Well said, John. I looked at the whole MCE option too, but it is just too worky. I'd rather spend my time watching HD than taking hours assembling/tweaking my own set-up. For the price and trouble (lack thereof) I think this is a great deal, warts and all.

Originally posted by daemonic
I never realized how SUPERIOR the guide that comes with media center is...

Speed: Comcast guide and menu are SLOW...

Search: Comcast flat out sucks...

Series Recording: This is where Comcast is the WORST...

Guide data: This is my BIGGEST complaint...

Guide listings: What a great feature it was to be able to remove unwatchable or unwanted channels...

Sound: I'm pretty bummed on this one...

Speed: The guide is very slow when downloading guide data. Sounds like you still have a problem with the download. My Guide is very responsive and I have 14+ days of info.

Search: I never used MCE but have a SA Tivo and consider the search UI the same....not great but I find what I want with a reasonable amount of effort.

Series recording: The guide data is the problem and this will improve over time.

Guide data: I have 14+ days and so do most...you have something else going on with the guide download.

Guide Listings: You are right on this one and Comcast wants you to see ALL the channels so you can see what you are missing. A lame attempt at advertising other channels.

Sound: As frank said earlier, you have other issues with your setup or comcast. I get DD 5.1 on the channels that are sending DD 5.1.

You get what you pay for (~$9.95/month) and it sounds like you either deal with it or cut bait.

Originally posted by rob316
I have the Motorola 6412 box. When I go into the setup screen through the Main Menu I notice that there is a option to set the box to switched or Unswitched. What does this option do?

Rob

I believe this is regarding the power jack on the back of the DVR. If you have a device (TV, VCR, receiver, etc...) that is plugged in here and receiving power from the DVR, and if you have the DVR set to SWITCHED then when you cut the box off the power jack quits providing power to the unit plugged into it. Important to note that it doesn't magically just cut the power off to the connected device, but rather stops any power from going to it, just like unplugging the power does. So not exactly the best option to use if you have something plugged in that loses settings when the device loses power.

At least that's the way I understand it to work...someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Tom

Originally posted by tall1

Sound: As frank said earlier, you have other issues with your setup or comcast. I get DD 5.1 on the channels that are sending DD 5.1.

You get what you pay for (~$9.95/month) and it sounds like you either deal with it or cut bait.

Oh, I'll be keeping it for sure, since the price is the BEST thing about it (aside from dual tuner). I've just been spoiled by Media Center, and it sucks to give up what I've been used to (and my wife, who is extremely impatient with new technology).

As for the sound, I think you guys misunderstood me. DD 5.1 comes through just fine for the channels that broadcast in it. I use the optical PCM stream for ALL channels, and my receiver gives indicators as to which channels are broadcast through the stream. ONLY premium hi-def channels (HBO, SHO, STARZ, MAX) broadcast in DD 5.1. The other hi-def channels (NBC, FOX, DISC, etc.) only have left/right/LFE. This is fine since my Pro Logic II recreates 5.1 for me, but my point that it is no better than I had before is still valid, since I stopped subscribing to premiums.

I'll definitely be calling Comcast about the guide duration, since concensus seems to be ~14 days.

Thanks for the replies!

I sat down last night to watch the 3rd and 4th hours of "24" which I'd recorded on Monday night. I selected the recording from the list. So far, so good.

But when I pressed either "Resume" or "Restart" on the on-screen controls, the 6412 did not start playing 24, but gave me two options: Delete this recording Don't delete this recording Needless to say, I pressed "Don't delete," but this only got me back to the menu.

Further attempts to get past this Delete/Don't Delete screen all failed.

Finally, in a paroxysm of frustration and mis-thumbing, I accidentally deleted the two hours of 24.

Sigh. The box wasn't going to let me watch it anyway.

Has anyone encountered this behavior and can you tell me how to prevent it?

Speed: Comcast guide and menu are SLOW compared to media center. I could flip pages and browse channels so easily and quickly that now it feels like dragging my feet through mu

One more comment on this - my quide/menu are incredibly fast, pretty much instantaneous, actually.

If any of you are afraid to power cycle (unplug, wait, plug in) your box to fix the "no picture on either tuner unless you play DVR'ed material", I would like to pass along my experience. I hestitated because I finally had everything set up the way I liked it and had all of my series recordings set up as well.

1. I didn't have this problem until I changed some settings in the service menu (4:3 override to 480i), but I didn't have the problem until about two days after that (I don't know if there is any correlation). I had the box 2 or 3 weeks before the problem appeared. Once it appeared, it *always* happened when I powered on the STB via the remote.

2. Power cycling DID fix the problem (at least for now).

3. My guide info was lost and had to redownload (I did it at bedtime on a night when I had nothing scheduled to record).

4. All of my other settings (including 4:3 override and scheduled recordings) were retained after reapplying power (yay!).

Originally posted by daemonic
As for the sound, I think you guys misunderstood me. DD 5.1 comes through just fine for the channels that broadcast in it. I use the optical PCM stream for ALL channels, and my receiver gives indicators as to which channels are broadcast through the stream. ONLY premium hi-def channels (HBO, SHO, STARZ, MAX) broadcast in DD 5.1. The other hi-def channels (NBC, FOX, DISC, etc.) only have left/right/LFE. This is fine since my Pro Logic II recreates 5.1 for me, but my point that it is no better than I had before is still valid, since I stopped subscribing to premiums. [/B]

I'm not sure what your local channels are doing; but almost all major (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) networks broadcast 5.1 for their programs that are broadcast in HD. DiscoveryHD I believe also does 5.1

You might want to check out the Sacremento Comcast forum at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428527&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

tim

I sat down last night to watch the 3rd and 4th hours of "24" which I'd recorded on Monday night. I selected the recording from the list. So far, so good.

But when I pressed either "Resume" or "Restart" on the on-screen controls, the 6412 did not start playing 24, but gave me two options:

* Delete this recording
* Don't delete this recording


The recorder froze (hung, locked up) while recording and nothing got recorded. If you looked at the time duration of the show in the DVR menu that lists the recorded shows it probably said 1 min or 0 min instead of 60 minutes.

I'm on a local HDTV mailing list and several of us have problems with the 6412 hanging on FOX. It froze on me twice watching 24 live Sunday. I had another FOX show quit recording after 11 minutes. I haven't tried watching any other SD channels since I got the 6412.

Several folks on this forum have complained about SciFi channel causing freeze ups. SciFi is digital on my cable - are you guys with the SciFi hangs getting SciFi digitally or analog?

I haven't had any problems with the HD channels.

A quick question for 6412 owners: I just had my 6412 installed yesterday here in Chicago, and I've had a couple of reboots when playing with Series recordings. How long should I wait for the box to stabilize/download all updates before worrying.

Specifically, I've been having a LOT of trouble getting the box to record Lost, Alias and West Wing tonight. ABC is doing their funky minute or two padding on Alias and Lost, meaning Lost ends at 8:02, and is then followed by Alias, while West Wing is on against the last couple minutes of Lost and the bulk of Alias, but the two tuners should be able to handle that, right?

After much fiddling with both direct recording on the guide and Series passes, I think I got it to work, but now, post-reboot, who knows.

Anyway, just wanted to get a time frame for calling Comcast. I don't want to jump the gun if the box stabilized in a day or two, but also don't want to keep a bad box. I've read the bulk of the thread, but wasn't quite sure if the reboots were isolated problems or relatively common.

Why, oh why, doesn't Comcast just buy Tivo and be done with it?

>Does anyone have any info on a firmware update from Motorola to help improve picture quality on analog channels?

No. My guess would be only when they start making money on the boxes. After all, they are giving them away for free. That is one reason the analog-to-digital conversion is not very good: it would cost them more money for better quality.

Once again this week, if you set up Lost+Alias before the network (and I-Guide) changed the times you'll need to re-schedule Alias or else wind up with two recordings titled "Lost." This week's wrinkle has Alias going from 9:03 to 10:02, which prevents recording CSI:NY+Law and Order at 10.

Nice going, ABC.

yeah, I had to re-do my series recording for Alias. For some reason the change in time messed things up and there weren't any scheduled. I'm glad I noticed it.

Geeze......last night I switched my 480i override to Off (much better for my setup), and the rest of the system went bonkers.....freezes on the analog channels, VOD stuck on a black screen saying "Please wait", and finally an error message to call Comcast service. DVR recordings were prompting for "Delete" or "Don't Delete" when all I was trying to do was view them normally. The remote functions also froze - the power button did not even work. Everything was working just fine before, although the timing might be pure coincidence. Should I do a "power cycle"? If so, will I lose my saved DVR recordings? Any other suggestions?

Originally posted by frankz1
Once again this week, if you set up Lost+Alias before the network (and I-Guide) changed the times you'll need to re-schedule Alias or else wind up with two recordings titled "Lost." This week's wrinkle has Alias going from 9:03 to 10:02, which prevents recording CSI:NY+Law and Order at 10.

Nice going, ABC. c'mon frank, get another 6412 and you'll have 4 tuners. They are free ya know. ;) ;) ;)

I did the same thing the other day, changed the override to off, with no troubles. Do the power cycle, I've never lost anything doing that, recordings, settings, etc., all came back.

Originally posted by mds54
Geeze......last night I switched my 480i override to Off (much better for my setup), and the rest of the system went bonkers.....freezes on the analog channels, VOD stuck on a black screen saying "Please wait", and finally an error message to call Comcast service. DVR recordings were prompting for "Delete" or "Don't Delete" when all I was trying to do was view them normally. The remote functions also froze - the power button did not even work. Everything was working just fine before, although the timing might be pure coincidence. Should I do a "power cycle"? If so, will I lose my saved DVR recordings? Any other suggestions?

The timing is not a coincidence, although it is more likely to have been caused by the action of turning off your box to change the override setting than by the change of the setting itself.

Those Delete/Don't Delete recordings may be no good (see above in the thread) and unusable anyway.

The only recourse seems to be to unplug the box at this point. This will not erase your (valid) DVR recordings, although I'm not sure what will happen to those messed up ones.

Another example of why tall1's immortal suggestion to subtitle this thread "Leave the Damn Box On" rings so true...

Originally posted by tall1
c'mon frank, get another 6412 and you'll have 4 tuners. They are free ya know. ;) ;) ;)

Maybe I'll get 5 6412s and offer Comcast to be a backup for OnDemand for a small rebate.

I would, but I think having one more thing plugged into that circuit would explode my neighborhood.

Originally posted by frankz1
Maybe I'll get 5 6412s and offer Comcast to be a backup for OnDemand for a small rebate. And I bet there still wouldn't be anything worthwhile to watch on OnDemand.

Originally posted by efball
Several folks on this forum have complained about SciFi channel causing freeze ups. SciFi is digital on my cable - are you guys with the SciFi hangs getting SciFi digitally or analog?
[/B]

My SciFi is analog, channel 57.

Tom

But when I pressed either "Resume" or "Restart" on the on-screen controls, the 6412 did not start playing 24, but gave me two options:

Delete this recording
Don't delete this recording

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

I had this problem sometimes too but usually in the middle of a recording, usually when fast-forwarding. It just skips to the end of the recording and then asks me if I want to delete it. I have gotten past this by using the 30-sec skip to get past the bad spot. Something to do with the indexing/file allocation tables on the drive?

Originally posted by JonM in MN
I did the same thing the other day, changed the override to off, with no troubles. Do the power cycle, I've never lost anything doing that, recordings, settings, etc., all came back. One thing I suspect you lose when you unplug/plug is the editing of series recordings. I have flipped through my series recordings for CSI and Dateline NBC to delete the recording of the repeats. Then periodically the 6412 will reboot and the repeats are once again setup to record. Anyone else notice this?

Originally posted by tall1
One thing I suspect you lose when you unplug/plug is the editing of series recordings. I have flipped through my series recordings for CSI and Dateline NBC to delete the recording of the repeats. Then periodically the 6412 will reboot and the repeats are once again setup to record. Anyone else notice this?

Could be, Tall, I'll check it out. You are recording Dateline!? You MAD man!!!

:D

Originally posted by nielloeb
>Does anyone have any info on a firmware update from Motorola to help improve picture quality on analog channels?

No. My guess would be only when they start making money on the boxes. After all, they are giving them away for free. That is one reason the analog-to-digital conversion is not very good: it would cost them more money for better quality. Motorola is most certainly not giving them away for free, Comcast is. Comcast pays Motorola hundreds of dollars per unit for these DVRs, so Moto will do what Comcast directs it to do. I happen to agree with the conclusion that Motorola won't be working on analog channel picture quality, but for a different reason: Comcast wants to phase out analog channels, and wants convert as many customers as possible to digital cable. Pouring resources into tweaking analog channels isn't the most effective means to achieve Comcast's goals.

On a related topic to analog PQ, I've noticed wide variation in the quality of my digital channels. For example, my digitial Discovery channels are the best standard definition pictures I've seen, but VH1 Classic suffers from persistent MPEG artifacting. These are just two examples, but I've noticed it on my non-premium movies channels as well.

My question is: Is this in anyway related to my STB and the signal strength, or do the different content providers have a wide variation in how they encode their digital content? I am assuming the latter, but it is interesting that I get different signal strength results for different channels in the diagnotic menu and I know that MPEG decoding has a bit of self-error correction (so a "stuttering" data stream can cause pixelization/artifacting without ever completely losing the picture).

It may just be my Panasonic TV, but my analog signals are much more watchable when I set the 4:3 overrride to 480i instead of 480p. It may just be blurring the noise a bit more, but they (subjectively) look much better. I can't tell much quality difference in my SD digital channels.

When I setup series recordings for some shows (for example MI-5 and SG-SG1) and ask for "first run only" and "this channel only" the DVR schedules every occurrence of the show on the specific channel. For MI-5 it schedules about 4 recording per week of which three are from last season. For SG-SG1, it schedules about a dozen recordings of which all but one are from prior seasons. For the past couple of week I have been manually telling it not to record the repeats, but that gets old fast.

Is there any way to get around this?

Thanks,

-Bruce

Originally posted by bruce24
When I setup series recordings for some shows (for example MI-5 and SG-SG1) and ask for "first run only" and "this channel only" the DVR schedules every occurrence of the show on the specific channel. For MI-5 it schedules about 4 recording per week of which three are from last season. For SG-SG1, it schedules about a dozen recordings of which all but one are from prior seasons. For the past couple of week I have been manually telling it not to record the repeats, but that gets old fast.

Is there any way to get around this?

Thanks,

-Bruce Unfortunately no. This is a limitation of the current version of the software, and well documented on this thread.

Originally posted by timdgibson
I'm not sure what your local channels are doing; but almost all major (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC) networks broadcast 5.1 for their programs that are broadcast in HD. DiscoveryHD I believe also does 5.1

You might want to check out the Sacremento Comcast forum at: [I'm not allowed to post URL's yet]

tim

Thanks for both tips! I thought about perhaps the 5.1 stream would be *show* dependent but wasn't sure. Only having it a week, I have only watched Desperate Housewives and Biggest Loser on HD channels, and I don't think either of those are in 5.1. I'll have to try it with 24 or something similar.

As for the Sacramento thread, it *does* appear that Sacto is getting the shaft on the guide data. Everyone else in there seems to get 5 days at most of data, while other areas get 2 weeks. I've called Comcast and some guy said "he'll bring it up in a meeting" for whatever that is worth. It still puzzles me why we get the short end of the i-guide stick if a 6412 is just a 6412, and Gemstar is the only guide provider?

By the way, are HD channels *supposed* to come free with Digital Plus, or am I just getting them free until they figure it out? I'm afraid to ask them.... If I look up "Digital Plus" (that I have) channel lineup, it lists all the HD channels including the premiums, but I don't get the premiums any more.

Thanks!

Oh, one last off-the-wall technical question for you guys with 6412's: On my media center, it had the capability to turn closed captioning on/off by just hitting "Mute". This was great because it would mute the analog out, but leave the optical out untouched (since the digital stream does not contain volume information). So I could get closed captioning at the touch of a button and still keep the sound on low. This is a great feature when someone in the house is trying to sleep, but you still want to watch and understand everything.

On the 6412, I find the closed captioning in the Powered-Off-Menu, but haven't played with it to see how to turn it on/off. It looks like it is either on or off with no way to enable it from the remote?

By the way, are HD channels *supposed* to come free with Digital Plus Yes.It looks like it is either on or off with no way to enable it from the remote? Correct.

Originally posted by tall1
And I bet there still wouldn't be anything worthwhile to watch on OnDemand.

Searching for anything worthwhile on television is probably a futile pursuit anyway.

Originally posted by BullittMustang
Kaiser, Have you tried unplugging the box for a minute and then plugging it back in? That has solved my problem. I still power the box off and on probably ten times a day and it still works perfect.

I'll try that before work one morning or before going to bed. Thank you

Originally posted by cmpalmer
On a related topic to analog PQ, I've noticed wide variation in the quality of my digital channels. For example, my digitial Discovery channels are the best standard definition pictures I've seen, but VH1 Classic suffers from persistent MPEG artifacting. These are just two examples, but I've noticed it on my non-premium movies channels as well.
SD digital channel quality is mostly set by the cable company. They cram as many channels as they can, especially of little-watched and basic channels. They squish as many as 10-12 into one 6MHz analog channel. Most of the movie and more premium channels are not as highly compressed.

Many channels are carried only because the cable company is FORCED to by licensing agreements in order to also air more popular channels. Just how many people actually watch ShopNBC or Jewelry TV??

I've heard this topic before, but it hit me big just this week:
scheduled HD (series) recordings, suddenly changing over to analog equivalents instead?

Almost all of my HD series recordings (Lost, CSI, NCIS, etc.) suddenly switched over to SD analog channels , starting w/ JAG last Friday... I'd made the series rec. setups a few weeks ago, seemed to be working fine for the first few. But now, it will eg record ch5 instead of 705...

I have not rebooted/pulled plug or had reboots on the box, just power on/off.

I had to re-do all my series recordings again, I confirmed that they (and the old ones) were set to New episodes only, This Channel Only, etc... ?
I haven't had many multiple repeated recordings, just a few things on PBS that repeated and I'd already watched/deleted... boy, this thing is not NEARLY as smart as my Tivo :) I'm spoiled.

But this HD->SD recording flip is extremely annoying. Big bug. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the HD-DVR at all,when it just duplicates (poorly) my Tivo SD recordings :-(
Anyone know a fix for this? Moto/Comcast aware?

Luckily all my INDHD eyecandy recordings are OK, since there is no equivalent SD channel :)

Originally posted by andyross63
SD digital channel quality is mostly set by the cable company. They cram as many channels as they can, especially of little-watched and basic channels. They squish as many as 10-12 into one 6MHz analog channel. Most of the movie and more premium channels are not as highly compressed.

That's interesting, because when I asked about the disparity in digital PQ (specifically hoping the digital simulcast would not look like VH1 Classics when it went through), I was told that the source sends the signal somewhat compressed (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4858234#post4858234) in those cases where the signal is bad. Either way, bad digital is pretty much the same as the bad analog PQ in the 6412.

By the way, according to my local market HDTV thread, (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4976491#post4976491) Comcast is testing the digital simulcast in my general area. That's something I can't wait for.

I have not had my 6412 very long and I love it BUT today is the 2nd time I have discovered a "bug" that I am seeking help with. The first time this happened I called Comcast Tech Support and they had never heard of such a thing.
This is what happens, I schedule a program to be recorded, turn everything off. Everything is OFF - at appropriate time it starts recording my show - - - BUT if decide to watch some TV while it is still recording, turn my TV on, and my A\V receiver. There is NO Sound - hitting SWAP button, I can not get sound on either Hard Drive. Odd thing today when I turned it on the Oprah Winfrey show was on and at the tp of the screen was a small white MUTE - which I cannot turn off via any remote. I found the other day when this happened that AFTER the recordng was done - I then had sound as per usual. I am sure the same will happen today after it is done recording I will be able to hear it again.
Can someone here PLEASE help IF possible????

TKS Michael:confused:

Please help IF you can. When I schedule a recording - shut off set - then turn my TV back on whle it is recording that show - I cannot get any sound until the recording process is completed. I have used the SWAP button - but still No Sound from either hard drive until that recording is done. Strange but true story!

TKS Michael:confused:

Originally posted by cyberized
Please help IF you can. When I schedule a recording - shut off set - then turn my TV back on whle it is recording that show - I cannot get any sound until the recording process is completed. I have used the SWAP button - but still No Sound from either hard drive until that recording is done. Strange but true story!

TKS Michael:confused:

Leave the box on at all times and search this thread for "Mute"

Dear AVS Forum members,

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I am sure most of you are based on prior posts), this thread IS being monitored and your feedback regarding problems, issues, features, etc. of the iGuide IS being heard and addressed. Especially insofar as it concerns the working of the iGuide on the 6412, since that is what we are all primarily concerned with here.

So keep all the comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. coming. The more feedback, the better for the guys and gals who are revising the iGuide for future deployments/updates.

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher

So keep all the comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. coming. The more feedback, the better for the guys and gals who are revising the iGuide for future deployments/updates.

Are there really people moderating this that work on the i-guide? I'd love to post more comments knowing that may make a difference for future enhancements....

Originally posted by terryzrust
The remote I got with my 6412 does not have the setup button, thus I haven't got a way to produce a learnable command for my MX-500. Anyone have a workaround for this (maybe using some other cheapo programmable remote)?

If you have the IR-Clone, you can download the Pronto hex code for the 6412 from Remote Central and then convert it for use by the MX-500. I've done it and it works for me. If you need detailed directions, PM me. I may be able to send the file directly to you although I think you still need IR-Clone to enter it into the MX-500. Another good reason to have IR-Clone if you own an MX-500.

Originally posted by MJVanDam
A quick question for 6412 owners: I just had my 6412 installed yesterday here in Chicago, and I've had a couple of reboots when playing with Series recordings. How long should I wait for the box to stabilize/download all updates before worrying....

Why, oh why, doesn't Comcast just buy Tivo and be done with it? Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

My box is being replaced on Friday. Mine reboots, locks, and now the most peculiar thing ever...

Everyday between 4 and 5 am and 4 and 5 pm the box will lock up. Totally unresponsive! Anyone else have this happen??? I don't get it. This thing was nearly perfect for 2 solid months now it grew a mind of its own.

I too wish Comcast would just buy Tivo (and use their guide). What then would we talk about? :)

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Dear AVS Forum members,

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I am sure most of you are based on prior posts), this thread IS being monitored and your feedback regarding problems, issues, features, etc. of the iGuide IS being heard and addressed... Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

This thread is rather long and varied in topic. Maybe a Specific Thread/Sticky that is specific to i-Guide feedback, comments, wishes, and concerns would be more useful.

What do you guys think?

Originally posted by andyross63
SD digital channel quality is mostly set by the cable company. They cram as many channels as they can, especially of little-watched and basic channels. They squish as many as 10-12 into one 6MHz analog channel. Most of the movie and more premium channels are not as highly compressed... Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Brian Roberts just spoke on the 10th about Digital Simulcasting the 80 or so analog channels. He mentioned that they would use an 8 to 1 ratio. Hopefully less pixelation and mpeg artifacts then the 12 to 1 that is commonly used now.

Originally posted by scolumbo
If you have the IR-Clone, you can download the Pronto hex code for the 6412 from Remote Central and then convert it for use by the MX-500. I've done it and it works for me. If you need detailed directions, PM me. I may be able to send the file directly to you although I think you still need IR-Clone to enter it into the MX-500. Another good reason to have IR-Clone if you own an MX-500.

Thanks! I've got two MX-500s now. As far as I'm concerned ALL other remotes suck in comparison, even the fancy touch screen jobs. I like these remotes so well that that was one of my major concerns about taking on the 6412. I didn't know that pronto codes worked with IRClone, so I've taken your advice and ordered it. Thanks!

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Dear AVS Forum members,

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I am sure most of you are based on prior posts), this thread IS being monitored and your feedback regarding problems, issues, features, etc. of the iGuide IS being heard and addressed. Especially insofar as it concerns the working of the iGuide on the 6412, since that is what we are all primarily concerned with here.

So keep all the comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. coming. The more feedback, the better for the guys and gals who are revising the iGuide for future deployments/updates.

Glad you're paying attention. Please note that the most glaring missing feature (I think most users would agree) is the ability to "instantly" fast forward or rewind in large "chunks" of time -- like 10 minutes with the push of a button. So, for example, you could go back 1/2 an hour in a recording very quickly with 3 button pushes of the "10 minute back button"). (Something like that is needed for when you have a 2 hour recording).

Is this possible?

I'm sure it is.

Will the IGuide ever allow us to search for more than just the beginning of the title of a show? I would like to search for a word that is in any part of the title or the description of the show. For my 6412, I don't have that capability, but it really is needed on this set. I had it on my Dish system.

Thanks.

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Dear AVS Forum members,

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I am sure most of you are based on prior posts), this thread IS being monitored and your feedback regarding problems, issues, features, etc. of the iGuide IS being heard and addressed. Especially insofar as it concerns the working of the iGuide on the 6412, since that is what we are all primarily concerned with here.

So keep all the comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. coming. The more feedback, the better for the guys and gals who are revising the iGuide for future deployments/updates.

This thread has more feedback about the 6412 than just the iGuide, and rightly so. The thread title is "Official Comcast 6412 w/ iGuide Discussion". From that I conclude input about mechanics, box features, etc. is also proper fair game. I hope those monitoring will be able to address some of the non-iGuide issues as well.

Originally posted by SonomaSearcher
Dear AVS Forum members,

Just in case anyone was wondering (and I am sure most of you are based on prior posts), this thread IS being monitored and your feedback regarding problems, issues, features, etc. of the iGuide IS being heard and addressed. Especially insofar as it concerns the working of the iGuide on the 6412, since that is what we are all primarily concerned with here.

So keep all the comments, experiences, suggestions, etc. coming. The more feedback, the better for the guys and gals who are revising the iGuide for future deployments/updates.

Cool! That's good.. although the forum is pretty helpful all by itself, would be nice to get fixes, not just learn workarounds :)

In general, I'm spoiled, having my Tivo-
trust us, that's the golden standard to aspire to.
Right now iGuide works "well enough", and has most all the critical features, but it's a bit more complicated, and quirky/flaky sometimes for me.

Problems:
- after power-off:
-- muted audio
-- black screen/no video (until play back existing program)
--after "waking up" to record, it will "fall asleep" again to poweroff, even if user is watching something else

- misc crashing/reboot/poweroff periodically (power supplies?)

- scheduling:
--guide (data?) not smart enough about all repeats/new episodes
-- guide not smart enough to remember previously recorded/watched shows, records again (eg, new episode per that week/schedule, but repeated recording/viewing of same episode by viewer)
-- guide not smart enough re syndicated repeats on other channels
-- guide confuses SD & HD mirrored channels, eg scheduled on HD channel 705, records SD/analog ch5
-- list of "scheduled recordings" is nice, but better to have full list, not have to scroll through dates?
-- apparent confusion w/ some series & manual recordings, saying is conflict (>2 channels at once) when is not the case

-- HD channel listing "category" is wrong, missing lots of channels
-- channel listing in general needs some customization- eg, filter/sort by favorite channels, at least filter out ones I don't receive (see Tivo for this)

- misc: interface is slow/backed up sometimes... eg, remote button presses show remote light, but no action (box is busy), then all the presses catch up
- last/exit button is confusing sometimes, eg switches channels, or goes back to live watching recording (OK button also?)
- general UI complexity/confusion; Tivo mac-like simplicity- and consistency- is much better
- constant head seek noise is distracting

- better "space meter", eg show which upcoming are likely to run out of space (although even plain % full is better than tivo!)

-- able to turn CC (captions) on/off from remote, w/o having to power-off (which messes up recording)
-- similarly, allow access to misc service menu options- at least for signal quality etc, maybe firmware versions- w/o having to power off

anyone else want to add to summary?

- after power-off:
-- muted audio
-- black screen/no video (until play back existing program)
--after "waking up" to record, it will "fall asleep" again to poweroff, even if user is watching something else


Dude, these are "features" of the 6412/iGuide. The 6412 mutes and blanks the video so it doesn't wake you up when it wakes up. Since users can't resist powering off the 6412, I think they should remove the on/off button (just like Tivo). That'll solve a great deal of these "problems".

Originally posted by tall1
- after power-off:
-- muted audio
-- black screen/no video (until play back existing program)
--after "waking up" to record, it will "fall asleep" again to poweroff, even if user is watching something else


Dude, these are "features" of the 6412/iGuide. The 6412 mutes and blanks the video so it doesn't wake you up when it wakes up. Since users can't resist powering off the 6412, I think they should remove the on/off button (just like Tivo). That'll solve a great deal of these "problems".

Huh? This isn't a feature. What are you talking about?
When I turn my TV on (after I am awake :) ), and I turn on the 6412, I should be able to see the picture. I see nothing. I hear nothing. I change channels, I see nothing. It's broken. It's turned on, but acts like it's off.
That is a BUG.

Why would it "wake me up" when it does? Umm, the TV (and stereo) are OFF while I am sleeping :-) Who leaves their TV on all night, with a black picture? Can you say "tube/phosphor burnout" and wasted electricity?

I agree if the harddisk doesn't really turn off or do anything different while powered off, there's not much point to having an "off" button :) Although, I'd like the chance to reduce noise, save electricity, and wear on the harddisk by turning it off at night etc.

But when I turn it on, dagnabit, it should be ON.

Originally posted by cgould
Huh? This isn't a feature. What are you talking about?
When I turn my TV on (after I am awake :) ), and I turn on the 6412, I should be able to see the picture. I see nothing. I hear nothing. I change channels, I see nothing. It's broken. It's turned on, but acts like it's off.
That is a BUG.

Why would it "wake me up" when it does? Umm, the TV (and stereo) are OFF while I am sleeping :-) Who leaves their TV on all night, with a black picture? Can you say "tube/phosphor burnout" and wasted electricity?

I agree if the harddisk doesn't really turn off or do anything different while powered off, there's not much point to having an "off" button :) Although, I'd like the chance to reduce noise, save electricity, and wear on the harddisk by turning it off at night etc.

But when I turn it on, dagnabit, it should be ON. Calm down...let me talk you through this one. Maybe I should have said, "The 6412 mutes and blanks the video so it doesn't wake (the folks who don't have the gigaphonic surround sound system and have their TV, using the TV speakers, plugged into the 6412 switched outlet) up when it wakes up. Or some other setup that uses the switched outlet.

How many times have you powered off that "Gold Standard" Tivo? Let me answer for ya, zero...it doesn't have an on/off switch. Good luck.

Originally posted by tall1
Calm down...let me talk you through this one. Maybe I should have said, "The 6412 mutes and blanks the video so it doesn't wake (the folks who don't have the gigaphonic surround sound system and have their TV, using the TV speakers, plugged into the 6412 switched outlet) up when it wakes up. Or some other setup that uses the switched outlet.

How many times have you powered off that "Gold Standard" Tivo? Let me answer for ya, zero...it doesn't have an on/off switch. Good luck.

Ahh- yes, if someone has their TV plugged into the switched outlet, that makes more sense now :) but I wouldn't think of it as a default case! (Especially since the remote already has a "power ALL on" feature.)
Thanks for explaining it.

However, I don't use that feature, so I should be able to disable the audio/video mute , as an option (just like switched A/C was.)
Or, the "mute" button should "unmute" things (without having to reprogram the remote! :) )

It should at least be documented , given that this is pretty un-intuitive behavior (not that Comcast gave me the manual, but I downloaded it also.)
Other DCT STBs haven't done this either, so this is new?
(Apparently many others don't understand/see this feature, since everyone's complained about it, and I haven't seen anyone go "neat, switched AC & video together!" :-) )

re powering off the Tivo: never, since it doesn't do much, eg it's always doing "live video" buffering (just like the 6412.) It did seem odd to me :)
However, ReplayTVs, DO turn off, and shut down the harddisk completely.
I'd like to turn off the 6412 since its head seeks are significantly louder than any of my other HDD-based boxes, eg Tivo, Panasonic DVD recorders, etc.

But, when I turn off the Tivo, it just blanks the display- and when I turn it back on, the display comes back ON. I don't have to jump thru hoops to get my picture back :) Admittedly, there isn't a switched AC feature either, so it doesn't need a blank feature...

Thanks for clarifying. Didn't mean to jump on you, just didn't make sense...

Just got a 6412 with the ICX remote and it seemed to have only one channel capability. While recording 1 channel and pressing CH+/- or using the guide to try another channel brought up a message saying it was busy recording and did I want to cancel the recording? Finally got the solution from the help phone # which was to press the tiny SWAP button near the bottom before selecting a 2nd channel. Is this normal? Seems kind of stupid.

Originally posted by brosnan
Just got a 6412 with the ICX remote and it seemed to have only one channel capability. While recording 1 channel and pressing CH+/- or using the guide to try another channel brought up a message saying it was busy recording and did I want to cancel the recording? Finally got the solution from the help phone # which was to press the tiny SWAP button near the bottom before selecting a 2nd channel. Is this normal? Seems kind of stupid.

Yeah. Why would you need to swap to the second tuner to use the second tuner? For all you paid for it, it should read your mind and know whether channel up means on the tuner you're watching or on the inactive tuner. Stupid box.

By the way, your call to Customer Service is why they treat us all like dopes when we call with legitimate issues.

Originally posted by cgould
Cool! That's good.. although the forum is pretty helpful all by itself, would be nice to get fixes, not just learn workarounds :)

[...]
anyone else want to add to summary?

That's a summary?

My pet peeve is the little window showing live TV when you're in the "Recorded Programs" screen picking DVR shows to watch. If you're recording two shows, it's usually showing you the suspense filled end of one of them at that moment. I like the window in every other menu and guide screen, but not that one.

The only other true bug I've experienced is when the digital audio output suddenly stops putting out DD and starts feeding Stereo only. I guess we do need the power button, because that's the least destructive way to correct it.

Originally posted by frankz1
Yeah. Why would you need to swap to the second tuner to use the second tuner? For all you paid for it, it should read your mind and know whether channel up means on the tuner you're watching or on the inactive tuner. Stupid box.

By the way, your call to Customer Service is why they treat us all like dopes when we call with legitimate issues.

I just wanted to say that I agree with the original message. I think that TINY swap button is quite silly and that the box should/could"read your mind" if you physically press record on a channel and then attempt to change the channel the box should and could easily deduce that you want to change the channel on the other tuner.

At least an option of:
When recording and channel changed:
A) prompt
B) auto swap tuners and change

I also think that attitude in responses like this isnt necessary especially in light of the fact that an increased number of users to this board will not be the techie early adopters that some of you may be. I think its good to point out non-intuitive to anyone "features" of the hardware here so that ithey can be addressed

I just wanted to say that I agree with the original message. I think that TINY swap button is quite silly and that the box should/could"read your mind" if you physically press record on a channel and then attempt to change the channel the box should and could easily deduce that you want to change the channel on the other tuner.

At least an option of:
When recording and channel changed:
A) prompt
B) auto swap tuners and change

Why should I have to deal with an extra dialog box just because someone else can't figure out how to use their 6412? I'm recording something and want to watch something else, I hit swap. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to do what the box is meant to do. I'm tired of having to answer 50 questions just to watch some TV because a product gets entirely dumbed down to compensate for someone else's reluctance to read a manual.

Originally posted by willrees
I also think that attitude in responses like this isnt necessary especially in light of the fact that an increased number of users to this board will not be the techie early adopters that some of you may be. I think its good to point out non-intuitive to anyone "features" of the hardware here so that ithey can be addressed

When exactly is an attitude "necessary?" Attitudes are what make things interesting. The users manuals have no attitude, for example, and no one seems very interested in them.

Sorry to offend your delicate sensibilities but it's not a hardware question at all, and it is readily addressed in every version of the user's guide I have ever seen, including the one to which I have linked in this very forum on about 10 occasions.

You don't need to be an early adopter to read the manual, and if something is explicitly stated in the manual it doesn't need to be intuitive because the manual tells you what to do with it.

I'm confused how a user being unable to figure out how to use a product or service makes the product or service "Stupid"

frankz1: Perhaps I got too used to my 921 DVR from Dish Networks which does indeed change channels when I press the CH+/- button after beginning a recording. I can't image why the box should interpret my request as possibly meaning that I wanted to interrupt the recording and change channels on the same receiver when the 2nd receiver is idle.

Now that I know the mechanism it's quite simple and I'll adjust. It would have been simpler if it were in the manual. Since no-one else seems to have posted this question, I'm willing to accept your criticism that I should have figured it out myself. I'm not a newbie when it comes to electronics, though!

Former Levittown resident,

Originally posted by brosnan
frankz1: Perhaps I got too used to my 921 DVR from Dish Networks which does indeed change channels when I press the CH+/- button after beginning a recording. I can't image why the box should interpret my request as possibly meaning that I wanted to interrupt the recording and change channels on the same receiver when the 2nd receiver is idle.

Now that I know the mechanism it's quite simple and I'll adjust. It would have been simpler if it were in the manual. Since no-one else seems to have posted this question, I'm willing to accept your criticism that I should have figured it out myself. I'm not a newbie when it comes to electronics, though!

Former Levittown resident,

FYI - CTRL+F on the manual (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf) finds 13 instances of the term "Swap." I wasn't trying to imply that you should have figured it out on your own.

I've got no beef with you or even your comment per se. I've got a minor beef with the attitude that something is "Stupid" because you won't avail yourself of the materials available to tell you how to use it. That's just pet peeve territory on my part.

You also caught me after having to explain to your defender via PM that the 50 times people have commented in the thread on the front inputs not being active on the 6412 actually does mean that the front inputs are not active even when he wants them to be.

Look, this entire thread could become people quoting passages from the manual for each other and referring each other to previous posts in the thread. Personally, I wouldn't find that very useful because I've already read the manuals and the thread.

That manual's very helpful - thanks for the link. I see now it is also mentioned on page 7 of the paper user's manual distributed with the 6412 - somehow I missed that earlier. I retract my "Stupid" comment and change it to a suggested improvement for Motorola: automatic tuner swap on CH+/- or Guide channel selection when an idle tuner is available.

I have a TN55x81 (I think) Toshiba 4:3 HD TV. I have it connected to my 6412 from Comcast via component video cables. When I watch HD content the picture is the correct width but is stretched vertically. There are no black bars at the top and bottom like there should be. I have tried changing the output modes on the 6412 through the setup menu to no avail. Likewise, my tv has no stretching options. I previously had a DirecTV HD box with no problems.

Any ideas how to get it to not stretch the picture vertically. I beleive this is an incompatibility with how the 6412 is outputting the signal. I think my TV is misunderstanding what type of signal it is receiving.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Originally posted by mgkagan
I have a TN55x81 (I think) Toshiba 4:3 HD TV. I have it connected to my 6412 from Comcast via component video cables. When I watch HD content the picture is the correct width but is stretched vertically. There are no black bars at the top and bottom like there should be. I have tried changing the output modes on the 6412 through the setup menu to no avail. Likewise, my tv has no stretching options. I previously had a DirecTV HD box with no problems.

Any ideas how to get it to not stretch the picture vertically. I beleive this is an incompatibility with how the 6412 is outputting the signal. I think my TV is misunderstanding what type of signal it is receiving.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

If you power down and hit "Menu," you should get to the User Settings page. The first selection is "TV Type" which is set to 16x9 by default. Change it to 4:3 letterbox. 4:3 Override should be off. If this doesn't work, the box is not right.

More in the manual (broadband.motorola.com/noflash/customer_docs/user_guides/512659-001-a.pdf).

Originally posted by brosnan
That manual's very helpful - thanks for the link. I see now it is also mentioned on page 7 of the paper user's manual distributed with the 6412 - somehow I missed that earlier. I retract my "Stupid" comment and change it to a suggested improvement for Motorola: automatic tuner swap on CH+/- or Guide channel selection when an idle tuner is available.

I completely agree with you. This is the most frustrating thing of all with this box. Directivo is also smart enough to figure out that you mean to switch tuners, and is also smart enough to figure out to put you on the recording tuner if you switch channels to a channel that is being recorded.

While this behaviour can probably easily be figured out by the group that reads this forum, this is the type of thing that frustrates my wife when it tells her she is doing something wrong when she changes the channel. It can also lead to her changing the channel and cancelling the recording of the show I wanted to watch! All the weirdness when the unit is powered on during recording is also a wife-unfriendly feature.

The good thing is, these are about the only 2 factors that make me miss the directivo, which I was pretty fond of. I do like that you can view the guide and set recordings while watching recorded programs. This is a big advantage over the directivo

I have a Samsung HLN5065W DLP TV paired with the Motorola HD Box from Comcast....

My problem is that when hooked up to components things look decent enough, but a bit grainy on HD and when hooked up on DVI it looks great, but the damn aspect is like 1/4th the screen in the middle. Also, are all the HD feeds supposed to be letterboxed? I'm just not sure what to do and I am frustrated because I can't seem to find the time to play around with the settings. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the situation or point me in the right direction. Also if I record a HD feed of lets say friends on Fox, when I play it back its letterboxed and the sides are cut of as well black bars on top/bottom and left/right. I'm guessing for quality purposes DVI would probably be best, but if not which component should I use 1080i, 720p, 480? Do all your SD channels look like crud too? Any work arounds? Help...

I'm trying to weed through a thousand posts here, but I don't have the time usually at work...so I apologize if the answer is somewhere close here.

Power off, hit menu and be sure that your tv is set as 16:9.

Originally posted by Demianwulf
I have a Samsung HLN5065W DLP TV paired with the Motorola HD Box from Comcast....

My problem is that when hooked up to components things look decent enough, but a bit grainy on HD and when hooked up on DVI it looks great, but the damn aspect is like 1/4th the screen in the middle. Also, are all the HD feeds supposed to be letterboxed? I'm just not sure what to do and I am frustrated because I can't seem to find the time to play around with the settings. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the situation or point me in the right direction. Also if I record a HD feed of lets say friends on Fox, when I play it back its letterboxed and the sides are cut of as well black bars on top/bottom and left/right. I'm guessing for quality purposes DVI would probably be best, but if not which component should I use 1080i, 720p, 480? Do all your SD channels look like crud too? Any work arounds? Help...

I'm trying to weed through a thousand posts here, but I don't have the time usually at work...so I apologize if the answer is somewhere close here.

Does your TV do DVI or do you need a DVI-to-HDMI cable? Search this thread for "Samsung DVI".

No syndicated repeats are in HD to my knowledge.

Originally posted by beaudot
While this behaviour can probably easily be figured out by the group that reads this forum, this is the type of thing that frustrates my wife when it tells her she is doing something wrong when she changes the channel. It can also lead to her changing the channel and cancelling the recording of the show I wanted to watch! All the weirdness when the unit is powered on during recording is also a wife-unfriendly feature.


Maybe if you sat down with your non-technical spouse and explained it to her, maybe then you wouldn't have her cancelling some show on you, though it seems to be pretty obvious to me.

Just cause your wife doesn't get it doesn't make it necessary to call features "wife-unfriendly" especially because you obviously haven't taken the time to explain something like that to a non-technical member of your house.

Originally posted by bronowyn
Maybe if you sat down with your non-technical spouse and explained it to her, maybe then you wouldn't have her cancelling some show on you, though it seems to be pretty obvious to me.

Just cause your wife doesn't get it doesn't make it necessary to call features "wife-unfriendly" especially because you obviously haven't taken the time to explain something like that to a non-technical member of your house.

Hey, I'll take all the time in the world to explain it, getting her to put any effort into understanding how a tv works just frustrates her though. The tivo solution was very intuitive and required no explanation and she loved the tivo. Having her get excited about a consumer electronic device is a pretty big deal, and meant tivo was doing something right IMO.

I can think of no disadvantage whatsoever of having the system automatically change to the unused tuner when you change channels from the tuner that is being recorded. Care to explain a disadvantage?

I realize it's a disadvantage for it to give the warning instead of just switching tuners... I've done it at least once myself, where I had to "Previous Channel", "record"... luckily it was on a commercial. However, just having it switch tuners, which I'm guessing Motorola thought about, from my QA experience will likely cause a circular bug... say you are recording something on the other tuner, too. so when you try to change the channel, it switches tuners, it tries to change that channel, but it's recording, so it switches tuners, it tries to change the channel on that tuner, but it's recording, so it switches tuners... you get my drift. I'm sure there are engineers right now trying to come up with a better solution.

However, my comment was directed at calling something "WIFE-unfriendly"... being the only woman on these posts, I feel obligated when people on here are sounding a little bit stereotypical.

Even realizing how technical I am to spouses most of the time, I have to tell you have had to sit down in the past with my fiance and explain how something works... luckily, he's technical, too... but I've explained it to my mom, my stepfather, etc... Much rejoicing all around, cause now they can use my crazy remote, my crazy computer, my crazy TV... etc.

Originally posted by tall1


I think they should remove the on/off button (just like Tivo). That'll solve a great deal of these "problems". [/B]


NO NO NO. Do NOT remove the on/off button. I generally leave the 6412 on -- but I turn it OFF when playing a DVD, so that I don't hear the hard drive clicks and whirrs. It is not too loud, but still noticeable during quiet passages of a DVD.

I want the control to turn it off or on when I want to (remotely)-- without unplugging it.

The circular switching could be avoided if the tuner swap is only done when the alternate tuner is not recording. However, I have realized one disadvantage for Motorola to make the change I suggested. Since the 6412 buffers both tuner's programs in anticipation of possible skipping backwards, there's really no such thing as an idle tuner. Auto-swapping tuners on channel change would wipe out the alternate buffer. I'd still prefer that behavior. But I can see why someone who's aware of what channel the alternate tuner is set to while recording on the primary tuner might be frustrated if they accidentally hit the CH+ button since they'd lose the alternate channel buffer.

Originally posted by caesar1
NO NO NO. Do NOT remove the on/off button. I generally leave the 6412 on -- but I turn it OFF when playing a DVD, so that I don't hear the hard drive clicks and whirrs. It is not too loud, but still noticeable during quiet passages of a DVD.

I want the control to turn it off or on when I want to (remotely)-- without unplugging it. I have heard that you can change the channel to a music choice channel and then the buffering will stop. I don't use this workaround because both of my 6412s are whisper quiet. I have even got down on my knees and stuck my head in the cabinet to listen for the whirring/clicking several folks complain about but I hear nothing of the sort.

Originally posted by bronowyn
I realize it's a disadvantage for it to give the warning instead of just switching tuners... I've done it at least once myself, where I had to "Previous Channel", "record"... luckily it was on a commercial. However, just having it switch tuners, which I'm guessing Motorola thought about, from my QA experience will likely cause a circular bug... say you are recording something on the other tuner, too. so when you try to change the channel, it switches tuners, it tries to change that channel, but it's recording, so it switches tuners, it tries to change the channel on that tuner, but it's recording, so it switches tuners... you get my drift. I'm sure there are engineers right now trying to come up with a better solution.

However, my comment was directed at calling something "WIFE-unfriendly"... being the only woman on these posts, I feel obligated when people on here are sounding a little bit stereotypical.

Even realizing how technical I am to spouses most of the time, I have to tell you have had to sit down in the past with my fiance and explain how something works... luckily, he's technical, too... but I've explained it to my mom, my stepfather, etc... Much rejoicing all around, cause now they can use my crazy remote, my crazy computer, my crazy TV... etc.

I apologize if my message came across as sexist. I didn't mean it that way. Just trying to refer to a generic person in the household that doesn't care to figure out how to work all this gadgetry just to watch tv. I am sure there are lots of households where the woman has to teach the man how to use all this stuff (my parents for example).

brosnan's post describes how it should work, and is how the directivo works. The benefit of this behaviour is that it allows the user to not even have to understand the whole concept of two tuners. Its also nice that if you switch to the channel that is being recorded it changes to the tuner that is recording. This is cool, because you can change the channel to the show that is halfway through, and just rewind to the beginning. Why have 2 tuners recording the same thing anyway?

I might not have been so against this whole swap thing either, if I didn't have to look up on the internet how to program a swap button into the remote control they gave me!

Originally posted by tall1
I have heard that you can change the channel to a music choice channel and then the buffering will stop.You need to change both tuners to Music Choice channels to get the hard drive to stop buffering. The disk drive keeps spinning, but the head seek clicks-and-whirs all stop.

Originally posted by cgould
Ahh- yes, if someone has their TV plugged into the switched outlet, that makes more sense now :) but I wouldn't think of it as a default case! (Especially since the remote already has a "power ALL on" feature.)
Thanks for explaining it.

However, I don't use that feature, so I should be able to disable the audio/video mute , as an option (just like switched A/C was.)
Or, the "mute" button should "unmute" things (without having to reprogram the remote! :) )

It should at least be documented , given that this is pretty un-intuitive behavior (not that Comcast gave me the manual, but I downloaded it also.)
Other DCT STBs haven't done this either, so this is new?
(Apparently many others don't understand/see this feature, since everyone's complained about it, and I haven't seen anyone go "neat, switched AC & video together!" :-) )
...
Thanks for clarifying. Didn't mean to jump on you, just didn't make sense...


followup on this, and comments on some of the "RTFM vs non-intuitive/not wife-friendly" comments:

There are ways to design features, that work INTUITIVELY for most if not all users, but still provide flexibility & useful features; eg they can provide new functionality, w/o impacting others who don't need it. The 6412 is missing a few of those right now, and Tivo tends to get it right.

There is also the issue of making a feature or configuration choice available during normal usage, and self-documenting, rather than a hidden "hack" or something you have to look up in the manual or even a web forum :)
eg, TV-type/aspect ratio and CC settings, should NOT be hidden in some secret arcane service menu, and certainly shouldn't require you to poweroff. They should be right in the Settings menu, under Cable Box settings with everything else, where someone can figure out to change it just by browsing all the menus.


re for the power/sleep/blank issue above, here's some other alternative design ideas that allow the "blank/sleep" feature, but don't confuse the rest of us:

- disable auto-mute/blank on powerup, if the user config'd AC outlet to NOT switch (eg, means box assumes you don't have a TV plugged into the AC)

- even better, have the box differentiate between USER-invoked power-on (w/ remote or front button), vs a box-initiated "scheduled-recording wakeup".
-- for user-initiated power-on, DON'T blank- obviously the viewer is present and wants to watch. Also turn on the switched AC per config.

-- For a self-initiated recording wakeup, DO blank; perhaps, don't even turn on the switched AC outlet. eg, stay partly asleep, just "awake enough" to do the recording.
The box already does know the difference, since it tends to turn itself off when done recording, right?

My Panasonic DVD recorder DVR works this way- for a scheduled recording during poweroff, it doesn't turn all the way on, just lights a little red "record" light- but the rest of display stays off. If you turn it on while recording, it wakes the rest of the way up and works normally.

Overall:
While RTFM is certainly a valid response for "obvious" questions, some things are NOT obvious or well documented (eg hidden aspect-ratio & CC settings service menu)...
and even if documented, the more self-evident/intuitive you make a feature, the less time you need to waste looking in the manual (which people may not have), or checking forums, or just getting frustrated because it doesn't work the way you expect.

Computers & software are frequently very bad in this way.
"Appliances", like STBs, require much more careful design thought. They should be very intuitive/easy to use, and VERY STABLE. Now that STBs are getting more complicated and computer-like, the interfaces/usage is getting worse :(

Even while functionality gets more complicated, and concepts more advanced, "newbie users" should only have to deal w/ the concept- like multiple tuners, or scheduled recordings- not so much all the arcane steps/interfaces, to utilize those concepts. The new ideas are hard enough to get by themselves!

OK, end of soapbox :)

Let's get back to suggesting enhancements, summarizing problems that need fixing, and hopefully less RTFM suggestions :) (instead, better to make suggestions how things won't need the manual at all!)

Originally posted by tall1
I have heard that you can change the channel to a music choice channel and then the buffering will stop. I don't use this workaround because both of my 6412s are whisper quiet. I have even got down on my knees and stuck my head in the cabinet to listen for the whirring/clicking several folks complain about but I hear nothing of the sort.

Do you have the Maxtor Quickview or the Seagate hard drive in your 6412s?

You can look through the vents in the top and see quickveiw (or maxtor); or seagate.

Anyone else running into problems with dual tuner scheduling? The algorithm to allocate the tuners doesn't appear to be very clever. I am having problems with the Lost / Alias / West Wing trio the past couple weeks. These shows will break a bad algorithm because of the ABC extra minute start times; the ABC shows have to be scheduled on the same tuner or there will be a conflict. I find I have to put the priorities in a certain order or I will get some conflict message (right now, I have 1. Lost, 2. West Wing, 3. Alias, which appears to work). But even when everything appears dotted in the scheduled recordings list, it sometimes will just not record one of the shows. Last week I missed the beginning of Lost, this week West Wing. And during West Wing when I tried to start the recording up (1 tuner free, the other on Alias), it just ignored the record command. Scheduling a manual record wouldn't work either; it would show up on the schedule but when the time came around it disappeared and nothing happened. I wasn't able to record both shows until I stopped & restarted the Alias recording.

This might also be affected by a basketball game I was recording, that ended during Lost. Maybe also affected by the schedule changes ABC was submitting for these shows altering the start time from when originally scheduled.

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
Anyone else running into problems with dual tuner scheduling? The algorithm to allocate the tuners doesn't appear to be very clever. I am having problems with the Lost / Alias / West Wing trio the past couple weeks. These shows will break a bad algorithm because of the ABC extra minute start times; the ABC shows have to be scheduled on the same tuner or there will be a conflict. I find I have to put the priorities in a certain order or I will get some conflict message (right now, I have 1. Lost, 2. West Wing, 3. Alias, which appears to work). But even when everything appears dotted in the scheduled recordings list, it sometimes will just not record one of the shows. Last week I missed the beginning of Lost, this week West Wing. And during West Wing when I tried to start the recording up (1 tuner free, the other on Alias), it just ignored the record command. Scheduling a manual record wouldn't work either; it would show up on the schedule but when the time came around it disappeared and nothing happened. I wasn't able to record both shows until I stopped & restarted the Alias recording.

This might also be affected by a basketball game I was recording, that ended during Lost. Maybe also affected by the schedule changes ABC was submitting for these shows altering the start time from when originally scheduled.

It is the schedule changes. You've got to delete all three and start over after the change. For the past two weeks, ABC has initially had it scheduled one way on Sunday when I set it up and then changed it on Monday by a couple minutes. I tried to adjust the first week, but it wouldn't let me (conflicts). Only deleting all the scheduled recordings for that time period and starting over corrected it.

Boy that's lame. With Tivo if it's in the To-Do list a certain way, it records exactly that way, even if the schedule is wrong. At least it's predictable. And if it gets the schedule update in time it the To-Do list will correct itself. With iGuide I am guessing whether it will record even if it shows up under scheduled recordings, at least in these 3-way situations (it's been reliable for me otherwise).

What's also lame about deleting and starting over is that putting in new series & adjusting priorities makes every series reschedule, including episodes you cancelled. There are some series where I have to go in and cancel syndicated repeats, if I adjust series priority I have to back and cancel them again. Tivo does this better as well, if you cancel a recording it stays cancelled.

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
Boy that's lame. With Tivo if it's in the To-Do list a certain way, it records exactly that way, even if the schedule is wrong. At least it's predictable. And if it gets the schedule update in time it the To-Do list will correct itself. With iGuide I am guessing whether it will record even if it shows up under scheduled recordings, at least in these 3-way situations (it's been reliable for me otherwise).

What's also lame about deleting and starting over is that putting in new series & adjusting priorities makes every series reschedule, including episodes you cancelled. There are some series where I have to go in and cancel syndicated repeats, if I adjust series priority I have to back and cancel them again. Tivo does this better as well, if you cancel a recording it stays cancelled.

That's funny, because my TiVo didn't even get the schedule change by two minutes for Lost and Alias last night (I do an SD backup of important shows in case there's a problem). The last two minutes of Lost were on the beginning of the Alias recording, and if I hadn't recorded Alias I would have missed them. Theoretically, anyway. I didn't miss them, because I recorded the two on my 6412.

Still, if you like the way TiVo does things better you should probably stick with it.

I have to agree that Tivo does it better -- I also had the problem with Lost/Alias/West Wing, and like the previous poster, could not get it to record West Wing while recording Lost and Alias. Also, like the previous poster, I had a backup for Lost and Alias going on my SD Tivo, but missed out completely on West Wing.

I think next week I'll set a manual recording covering both Lost and Alias on ABC, then set the other tuner to West Wing. That should, in theory, remove any of the problems associated with ABC's scheduling hijinks.

I agree, however, that the 6412 should have been able to handle this with no problem. I'm beginning to think I should forget about Series recordings and just stick to manual. The 6412 is great for HD, but my Tivo is far more intuitive.

That's funny, because my TiVo didn't even get the schedule change by two minutes for Lost and Alias last night (I do an SD backup of important shows in case there's a problem). The last two minutes of Lost were on the beginning of the Alias recording, and if I hadn't recorded Alias I would have missed them.

Missing a couple minutes or having the minutes at the beginning of another program is better than missing the entire thing, which would have happened if I hadn't been home. I didn't trust it because of the previous week, so I was there to check on it ...

Still, if you like the way TiVo does things better you should probably stick with it
I would, if it did dual HD recording ... I'd just like TVGuide to make some things more like Tivo, improve their software to the point where I can rely on it to record what it says it will under the scheduled recordings tab, not list something as going to record then have it disappear when I check on it some hours later. I don't want to have to be home to check if something actually will record; that defeats the purpose of a DVR.

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
I would, if it did dual HD recording ... I'd just like TVGuide to make some things more like Tivo, improve their software to the point where I can rely on it to record what it says it will under the scheduled recordings tab, not list something as going to record then have it disappear when I check on it some hours later. I don't want to have to be home to check if something actually will record; that defeats the purpose of a DVR.

I believe HD TiVos have 4 tuners, so that's twice your dual requirement. Have at it.

Missing a couple minutes or having the minutes at the beginning of another program is better than missing the entire thing, which would have happened if I hadn't been home. I didn't trust it because of the previous week, so I was there to check on it ...

You must not have seen the last two minutes of Lost last night, then. I may have missed the whole show if I was going to miss those two minutes.

Originally posted by frankz1
I believe HD TiVos have 4 tuners, so that's twice your dual requirement. Have at it.


The HD-Tivo has 2 OTA tuners, and 2 DirectTV tuners. NO cable tuners, that's the point. (Besides it costing $1000)
If Tivo had a cable-HD compatible HD DVR, we wouldn't even be bothering you in this thread :)

Right now the 6412 is the only HD-DVR answer for us on Comcast cable (aside from PC DVR stuff), eg for those of us who can't get good OTA, or those who dislike satellite (eg STB-tuner restrictions, for those w/ multiple TV & CATV devices/recorders etc.) I like cable.

I love having the 6412, HD-DVR is something I wanted for a long time- but, the 6412 isn't perfect.
Tivo is closest we know to that, hence we are providing some suggestions for Moto/Comcast to improve the 6412, and our usage of it. (THo as you point out, Tivo's not perfect either.)
Right now the 6412's a great device, fills a great need, but is sometimes frustrating.
We are trying to improve that, for ourselves and others- not just saying "Tivo is better, forget this junk" kind of flame war :)

Tivo said at CES they are coming out with a CableCard-compatible HD box sometime next year.
We don't want to wait that long to enjoy HD DVR!

But, if the 6412 doesn't improve, for me at least (especially if I can't add more disk space- most critcal):
I will likely dump the 6412 once the HD-cable Tivo comes along, even if it costs me hundreds of dollars for the box. Tivo's that good :) and I want to support them, but being able to actually record/watch HD comes first :-)


Please take our comments as hopeful suggestions for improvements, not attacks on the box.

Originally posted by caesar1
Do you have the Maxtor Quickview or the Seagate hard drive in your 6412s?

You can look through the vents in the top and see quickveiw (or maxtor); or seagate. I'll take a look tonight and let you know.

Originally posted by frankz1
Does your TV do DVI or do you need a DVI-to-HDMI cable? Search this thread for "Samsung DVI".

No syndicated repeats are in HD to my knowledge. It does do DVI, I run my computer on the same DVI port before this happened...could this have been the problem? The computer uses funky resolutions with powerstrip and might that have affected the way the cable box is now trying to interact with the DVI port...

I believe HD TiVos have 4 tuners, so that's twice your dual requirement
There are 4 tuners, but it's still only dual recording, not twice my requirement. Also you said "stick with" - I only have a standard Tivo, not HD-Tivo, so sticking with what I have wouldn't meet my requirement. I guess I neglected to mention my other requirement, "not have tremendous startup cost exceeding costs of 4 years of cable DVR rental including cost/hassle of OTA antenna installation, without lowering monthly cost enough to compensate". Also, there is the MPEG-4 obsolescence issue to consider. I will evaluate Tivo's 2006 Cablecard model when it comes out instead, as well as any DirecTV NDS offering.

You must not have seen the last two minutes of Lost last night, then
No, I haven't watched it yet. But in general I'd rather have 61/63 minutes record than 0/63, even if I miss something spectacular at the end (which I wouldn't, since I record Alias, and would pad Lost if I didn't). I can find out from a forum what happened for a couple minutes. These days networks don't re-run that often; and even if they did re-run there's not enough space on the 6412 to save up a bunch of episodes so you can watch in order. I don't want to wait for the DVD to watch the series in non-HD.

I'm not getting you ... what's wrong with criticizing some of iGuide software's shortcomings compared to Tivo? Just because I don't like a few things about it I am supposed to ditch it so you don't have to hear me complain?

Originally posted by cgould
The HD-Tivo has 2 OTA tuners, and 2 DirectTV tuners. NO cable tuners, that's the point. (Besides it costing $1000)
If Tivo had a cable-HD compatible HD DVR, we wouldn't even be bothering you in this thread :)

Right now the 6412 is the only HD-DVR answer for us on Comcast cable (aside from PC DVR stuff), eg for those of us who can't get good OTA, or those who dislike satellite (eg STB-tuner restrictions, for those w/ multiple TV & CATV devices/recorders etc.) I like cable.

I love having the 6412, HD-DVR is something I wanted for a long time- but, the 6412 isn't perfect.
Tivo is closest we know to that, hence we are providing some suggestions for Moto/Comcast to improve the 6412, and our usage of it. (THo as you point out, Tivo's not perfect either.)
Right now the 6412's a great device, fills a great need, but is sometimes frustrating.
We are trying to improve that, for ourselves and others- not just saying "Tivo is better, forget this junk" kind of flame war :)

Tivo said at CES they are coming out with a CableCard-compatible HD box sometime next year.
We don't want to wait that long to enjoy HD DVR!

But, if the 6412 doesn't improve, for me at least (especially if I can't add more disk space- most critcal):
I will likely dump the 6412 once the HD-cable Tivo comes along, even if it costs me hundreds of dollars for the box. Tivo's that good :) and I want to support them, but being able to actually record/watch HD comes first :-)


Please take our comments as hopeful suggestions for improvements, not attacks on the box.

Well, maybe you should buy an HD Tivo and then go over to their forum and mention that it doesn't do cable every day. ;)

I have a Tivo and, yes, it's good. It's not the second coming, though.

This, however, is getting to be like having the choice to buy a ferrari or lease a hyundai. You cheap out and lease the hyundai, and then complain every day that it doesn't corner right when you get it up to 90 miles an hour. :) :) :)

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
I'm not getting you ... what's wrong with criticizing some of iGuide software's shortcomings compared to Tivo? Just because I don't like a few things about it I am supposed to ditch it so you don't have to hear me complain? [/B]

By "stick with" I meant the interface and not a specific box.

Seems like you are getting me, but I can't hear you at all so I'm not sure about that part. You want it all, but you don't want to pay for it all. There's nothing wrong with criticizing what you see as shortcomings. There's nothing wrong with my appreciating the box for what it is and running a cost comparison of all these tiny inconveniences vs. what I didn't pay for a HD Tivo.

It's called a "The 6412 discussion" not "The littany of 6412 complaints." I'm providing the discussion part to you, also free of charge.

"Tiny inconvenience"? To me the box not recording a show that it displays as will be recorded is not a tiny inconvenience. It is not asking a Hyundai to corner well at 90. It's expecting the car to actually be moving when you have the foot on the gas & the speedometer reading 30, not having it be at a standstill.

I am willing to put up with many various minor interface shortcomings considering the low cost & what we get. But I am not willing to put up with recording unreliability, which is unacceptable if it happens with too great a frequency.

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
"Tiny inconvenience"? To me the box not recording a show that it displays as will be recorded is not a tiny inconvenience. It is not asking a Hyundai to corner well at 90. It's expecting the car to actually be moving when you have the foot on the gas & the speedometer reading 30, not having it be at a standstill.

I am willing to put up with many various minor interface shortcomings considering the low cost & what we get. But I am not willing to put up with recording unreliability, which is unacceptable if it happens with too great a frequency.

My hyundai recorded Lost and Alias just fine when, in fact, my ferrari did not. I did have my foot on the hyundai's gas, though. It doesn't do well on auto-pilot, which is a tiny inconvenience.

Originally posted by frankz1
It is the schedule changes. You've got to delete all three and start over after the change. For the past two weeks, ABC has initially had it scheduled one way on Sunday when I set it up and then changed it on Monday by a couple minutes. I tried to adjust the first week, but it wouldn't let me (conflicts). Only deleting all the scheduled recordings for that time period and starting over corrected it.

It's issues like the above that I gave up on many Series recordings. It may be easier to just set up a manual recording to cover 8-11pm (or whatever) weekly until they go into repeats.

My hyundai recorded Lost and Alias just fine when, in fact, my ferrari did not. I did have my foot on the hyundai's gas, though. It doesn't do well on auto-pilot, which is a tiny inconvenience.

You were lucky. And your Ferarri did record both, it just put some minutes in the wrong program. At least it didn't miss anything. For at least a few of us, our Hyundais missed entire shows, or would have missed them if we weren't there to baby-sit.

And it's not like I am using auto-pilot - I am checking the scheduled recording list, and adjusting / re-entering things to make sure the shows show up as dotted. I can put up with that inconvenience. Certainly even Tivo requires To-Do list maintenance from time to time. But when the shows show up dotted there, & still don't record, I don't think I should be expected to put up with that. That's not tiny.

Originally posted by Stephen Tu
You were lucky. And your Ferarri did record both, it just put some minutes in the wrong program. At least it didn't miss anything. For at least a few of us, our Hyundais missed entire shows, or would have missed them if we weren't there to baby-sit.

And it's not like I am using auto-pilot - I am checking the scheduled recording list, and adjusting / re-entering things make sure the shows show up as dotted. I can put up with that inconvenience. Certainly even Tivo requires To-Do list maintenance from time to time. But when the shows show up dotted there, & still don't record, I don't think I should be expected to put up with that. That's not tiny.

Same box, same software. I got Lost and Alias. Sounds like you didn't. What could the difference have been? If I set up my ferrari wrong, it also misses shows. :)

Send your spare 6412s here when you're tired of putting up with it. :) Just make sure there are no "West Wing" episodes still on there, or the package will be refused. :D

Maybe this is a silly, useless idea, but wouldn't it be cool if the box could be programmed to always show you which tuner was active? And if My DVR showed which tuner had been used to record each program?

I upgraded from the 5100 to 6412 and now I want to change from component to DVI, there are single link and dual link DVI cables. I am pretty sure the single link is all I need and confusing dual link with the dual tuner on the 6412? So, should I get the single or dual link DVI cable?

(The HD is a Samsung DLP (HLP 50" model) if that matters.

There was a lot of discussion beginning about here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4860691#post4860691) regarding DVI connections on Samsung DLPs. I'm on an older Toshiba with only component inputs for the time being so I didn't really follow it, but you may find it useful.

i know what tuner is whAt because one tuner gets constant breAkups on fox and wb digital.
so i have to leave it tuned to that all the time because it will auto record on the tuner you are not using.

If I set up my ferrari wrong, it also misses shows

But if you check the To-Do list, you will see the shows are missing, and in the recording history you can find out why. Then you can take steps to correct this, before the show airs, and be confident of what will record, and what will not. Not like the 6412, where the shows show up in the To-Do list equivalent, but can sometimes still not record anyway, forcing you to be there when the show airs to see if it is behaving correctly, if you don't want to chance missing it.

Originally posted by Demianwulf
I have a Samsung HLN5065W DLP TV paired with the Motorola HD Box from Comcast....

My problem is that when hooked up to components things look decent enough, but a bit grainy on HD and when hooked up on DVI it looks great, but the damn aspect is like 1/4th the screen in the middle. Also, are all the HD feeds supposed to be letterboxed? I'm just not sure what to do and I am frustrated because I can't seem to find the time to play around with the settings. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the situation or point me in the right direction. Also if I record a HD feed of lets say friends on Fox, when I play it back its letterboxed and the sides are cut of as well black bars on top/bottom and left/right. I'm guessing for quality purposes DVI would probably be best, but if not which component should I use 1080i, 720p, 480? Do all your SD channels look like crud too? Any work arounds? Help...

I'm trying to weed through a thousand posts here, but I don't have the time usually at work...so I apologize if the answer is somewhere close here.

I have a samsung DLP too connected to a 6412 via component. (I also have a sony plasma connected to a 6412 via DVI).
I agree with the suggestion that you go into the service menu on the 6412 and make sure your aspect ratio is set at 16:9. I would set it at 1080i .

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Brian Roberts just spoke on the 10th about Digital Simulcasting the 80 or so analog channels. He mentioned that they would use an 8 to 1 ratio. Hopefully less pixelation and mpeg artifacts then the 12 to 1 that is commonly used now.
I was told that they are supposed to begin Digital Simulcasting in this area in Feb. or March.

Did he mention any updated time frames for any areas?

Do you have a link to a news story?

I currently have a 6412 (firmware 09.12) with Comcast in Boston. I have several series recordings set up on the DVR.

A couple days ago, I noticed that in the "My DVR" list, there was an entry that had no title, but did show a date and time. When I got more info on it, it would show the description of a show I've already deleted. Playing the recording causes the box to freeze, with powering off/on the only way to get it back to normal. Multiple attempts to delete the "blank" recording have failed.

Does anyone know a way around this? Do I basically need to clear out all the other recordings and have Comcast reset the box?

Thanks.

Is there anybody out there that has figured out how to enable the HMA feature in the 6400 series of the Motorla DVR's?

Also, what is the latest firmware and must we wait for Comcast to send the updates or can we flash them manually?

Last week Comcast installed my 6412 and I immediately ran out and picked up a JVC 30k D-VHS to replace my old Panny 1000, with the intent of archiving my recordings before they got purged off of the 6412's woefully small hard drive. But for the life of me I can't get it to work. As soon as I hit play on a recorded program the D-VHS pukes up an error message about not being able to tune the picture. I can record programs live (when I can get them to tune in at all), but not during playback from hard disk.

What am I doing wrong? I thought that was a major advantage of the 6412 over DirectTiVo HD...

Jeremy

PS Did anybody else notice the manual calls Firewire "IEEE 1394 Firewall"?! LOL!

Originally posted by tennberg
I currently have a 6412 (firmware 09.12) with Comcast in Boston. I have several series recordings set up on the DVR.

A couple days ago, I noticed that in the "My DVR" list, there was an entry that had no title, but did show a date and time. When I got more info on it, it would show the description of a show I've already deleted. Playing the recording causes the box to freeze, with powering off/on the only way to get it back to normal. Multiple attempts to delete the "blank" recording have failed.

Does anyone know a way around this? Do I basically need to clear out all the other recordings and have Comcast reset the box?

Thanks.

You have to delete EVERYTHING before you'll be able to delete this one.

Someone had a similar problem earlier in the thread.

Originally posted by QZ1
I was told that they are supposed to begin Digital Simulcasting in this area in Feb. or March.

Did he mention any updated time frames for any areas?

Do you have a link to a news story? Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

In my area they have started to test DS. Channel 24 which is ShopNBC is being Digitally Simulcast.

General Information on DS.

No STB = 24 is analog

Digital STB = 24 is Digital. The signal comes in, QAM and you see it Digitally on 24.

Since the signal (from the originator) 24 is sending is still analog, a Headend conversion needs to take place to convert it to digital. It won't be as good as a digital signal, of course. But, should, and I say should, be better than its analog counter part. Since the HE receives the signal analog it will never be better than how they receive it. Only true digital from the originator will look the best.

It probably won't look as good as most all digital channels and even some analog channels will still look better. It all depends on the A to D conversion.

In my area they have some bugs to work out. Hopefully the Digital Simulcast will happen soon after.

One other note... I am able to buffer about 65 minutes of the Digitally Simulcast channel 24.

Here is the Brian Roberts link...
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=118591&eventID=956059

Originally posted by jscuras
Is there anybody out there that has figured out how to enable the HMA feature in the 6400 series of the Motorla DVR's?

Also, what is the latest firmware and must we wait for Comcast to send the updates or can we flash them manually? Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Although the 6412 is HMA ready it needs an actual HMA STB to connect with. I'm hoping to see these new HMA STB's this year. I also wouldn't be too surprised to see the 6412 EOL soon with an HMA DVR being deployed in the not too distant future as well.

Once Comcast completes their Digital Simulcast they can purchase less expensive STB's/DVR's. The reduction in cost will be related to the STB no longer having to include analog circuitry. The size of the STB will also become physically smaller as well.

Dear SonomaSearcher (and anyone else from Comcast/Motorola/Igude, etc...)

Here's a wish for a feature-adder that should be a no-brainer, since apparently it's already implemented on these boxes in a different market (Philly?) with different software....

Please, please, please:

Add the Tivo-esque "Skip-to-tick" feature when fastforwarding/rewinding. What the "tick" would be (15-min seems about adequate) would be up to you...but we *NEED* something like this to make the box a lot better than it is. It is so crappy to have to sit through minutes of HD FF-ing to get to a point in a show/movie (especially since HD 4xFF moves at a snail's pace).

Please add this to you growing (I'm sure) list of user-input enhancements...

Rgds,

JohnW

Thank you for the reply. This is my concern. I have 2 6412's and they are supposed to communicate with each other. However, noone knows how to enable the feature. I have e-mailed Motorola tech support and should hear from them in the next day but I imagine I will get some type of "Your provider choose not to enable this feature" response.

What is an EOL? :confused:

Originally posted by Demianwulf
I have a Samsung HLN5065W DLP TV paired with the Motorola HD Box from Comcast....

There are two types of DVI protocol; generally referred to as "video RGB" and "PC RGB." It has to do with the definitions of above white and below black, which is important for scaling (so I am told) as well as PQ. I am using a sharp 10K projector, and when I send a video RGB signal over DVI, and the PJ is set to PC RGB, I can get the same scenario you are describing, with a smallish image box in the center of my large screen. Once I set the PJ to video RGB, I am good to go.

At least it is something to look for in your menus when you get a moment. I am far from an expert, so perhaps someone else could help you more if you need it.

Originally posted by jwehman
Dear SonomaSearcher (and anyone else from Comcast/Motorola/Igude, etc...)

SonomaSearcher is one of the moderators of the forum. I don't think he said he was a Comcast or iGuide employee. I guess he might be, but his message was that there were people from the company monitoring the thread and taking note of what is being reported. Several people seemed to make this assumption, and I don't think it is the case...I've been known to be wrong before, though. :)


Please, please, please:

Add the Tivo-esque "Skip-to-tick" feature when fastforwarding/rewinding. What the "tick" would be (15-min seems about adequate) would be up to you...but we *NEED* something like this to make the box a lot better than it is. It is so crappy to have to sit through minutes of HD FF-ing to get to a point in a show/movie (especially since HD 4xFF moves at a snail's pace).


Hey, if they are going to do it, do it right like ReplayTV does...punch in a number, hit FF or RW (in the RTV's case they use Quick Skip and Instant Replay) and go that many minutes forward or back, respectively...


-Randy

Originally posted by jwehman
Dear SonomaSearcher (and anyone else from Comcast/Motorola/Igude, etc...)

Here's a wish for a feature-adder that should be a no-brainer, since apparently it's already implemented on these boxes in a different market (Philly?) with different software....

Please, please, please:

Add the Tivo-esque "Skip-to-tick" feature when fastforwarding/rewinding. What the "tick" would be (15-min seems about adequate) would be up to you...but we *NEED* something like this to make the box a lot better than it is. It is so crappy to have to sit through minutes of HD FF-ing to get to a point in a show/movie (especially since HD 4xFF moves at a snail's pace).

Please add this to you growing (I'm sure) list of user-input enhancements...

Rgds,

JohnW

What makes you think this is implemented in boxes in a different market? I'm in the Philly area -- this isn't a function of any 6412 that I'm aware of.

There is a 30 second skip that can be programmed into the remote, but no skipping (either back or forwards) in large chunks. I think a 10 or 15 minute skip function is clearly needed.

Originally posted by jscuras
Thank you for the reply. This is my concern. I have 2 6412's and they are supposed to communicate with each other. However, noone knows how to enable the feature. I have e-mailed Motorola tech support and should hear from them in the next day but I imagine I will get some type of "Your provider choose not to enable this feature" response.

What is an EOL? :confused:

I never heard that this model was supposed to be able to communicate between each other.

I thought it was a future model that does that. Not this one. Of course, I only know one acronym out of this set of messages... HMA and EOL are beyond me.

Originally posted by bronowyn
I thought it was a future model that does that. Not this one. Of course, I only know one acronym out of this set of messages... HMA and EOL are beyond me.

HMA is Home Media Architechture (I didn't know either, the poster put it in the subject). I believe EOL is "End of Line"

Originally posted by bronowyn
I thought it was a future model that does that. Not this one. Of course, I only know one acronym out of this set of messages... HMA and EOL are beyond me.

EOL is 'end of life'.....

-Randy

Below is the info from Motorolas press release on the HMA function and the 6412. What I do not understand is why the 6412 would not be an HMA enabled STB??? This makes no sense. Now that I reflect back, I remember that in a graphic illistration about the HMA, there was one main 6412 STB and the others were smaller, unidentified units. I am guessing that the other STB's would merely be DVR/Cable receivers and thus eliminate a lot of the extras which are not needed by the consumer, thus saving the provider big $$$. However, the 6412 should still be HMA enabled, I would think.

I Motorola’s basic multi-room architecture provides an easily-deployed solution for the access of DVR content throughout the home. Specifically, the solution enables content recorded on a DCT6208 or DCT6412 digital video recorder set-top to be accessed from any HMA-enabled DCT digital set-top. Further, the solution allows for the continued use of current program guides and application suites.

Using IP-over-coaxial technology developed by Entropic for the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), the HMA enables “whole-home” networking for core and advanced digital set-tops already in the home. The Entropic technology enables multiple standard and high-definition video and data services to be simultaneously distributed throughout the home, over existing unmodified coaxial cable, without the need for a service call by a technician.

The site is here "motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,,4149_3504_23,00". Add .htm at the end.

Originally posted by caesar1
What makes you think this is implemented in boxes in a different market? I'm in the Philly area -- this isn't a function of any 6412 that I'm aware of.

There is a 30 second skip that can be programmed into the remote, but no skipping (either back or forwards) in large chunks. I think a 10 or 15 minute skip function is clearly needed.

My info came from this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4921838#post4921838

I was wrong in the area (Tulsa, OK not Philly (and I think I hedged myself by put a question mark next to the word "Philly")).

I know of (and use) the 30-second skip, which is why I wrote asking about the large-chunk skip only.

Also would be nice to have less-than-15 seconds on the replay. Tivo has it right with 8-seconds.


Rgds,

JohnW

I spoke to an knowledgeable source about the HMA feature for the Motorola 6412. The HMA feature is not currently available in any Motorola STB. However, when it does become available it should be a fairly simple, and probably Comcast originated, firmware update. Although, that was not confirmed but speculated by the source. Thus, the 6412 should be able to utilize the HMA feature and access other boxes, when the upgrade is available.

Originally posted by jscuras
I spoke to an knowledgeable source about the HMA feature for the Motorola 6412. The HMA feature is not currently available in any Motorola STB. However, when it does become available it should be a fairly simple, and probably Comcast originated, firmware update. Although, that was not confirmed but speculated by the source. Thus, the 6412 should be able to utilize the HMA feature and access other boxes, when the upgrade is available.

Do you (or your source) know if this going to do IP over the coax, require connection by ethernet, or use some other method?

Thanks,
Randy

From what I have read it will be Multimedia over Coax. This is the beauty of the technology, no additional connections required.

See the above link in my previos post or this link for the MoCA alliance. add www to the beginning and .asp to the end of this link mocalliance.org/en/index. I can not post hyperlinks yet because I am a new member.

Originally posted by whotony
i know what tuner is whAt because one tuner gets constant breAkups on fox and wb digital.
so i have to leave it tuned to that all the time because it will auto record on the tuner you are not using.

This is probably a signal strength issue. I also gamed mine until I got tired of it and had Comcast fix the signal ( they used an active splitter in place of a passive splitter).

You can check the signal strength in the d04 section of the diagnostics menu.Hit off, then "enter" within 2 seconds.

Originally posted by cgoldst
On the 6412 Dual Tuner iGuide is there anyway to delete (unwanted or unneeded) channels from the full channel list supplied by the guide? So this was answered by a previous poster, (the answer was "no") - but this is, to me, unaccetable.

I've got an 8 year old who reads very well, and a 5 year old who is beginning to read very well, and I as scrolled past the HD (finished watching Dolphings) channels, we as family got to enjoy the wittily titled porn shows, "Thick, Black, and Stacked" "Hot Bods and Tail Pipes" "Threesomes" "Older Women who love Younger Women" etc, etc, etc.

Look, I get that porn is a huge revenue generator for the content providers, but certainly there should be an option to remove those channels from our default guide.

Any suggestions?

Brian

Originally posted by stickyfingers
"Thick, Black, and Stacked" "Hot Bods and Tail Pipes" "Threesomes" "Older Women who love Younger Women" etc, etc, etc.

Any suggestions?

Brian I'd go with "Threesomes". Then probably "Hot Bods". Good luck. ;)

Originally posted by stickyfingers
So this was answered by a previous poster, (the answer was "no") - but this is, to me, unaccetable.

I've got an 8 year old who reads very well, and a 5 year old who is beginning to read very well, and I as scrolled past the HD (finished watching Dolphings) channels, we as family got to enjoy the wittily titled porn shows, "Thick, Black, and Stacked" "Hot Bods and Tail Pipes" "Threesomes" "Older Women who love Younger Women" etc, etc, etc.

Look, I get that porn is a huge revenue generator for the content providers, but certainly there should be an option to remove those channels from our default guide.

Any suggestions?

Brian

I know I've read in this thread that setting Parental Locks on adult material makes these show up as "Blocked Adult" or something similar in the guide listings. I can't find the post right now, though.

UPDATE: Still no luck finding the post but it's in The Manual (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf).

Originally posted by jscuras
From what I have read it will be Multimedia over Coax. This is the beauty of the technology, no additional connections required.

See the above link in my previos post or this link for the MoCA alliance. add www to the beginning and .asp to the end of this link mocalliance.org/en/index. I can not post hyperlinks yet because I am a new member. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

You guys are good!

HMA is IP over coax. No need for a separate wired/wireless Ethernet network ( Tivo/Replay TV). No more equipment/wires to by and run. Plus the speed from which you can share programming will be much quicker then a home network.

We need to wait for the HMA STB to be available. An example would be you have your 6412 in the living room and an HMA STB in your bedroom. You can then send a movie from your 6412 to your HMA STB in the bedroom right over the existing cable via IP.

Can't wait.

Originally posted by buzgz
( they used an active splitter in place of a passive splitter).
Is an active spiltter the same as a drop amp?

Originally posted by tennberg
A couple days ago, I noticed that in the "My DVR" list, there was an entry that had no title, but did show a date and time. When I got more info on it, it would show the description of a show I've already deleted. Playing the recording causes the box to freeze, with powering off/on the only way to get it back to normal. Multiple attempts to delete the "blank" recording have failed.

Originally posted by bronowyn
You have to delete EVERYTHING before you'll be able to delete this one.

Someone had a similar problem earlier in the thread.
Sometimes people had to delete everything to get the DVR to delete it. Here, I just unplugged the DVR, and then re-booted it, and I was able to delete it.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

In my area they have started to test DS. Channel 24 which is ShopNBC is being Digitally Simulcast.

General Information on DS.

No STB = 24 is analog

Digital STB = 24 is Digital. The signal comes in, QAM and you see it Digitally on 24. Hey mark, how do you determine if a channel is being sent digitally? Within the past month or so, the PQ on analog channels significantly improved. Prior to 4 weeks ago, I never even bothered watching analog via the 6412 let alone recorded any of those channels because the PQ was so terrible. Now the analogs (2-99) PQ is almost on a par with the digital SD channels. I am wondering if maybe the digital simulcast occurred already in the twin cities. How would I check to see if these channels are still analog?

Originally posted by markjrenna
In my area they have started to test DS. Channel 24 which is ShopNBC is being Digitally Simulcast.

General Information on DS.
No STB = 24 is analog
Digital STB = 24 is Digital. The signal comes in, QAM and you see it Digitally on 24.

But, should, and I say should, be better than its analog counter part.
Thanks, I am on dial-up, so I didn't get to read the info. yet. But, it would be great, if it would be better than the analog feed. I'll be happy, if it is the same, because, the analogs through the STB, are worse than with no STB, as you know.

Speaking of remote programming (skip, swap, etc)......
I have the 6412 silver Comcast remote with the Setup button. In my area, hitting the "OnDemand" button brings up channel "19", which is not VOD. Our VOD is on channel 1. Does anyone know how to reprogram the "OnDemand" button to invoke channel 1 versus 19?

Originally posted by frankz1
I know I've read in this thread that setting Parental Locks on adult material makes these show up as "Blocked Adult" or something similar in the guide listings. Thanks Frank!

Just an update for anyone else. The option is located in the Main Menu --> Locks (you'll have to create a lock PIN to access the menu) --> Display Adult Titles. *MUCH* happier.

Brian

Originally posted by tall1
Hey mark, how do you determine if a channel is being sent digitally? Within the past month or so, the PQ on analog channels significantly improved.
One would need a clear-QAM STB or TV, and if any Analog local channels appear with the other Digital channels (at 100+), then they are Digital now. Somebody already has mentioned seeing a local Analog in Digital, in a nearby service area. I would think the Expanded tier would be encrypted.

Originally posted by QZ1
One would need a clear-QAM STB or TV, and if any Analog local channels appear with the other Digital channels (at 100+), then they are Digital now. Somebody already has mentioned seeing a local Analog in Digital, in a nearby service area. I would think the Expanded tier would be encrypted.

Are you Christopher Walken in disguise?

Or, one could just tune, the 6412 to a supposedly, analog channel, turn the box off, and hit "OK," within two seconds, and check the "In band status" diagnostic, screen to see what format, is being sent.

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

In my area they have started to test DS. Channel 24 which is ShopNBC is being Digitally Simulcast.

General Information on DS.

No STB = 24 is analog

Digital STB = 24 is Digital. The signal comes in, QAM and you see it Digitally on 24.


Mark, OT question but this DS is important to us with limited BW systems(550MHz). What system are you on? 550-750-860 ?

Thanks.

I'm also frustrated w/ the DVI connection from Motorola to my Sammy DLP. First, i had to wait for almost a year for Cox to activate the DVI out on my former STB, and now that I have the 6412 and it's activated, the picture doesn't make use of all available real estate??

In playing with the 6412 setup I'v configured to 1080i (even though Sammy DLP is native 720p) because the picture looks best (guessing the conversion hardward in the TV is better than in the STB to convert 1080i to 720p), and picture looks OK, but would prefer the highest quality DVI.

Any Subject Matter Experts out there with DLP & 6412 using DVI?

Ol Dirty

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by whotony
i know what tuner is whAt because one tuner gets constant breAkups on fox and wb digital.
so i have to leave it tuned to that all the time because it will auto record on the tuner you are not using.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This is probably a signal strength issue. I also gamed mine until I got tired of it and had Comcast fix the signal ( they used an active splitter in place of a passive splitter).

You can check the signal strength in the d04 section of the diagnostics menu.Hit off, then "enter" within 2 seconds.


signal strength issue would only effect 2 channels?

Originally posted by frankz1
Or, one could just tune, the 6412 to a supposedly, analog channel, turn the box off, and hit "OK," within two seconds, and check the "In band status" diagnostic, screen to see what format, is being sent. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

To further what Frank said...

"IN-BAND STATUS" will indicate xxx QAM (Digital) otherwise it will indicate ANALOG

Also you can check "CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS" That will indicate DIGITAL and the higher frequency. Typically above 550 MHz.

Mark

I recorded a three minute segment of a program this morning. I would like to download this to my laptop. I am running WinXP Pro. Is this possible?

Andrew

Hi Folks,

Just had my new 6412 installed today and it seems to work well for everything, except for an audio problem on On Demand programs. It is connected via an optical cable to a Yamaha 2400 receiver. When an On Demand program starts, right when the picture comes on, loud pops are heard from all five speakers. It sounds something like brief static, but more like a very quick popping noise. It lasts for less than a second.

Oddly enough, if you stop the on demand show and then rejoin it, it does not pop. Also, not every on demand program has the popping noise. For those of you playing at home, it is especially noticeable on: Cable Favorites - Tube Time - Starskey and Hutch 1 . Thats what the cable installer pulled up to test the on demand and it makes the popping noise. We tried it several time and it happens every time you start that particular show from the beginning. It also occurs on Maude and Discover on demand shows too.

I have ruled out the optical cable by trying a second optical cable but the same thing happens.

Any idea what that could be, or has anyone noticed the same problem?

The installer is going to come back with a different box to see if that solves it.

Cheers

Originally posted by tall1
Hey mark, how do you determine if a channel is being sent digitally? Within the past month or so, the PQ on analog channels significantly improved. Prior to 4 weeks ago, I never even bothered watching analog via the 6412 let alone recorded any of those channels because the PQ was so terrible. Now the analogs (2-99) PQ is almost on a par with the digital SD channels. I am wondering if maybe the digital simulcast occurred already in the twin cities. How would I check to see if these channels are still analog?

Tall---you could always call Comcast---of course, no matter what they told you, you might still be wondering...

;)

It's an interesting question, I'd sure like to know the answer my own bad self. Anybody?

Originally posted by QZ1
Is an active spiltter the same as a drop amp?

I'm not all that familiar with the technical names of the various amps. The amp he used on my system split the signal two ways without any gain or loss of signal strength, as though you had simply removed the splitter on each of the two output legs. I checked this in the diagnostics screen, and there was almost a 3 dB gain in SNR (a doubling) with the active splitter. I guess there was a slight loss in the connectors, since the signal improved slightly less than 3 dB.

The active splitter also has two unused outputs, and I am guessing you could split the input signal 4 ways without loss or gain in any of the 4 output legs.

Originally posted by keenan
Mark, OT question but this DS is important to us with limited BW systems(550MHz). What system are you on? 550-750-860 ?

Thanks. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Are you sure you are still on a 550MHz system? Is it an A/B system?

In any event, you will need to be at 750MHz minimum. The A to D channel that we have is at 747MHz.

Mark

Originally posted by JeremyJ
Last week Comcast installed my 6412 and I immediately ran out and picked up a JVC 30k D-VHS to replace my old Panny 1000, with the intent of archiving my recordings before they got purged off of the 6412's woefully small hard drive. But for the life of me I can't get it to work. As soon as I hit play on a recorded program the D-VHS pukes up an error message about not being able to tune the picture. I can record programs live (when I can get them to tune in at all), but not during playback from hard disk.

What am I doing wrong? I thought that was a major advantage of the 6412 over DirectTiVo HD...


Sorry to bump myself, but surely I'm not the only one attempting to dump recordings to D-VHS. Anyone?

Originally posted by JeremyJ
Sorry to bump myself, but surely I'm not the only one attempting to dump recordings to D-VHS. Anyone?

Sorry, Jeremy, I wish I had more for you. It works great for me, but I have a Mits TV and a Mits DVHS 1100 so my set-up is pretty idiot-proof. My suspicion is it's an issue with the VCR, not the STB...? My 6208 worked well too.

Originally posted by whotony
signal strength issue would only effect 2 channels?

Yes. I don't know why, but each channel has a slightly different signal strength, and a different signal strength on each tuner. My "bad" channel/tuner combo had a SNR of 28.2 dB (poor) on a channel that occasionally showed break-up.

I only had break-up on CBS and NBC. All of the other channels of HD were OK, even though some had higher channel numbers and some had lower channel numbers than the bad ones.

Originally posted by mds54
Speaking of remote programming (skip, swap, etc)......
I have the 6412 silver Comcast remote with the Setup button. In my area, hitting the "OnDemand" button brings up channel "19", which is not VOD. Our VOD is on channel 1. Does anyone know how to reprogram the "OnDemand" button to invoke channel 1 versus 19?


I have this exact problem. Sure, I can manually hit Ch.1, but it would be nice if the button worked. Any ideas?

Originally posted by JeremyJ
Sorry to bump myself, but surely I'm not the only one attempting to dump recordings to D-VHS. Anyone?

Your "recorded programs" wouldn't happen to be 5C copy protected (HBO-HD, etc) programs, would they?

I've read through the majority of this thread but didn't see this mentioned anywhere - does Comcast provide you with any decent cables to hook this up with (component, DVI)? I'm sure this is probably wishful thinking...

Originally posted by markjrenna
Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Are you sure you are still on a 550MHz system? Is it an A/B system?

In any event, you will need to be at 750MHz minimum. The A to D channel that we have is at 747MHz.

Mark

Sadly 16% of the Network in the SF Bay Area is 550Mhz...It's signal Cable, but last updated ~8-10 years ago when 550Mhz was as high as you could get. Comcast hasnt released any plans to upgrade...Unless they get pressure they will wait for the all digital transition to recover bandwidth (who knows when)

until something is done...no VOD, no Simulcast and out of bandwidth for HD Channels (no room for InHD1/2, DscHD, or other channels) for 550 Mhz networks

:(

anyway at least we got a DVR finally out here

"Audio Popping with On Demand

Just had my new 6412 installed today and it seems to work well for everything, except for an audio problem on On Demand programs. It is connected via an optical cable to a Yamaha 2400 receiver. When an On Demand program starts, right when the picture comes on, loud pops are heard from all five speakers. It sounds something like brief static, but more like a very quick popping noise. It lasts for less than a second.

The installer is going to come back with a different box to see if that solves it.

Cheers
"

Update: The Installer just replaced the box with a second 6412. It makes the exact same popping noise as the first. He said he's never seen it before and didn't know what to do. Everything else seems to work. This bothers me because if the volume is turned up, I'm afraid it might blow a speaker - so no On Demand for me.

Any ideas?

Originally posted by halo0
I've read through the majority of this thread but didn't see this mentioned anywhere - does Comcast provide you with any decent cables to hook this up with (component, DVI)? I'm sure this is probably wishful thinking...


Component, Yes
DVI, No
Audio, Yes (optical I think)

Originally posted by davisdog
Sadly 16% of the Network in the SF Bay Area is 550Mhz...

Yup..:(

Originally posted by frankz1
Your "recorded programs" wouldn't happen to be 5C copy protected (HBO-HD, etc) programs, would they?

Franz, that may be. But I have been able to both record AND dump to DVHS from all my channels, including HBO HD. From what I've read the recording to the 6412 does not count as the first copy re: `copy once' protection. This may vary system to system though, in the Twin Cities it works.

Originally posted by JonM in MN
Franz, that may be. But I have been able to both record AND dump to DVHS from all my channels, including HBO HD. From what I've read the recording to the 6412 does not count as the first copy re: `copy once' protection. This may vary system to system though, in the Twin Cities it works.

That is very interesting and encouraging.

I know that, here anyway, using the Capdvhs Method (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=403695) on HBO-HD and other copy protected material does not work. It was my understanding that this method let the 6412 see the PC as another DVHS recorder (although not a 5C compliant one, which may be the difference now that I think about it).

I guess the only copy protection related answer to his question could possibly be that his local Comcast has applied Copy Never to the material.

Originally posted by JeremyJ
Sorry to bump myself, but surely I'm not the only one attempting to dump recordings to D-VHS. Anyone? Your JVC 30K is 5C compliant so it should be able to "timeshift" record even the premium channels as they have been most likely set to "copy once". The 1394 handshake between the 6xxx moto STBs and the JVC DVHS boxes is shakey. Try this...UNPLUG (don't just power off) and replug both devices (6412 & JVC 30K). You will lose your guide data but that is a price you may have to pay to get the 1394 handshake established. If this still doesn't work, try just power cycling the 6412 with the 30K powered on. The key sequence is power off both devices, power on the 30K first, then power on the 6412. In the future you may just get away with power cycling the 6412. That is all I need to do now with my 40K. This work around has been discussed at length in other threads but the issue is sporadic. It does seem to improve over time to the point where I don't have to power cycle either device now. Good luck.

Originally posted by tall1
Your JVC 30K is 5C compliant so it should be able to "timeshift" record even the premium channels as they have been most likely set to "copy once". The 1394 handshake between the 6xxx moto STBs and the JVC DVHS boxes is shakey. Try this...UNPLUG (don't just power off) and replug both devices (6412 & JVC 30K). You will lose your guide data but that is a price you may have to pay to get the 1394 handshake established. If this still doesn't work, try just power cycling the 6412 with the 30K powered on. The key sequence is power off both devices, power on the 30K first, then power on the 6412. In the future you may just get away with power cycling the 6412. That is all I need to do now with my 40K. This work around has been discussed at length in other threads but the issue is sporadic. It does seem to improve over time to the point where I don't have to power cycle either device now. Good luck.

In my post #1415, I went over the procedure that I use to transfer to DVHS tape. The PC transfer will probably not work as stated above as PC's are not 5c compliant but the 30K is. I have no problem transfering HBO, Showtime, STARZ to DVHS tape. Will try to transfer broadcast networks and PBS to the PC later.

- Phil Klein

P.S.- as to my fourth step, it seems that you cannot change channels while transfering. Also I have not had handshake problems at all- I haven't had to unplug or power cycle the 6412 at all. Make sure your "channel" on the 30K is to an I link. It shows up on I-2 for me- probably as I plugged the firewire into the #2 socket.

Originally posted by Ajaxfan
"Audio Popping with On Demand

Just had my new 6412 installed today and it seems to work well for everything, except for an audio problem on On Demand programs. It is connected via an optical cable to a Yamaha 2400 receiver. When an On Demand program starts, right when the picture comes on, loud pops are heard from all five speakers. It sounds something like brief static, but more like a very quick popping noise. It lasts for less than a second.

The installer is going to come back with a different box to see if that solves it.

Cheers"

Update: The Installer just replaced the box with a second 6412. It makes the exact same popping noise as the first. He said he's never seen it before and didn't know what to do. Everything else seems to work. This bothers me because if the volume is turned up, I'm afraid it might blow a speaker - so no On Demand for me.

Any ideas? It might be your receiver. Try the coax digital input instead of the optical to see if it makes a difference?

I have been reading through these forums, and thought I would contribute. I have 2 DCT6412s in the house. I have already replaced one and now I am replacing another. I am very frustrated with the poor quality of the software and the hrdware. Here is what I have experienced:

1. No sound or video
2. Sudden shutdown and reboots
3. HD feeds on some channels breaking up and freezing on only one of the tuners, ok on the other
4. Very loud, to the point we must unplug unit at night so we can sleep
5. Series recording ignores settings and records all instances of shows, not just first-runs on one channel
6. When executing a scheduled record when the box is off, unit turns on in MUTE and you cannot unmute until show is over, or unless you create a custom program in remote
7. A series recording setup for an HD local channel will, on its own, revert to the non-HD local channel and record SD

Finally, one last thing that is not an issue, just annoying functionality is the fact that all teh Motorola receivers use the same remote codes. This is an issue for someone like me who has 2 receivers in a home theater for PIP or multiple video feeds. I cannot control the receivers independently. This can be an especially critical problem when one of the boxes is a DVR. Remote commands sent while watching one receiver could impact a recording on the other receiver. I have a programmable home theater remote which should allow me to control them independently. Is there anyway to remedy this situation?

I am on my township cable commission, so I am grilling Comcast on these issues and trying to get answers. One of their techs that visited my house admitted they are having a lot of problems. Of course, this board only continues to validate that.

If we are paying for a service, we do not deserve substandard quality. I'll keep you posted.

pete

went to watch the wednesday night ep of law & order in high def and it was nowhere to be found. i knew i hadn't deleted it because i cheated and caught the last few minutes live while it was still recording and i also saw it listed the next day.

while i couldnt find the l&o ep i did come across a blank listing dated 12/31/89 that i couldnt delete. i'm almost 100% sure i didnt record anything on this unit on that date :-) i resigned myself to the fact that i had lost the ep (and had to wonder what brought about that, "is it because i'm a lesbian?" crap) and came here to see if anyone else had the problem and apparently is wasnt just me. one tip i came across was to clear all dvr recordings and then i could clear that listing. another was to unplug the unit and then try again.

clearing all dvr recordings did no good. the mystery listing was still there and i was still unable to delete it. then i tried unplugging the unit. gave it a minute and plugged it back in. to my surprise the blank listing was gone and was replaced with the missing ep of law & order. so i immediately watched it before the machine bugged out on me again.

just wanted to share that story. its things like this that make me want to reclaim my tivo from my girl. dual tuners and hd recording are forcing me to give this 6412 a shot. wonder what else it has in store for me?

chaz

Originally posted by Lawduck
I have this exact problem. Sure, I can manually hit Ch.1, but it would be nice if the button worked. Any ideas?

On my remotes the OnDemand button seems to just be a macro that sends out "0" "0" "1". I think the Comcast remotes are made by One-For-All, maybe you can try to find some info on the web on how to reprogram a macro key?

Originally posted by mds54
Speaking of remote programming (skip, swap, etc)......
I have the 6412 silver Comcast remote with the Setup button. In my area, hitting the "OnDemand" button brings up channel "19", which is not VOD. Our VOD is on channel 1. Does anyone know how to reprogram the "OnDemand" button to invoke channel 1 versus 19?

I cannot confirm this because i have not tried it. That said, this is what I would try if mine did not work right.



1. Press the cable button

2. Press and hold setup until it blinks twice then let go

3. Press 994

4. Press setup and release

5. Press 00208

6. Press the On Demand button

Let me know if this works, Good Luck

Originally posted by NovaCat91
I have been reading through these forums, and thought I would contribute. I have 2 DCT6412s in the house. I have already replaced one and now I am replacing another. I am very frustrated with the poor quality of the software and the hrdware. Here is what I have experienced:

1. No sound or video
2. Sudden shutdown and reboots
3. HD feeds on some channels breaking up and freezing on only one of the tuners, ok on the other
4. Very loud, to the point we must unplug unit at night so we can sleep
5. Series recording ignores settings and records all instances of shows, not just first-runs on one channel
6. When executing a scheduled record when the box is off, unit turns on in MUTE and you cannot unmute until show is over, or unless you create a custom program in remote
7. A series recording setup for an HD local channel will, on its own, revert to the non-HD local channel and record SD

Finally, one last thing that is not an issue, just annoying functionality is the fact that all teh Motorola receivers use the same remote codes. This is an issue for someone like me who has 2 receivers in a home theater for PIP or multiple video feeds. I cannot control the receivers independently. This can be an especially critical problem when one of the boxes is a DVR. Remote commands sent while watching one receiver could impact a recording on the other receiver. I have a programmable home theater remote which should allow me to control them independently. Is there anyway to remedy this situation?

I am on my township cable commission, so I am grilling Comcast on these issues and trying to get answers. One of their techs that visited my house admitted they are having a lot of problems. Of course, this board only continues to validate that.

If we are paying for a service, we do not deserve substandard quality. I'll keep you posted.

pete

Is this a question or a lengthly list of complaints? Good luck exercising your power as a member of your township cable commission, I'm sure Comcast is going to cave to your demands :p

It seems like at least a half dozen people has asked for information about connecting the 6412 to a DLP TV via a DVI cable. To date, no answer. There must be somebody out there who has this information. I would hate to spend $50.00 for a cable that won't work. Thanks in advance for any information.

Originally posted by eafenyes
There must be somebody out there who has this information. I would hate to spend $50.00 for a cable that won't work.

I have no problems connecting my 6412 to my HLN617W via DVI. I normally don't use DVI for this connection, since the DVI provides a bigger improvement for my DVD player than it does for HD, plus it requires me to change the TV's brightness and contrast settings (something about the Sammy using a different colorspace than the 6412).

Anyway, I have my 6412 settings as follows:
TV type: 16:9
DVI/YPbPr Output: 1080i (haven't noticed any big difference by changing this to 720p).
4:3 Override: Off

I didn't respond sooner because I don't get through all my subscribed threads that quickly, plus I have to use the "manual switch" method to rearrange the DVI cables. Also, I may be mistaken, but I don't think any of the previous posters having problems with DVI to DLP connection posted their menu settings from the 6412. If you're having a problem, you need to provide enough information for people to help. If you don't know how to determine or change these settings, RTFM.

Finally, it's been a year since I bought my DVI cables, but I spent $25 for a 1-m cable from Pacific Cables, including shipping. You don't have to buy "brand name" DVI cables.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Originally posted by Philip Klein
I have no problem transfering HBO, Showtime, STARZ to DVHS tape.- Phil Klein


Phil - are you actually able to tape recorded shows? I've been able to record live feeds from my 6412 to my Mac (following similar steps to those you provided in post 1415), but never a recorded show. VLC just doesn't pick up anything (file size when I record is essentially 0). I've only tried to download 1 show, from Discovery HD, but I wouldn't think this would be as copy protected as HBO or Showtime content.

Originally posted by BullittMustang
I cannot confirm this because i have not tried it. That said, this is what I would try if mine did not work right.
1. Press the cable button
2. Press and hold setup until it blinks twice then let go
3. Press 994
4. Press setup and release
5. Press 00208
6. Press the On Demand button
Let me know if this works, Good Luck

BullittMustang:
THAT DID IT! First try - perfectly!
THANK YOU!

For the rest of you.....
This is how you reprogram the 6412 Comcast silver remote
to invoke your correct channel number for the "OnDemand" button.

Originally posted by rodneyremington
Is this a question or a lengthly list of complaints? Good luck exercising your power as a member of your township cable commission, I'm sure Comcast is going to cave to your demands :p

Not looking for them to "cave to my demands". I more expect them to admit they have major issues, say they are working on updates, and provide an estimated date that these problems are going to be fixed.

I did not have this many problems with a product in 10 years of satellite service. And, I have had this product for only 2 months.

I think most of us here went out of our way to be the first on our block to get one of these. I find it hard to believe anyone would be surprised to find there are initial glitches.

Yesterday, my 6412 started acting weird. I've had it for 3 weeks, and this is the first serious problem. When I turned it on yesterday (yes, I've been turning it off) I had no video or audio. The menus worked fine, I could change channels, swap tuners, but no video/audio. I then went to play a recording, that worked, and when I stopped it, the video worked. Turned it off and back on, and lost video/audio again! I watched the recorded videos, and deleted them. As a test, I turned it off, and again, no audio/video when turned back on. In fact, no way to get anything now that I had no recordings. I ended up having to pull the plug.

Then, I had major issues during recordings. I was recording SciFi and Enterprise, and then SciFi + Duck Dodgers (SciFi, UPN and Cartoon Network are all analog). Both times, there were numerous green flashes in the video. Finally, at one point, both tuners would freeze. When I swapped, it would play the last 2-3 it recorded until the freeze, then stop. LIVE wouldn't do anything. I could rewind back. I had to stop both recordings AND change channels to get it unlocked. I've read of others having issues with SciFi, but I wonder if it's really the channel, or there are too many nerds here!!

I guess the first could be 'fixed' by not turning it off, but that seems a poor excuse for a fix. I don't see any reason for the second problem, unless the hard drive (a Seagate in mine) and/or MPEG encoders were overloaded. I even set my VCR to record Letterman, just in case.

Lots of people have had a blank listing dated 12/31/89 that they didn't know how to delete. Search in this thread for the answer.

Originally posted by gakon

Finally, it's been a year since I bought my DVI cables, but I spent $25 for a 1-m cable from Pacific Cables, including shipping. You don't have to buy "brand name" DVI cables.

Thank you for this information. Pacific Cable has an excellent FAQ that explains the differences between the various DVI cables. What is even more important, it has pictures of the various connectors so you can look at what yours looks like and buy one that matches it. It turns out that the best cable for my Sammy is the DVI-D dual link cable and they are still only about $25.00. Here is a link to the website

http://www.pacificcable.com/DVI.htm#DVI-D_Dual_Link

By the way, they also have a DVI switch for sale. You can now connect both your DVD player and your DVR via a DVI cable to your HDTV.

Originally posted by chaz155

[...]
while i couldnt find the l&o ep i did come across a blank listing dated 12/31/89 that i couldnt delete.

[...]

then i tried unplugging the unit. gave it a minute and plugged it back in. to my surprise the blank listing was gone and was replaced with the missing ep of law & order.
chaz

Chaz

Thanks for mentioning this fix, which don't think I've seen listed before. If I ever wind up with the phantom recording, I'll know what to do.

Do you turn the box off and on regularly?

Originally posted by s.bradford
I think most of us here went out of our way to be the first on our block to get one of these. I find it hard to believe anyone would be surprised to find there are initial glitches.

In all my diatribes against "This thing sucks compared to my [fill in the blank]"-type posts, I wish I had said this as simply and plainly as you.

Anyone remember DirecTV equipment when it first came out? Cost was like $700, and it took 15 seconds just to change the channel! (the picture was crystal clear and beautiful, unlike today's compressed DirecTV mess).

I'm sure early TiVo software was buggy. I got mine in '01, and it's definately improved since then. All early software is buggy.

I love it when people go "This thing is horrible. I had no problems with DirecTV in 10 years." Well, this thing obviously fills some void or else you would have stuck with the perfect Tivo/DirecTV/Replay/HTPC. You made a trade off on Cable HDTV vs the hassle of OTA HDTV and price of HD TiVo with DirecTV. Or the time, price and hassle of building your own dual tuner big-fat-500Gb-Hard-Drive HD HTPC.

I'm sure there's some kind of copyright or patent issue with adopting every feature of the TiVo and calling it a 6412.

We'd all love to see bug fixes and usability tweaks (in that order for me) on the 6412. Posting bugs and issues and suggestions and workarounds is what (to me) this forum is about.

Taking this infant product and comparing to a mature product and lamenting that it's not as perfect as the product you by your own choice abandoned in favor of it is just a little irritating.

If you have a 6412 at this point, you are an early adopter regardless of if you have an early adopter mindset.

Originally posted by frankz1
Chaz

Thanks for mentioning this fix, which don't think I've seen listed before. If I ever wind up with the phantom recording, I'll know what to do.

Do you turn the box off and on regularly?

i never turn mine off. just like my old tivo its on permanently.

it does get a little toasty at times. when i first got it it was in a lower shelf of my entertainment center. after noticing the heat i moved it to the top and it still gets warm but not as bad as before.

but what do i care... it aint mine, right? :D

chaz

Originally posted by frankz1
... If you have a 6412 at this point, you are an early adopter regardless of if you have an early adopter mindset. Comcast NJ - Union/Verona

Well put. I completely agree. There are plenty of i-Guide bugs and improvements that need to be fixed and addressed.

I'm not so convinced that Comcast, Motorola, and Guide Works (i-Guide) are reading these posts.

With this in mind, I have recently made a contact at Comcast directly involved with the i-Guide. I'm just opening communications with them. I plan on informing them of this thread. Although this thread is overwhelming, I plan on consolidating all comments, concerns, requests, bugs, etc... to make it more clear and concise.

Please continue to list all of your bugs, comments, concerns, and feature requests as I will pass them on.

Mark

I believe I read in here that you can record the buffer. Can anyone point me in the direction? I am searching the menus and can't figure it out. Thanks!

Originally posted by badlieu
I believe I read in here that you can record the buffer. Can anyone point me in the direction? I am searching the menus and can't figure it out. Thanks!

Just press 'record' it will automatically pick up the buffer.

Thanks. If I press stop right away will it then record just the buffer or what?

Originally posted by badlieu
Thanks. If I press stop right away will it then record just the buffer or what?

Why don't you give it a try and let us know?

Nice and simple. Gracias.

Originally posted by badlieu
Thanks. If I press stop right away will it then record just the buffer or what?

Yes ... plus the live portion for the interval since you started recording ... give it a try.

Originally posted by Ajaxfan
"Audio Popping with On Demand
Just had my new 6412 installed today and it seems to work well for everything, except for an audio problem on On Demand programs. It is connected via an optical cable to a Yamaha 2400 receiver. When an On Demand program starts, right when the picture comes on, loud pops are heard from all five speakers. It sounds something like brief static, but more like a very quick popping noise. It lasts for less than a second.
[. . .]
Update: The Installer just replaced the box with a second 6412. It makes the exact same popping noise as the first. He said he's never seen it before and didn't know what to do. Everything else seems to work. This bothers me because if the volume is turned up, I'm afraid it might blow a speaker - so no On Demand for me.
Any ideas?

Funny, I have the same "popping" problem. I have a 2-day old 6412 with video running from the 6412's DVI to the HDMI input on my TV. The audio is both hooked directly to my TV (Sony KDF-55XS955) via a stereo L/R cable and the 6412's optical output hooked to my Denon 3805 receiver. I, too, have occassionally heard the 'pop' you refer to. When the audio is routed through my TV, it sounds like a very short burst of static noise. It doesn't happen for more than a split second but will happen both during a show and during show/comemrcial transitions. Now, when the audio is routed through my receiver, I don't hear static. Rather, that same short burst is just a short burst of silence. (Perhaps the receiver knows not to send that signal out to the speakers?)

My other issues with this "new" 6412 include:

- I've suffered two different spontaneous reboots when trying to access recordings. After reboot, the 6412 lost its program guide! And it takes a LONG time to download it again, too. Why isn't this data cached on the hard drive, I wonder. No recordings have ever been corrupted or lost (knock on wood) but it is really frustrating to suffer through the loss of a program guide and potentially jeopardize any recordings which may be coming up. Will the 6412 successfully record a previously entered show if the program guide has been lost?

- After the first spontaneous reboot, I lost all my Comcast messages. Not a big deal, really, but they didn't appear until after the 2nd spontaneous reboot. Very odd.

- Before that 2nd reboot, any analog channel exhibited some weird 'flashing' (for lack of a better term). It seemed like all the blues in a given picture would flash (for a split second) some shade of red. Now, before anyone suggests checking cabling, my cables and connections are all fine. This problem does NOT occur on any high-def station. (Not sure I checked digital stations.) It seemed only confined to the 2-99 (analog) stations. I would say that perhaps my signal strength could be an issue but after the 2nd reboot, the problem has not re-appeared.

- Also right before the 2nd reboot, I noticed an occassional green flash. Didn't happen often but I did see it now and then (enough to make me think I'm going crazy). It went away with the 2nd reboot, too.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am pretty pleased with this, overall. (This is coming from a Tivo-owner, too!) I love having the two tuners and being able to record HD is the best. I am just recording my issues so as to validate others who are reporting similar things. I am on software version 71.44-1203 with firmware 09.12. I am in the Comcast Indianapolis, Indiana viewing area.

If I can get any of these solves, I'll definitely post solutions. Otherwise, I'll look forward to the day I can attach a 2nd hard drive to this thing and get more than a measly 10 hours of HD recording time. ;-)

- Eric

Will the 6412 successfully record a previously entered show if the program guide has been lost?Yes. The entry is still there, just not the program info.

Still, you're right about them needing to buffer the program guide info in some way, or at least get it to update faster. 24hrs is way too long.

We set a recording on the 6412 padded by an hour at the end, a 255 minute recording total. But the recording got cut off half way through and never picked back up.

If the box loses power, does it not restart the recording? And there are other bugs/issues where recordings end far earlier than they should?

Thanks
Brad

Originally posted by ewolf72
- Also right before the 2nd reboot, I noticed an occassional green flash. Didn't happen often but I did see it now and then (enough to make me think I'm going crazy). It went away with the 2nd reboot, too.

I believe the green flash is when the MPEG decoder runs out of data for a split second, or gets corrupted data. Possibly from the hard drive or CPU being too busy and falling behind. Remember that all analog channels are MPEG encoded, buffered, then played back. That gives a 1-2 second delay from truely LIVE. If your audio is being sent to a separate amp/receiver, try watching the TV directly tuned to a channel while the audio comes from the box. You can see the delay.

Originally posted by andyross63
Yesterday, my 6412 started acting weird. I've had it for 3 weeks, and this is the first serious problem. When I turned it on yesterday (yes, I've been turning it off) I had no video or audio. The menus worked fine, I could change channels, swap tuners, but no video/audio. I then went to play a recording, that worked, and when I stopped it, the video worked. Turned it off and back on, and lost video/audio again! I watched the recorded videos, and deleted them. As a test, I turned it off, and again, no audio/video when turned back on. In fact, no way to get anything now that I had no recordings. I ended up having to pull the plug.

Then, I had major issues during recordings. I was recording SciFi and Enterprise, and then SciFi + Duck Dodgers (SciFi, UPN and Cartoon Network are all analog). Both times, there were numerous green flashes in the video. Finally, at one point, both tuners would freeze. When I swapped, it would play the last 2-3 it recorded until the freeze, then stop. LIVE wouldn't do anything. I could rewind back. I had to stop both recordings AND change channels to get it unlocked. I've read of others having issues with SciFi, but I wonder if it's really the channel, or there are too many nerds here!!

I guess the first could be 'fixed' by not turning it off, but that seems a poor excuse for a fix. I don't see any reason for the second problem, unless the hard drive (a Seagate in mine) and/or MPEG encoders were overloaded. I even set my VCR to record Letterman, just in case.

And yesterday (Saturday), another glitch. I had one analog recording running. This was the second of two on the same channel, one right after the other ('This Old House' and 'Ask This Old House'). I was watching the recorded channel as it was recording (I often do that, as I set them up in case I'm not home at the time.) When it went to the second recording, the box decided to swap tuners, so both were now tuned to the same channel. I swapped to the recording tuner to see that it was OK, then went back to the other one, and changed channels to check something else. When I went back to the recording tuner, the audio kept going on and off, in about a 1-2 cycle. My receiver didn't show messages about the digital audio stream going on and off. I ended up having to terminate the recording, again.

chazz -

both of my 6412's occasionally get the 12/31/1989 recordings and i have found te only way to get rid of them is just to leave them alone and let them eventually disappear. i think it has something to do with the buffer when space is running low on the hard drive since i only get these recordings when my hard drive is filling up.

ps - the unplugging method has never worked for getting rid of these recordings, on either of my 6412's. seems to work for everyone else...strange.

Originally posted by andyross63
And yesterday (Saturday), another glitch. I had one analog recording running. This was the second of two on the same channel, one right after the other ('This Old House' and 'Ask This Old House'). I was watching the recorded channel as it was recording (I often do that, as I set them up in case I'm not home at the time.) When it went to the second recording, the box decided to swap tuners, so both were now tuned to the same channel. I swapped to the recording tuner to see that it was OK, then went back to the other one, and changed channels to check something else. When I went back to the recording tuner, the audio kept going on and off, in about a 1-2 cycle. My receiver didn't show messages about the digital audio stream going on and off. I ended up having to terminate the recording, again.

Go to this site (http://cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctdiag.htm) and follow the instructions to check the d03 and d04 entires. Other than just having a bad box, signal problems are a very likely issue to cause all sorts of problems.

The tuner swapping is probably normal. If you are watching a show, it will always start a recording on the background tuner (even if it's the same channel). If I'm going to watch something while it's recording, I usually just start the recording rather than watching it live by tuning to the channel (for commercial skipping purposes which probably isn't an issue on PBS).

Forgive me for not reading the 110 pages of this thread (I did try the 'Search this thread option but to no avail). I swapped out my 6208 for a 6412 yesterday at the local office in West Chester.

I came home and connected the unit. I've got the cable coming from the all to the Cable In on the 6412. I've got a set of component cables going from the 6412 to my TV. I've got a digital coax going from the 6412 to my pre/pro. All connections were left alone, I simply unplugged everything from my 6208 and plugged them back into the 6412.

Last night I watched both football games on CBSHD and FOXHD with ZERO problems. Those channels still work fine. This morning however I went to watch Spike TV and, while I get a picture I;m not getting any audio. My pre/pro is 'looking" for a signal but isn't getting anything. I'm also not getting the two premium channels that are included in my package, HBO and Cinemax.

A call to 800-COMCAST did nothing. He had me unplug the unit from the wall to reboot the unit. The unit did so and I still have all of the same problems.

Can anyone run through the 6412's diagnostics with me before game time in 40 minutes?? The link I've seen to miatasm's website is for older DCT models. The diagnostic link for the 6412 on his site won't come up.

Thanks,
Bill

Originally posted by Bill_B4
Forgive me for not reading the 110 pages of this thread (I did try the 'Search this thread option but to no avail). I swapped out my 6208 for a 6412 yesterday at the local office in West Chester.

I came home and connected the unit. I've got the cable coming from the all to the Cable In on the 6412. I've got a set of component cables going from the 6412 to my TV. I've got a digital coax going from the 6412 to my pre/pro. All connections were left alone, I simply unplugged everything from my 6208 and plugged them back into the 6412.

Last night I watched both football games on CBSHD and FOXHD with ZERO problems. Those channels still work fine. This morning however I went to watch Spike TV and, while I get a picture I;m not getting any audio. My pre/pro is 'looking" for a signal but isn't getting anything. I'm also not getting the two premium channels that are included in my package, HBO and Cinemax.

A call to 800-COMCAST did nothing. He had me unplug the unit from the wall to reboot the unit. The unit did so and I still have all of the same problems.

Can anyone run through the 6412's diagnostics with me before game time in 40 minutes?? The link I've seen to miatasm's website is for older DCT models. The diagnostic link for the 6412 on his site won't come up.

Thanks,
Bill

Are you sure this isn't the mute-after-power cycle issue?

here's a repost of all the various "magic" codes for the remote, including unmute:

* Remote button programming: 30sec skip, mute, swap:

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 desired:
o 00173 (for 30 second Skip)
o 00141 (for Mute)
o 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.

I tried the MUTE deal and it didn't fix the problem. I think I've just got a bad box.

I used the same digital coax audio cable between my DVD player and the same input on my pre/pro and it worked flawlessly. I also tried that cable from the 6412 to a different coax in on the pre/pro with the same results (only audio on certain channels. That rules out my pre/pro and the cable itself.

I tried an optical cable between the 6412 and my pre/pro and still only a handful of channels had audio.

I then tried a pair of analog cables between the 6412 and my pre/pro, the audio worked.

The box seems to be having issues, among them outputing audio through the digital outputs.

Other issues with my box:

SWAP (TV/VCR on my remote) does not work. I've carefully followed the instructions in the booklet and the recommendation made above...nothing.

My two premium channels do not work at all except for On-Demand.

Channels 2-69 I get picture but no audio.

Channels 70-312 I get no picture OR audio with the exception of: 162, 196, 206, 231, 232. Those 5 channels are the only ones where I get picture AND sound.

The music channels all function properly.

The DVR recorded the Eagles game off of FOX-HD with no problems.

The rep sent signals through twice now and no luck. Both followed the "unplug & reboot" attempts.

I contacted miatasm and he was very helpful w/ troubleshooting but agrees that it's probably a faulty box. I'm taking the box in tomorrow for a swap. Should I insist on another remote? When I initially called about the 6412 I was told I needed to exchange the remote but when I got there I was told I didn't have to.

Bill

Originally posted by davisdog
Component, Yes
DVI, No
Audio, Yes (optical I think)
Remember, they are are marketing this as a DVR for everyone. Eventhough I called on the first day it was available, and made sure it was the 'HD dual-tuner DVR', and the work order even said 'HD Upgrade', the knowlegeable tech showed up with a Composite/Stereo cable.

I had all of my own wires in place, so it was okay. But, if I didn't have my own, I would have insisted he get the right wires, as he must have had other wires in the truck.

Originally posted by Bill_B4
I tried the MUTE deal and it didn't fix the problem. I think I've just got a bad box.

I used the same digital coax audio cable between my DVD player and the same input on my pre/pro and it worked flawlessly. I also tried that cable from the 6412 to a different coax in on the pre/pro with the same results (only audio on certain channels. That rules out my pre/pro and the cable itself.

I tried an optical cable between the 6412 and my pre/pro and still only a handful of channels had audio.

I then tried a pair of analog cables between the 6412 and my pre/pro, the audio worked.

The box seems to be having issues, among them outputing audio through the digital outputs.

Other issues with my box:

SWAP (TV/VCR on my remote) does not work. I've carefully followed the instructions in the booklet and the recommendation made above...nothing.

My two premium channels do not work at all except for On-Demand.

Channels 2-69 I get picture but no audio.

Channels 70-312 I get no picture OR audio with the exception of: 162, 196, 206, 231, 232. Those 5 channels are the only ones where I get picture AND sound.

The music channels all function properly.

The DVR recorded the Eagles game off of FOX-HD with no problems.

The rep sent signals through twice now and no luck. Both followed the "unplug & reboot" attempts.

I contacted miatasm and he was very helpful w/ troubleshooting but agrees that it's probably a faulty box. I'm taking the box in tomorrow for a swap. Should I insist on another remote? When I initially called about the 6412 I was told I needed to exchange the remote but when I got there I was told I didn't have to.

Bill

Do you have incompatible splitters in line (non 5/1000) or a line filter or bad/old cables or something similar? I'd follow the trouble shooting steps on this site (wow, second time today!) (http://cjhengineering.com/hdtv/cablehdtv/dctdiag.htm) to check the quality of signal before I wrote off the box entirely. Sounds like certain frequencies are not making it through to the box.

Originally posted by buzgz
I'm not all that familiar with the technical names of the various amps. The amp he used on my system split the signal two ways without any gain or loss of signal strength, as though you had simply removed the splitter on each of the two output legs. I checked this in the diagnostics screen, and there was almost a 3 dB gain in SNR (a doubling) with the active splitter. I guess there was a slight loss in the connectors, since the signal improved slightly less than 3 dB.

The active splitter also has two unused outputs, and I am guessing you could split the input signal 4 ways without loss or gain in any of the 4 output legs.
I assume it needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet?

If so, I don't have one near my main splitter, but I could amp each TV separately, if needed; my signal strength is usually 'good' on one tuner and 'fair' on the other.

Also, I have the line to the TV split right before the TV, (so I can watch Analogs through the TV's tuner), and when I unsplit it, by connecting it through a barrel connector directly to the DVR, I see no difference in signal strength; anyone know why?

A barrel connector doesn't lose exactly the same 3.5 db as a splitter, does it? When I diconnected/reconnected it, I had the diagnostic screen on, and I saw it change to zero, so I know it was updating the db.

Originally posted by QZ1
Remember, they are are marketing this as a DVR for everyone. Eventhough I called on the first day it was available, and made sure it was the 'HD dual-tuner DVR', and the work order even said 'HD Upgrade', the knowlegeable tech showed up with a Composite/Stereo cable.

I had all of my own wires in place, so it was okay. But, if I didn't have my own, I would have insisted he get the right wires, as he must have had other wires in the truck.

My installer had a huge set pre packaged of cables, and left me the spares. I thought this was par for the installation. Now I find out even leaving the proper manuals is questionable. I guess I lucked out.

Originally posted by frankz1
My installer had a huge set pre packaged of cables, and left me the spares. I thought this was par for the installation. Now I find out even leaving the proper manuals is questionable. I guess I lucked out.
Well, he left both DVR and Remote instructions, and a DVR set-up poster.

Also, our area waited two weeks for the 'new' remotes. It turned out to be the silver 6208 remote, it was packaged brand new and looked it, and it had the 'TV/VCR' button pre-programmed for tuner 'Swap'. We speculated that they had a surplus of brand new 6208 remotes that they decided to use; the delay was possibly to program them.

Obviously, some people didn't get instructions or a 6208 or 6412 silver remote, the remote has been good enough, until I choose a good Universal Remote.

Ok, anyone else have this problem?
If I set a recording to occur at a certain time and try to swap to watch somethign else, the box has muted itself and the only way I can get audio back is to stop recording and cycle the power. Any thoughts?

Originally posted by Mark Vidonic
Ok, anyone else have this problem?
If I set a recording to occur at a certain time and try to swap to watch somethign else, the box has muted itself and the only way I can get audio back is to stop recording and cycle the power. Any thoughts?

Leave the box on full time like a DVR should be or search this thread (I believe it's about 5-10 posts up) for directions on making a "Box Mute" button as a workaround.

Do you have incompatible splitters in line (non 5/1000) or a line filter or bad/old cables or something similar? I'd follow the trouble shooting steps on this site (wow, second time today!) to check the quality of signal before I wrote off the box entirely. Sounds like certain frequencies are not making it through to the box.

I've got a Monster Cable splitter that's rated 5MHz-2GHz so I don't think that's the problem. All coax cabling is just over two years old. The digital coax I use for audio is fine (worked with another source component).

The fact that I didn't have a problem with the 6208 at all would leave me to believe the digital outputs on this box are simply bad.

In the diagnostics menu everything I looked at that related to signals was "GOOD".

Bill

Originally posted by QZ1
; my signal strength is usually 'good' on one tuner and 'fair' on the other.

Also, I have the line to the TV split right before the TV, (so I can watch Analogs through the TV's tuner), and when I unsplit it, by connecting it through a barrel connector directly to the DVR, I see no difference in signal strength; anyone know why?

A barrel connector doesn't lose exactly the same 3.5 db as a splitter, does it? When I diconnected/reconnected it, I had the diagnostic screen on, and I saw it change to zero, so I know it was updating the db.

Are you having picture break-up on tuners with "good" and "fair" SNR ? My SNR only improved from "poor" (28.3dB) to "fair" (31.1dB) and the picture quality is great in HD.

Perhaps you are having different issues, issues with noise on the line. If so, and the noise level is greater than the noise introduced in the tuners, amplifying the signal will not improve the signal-to-noise ratio because the noise is amplified also. This is also consistent with no improvement in SNR when you remove a splitter.

Originally posted by buzgz
Are you having picture break-up on tuners with "good" and "fair" SNR ?

No. But, one evening they went to 'poor', and all Digital channels were pixelating. It was raining, but it has rained a number of times besides then; probably just an issue with the provider.
My SNR only improved from "poor" (28.3dB) to "fair" (31.1dB) and the picture quality is great in HD.
Once you get enough signal, picture quality will always be perfect, since it is Digital.

On my DVR, typically, one tuner is 33.5db to 34.5db, 'good'; AGC 53% 'good'.
The other tuner is 31.5db to 32.5db, 'fair'; AGC 44% 'good' (sometimes 42% 'fair').
What is AGC?

When the DVR was installed, the tech. said the SNR was 40db, but I was concerned with that checking that all of the features worked, to comprehend the diagnostics menu, which I hadn't heard of before.

Anyway, a few days later, I read on Broadband Reports that Cable Hi-Speed Internet was having signal strength issues, and that they re-distributed the signal; I don't know if this is true, though, as I don't have Hi-Speed Internet.

I then checked the SNR and it was 33.5db and 32.5db, respectively. I wonder if it had really been 40db on QAM256 at install time.

So, there is no signal issue now, but I wanted to know how to improve it, right away, if it drops more.
Perhaps you are having different issues, issues with noise on the line. If so, and the noise level is greater than the noise introduced in the tuners, amplifying the signal will not improve the signal-to-noise ratio because the noise is amplified also. This is also consistent with no improvement in SNR when you remove a splitter.
So what spec. does having less splits improve?
Why does one have line noise (damaged wires?) and how is it corrected?

Originally posted by andyross63
Yesterday, my 6412 started acting weird. I've had it for 3 weeks, and this is the first serious problem. When I turned it on yesterday (yes, I've been turning it off) I had no video or audio. The menus worked fine, I could change channels, swap tuners, but no video/audio. I then went to play a recording, that worked, and when I stopped it, the video worked. Turned it off and back on, and lost video/audio again! I watched the recorded videos, and deleted them. As a test, I turned it off, and again, no audio/video when turned back on. In fact, no way to get anything now that I had no recordings. I ended up having to pull the plug.


I just experienced this issue yesterday. Both the novideo/audio, reclaiming by playina a recordind. Later in the evening, went to watch a recording, and it stuttered terribly. Guess what, EVERY recording was stuttering as if the hard disk was corrupted. Pulled the plug on the box, then booted up again.

Now I have no recordings, can NOT switch tuners, can NOT get into DVR menu. It looks like the unit is not writing to the had disk. The funny thing is my schedule was repopulated withing 2 hours.

Called Comcast, their coming Thursday with a new box. Taking bets on what problems that one will have.

The box I'm returning worked flawlessly for 2 months!!!!

Recording snafu: last Monday's (Jan 10th ) DOUBLE episodes of "24".....
During setup, my guide showed the red recording dot for the entire two hour listing, as did the program description stating 120 minutes. I watched the program live during the recording, and the red recording light on the 6412 remained on for the full two hours. When I went to play back the recording this weekend, only the first hour had been recorded and the counter stated only 49 minutes, yet the recorded program description still stated 8-10pm and 120 minutes. Why would it seem to perform a two-hour recording yet only record less than one hour? (there's more than 50% space available on the drive).

Greetings. I have been able to record two programs at once while watching a third program recorded previous. This week, I'd like to record Lost and Alias on ABC while recording American Idol and Point Pleasant on Fox. I have Lost, Alias, and Idol all set to record but my schedule says Point Pleasant is a conflict with Lost? What is weird is that Lost is scheduled from 8:00pm to 9:03 and Alias is scheduled from 9:03 to 10:02. Is that something ABC is doing? Even with the odd times, there is no instance where the recorder is trying to record three programs at once so why do I get the conflict? Thanks!!

Originally posted by dantonow
Greetings. I have been able to record two programs at once while watching a third program recorded previous. This week, I'd like to record Lost and Alias on ABC while recording American Idol and Point Pleasant on Fox. I have Lost, Alias, and Idol all set to record but my schedule says Point Pleasant is a conflict with Lost? What is weird is that Lost is scheduled from 8:00pm to 9:03 and Alias is scheduled from 9:03 to 10:02. Is that something ABC is doing? Even with the odd times, there is no instance where the recorder is trying to record three programs at once so why do I get the conflict? Thanks!!

For some reason, those weird times screw the 6412 up every week. You have to add them in groups. I believe I added AI and then PP and then Lost and then Alias in that order. You just have to experiment with the order you add them in and eventually you'll hit the one that lets it through. I believe I did all of one network, and then all of the other. It's a bug. Oh, and one more thing is to make sure you check Wed prior to recording time to make sure nothing changed.

Originally posted by frankz1
For some reason, those weird times screw the 6412 up every week. You have to add them in groups. I believe I added AI and then PP and then Lost and then Alias in that order. You just have to experiment with the order you add them in and eventually you'll hit the one that lets it through. I believe I did all of one network, and then all of the other. It's a bug.

Thanks Frankz1!! Did as you suggested. Worked like a charm!

Originally posted by frankz1
For some reason, those weird times screw the 6412 up every week. You have to add them in groups. I believe I added AI and then PP and then Lost and then Alias in that order. You just have to experiment with the order you add them in and eventually you'll hit the one that lets it through. I believe I did all of one network, and then all of the other. It's a bug. Oh, and one more thing is to make sure you check Wed prior to recording time to make sure nothing changed.

Or better yet, just set up a manual recording to cover both programs, with some padding. A little more inconvenient, but failproof.

Originally posted by andyross63
Or better yet, just set up a manual recording to cover both programs, with some padding. A little more inconvenient, but failproof.


Not sure if that's really "better yet." No program name in the DVR menu, and no way to get directly to the start of the second hour (you have to ff or 30 second skip through the first show).

If that's your way to do it, though, rock on by all means.

I got my 6412 today, but was left with a remote that is missing the swap button group. No Manual either. I called Comcast and was told that the swap button is no longer necessary, but the rep could not tell me how to switch tuners without it. She asked her supervisor who said she would call me later. Yeah, sure.

Anyway, I assume that Comcast here in NNJ has simply run out of the correct remote and is distributing the wrong one instead hoping no one will notice. Does anyone know anything about this issue?

Sorry if this has been discussed. I searched this thread and did not find anything.

Originally posted by Abogarth
I got my 6412 today, but was left with a remote that is missing the swap button group. No Manual either. I called Comcast and was told that the swap button is no longer necessary, but the rep could not tell me how to switch tuners without it. She asked her supervisor who said she would call me later. Yeah, sure.

Anyway, I assume that Comcast here in NNJ has simply run out of the correct remote and is distributing the wrong one instead hoping no one will notice. Does anyone know anything about this issue?

Sorry if this has been discussed. I searched this thread and did not find anything.

You searched this thread for "Remote Swap Button" and weren't able to find anything? This thread might as well be subtitled, "How to Program the Remote Swap Button at least Once a Page!"

Anyway, here. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4912162&highlight=remote+swap+button#post4912162)

My 6412 from Denver Comcast came with the ICX ENT-6412-3005 remote. It looks like the remote pictured on this web site (http://www.icxglobal.com/en/products/cable/enterprise_family/dct_6412.php) except it's black and has only 4 device buttons on the top, not 6.

The various posts in this thread which instruct on how to program commercial skip, mute/unmute, or how to reprogram the VOD button to channel 1 -- they all have a sequence with the "setup" button. The ENT-6412-3005 has no "setup" button.

Does anyone have codes, or can anyone instruct, on how to program this remote for these helpful functions?

Ok, One more for ya. Many times when I'm scheduling a program OR fast forwarding a program I'm watching, the box doesn't respond to the remote. I see the box getting the command as the remote light lights up for a sec, but nothing happens. When moving through menu items I have to hit exit and start over OR when fast forwarding, I have to hit play over and over and over. If I get up and push the buttons on the box, same thing, no response. Any ideas on this one?

Originally posted by dantonow
Ok, One more for ya. Many times when I'm scheduling a program OR fast forwarding a program I'm watching, the box doesn't respond to the remote. I see the box getting the command as the remote light lights up for a sec, but nothing happens. When moving through menu items I have to hit exit and start over OR when fast forwarding, I have to hit play over and over and over. If I get up and push the buttons on the box, same thing, no response. Any ideas on this one?

The only thing you can do there is wait longer between commands in those instances, until the box "Catches Up."

Originally posted by frankz1
You searched this thread for "Remote Swap Button" and weren't able to find anything? This thread might as well be subtitled, "How to Program the Remote Swap Button at least Once a Page!"


Thanks for the link. I forget exactly how I worded my search, but there were 200+ hits and none seemed on topic from the summaries. I was not thinking about reprogramming the remote since Comcast said the button was no longer needed (and they were no longer distributing a remote with a swap button) and I can't imagine reprogramming is the standard course for all customers. Anyway, now I don't have to beg for a new remote.

The only thing you can do there is wait longer between commands in those instances, until the box "Catches Up."

Got it. I do have a tendency to zip through the menu. I'll slow it down and see.

Thanks again frankz1

Originally posted by gakon
Phil - are you actually able to tape recorded shows? I've been able to record live feeds from my 6412 to my Mac (following similar steps to those you provided in post 1415), but never a recorded show. VLC just doesn't pick up anything (file size when I record is essentially 0). I've only tried to download 1 show, from Discovery HD, but I wouldn't think this would be as copy protected as HBO or Showtime content.

Not sure if we are taking about the same thing. I am talking about copying shows that I recorded on the 6412 to DVHS tape on my JVC 30K- I play them on the 6412 and while playing, use the firewire connection to feed the JVC 30K. Seems to be the same thing effectively as recording a live feed thru the firewire.

You seem to be discussing transfer to a Mac computer that is not 5C compliant. 5C shows cannot, I believe, be transferred to a non-compliant device such as a Mac or PC but can be (even 5C=1 shows that HBO and such are) transferred via firewire to DVHS recorders that are 5C complaint.

- Phil

Originally posted by JKM
My 6412 from Denver Comcast came with the ICX ENT-6412-3005 remote. It looks like the remote pictured on this web site (http://www.icxglobal.com/en/products/cable/enterprise_family/dct_6412.php) except it's black and has only 4 device buttons on the top, not 6.


Sorry, but you can't program individual buttons with that remote. Ask Comcast to replace it with the silver remote. You never know. It worked for me.

My 6412 was working fine up until yesterday. My DVR was about 40% full. When I tried viewing any of my 4 recorded programs, it would just freeze and not do anything. It eventually went back to the DVR menu. I turned it off pulled the plug. Now I have 0% with no recordings. Fine, I can deal with that. Now I get this big blue box that YOUR RECORDING SPACE IS FULL and I should delete recordings. No recordings appear in my listing. The blue box, which takes up about 50% of the screen, won't clear, unless I hit "OK", which takes me to the empty recording list. I called Comcast and they cannot get to my house until Thursday. Is there a way to do a hard reset on this box?

Ok, so having just got the DVR box sunday I'm still playing with it, seeing what I like and don't. Today I remembered that somewhere in the 6208 thread there was some discussion of an issue with recording the adult channels. Couldn't remember what though. So I tried it out today. Program started and it was recording just fine. Left the house cause I had to go do some errands. Get back tonight, check my DVR recordings, nada. Not even a hint that it was ever there in the first place. But I do have that 0 min. recording from 12/31/1989. :P

So anyways, heads up to anyone who was thinking about recording some pRon. ;)

Btw, any of you who are already aware of this issue know any way of changing this box's irksome dislike of smut? Or just some more info on the subject. Is it there and it just hides it? Does it delete the program right after recording? Is this a Motorola thing or Comcast thing? Is there a little miniaturized Catholic nun living in my DVR? :D

I'm on my 4th 6412 since the middle of october. First box was replaced because of various recording issues (would not record) Second box was replaced because of the nameless recording with a date of 12/31/1989 that didn't go away after 2 weeks, said it was 210 minutes and ate up quite a bit of the recording space. Third box was replaced again because of the nameless recording and anything that was recorded in hd the audio and picture would skip and jump every 4 to 10 seconds making shows unwatchable. I didn't even have this box for 3 days before it was swapped. The last box (had since this past friday) Got up this morning to watch some recorded shows before I went to work, nothing on the dvr. I go and look at the series priority list, NOTHING! All the shows I had set to record, gone. So I fumed a couple of minutes, then decided to do the dishes. Hit pause on the dvr, show continues to play. Hit rewind, nada, no status bar, nothing. I call my wife latter in the afternoon to give her the heads up when she gets home. She gets on the phone with comcast, asks if this box's hard drive had been wiped before it was sent back out, rep on the phone said it was a brand new box. (it was mentioned during previous calls to comcast that some of the returned boxes werent being properly serviced before being sent back out), new box scheduled to be delivered on friday. I get home, still same symptoms, no dvr functions, try to hit record, says too many events are allready scheduled, how ever nothing is recording. Still nothing on the recorded list or on the series priority list. What the hell, figure I would pull the plug while I nuked dinner. Plugged the box back in, waited a finutes, hit pause, show paused... hmmmm, hit the dvr button, shows from the previous evening are there, checked the series priority list, shows are there also. I do not know what is up with these boxes, whether it is software or hardware related, but my tax return is in the mail (yeah turbotax.com) I might be frustrated enough to drop the grand on the directv hd tivo box. Ah, oh well the marvels of technology.

my latest 12/31/1989 recording refuses to go away. it says it's 0 minutes but i suspect it's actually taking up space when i look at the overall numbers and what i actually have recorded. this is a weird bug and it sounds like more and more people are getting these weird recording reportings...

Originally posted by crossbeaux
Sorry, but you can't program individual buttons with that remote. Ask Comcast to replace it with the silver remote. You never know. It worked for me.

What's the model number of the silver remote? The Comcast people are likely to give me a remote that won't be correct for the 6412. Is the silver remote backlighted? That's a serious shortcoming with the ICX.

My ICX remote works pretty well -- w/ "PIP" button that doesn't function, "help" button that doesn't help, etc. -- but the swap button is easy to locate, and except for the commercial skip function, I could live with what I've got. Does anyone have exp. w/ both to comment/compare?

Originally posted by JKM
What's the model number of the silver remote? The Comcast people are likely to give me a remote that won't be correct for the 6412. Is the silver remote backlighted? That's a serious shortcoming with the ICX.

My ICX remote works pretty well -- w/ "PIP" button that doesn't function, "help" button that doesn't help, etc. -- but the swap button is easy to locate, and except for the commercial skip function, I could live with what I've got. Does anyone have exp. w/ both to comment/compare?

Might I humbly recommend getting a Harmony Remote? I have both the 688 and 680. I use the 688 for the 6412. As I also live in the Denver DMA, I too got the same useless remote as you. But - with the 688 I never once used it (except to program one button in the 688, I think).

Just a thought.

Rgds,

JohnW

Originally posted by andyross63
Then, I had major issues during recordings. I was recording SciFi and [/B]

I've experienced the lockups several times myself. Mine only appears to happen on the SciFi channel. The only other analog channels I watch are Food Network and Comedy Central. I have several series recording set on these channels and they haven't messed up once. SciFi is another story - I'm lucky to get a one hour episode of something to record without a lock up.

I'm going to check that link that someone else posted about checking the signal strength but I'm doubting that's my problem. When I first got the 6412 I was having all sorts of pixelation problems. A tech came out and installed an amp and everything cleared up at that point.

Tom

I recorded "24" on Fox last night @ 9:00.
When I went to watch it I could not fast forward or rewind.
It was not my box, i tried other recordings, just 24.
When the time line came up it showed the 0/ (international symbol for NO!)
line in circle.
Could the network have put in place technology from stopping us from skipping commercials?
Anyone else have this happen, or not, with 24?

Originally posted by KentStater72
I recorded "24" on Fox last night @ 9:00.
When I went to watch it I could not fast forward or rewind.
It was not my box, i tried other recordings, just 24.
When the time line came up it showed the 0/ (international symbol for NO!)
line in circle.
Could the network have put in place technology from stopping us from skipping commercials?
Anyone else have this happen, or not, with 24?

I guess they could have, but they didn't.

I've had this issue with the box and live TV in the past. Solved it by unplugging / replugging. Never had it with a recording.

I am having a new strange problem. I am recording Scrubs and committed next tuesday... because they are set up like a series recording, it records 1-2 minutes before and after. Since they are on the same channel, at 9 and 9:30, I like to manually go into the recording and set one to end "on time" and one to start "on time"...

However, every time I try to go into that scrubs to change the settings, it crashes my DVR. Display goes to all 88:88... and the box reboots.

First time that has happened to me.

Anyone else having something like this? It's got LOTS of airflow (we don't even put it in our entertainment center (it's on the top)). I've been following this thread from page 1, and the only solution I've seen for a rebooting issue is "call comcast and get a new box"... well, this is the first time it's really happened like this. and I'm probably going to just leave the recording to go next tuesday, and see what happens.

I've had freezing issues (way back in the thread, I talk about how every day at 4:26 the box would reboot... my fiance blamed it on the oprah recording... I deleted it, and all is well again)... but this is the first time it rebooted. I go real slow through the menus on purpose... but this is a weird bad recording. I might just cancel the SCRUBS series recording tonight and see if that fixes it.

Hi folks,

Apologies if this has been covered, but I haven't found a discussion of this exact issue yet.

MY 6412 arrived from Comcast a couple days ago (I'm in the SF Bay Area, California) and before hardly having a chance to look at the manual I needed to set up two overlapping programs. One was 8-9 p.m., the other 8:30-9:30. I found a brief statement in the manual that told me to press "Swap" to change to the 2nd tuner before programming the 2nd (overlapping) program. I did try to do this, but I see no indication anywhere on the front panel or on screen indicating which tuner I'm talking to at any given time. I would have thought the DVR would be smart enough to figure out to use it's 2nd tuner for the 2nd program. Or, at least it could warn me if it thought there was a conflict. Instead, what happened is I got the 1st half of the 8-9 program and then the entire 8:30-9:30 program. What's up with this?

Tonight with more time to spare (and less pressure, since I didn't need either recording) I set up a test to record to programs at once, and I carefully pressed "swap" -- this time after exiting the guide so I knew I was changing tuners -- before programming the 2nd recording. This seemed to work correctly.

But why isn't the box smart enough to figure out to use both tuners to record two programs? Or what did I do wrong?

Thanks,
--George

Originally posted by yefchak
Hi folks,

Apologies if this has been covered, but I haven't found a discussion of this exact issue yet.

MY 6412 arrived from Comcast a couple days ago (I'm in the SF Bay Area, California) and before hardly having a chance to look at the manual I needed to set up two overlapping programs. One was 8-9 p.m., the other 8:30-9:30. I found a brief statement in the manual that told me to press "Swap" to change to the 2nd tuner before programming the 2nd (overlapping) program. I did try to do this, but I see no indication anywhere on the front panel or on screen indicating which tuner I'm talking to at any given time. I would have thought the DVR would be smart enough to figure out to use it's 2nd tuner for the 2nd program. Or, at least it could warn me if it thought there was a conflict. Instead, what happened is I got the 1st half of the 8-9 program and then the entire 8:30-9:30 program. What's up with this?

Tonight with more time to spare (and less pressure, since I didn't need either recording) I set up a test to record to programs at once, and I carefully pressed "swap" -- this time after exiting the guide so I knew I was changing tuners -- before programming the 2nd recording. This seemed to work correctly.

But why isn't the box smart enough to figure out to use both tuners to record two programs? Or what did I do wrong?

Thanks,
--George

You don't need to switch tuners to schedule two recordings at once. Your box's software was probably not fully downloaded the first time and was probably fully downloaded the second time. It takes about 24 hours (less if you leave it shut off, apparently) for the box to be fully updated with guide and all the functionality.

Sorry for multi-posting this all over the forum. This thread is so long I forgot I was in the thread and kept hitting 'new' thread instead of reply. This thread should really get its own heading in the main forum. Anyway, my problem is...

I'm in the Boston area and recently my picture freezes a few times a day. I leave the box on all the time and when I come home from work and turn on the TV the picture is frozen with no hard drive activity. The only way to unfreeze it is to change the station. No big deal (since it does not involve doing a hard reboot) but this weekend I discovered it will not execute a scheduled recording when frozen. It also happens when watching live TV. Last night it froze twice on 2 different stations. Any one else having this issue in the area?

From now on I'm leaving the box off when I know I have a recording coming up. I'll check signal tonight but I'm amped through a very high quality 5-1000, zero return loss amp/splitter. Picture quality is excellent throughout the house and cable internet is flawless. I do not get freezes through second digital box (non-dvr) in bedroom.

Thanks






POST #9 | Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged

I recall somewhere (in every darn post, which I read. in this thread) a brief discussion about skipping ahead in a recording (e.g., skip the first hour of a movie).

I can't find any way to do this, but I'd like to ask if anyone has found a way to do this?

Originally posted by JKM
What's the model number of the silver remote? The Comcast people are likely to give me a remote that won't be correct for the 6412. Is the silver remote backlighted? That's a serious shortcoming with the ICX.
AFAIK, the only silver remotes, that they give, are those designed for the 6412 or 6208, but I don't see any product no. on my remote. Regardless, either one is fine for the 6412.

I got one for the 6208, it doesn't have the last row of buttons, but the 'Swap' function was programmed to the 'TV/VCR' button; if not, you can do it yourself. So, you should just ask for silver remote.

why doesnt this have it's own area yet?

there are so many posts in here that keep asking the same thing with people seaching or knowing how to search it's just getting ridiculous.

Originally posted by bronowyn
I am having a new strange problem. I am recording Scrubs and committed next tuesday... because they are set up like a series recording, it records 1-2 minutes before and after. Since they are on the same channel, at 9 and 9:30, I like to manually go into the recording and set one to end "on time" and one to start "on time"...

However, every time I try to go into that scrubs to change the settings, it crashes my DVR. Display goes to all 88:88... and the box reboots.

First time that has happened to me.

Anyone else having something like this?
Yes, I tried to set the Yellowcard concert on INHD to record, and twice it crashed the DVR, when I got to 'More Options'. It never crashed before or since. I could try to record it with the default options, but I didn't bother.

Originally posted by buzzfledderjohn
I'm in the Boston area and recently my picture freezes a few times a day. I leave the box on all the time and when I come home from work and turn on the TV the picture is frozen with no hard drive activity. The only way to unfreeze it is to change the station. No big deal (since it does not involve doing a hard reboot) but this weekend I discovered it will not execute a scheduled recording when frozen. It also happens when watching live TV. Last night it froze twice on 2 different stations. Any one else having this issue in the area?

From now on I'm leaving the box off when I know I have a recording coming up. I'll check signal tonight but I'm amped through a very high quality 5-1000, zero return loss amp/splitter. Picture quality is excellent throughout the house and cable internet is flawless. I do not get freezes through second digital box (non-dvr) in bedroom.

Thanks I've been watching this thread closely as I've experienced this same issue as reported by you and others posting here.

I had the same problem. STB freezing randomly while viewing or while away with recordings scheduled. I missed a few scheduled recordings as a result not to mention it was annoying when it happened while viewing live TV.

I did notice however that something else was going on randomly as well and that was a *delay* with the STB executing a command from the remote. I would hit the guide button, DVR button, channel up or down, etc and nothing would happen then within 15 seconds or so all the commands would execute in succession quite rapidly and the STB would then be fine.

So I took a closer look at my STB and when I did I noticed it was warm ot the touch on the left top of the unit. I then also noticed that the STB was located directly beneath the vent for the lamp on my LCD projection set.

I swapped locations between the STB and my DVD player and while the problem persisted for the remainder of that evening I have not experienced the issue since that time. I've also checked the STB and it is noticeably cooler to the touch.

My guess is that these units are extremely sensitive to heat and that my original placement of the unit under my LCD lamp (which is quite warm) was the cause of my woes.

I've cancelled the service call with Comcast for now and will continue to watch the unit closely but it's been almost a week and I've not had a single freeze up and I was experiencing them quite regularly before relocating the STB.

Don't know if this will help anyone as maybe it's purely coincidence but thought I would mention it nonetheless.

Originally posted by mds54
Recording snafu: last Monday's (Jan 10th ) DOUBLE episodes of "24".....
During setup, my guide showed the red recording dot for the entire two hour listing, as did the program description stating 120 minutes. I watched the program live during the recording, and the red recording light on the 6412 remained on for the full two hours. When I went to play back the recording this weekend, only the first hour had been recorded and the counter stated only 49 minutes, yet the recorded program description still stated 8-10pm and 120 minutes. Why would it seem to perform a two-hour recording yet only record less than one hour? (there's more than 50% space available on the drive).

i can top that. i got home saturday and checked to see what i had scheduled to record that evening. Mad TV at 11pm and SNL at 11.30pm. however, there were 3 listings for SNL all on the hi def channel. i wasnt sure what to do so i decided to wait til 11.30 to see if the recording started on time and it did. so i went to bed.

woke up the next day thinking i had a new SNL ep to watch and guess what.... it wasnt there. searched hi and lo for it. no SNL... no blank mystery recording... nothing. needless to say i was a bit disappointed.


dual tuners, hi def recording... dual tuners, hi def recording... dual tuners, hi def recording. ........

I don't think my screen freezing issue is heat related since it has nothing on top of it and ventilation is abundant. When I touch the unit it is barely warm. I have heard this has helped others though. Thanks.

I'm guessing it is software related. Computers freeze up all the time and considering the data being churned out by this thing perhaps it will be resolved in a software upgrade. Could be bad sectors on the hard drive also which would mean returning the box for a new one if this keeps up.

Originally posted by chaz155
i can top that. i got home saturday and checked to see what i had scheduled to record that evening. Mad TV at 11pm and SNL at 11.30pm. however, there were 3 listings for SNL all on the hi def channel. i wasnt sure what to do so i decided to wait til 11.30 to see if the recording started on time and it did. so i went to bed. woke up the next day thinking i had a new SNL ep to watch and guess what.... it wasnt there. searched hi and lo for it. no SNL... no blank mystery recording... nothing. needless to say i was a bit disappointed.

...But can you top this???
After playing with my 6412 system late last night, but not doing anything really specific, everything suddenly started working perfectly! I was able to get KTVU (FOX) on the first click for the first time in weeks -- with no freezes or "One Moment Please" screens. I test-recorded two analog programs, and they both recorded perfectly -- for the first time ever! I rechecked everything this morning and it's all still working flawlessly! The only thing I did differently last night was record a digital SD channel that I knew should work, which it did. There was a bit of hard drive noise, then everything started working properly. Is there a "break-in" period that needs to happen? Did I inadvertently do something to "wake up" or "recalibrate" the drive? It seems that perhaps the valid digital SD recording may have "reset" or "repaired" some parameters and/or damage done by the string of aborted analog recordings??? I can't explain it, but I'll take it!!!:D

Originally posted by buzzfledderjohn
I don't think my screen freezing issue is heat related since it has nothing on top of it and ventilation is abundant. .

Yeah, same here. Mine is sitting on the top of the entertainment center with nothing beside it or on top of it. Plenty of ventilation and airflow. I can't remember if ya'll are having the issue where it only occurs on one channel but so far mine has only done it on the SciFi channel.

I can't say if it freezes on every channel but it has done it on more than just Sci-Fi. I'll keep an eye on it and see if a pattern develops.

Originally posted by Midranger4
So I took a closer look at my STB and when I did I noticed it was warm ot the touch on the left top of the unit. I then also noticed that the STB was located directly beneath the vent for the lamp on my LCD projection set.

I swapped locations between the STB and my DVD player and while the problem persisted for the remainder of that evening I have not experienced the issue since that time. I've also checked the STB and it is noticeably cooler to the touch.

My guess is that these units are extremely sensitive to heat and that my original placement of the unit under my LCD lamp (which is quite warm) was the cause of my woes.

I've cancelled the service call with Comcast for now and will continue to watch the unit closely but it's been almost a week and I've not had a single freeze up and I was experiencing them quite regularly before relocating the STB.

Don't know if this will help anyone as maybe it's purely coincidence but thought I would mention it nonetheless.

A while back, another poster was having problems with lockups when the box would start recording at the same time each day. As it was late afternoon when this would happen, I suggested heat issues as a possible reason and moving the STB as a resolution.

This was entirely shot down in lieu of the much more reasonable explanation that the box simply didn't like the content being recorded. In light of this, I must ask you if perhaps your box was recording Voom or DirecTV commercials. Apparently, this is much more likely a cause than heat issues with this very warm box.

Oh and by the way, ;) , :D and :p. Also, I will take every opportuntity to use the phrase "warm box" when talking about the 6412.

I'll have to check on the commercial content being displayed if my STB freezes again ;)

Like I said I don't know if it was firmware, hardware, heat, or a combination of any/all of the above.

What I do know is the problem stopped after I moved the STB and their was a very pronounced decrease in the amount of heat around the STB considering the LCD lamp was in the near vicinity prior to the move.

All in all I'm quite happy with the unit and most everyone in the house has found their way around the series recording menus and have setup a good number of things to be recorded regularly.

Personally I've found myself hitting the 30 second skip button during live TV....it seems to have become second nature for me *GRIN*

Originally posted by mds54
Recording snafu: last Monday's (Jan 10th ) DOUBLE episodes of "24".....
During setup, my guide showed the red recording dot for the entire two hour listing, as did the program description stating 120 minutes. I watched the program live during the recording, and the red recording light on the 6412 remained on for the full two hours. When I went to play back the recording this weekend, only the first hour had been recorded and the counter stated only 49 minutes, yet the recorded program description still stated 8-10pm and 120 minutes. Why would it seem to perform a two-hour recording yet only record less than one hour? (there's more than 50% space available on the drive).

Pretty much the same thing happened to me. I have a 6412 since last week of December. I had set up "24" for series recording. I recorded the Sunday double episode and saw the record light on for all two hours. After recording, in the "list" it said 120 minutes (though I think that just indicated what it was programmed to do), but when I actually watched the show, the time bar said 47 minutes and that's all there was. On Monday I reentered the series program starting one minute early. I wasn't there to see the record light, but afterwards I checked and it had only recorded 1 minute of the 2 hours! I reprogrammed the series yet again, and last night it only saved the first 25 minutes of the hour. Meanwhile, we've recorded maybe 60 hours of other shows over the 3-4 weeks and all but one show was fine (the exception was 12 minutes out of 30 of McLaughlin Group once on KCSM, but I switched to KQED and have been fine since). We've never been more than about 65% full. I've tried a couple other test shows on FOX and they seemed fine. Is there something wierd about the program guide or signal for "24"? A bad spot on the disk would affect random programs one would think. I phoned Comcast, they said that's the first they'd heard of this specific problem. They offered to replace the box (we had replaced our first one which couldn't download the guide), but then I loose all our recorded shows, so I'm sitting tight for now. Also, last season Fox would rebroadcast 24 later in the week on FX, but apparently not this year.

Originally posted by mrzzmr
Pretty much the same thing happened to me. I have a 6412 since last week of December. I had set up "24" for series recording. I recorded the Sunday double episode and saw the record light on for all two hours. After recording, in the "list" it said 120 minutes (though I think that just indicated what it was programmed to do), but when I actually watched the show, the time bar said 47 minutes and that's all there was. On Monday I reentered the series program starting one minute early. I wasn't there to see the record light, but afterwards I checked and it had only recorded 1 minute of the 2 hours! I reprogrammed the series yet again, and last night it only saved the first 25 minutes of the hour. Meanwhile, we've recorded maybe 60 hours of other shows over the 3-4 weeks and all but one show was fine (the exception was 12 minutes out of 30 of McLaughlin Group once on KCSM, but I switched to KQED and have been fine since). We've never been more than about 65% full. I've tried a couple other test shows on FOX and they seemed fine. Is there something wierd about the program guide or signal for "24"? A bad spot on the disk would affect random programs one would think. I phoned Comcast, they said that's the first they'd heard of this specific problem. They offered to replace the box (we had replaced our first one which couldn't download the guide), but then I loose all our recorded shows, so I'm sitting tight for now. Also, last season Fox would rebroadcast 24 later in the week on FX, but apparently not this year.

Both of you who have reported this issue appear to be located near each other. Did you have an outage or service interruption during this period? Perhaps your local fox affiliate's HD feed blinked out during the broadcast.

It appears series recording on the 6412 is severely screwed based on a number of posts here. I personally don't use it, so I can't state that definitively. Personally, I find it easier (both on the 6412 and TiVo) to spend 15 minutes setting up the TV for the week rather than to deal with series recording/season pass quirks.

Originally posted by frankz1
Both of you who have reported this issue appear to be located near each other. Did you have an outage or service interruption during this period? Perhaps your local fox affiliate's HD feed blinked out during the broadcast.

It appears series recording on the 6412 is severely screwed based on a number of posts here. I personally don't use it, so I can't state that definitively. Personally, I find it easier (both on the 6412 and TiVo) to spend 15 minutes setting up the TV for the week rather than to deal with series recording/season pass quirks.

An outage or service interruption would explain it, but I've had it happen three different times for "24" each time it has been on, and not in general for other shows (with one exception), so that would be quite a coincidence. Also, I sat there and watched the record light be on for the whole two hours one of the times, and I believe the other poster reported the same thing.

You make a good point about series recording. I'm next going to try manual recording of "24", as you suggest. BTW, it appears that manual recording is a one-shot deal. Is there no way to program it to record the same hour each week? Also, does anyone know, if I pick "24" from the guide and hit record (not series), is that the same as setting up a manual recording of one hour at that time or will it stop whenever it thinks "24" is over?

Originally posted by mrzzmr
An outage or service interruption would explain it, but I've had it happen three different times for "24" each time it has been on, and not in general for other shows (with one exception), so that would be quite a coincidence. Also, I sat there and watched the record light be on for the whole two hours one of the times, and I believe the other poster reported the same thing.

You make a good point about series recording. I'm next going to try manual recording of "24", as you suggest. BTW, it appears that manual recording is a one-shot deal. Is there no way to program it to record the same hour each week? Also, does anyone know, if I pick "24" from the guide and hit record (not series), is that the same as setting up a manual recording of one hour at that time or will it stop whenever it thinks "24" is over?

Is 24 the only thing you record on FOX? Maybe it's a local FOX signal issue.

If you're in the guide, go to "24" and hit "OK/SELECT." That screen lets you set the recording for the show.

I believe you can set a manual recording (different than what's described above: you enter the channel and time and length) to recur.

Much more extensive detail in The Manual (http://broadband.motorola.com/dvr/downloads/URMD2.pdf)

Originally posted by frankz1
Both of you who have reported this issue appear to be located near each other. Did you have an outage or service interruption during this period? Perhaps your local fox affiliate's HD feed blinked out during the broadcast.
It appears series recording on the 6412 is severely screwed based on a number of posts here. I personally don't use it, so I can't state that definitively. Personally, I find it easier (both on the 6412 and TiVo) to spend 15 minutes setting up the TV for the week rather than to deal with series recording/season pass quirks.

I don't know exactly where "mrzzmr" is located.......even though it seems that we are both in the SF Bay Area, the Comcast service here varies drastically. We had no outage or interruption that I noticed during this period, although several folks in the area are having problems with our local FOX affiliate. The situation is compounded here because the Fox digital/HD feed is not yet available to us on Comcast. As for recording setup, I'd tend to agree with you now about weekly setups versus series.

Originally posted by mds54
I don't know exactly where "mrzzmr" is located.......even though it seems that we are both in the SF Bay Area, the Comcast service here varies drastically. We had no outage or interruption that I noticed during this period, although several folks in the area are having problems with our local FOX affiliate. The situation is compounded here because the Fox digital/HD feed is not yet available to us on Comcast. As for recording setup, I'd tend to agree with you now about weekly setups versus series.

Hmmm...I was under the impression that you were talking about recording 24 in HD/Digital, not the analog. It's interesting. Some people are having issues recording/watching Analog SciFi, you Bay Area folks are having trouble recording analog Fox.

just for no reason other then information.

i have
5 hrs of hd "24"
3.5 hrs of hd football
3 hrs of battlestar galactica

so at 11.5 hrs of hd i show a 70% total used space.

Originally posted by mds54
I don't know exactly where "mrzzmr" is located.......even though it seems that we are both in the SF Bay Area, the Comcast service here varies drastically. We had no outage or interruption that I noticed during this period, although several folks in the area are having problems with our local FOX affiliate. The situation is compounded here because the Fox digital/HD feed is not yet available to us on Comcast. As for recording setup, I'd tend to agree with you now about weekly setups versus series.

I live in Los Altos Hills (next to Palo Alto). Yes, it is analog FOX I'm talking about. I did do a couple experiments to record other FOX programs, which worked, but they may have been one-shots not series recordings. It could be a problem with FOX relative to the guide.

Hey, I found out manual recording does let you set up weekly repeat recording! After you enter the manual time and day, before you confirm, there's a choice of options recording options which has a repeat recordings feature, choices are once, weekly, daily, M-F. I'm hopeful that will let me deal with my "24"/FOX problem.