows but, for some reason, it doesn't stop recording. I wake up in the morning and the DVR is still recording and I have a 6+ hour recording sitting on my DVR. Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

bicker1

08-15-07, 08:43 AM

The best guesses I've seen are that it has something to do with either bad data or corrupted data in the program guide record. As far as I've seen, it hasn't been acknowledged as a bug by either iGuide or Motorola.

hybucket

08-15-07, 09:31 AM

Here's another question, probably easy, but I'm relatively new to the 3412..
When I'm watching a recorded program and actual time of day reaches the hour (like 9:00PM), the display changes from the time to the letters PLA and stays there for one minute. My question is, "huh?"

keithj

08-15-07, 11:40 AM

scanpa

08-15-07, 11:45 AM

But it happens every week. I could see bad data once or twice but every week?

Do you have a series recording setup for the show at a earlier timeslot?

keithj

08-15-07, 02:39 PM

Do you have a series recording setup for the show at a earlier timeslot?
Yeah. I do. I usually just manually set the earlier one to do not record and then manually select the later one for recording. Is that causing it (for some unknown reason)?

andyross63

08-15-07, 05:31 PM

Yeah. I do. I usually just manually set the earlier one to do not record and then manually select the later one for recording. Is that causing it (for some unknown reason)?
It's very likely. I think the second airing is also listed as 'New'. By not recording it, iGuide sees the 'new' tag and schedules it to record. Problem is, you also have a manual recording set. It seems to get confused and doesn't know when to stop.

Basically, unless there is an episode recording still on the drive, any series listed as 'new' or blank will be recorded. With the latest iGuide update, this scheduling happens constantly. Before, it used to occur only twice a day.

Try removing any manual recordings you have for any series scheduled recordings. The next time it airs, and you do not record the first run, check you schedule sometime AFTER the original airing ends. I'll bet you'll see the second airing now scheduled to be recorded.

opus312

08-16-07, 09:31 AM

Seems like so many of the Comcast DVR problems have to do with series recordings. For those who are using this "feature" and running into problems, how many different series are you recording? Might it be easier to stop using series, and manually set the recordings each week or two?

scanpa

08-16-07, 12:25 PM

Yeah. I do. I usually just manually set the earlier one to do not record and then manually select the later one for recording. Is that causing it (for some unknown reason)?

keithj,

I was able to dupe this problem.

I just tested this on a TLC show setup for series recording.

I added a man recording of the same show listed 4 hours later.

I man set the early episode to not record.

The man 1 hour show just kept on recording, after 4.5 hours, I man stopped it.

This is a bug, and I will get my old boss at comcast to add it to the bug tracker.

ExDeus

08-16-07, 02:03 PM

Yeah. I do. I usually just manually set the earlier one to do not record and then manually select the later one for recording. Is that causing it (for some unknown reason)?
Question: Why do you opt to record the later airing? If you're trying to let another program record at the earlier time slot, why not just set that recording to a higher priority, rather than manually intervening?

bicker1

08-17-07, 07:24 AM

Might it be easier to stop using series, and manually set the recordings each week or two?That's what I typically have done. It wasn't quite as much of a chore as it sounds, especially with aides available such as thefutoncritic.com.

andyross63

08-17-07, 05:27 PM

That's what I typically have done. It wasn't quite as much of a chore as it sounds, especially with aides available such as thefutoncritic.com.
For programs that are on at a fixed day/time, you can also set up a manual recording, and tell it to repeat. The drawbacks are:
It only displays the date/time, and not the program name, in the recording list.
You cannot cancel a single recording. Doing so deletes all future scheduled recordings.
With the recent iGuide update, you can't even stop one after it starts without it deleting all of them.

(By 'all', I mean the 'repeats' of your recording, not ALL manual recordings!!)

opus312

08-18-07, 07:12 PM

The list of recordings appears to give no indication of which ones are saved (with the "save until I delete" option). Am I missing something?

ExDeus

08-18-07, 11:37 PM

The list of recordings appears to give no indication of which ones are saved (with the "save until I delete" option). Am I missing something?

You have to go into each recording and select the (!) button. You checked that?

opus312

08-19-07, 09:58 AM

You have to go into each recording and select the (!) button. You checked that?

Sure. The problem is, there's nothing in the listing of recordings that tells me I've done that. No indication of SAVED, as in the previous Microsoft guide. So I often end up having to check again, just to make sure.

ExDeus

08-19-07, 04:00 PM

Sure. The problem is, there's nothing in the listing of recordings that tells me I've done that. No indication of SAVED, as in the previous Microsoft guide. So I often end up having to check again, just to make sure.
Welcome to iGuide.

cypherstream

08-19-07, 05:57 PM

Last night we had a recording set for Pan's Labyrinth (a movie) on Max HD. We watched part of it live and it was good, but it was so late so I went to bed.

Today we go to watch it and there's no audio at all. Also the 30 sec skip and transport controls don't do anything. When pushing the FF buttons, we can get 4 FF arrows to appear, also when doing 30 sec skip or 15 sec rewind, the icon and time bar shows up, but nothing happens.

So we ended up deleting it and set it up to record Mon night on max hd.

Is it the movie, the channel or the dvr? Not sure which max hd we had on when we were watching it live, but they should both be mapped to the same frequency anyway, so it shouldn't matter.

By the way our DVR is 47% full.
Motorola 6412 Phase 2 DVR. Firmware 16.35.

kjbawc

08-19-07, 06:58 PM

I recorded it too, but haven't watched it yet. I had already transfered it to my DVDR's HDD, to burn a disc. I'm glad you mentioned this. I'll be sure to watch the HD version on my Moto, before burning it to DVD. But, I did scan through the DVDR's HDD recording, at FF3, and it looked good. It's a good film. I saw it in the theater.

cypherstream

08-19-07, 08:22 PM

Well the fact that you were able to do FF3 through it your recording might be ok. None of the transport controls worked for me. It would show the double arrow, triple arrow, and quadruple arrow for each FF speed, but playback remained normal play speed. There was no audio either. So strange, but I thought I'd post it to see if anyone knew of fancy new DRM tricks or something preventing a good recording, or in case it's just a bug.

I only had a playback issue one other time on this same DVR a little under a year and a half ago. It was the Sorpranos and a certain point would just freeze. The hard drive at that time was 90% full, so I attributed it to that. We try to keep the drive under 70% full and never encounter any issues. Strangely, we were only at 47% full and this recording appeared corrupted. Signal was fine, as we were watching it live for an hour before going to bed.

opus312

08-20-07, 09:49 AM

Last night we had a recording set for Pan's Labyrinth (a movie) on Max HD. We watched part of it live and it was good, but it was so late so I went to bed. Today we go to watch it and there's no audio at all.

Had the same thing happen last night on another recording, there was no audio thru the receiver. Could get audio thru the TV on HDMI connection, but not on S-Video. Stopped playback, then started play on a different recording, audio was ok. Then went back to the original problem recording, no audio problems. Go figure...

ExDeus

08-20-07, 01:34 PM

Today we go to watch it and there's no audio at all. Also the 30 sec skip and transport controls don't do anything. When pushing the FF buttons, we can get 4 FF arrows to appear, also when doing 30 sec skip or 15 sec rewind, the icon and time bar shows up, but nothing happens.
You tried off/on, unplug/plug?

doubledown88

08-20-07, 01:58 PM

wdkerbow

08-20-07, 02:12 PM

doubledown88

08-20-07, 02:31 PM

I noticed no differences between HDMI and component cables. I stuck with the component cables, instead of buying another HDMI cable. There were HDMI / HDCP issues prior to firwmware version 16.35 and running the 6412 through AVRs, but going directly to your display you won't have those issues.

Thanks....I may just try my PS3 HDMI cable....I wasn't even thinking about that. I know an HDMI cable is only like $8 shipped, but if the $8 is not beneficial, I'll spend it elsewhere.

I have the components run directly to the TV anyways, so it's not really reducing any clutter. I may try though, see how it looks. Just curious if anyone had it with my TV.

kjbawc

08-20-07, 04:06 PM

I have the 6412 III from Comcast and I have it hooked up via Component currently. Would I notice a significant improvement if I hooked up via HDMI to my Sony 60A2020 TV?

Any issues with HDMI connection on this box?

I have component running from my 6412 to my AVR, then to my Samsung 56" DLP TV, and HDMI running directly from my Moto to the TV. I did a lot of A/B comparisons when I first hooked up the HDMI. The only difference I could tell was perhaps an very slight increase in brightness over the HDMI, but no better clarity. I mostly use the component, and just occassionally switch to HDMI. But, that is my set, and the difference could be different in yours.

james734

08-20-07, 06:37 PM

Glad to see others are complaining of the iGuide in the Seattle area. I to am having the same issues as most. The series scheduling is horrible, it's freeze's during fast forward and rewind during playback, duplicate recordings, unable to record programs as a series (even though I could with the MS version(Motocross is on weekly but will not allow setup as a series)). The usability is horrible, not that the MS version was great but at least it worked. I've called support and that wasn't much help "It relies on the how the guide is programed" great then fix it. Also instructed to send feedback via the web, done that also not a word back from Comcast. This is by far the worst experience I've had with my Moto 6412. I cannot rely on it to do the job that I'm paying extra for it to do. Record and provide playback of the shows I schedule to record. IMO, I think Comcast missed the mark on this release. I'm at the point now I wish I could go back to the old MS guide. The learning curve is over and this release just plan sucks.

From reading though it sound like the Tivo version is coming, does anyone know when that's going to be released? I've had Tivo in the past and only switched to the Comcast/Moto box back in since it supported HD (couple years ago).

Anyway my opionion is this is not Comtastic.

digilos

08-20-07, 07:09 PM

Budget_HT

08-20-07, 09:30 PM

Glad to see others are complaining of the iGuide in the Seattle area. I to am having the same issues as most. The series scheduling is horrible, it's freeze's during fast forward and rewind during playback, duplicate recordings, unable to record programs as a series (even though I could with the MS version(Motocross is on weekly but will not allow setup as a series)). The usability is horrible, not that the MS version was great but at least it worked. I've called support and that wasn't much help "It relies on the how the guide is programed" great then fix it. Also instructed to send feedback via the web, done that also not a word back from Comcast. This is by far the worst experience I've had with my Moto 6412. I cannot rely on it to do the job that I'm paying extra for it to do. Record and provide playback of the shows I schedule to record. IMO, I think Comcast missed the mark on this release. I'm at the point now I wish I could go back to the old MS guide. The learning curve is older and this release just plan sucks.

From reading though it sound like the Tivo version is coming, does anyone know when that's going to be released? I've had Tivo in the past and only switched to the Comcast/Moto box back in since it supported HD (couple years ago).

Anyway my opionion is this is not Comtastic.You sound like a strong candidate for a TiVo HD or TiVo Series 3 box.

james734

08-20-07, 11:54 PM

Yeah, I was looking into them today.

Al Shing

08-21-07, 09:39 AM

Here's a strange one.

My series recording of Saving Grace didn't show up for Monday, so I set it manually last week. Then somehow it set three entries for Saving Grace for the same time and channel on Monday. Stopping one of the entries stopped all of them, so I had to leave the three entries set to record. When the time came to record Saving Grace, it recorded one copy, but did not stop recording at the end of the program. Instead, it kept adding on time at the end of the recording. I didn't wait to see if it would stop or not after three hours. I watched the program and deleted it (16 percent for a one hour program). Interestingly, the FF bar only showed an hour long recording even though it recorded for about two hours before I deleted it.

opus312

08-21-07, 10:12 AM

Just noticed at least one plus for iguide - if you need to advance several hours to click on a program to record, the forward arrow zips thru the guide, unlike the MS version where it plodded along, stopping every few seconds and having to be restarted again...

cypherstream

08-21-07, 10:31 AM

Well my Monday's recording of Pan's Labyrinth on Max HD was good. We watched it yesterday and it was a great movie.

The Saturday/Sunday morning recording was some kind of fluke for some reason. Never had that happen before. Wonder what's up with the DVR. Let's hope it was a one time thing.

ExDeus

08-21-07, 10:59 AM

What firmware are you fellow 64xx people using?

My 6416 was manufactured with 16.20 firmware on it, I live in Muncie (Indianapolis area) and would really like to get the passthrough to work (corrected in newer firmwares) as well as I find the hdmi output buggy.

Any other comcast people have any of the newer firmwares for their 64xx box?
Not sure what you are referring to on the corrected pass-through functionality. There is no pass-through for any video outputs but Firewire, which is always pass-through, using the native resolution of the broadcast. Otherwise, all output is set to the resolution of the HDMI/YPbPr Output setting (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#HDMI.2FYPbPr_Output).

As for the PASS-THROUGH (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Additional_HDMI_Settings) setting for the audio over HDMI, I'm not aware of any persistent issues.

You can see info on firmwares in the Wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Versions).

efball

08-21-07, 01:52 PM

I have the Motorola 6416 III and I record Eureka on Sci-Fi on Tuesday nights. I don't record the 8-9pm showing but I record the 11p-12a showing. I don't record the show any differently than I do other shows but, for some reason, it doesn't stop recording. I wake up in the morning and the DVR is still recording and I have a 6+ hour recording sitting on my DVR. Any ideas as to what could be causing this?

Let me guess: 1) you have a series recording set for Eureka. 2) You have a conflict that prevents it from recording at 8PM. 3) You manually select the 11PM showing to record.

That will cause the problem you describe every time. It's a bug. It will start recording and not stop until you either manually stop it, or it needs both tuners to record other things.

Do NOT manually select the 11PM show. Sometime between 9 and 11PM the box will automatically select the 11PM showing to be recorded. I do this with a couple of shows and it's been working fine.

efball

08-21-07, 01:57 PM

The disk is always turning and the only thing standby does is to turn off the video and audio output circuits.

It doesn't even turn off the video output, it just sends a black signal.
My CRT TV stays synced up to the video even when the DVR is turned off.

My old 6412 box (no internal fan) ran so hot that I put an external fan on top. I took two 120 volt box fans and wired them in series. This slows them down enough that they are slightly quieter than the hard drive. The two fans just lay on top of the box vents (blowing up) and keep it nice and cool.

digilos

08-21-07, 03:24 PM

Not sure what you are referring to on the corrected pass-through functionality. There is no pass-through for any video outputs but Firewire, which is always pass-through, using the native resolution of the broadcast. Otherwise, all output is set to the resolution of the HDMI/YPbPr Output setting (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#HDMI.2FYPbPr_Output).

As for the PASS-THROUGH (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Additional_HDMI_Settings) setting for the audio over HDMI, I'm not aware of any persistent issues.

You can see info on firmwares in the Wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Versions).

I'm referring to the RF passthrough when the box is off, some things I've read suggest that it's re-enabled on newer firmwares. I ask this because Comcast is not "carrying" some of the hd channels from the local PBS station. If I put the coax directly on my TV those channels would be available, but are not available through the STB.

I ask about the firmware people have, not because I'm wondering what the firmware does (I've read the wiki many a times) but tryign to figure out if Comcast even uses the newer firmwares, hopefully someone else from the 'Indianapolis" area is using the newer firmware so it'd be more likely to get an update.

Tis what I'm hoping anyway... Personally I find the HDMI output somewhat buggy and wondering if some of the 'bugfixes' listed on the newer firmware will handle my 'issues' (more annoyance than problem). If not I'll have to get another set of component cables.

dabhome

08-22-07, 12:36 AM

I have the 6412 III from Comcast and I have it hooked up via Component currently. Would I notice a significant improvement if I hooked up via HDMI to my Sony 60A2020 TV?

Any issues with HDMI connection on this box?

I also hooked up a via component and HDMI. However, I saw a big enough difference between HDMI and component to go with HDMI. I have a Mitsubishi WD-65732 DLP rear-projected TV.

Therefore, I would make the comparison yourself. I would also make sure that the 6412 III is configured correctly. Most people I have talked to get better results setting the 6412 to output 1080i and 480i for override, even if the TV is only 720P. However, YMMV.

opus312

08-22-07, 09:58 AM

I also hooked up a via component and HDMI. However, I saw a big enough difference between HDMI and component to go with HDMI. I have a Mitsubishi WD-65732 DLP rear-projected TV. Therefore, I would make the comparison yourself.

Better yet, try it double-blind...

keithj

08-22-07, 02:01 PM

Question: Why do you opt to record the later airing? If you're trying to let another program record at the earlier time slot, why not just set that recording to a higher priority, rather than manually intervening?
I record the later airing because I'm also recording Big Brother at 8pm. Sometimes I want to watch TV between 8 and 9 and since Eureka is on later, I don't record it at 8 and manually record it at 11.

keithj,

I was able to dupe this problem.
I just tested this on a TLC show setup for series recording.
I added a man recording of the same show listed 4 hours later.
I man set the early episode to not record.
The man 1 hour show just kept on recording, after 4.5 hours, I man stopped it.
This is a bug, and I will get my old boss at comcast to add it to the bug tracker.

I ended up deleting my series recording for it and now I just remember to manually record it every week. That fixed the problem.

Let me guess: 1) you have a series recording set for Eureka. 2) You have a conflict that prevents it from recording at 8PM. 3) You manually select the 11PM showing to record.

That will cause the problem you describe every time. It's a bug. It will start recording and not stop until you either manually stop it, or it needs both tuners to record other things.

Do NOT manually select the 11PM show. Sometime between 9 and 11PM the box will automatically select the 11PM showing to be recorded. I do this with a couple of shows and it's been working fine.
What happens if I cancel the 8pm recording half-way through? Will is still pick up the 11pm airing?

ExDeus

08-22-07, 05:39 PM

I record the later airing because I'm also recording Big Brother at 8pm. Sometimes I want to watch TV between 8 and 9 and since Eureka is on later, I don't record it at 8 and manually record it at 11.
Got it.

What happens if I cancel the 8pm recording half-way through? Will is still pick up the 11pm airing?
My experience has been that as long as you delete the (partial) recording from your DVR, it will record a re-airing (marked as New, or unmarked). Even if it doesn't show up in the Scheduled Recordings list, it still records the program.

You could always babysit the box and check it out.

ExDeus

08-22-07, 05:52 PM

I'm referring to the RF passthrough when the box is off, some things I've read suggest that it's re-enabled on newer firmwares. I ask this because Comcast is not "carrying" some of the hd channels from the local PBS station. If I put the coax directly on my TV those channels would be available, but are not available through the STB.
Hmm... I'm not sure about the scenario you're describing. You're saying that Comcast is including some local HD channels in their QAM stream, but they aren't available to watch in the channel line-up on the 6416?

If the PBS channels are included in the QAM signal, I would expect they would have channels for them in the line-up. The bandwidth is already spent, so why not assign a channel?

If you're thinking the entire ATSC stream from your local broadcast is included in the QAM stream, then that's not the case where I live. The ATSC broadcast stream is demuxed and stripped of the streams that aren't carried in the channel line-up. The streams that are carried are then remuxed into the QAM stream in their own way that fits with the channel numbers in the cable line-up.

RobDMB

08-25-07, 10:06 AM

bernie33

08-25-07, 12:14 PM

RockyMountainD

08-25-07, 02:08 PM

Dave Harper

08-26-07, 01:11 PM

I just received a version III of this box and have it connected to my lcd tv via hdmi out. I notice that when I change channels, my tv displays "no Signal" for a moment until the channel finally appears. I was wondering if other people experience this when changing channels with this set top box. Thanks, Rob

It will do that if you have the box set to output different resolutions for SD and HD channels. The "No Signal" happens while it's switching from one resolution to the other. For example if you're watching a 1080i HD channel and then switch to an SD 480i one.

The way to check this is to turn the box's power off and immediately hit the "MENU" button.

Check to see what the "480 OVERRIDE" is set to. If OFF, then it will output all channels at the selected resolution shown (408i/p, 720p or 1080i) a few lines up. If set to 480i or p then that's what the display resolution will be when watching an SD channel, and the HD channels will be shown at the resolution (1080i, 720p) selected above. STRETCH is the same as OFF, but it stretches the 4x3 image across horizontally to 16x9.

If you want to avoid the "No Signal" message on your TV, then set the 480 OVERRIDE to OFF. The picture may not be as good though if the scalar/video processor in your TV is better than the one in the Motorola (which is most likely the case:rolleyes:!!!)

kjbawc

08-26-07, 04:11 PM

If you want to avoid the "No Signal" message on your TV, then set the 480 OVERRIDE to OFF. The picture may not be as good though if the scalar/video processor in your TV is better than the one in the Motorola (which is most likely the case:rolleyes:!!!)

The other problem with setting the 480i override to off is that many TVs won't allow you to zoom a letter boxed picture to fill the screen in a 480p, or HD mode, and only allow zoom in 480i. That is the case with my Samsung DLP. So, you would have to switch to a S-Vid input to allow zooming, with the 480i ovverride set to off.

cypherstream

08-29-07, 06:44 PM

Hi guys,

We all are aware of the no so successful screen saver option in the I-Guide 74.53-xxxx version. Remember in HD mode whatever is displayed in the background still shows on the left and right sides of the screen.

Anyway in SD content I noticed the screen saver does not fully work either. There is a good inch line on the right edge of my screen that always peeks through (unless on HBO's or Comcast Central Channels).

Here's what I mean:
http://home.comcast.net/%7Ecypherx/hdsdoverlay.jpg

And check this screen shot:
http://home.comcast.net/%7Ecypherx/ScreenPos.jpg

No matter how far to the right I adjust the screen position, I cannot get the guide to cover the program in the background. This is noticeable on the flip bar as well. It's lined up with the left side of the screen but again there's a good inch on the right side of the screen where you see the program behind the graphic. It appears as if it is off center. I believe this is only since the I-Guide 74.53 update.

Just another example of how they release software without fully testing it.

Think they can hack the Motorola box to change to a 16:9 display mode? I know writing an HD graphical guide will take some work, but if they could just set the video mode right they could at least get the screen saver to work.

Thanks for reading.

cypherstream

09-10-07, 09:41 PM

dvdmth

09-11-07, 11:44 AM

My DCT-6412 just flashed all 8's on the screen when trying to set a series recording. Then it clicked and came back up with no guide data and it says To Be Announced.

What I did to create the problem:

1. Watch Curb your Enthusiasm on HBO
2. Wow a new season, lets set a recording. Next episode is on sunday, so I push the Day + to 10 PM Ch 301 Sunday.
3. Push record. A red mark shows up. But wait, I want a series recording.
4. Push record again, take the default options.
5. Oh it froze again, better not push any buttons, it'll catch up, it's been doing this for weeks.
6. CLICK - damn thing freezes up and now it powered itself on but there's no guide data, no guide ad's, no Comcast logos, etc.

Now I have to wait awhile to try it again!

Thought this kind of stuff only happens with firmware 16.38 and 16.41. It was so bad with 16.41 that Motorola pulled it from availability. Well I have firmware 16.35, so what gives? My Phase 2 box ready to kick the bucket?

I have firmware 16.20 and my DVR has lately been rebooting somewhat regularly (around once every few weeks). I can usually tell when it's about ready to reboot because it starts acting sluggish (e.g. when I delete a recording it takes several seconds to finish the job). I wonder if there is a memory leak (or something similar) in the firmware somewhere that's slowly eating away at the box's resources until it crashes. These kinds of problems are very difficult to find and debug (speaking from programming experience) in part because it takes long-term usage to even notice there's a problem.

hicke

09-11-07, 11:58 AM

ExDeus

09-11-07, 12:52 PM

I'm brand new to the forum and I've probably missed this but after some searching, I can't find any talk about failure of the 00174 skip code to work on the DCT 6412 III set top box. I'm with a small cable company (Grande) in the DFW area and got the box with a Motorola remote (not programable). I have an old Comcast remote which seems to work with the DCT 6412 III fine in all respects except when I program the skip code, it does not work. Is there something I've missed or will it just not work. Any help really appreciated.

Harry:(

The 30-sec skip code is 00173.

If that's not the issue, what kind of remote is it and what programming instructions are you following? My generic suggestion is to look at the Wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote) and make sure you're in line with what's written there.