Originally posted by JJMG
You've GOT to be kidding. So you mean that if you're watching something live, and somebody says something you can't quite catch (e.g. if you're watching something on BBC America and you can't interpret the thick Scottish accent), and you want to rewind the live buffer and turn on closed captioning to see what they said -- something I do on a regular basis with my old SD Series One Tivo -- you mean you have to turn the box OFF, thus stopping recording of the live buffer and losing a chunk of the show you were watching, in order to turn on CC? And then when the CC gets distracting, you have to turn the box off again, and lose another chunk of the live buffer?

And there's NO way to get your own set to display the CC? The box itself is the only thing that will do it, and you're stuck with whatever options the box offers, even if your TV has better CC handling?

Is this an iGuide limitation, or a Motorola 6412 limitation?

He's not kidding, but it's not entirely accurate either. I get CC on 2-99 when muting my television (CC comes on automatically). **SEE UPDATE BELOW - - THIS IS WRONG** The problem is in the digital channels, because the television doesn't do it. In those cases, you would need to turn off the box to get the CC unless you happen to find a TV that can decode the CC in a digital stream and display it on your set. Don't know if they exist. An interesting experiment for those folks with the "Box Mute" button set up would be to mute the box and see if CC pops up on its own. I suspect it doesn't , but who knows. May be an undocumented feature.

UPDATE: By the way, scratch that part about the digital channels. It also sends CC to the TV when I mute a program recorded from a digital channel (haven't tested live yet). Maybe the CC setting in the OFF+Menu screen is just for HD content?

I can't think of a time I've ever needed or wanted to see CC except for Kaiser-Soze's boring phone call example. I guess if I was deaf I'd turn on the box and turn on CC and then turn the box on again. I'm not, so I have it turned off.

I may be alone here, but I have never in my life used CC and the only time I have ever seen it used is in bars or restaurants. I don't see this as a big deal for the majority of users. I see this as just another reason to never watch the BBC.

:-P

however in the past; pre-cable boxes, I had an el-cheapo Phillips Magnavox TV that went to CC automatically with the pressing of the Mute button. So if you got a phone call (no DVR to Pause) that didn't deserve your full attention, you could still follow the program. I actually miss it on my Sony HDTV

That's more like it. :-)

So, I'm sure I am in the minority, but I actually use CC for two reasons:

[list=1]
If I just can't catch what they said -- and maybe I'm deaf but this doesn't just happen on the BBC channel (I couldn't figure out what the hell Grace was saying a couple of weeks ago in a Will & Grace episode, in fact, and CC came in handy then).
When my wife is on the phone or something and I want to keep watching something without bugging her OR without being unable to hear the TV because her voice is so loud :-).
[/list=1]

Most people probably just don't think of using CC in situations like these, but I've become quite used to using it. I even use subtitles in DVDs for the same reasons. (Am I really the only person who can't always catch what somebody is saying, or maybe most people don't care? :-) )

Anyway, I can live with it being INCONVENIENT to use, but I think it would be horrendous if you had to actually terminate an ongoing recording just to turn it on or off.

I can't believe that you have to power down to go into the menu. That's some kooky stuff.

Originally posted by whotony

the only trouble i've had so far is the box resetting itself a bunch of times.
this is the second day with the 6412 so i hope this stops after a few days.

still rebooting.

i have to wait 5 days(wed) till a guy will come to replace the box.
csr said i could try to swap at local office but unlikely they will have the box there.

Originally posted by whotony
still rebooting.

i have to wait 5 days(wed) till a guy will come to replace the box.
csr said i could try to swap at local office but unlikely they will have the box there.

Hmmm...I believe the person you spoke to was just an "R." Had it been an actual "CSR," they would have checked for you.:)

Originally posted by M Diddy
Need some help guys.... I just got my 6412 today, and reprogrammed my remote to do the dual tuner swap function with the TV/VCR button. Worked well. Now though, when I switch to the 2nd tuner, all my analog channels have no sound. As soon as I hit WeatherScan on 101, (first digital channel here) the sound comes back....

What gives?

Anyone???

Hi all!

This is a copy of my post in the Comcast-Chicago thread:

I recently had a most pleasant experience with Comcast Chicago: I previously had the Moto 5100 for HD reception and was upgrading to the 6412; the installer arrived 10 min. early! And he actually knew what he was doing: he knew what the dvi and optical cables where and how to connect them. After making a few tweaks at the cable box (don't have a clue why) everything was up and running! Thank you Comcast Chicago!

This next might apply better to the 6412 thread but...the installer said to leave the box on all of the time as noted elsewhere. One of my family members turned it off and I had NO trouble with it coming back on and displaying a picture (firmware v9.12). I'm not a expert at this but it would seem to me that leaving the unit on all of the time would cause it to constantly record (to the buffer) the currently "viewed" channel...probably causing some reduction to its life...unless the dvi interface tells it when the tv is off...when I turn the tv on the cable box momentarily displays "d01" so there is some kind of communication going on. Am I way off base here???

Have a Happy New Year all!

Originally posted by M Diddy
Anyone???

Maybe no one's is sure what the question is. Are you asking if the second tuner is supposed to have no sound on a group of channels by design? Seems pretty obvious you have a broken 6412.

Originally posted by juggler123
Hi all!

This is a copy of my post in the Comcast-Chicago thread:

I recently had a most pleasant experience with Comcast Chicago: I previously had the Moto 5100 for HD reception and was upgrading to the 6412; the installer arrived 10 min. early! And he actually knew what he was doing: he knew what the dvi and optical cables where and how to connect them. After making a few tweaks at the cable box (don't have a clue why) everything was up and running! Thank you Comcast Chicago!

This next might apply better to the 6412 thread but...the installer said to leave the box on all of the time as noted elsewhere. One of my family members turned it off and I had NO trouble with it coming back on and displaying a picture (firmware v9.12). I'm not a expert at this but it would seem to me that leaving the unit on all of the time would cause it to constantly record (to the buffer) the currently "viewed" channel...probably causing some reduction to its life...unless the dvi interface tells it when the tv is off...when I turn the tv on the cable box momentarily displays "d01" so there is some kind of communication going on. Am I way off base here???

Have a Happy New Year all!

Leave it on. The installer, who you note knew what he was doing, told you to leave it on.

If the time for failure of a Hard Drive is (an estimated) 4-5 years of powered-on use, and chances are comcast will have a new "latest and greatest box" in less than 4-5 years, and you don't own the box, why care? If anything to avoid problems.

I'm still not getting the resistance to the reality that a DVR is an "Always On" appliance, especially when the installer explicitly tells you so.

Anyway, of the 1500 posts here I'd say about 500 of them relate in some way to the "Leave it on / Turn it Off" debate, so there's plenty of material here to help you decide whether or not to ignore the installer's advice.

Originally posted by garypen
I can't believe that you have to power down to go into the menu. That's some kooky stuff.
That's actually the service menu. The regular user menu is available without power down. Most HT equipment require power down to enter the service menu.

They really, really, need to offer external storage and soon.

Hi!

I just got my 6412 w/ iGuide hooked up via Firewire to my Mits DLP RPTV, and the picture looks great. However, I can't get my guide or other DVR menus to show up via the usual buttons on the 6412 remote.

Am I missing a step somewhere? Has anyone else gotten this to work?

-John

The Firewire passes audio/video only.. no graphics, which makes that port fine for recording to like D-VHS but for regular viewing you'll have to hook up a diff output to your display. DVI, Component, whatever.

Originally posted by John Williams
Hi!

I just got my 6412 w/ iGuide hooked up via Firewire to my Mits DLP RPTV, and the picture looks great. However, I can't get my guide or other DVR menus to show up via the usual buttons on the 6412 remote.

Am I missing a step somewhere? Has anyone else gotten this to work?

-John

From the manual: (http://broadband.motorola.com/noflash/customer_docs/user_guides/512659-001-a.pdf):
The DCT* can generate graphics that overlay the video programming or fill the entire television screen. Common examples include on-screen menus (such as the User Setting menu), closed captions, and interactive program guides. The DCT* overlays these graphics whenever you open a menu, enable closed captions, or scroll through a program grid.
On-screen graphics are not available on all DCT* YPbPr output setting
and video output combinations:
• On-screen graphics are always available if your DCT* is connected
through the HD outputs (DVI or YPbPr)
• Standard definition connections (S-Video or composite Video) will
only display on-screen graphics if the YPbPr Output is set to 480i
• On-screen graphics will not be displayed when you are using the
IEEE 1394 connection on the rear panel of the DCT*
The YPbPr Output setting can be configured from the on-screen menu.

Originally posted by garypen
That's clever. But, as I said, I prefer to use transport keys for transport functions. Are those functions correctly mapped to those buttons using the JP1 files/links you suggested? (I can always remap them myself using JP1 software, of course.)
Yes, I mapped most keys onto obvious equivalents. Also, you may want to re-download it as I made some updates yesterday, and updated my web page overall:http://home.att.net/~andyross/

I mainly figured out the shortcuts because the remote I still mainly use (Sony RM-VL900) is a bit short of needed keys. On the Sony, I ended up programming the Day+/Day- keys to the FF/REW, as they are often used with the long guide times available.

I have an 8810 as a backup for now, and set up Day+/- on the FFwd/FRew keys (FWD and REW are the normal FF/REW). PIP is PageDown, which doubles as replay. I have no pageup mapped, as it's not really necessary unless you want to change series recording priorities, and even then you could probabably just page-down others below the one you want to move up. In menus/grids, the 6412 scrolls up and down nicely, unlike the older tan-menu models. Otherwise, SLEEP=30-sec skip, Shift(setup)-Mute=cable box mute, Move=MyDVR, TV/Vid=Live.

In fact, if you are interested, here is my full IR file for my remote:

Originally posted by M Diddy
Anyone???
This is a known problems others have posted. You have a defective box. Get it replaced.

Originally posted by frankz1
Leave it on. The installer, who you note knew what he was doing, told you to leave it on.

I'm still not getting the resistance to the reality that a DVR is an "Always On" appliance, especially when the installer explicitly tells you so.


I think if you can hear noise from the DVR box (more noise when on), it makes sense to turn it off when watching DVDs. During quiet passages in a DVD movie, I wouldn't want to hear the "scritch-scritch/clickety-clack" of the hard drive. Since today's DVDs and home theaters are all about quality sound.

Other than that, there is no reason to turn it off.

Of course, if I want to record something while watching a DVD, that's a different story.

Originally posted by flex727
That's actually the service menu. The regular user menu is available without power down. Most HT equipment require power down to enter the service menu.

Yes, but what's idiotic is the idea that someone would want to turn on/off closed captioning in the SERVICE instead of the USER menu. That's something I hope can get changed eventually.

On a semi-related topic, this also makes it sound as if closed captioning would not be "in the stream" if one were to copy to D-VHS, for instance. One would then presumably either have to record it with CC always on or with CC never available?

Originally posted by JJMG
Yes, but what's idiotic is the idea that someone would want to turn on/off closed captioning in the SERVICE instead of the USER menu. That's something I hope can get changed eventually.

On a semi-related topic, this also makes it sound as if closed captioning would not be "in the stream" if one were to copy to D-VHS, for instance. One would then presumably either have to record it with CC always on or with CC never available?

Regardless of how that makes it sound, it is most likely not the case. You're turning on and off the display of CC, not its presence or existence. If the source stream has CC and the source stream gets directly sent by Comcast to your 6412 and your 6412 directly records the source stream to the drive and you send the source stream digitally to a D-VHS deck, at what point would the source stream be altered to strip the CC?

Originally posted by flex727
That's actually the service menu. The regular user menu is available without power down. Most HT equipment require power down to enter the service menu. Uh huh. Which HT would that be? My TV, PJ, DBS receivers all require power on to go into service menus, in addition to user menus.

It's still pretty kooky that one has to go into the service menu to change a simple user function like CC. Regardless, even going into the service menu should not involve a power down.

Why defend a poor design? Own stock in Motorola or something?;)

Originally posted by andyross63
I have an 8810 as a backup for now, and set up Day+/- on the FFwd/FRew keys (FWD and REW are the normal FF/REW). PIP is PageDown, which doubles as replay. I have no pageup mapped, as it's not really necessary unless you want to change series recording priorities, and even then you could probabably just page-down others below the one you want to move up. In menus/grids, the 6412 scrolls up and down nicely, unlike the older tan-menu models. Otherwise, SLEEP=30-sec skip, Shift(setup)-Mute=cable box mute, Move=MyDVR, TV/Vid=Live.

In fact, if you are interested, here is my full IR file for my remote: Thanks man!

Originally posted by garypen
Uh huh. It's still pretty kooky that one has to power down the box, and go into the service menu to change a simple user function like CC. Regardless, even going into the service menu should not involve a power down.

Why defend a poor design? Own stock in Motorola or something?;)

As I gaze into the future, Motorola has taken your suggestion to heart and Comcast and TV Guide have put the Service menu functions into the IGuide menus. Suddenly, AVS is flooded with thousands of identical messages from 6412 owners who have changed their output to 720p even though their TVs cannot display it because they've heard its better. "My box is broken," they say, "I've called comcast, and they've sent out three new boxes. They all stop working after a few days. I can't figure it out. I told Comcast I changed the user setting of resolution, but they couldn't diagnose the problem either."

Another few hundred, after poking around in the IGuide menus for a while, post "Help! There are words on my screen, and I can't get rid of them. I know I didn't change any settings. Why is this happening?"

Comcast inundates Motorola with a bunch of returned $1000 boxes their customers claim are defective.

:)

The truth of the matter is, anything that your average cable subscriber can do to screw up their box should be kept way out of their hands. Most people can't figure out how to adjust their analog audio settings, let alone letting them fool with service menu options. Your tagline makes the point pretty clearly.

Uh huh. Which HT would that be? My TV, PJ, DBS receivers all require power on to go into service menus, in addition to user menus.

Usually after a series of pretty complicated key presses Joe Sixpack is unlikely to stumble onto.

By the way, this entire conversation is nearly mute. I've tested everything but HD (i.e. Analog and Digital SD channels), and CC pops up for me when I mute my television on all channels where it is present. Has anyone tested whether their TV is decoding CC on HD channels, too? I haven't gotten around to it.

i think they are talking about putting
CC in the user menu not changing what type of output is shown.

Originally posted by frankz1
Regardless of how that makes it sound, it is most likely not the case. You're turning on and off the display of CC, not its presence or existence. If the source stream has CC and the source stream gets directly sent by Comcast to your 6412 and your 6412 directly records the source stream to the drive and you send the source stream digitally to a D-VHS deck, at what point would the source stream be altered to strip the CC?

Well, if it is not stripped out, then I would expect my TV to be able to display it with its own menus, instead of requiring the cable box to turn it on or off. Both frankz1 and andyross63 have made it clear that in the Digital channels, the CC data is either not passed to the TV at all, or it is not decodable by the TV.

I suppose it is *possible* that a D-VHS player may be able to decode the CC data by itself, but that would seem fairly unlikely to me. Based on what I've seen here, the most likely story is:


If you ever want to display CC, you'll have to get the cable box to do it
This means that if you record the HD stream to D-VHS, you can probably either never get the CC again, or you will get it always-on


It really all comes down to how CC is encoded in digital streams and whether HD TV sets know how to decode them.

As for frankz1's more recent posting suggesting that it would be foolish for Comcast or Motorola to allow the Service menu to be easily accessible, I can see where he's coming from, although his argument still does not succeed in justifying CC being in the Service menu: after all, as he himself has indicated, all of the lower channels (1-99) still allow the TV to decode CC, and neither Comcast nor Motorola has any control over how easily people can turn their TV's CC on or off. I know for a fact that Cable companies already get service calls and complaints about not being able to turn CC off because they don't realize that they turned it on with their TV somehow. But they get calls and complaints about other much more stupid things, too. Putting CC in the service menu is just going to be super-irritating for some people and if they put it back into the User menu it would at worst be a drop in the ocean of the stupid service calls they get already.

Clearly there are (at least) two types of folks when it comes to this kind of stuff

"This is the box I want" people dissect every detail and feature and want a piece of equipment that will do everything they want it to do
"This is the box we have" people note the limitations of the equipment and are willing to accept it as long as the basic functions operate as they should


When I'm shelling out my hard earned cash, I'm more of a "This is the box I want" dude. When someone is going to put a $1000 piece of equipment in my house for nothing, I'm willing to overlook that it doesn't butter my toast, too.

I wanted a HD DVR that had nothing to do with OTA and antennas. It does that well. Anything else it does is, to me, icing.

Well I've had my 6412 with i-guide now for 24 hours. I really like it. I moved my TiVo to the kids playroom, in fact. I did receive the fully featured remote which has a swap and mute button already funtioning, no need to prgram. Does that make me special?

The only thing that really bothers me is the inability to skip more rapidly forward and backwards like I could with my TiVo. This seems like such an easy software upgrade, I hope it is implemented in the future.

The other issue is occassionally in one of the submenus I can't figure our how to go one menu back, instead it takes me back to the very beginning of the menu if you know what I mean.

Also a shout out ot my awesome 659 harmony remote which i reprogrammed to run my 6412. That thing is so flexible and so awesome it makes running my relatively complex HT a breeze (except for my wife for some reason).

Originally posted by rodneyremington Also a shout out ot my awesome 659 harmony remote which i reprogrammed to run my 6412. That thing is so flexible and so awesome it makes running my relatively complex HT a breeze (except for my wife for some reason). [/B]

I'm a Harmony 659 Devotee, too. The only glitch I can see in using it with the 6412 is that hitting "OnDemand" on it just sends "1," where the box needs 001 or 1+Enter. I know I can just set up an "OnDemand" activity to get around it, but it's not that big a deal.

Same here on the wife thing. She's a fan of turning on the TV with the button on the front as she walks by for some reason. I guess she's retro.

Originally posted by frankz1
As I gaze into the future, Motorola has taken your suggestion to heart and Comcast and TV Guide <yadda yadda yadda> Calm down there sparky. I'm only talking about the poor choice of putting a specific user function, closed caption, in the service menu.

Originally posted by frankz1
By the way, this entire conversation is nearly mute. I've tested everything but HD (i.e. Analog and Digital SD channels), and CC pops up for me when I mute my television on all channels where it is present. Has anyone tested whether their TV is decoding CC on HD channels, too? I haven't gotten around to it. That's because CC is not decoded by HDTV's on HD signals through the HD inputs. That is why it is necessary for HD receivers to decode CC on HD braodcasts. It's like that with any HD receiver, whether ATSC, QAM. DBS. etc. And, since much of the programming that is viewed through the 6412 will be on the local HD channels, the CC should be easier to access.

BTW, the word is "moot".

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Also a shout out ot my awesome 659 harmony remote which i reprogrammed to run my 6412. That thing is so flexible and so awesome it makes running my relatively complex HT a breeze (except for my wife for some reason). If you find a remote that can control your wife, please post it here. I'd buy one, if only for the "mute" button.

Originally posted by garypen
BTW, the word is "moot".

Thanks for the proofreading note. How's my punctuation?

Hey, the spell check that I paid absolutely nothing for doesn't perform every function to the satisfaction of my unrealistic expectations. Maybe I should start a thread ;)

Originally posted by garypen
If you find a remote that can control your wife, please post it here. I'd buy one, if only for the "mute" button. And what about the "swap" button? ;)

Originally posted by rodneyremington




The other issue is occassionally in one of the submenus I can't figure our how to go one menu back, instead it takes me back to the very beginning of the menu if you know what I mean.



This is easily done with the "last" button. The same button that lets you move back and forth between two channels (like the "jump" button on some remotes).

Just hit "last" not "exit" and it will take you back one menu screen. It will also flip between two channels (or a DVR recording and a channel).

*rolls eyes as the sexist idiotic comments*

Originally posted by frankz1
I'm a Harmony 659 Devotee, too. The only glitch I can see in using it with the 6412 is that hitting "OnDemand" on it just sends "1," where the box needs 001 or 1+Enter. I know I can just set up an "OnDemand" activity to get around it, but it's not that big a deal.

Same here on the wife thing. She's a fan of turning on the TV with the button on the front as she walks by for some reason. I guess she's retro. Hey frankz, you could simply hit 1 instead of 001. If you can't then you may have the AUTOTUNE turned on which requires you to type the leading 0, so to turn this leading zero requirement off...in the setup menu, choose Guide Setup, then under Channel entry behavior, AUTO-Tune, choose Yes. Good luck.

Originally posted by tall1
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by garypen
If you find a remote that can control your wife, please post it here. I'd buy one, if only for the "mute" button.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And what about the "swap" button? ;)

Genius, tall1. Pure and Simple.

Somewhere between post 1 and 1500 I read a comment-within-a-comment that there is a Portland Oregon thread for the 6412.

I PM's the gentleman but he did not reply. I 'searched on page' for 5 pages back with no hit for 'portland.'

Can someone please confirm if this thread exists and if so, where? Thanks.

Originally posted by caesar1
This is easily done with the "last" button. The same button that lets you move back and forth between two channels (like the "jump" button on some remotes).

Just hit "last" not "exit" and it will take you back one menu screen. It will also flip between two channels (or a DVR recording and a channel).

Oh, thanks for the tip. BTW, even my comcast remote control sends a 1 and nothing else happens when I hit the ondemand button. I live in California, is this available nationwide or only regionally? How would I access that feature besides the ondemand button? I see no option for it in the menus.

Originally posted by cglenn
Somewhere between post 1 and 1500 I read a comment-within-a-comment that there is a Portland Oregon thread for the 6412.

I PM's the gentleman but he did not reply. I 'searched on page' for 5 pages back with no hit for 'portland.'

Can someone please confirm if this thread exists and if so, where? Thanks. I think you might try the Washington State - Comcast 6412 w/ MSFT Software (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=467203&perpage=20&pagenumber=1) thread. This is for iGuide and I think Portland is using Microsoft FE. Good luck.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Oh, thanks for the tip. BTW, even my comcast remote control sends a 1 and nothing else happens when I hit the ondemand button. I live in California, is this available nationwide or only regionally? How would I access that feature besides the ondemand button? I see no option for it in the menus.

Comcast does not offer VOD in all California markets. I live in the San Francisco bay, and they don't offer VOD in my area. They told me that it's only offered in the Delta, and they are working towards the coast slowly. I guess 6 months before VOD is offered in all portions of the SF Bay Area.

Originally posted by MemeSlider
OK... Comcast installed my Moto 6412 a couple of hours ago. The 30 sec. skip directions have been posted here a number of times, but I think I must have a different remote. My remote is made by ICX Global and is their model ENT-6412-3005-AB. I can't post links yet, but if you go to:

hxxp://icxglobal.com/en/products/cable/enterprise_family/dct_6412.php

and replace the two little x's with t's, at the beginning of the link, you can see it.

This remote has no SETUP button. Therefore, trying to set the 30 sec. skip following the directions provided is impossible.

Any advice?

Otherwise I like the new box! I have used Tivo before and liked Tivo, but so far I am just as happy with this.

You can't program individual buttons with that ICX remote. That's the one they gave me too, at first. I called Comcast and requested the silver one (make sure it has the setup and swap buttons). I got a little pushback at first when one rep said those remotes were only for internal testing. But when I explained that I knew folks who already had this remote (the folks here in this forum!), they exchanged it with no problems.

Originally posted by cglenn
Somewhere between post 1 and 1500 I read a comment-within-a-comment that there is a Portland Oregon thread for the 6412.

I PM's the gentleman but he did not reply. I 'searched on page' for 5 pages back with no hit for 'portland.'

Can someone please confirm if this thread exists and if so, where? Thanks.

Most of that talk appears here:

Portland, OR - Comcast (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4876489#post4876489)

Originally posted by tall1
Hey frankz, you could simply hit 1 instead of 001. If you can't then you may have the AUTOTUNE turned on which requires you to type the leading 0, so to turn this leading zero requirement off...in the setup menu, choose cable box options, then under AUTOTUNE, choose no. Good luck.

Call me dense, but I can't find this autotune feature anywhere in the setup menu. When I goto Main Menu>Setup>Cable Box Setup, I only have 4 options and autotune isn't one of them. Is there another setup menu? Thanks.

I'm away from the unit but I think it's Main Menu>Setup>Guide Setup then you'll see Autotune.

Originally posted by BJMoose
Call me dense, but I can't find this autotune feature anywhere in the setup menu. When I goto Main Menu>Setup>Cable Box Setup, I only have 4 options and autotune isn't one of them. Is there another setup menu? Thanks. Oh right, my fault...it is Guide Setup and actually, "Auto-Tune" is a selection, "Channel entry behavior" is the Setup option you want to change to "Yes".

I know everyone will rejoice to hear this, but I think that some of the newer HD TVs may provide closed captioning decoding from HD sources after all. For instance, the manual for the new Sharp Aquos 45" LCD (http://www.sharpusa.com/files/tel_man_LC45GX6U_TUGD10UT.pdf) says that the TV provides decoding for both Analog AND digital CC. It even has a UI for choosing font, opacity, color, etc., for the digital CC captions that look very much like the options provided by the Motorola 6412 setup menus (I looked up that manual too).

For the record, I still think that it's a BOZO IDEA to hide the enabling/disabling of the 6412's CC decoding in a menu that you can only get to by turning the box off. As a software developer myself with more than 20 years of experience with UI design, I can tell you, that's just bad design. I don't think it takes "unrealistic expectations" to come to that conclusion.

Originally posted by JJMG

For the record, I still think that it's a BOZO IDEA to hide the enabling/disabling of the 6412's CC decoding in a menu that you can only get to by turning the box off. As a software developer myself with more than 20 years of experience with UI design, I can tell you, that's just bad design. I don't think it takes "unrealistic expectations" to come to that conclusion.

Perhaps we could start a new thread, "Comcast 6412 CC issues" so all 3 people who are interested can discuss it ;)

Originally posted by tall1
Oh right, my fault...it is Guide Setup and actually, "Auto-Tune" is a selection, "Channel entry behavior" is the Setup option you want to change to "Yes".
Thanks for the follow up. It now works fine with my Harmony 688.

Originally posted by frankz1
Thanks for the proofreading note. How's my punctuation?

Hey, the spell check that I paid absolutely nothing for doesn't perform every function to the satisfaction of my unrealistic expectations. Maybe I should start a thread ;) Mute was spelled correctly. It was just the wrong word. So, don't get too angry at your spell check.

OTOH, if you had to power down your PC, and access the BIOS setup menu, just to make changes to the spell check, you might have a valid complaint. :eek:

Originally posted by tall1
Oh right, my fault...it is Guide Setup and actually, "Auto-Tune" is a selection, "Channel entry behavior" is the Setup option you want to change to "Yes".
I like having 'Auto-Tune' off. So, couldn't one simply have the Harmony's OnDemand button 'learn' the original remote's OnDemand button function (001)?

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Perhaps we could start a new thread, "Comcast 6412 CC issues" so all 3 people who are interested can discuss it ;)

We don't get a whole forum?

Originally posted by garypen
Mute was spelled correctly. It was just the wrong word. So, don't get too angry at your spell check.

OTOH, if you had to power down your PC, and access the BIOS setup menu, just to make changes to the spell check, you might have a valid complaint. :eek:

Heh, heh. Take THAT, frankz1!

;)

Originally posted by JJMG
Heh, heh. Take THAT, frankz1!

;)

Yeah. Uh, Ouch.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
The only thing that really bothers me is the inability to skip more rapidly forward and backwards like I could with my TiVo. This seems like such an easy software upgrade, I hope it is implemented in the future.

For now, I recommend that you program the 30-second skip into your remote. It buffers well, so you can press it 4 times really fast and skip 2 minutes ahead.

Thanks to rollerfink who explained the process to me when I too asked for a way to FF ahead faster:

1) Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
2) Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
3) Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice
4) Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button
5) Type in the code 00173 (for 30 second Skip), 00141 (for Mute) or 00236 (for Swap).
6) Press whatever button you want to map the skip or swap function to. I use the "help" button for my 30-second skip since it is big and pretty useless otherwise.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Perhaps we could start a new thread, "Comcast 6412 CC issues" so all 3 people who are interested can discuss it ;)

How insenstive can you be to the disabled. Think about it, many seniors and others find the CC very important. I have found that there is CC 'bleed' when using the digital output. This bleed is an over lap, at least on my Samsung TXN2798, of captions for the the digital output with other scrambled captions. At this point I cannot tell if it is the 6412 technology or the TV. I'll swap with my other 6412 and check it out. I'll let the other three people concerned know.

Originally posted by ThePerfectViewe
How insenstive can you be to the disabled.

I find your comment pretty insensitive towards the insensitive.

Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

OK. I asked the wife if she would like the idea of one remote instead of five. She said that sounded like a really good idea.

So... now that I have the opportunity to get a remote... which one should I get???

I'm leaning toward the Harmony 688.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Ok guys, here's my problem in detail....

When I switch tuners on my 6412, the analog channels on the second tuner have NO sound. It doesn't matter if I'm recording or not. 101+ all work perfectly, but 2-99 have no sound. Then, when I switch back to the original tuner, all sound works perfectly.

I read this entire thread, and did not see one mention on this bug. I also searched the forum and found nothing....

I'd appriciate ANY help you could give! Thanks!

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

OK. I asked the wife if she would like the idea of one remote instead of five. She said that sounded like a really good idea.

So... now that I have the opportunity to get a remote... which one should I get???

I've got the 688 and if you're willing to take the time to program it, it works very well. Although the automatic programming through the online site does a nice job, I'm a little pickier about how I want things to works so I've customized every softkey setting to be where I want them to be.

Functionally, I think the 688 does a fine job. It's very customizable. I've even got it programmed to dim the lights when I start a DVD and brightened when I end the DVD. My only real negative is the ergonomics of the device. It's fairly small, probably not designed for most men's hands. My fingers aren't yet comfortable with 'lights off' operation, however the backlighting works fine. For the price range, it's a great tool and can literally control every key for every remote you have. Hope this helps.

Originally posted by QZ1
I like having 'Auto-Tune' off. So, couldn't one simply have the Harmony's OnDemand button 'learn' the original remote's OnDemand button function (001)?

Tried that a few times and couldn't get it to work. Looked like it accepted the command okay, but it still showed up as '1'. Maybe someone else has a better way. Auto-tune works fine for me for now.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

OK. I asked the wife if she would like the idea of one remote instead of five. She said that sounded like a really good idea.

So... now that I have the opportunity to get a remote... which one should I get???

I'm leaning toward the Harmony 688.

Thanks in advance for any help.

If you are looking for a harmony remote that is wife-friendly think about the 659, it has a help screen that guides the remote-control-challenged through troubleshooting should they get confused.

OK, one other i-guide question:

when you are watching a previously recorded program, what button do you push to display the recording bar on the bottom of the screen so you can see how far along in the recording you are?

I know it will show up if you fast forward or pause but what about just showing the bar itself?

It seems when you press the down arrow key during a buffered show it shows you the bar, but not during a completely recorded show-- the down arrow seems to act as a "live-TV" button then.

play

Originally posted by rodneyremington
OK, one other i-guide question:

when you are watching a previously recorded program, what button do you push to display the recording bar on the bottom of the screen so you can see how far along in the recording you are?

I know it will show up if you fast forward or pause but what about just showing the bar itself?

It seems when you press the down arrow key during a buffered show it shows you the bar, but not during a completely recorded show-- the down arrow seems to act as a "live-TV" button then.

play button or day+ button

Originally posted by WagGag
play button or day+ button

Cool, thanks. I'm embarrased I couldn't figure that one out. Partly because I didn't bother to transfer the day+ button to my harmony remote. And I'm impressed that you took the time at 5 minutes to midnight (your time) on NY Eve to answer that.

Can I reprogram the main power button to just turn on the tv? I would like to not turn my Motorolla off when I press it. If I set the romote to control the tv power I have to press cable to control the dvr keys. This gets confusing for others in my household that just want to control everything with one button. I find the box gets screwed up if I turn it off all the time. They are used to my tivo remote, one on button nothing else to worry about

Originally posted by JustScott
Can I reprogram the main power button to just turn on the tv?

Yes you can. Mine did it automatically after I programmed in the Samsung TV code--I have the fully featured silver remote with the swap button. Exactly how you do it depends on which remote you have.

If you're looking at a Harmony remote, I would recommend you consider the 680 or 676. I think the button layout on these two remotes is much better for DVR use. The problem with the 659 is that the transport buttons are at the bottom of the remote and the 688 has weird buttons (in my opinion). The 680 and 676 both address those problems. I personally prefer the 676 for the soft rubber buttons and the grouping of the transport controls.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

OK. I asked the wife if she would like the idea of one remote instead of five. She said that sounded like a really good idea.

So... now that I have the opportunity to get a remote... which one should I get???

I'm leaning toward the Harmony 688.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I bought the 680. Why? Because it is set up for a PVR the best right out of the box. It has existing buttons labeled for live, replay & skip.(it aleady has the 30 sec. skip programed).
This all meens less buttons that you have to find in the LCD to push. I would rather have had the softer buttons like on the though I think. The other draw back is that the Media button can't be remaped for something else.

All 600 series remotes have the help/sreen by the way.

The 6412 is suppose to be available at Comcast here in Mid Nov. I'm dumping Dish for Comcast. Dish service is great but their equipment is junk, I want a DVR that works, the 921 does not.

Is the firewire working with the 6412? Anyone here had their box for a while, are they addressing issues with software updates or is it going to be a box update down the road? How are problems and short comings being handled?

Thanks.

Originally posted by M Diddy
Ok guys, here's my problem in detail....

When I switch tuners on my 6412, the analog channels on the second tuner have NO sound. It doesn't matter if I'm recording or not. 101+ all work perfectly, but 2-99 have no sound. Then, when I switch back to the original tuner, all sound works perfectly.

I read this entire thread, and did not see one mention on this bug. I also searched the forum and found nothing....

I'd appriciate ANY help you could give! Thanks!
This has been mentioned before. It's a defective box. Get it replaced.

I think it only affected the digital (coax/optical) audio. Analog audio was fine.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

OK. I asked the wife if she would like the idea of one remote instead of five. She said that sounded like a really good idea.

So... now that I have the opportunity to get a remote... which one should I get???

I'm leaning toward the Harmony 688.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I have the 680. It works great with this box. has the 30 sec skip, button and the I believe its 5 second reverse. You have to go to the lcd menu though for the tuner swap. But I don't use it that often. It also works great on my other components. Its worth the money just for the one button access to different activities.

Originally posted by Sundance
...Is the firewire working with the 6412?...

I'm not sure what function you're looking for from firewire, but if you mean can you dump HD programs to a PC via firewire the answer is yes. I do it regularly.

Originally posted by Couch Patato
I bought the 680. Why? Because it is set up for a PVR the best right out of the box. It has existing buttons labeled for live, replay & skip.(it aleady has the 30 sec. skip programed).
This all meens less buttons that you have to find in the LCD to push. I would rather have had the softer buttons like on the though I think. The other draw back is that the Media button can't be remaped for something else.

All 600 series remotes have the help/sreen by the way.

I'm loving my new 659. The UP,Down,Left,Right buttons work great as transport buttons, and I've mapped the +/- as swap and the enter as 30 second skip. I've got pgup, pgdn, replay (which I hardly ever use) and DVR in the LCD window. I've never used LiveTV, I just use "Exit" from a recorded program or menu.

It's one of those items you get and then wind up trying to figure out why you didn't get it sooner. There's room on the coffee table for other things again.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Yes you can. Mine did it automatically after I programmed in the Samsung TV code--I have the fully featured silver remote with the swap button. Exactly how you do it depends on which remote you have.

Yes I have the new remote with the swap button, but the main power turns on both box and tv. any info on how to make it just the tv?

Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I'd like to thank everyone for their VERY HELPFUL comments...BJMoose, rodneyremington, weldon, Couch Patato, dcfox, and frankz1.

Looks like the consensus is the 680, 676, and the 659 over the 688.

I think I am going to go to Best Buy and 6th Ave Electronics to get one of these in my hands to see what I like best.

Does anyone know any other stores I can go see these at?

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Well... well... I had my first reboot last night. It happened at about 12:34 am.

The 6412 is well ventilated and not enclosed. Last night wasn't as cold as the few previous nights so I know with the heat on and the fireplace going the room was a bit hotter than it has been. We have one of those barometer-temperature-humidity units on the wall (how convenient) so I could see the temperature in the room was about 76. Not too hot but maybe too hot for the 6412. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I just had my second reboot at 12:23 pm today while swapping tuners. The temperature in the room is only 71 so I am discounting room temperature as the root cause.

Very weird since the 6412 has worked fine for nearly 2 months, now 2 reboots in a week.

I guess I may need a new box.

Originally posted by BJMoose
Tried that a few times and couldn't get it to work. Looked like it accepted the command okay, but it still showed up as '1'. Maybe someone else has a better way. Auto-tune works fine for me for now. Is it possible to manually program the Harmony's OnDemand button with '001'?

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I'd like to thank everyone for their VERY HELPFUL comments...BJMoose, rodneyremington, weldon, Couch Patato, dcfox, and frankz1.

Looks like the consensus is the 680, 676, and the 659 over the 688.

I think I am going to go to Best Buy and 6th Ave Electronics to get one of these in my hands to see what I like best.

Does anyone know any other stores I can go see these at?

I wanted to clarify that I've got an SST-659 and not an H659. Apparently, there's a difference. The SST carries the following description at erwincomputers.com (where I got mine). I suspect it's a generic description by the manufacturer:
"The Logitech Harmony family remote SST-659 is the culmination of customer feedback, design refinement and user group studies. Harmony SST659 Universal Remote includes some notable feature inclusions like Activity buttons, top mounted display, separate navigation buttons, dedicated satellite control and bright backlit buttons."

I've got no idea which came first (H or SST). I just didn't want to vouch for a remote I don't have (the H659) and then you get it and it stinks.

Quick note to anyone who'd scheduled Lost+Alias on Wednesday. Check your scheduled DVR programs. They changed the times (9:01 end time on Lost / start time on Alias), and it make my scheduled recording list go funky (Lost was in there twice at 8, no Alias). I just deleted them both and rescheduled. Glad I checked. Don't know how that would have worked out Wednesday night.

Originally posted by frankz1
Quick note to anyone who'd scheduled Lost+Alias on Wednesday. Check your scheduled DVR programs. They changed the times (9:01 end time on Lost / start time on Alias), and it make my scheduled recording list go funky (Lost was in there twice at 8, no Alias). I just deleted them both and rescheduled. Glad I checked. Don't know how that would have worked out Wednesday night.

So you just re-added them with the given guide times? No adjustments?

Originally posted by keenan
So you just re-added them with the given guide times? No adjustments?

Originally, it was Lost 8-9 and Alias 9-11. Guide times changed to 9:01. As a result, I had lost at 8-9 and another Lost at 8-9:01: No Alias. I deleted both Losts and added lost and alias. No other adjustments needed.

I have a Sony AV3000 programable remote and the ICX from comcast. Is there any way
to program the Sony to do the 30 second skip without finding someone who has the
"Silver" remote?

Also is there any way to mark a recording to save "till I delete" after it has been recorded?

Originally posted by frankz1
Originally, it was Lost 8-9 and Alias 9-11. Guide times changed to 9:01. As a result, I had lost at 8-9 and another Lost at 8-9:01: No Alias. I deleted both Losts and added lost and alias. No other adjustments needed.

Got it.

Firstly, I just upgraded from the DCT 6200 to the DCT 6412 yesterday and I LOVE this new STB but I have one question at this time (the on line manual does not cover Audio Setup). I think that my Sound is BETTER - - - I use a DDS/DTS A/V Receiver with Optical/Digital cable - - - with this NEW 6412 when I went into Audio Setup I believe I chose 1st - Stereo; 2nd - Advanced; 3rd - Compression = None; 4th - MATRIX. It is this LAST setting, MATRIX, that I am really wondering about. I don't believe that that that setting was available on the DCT 6200?? I also believe, correct me if I am wrong, that "matrix" is what my A/V Receiver refers to as the feature where IT automatically adjusts to whatever the sound input is at that time - is this Correct? Anyway, may be my imagination - BUT - I think that the sound is now even better setup like this. Can someone "in the know" please inform me/us what the proper setup is for this type of a system? Too bad that Motorola does not cover these setup choices somewhere.

TKS Michael:confused:

Originally posted by cyberized
Firstly, I just upgraded from the DCT 6200 to the DCT 6412 yesterday and I LOVE this new STB but I have one question at this time (the on line manual does not cover Audio Setup). I think that my Sound is BETTER - - - I use a DDS/DTS A/V Receiver with Optical/Digital cable - - - with this NEW 6412 when I went into Audio Setup I believe I chose 1st - Stereo; 2nd - Advanced; 3rd - Compression = None; 4th - MATRIX. It is this LAST setting, MATRIX, that I am really wondering about. I don't believe that that that setting was available on the DCT 6200?? I also believe, correct me if I am wrong, that "matrix" is what my A/V Receiver refers to as the feature where IT automatically adjusts to whatever the sound input is at that time - is this Correct? Anyway, may be my imagination - BUT - I think that the sound is now even better setup like this. Can someone "in the know" please inform me/us what the proper setup is for this type of a system? Too bad that Motorola does not cover these setup choices somewhere.

TKS Michael:confused:

The audio setup menu has no effect on what happens when you connect to an A/V receiver via Optical/Digital cables. It only effects the analog outputs.

http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf doesn't match these menus, but it gives a good overview of everything else about the 6412 with IGuide.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I'd like to thank everyone for their VERY HELPFUL comments...BJMoose, rodneyremington, weldon, Couch Patato, dcfox, and frankz1.

Looks like the consensus is the 680, 676, and the 659 over the 688.

I think I am going to go to Best Buy and 6th Ave Electronics to get one of these in my hands to see what I like best.

Does anyone know any other stores I can go see these at?

I originaly tried the 659 at bought at CC. I hated it, too small buttons, lost memory and did not have the buttons for a pvr. I returned it. Got the 680 at Tigerdirect for 80 bucks less then I paid for the cheaper 659. Fast shipping too.

Originally posted by dcfox
I originaly tried the 659 at bought at CC. I hated it, too small buttons, lost memory and did not have the buttons for a pvr. I returned it. Got the 680 at Tigerdirect for 80 bucks less then I paid for the cheaper 659. Fast shipping too.

This confuses me.

Here's the current 659:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=8865

And here's the current 680:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=9568

The buttons look the same size to me. As a 659 owner, I can attest to the fact that it has PVR buttons (two sets, actually, plus menu, guide, info, exit). Unless someone has serious Hormels at the end of their wrists, the buttons are a pretty decent size.

Was there an earlier, failed 659 prior to the current revision?

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I just had my second reboot at 12:23 pm today while swapping tuners. The temperature in the room is only 71 so I am discounting room temperature as the root cause.

Very weird since the 6412 has worked fine for nearly 2 months, now 2 reboots in a week.

I guess I may need a new box.
Here is one way to check the temperature of the hard drive, which might give a rough idea of the box's temperature:
Tune to any channel
Turn the box off, then quickly hit OK/Select
Scroll down to PVR/HDD Status, then hit OK
Scroll down again and you will see the HD status, including it's temperature.
Hit OK to back out to the diagnostics again.
You can also just hit power to get out at any time.

Mine is in a cabinet with only about 1/2" clearance on the sides, although I have it offset to the right a bit as the hot power supply is on the left. The front has about 1-2 inches to a door (not tightly sealed.) There is nearly 5" above it, and the back is fully open. The only 'hot' areas are over the power supply. The rest feels cool. The HD temperature is 113. It read 109 when I had it mounted on a fully open shelf below the TV. I moved it to the cabinet due to the drive noise.

Originally posted by frankz1
The audio setup menu has no effect on what happens when you connect to an A/V receiver via Optical/Digital cables. It only effects the analog outputs.

http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf doesn't match these menus, but it gives a good overview of everything else about the 6412 with IGuide.

Are you *absolutely* sure? I have mine hooked up to my receiver via optical. In the default setting, there was no 5.1. During the same show, I went to the audio mene and selected "advanced", "heavy" and "Matrix" and sound instantly was being fed to all 5 speakers.

??

Rgds,

JohnW

Originally posted by jwehman
Are you *absolutely* sure? I have mine hooked up to my receiver via optical. In the default setting, there was no 5.1. During the same show, I went to the audio mene and selected "advanced", "heavy" and "Matrix" and sound instantly was being fed to all 5 speakers.

??

Rgds,

JohnW

I just muted my TV and tested with the receiver, and no setting produced any change to the sound coming through my receiver. I've also read about 15 posts in this thread with similar information.

Then I tested with the receiver off and tv (connected with the l/r) up loud, and those settings had all kinds of effect over the sound.

If I had to guess, it sounds like you're not hooked up via optical to your receiver. Does your receiver show a Dolby Digital display when you're listening to the 6412.

Originally posted by andyross63
Here is one way to check the temperature of the hard drive... Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Mine reads: Temp(F): 104

Seems cool to me in comparison to yours. You didn't mention if yours is rebooting or not.

The room isn't too warm and the HD isn't warm so I think I have a faulty Power Supply.

Does anyone else suffer from rebooting? Did replacing the 6412 solve the problem?

I'm hoping my CO has a received a newer batch of 6412's by now.

My wife bought me (I picked it out) the logitech 659 for Christmas. I've got to say I'm liking this remote a lot. Best I've had to date. No doubt it takes some time to set up properly. It can be frustrating and there is a lot of trial and error. But it does everything without any manual programming. The 30 sec. skip works like a charm. Pause, record, rewind...whatever. It does it.

I've set up one button for the wife and kids to watch tv. It simply turns on the tv, changes the comcast box to channel 3, allows volume control via the tv and channel turning through the DVR without changing inputs. When they are done, they hit off and it turns off the tv.

My button turns on the tv, sets the DVR to channel 200 (HDTV), turns on the reciever, picks the appropriate reciever input. Channels changing is done via the pvr and volume control is done via the reciver without changing inputs.

The DVD button turns on the tv, changes the tv input, turns on the reciever, changes the input, turns on the dvd player and ejects it.

Any other funtions I need can be had via the on screen buttons. I suppose the only thing I dont like is the lights only come on automatically when you hit one of the 6 screen butons. Otherwise, you have to hit the glow button to get it to light up. Anyway, yeh, I like this thing. It compliments the DVR wonderfully. Since I've bought this, I haven't been asked one question or been called once at work asking how to watch tv. If that's not testament enough, I don't know what is.

ps. my Sony av2000 is now for sale

So will this 659 out do the Sony AV3000 and AV3800?

Guys,

I love Harmony Remotes (got a H688 myself which works great w/the 6412), but how about we keep on topic (the IGuide) since its already hard enough to track all the stuff in this thread.

There's a bunch of threads dedicated to the Harmony over in the remotes forum
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=93

or

http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-harmony/list.cgi

where you can talk all about these great little things.

-Steve

Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Sorry to go OT.

Thanks for the links davisdog.

Mark

Originally posted by M Diddy
Ok guys, here's my problem in detail....

When I switch tuners on my 6412, the analog channels on the second tuner have NO sound. It doesn't matter if I'm recording or not. 101+ all work perfectly, but 2-99 have no sound. Then, when I switch back to the original tuner, all sound works perfectly.

I read this entire thread, and did not see one mention on this bug. I also searched the forum and found nothing....

I'd appriciate ANY help you could give! Thanks!

Does anyone have ANY ideas??? I'd like to figure this thing out!

I read about splitting the line before going into the box to help out some folks who had no signal. Do you guys think that would work for me? Or maybe power off the unit and let it reboot?

Also, I've been reading about the 30 sec. skip. What exactly is it for? Just a faster FF when watching recorded shows? :confused:

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I just had my second reboot at 12:23 pm today... Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

My box rebooted again today around 5 pm. Twice in one day isn't good.

One thing I noticed is that the guide data comes back quicker if the box isn't used and better yet if it is turned off.

I went out for about 4 hours, came back, and all the data was in for 15 days out.

So, if your box reboots or you loose power, just turn the thing off a few hours and you'll be set.

Originally posted by M Diddy
Does anyone have ANY ideas??? I'd like to figure this thing out!

I read about splitting the line before going into the box to help out some folks who had no signal. Do you guys think that would work for me? Or maybe power off the unit and let it reboot?

Also, I've been reading about the 30 sec. skip. What exactly is it for? Just a faster FF when watching recorded shows? :confused:

You must have missed my posts, which is understandable considering the size of this thread. The good news is that I have exact same problem, so you’re not alone. I assume your using either the digital optical or coax audio output, right?

The bad news is that I’m on my fifth or sixth box (lost track), and every single one of them did the same thing. But all had a very similar serial number so it could well be a bad batch of them.

I’m bitched my way fairly high up the chain at Comcast, and hopefully we will get this resolved soon.

Two questions, what’s your serial number (on the bottom and work order and starts with a GI) and where are you located?

I’ll pm you my phone number.

Oh, and the 30 second skip is a much nicer way of getting through commericals when watching recorded shows. I've made a 3 minute skip on my pronto and many times I can skip all the commercials with a single key press.

Originally posted by frankz1
Quick note to anyone who'd scheduled Lost+Alias on Wednesday. Check your scheduled DVR programs. They changed the times (9:01 end time on Lost / start time on Alias), and it make my scheduled recording list go funky (Lost was in there twice at 8, no Alias). I just deleted them both and rescheduled. Glad I checked. Don't know how that would have worked out Wednesday night.

I was reading in the paper the other day that unusual start and end times are done by the networks on purpose to frustrate people who use DVRs to record programs and supposedly then skip through the commercials. It would be great if there was some way to deal with these unusual start and end times because they are likely to become more frequent.

Originally posted by eafenyes
It would be great if there was some way to deal with these unusual start and end times because they are likely to become more frequent.



There is, Show based recording not time based ( the Replay TV has show). Do the 64xx offer show based or just time based recording? That was one of the great things about the Replay. It would record the show no matter if the time changed, the show went longer or started early or late or even if the network switched days.

As an owner of two Replays, yes, the show-based recording is an excellent feature BUT the Relay schedule (managed by Tribune Data) needed to match the network schedule. If it didn't, you always had the begin/end shift, where you could begin recording a few min earlier and end a few min later. I wonder if TV Guide can use these features or if they are someone elses IP?

It does! On the record page under it gives you a choice to start the recording up to 15 minutes early. Allso it alows you to set the end time too. Up to 2 hours later. You can even set it up with series recording too.

I've had my 6412 for about 4 days now (love it) but they wouldn't install two in my home, said there was a one per household limit for now. Yesterday I put in a request on their website, and today got an email saying they had scheduled me for a DVR install in 6 days (saturday). Looking good to get that second one in the master bedroom.

Last night I watched 50 first dates (stupid, I know) in perfect commercial free high definition with surround sound, time shifted, way better than DVD, and I was sold on the 6412.

With all the HD movie channels I get, I see no chance of me ever going to blockbuster again. That will pay for the rental of the DVR.

Originally posted by eafenyes
I was reading in the paper the other day that unusual start and end times are done by the networks on purpose to frustrate people who use DVRs to record programs and supposedly then skip through the commercials. It would be great if there was some way to deal with these unusual start and end times because they are likely to become more frequent.

The best way I found to deal with it was to stop watching the shows and informing the advertisers and network the reason why I had done so. Probably doesn't do jack in the end, but since most of the shows I want to see either end up in syndication later on and easier to catch there or in DVD box sets, it's less stressful or annoying than watching a show only to miss the ending. I skipped out on Friends when they started doing that more regularly and am now just enjoying the box sets which have the full uncut episodes.

Unless people complain en masse though, it won't change.

DOH !
Newbie here. so please be gentle... :-)

I have a Motorola DCT6412, and am exploring options for recording shows with the DVR, and exporting them to my PC for the purpose of creating DVDs. (Primarily for sporting events of my favorite teams, but anyway...)

I currently would have to use my PC for firewire (laptop is work issued :-( ), so I would have to unplug & physically move the box when I wanted yto archive. Thought I would mention that just in case it matters.


I thought this post would do the trick, but after 34 pages I am more confused...

Anyone want to help me with this offline (i.e. email or private message) so I dont clutter this post with dumb questions?

One of the few good things I can say about the Dish DVR921 is they give you the option of setting the start and stop time before or after the show any number of min. and the settings are global so you only need to do it once and each time you select something from the guide they apply.

Originally posted by E Feezee
I have a Motorola DCT6412, and am exploring options for recording shows with the DVR, and exporting them to my PC for the purpose of creating DVDs. (Primarily for sporting events of my favorite teams, but anyway...)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=403695

Getting it to the PC is the easy part. Doing all the processing that needs to be done to get it down to DVD resolution (and frame rate if 720p) is very time consuming and laborious. Editing out the commercials and keeping the audio in synch with the video is tricky, and only works about 75% of the time, meaning you'll go through about 4 hours of work and CPU processing time just to find that the video and audio don't match about 25% of the time. Oh, and unless you like to read german for freeware versions of stuff, you'll need to pay for TMPGenc to process the video.

Keeping the commercials in, it works pretty well and looks great (not hd quality, but DVD quality for sure).

I've done it on a couple 1 hour shows to test with mixed results. I can't imagine doing it on a three hour football game (which won't fit on a DVD without editing or totally wrecking the quality with a low bitrate).

I may post a guide somewhere here step by step, but that means going through the process to make sure I don't miss anything. That's not happening again any time real soon.

I hope they add a "jump to" time indexing system. It's really a pain to reverse backwards to a point in the buffer rather than going right to it.

They should at least allow you to jump to every XX:00 and XX:30.

Excuse IF this question should be somewhere else. I was wondering IF MOXI is on or requires a whole different STB - OR - is it like I-Guide, a software program that is downloaded onto the DCT 64XX?

TKS Michael:confused:

Originally posted by cyberized
Excuse IF this question should be somewhere else. I was wondering IF MOXI is on or requires a whole different STB - OR - is it like I-Guide, a software program that is downloaded onto the DCT 64XX?

TKS Michael:confused:


Moxi will not run on the DCT (ie 5xxx/6xxx) platform. It runs on a different set of hardware (Also made by Motorola and called their BMC series I think)

Originally posted by DaveFi
I hope they add a "jump to" time indexing system. It's really a pain to reverse backwards to a point in the buffer rather than going right to it.

They should at least allow you to jump to every XX:00 and XX:30.

Like a "reverse" skip button. That would be nice.

Network scheduling games that slide the start and end times of programs predate DVR. They're mainly trying to manage audience flow of the live audience--eliminate the perception of a station break where people will surf for a new show and change channels.

The problems this causes for DVR viewing are just a by-product.

iGuide allows you to adjust start and end times to catch the whole show. You have to press OK or Info, then select the big red dot recording icon, then select the wrench icon to view all options. Then you'll see a control of start time and end time.

It's a long way to go, but it's in there. You can set the time adjustment for a series or for an episode.

BTW: Microsoft TV (in my Comcast market) takes a software approach to this issue. They automatically pad every recording with 90 seconds before and after the scheduled time (provided there's no conflict). That way the user doesn't need to fuss with a manual adjustment. FWIW, I'm not happy with this approach as it usually forces me to wade through a minute-and-a-half of crap before my show starts. It also causes the DVR to want to tune away from a live show that you happen to be watching 90 seconds early.

Originally posted by M Diddy
Does anyone have ANY ideas??? I'd like to figure this thing out!

I read about splitting the line before going into the box to help out some folks who had no signal. Do you guys think that would work for me? Or maybe power off the unit and let it reboot?

Also, I've been reading about the 30 sec. skip. What exactly is it for? Just a faster FF when watching recorded shows? :confused:

Not that anyone would ever think of doing this but it could be great for skipping commercials :D

Originally posted by cyberized
Excuse IF this question should be somewhere else. I was wondering IF MOXI is on or requires a whole different STB - OR - is it like I-Guide, a software program that is downloaded onto the DCT 64XX?

TKS Michael:confused:

I believe Moxi can run on the 6412 stb. The software is loaded from the headend.

Originally posted by mktgMaven
Network scheduling games that slide the start and end times of programs predate DVR. They're mainly trying to manage audience flow of the live audience--eliminate the perception of a station break where people will surf for a new show and change channels.

The problems this causes for DVR viewing are just a by-product. What I'd like to see is for networks to publish accurate-to-the-second start and end times for DVR software to refer to--these don't need to be exposed to viewers. A real start time of 8:29:30 can be made available for DVR software to consult, while the viewer listing shows 8:30.

Most current DVR software allows an option to offset the time for a particular program (e.g. start early and end late). In the iGuide software it's hidden away on a second level of options. You have to press OK or Info, then select the big red dot recording icon, then select the wrench icon to view all options. Then you'll see a control of start time and end time.

It's a long way to go, but it's in there. You can set the time adjustment for a series or for an episode.

BTW: Microsoft TV (in my Comcast market) takes a software approach to this issue. They automatically pad every recording with 90 seconds before and after the scheduled time (provided there's no conflict). That way the user doesn't need to fuss with a manual adjustment. FWIW, I'm not happy with this approach as it usually forces me to wade through a minue-and-a-half of crap before my show starts. It also causes the DVR to want to tune away from a live show that you happen to be watching 90 seconds early.

Padding has been an issue for DVR folks for a long time. I find it very annoying that the networks fuss with the start and end times. It seems to be all about preserving the current audience for the next show, or piggybacking on the audience from the previous show.

TBS started the whole mess several years ago by starting their shows at 5 minutes past, and NBC seems to be the current worst offender.

Originally posted by gregpr
...It seems to be all about preserving the current audience for the next show, or piggybacking on the audience from the previous show....
Well, yes. If you're a network programmer isn't that what they pay you to accomplish? Never lose sight of the true object of the game: it's not delivering programs to an audience, it's delivering an audience to an advertiser. The good news: Before long, the population of DVR owners will grow to a point where the programmer will be forced to employ strategies that favor, not inconvenience, the DVR viewer. Patience, grasshopper.

Hi all. Just got the 6412 from a (pretty clueless) Comcast installer. (Had to show him the difference between component outputs and composite.) Standard-def channels work great with my Infocus X1 in 480i. But, I can't get any of the HDTV channels to work. When I switch to an HDTV channel, the X1 says it is searching for an input. The sound works fine, so I know the box is receiving HDTV.

The x1 is hooked up with component outputs and tells me that the standard channels are in 480i. I am sure the X1 can do HDTV, in 720p or 1080i and a bunch in between. I tried accessing the user menu (the power-off, then menu command) and changing the output to both 1080i and 720p, but it still doesn't work.

My theory is that the box is outputting HD on the DVI output, which is not connected. (X1 doesn't have DVI.) Comcast CSR didn't know what the problem was. So my question is: How can I tell the box to use component output for HDTV? If that doesn't sound like the problem, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Brett Mersereau

Originally posted by quetranza
Hi all. Just got the 6412 from a (pretty clueless) Comcast installer. (Had to show him the difference between component outputs and composite.) Standard-def channels work great with my Infocus X1 in 480i. But, I can't get any of the HDTV channels to work. When I switch to an HDTV channel, the X1 says it is searching for an input. The sound works fine, so I know the box is receiving HDTV.

The x1 is hooked up with component outputs and tells me that the standard channels are in 480i. I am sure the X1 can do HDTV, in 720p or 1080i and a bunch in between. I tried accessing the user menu (the power-off, then menu command) and changing the output to both 1080i and 720p, but it still doesn't work.

My theory is that the box is outputting HD on the DVI output, which is not connected. (X1 doesn't have DVI.) Comcast CSR didn't know what the problem was. So my question is: How can I tell the box to use component output for HDTV? If that doesn't sound like the problem, any suggestions?

HD is output on both identically. Are you absolutely certain you are watching the component outputs? Can you temporarily try composite or S-Video and see if you get the downconvert from an HD channel? Have you tried a different set of cables? Are you certain the cables are not mixed up (red to blue or something like that?)

Hi, thanks for responding so quickly. The composite and S-vid work too, definitely. I think I partially solved the problem, but it seems weird to me. What I did was access the user menu again, and switched the component output to 480i. Now the HD channels give me a picture, which is definitely much clearer and more HD-like than the SD channels. The projector tells me it's still a 480i connection, which confuses me, because the resolution it's showing me is more than 480i. It's not going to be true HD, because the projector is only 800x600, but it's way better.

So is an HD-like picture possible with 480i? Any idea why my projector won't recognize the 1080i or 720p that the box is putting out?

Originally posted by keenan
Like a "reverse" skip button. That would be nice.

There is a reverse skip button on the remote. It is the backwards arrow.

Originally posted by BullittMustang
There is a reverse skip button on the remote. It is the backwards arrow.

Cool, I'll try it. :)

I know I haven't participated here for awhile, but I have been getting around to updating the DCT Info pages a little. Including info on the 6412 (just started it).....The remote control section is pretty much complete which has all of the Advanced coding info & the list of protocols....including keymover.....The I-guide info is next then on to external recording & the rest....Let me know if it needs anything else......Again it has just started and will be updated through the spring.

For access to the remote control section - Click DVR on the left of the page then "remote control" then "advanced coding" section:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/DCTHDFAQ.htm

Originally posted by keenan
Like a "reverse" skip button. That would be nice.

They have it (reverse skip)-- but it is only 15 seconds. The forward skip button is only 30 seconds.

When you have a 2 hour show recorded, it is tedious to FF or Rewind to go back more than a few minutes, even at FF4 or Rewind 4 speeds.

There should be both a jump forward and jump back in 10 minute increments.

the progress bar stays on the screen for the entire FF or RW process.

Originally posted by miatasm

Here is the remote control section - check the left of the page for the advanced coding section:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dct6412remote.htm

This is great!! Always good work and much appreciated. Your pages are the ones I always reference for people asking about Motorola STBs. Thank You.:)

Originally posted by whotony
the progress bar stays on the screen for the entire FF or RW process.

If you press exit while RW or FF the bar should go away.

The funny thing with the skip button is it makes you realize just how long the commercial breaks are. They are rediculous. Hit it 4 times and that's two minutes. I've encountered many show with commercial breaks well over two minutes. I've see three minutes as well.

Originally posted by BullittMustang
If you press exit while RW or FF the bar should go away.

well i tried that when i noticed the bar wasnt going away.
exit just removes the bar for a second or 2.

I just went from the DCT 6200 to the DCT 6412 and it appears to me that BOTH my PQ and Sound Quality have IMPROVED! Is it just my imagination - OR - can someone else verify the same?

TKS Michael;)

There are different opinions on this forum about the picture quality on 6412's. My 6412 has definitely degraded my HDTV picture. Lots of pixellation etc... especially in fast moving scenes.

i think the picture is softer, but really, i think it is hardly noticable to someone who doesnt watch hi def on a regular basis.

Originally posted by mktgMaven
Well, yes. If you're a network programmer isn't that what they pay you to accomplish? Never lose sight of the true object of the game: it's not delivering programs to an audience, it's delivering an audience to an advertiser. The good news: Before long, the population of DVR owners will grow to a point where the programmer will be forced to employ strategies that favor, not inconvenience, the DVR viewer. Patience, grasshopper.

Thanks, I understand their motives....and frankly I watch less network TV than I used to because it isn't worth keeping up with the minute changes on the schedules.

I would imagine it will be several years before there are a) enough DVRs or b) inline program information about start/end of programs or c) frequently updated program guides....

It's just frustrating to record something and find out that yesterday they shifted the schedule 2 minutes either way.

Originally posted by caesar1
When you have a 2 hour show recorded, it is tedious to FF or Rewind to go back more than a few minutes, even at FF4 or Rewind 4 speeds.

There should be both a jump forward and jump back in 10 minute increments.

Tivo has a button which serves two separate purposes depending on what you are doing at the time:


If you are playing a show normally, and hit this button, you immediately jump directly to the end
If you are already at the end and you hit this button, you jump immediately to the beginning
If you are fast-forwarding or rewinding at the time you press this button, you jump to the next 15 minute increment in the direction you are either FFing or RWing


Does iGuide provide anything like that? It's very convenient.

Figured it out.. for posterity, the X1 will only recognize 1080i on the VGA input with a VESA adapter. Now that I have it working it looks unbelievable.. love the HD.

Originally posted by cyberized
I just went from the DCT 6200 to the DCT 6412 and it appears to me that BOTH my PQ and Sound Quality have IMPROVED! Is it just my imagination - OR - can someone else verify the same?

TKS Michael;)

I have no doubt about my PQ improving. Don't know why, but it is definitely better. Might have been a less than perfect 6200..

They just put my 4th 6412 in. When I pause live TV it works fine, when I schedule a recording for a test it seemed to work fine also. When I hit the play button to play the recorded program after selecting it in my recordings of course last TV Channel I was watching shows up with a bar with times on it at the bottom and then the picture goes blank. Damn thing freezes with no picture and you can't get anything till you hit the power button on the box to shut it off. Press the power button back on and the channel selected comes up fine. Tried unplugging the box as I figured maybe resetting it would help but when I select my recording and hit play it does the same thing. Anyone have this happen, and by the way when I swap the tuner the stations all go wavy like the signal is going in and out. Have to swap back to the other tuner and its fine. Very depressed, had this thing replaced 4 times and if I call for the fifth time it will be another 4 days till they get here. At least they waived the rental on the 6412 for the first month.

I've just received my Motorola Comcast DVR. How can I tell if it is a 6412? I don't see a model # on the bottom or back. It does say dual tuner on the front though.

Originally posted by pstauff
I've just received my Motorola Comcast DVR. How can I tell if it is a 6412? I don't see a model # on the bottom or back. It does say dual tuner on the front though.

The model number is on the bottom but it is somewhat cryptic since it is combined with other numbers--the fact that yours says dual tuner on the front confirms that it is a 6412. You can also tell by hitting the swap button and watching it change tuners.

Originally posted by JJMG
Tivo has a button which serves two separate purposes depending on what you are doing at the time:

Does iGuide provide anything like that? It's very convenient.

No there is no such feature and it is a major oversight in my opinon, but it does not seem that difficult to implement with a software upgrade. We can always hope.

Thanks... appreciate it. I have the older remote without the "swap" labeled button, as well as the old manual, which has no instructions on switching over to the other tuner. So far it's not quite as slick as my Tivo, but the HD functionality is key.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
The model number is on the bottom but it is somewhat cryptic since it is combined with other numbers--the fact that yours says dual tuner on the front confirms that it is a 6412. You can also tell by hitting the swap button and watching it change tuners.

i have found a bug in the component output. my 6512 seems to be getting some kinda problem with the output. there is a slight band/.bar that moves up tbe picture from the bottom. to top. it is most noticable during a freeze shot of say a light blue sky or a green background or white background. if you turn off the power to the 6512and are n a dark room you can see what i am talking about. can anyone confirm this problem.

I'm intereested in others opinions on what the next step for Comcast/Motorola will be after the 6412.

I would presume the next revision would involve simply a bigger hard drive, since it seems that the only glaring weakness of the 6412 is the limited HD recording capacity of the 120 GB Maxtor HD.

Perhaps a 6420, with a 200 GB HD?

How soon do you think this will happen?

I suppose another possibility would be for Comcast/Motorola to come out with a aux. HD that plugs in via firewire that you could rent for an additional amount, which would eliminate the costly process of replacing the actual DVR just for a bigger HD (unless they turn around and refurbish the 6412s with a bigger HD).

Any takers on this?

I got my Boxes on Friday. It'll take me a bit to get used to them, I still like Tivo's Interface a bit better, but these are'nt bad. Also I have a couple of problems. First and Formost on neither of my two 6412's are the PIP working. Second on one of my Boxes I tried to get teh 30 second skip programmed and I think I screwed something up, now the "0" key brings up the Buffer Bar showing how much of the buffer is full. Is there a way to get the remote back to defaults?

Originally posted by dutchboy71
There are different opinions on this forum about the picture quality on 6412's. My 6412 has definitely degraded my HDTV picture. Lots of pixellation etc... especially in fast moving scenes.

See I wondered about that because I know from my Tivo that viewing the buffer of a PVR should make it look worse, but the 6412 still looks verygood. There's probably a slight bit of degradation, but it's not noticible to me.

Originally posted by Scarpad
See I wondered about that because I know from my Tivo that viewing the buffer of a PVR should make it look worse, but the 6412 still looks verygood. There's probably a slight bit of degradation, but it's not noticible to me.

the 6412 records the raw digital signals for Channels 100+ (incl HD) so there should be no degradation at all (so your eyes arent tricking you)

on the other hand <100 (the analog channels) are worse since it has to do an A->D conversion

Two questions that were just asked can be answered via the Remote Info Pages I just put up.

pstauff,

You can program the swap button into the remote control by following this procedure:

Press "cbl" - press & hold "setup" - type 9-9-4 - press "setup" again (do not hold) - type 0-0-2-3-6 - press the tv/vcr/input button.....The TV/VCR/Input button will now function as the "swap" button.

Scarpad,

To reset the "0" button back to its original functionality follow these instructions:

Press "cbl" - press & hold "setup" - type 9-9-4 - press "setup" again (do not hold) - press the "0" button twice (2x).....The "0" button will now be reset to its original function.....

All this info & more can be found on these pages:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/DCTHDFAQ.htm

Click "DVR" on the left menu then "Remote control" then "Advanced coding"

Originally posted by rodneyremington
I'm intereested in others opinions on what the next step for Comcast/Motorola will be after the 6412. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Motorola will introduce HMA (Multi Room) to their next generation of STB/DVR's. I'm really looking forward to this.

Read about it here:

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00.html

Once Digital Simulcasting has taken place a newer faster smaller (in size) STB/DVR will be introduced and DVR HD's will most likely start at 250 GB. The STB's overall size will be reduced since there won't be a need for analog circuitry.

CES starts this week. I would expect to see some exciting announcements from Motorola.

Originally posted by proudx
i have found a bug in the component output. my 6512 seems to be getting some kinda problem with the output. there is a slight band/.bar that moves up tbe picture from the bottom. to top. it is most noticable during a freeze shot of say a light blue sky or a green background or white background. if you turn off the power to the 6512and are n a dark room you can see what i am talking about. can anyone confirm this problem.

What you're describing sounds like a bad electrical ground or something electrical related: Not a 6412 (or 6512 whatever that is) issue. If that was the case for all these boxes, none of us would still have the boxes.

Check the grounding on your outlet and other items connected to the TV.

the pllug i have for the 6412 does not have a ground leg, just 2 prong.'

i was able to reproduce this with the coax cable removed from the back of my 6412 and all other components unplugged from the system.

so 6412 to crt projector iwth nothiing else connected. even removed the coax cable feeding into the 6412. pullled up a menu to get some display and i can see the moving black/grey band. iif you power off the box with the remote you can see it on the black screen as well. The 6412 only has a 2 prong powercable anyway so how can it be ground loop related?

What your describing is a Hum Bar........Electrical grounding is one of many things that cause Hum Bars. The Hum Bars are actually low frequency modulation (60 or 120 hz) onto the coax cable, not through the electric plug itself.

How many bars are there, 1 or 2? If 2 then most likely coming from inside the house somewhere. Dimmer switches are a common cause for this, or bad grounding. If there is only 1 then it could be coming from the cable system.

Well after your "edit" then it seems that the box is causing this. Swapping the box is the only way to find out if its the box or not. Unless you can connect another component device to the same input and same outlet that would also tell you if its the box or something else. Good Luck

I've searched the thread and not seen this issue raised (if it has, could you please post a link). When I try and program 2 events that occur at the same time, I consistently get a conflict message. I've tried swapping tuners to record the 2nd program to no avail. How do record using both tuners?

If you are trying to record 2 events as they are occuring (not in the future) then you will get a conflict message. If you want to record both shows you need to record the first one then "swap" to the other tuner & record the other one. If you set 2 recordings for the future (using the guide) then the STB should automatically use both tuners.

Originally posted by proudx
the pllug i have for the 6412 does not have a ground leg, just 2 prong.'

i was able to reproduce this with the coax cable removed from the back of my 6412 and all other components unplugged from the system.

so 6412 to crt projector iwth nothiing else connected. even removed the coax cable feeding into the 6412. pullled up a menu to get some display and i can see the moving black/grey band. iif you power off the box with the remote you can see it on the black screen as well. The 6412 only has a 2 prong powercable anyway so how can it be ground loop related?

Well, I guess you're right. I guess we all see these bars without noticing them, and there's a "bug" (as you originally said) that effects the component outputs and that no one else has noticed. Couldn't possibly electrical because of your two prong "pllug".

I've done the live recording swap and it generally works. I'm talking about setting up 2 different events in the future and getting the conflict message.

It Should only conflict if there is a 3rd event scheduled, don't know what to tell you otherwise.....

perhaps it is coming from one of my many dimmer switches in the house. any products you would recommend that could help filter out any noise generated from dimmers. is there a way i can test to see if the dimmrs are the cause, flip circuits, etc?

what is interesting is non e of my other video inputs have this issue.

If you use the dimmer and the bar/s get wider/thinner then thats a good indication that its the dimmer circuit. You can also flip off breakers and eliminate it that way. Good Luck.

Originally posted by proudx
perhaps it is coming from one of my many dimmer switches in the house. any products you would recommend that could help filter out any noise generated from dimmers. is there a way i can test to see if the dimmrs are the cause, flip circuits, etc?

what is interesting is non e of my other video inputs have this issue. Also, if the cable from your box to the PJ is long and/or poorly shielded, a 60Hz hum could be picked up there.

And, even if the 6412 only has 2 prongs, it's still grounded through the neutral. You might still have a ground voltage differential between the two units. Plus, if you have any of the other outputs, the analog audio outs for instance, plugged into another piece of equipment that does have a grounded plug, it can be introduced that way.

Is everything in your home theater plugged into the same outlet/circuit? If not, it can be coming from almost anything, unless the 6412 and PJ are the only things connected to each other.

I would this this is a issue the cable Co. should take care of. Might be line noise coming in via a bad ground on the cable it's self.

i had the same grounding issue with my 6208's, and Comcast tech's didn't help much. I bought a ground loop isolator for one of my receivers and haven't seen a rolling bar since! when i get home i will look at the brand name, i forget what it was but i got it online for $12. sort of looks like a small water filter.

also, i am seeing some people talk about degraded PQ on their 6412's.....to me it looks identical to the 6208's....why would the new boxes have a different picture? i know Cox customers in CA had similar issues but this is the first i've heard of it happening with comcast.....

Originally posted by BullittMustang
If you press exit while RW or FF the bar should go away.

OH MY GOD!!! Thank you very much! I thought I had learnd everything there was to know about the 6412. :D This was one of my main bitches about the 6412. Many times already I wanted to see something paused or in slow motion & the damn status bar was right in the way. I had never hit the exit button while paused so I never found it. I don't think this is in the instruction book that comes with it or in any of the online stuff I've seen. Thanks again!

Originally posted by JJMG
Tivo has a button which serves two separate purposes depending on what you are doing at the time:


If you are playing a show normally, and hit this button, you immediately jump directly to the end
If you are already at the end and you hit this button, you jump immediately to the beginning
If you are fast-forwarding or rewinding at the time you press this button, you jump to the next 15 minute increment in the direction you are either FFing or RWing


Does iGuide provide anything like that? It's very convenient.

iGuide provides only a version of the first, but only when watching a buffered show (not permanently on the hard drive). The "live" button will take you to the end (or back to live TV) -- if you went backwards during "live" or buffered show. If you hit "live" during an actual DVR recording, it takes you back to the cable channel you were last tuned to.

The only way to jump to the beginning would be to start the DVR recording over.

Originally posted by garypen
Also, if the cable from your box to the PJ is long and/or poorly shielded, a 60Hz hum could be picked up there.

And, even if the 6412 only has 2 prongs, it's still grounded through the neutral. You might still have a ground voltage differential between the two units. Plus, if you have any of the other outputs, the analog audio outs for instance, plugged into another piece of equipment that does have a grounded plug, it can be introduced that way.

Is everything in your home theater plugged into the same outlet/circuit? If not, it can be coming from almost anything, unless the 6412 and PJ are the only things connected to each other.

keep in mind that I do not get the hum bars on my projector using the same cable from my video processor with different sources at the same resolution and refresh rate, For instance if I select the DVD source I get no hum bars, switch to the cable source then I get them. same cable going to the projector.



I think I should try out a ground isolator. Can someone post a good one,

I removed the coax cable coming into the 6412 and still get the bar. So it must be coming on the neutral wire? Anyone recommend something to fix this?

Originally posted by rodneyremington
I'm intereested in others opinions on what the next step for Comcast/Motorola will be after the 6412.

I would presume the next revision would involve simply a bigger hard drive, since it seems that the only glaring weakness of the 6412 is the limited HD recording capacity of the 120 GB Maxtor HD.

Perhaps a 6420, with a 200 GB HD?

How soon do you think this will happen?

I suppose another possibility would be for Comcast/Motorola to come out with a aux. HD that plugs in via firewire that you could rent for an additional amount, which would eliminate the costly process of replacing the actual DVR just for a bigger HD (unless they turn around and refurbish the 6412s with a bigger HD).

Any takers on this?

The tech I spoke with that did my install said comcast would never implement an add on External Hard Drive due to Piracy concerns and I tend to believe that.

Originally posted by miatasm
Two questions that were just asked can be answered via the Remote Info Pages I just put up.

pstauff,

You can program the swap button into the remote control by following this procedure:

Press "cbl" - press & hold "setup" - type 9-9-4 - press "setup" again (do not hold) - type 0-0-2-3-6 - press the tv/vcr/input button.....The TV/VCR/Input button will now function as the "swap" button.

Scarpad,

To reset the "0" button back to its original functionality follow these instructions:

Press "cbl" - press & hold "setup" - type 9-9-4 - press "setup" again (do not hold) - press the "0" button twice (2x).....The "0" button will now be reset to its original function.....

All this info & more can be found on these pages:

http://www.cjhengineering.com/DCTHDFAQ.htm

Click "DVR" on the left menu then "Remote control" then "Advanced coding"

I Found that page thanks for the info

Originally posted by Scarpad
The tech I spoke with that did my install said comcast would never implement an add on External Hard Drive due to Piracy concerns and I tend to believe that.

Well I have yet to meet a Comcast tech who had any kind of a clue... with that said it is a simple thing to design it so what is recorded on the external drive via FireWire is useless to anything but the DVR. The content protection algorithms already exist and have been in use on other devices for some time.

Originally posted by Scarpad
The tech I spoke with that did my install said comcast would never implement an add on External Hard Drive due to Piracy concerns and I tend to believe that.

PIP is next. Either on the 6412 box or something newer.

We all know how long those protection algorithms will last once a 15year old hacker starts working on them <g>

Originally posted by Scarpad
We all know how long those protection algorithms will last once a 15year old hacker starts working on them <g>

I hope not as then Hollywood is just going to force another more inconvenient and costly scheme down our throats. There is no winning this with them as they are a ruthless and technophobic entity with a never ending supply of lawyers.

Originally posted by Scarpad
The tech I spoke with that did my install said comcast would never implement an add on External Hard Drive due to Piracy concerns and I tend to believe that.

They've already allowed you to download recordings to your PC's harddrive, so I dont think this any additional Piracy concern...Also I believe Motorola has mentioned its on their roadmap (and comcast is their biggest customer which drives the roadmap)...we'll see, fingers crossed

Originally posted by ThePerfectViewe
PIP is next. Either on the 6412 box or something newer.

Currently PIP (or lack there of) is a limitation of the Box (not the software).

Just spent two hours reading through this thread from the beginning (obviously didn't read every word but my head hurts!). Thanks for all the great info!

I had an inssue with the "mute" deal today for the first time...easily solved by turning my box off and on again. If it's that easy to fix for me then I will continue to power it down when not in use.

Two questions I have-

1. My previous box was the Non DVD HD box and as with all other comcast digital boxes you merely had to hit up or down to get the flip bar on screen. Well those functions now pause and return to live. I really liked the ability to see what else is on while continuing to watch your current program....I know you can hit guide but that brings up the mini screen. I know you can change the channel and then use the smaller flip bar....is there a way to get the flip bar on without first changing the channel? It seems silly that there are two sets of buttons that function as play, pause, FF and RW on the silver and black comcast remote and not one to browse through the flipbar. EDIT - you can also bring up the flip bar by hitting info and then up and down....but just wondering if there is any one button ways to get this to work. Thanks!

2. I saw a few mentions of the skip back 15 seconds button...can anyone verify this? What are the codes to program this?


Thanks for giving me the 30 second skip...what a great addition! I used the lock button since I have no use for that.

Originally posted by badlieu
Just spent two hours reading through this thread from the beginning (obviously didn't read every word but my head hurts!). Thanks for all the great info!

I had an inssue with the "mute" deal today for the first time...easily solved by turning my box off and on again. If it's that easy to fix for me then I will continue to power it down when not in use.

Two questions I have-

1. My previous box was the Non DVD HD box and as with all other comcast digital boxes you merely had to hit up or down to get the flip bar on screen. Well those functions now pause and return to live. I really liked the ability to see what else is on while continuing to watch your current program....I know you can hit guide but that brings up the mini screen. I know you can change the channel and then use the smaller flip bar....is there a way to get the flip bar on without first changing the channel? It seems silly that there are two sets of buttons that function as play, pause, FF and RW on the silver and black comcast remote and not one to browse through the flipbar. EDIT - you can also bring up the flip bar by hitting info and then up and down....but just wondering if there is any one button ways to get this to work. Thanks!

2. I saw a few mentions of the skip back 15 seconds button...can anyone verify this? What are the codes to program this?


Thanks for giving me the 30 second skip...what a great addition! I used the lock button since I have no use for that.

I think you can just hit the "ok" button in the middle to bring up the flip bar. And you can set the flip bar to show either one or two channels at a time.

The skip back 15 seconds (or maybe it's 10 seconds) is already programmed in. You can just hit the page down button or I think it's also on the button that looks like a curly arrow pointing left (although I re-programmed this for my swap button).

The skip back is great for when you skipped forward a bit too much -- or just for when you want to see something again really quickly -- instant replay.

Thanks for the quick reply. Throwing a brown paper bag over my head since I didn't realize the ok button did that (And I've had this box for over a month)

Not cutting out eye holes either since I hadn't tried that arrow button before!

I just ran into something that works differently on the 6412 than I am used to with Replay. I set up a series recording in which I save only one episode. Last night I was watching the recorded episode when the new episode started recording. Zap, I was kicked out of play mode and back to the previous channel, and the episode I was watching was gone.

I'm not saying this is a defect, but with Replay, I could continue watching the old one while the new one was recording, as long as I didn't switch somewhere else. So just a note for those who do "just in time" viewing. I presume the same would happen if you limit the number of episodes saved to more than one and you are watching the oldest episode (which would otherwise be deleted) when a new episode starts recording.

Originally posted by ThePerfectViewe
PIP is next. Either on the 6412 box or something newer.

Not sure I understand your post. I have two 6412's and PIP works on Neither, the buttons do nothing.

Originally posted by davisdog
Currently PIP (or lack there of) is a limitation of the Box (not the software).

the installer seem to indicate PIP should be working but he might just not know does anyone have the PIP function working on the 6412?

pip doesnt work on the 6412 at this time.
some here have indicated they thing it wll be a feature in the future.

I read a few posts regarding closed captions. I wanted to verify if there was any way to access the closed captions without turning the 6412 off? CC works fine on non-digital channels through my TV but digital channels only work with using the CC on the box.

Originally posted by Scarpad
the installer seem to indicate PIP should be working but he might just not know does anyone have the PIP function working on the 6412? Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

The 6412 cannot display its two tuners simultaneously. In other words, no PIP.

badlieu> I had an inssue with the "mute" deal today for the first
badlieu> time...easily solved by turning my box off and on again.

True, this will "fix" the mute problem, but...

badlieu> If it's that easy to fix for me then I will continue to power it
badlieu> down when not in use.

Unfortunately this will not be possible if you are currently recording a program. If you attempt to turn the box off to address the mute while a program is currently being recorded, the box will pop up a dialog asking you if you either want to abort the ongoing recording (and power off) or cancel your request to power off.

This is certainly a bug and one I hope Comcast/iGuide/Motorola will fix. After all - if the box is "off", it has no problem recording a program. Hence, I claim there are actually two bugs here:

Bug-1: Powering on the box while it is currently recording causes an Audio Mute that cannot be removed unless you want to abort your recording, and...

Bug-2: You cannot power "off" the box without aborting recordings even though the box can successfully record programs if already "off".

Needless to say, I'm not planning on turning my box off anymore - at least until Comcast/iGuide/Motorola fixes these two bugs...

Why wouldn't it be easier, instead of turning off the box and turning it on again, to program in the UNMUTE function of the remote, as documented elsewhere in this thread?


That's what I did, and I simply press the unmute when I turn on the box when recording.

Not to be a Jonny One Note here...but re: this on/off issue.: I really wish someone could tell me how I can `stop' my firewire TV from turning off my 6412 when I switch the TV off. If it weren't for that I'd be one saying `leave it ON!'

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Motorola will introduce HMA (Multi Room) to their next generation of STB/DVR's. I'm really looking forward to this.

Read about it here:

http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00.html

Once Digital Simulcasting has taken place a newer faster smaller (in size) STB/DVR will be introduced and DVR HD's will most likely start at 250 GB. The STB's overall size will be reduced since there won't be a need for analog circuitry.

CES starts this week. I would expect to see some exciting announcements from Motorola.

Great news! Since I probably won't be able to get the 6412 before the digital simulcasting is in place (and channels are realigned on the A/B system here), maybe they will be deploying the new boxes by then. Or not. I can dream, can't I??? ;)

-Randy

crossbeaux,

this may be because your season recording options are set to keep x episodes, and x was already reached. So it would have to delete one to record the new one. As far as the "season pass" function on the 6412 compared to my TiVo, it completely SUCKS! On my TiVo, a season pass for only new episodes usually worked fine. Most programs (like the Daily Show), record every friggin episode (like 5 repeats) a day, no matter what the setting is. Anyone have any info on this? I'm guessing it is because the episode description is basic, but on TiVo it could be too and still work.

This is very odd...

If iGuide has scheduled two shows to record at the same time (i.e. two events of separate full-season recordings at once), and I want to cancel them, it will let me cancel one OR the other, not both.

I.e. if I cancel show #1 @ 8pm (for instance) it shows up as "negated" as soon as I say
"Don't record this episode". But if I go to cancel show #2 also @ 8pm, that works...but show #1 now shows up as to-be-recorded.

Lather, rinse and repeat....always with the same results.

Maybe I'm missing something?

-JMW

Originally posted by JJMG
Tivo has a button which serves two separate purposes depending on what you are doing at the time:


If you are playing a show normally, and hit this button, you immediately jump directly to the end
If you are already at the end and you hit this button, you jump immediately to the beginning
If you are fast-forwarding or rewinding at the time you press this button, you jump to the next 15 minute increment in the direction you are either FFing or RWing


Does iGuide provide anything like that? It's very convenient.

While this is a missing feature that should be implemented, I would much prefer it the way ReplayTv handles it. Use the existing back and skip buttons, but entering a number before pressing them moves that many minutes back or ahead.

Originally posted by superrubber
crossbeaux,

this may be because your season recording options are set to keep x episodes, and x was already reached. So it would have to delete one to record the new one. As far as the "season pass" function on the 6412 compared to my TiVo, it completely SUCKS! On my TiVo, a season pass for only new episodes usually worked fine. Most programs (like the Daily Show), record every friggin episode (like 5 repeats) a day, no matter what the setting is. Anyone have any info on this? I'm guessing it is because the episode description is basic, but on TiVo it could be too and still work.

This is happening because there is currently no way to constrain the recordings to a particular time slot. Duplicate airings at different times are then also recorded.

I also believe (although I am not sure of this) the 6412 is currently not smart enough to check if episode "B" of series "Y" has already been recorded before recording another copy.

Two features at the absolute top of my list of things to add as these really affect usability of the series recording feature.

Originally posted by Digital Puppy
Funny question for those who might know: Does anyone know where to place an IR Flasher for the 6412? I've got a Niles IR Flasher installed on the left side of the window where I thought the Moto's IR receiver was, but it is not responding too well at that location. Does anyone have a clue to where the receiver on the unit is?I'm using a Xantech IR emitter system, and I've confronted the same question. My guess is that the 6412's IR sensor is right next to the IR confirmation light labelled "Remote" on the lower right of the front window, because electronics manufacturers frequently integrate a sensor and blink light into the same component package. However, I've found through trial and error on my 6412 that the IR works best when I attach an emitter on the left side of the 6412's front window, just to the right of the label "Msgs." I don't think the sensor is there, but perhaps the emitter output is too strong to go directly on top of the sensor.

Originally posted by andyross63
In the Setup/Audio Setup, make certain you have Stereo set. You may even want to go into advanced, turn off compression (which supposedly only affects analog audio out), and stereo output. I found sometimes some settings cause the box to downconvert everything to 48KHz PCM stereo. In the six weeks that I've had my 6412, I've had the optical digital output switch over to two-channel 48KHz PCM exactly twice. At least one of the times, the box did this on its own, without me entering into any menus. The other time, I had been messing around with lots of menu settings, but I don't know which would have caused the change. (On my system, the Audio Setup stuff does not seems to change the optical digital output.) When my box is in the state of outputting PCM digital, it continues to output PCM even when I change channels to programs that are being broadcast in DD 5.1, and even when I play back DVR recorded programs that have previously played back in DD 5.1. Both times this PCM switchover happened, powering the box off then on again reverted it to Dolby.

Anybody know how to induce the box to switch to two-channel 48KHz PCM? I actually want to do this on occasion, if I want to record the audio from a concert video onto a standalone CD recorder (not in a PC).

I upgraded today both dvrs from the single dvr to the dual tuner 6412...

SWAP button does NOTHING ... 2 dvrs and remotes doing the same thing.
So it's basically acting like my old single tuner dvr.

I must be doing something wrong. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Originally posted by Tyr
You must have missed my posts, which is understandable considering the size of this thread. The good news is that I have exact same problem, so you’re not alone. I assume your using either the digital optical or coax audio output, right?

The bad news is that I’m on my fifth or sixth box (lost track), and every single one of them did the same thing. But all had a very similar serial number so it could well be a bad batch of them.

I’m bitched my way fairly high up the chain at Comcast, and hopefully we will get this resolved soon.

Two questions, what’s your serial number (on the bottom and work order and starts with a GI) and where are you located?

I’ll pm you my phone number.

Oh, and the 30 second skip is a much nicer way of getting through commericals when watching recorded shows. I've made a 3 minute skip on my pronto and many times I can skip all the commercials with a single key press.

Yeah, I'm using an optical cable output to my Sony reciever... However, the problem still occurrs through my analog audio output which goes to my TV. I haven't botheres to check if the problem is with my reciver or not. I'll have to give that a shot..

The serial number on the unit is:

GI1447TD0660 I'm located in the Philly area....

Much earlier in this thread, there were reports of video on demand problems with the 6412 - essentially, VOD hardly worked, if at all. Have these problems been resolved? Thanks!

Originally posted by bronowyn
Why wouldn't it be easier, instead of turning off the box and turning it on again, to program in the UNMUTE function of the remote, as documented elsewhere in this thread?


That's what I did, and I simply press the unmute when I turn on the box when recording.

Agreed....if it happens more than once or twice it will definitely get programmed....might as well since I don't use the TV speakers for anything.

Originally posted by stevehof
In the six weeks that I've had my 6412, I've had the optical digital output switch over to two-channel 48KHz PCM exactly twice. At least one of the times, the box did this on its own, without me entering into any menus. The other time, I had been messing around with lots of menu settings, but I don't know which would have caused the change. (On my system, the Audio Setup stuff does not seems to change the optical digital output.) When my box is in the state of outputting PCM digital, it continues to output PCM even when I change channels to programs that are being broadcast in DD 5.1, and even when I play back DVR recorded programs that have previously played back in DD 5.1. Both times this PCM switchover happened, powering the box off then on again reverted it to Dolby.

Anybody know how to induce the box to switch to two-channel 48KHz PCM? I actually want to do this on occasion, if I want to record the audio from a concert video onto a standalone CD recorder (not in a PC).

I set my audio settings exactly once on the first day, and this problem did not crop up until more than a month later for me so I do not think there is a setting to make it happen at will. Near as I can tell, the only way to assure stereo output is to use the analog jacks to feed into your CD recorder. Not digital, I know, but I don't see another way.

Originally posted by stevehof
I'm using a Xantech IR emitter system, and I've confronted the same question. My guess is that the 6412's IR sensor is right next to the IR confirmation light labelled "Remote" on the lower right of the front window, because electronics manufacturers frequently integrate a sensor and blink light into the same component package. However, I've found through trial and error on my 6412 that the IR works best when I attach an emitter on the left side of the 6412's front window, just to the right of the label "Msgs." I don't think the sensor is there, but perhaps the emitter output is too strong to go directly on top of the sensor.
I'm still playing with the location a bit as I'm not that happy with the performance right now. Your theory of oversaturating the detector is a good one that I would tend to agree with. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do about the power output from the emitter though - need to do some more research on that.

Thanks for your input.

Originally posted by frankz1
I set my audio settings exactly once on the first day, and this problem did not crop up until more than a month later for me so I do not think there is a setting to make it happen at will. Near as I can tell, the only way to assure stereo output is to use the analog jacks to feed into your CD recorder. Not digital, I know, but I don't see another way. I've been using the analog jacks for the CD recorder, and the sound quality is surprisingly decent. I guess I can't resist the seduction of doing it all digital... Eventually the PCM digital problem will happen enough times that the sleuths here on AVS Forum will collectively figure out when and why.

Originally posted by trojan125
I upgraded today both dvrs from the single dvr to the dual tuner 6412...

SWAP button does NOTHING ... 2 dvrs and remotes doing the same thing.
So it's basically acting like my old single tuner dvr.

I must be doing something wrong. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!



Newbie here trying to take in all of the info just like you,
but have you tried reprogramming the remote? The codes and procedures are posted all over this thread, and I noticed the swap button will not work if the guide is on the screen.
Hope this helps

I'll being trying that next. In reviewing the posts I didn't see anyone saying that SWAP did not work, but rather they didn't have the new remote w/SWAP and so had to reprogrammed.
I've got nothing to lose, so I'll try it. Comcast guy is coming tomorrow if all else fails

Thanks!

Originally posted by trojan125
I upgraded today both dvrs from the single dvr to the dual tuner 6412...

SWAP button does NOTHING ... 2 dvrs and remotes doing the same thing.
So it's basically acting like my old single tuner dvr.

I must be doing something wrong. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Which remote do you have? If it is the silver remote with the SWAP button as it sounds like it is, it should already be enabled, at least mine was. If not I suggest you program the remote using the instructions found throughout this thread. Keep in mind as the previous respondant noted that swap only works when you are not in the guide view or menu view.

Try that and get back to us.

I reprogrammed the TV/VCR button as my SWAP and it WORKED and both silver remotes. Who know why they weren't already programmed?
Now I can cancel that Comcast visit!
Not my favorite thing in the world (Comcast Support).

Thanks for all the help guys... Dual Tuner DVRs look pretty cool!

Originally posted by rodneyremington
I'm intereested in others opinions on what the next step for Comcast/Motorola will be after the 6412.

I would presume the next revision would involve simply a bigger hard drive, since it seems that the only glaring weakness of the 6412 is the limited HD recording capacity of the 120 GB Maxtor HD.

Perhaps a 6420, with a 200 GB HD?

How soon do you think this will happen?

I suppose another possibility would be for Comcast/Motorola to come out with a aux. HD that plugs in via firewire that you could rent for an additional amount, which would eliminate the costly process of replacing the actual DVR just for a bigger HD (unless they turn around and refurbish the 6412s with a bigger HD).

Any takers on this?



All of the above with better software. An improved search mechanism, the ability to look for actors, directors, etc. Better categorization of shows, not just sports and movies. PIP. Improved SD pictures.

Remember, too with Comcast and In-Demand a lot of shows that need to be recorded now are available on In-Demand, which might slow disk growth. 200 GB isn't out of the question, but I'd like to see 800 GB and up to make it really useful :)

I can see why comcast won't offer an expansion unit, too much flak from the studios about people having access to too much recorded material, and the potential for it to be hacked and illegally distributed. Doesn't mean it won't happen :)

Okay, I just set up my 1st series recording with the 6412. I set it to do this with only NEW episodes of "The Daily Show".

However, when I look at what is scheduled ow on the DVR, it is not just the 11:00 PM "new" show -- but also shows listed at 4 times during the day, each day -- which have to be repeats (and some must be old repeats).

Why does it do all Daily Shows, and not just "new" like I told it to?

How can I get it to do just the 11:00 pm show (which looks like it is re-broadcast at 1:00 AM). And not various other reruns shown throughout the day? As the guide lists only the 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM as "new".

It looks like it will "tape" about 4 or 5 shows a day -- when only one is truly new (maybe 2, if you count the rebroadcast).

Anyway around this without setting up a manual recording?

Okay, I just set up my 1st series recording with the 6412. I set it to do this with only NEW episodes of "The Daily Show".

However, when I look at what is scheduled now on the DVR, it is not just the 11:00 PM "new" show -- but also shows listed at 4 times during the day, each day -- which have to be repeats (and some must be old repeats).

Why does it do all Daily Shows, and not just "new" like I told it to?

How can I get it to do just the 11:00 pm show (which looks like it is re-broadcast at 1:00 AM). And not various other reruns shown throughout the day? As the guide lists only the 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM as "new".

It looks like it will "tape" about 4 or 5 shows a day -- when only one is truly new (maybe 2, if you count the rebroadcast).

Anyway around this without setting up a manual recording?

Originally posted by caesar1
Okay, I just set up my 1st series recording with the 6412. I set it to do this with only NEW episodes of "The Daily Show".

However, when I look at what is scheduled now on the DVR, it is not just the 11:00 PM "new" show -- but also shows listed at 4 times during the day, each day -- which have to be repeats (and some must be old repeats).

Why does it do all Daily Shows, and not just "new" like I told it to?

How can I get it to do just the 11:00 pm show (which looks like it is re-broadcast at 1:00 AM). And not various other reruns shown throughout the day? As the guide lists only the 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM as "new".

It looks like it will "tape" about 4 or 5 shows a day -- when only one is truly new (maybe 2, if you count the rebroadcast).

Anyway around this without setting up a manual recording?

The flaw lies in the TV guide data, the Daily Show fails to identify new show from reruns. Garbage in (bad guide data) =garbage out (incorrect scheduling).

Your best bet is to set up a manual seasons pass set for a certain time on a certain channel during the time you know they broadcast the new show.

Even better, don't watch the Daily Show.

On my 2nd 6412, first one had the spontaneous rebooting thing that would happen very frequently. Change-out went smoothly, no questions asked beyond what the crashes looked like. The installer arrived early and I was eating lunch by the beginning of the advertised time.

The amount of time it takes to download the program guide is ridiculous. The box has been in almost 10 hours now and I'm missing shows for tomorrow. Guess I'll setup the DVR in the morning. Is there anyway to tell it to speed up?

I am glad to see some locals (Philly area) here. I too am new to cable (formerly a Directv, UltimateTV guy) and just got two 6412s from Comcast.

It is very disappointing that they provide no user manual or device guide at all.

I have the remote without the swap key, which I have now programmed in (thanks folks). How do I make it so that it outputs DD from the digital audio output?

Originally posted by st_nick
On my 2nd 6412, first one had the spontaneous rebooting thing that would happen very frequently. Change-out went smoothly, no questions asked beyond what the crashes looked like. The installer arrived early and I was eating lunch by the beginning of the advertised time.

The amount of time it takes to download the program guide is ridiculous. The box has been in almost 10 hours now and I'm missing shows for tomorrow. Guess I'll setup the DVR in the morning. Is there anyway to tell it to speed up?

this is why i have to get a new box too.
got the first one last tuesday, have to wait 8 days to get the next one(this wed).

really annoying because i couldnt just go to the brookhaven office and swap it out.
and because i have some stuff on the first dvr that i now have to watch and lose.
new show Commited.

Originally posted by dave7
I am glad to see some locals (Philly area) here. I too am new to cable (formerly a Directv, UltimateTV guy) and just got two 6412s from Comcast.

It is very disappointing that they provide no user manual or device guide at all.

I have the remote without the swap key, which I have now programmed in (thanks folks). How do I make it so that it outputs DD from the digital audio output?

A detailed user manual is available on the internet, the link is listed in the early part of this thread.

Originally posted by rodneyremington


Your best bet is to set up a manual seasons pass set for a certain time on a certain channel during the time you know they broadcast the new show.


"Manual seasons pass"???? Is there such a thing with Iguide? I don't see that option.

I can set up a one time manual recording -- but I don't see any season pass option anywhere. Are you sure that's on Comcast with Iguide?

A detailed user manual is available on the internet, the link is listed in the early part of this thread.

If you are referring to the one on the Motorola website, that one is only slight better than completely useless.

I will do a search, but if someone could point me toward a more complete manual, I would hugely appreciate it. Sorry, but at 85 pages, this thread is too big to just start reading. I don't have that kind of time on my hands. I have read back quite far without luck before posting.

***EDIT*** - OK, I must admit I had not looked into the iGuide manual thinking it was only for iGuide sort of stuff, not general machine set-up. Nevertheless, although I am traveling and can't verify directly, I believe I did not have the Dolby Digital option available to me under the audio setup menu. Do all these 6412s have the same option setup, or do different cable companies use different versions?

Originally posted by st_nick
The amount of time it takes to download the program guide is ridiculous. The box has been in almost 10 hours now and I'm missing shows for tomorrow. Guess I'll setup the DVR in the morning. Is there anyway to tell it to speed up? Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I have found that you get most if not all the guide data if you turn the 6412 off for about 5 hours.

The guide data seems to download faster when the box is idle. So the less you use it, the faster the guide data comes in.

This is my experience since my box has rebooted three times over the last week.:mad:

Originally posted by dave7
I am glad to see some locals (Philly area) here. I too am new to cable (formerly a Directv, UltimateTV guy) and just got two 6412s from Comcast.

It is very disappointing that they provide no user manual or device guide at all.

I have the remote without the swap key, which I have now programmed in (thanks folks). How do I make it so that it outputs DD from the digital audio output?

Dolby Digital is automatically sent over both digital outputs when available. At least it is here. At one point it stopped (decoder in the box must have silently crashed), and I cured it by turning the box off and on again.

I just got a 6412 and set it up to record CSI:Miami and Medium last night. Both seem t be recording normally. When I went to watch CSI, it would immediately go to the option to delete the show that you get at the end of the recording. It seemed to have been recorded correctly, but it just wont play. Medium seems fine. Has anyone seen this?

Originally posted by dave7
How do I make it so that it outputs DD from the digital audio output? What do you currently get from the digital audio output: nothing at all, or something other than DD, such as two-channel PCM?

Originally posted by RelDudeGOP
any new info on the box's arrival to north jersey?
I live in Westfield and my box was installed yesterday. So far I love it. I've never had TiVo and have been VCR-less for the past couple of years, so this should be great.

Originally posted by butvinik

- no graphics overlay when in HDTV mode. I use modulator to send A/V to rest of the house, but can't use 6412 when on HDTV channel because there is no graphics overlay in 1080i mode on A/V outputs.

OVerlay works fine for me in 1080i mode. What outputs are you using?

i'm all of the sudden having a problem with one of my 6412's...it only wants to output 2.0 out of the coaxial digital output, and nothing i change in the audio setup menu will change it (optimal stereo is stuck on ON, that's not normal, is it?)

what's even stranger is that it's passing 5.1 through the FIREWIRE since i can record 5.1 on my dvhs deck ....but when i switch to the digital audio coming from the 6412 it's 2.0 stereo.

anyone know how to fix this?

Originally posted by oleus
i'm all of the sudden having a problem with one of my 6412's...it only wants to output 2.0 out of the coaxial digital output, and nothing i change in the audio setup menu will change it (optimal stereo is stuck on ON, that's not normal, is it?)

what's even stranger is that it's passing 5.1 through the FIREWIRE since i can record 5.1 on my dvhs deck ....but when i switch to the digital audio coming from the 6412 it's 2.0 stereo.

anyone know how to fix this?

Um....about 6 posts up I mentioned that I fixed it by turning the box off and on again.

The audio settings have nothing to do with digital output.

Sorry, but I initially did this as a new thread:
Greetings, Today I am scheduled to make the switch from Dish Network to Comcast HD, with an afternoon install of 2- 6412's. I have gone through all 87 pages of this forum and here are my questions:
1) Am I correct in assuming that the best way to have my setup of equipment as Cable outlet to splitter, with 1 arm to 6412 for digital and then to TV via DVI/component and optical cable to HT Receiver for audio via my 5 speakers? The other arm going to my DVD recorder/Hard Drive via coax and from there to my TV via coax for the analog channels?

2)Or is there a better way to connect my Toshiba DVD recorder/Hard Drive so that I can use this to record the analog stations or as a back-up as I learn to use the 6412?
I prefer to use my HT system speakers only, instead of the TV speakers.

The second 6412 will be used in my Master Bedroom in a similar set-up, but without the DVD recorder.

Thanks

Originally posted by FriscoSteve
Sorry, but I initially did this as a new thread:
Greetings, Today I am scheduled to make the switch from Dish Network to Comcast HD, with an afternoon install of 2- 6412's. I have gone through all 87 pages of this forum and here are my questions:
1) Am I correct in assuming that the best way to have my setup of equipment as Cable outlet to splitter, with 1 arm to 6412 for digital and then to TV via DVI/component and optical cable to HT Receiver for audio via my 5 speakers? The other arm going to my DVD recorder/Hard Drive via coax and from there to my TV via coax for the analog channels?

2)Or is there a better way to connect my Toshiba DVD recorder/Hard Drive so that I can use this to record the analog stations or as a back-up as I learn to use the 6412?
I prefer to use my HT system speakers only, instead of the TV speakers.

The second 6412 will be used in my Master Bedroom in a similar set-up, but without the DVD recorder.

Thanks

yes that would probably be the best set-up for you. I don't think you will regret the switch.

Thanks to all here whose posts have sold me on "dumping my dish" and made the conversion to the 6412 an easy one.

I'm still stumped on one thing though. When advancing through the "On Demand" menus, there is often no apparent way to to go back just one page. The only way out I found is to "EXIT" which brings me back to live TV and I have to start all over again.

Is there something I am missing or is this just a poor design. Thanks

Originally posted by Eswebs
I'm still stumped on one thing though. When advancing through the "On Demand" menus, there is often no apparent way to to go back just one page. The only way out I found is to "EXIT" which brings me back to live TV and I have to start all over again.

Is there something I am missing or is this just a poor design. Thanks Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Have you tried the "Last" button?

Originally posted by Eswebs
Thanks to all here whose posts have sold me on "dumping my dish" and made the conversion to the 6412 an easy one.

I'm still stumped on one thing though. When advancing through the "On Demand" menus, there is often no apparent way to to go back just one page. The only way out I found is to "EXIT" which brings me back to live TV and I have to start all over again.

Is there something I am missing or is this just a poor design. Thanks

http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf

"LAST"...That did it. Thank you sooo much.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

I have found that you get most if not all the guide data if you turn the 6412 off for about 5 hours.

The guide data seems to download faster when the box is idle. So the less you use it, the faster the guide data comes in.

This is my experience since my box has rebooted three times over the last week.:mad:

I had my 6412 replaced today due to the 2nd tuner analog audio issue, which is now resolved, and the new box downloaded all the new data in a matter of 20 minutes.... REALLY fast! The tech was an idiot BTW. He told me he doesn't think the 2nd tuner should have audio on the analog channels and didn't take my word for it. He called in and had to ask.... :rolleyes:

One bad thing though, I had one reboot already today. Happened about 1/2 hour after the install. We'll have to see if it happens again....

Originally posted by dave7
If you are referring to the one on the Motorola website, that one is only slight better than completely useless.

I will do a search, but if someone could point me toward a more complete manual, I would hugely appreciate it. Sorry, but at 85 pages, this thread is too big to just start reading. I don't have that kind of time on my hands. I have read back quite far without luck before posting.


I have the owners manual and it is not much. You will learn more on this forum than you will with the manual.

A sample exerpt from the owners manual:
Problemshooting--
no picture--check to see if cable box is plugged in.

oh, thanks a lot with that pearl.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
I have the owners manual and it is not much. You will learn more on this forum than you will with the manual.

A sample exerpt from the owners manual:
Problemshooting--
no picture--check to see if cable box is plugged in.

oh, thanks a lot with that pearl.

That not much different from "What button on my remote gets me to the last screen I looked at" is it?

But seriously, have you checked out the one from Motorola's site? It's pretty rich information wise.

I haven't experimented yet but has anyone had a problem with choppy playback? I was playing back Oprah (for my wife!) and it was playing back verry choppy, almost as if it was having problems reading the data off the disk. It reminded me of watching streaming video off the internet where it will play a few seconds, then pause a few seconds and play back more. Like I said, I haven't played around with it so I don't know if the other recordings are doing this or if I need to power cycle the unit.

Originally posted by strider209
I haven't experimented yet but has anyone had a problem with choppy playback?

Well, I know from firsthand experience that this means pending hard drive failure in a TiVo, and I would suspect the same for you if it happens consistently.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Well, I know from firsthand experience that this means pending hard drive failure in a TiVo, and I would suspect the same for you if it happens consistently.

Well I'll report my finding once I play around with it... But if it is bad I'll call comcast for a replacement. I guess this is one of the good things about the Comcast box...if it goes bad just get it replaced with no out of pocket expense!

I had it.

I recorded Miracle on 34th street (over christmas) from INHD (I think), and it wasn't watchable. I haven't had another problem since. And I haven't figured out why it happened that one time, and why it hasn't happened again. *knock on wood*

Is the 6412 time or show based recording?

Both. You can manually set start and end times (called Manual recording), or you could record a show by selecting it, clicking to get more info and setting up the recording to your specifications (you can record shows on a series basis, and you can put your constraints like recording 2 minutes before and after the show start and end time).

Hope that helps Sundance.

iGuide often lacks information to tell your 6412 a program is a repeat. So series recording set up for 1st run only will record repeats. The same goes for iGuide lacking TV ratings for movies. It instead gives only the original theater rating. This messes up parental controls. The fault seems to be with Gemstar, the company majority owned by Comcast to provide the schedule. As they are new to this, I expect things to improve. That doesn't mean I'm not in the process of contacting Comcast/Gemstar to yell at them for blocking the V-chip signal to my TV just like they block the closed captioning signal in favor of their own.

I'm getting my 6412 next week. Looking forward to seeing all of the HD programming I miss because I'm preoccupied with my two kids.

Pardon my ignorance, but will I be able to record programming to a DVD recorder that is stored on the 6412, or can I only record off the air?

^Yes, but only in SD of course.

Yes but he can record HD via firewire to an HD-VHS deck so long as the copy limitation of that particular stream isn't set to "copy never", right?

Originally posted by nielloeb
iGuide often lacks information to tell your 6412 a program is a repeat. So series recording set up for 1st run only will record repeats. The same goes for iGuide lacking TV ratings for movies. It instead gives only the original theater rating. This messes up parental controls. The fault seems to be with Gemstar, the company majority owned by Comcast to provide the schedule. As they are new to this, I expect things to improve. That doesn't mean I'm not in the process of contacting Comcast/Gemstar to yell at them for blocking the V-chip signal to my TV just like they block the closed captioning signal in favor of their own. I am not really clear how all this guide data works but doesn't Gemstar and Zap2it receive the same guide data from the networks? Maybe Zap2it "enhances" the guide data or Zap2it uses more sophisticated logic to determine if something is truly a first-run or a repeat? Maybe an expert could clue us in on why Tivo (Zap2it) can handle this better than iGuide (Gemstar)?

Originally posted by gaufridus
I'm getting my 6412 next week. Looking forward to seeing all of the HD programming I miss because I'm preoccupied with my two kids.

Pardon my ignorance, but will I be able to record programming to a DVD recorder that is stored on the 6412, or can I only record off the air?

If it's a stand alone recorder, you can record the SD output of the 6412 via composite or SVideo output to the player (recorded or live).

If it's a PC recorder, see this post:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4906915

Originally posted by frankz1
If it's a stand alone recorder, you can record the SD output of the 6412 via composite or SVideo output to the player (recorded or live).

If it's a PC recorder, see this post:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4906915

I have this same need too, this does work- make sure you don't change/watch anything else on the 6412 during recording, because "wysiwyg" applies- whatever's on the TV output, is also on the firewire/SVideo output! (except, for the menus, so you need to set that up in HDTV/composite first.)

But, once caveat:
my 6412 letterboxes the 480i (Svideo) output, regardless of my 6412 TV-type setting (16:9). I want to record to DVD/VHS, but "unchanged" aspect ratio... I don't want 16:9 content, changed into letterbox 480i, which is squished when I watch on my (still 16:9) tv...

Originally posted by doctors4bob
I live in Westfield and my box was installed yesterday. So far I love it. I've never had TiVo and have been VCR-less for the past couple of years, so this should be great.

heh, I'm in Westfield too - I've had my box for about 2 months now and I absolutely love it. There are things that could be improved like no 16x9 guide, remote scheduling and I don't exactly trust that it will record what I tell it to but other than that it's great.

Just a note about closed captioning and the 6412. I did some experimenting, and was wrong about what I posted earlier. It appears the 6412 sends at least CC1 information for all SD channels, analog or digital. It did not send XDS info, even on analog channels I know have it (when using the TV's tuner.) With my TV (Sony KV-30XBR910), HD channels didn't get captioning. It's possible newer TV's with digital tuners may understand what I believe is a different CC format for HD.

If I remember right, the 6200 I had before didn't pass on any CC.

Now if only OnDemand would work. The menus work, but no video.:(

Originally posted by andyross63
Just a note about closed captioning and the 6412. I did some experimenting, and was wrong about what I posted earlier. It appears the 6412 sends at least CC1 information for all SD channels, analog or digital. It did not send XDS info, even on analog channels I know have it (when using the TV's tuner.) With my TV (Sony KV-30XBR910), HD channels didn't get captioning. It's possible newer TV's with digital tuners may understand what I believe is a different CC format for HD.

If I remember right, the 6200 I had before didn't pass on any CC.

Now if only OnDemand would work. The menus work, but no video.:(

One other thing I wonder about: I have been *ASSUMING* all along that if you turn the 6412 "off" while it is in the middle of recording a show, then that recording will be interrupted. Is that definitely true? Some people have said that the 6412 "can record even while it is off", so maybe I overreacted.

Originally posted by JJMG
One other thing I wonder about: I have been *ASSUMING* all along that if you turn the 6412 "off" while it is in the middle of recording a show, then that recording will be interrupted. Is that definitely true? Some people have said that the 6412 "can record even while it is off", so maybe I overreacted.

I believe if you have it off, it will wake up and perform any prescheduled recordings but it doesnt like to be turned off manually while in the middle of a recording.

Originally posted by davisdog
I believe if you have it off, it will wake up and perform any prescheduled recordings but it doesnt like to be turned off manually while in the middle of a recording. I don't think this is correct. I've turned the 6412 off while it was recording and it completed the task even though "off".

I just got my 6412 from Comcast today and I have spent alot of time going through this thread, but I have a question that I either missed the answer to or is not answered here.
I have always used Replay 5xxx DVR ( I ahve 4) but now I want to use the 6412 to record HDTV, but use the normal STB function to provide a signal to the replay for recording non-HDTV. I know that the 6412 has dual tuners and I have tested that the Replay IR blaster changes channels properly. But how can I assign the 6412 to record on one tuner and allow the other tuner to drive the RTV when I want to record an HDTV and non-HDTV program simultaneously? Any help would be greatly appreciated. It is unclear to me that if I use the swap button and choose to record on the 6412 then swap again the RTV can use the tuner that isn't in use for the 6412.

Originally posted by Stephenb
I just got my 6412 from Comcast today and I have spent alot of time going through this thread, but I have a question that I either missed the answer to or is not answered here.
I have always used Replay 5xxx DVR ( I ahve 4) but now I want to use the 6412 to record HDTV, but use the normal STB function to provide a signal to the replay for recording non-HDTV. I know that the 6412 has dual tuners and I have tested that the Replay IR blaster changes channels properly. But how can I assign the 6412 to record on one tuner and allow the other tuner to drive the RTV when I want to record an HDTV and non-HDTV program simultaneously? Any help would be greatly appreciated. It is unclear to me that if I use the swap button and choose to record on the 6412 then swap again the RTV can use the tuner that isn't in use for the 6412.

It's not going to do that. Unfortunately, the outputs are only going to output what's on your screen at the time (except overlays like menus). If you're watching a DVR show, that's what'll go out. If you're recording only one show, it records in the background so that won't be going out unless you do it manually.

You'll have better luck just plugging an analog signal into your replay and recording that. That's what I plan to do with my TiVo once I'm done with DirecTV.

hi all,

just ordered the dvr from comcast,which i assume is going to be the 6412......according to motorola's website, it can record up to 90 hours of analog or digital tv and 10-20 hours of hdtv...........is that at all accurate? is comcast even including the 120gb drive with the box?

i tried reading through the thread, but got overwhelmed when i saw it was 88 pages...........also, i saw earlier mention of possibly hooking up an external firewire drive to expand the capacity.......has anyone heard if this will ever be the case?

thanks.

Originally posted by macd23
hi all,

just ordered the dvr from comcast,which i assume is going to be the 6412......according to motorola's website, it can record up to 90 hours of analog or digital tv and 10-20 hours of hdtv...........is that at all accurate? is comcast even including the 120gb drive with the box?

i tried reading through the thread, but got overwhelmed when i saw it was 88 pages...........also, i saw earlier mention of possibly hooking up an external firewire drive to expand the capacity.......has anyone heard if this will ever be the case?

thanks.

The 6412 includes a 120Gb drive...You'll probably get closer to 60 hours of SD or 12-14 hrs of HD (or a mix). Firewire expansion doesnt work now...hopefully they will add that in the future since the biggest complaint is lack of storage space for HD.