Originally posted by stosh
I'm using a Sony Wega II RP LCD. Do you have the output setting on the 8300 set to "auto hdmi"?

Yes, but I believe it's actually AUTO DVI/HDMI.

Originally posted by stosh
So, I went out and bought a hdmi -> DVI cable with the intention of comparing it to the component cable I've already go hooked up. I installed the hdmi cable, tuned in an HD station, and start cycling through the different video inputs on my Sony HDTV to see what I can tell see as the difference between the two cables. To my eyes, it seems that the component cables give a sharper picture. I was surprised by that. Anyone want to share their experiences?

I don't/haven't used component cables but I have noticed that my 3250HD running DVI-DVI had much better PQ on SD channels than my 8300HD running HDMI-DVI on my Sony. For HD channels, however, I do not notice a difference.

Just out of curiosity, I am wondering if the 8300 is exhibiting the same audio/video skipping of recorded programming the the 8000HD did. I have the capability here in Vegas to make the move up, but cannot see the differences other than the HDMI/DVI output possibilities.. Since my TV doesn't have those inputs, is there anything else different between the two boxes that make the switch worthwile?
Thanks,
davelite@davelite.com

Originally posted by davelite
Just out of curiosity, I am wondering if the 8300 is exhibiting the same audio/video skipping of recorded programming the the 8000HD did. I have the capability here in Vegas to make the move up, but cannot see the differences other than the HDMI/DVI output possibilities.. Since my TV doesn't have those inputs, is there anything else different between the two boxes that make the switch worthwhile?
Thanks,
davelite@davelite.com

dave,

I switched from the 8000hd to the 8300HD for two reasons:
first, for the supposed all digital signal using the hdmi output.
second, to hopefully cure the audio/video dropout problem i was having primarily on recorded HD programming.

I'm returning the hdmi -> dvi cable because i think the picture quality is better with component cables. Second, although I still see a little bit of the dropout problem, it's much improved. The picture quality does seem better to me. The colors seem more vivid with more depth. I also read that (although I haven't tried this yet) that the pass-through mode is much faster.

So, all in all, if given a choice (and the cost is the same) I would go for the newer box.

Originally posted by davelite
Just out of curiosity, I am wondering if the 8300 is exhibiting the same audio/video skipping of recorded programming the the 8000HD did. I have the capability here in Vegas to make the move up, but cannot see the differences other than the HDMI/DVI output possibilities.. Since my TV doesn't have those inputs, is there anything else different between the two boxes that make the switch worthwile?
Thanks,
davelite@davelite.com

I will tell you that without a doubt the 8300 is more reliable then the 8000 in recording programs. But it still is not perfect. It will drop off a program that you have as record/all episodes/time slot if it misses a week. Not every time. But sometimes. Recently there was a week that House did not have an episode and when I double checked for this week sure enough it did not have it on it's to be recorded list. However last week Crossing Jordan wasn't on and it did include it on this weeks to be recorded list. So it's still touch and go but a heck of alot better then the 8000 imho.

I'm giving up on the 8300, too many issues with my cable provider and the SD signal quality. Think I'll try E* next, one 811 for HD content and a 522 for SD and DVR capabilities. I wont be able to record HD but it's the best I can do without buying any expecsive soon to be door stops.

Is there any way to adjust screen geometry on the 8300HD, i.e. shift the entire screen up/down or left/right?

Originally posted by JAKEJ
Is there any way to adjust screen geometry on the 8300HD, i.e. shift the entire screen up/down or left/right?

I don't think you can, but why would you want to? Shouldn't you do that on your set?

Originally posted by hookbill
I don't think you can, but why would you want to? Shouldn't you do that on your set?

I wish I could. I am using DVI and I can only make adjustments on the RGB input. I have a Vizio L30WGU and with the 8300HD and certain HD channels (NBC and ABC) with HD programming I get a solid green line running vertical on the left edge of the screen.

I just killed Dish after several years. I still have two 508's, 1 510 and 1 301 receiver. I bought the 921, but it was such a piece of crap I returned it for a refund. Dish service and support was unbelieveably bad. The SD PQ looked really, really bad on my Toshiba HD DLP.

I switched to Adelphia and the SA8300HD. My analogs on Adelphia look better than my locals in SD on Dish. My HD looks better than on Dish, and I get all my locals except Fox. Remember - absolutely no HD locals on Dish, and only CBS in HD - that's assuming you even qualify for that! No signs of any more HD content in the next year.

Originally posted by Kingdaddy
I'm giving up on the 8300, too many issues with my cable provider and the SD signal quality. Think I'll try E* next, one 811 for HD content and a 522 for SD and DVR capabilities. I wont be able to record HD but it's the best I can do without buying any expecsive soon to be door stops.

Originally posted by wmhjr
I just killed Dish after several years. I still have two 508's, 1 510 and 1 301 receiver. I bought the 921, but it was such a piece of crap I returned it for a refund. Dish service and support was unbelieveably bad. The SD PQ looked really, really bad on my Toshiba HD DLP.

I switched to Adelphia and the SA8300HD. My analogs on Adelphia look better than my locals in SD on Dish. My HD looks better than on Dish, and I get all my locals except Fox. Remember - absolutely no HD locals on Dish, and only CBS in HD - that's assuming you even qualify for that! No signs of any more HD content in the next year.

Well if I could I would take D* over Dish. I can't get satallite reception so not an option for me.

In regards to you SD on Adelphia, count yourself luck because here in the Cleveland area are SD looks like garbage. It kind of depends on where you live and how old the equipment they have installed as far as quality of SD service.

Haven't seen this mentioned...

I'm with Adelphia and have a 56" Sammy HLP hooked up straight with HDMI.

The PIP is basically useless since, rather than being in one of the four corners, the four points of movement are at least 1/3 of the way into the screen and block way too much of the main page.

Is there any way of shifting the PIP picture so that it is scanned farther out to the edge of the screen?

Does anyone know if recordings on the 8300 can be 'viewed" from another SA unit in another room. I seem to remember seeing a reference to this in the manual, but do not have access to it now.

Originally posted by jst4fun
Does anyone know if recordings on the 8300 can be 'viewed" from another SA unit in another room. I seem to remember seeing a reference to this in the manual, but do not have access to it now.

Here is a link that you can view all the manuals for SA : http://www.scientificatlanta.com/explorerclub/default.asp

jst4fun:

There is a model with the prefix MDR (I think), which is the unit you're referring to. There is some debate as to whether or not the other 8300's can be "upgraded" with that feature with a software change. The last I heard, the jury was still out. Maybe someone else with more current info will chime in.

Thanks hookbill, now I can view the manuals from work.
Jim, your right, the prefix is MDR
I'll try and get an answer from my cable (Charter) guys.

I use the HDMI output when viewing HD and the S-Video output for SD. I was thinking of setting my box up to upconvert-1 so that the STB uses 1080i for all channels. Thus, there's a little less time and flickering on my TV when I switch from HD to SD and vice versa.

It appears as if the TV is displaying 480i when it I'm using the S-Video input and have the STB set to 1080i. My TV's "JUST" mode works fine and I get a full screen stretch. I paused some frames and went back and forth and everything is in the same place whether the STB is saying 480i or 1080i over the S-Video port.

What exactly does the SA8300HD do when you have it set to 1080i, but use the s-video (or composite) output? Does the box upconvert a 480i signal to 1080i and then downconvert it back to 480i over the S-Video output or is it still sending 1080i out the S-Video output and it's my TV reconverting it to 480i because it can't accept 1080i over S-video or what is happening exactly?

Since I'm switching inputs anyhow, this would be a fine arrangement for me, but is this going to cause me any lowering of PQ or any other issues? I don't really notice too much of a difference. Analog PQ for me is pretty poor either way, anyhow.

S-video is 480i, and has no effect to whatever you have the component or HDMI set to output from the 8300HD.

Originally posted by kevinivey
S-video is 480i, and has no effect to whatever you have the component or HDMI set to output from the 8300HD.

Ok, so then the STB is outputting 480i over S-Video and there are no extra conversions going on? This is identical to having the STB displaying that it's in 480i mode in the first place?

When the STB is showing 1080i and I'm watching over S-video, if I cycle through the STB zooms, it does say 1080i Normal, 1080i zoom 1, etc.

lexluthor:

S-Video and composite are 480i only. When you switch resolutions on the 8300, it only affects component and HDMI. You will see the mode changes on S-Video because all the outputs are always active.

Hi all, my first time posting here. I just got HD cable from cablevision with the SA8300HD box. I have it hooked up via component through a Marantz SR8500 A/V unit to a Sharp Aquos 37" LCD via DVI. I chose to go with a component connection to the Marantz because the HDMI output on the cable box seems to still be somewhat fluky. I have the cable box set to pass through all the available signals, 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. SD tv looks a bit odd sometimes because I have the box set to stretch when watching SDTV, but I cant get use to the sidebars. Just coming off of SD only, I got to say the picture is awesome. Not sure I can ever watch SD again. I was wondering:

1.) Is the way I have the cable box set to pass through all the available signals the best setup? and;

2.) How do you tell if there has been a software change to the cable box overnight?

Regards and thanks.

Originally posted by Norgoth

1.) Is the way I have the cable box set to pass through all the available signals the best setup? and;

2.) How do you tell if there has been a software change to the cable box overnight?

Regards and thanks.

Hi Norgoth....to the best of my knowledge that's exactly what pass thru does. I say ttbomk because I use the HDMI connector and when you do that pass thru changes to HDMI/DVI.

I found the best way to see software changes is if you see your box has reboot. The way I'm able to see this on my cable system is the box will be on channel 1 after a reboot. Then you would check your software by going to the diagnostics screen. To get there read the first thread in this forum written by doubleDAZ and vegggas. It's well written and has lots of useful info if you haven't read it already.

Originally posted by Norgoth
1.) Is the way I have the cable box set to pass through all the available signals the best setup?
There is nothing wrong with using pass-through and enabling all resolutions, but you will probably not actually see any difference between 480i/480p or between 720p/1080i. This is because your HDTV will reformat them anyway to whatever resolutions it uses for display, most likely 480i and either 720p or 1080i.

For example, if your TV displays at 720p, then all the channels that use 1080i are ultimately converted to 720p for your TV to display, the only difference being whether you let the 8300 do the conversion or have the TV do it. Experiment a bit and you'll see what I mean. If you can notice a difference, simply let that resolution enabled.

I only have 480i and 1080i enabled. What this does is minimize the resolution changes while scanning from SD to HD channels, etc., without degrading the image I see. Here in Phoenix, the ABC/FOX/ESPN channels are 720p, all other HD channels are 1080i, SD channels are 480i, and the Music channels are 480p. Since the HD channels are grouped together, I only get the resolution change twice, when going to/from the HD group.

I've tried all resolutions and could see no difference between 480i/480p on SD channels or between 720p/1080i on HD channels, so why be bothered by the resolution change when scanning my favorites, etc.? I simply enable 480i for the SD channels and 1080i for the HD channels. I use 1080i because my HDTV uses 1080i for display. Using 480i for the SD channels has the added benefit of allowing my HDTV to automatically stretch the SD channels to fill the screen and eliminate the sidebars.

Hookbill and DoubleDaz, thanks for the helpful information. Now all I have to do is go figure out what my Aquos LCD's native resolution is. I read through the book, but it seems to be somewhat vague on that information. But I am sure I can figure it out.

It's 720p. But, that doesn't really matter. What matters is what looks best to you. You might see a better image with just 1080i enabled for the HD channels and letting the TV do the reformatting or 720p and letting the 8300 do it. That's why I say you need to do a little experimenting with all channels, particularly comparing those that do 720p to those that do 1080i. If the reformatting during channel changes doesn't bother you, just let it set the way it is and forget about it. :)

I agree with DoubleDAZ about not seeing any difference between 1080i and 720p, but the reason I have both 720p and 1080 set is to my thinking if my set is going to upcast from 720p to 1080i anyways, then why not let it do it instead of having the box do it first?

It just something I prefer and really probably doesn't make any sense but that's the way I like to do it.

Norgoth:

Your Aquos' resolution is 1280 x 720.

hookbill, that makes pefect sense to me. I just don't like the resolution change every time I switch from CBS to ABC and back, etc. Since I saw no difference in PQ on my setup, I just enabled the 1080i to minimize that. Different setups might have different results, so that's why I recommended experimenting a bit before making changes. I also thought it might be useful for him to know what's going on behind the scenes, so to speak.

Contemplating a switch from Dish to Adelphia. So far this box sound slike it has promise. Only thing I haven't seen mentioned is a 30 Second skip a head button. My current PVR from Dish has a 30 second skip ahead and a10 second skip back button. I am not sure I could function without these...:) does this box offer this functionality?

Ben

Originally posted by bhodson
Contemplating a switch from Dish to Adelphia. So far this box sound slike it has promise. Only thing I haven't seen mentioned is a 30 Second skip a head button. My current PVR from Dish has a 30 second skip ahead and a10 second skip back button. I am not sure I could function without these...:) does this box offer this functionality?

Ben

No 30 second skip, but it does have a ff and what you can do for the 10 second skip back is instead of hitting play hit the replay button. Does the same thing.

Not having ever used Dish's box I can't tell you what other changes to expect.

Has anyone ever noticed multiple recording of the same show? A couple of times I've noticed that for some reason the 8300 will take a single show and kind of chop it into three or 4 sections. It did this this week when I recorded House and while I was attempting to watch Point Pleasant while it was recording it did it again.

I get the full show. But it's in segments.

Anyone else seen this?

hookbill,

I haven't had that happen - but last night it refused to record anything. I tried to record a show that I was watching, tried to record something in the future, and tried to set a recording from the program guide. I finally gave up and went to bed.

I've already got a wife with an attitude, now a cable box?

Originally posted by stosh
hookbill,

I haven't had that happen - but last night it refused to record anything. I tried to record a show that I was watching, tried to record something in the future, and tried to set a recording from the program guide. I finally gave up and went to bed.

I've already got a wife with an attitude, now a cable box?

Try rebooting. The box, not the wife.:)

Originally posted by hookbill
Has anyone ever noticed multiple recording of the same show? A couple of times I've noticed that for some reason the 8300 will take a single show and kind of chop it into three or 4 sections. It did this this week when I recorded House and while I was attempting to watch Point Pleasant while it was recording it did it again.

I get the full show. But it's in segments.

Anyone else seen this?

This is happening to me as well, but unfortunately I'm not getting the entire show. Same shows, House recorded in three segments (1 Min, 6 Min and 15 Min) giving me a total of 22 Mins of the show (the end 22Mins.) Point Pleasant recorded three 1 Minute sections (the last three minutes) which were all after the show was over, so effectively not recording it at all. Also, American Idol recorded three segments (1 Min, 1 Min and 15 Min) for a total of 17 mins most of which were commercials.

My wife is forcing me to put one of our Tivo's back on our main HDTV. This is NOT good.

Really, the SA DVR's are not much more than hard drive based VCR's. You would think that they could get the basics down better than this.

Originally posted by TheMostToyzWins
This is happening to me as well, but unfortunately I'm not getting the entire show. Same shows, House recorded in three segments (1 Min, 6 Min and 15 Min) giving me a total of 22 Mins of the show (the end 22Mins.) Point Pleasant recorded three 1 Minute sections (the last three minutes) which were all after the show was over, so effectively not recording it at all. Also, American Idol recorded three segments (1 Min, 1 Min and 15 Min) for a total of 17 mins most of which were commercials.

My wife is forcing me to put one of our Tivo's back on our main HDTV. This is NOT good.

Really, the SA DVR's are not much more than hard drive based VCR's. You would think that they could get the basics down better than this.

Well, there not TiVo's that's for sure but before you go back to SA viewing I'll tell you that I got a response on another thread indicating that this is not exclusive to SA boxes. Apparently this happens only with FOX, and as you can see from the shows you listed they were indeed all FOX shows.

I checked in at the TiVo PVR board and they are reporting they have not seen this problem. So it must be the cheaper boxes that are having this issue with FOX.

bhodson, there are actually 3 FF modes depending on how many times you press the FF button; 4X, 10X, and 30X. The Replay is an 8 second skip back, as you call it. The first post in this thread discusses all that (and more) and points to ways around those features from other DVRs that may be missing. The FF takes some getting used to, but with some practice it becomes fairly easy to skip through commercials. Before you switch though, you would be wise to read the first post. It will give you a pretty good idea of how the unit works and what features might be missing. You can then ask other questions that might help you make your decision. :)

It seems I have additional recording problems now. I recorded the "The First 24" on A&E on an analog recording and got just 4 minutes of it. The Apprentice last night I got just the first 25 minutes. And Without a Trace I got 55 minutes.:mad: :mad:

Somthing is wrong, I'll ask some people on my local thread if they are havng problems.

I have the same problem with mine. I had mine set to save "up to 5 shows". It started and stopped 6 times during recording of "House" so it deleted 1 part of the show. I thought it might have been related to my changing channels during recording, but it did something similar when I wasn't even home. It starts and stops multiple times during some shows (sometimes). I ended up having to set it to record all shows and it picked up all parts of a show. Strangeness :(

Sorry, this is slightly off-topic. I laughed when I received this email Scientific Atlanta:
>>>>
It's no secret that people love their Scientific-Atlanta DVRs. Tell us what you love about yours in 100 words or less and you could win an iPod® Photo, iPod shuffle or fine chocolates.

So, go to "I Love My DVR" and show your love! Be clear. Be creative. Be specific. And be quick - the deadline for entries is February 14, 2005
>>>>

While I would love to write a glowing letter about how much I love my SciAtl DVR and win an IPOD, can any of us really say they LOVE their 8000 or 8300? More than anything else, I work with it because it's the only box my cable company uses.

Originally posted by stosh
Sorry, this is slightly off-topic. I laughed when I received this email Scientific Atlanta:
>>>>
It's no secret that people love their Scientific-Atlanta DVRs. Tell us what you love about yours in 100 words or less and you could win an iPod® Photo, iPod shuffle or fine chocolates.

So, go to "I Love My DVR" and show your love! Be clear. Be creative. Be specific. And be quick - the deadline for entries is February 14, 2005
>>>>

While I would love to write a glowing letter about how much I love my SciAtl DVR and win an IPOD, can any of us really say they LOVE their 8000 or 8300? More than anything else, I work with it because it's the only box my cable company uses.

Yeah, I got one of those today too.....I just thought you gotta be kidding and trashed it.

Originally posted by Lampei
I have the same problem with mine. I had mine set to save "up to 5 shows". It started and stopped 6 times during recording of "House" so it deleted 1 part of the show. I thought it might have been related to my changing channels during recording, but it did something similar when I wasn't even home. It starts and stops multiple times during some shows (sometimes). I ended up having to set it to record all shows and it picked up all parts of a show. Strangeness :(

Uggggh!!! That sucks! Well, the theme still stays on FOX though. And it apparently is happening to people everywhere. What cable system do you have? I have Adelphia.

We (Cablevision) got Sara 1.87.12.1 this week.

Wow, what a mess. It fixed the pixelation, audio dropouts and perhaps the HDMI issue, but it broke (for many people) the box switching formats properly. Many people are reporting that when switched between HD channels, it doesn't always go into HD mode. You must have to go up and down channels a few times before the box goes out of 480 mode.

A workaround would be to switch to upconvert when you want to watch HD.

We've also been informed that, if testing goes well, that we'll see an update to address the recording issues (kicked out to live problem and maybe some others) in the next couple of weeks.

How about this...

It's once, twice, three times a lady, I love my 8300. Why? Because it never ceases to surprise me. Just like my wife, I never know if it is going to do what I ask of it. Moreover, it always does whatever I tell it not to do. Now that is a smart box! I program it; it says "I do what I want!" I love my 8300, it's like a wife, a lady, to me.

Lionel R.

Well, I do happen to love my 8300, inspite of occassional video glitches and limited recording options. I am using Cox Cable in Phoenix and have not had any of the problems you folks are talking about in recent posts. I record Fox programs often (especially 24 and House) and always get a single, complete recording.

We're still using SARA 1.85.14.1 here, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I do schedule most of my recordings on a individual basis vs using the All Episodes/This Timeslot or Any Timeslot options and that also might have something to do with my relative success.

I notice that in addition to some of these problems being limited to Fox, they also seem to be limited to the East Coast, or at least the East feed, but not to any single cableco.

Originally posted by Jim Boden
jst4fun:

There is a model with the prefix MDR (I think), which is the unit you're referring to. There is some debate as to whether or not the other 8300's can be "upgraded" with that feature with a software change. The last I heard, the jury was still out. Maybe someone else with more current info will chime in.

I can only assume so because of the following:

I picked up an 8300HD today in PHX, and while looking through the diag screens I found that I was running SARA 1.85.14.1 with the PTV OS listed as "OS, Home Server Edition 1.4".

Page 23/30 shows MR-DVR status as "ready", but Authorized is set as "no".

Looks like 3 simultaneous streams possible, though they're all grayed out (no streams in progress, of course...).

Does everyone have this, or is this new?

Originally posted by Qwijib0
Does everyone have this, or is this new? No, it's not new, this is the way it's been since they released the 8300 here on 11/11/2004 and only signifies that the software will probably support the MR, but that doesn't mean the current hardware will, that still seems to be open to debate. We haven't had any software updates since the rollout.

Just curious, but if you are in Tucson, why are you getting an 8300 in Phoenix and how are you using it? Parents live up here or something?

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
No, it's not new, this is the way it's been since they released the 8300 here on 11/11/2004 and only signifies that the software will probably support the MR, but that doesn't mean the current hardware will, that still seems to be open to debate. We haven't had any software updates since the rollout.

Just curious, but if you are in Tucson, why are you getting an 8300 in Phoenix and how are you using it? Parents live up here or something?

Good eye.. yeah. I go to school at the U, but am up for the weekend. Since we don't have locals there yet, I convinced him to get the HD-DVR and then I can take the OTA box he had back down.

Still got 'em wrapped around your finger, huh? :)

I'm sure he will enjoy the DVR, I know I do.

FWIW, my neighbor's son goes to the U too, 1st year.

I have the same problem here in Austin with the multiple recordings of the FOX shows. The Super Bowl was a disaster for this reason. Fortunately, I watched it live but then had to delete about 15 segments ranging from 1 minute to 2 hours+.

It has also been doing some flaky stuff like it didn't record any Monday shows last week even though they were in the to be recorded list and highlighted in red in the guide.

Today, I lost all of my "Season Passes" except one and had to reprogram them. I have rebooted the system 2-3 times with no changes in the flaky behavior.

Thank Goodness that I still have a TiVo and thus I wasn't left stranded without recordings.

JHK

Update: I just called TWC Tech support. They told me that they had gotten many complaints about this chopped recording problem today because of the Super Bowl. The Tech Support's supervisor had just sent a message to all tech support 5 minutes before I called. They are working to track down the problem. Hopefully, they will find a resolution soon.

JHK

hookbill (and others), what is your cableco and what software do they use, SARA or Passport? The reason I ask is because I see jhkbjk in Austin is on TWC and may be using Passport. I recorded the Superbowl yesterday and again had no problems. I'm using the original SARA release 1.85.14.1 from Nov 2004 on Cox Cable.

I'm with Adelphia Cable, I just recently got an upgrade from SARA 1.84.14.2 to SARA 1.85.17.3

I was having lots of problems getting full recordings on Adelphia. A call to tech support revealed that the system had me listed for 2 boxes: 1 HD and 1 DVR. I have had no recording problems since they fixed my account and set the 8300HD as 1 box.

Originally posted by hookbill
Uggggh!!! That sucks! Well, the theme still stays on FOX though. And it apparently is happening to people everywhere. What cable system do you have? I have Adelphia.

Ah yes, I didn't even notice that. It's FOX for me too (Judge Judy :), and House so far) I have brighthouse cable (formerly time warner) Glad I didn't record the Superbowl.

Originally posted by BarryDGordon
If I am watching a recorded show and decide to stop it and watch the rest tommorrow, the dvr does not give me an option to watch from the point where I stopped . I have to FF from the beginning. Anyone have a work around?

Anyone have an answer to the question above? I've had the same problem with my DVR. I'll start watching a show, pause it, then change channel (via the guide). I'll then go back to the show I was watching (via list button), press play and it starts from the beginning again. I *think* I managed to get it to start from mid show one or 2 times, but I have no idea how I did it.

I also found it weird (after using TiVo for such a long time) that when I click to watch a currently recording show, it starts me from the "live TV" rather than the beginning of the show (ala TiVo), and I then have to rewind in order to start watching from the beginning. I watched 2 shows in the last day or so that I haven't realized that I had missed something (American Dad and Simpson's got split up because of FOX glitch and Superbowl running later than 10)

If you stop or pause a recorded program, change channels, and eventually come back to the DVR channel, you should be able to simply hit Play and it will start playing from where you left off. That is probably how you got it to start in the middle once or twice. :)

However, if you stop it and turn off the DVR or watch another recording, it loses it's place and the only recourse right now is to FF from the beginning or REW from the end, depending on which is shorter. They are working on a fix for this, but no ETA yet. Basically, the 8300 has no way yet of storing a position flag at the moment.

They are also working to fix the problem of watching a program from the beginning that is still recording. Right now, REW is the only way to get to the beginning. When the recording stops, it will kick you out to "live" TV and that is also supposed to be fixed at some point.

Argh!!! Where's a stand alone TiVo when you need it :(

Had the chopped up recording problem again today during 24. During call to TWC, I asked them when they would be upgrading their IPG in Austin to have first run flags. The answer was "sometime this year." I asked why so long and they said that basically the upgraded guide wouldn't function on older equipment that was still in the field. They are slowly doing a recall on this equipment.

The CSR also stated that they would, at the same time, be upgrading their equipment to support 800 channels of HD and better VOD. He said field testing of the new equipment is complete and they are in the process of ordering the upgrade.

JHK

Originally posted by Lampei
Argh!!! Where's a stand alone TiVo when you need it :(

1st quarter of 06 for stand alone HD cable box according to TiVo at CES.

Edit. I corrected to the right year. I had mistakenly listed 05.

I don't suppose they offered any pricing details?

Originally posted by jhkbjk
Had the chopped up recording problem again today during 24. During call to TWC, I asked them when they would be upgrading their IPG in Austin to have first run flags. The answer was "sometime this year." I asked why so long and they said that basically the upgraded guide wouldn't function on older equipment that was still in the field. They are slowly doing a recall on this equipment.

The CSR also stated that they would, at the same time, be upgrading their equipment to support 800 channels of HD and better VOD. He said field testing of the new equipment is complete and they are in the process of ordering the upgrade.

JHK

Unless it is a definite "connection" you have to the cable company, I would never believe anything any CSR says about technical matters. I think they have a script they read from.

I haven't checked yet but I hope my recording of 24 whent ok. Once again, it's FOX.

Edited to add: Just checked and my recording of 24 came out complete.

I checked my recording of 24 and it came in about 6 parts :(

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
I don't suppose they offered any pricing details?

Unfortunately not. But the rep did say that the release date depended on the finalization of Cable Card standards this coming July. Unfortunately I did not ask if he was talking about Cable Card 1 (one way)or 2 (two way)standards.

They did have a working prototype on display.

I thought I heard 2006 for cable-card HD Tivo ???

Anyway, someone at the Tivo Community turned me on to this forum and its much appreciated. I still have 3 Series 2 Tivos, but just added a 8300HD from Bright House Cable. I am pleasantly surprised so far, I love the 2 tuners and obviously the 20 hours of HD capacity. My main gripes:

1) no 30 second skip just plain sucks
2) the one week guide with poor searching needs much improved
3) the inability to "resume" a show that is still being recorded hopefully will be fixed soon

I still kept my Tivo attached to the same TV so I have all the good stuff of Tivo with the HD recorder as a bonus for my HD Season Passes. I definitely will get an HD Tivo when available though, but this thing will do nicely in the meantime

Superbowl and 24 were both all chopped up for me too. TWC in Austin. Haven't placed a call to TWC tech support yet. What would be the point?

Originally posted by applejack
Superbowl and 24 were both all chopped up for me too. TWC in Austin. Haven't placed a call to TWC tech support yet. What would be the point?

Exactly. They wouldn't have a clue. But take notice it's happening on FOX so something is definitly up.

Originally posted by applejack
Superbowl and 24 were both all chopped up for me too. TWC in Austin. Haven't placed a call to TWC tech support yet. What would be the point?

The more people that call and complain about a problem the more likely they will ever do anything about it. If you don't tell them you are having problems, they will think everything is working fine.

Originally posted by TheMostToyzWins
The more people that call and complain about a problem the more likely they will ever do anything about it. If you don't tell them you are having problems, they will think everything is working fine.

Yes...but it's getting to the correct person.

Calling a CSR won't get you anywhere. I eventually got an email for someone who works in my area at Adelphia and now when there is a problem that ordinary CSR can't work I email her and it usually gets taken care of quickly (like data missing from the guide).

Originally posted by hookbill
I'm with Adelphia Cable, I just recently got an upgrade from SARA 1.84.14.2 to SARA 1.85.17.3
Just received a new 8300HD from Charter and the SARA version is 1.85.20.3

Originally posted by lexluthor
We (Cablevision) got Sara 1.87.12.1 this week.

Wow, what a mess. It fixed the pixelation, audio dropouts and perhaps the HDMI issue, but it broke (for many people) the box switching formats properly. Many people are reporting that when switched between HD channels, it doesn't always go into HD mode. You must have to go up and down channels a few times before the box goes out of 480 mode.

A workaround would be to switch to upconvert when you want to watch HD.

We've also been informed that, if testing goes well, that we'll see an update to address the recording issues (kicked out to live problem and maybe some others) in the next couple of weeks.

Exactly what I'm experiencing. HDMI finally works on my projector :D but now the box gets stuck in 480i occasionally :mad:
They fix one thing and break something else.

About a million people complained about the Super Bowl so TWC in Austin has plenty of PO'd customers. On Sunday, I did talk to someone up the chain in tech support. It is an acknowledged problem that they know they need to fix and are working on. Usually, I don't complain about stuff like this either but it is ridiculuous to have a recording broken into all of these sub-segments.

Just picked up an SA8300HD from TWCNYC.

1) When watching HD, via S-video, on a 4:3 TV I get gray letterbox bars. Is there any way to switch the gray to black? I've got a TV that has no danger of burn-in.

2) Worse -- when watch a 4:3 show, via 1080i, in Sidebar mode -- which what I want to keep the picture itself 4:3 -- the sidebars are gray. I've got an LCD projector with no burn-in possible so I've no need to worry about burn-in! Can I set the Sidebars to black. Gray is horrible!

3) Any way to get an anamorphic output from the S-video port rather than letterbox. I can record on DVHS -- since the FW is missing -- and play widesreen component to the HDTV where it would become widescreen.

4) Is there any way to get CC to appear ONLY when the 8300HD is in Mute? It also only appears on the analog component output -- not the S-video.

5 Is TWCNYC using SARA with the 8300HD?

Thank you.

New problem for me with the HD recording

Every time I record a show on HBOHD, the digital out intermittently drops (about every minute to every 5 minutes...it varies). I thought it was something with the signal, but I see my receiver changing from analog to digital every time the sound drops (there's a slight silence when my receiver switches from analog to digital while it detects what kind of digital signal it is). Every time I've recorded a show on it, the sound keeps dropping (Matrix, Matrix: Revolutions, The Secret Window). I'm pretty sure I've watched HBOHD live and not noticed it, but I'll be trying again tonight. My other HD channels are fine (live or recorded).

Anyone else experiencing this?

Originally posted by Lampei
New problem for me with the HD recording

Every time I record a show on HBOHD, the digital out intermittently drops (about every minute to every 5 minutes...it varies). I thought it was something with the signal, but I see my receiver changing from analog to digital every time the sound drops (there's a slight silence when my receiver switches from analog to digital while it detects what kind of digital signal it is). Every time I've recorded a show on it, the sound keeps dropping (Matrix, Matrix: Revolutions, The Secret Window). I'm pretty sure I've watched HBOHD live and not noticed it, but I'll be trying again tonight. My other HD channels are fine (live or recorded).

Anyone else experiencing this?

Yes, but not permanently. I think this is a signal problem. If it isn't happening with anyone else but keeps recurring with HBO...and I rarely say this....Call the cable company. Odds are however it will be fixed.

Originally posted by d-v-c
Just picked up an SA8300HD from TWCNYC.

1) When watching HD, via S-video, on a 4:3 TV I get gray letterbox bars. Is there any way to switch the gray to black? I've got a TV that has no danger of burn-in.

2) Worse -- when watch a 4:3 show, via 1080i, in Sidebar mode -- which what I want to keep the picture itself 4:3 -- the sidebars are gray. I've got an LCD projector with no burn-in possible so I've no need to worry about burn-in! Can I set the Sidebars to black. Gray is horrible!

3) Any way to get an anamorphic output from the S-video port rather than letterbox. I can record on DVHS -- since the FW is missing -- and play widesreen component to the HDTV where it would become widescreen.

4) Is there any way to get CC to appear ONLY when the 8300HD is in Mute? It also only appears on the analog component output -- not the S-video.

5 Is TWCNYC using SARA with the 8300HD

Thank you.

Well, to start with find out what software you have. Go to the diagnostic window to see this. Probably if you get there following these instructions you have SARA. See this thread for all kinds of good info on SARA: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=471859

You should be able to change the color of your side bars in the settings.

I'm kind of running around your post but I don't have an answer for question 4.

Since I don't have 4:3 television I don't think I want to try to answer your other questions, but let me ask you one. Why are you watching through S Video as opposed to component? I'll bet if you watch through component many of your problems will be solved. I'm assuming you don't have a DVI or HDMI since your screen is 4:3.

Also keep in mind, you can't really watch HD on 4:3. It will look better, true, but 16x9 is the way to go.:)

Be advised that I believe only the sidebars on the SD channels can be changed. The sidebars that are part of the 4:3 image on HD channels when they are not broadcasting HD are part of the image and defined by the station, not the 8300.

hookbill, I believe he is using a regular TV for SD viewing and am LCD projector for HD viewing, hence the questions about S-Video connections, etc.

Hi Guys,

They added a new HD channel in my area today. In our local forum, many of us had to reboot to get this on our channel line up. I had to.

The was CBS in HD so I went into my recordings list and deleted all my analog recordings on CBS. I then tried to record them on the HD channel. It went through all the motions but at the end it did not set itself to record.

I seem to recall seeing this problem somewhere and I did do a search but I can't find it. This is happening on all my channels not just the new HD channel.

Anyone know what's up? SARA 1.85.17.3

Originally posted by hookbill
Hi Guys,

It went through all the motions but at the end it did not set itself to record.



hookbill,

I was unable to record a week or so ago and I think it was you who suggested I reboot - which I did and I was able to record. Is that the problem you're having?

Originally posted by stosh
hookbill,

I was unable to record a week or so ago and I think it was you who suggested I reboot - which I did and I was able to record. Is that the problem you're having?

lol...it may very well have been me, and it is the problem I WAS having. It was the first thing I did, but it didn't work for me. I had to call Adelphia and the resent the signal, and for the first time in the many years I have had cable it actually worked!

Hi all,
This is a great thread and the many tips and tricks mentioned have been helpful. I do have a question regarding the setup of my box so that I can get the best possible PQ through my TV.

I currently have a Samsung HLN437W HDTV and have the SA8300HD box hooked up via HDMI > DVI cable. The native resolution on the Samsung is 720p. So, what setting should I set the cable box to? Auto DVI? Fixed, and then change it to whatever resolution the channel I'm viewing? Any of the two Upconverts?

I have Charter Cable and receive the following channels in HD:
-ABC
-NBC
-Fox
-Showtime HD
-HBO HD
-Discovery HD
-ESPN HD
-HDNet
-HDNet Movies

By the way, I don't like to have the 4x3 channels stretch to 16x9, and with some of the settings (Auto DVI), they stretch the non-HD channels. Thanks for your help!

Originally posted by TivoDaddy
Hi all,
This is a great thread and the many tips and tricks mentioned have been helpful. I do have a question regarding the setup of my box so that I can get the best possible PQ through my TV.

I currently have a Samsung HLN437W HDTV and have the SA8300HD box hooked up via HDMI > DVI cable. The native resolution on the Samsung is 720p. So, what setting should I set the cable box to? Auto DVI? Fixed, and then change it to whatever resolution the channel I'm viewing? Any of the two Upconverts?

I have Charter Cable and receive the following channels in HD:
-ABC
-NBC
-Fox
-Showtime HD
-HBO HD
-Discovery HD
-ESPN HD
-HDNet
-HDNet Movies

By the way, I don't like to have the 4x3 channels stretch to 16x9, and with some of the settings (Auto DVI), they stretch the non-HD channels. Thanks for your help!

Did you do the set up on the box to make sure you have 480i? I would recommend you make sure on your set up that you have 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i.

Then select AUTO/DVI-HDMI.

The reason I pick those settings is because those are the only settings I have coming through my cable company. I would let the box bring in the correct signal and let your set adjust accordingly.

If it is stretching the picture I would bet that you have your original set up at 1080i (or 720p but more likely the former).

If you don't know how to get to set up, turn your box off and go to the box itself and push info and guide at the same time. Then grab your remote and it will step you through, there is a wizard there. Select manual setup, not auto setup.

Hope this helps.

I think hookbill pretty much has it.

Just make sure you tell your TV to not strech a 480 signal.

If you can't do that, you probably can just not use 480i and p in the STB settings and send everything as HD to your TV. Your TV probably won't try to strech HD at all.

My guess is that it is your TV doing the stretch of the SD channels. Check your TVs zoom feature to see how it is set. Even if the 8300 was set to only output 1080i, I believe the SD image would still be 4:3 but with bars on the sides.

Thanks for the quick reply guys!!

hookbill and lexluthor, I don't have 480i set up on the box because when I originally installed it, I was watching through the component connection that didn't accept 480i so I couldn't view it. I'll save that setting when I get home tonight and then test it in the "AUTO DVI/HDMI" setting.

DoubleDAZ, the TVs setting is set to Widescreen in DVI. When I used the "fixed" setting at 720p, the non-HD channels appear correctly as 4x3 and the HD channels appear as 16x9.

Originally posted by TivoDaddy
Thanks for the quick reply guys!!

hookbill and lexluthor, I don't have 480i set up on the box because when I originally installed it, I was watching through the component connection that didn't accept 480i so I couldn't view it. I'll save that setting when I get home tonight and then test it in the "AUTO DVI/HDMI" setting.

DoubleDAZ, the TVs setting is set to Widescreen in DVI. When I used the "fixed" setting at 720p, the non-HD channels appear correctly as 4x3 and the HD channels appear as 16x9.

When I disable 480i and leave only 480p and 720p activated, I set the output to "upconvert 2". This way all the HD stuff comes in stretched, HD comes in like it should. The only thing I have to do for HD with 4:3 (cbs and abc, and fox) content is to press the zoom button so it will stretch. ABC already stretches the SD on HD for me.

Originally posted by lexluthor
We (Cablevision) got Sara 1.87.12.1 this week.

"Many people are reporting that when switched between HD channels, it doesn't always go into HD mode. You must have to go up and down channels a few times before the box goes out of 480 mode."

Anyone else experiencing this "stuck in 480" problem?

Yes, I have. I believe it may have something to do with the handshaking.

Now what exactly I did to fix it, I'm not sure. The first time I had this problem I came home from a birthday celebration and I decided to tackle it. I fixed it, but quite honestly I was a little enebreated so I didn't know what it was I did.:)

The next time it happened was when the cable company resent a signal to me. Whenever I would change the set from TV7,TV6, etc. or just shut it off it would no longer auto change and would be stuck at 480i.

So, what I did about it that time was I went to where I view my VCR on TV1, put the VCR on L1 so I could see the 8300. Then I turned the box off and set up on that channel, just like I would if I was setting up through HDMI.

When I did that, it seemed to solve the handshaking problem. I've never had a problem with it since then.

GOSS151,

Yes, anyone with Cablevision who has the new SARA has this problem.

Expect a fix to be pushed in the next week or so.

hookbill wrote:

>>I fixed it, but quite honestly I was a little enebreated so I didn't know what it was I did. <<

darn it, hookbill, we're supposed to be provided help and assistance to those in need! You telling him to get enebriated to fix the problem???? :-)

maybe you should change your name to snookeredbill?

Originally posted by lexluthor
GOSS151,

Yes, anyone with Cablevision who has the new SARA has this problem.

Expect a fix to be pushed in the next week or so.

We just got the SA8300 here in Central Florida with Brighthouse Networks and I have the problem.

-- Jay

Usually if I change to 707 (ABC) and then back to the channel it forces the change. Unfortunately if I pause live TV then I'm screwed.

I will sit down tonight with a bottle of Absolut and see if I can fix it.:p

Questions:

First let me say I am using the 8300HD with Brighthouse in Florida, so I am not sure the software and/or hardware is exactly the same, but nonetheless I have a quick question:

(and let me apologize if the answer is earlier in this thread, I have read much of it, but not all of it)

Once I have started watching a recorded program, how do I get to the screen to change the # of days the box saves the program, if you only have the one program saved?

If I have more than one program, I can select another program, then select the first one again, and it puts me back into the preferences screen, where I can select the length of save. The problem, I found, if I am doing this with the ONLY picture I have saved, once I have started watching the movie, selecting it, only puts you directly back viewing this move, and I cannot find any way to edit my preferences for this movie. (I hope this question is clear enough to understand)

Tachy, I have too many recordings right now that I don't want to erase to see if I can figure it out, but have you tried turning the 8300 off after you stop the program? This might reset the current view status and let you select the program again to change the Save Time. If that doesn't work, simply stop it, switch channels, hit Record, and record part of a second program to add to your list.

Originally posted by Tachy
Questions:

First let me say I am using the 8300HD with Brighthouse in Florida, so I am not sure the software and/or hardware is exactly the same, but nonetheless I have a quick question:

(and let me apologize if the answer is earlier in this thread, I have read much of it, but not all of it)

Once I have started watching a recorded program, how do I get to the screen to change the # of days the box saves the program, if you only have the one program saved?

If I have more than one program, I can select another program, then select the first one again, and it puts me back into the preferences screen, where I can select the length of save. The problem, I found, if I am doing this with the ONLY picture I have saved, once I have started watching the movie, selecting it, only puts you directly back viewing this move, and I cannot find any way to edit my preferences for this movie. (I hope this question is clear enough to understand)

Let me see if I've got this. You've only got one program saved. You start watching it. You decide you want to save it longer then the original 5 days or so, you want to save it "until I erase". But the system won't let you do this while your playing. And it book marks until you watch the whole movie.

I just got the email DoubleDAZ has replied as well. That was my thought too. Turn the unit off. If that doesn't work, and it should reboot it. It won't loose your recording.

Unless I record a second program I can NEVER get back to the screen allowing you to change the save time. With only one program saved, and ONCE you have started watching or even COMPLETELY watched the movie, it will not allow me to get back into the preferences screen for that single movie. This was a problem originally, but now I usually have more than 1 movie so it is less of an issue. Just an unual glitch. You can erase a movie, or save it to vcr, but the preference screen to change the save time cannot be gotten to, since the 8300 seems to take you right into the movie the second (and all subsequent) time.

and.....by the way.....I also had the prior mentioned problem with the superbowl and fox (using brighthouse cable in florida). The superbowl was saved in 9 separate parts....some of which just consisted of 2 minutes of comercials. I initially thought it was Fox's or the NFL's way to prevent digitally saving of the superbowl, but I see on this thread that it seems to be occuring on other Fox shows as well.

Another question.....

I currently have my box set to pass through the signals (480 and 1080i), so it is not a problem, but when I set the box to convert fixed at 1080i, if I set the sidebars to "light" to match that of my Pioneer Elite HDTV's, I get an annoying thin strip of black, just to the left of the actual tv picture, where it joins the light sidebar. (if I choose dark sidebars using the 8300 menu, this black bar is not really visable, since it blends in with the sidebar). It appears fairly annoying with light sidebars. Is there a way to adjust this, so the tv picture actually fills the center area, and comes flush with the sidebar. (I expect this is an 8300 problem and not with my tv, since it looks fine using passthrough.)

And what are the latest versions of the software/updates....

my box says server vs. 1.4
Flash version 185.14.1

Originally posted by TivoDaddy
Thanks for the quick reply guys!!

hookbill and lexluthor, I don't have 480i set up on the box because when I originally installed it, I was watching through the component connection that didn't accept 480i so I couldn't view it. I'll save that setting when I get home tonight and then test it in the "AUTO DVI/HDMI" setting.

DoubleDAZ, the TVs setting is set to Widescreen in DVI. When I used the "fixed" setting at 720p, the non-HD channels appear correctly as 4x3 and the HD channels appear as 16x9.
So I played with my settings this weekend and finally figured why they 480i content was being stretched out. I had selected both 480p and 480i standard mode as well as widescreen mode. Once I deleted the 480p and 480i standard modes, the non-HD channels displayed properly in 4x3. I guess it makes sense. :cool:

Originally posted by TivoDaddy
So I played with my settings this weekend and finally figured why they 480i content was being stretched out. I had selected both 480p and 480i standard mode as well as widescreen mode. Once I deleted the 480p and 480i standard modes, the non-HD channels displayed properly in 4x3. I guess it makes sense. :cool:

Interesting. At one time I had everything selected on my box (widescreens too) but I never saw any effect from that. That's one of the reasons I turned them "off."

Perhaps the size of your screen has something to do with it. I only have a 30" CRT.

Originally posted by hookbill
Interesting. At one time I had everything selected on my box (widescreens too) but I never saw any effect from that. That's one of the reasons I turned them "off."

Perhaps the size of your screen has something to do with it. I only have a 30" CRT.
I have a 43" Samsung DLP. At the initial setting, do you select Standard or Widescreen for your TV display? I have mine set for Widescreen. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Originally posted by TivoDaddy
I have a 43" Samsung DLP. At the initial setting, do you select Standard or Widescreen for your TV display? I have mine set for Widescreen. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Assuming your talking about the set I have my set on Wide Zoom for non hd programing and it automatically goes to Full Screen when it receives an HD signal.

Probably totally different settings from your 4:3 television.

Oftentimes folks have their TV stretch mode on when setting things up and that can skew what they see. From what I remember when doing the setup, you get a preview of what each format will look like before you enable them. In the case if the 480i/p standard/widescreen, they are both there for a reason and only one or the other should be enabled, not both.

My understanding is that standard allows you to use your TV stretch modes whereas widescreen makes the box do the stretch. I have mine set to standard because I prefer my TV's 4:3 Expanded mode while others use widescreen because they prefer the box modes. As TivoDaddy has found out, using a 4:3 HDTV complicates things a bit because the end result for these formats may be different than they are with 16:9 widescreen sets. The main thing is to only set the formats you need and not all of them, more is not always better. :)

OK, I have my 8300HD hooked up via HDMI and coax digital out to receiver. When I go into my HLP5674 p-info settings it only shows wide and 4:3. I've added 720P, 1080i, and 480P to the SATA output settings, but I still am only able to set the picture to wide or 4:3. I have my DVD player hooked up via component and it allows me to do panorama, stretch, expand, and all the rest, but not via the HDMI on the cable box. Is this correct or am I not doing something?

Originally posted by Lampei
OK, I have my 8300HD hooked up via HDMI and coax digital out to receiver. When I go into my HLP5674 p-info settings it only shows wide and 4:3. I've added 720P, 1080i, and 480P to the SATA output settings, but I still am only able to set the picture to wide or 4:3. I have my DVD player hooked up via component and it allows me to do panorama, stretch, expand, and all the rest, but not via the HDMI on the cable box. Is this correct or am I not doing something?

When your HDTV is getting a HD signal it should only go to 16:9 or as your calling it Widescreen. I'm a bit confused about being able to select 4:3, I can't do that on my set. It sounds like you have the correct settings in your set up (you can use either 480i or 480p). It makes sense that your DVD which does not give a 720p or 1080i signal would give your projection tv more settings, it's suppose to.

Sorry if that isn't much help, maybe someone else can follow up.

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
Oftentimes folks have their TV stretch mode on when setting things up and that can skew what they see. From what I remember when doing the setup, you get a preview of what each format will look like before you enable them. In the case if the 480i/p standard/widescreen, they are both there for a reason and only one or the other should be enabled, not both.

My understanding is that standard allows you to use your TV stretch modes whereas widescreen makes the box do the stretch. I have mine set to standard because I prefer my TV's 4:3 Expanded mode while others use widescreen because they prefer the box modes. As TivoDaddy has found out, using a 4:3 HDTV complicates things a bit because the end result for these formats may be different than they are with 16:9 widescreen sets. The main thing is to only set the formats you need and not all of them, more is not always better. :)
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the input. My set is a 16:9 widescreen that is set to normally show HD as 16:9, and keep 4:3 as is. Interesting that you mention you will get a preview of each format during the setup process. For mine, the 1080i and 720p modes appeared in "4:3" view as well as the 480i/p modes in widescreen mode. But, the 480i/p standard modes appeared stretched. I thought it was weird at that point, but it's probably my TV converting things appropriately.

Jorge,

43" Samsung
My bad, I misread that. :)

At any rate, I just went through setup with my Hitachi 65" RPTV for the second time and tested each format again. I made sure I turned off my 4:3 Expanded stretch mode this time. This is an important step because when I first tested the formats, I got the same results you did, but I had my stretch mode (4:3 Expanded) on. So, I turned it off, went through setup again, and got the correct results. (I suspect you had/have your TV's stretch mode on when you did your setup).

Anyway, here is what I found with my stretch mode OFF:

All formats appear in a 4:3 space with bars on the side and this can make the results kind of confusing. What should be widescreen appears to be 4:3 when it really isn't. Confused? I was until I got to the 480i/p WS formats.

Within the 4:3 space, the actual format being displayed for 480i/p Std, 720p, and 1080i is Widescreen, they all display the same. When I tested 480i/p WS, they had an extra set of bars on the sides, making them true 4:3 within the 4:3 space.

I didn't notice this the first time when I had my stretch mode still on because the 480i/p WS formats filled the whole screen. This initially made it seem that they were the widescreen formats, just the opposite of what you would expect. Turning OFF the stretch mode was the key to getting the correct test display.

Hello,

I am using SA 8300 for Cox in San Diego, CA. I am being charged $9.95 per month for "Cox digital Video recorder service" AND another $9.00 per moth for "Digital Converter - DVD-HD"

DAMNNN!!! almost $20 bucks every month!!!


Is everyone else paying that much for this box?



Can't wait for a cable card ready unit from Panisonic or such that I can buy outright@!

Bernie

I just swaped my old problem plagued 8000HD with audio drop out nightmare for the newer 8300HD .
I am using it in Ottawa Canada through Rogers cable and I am impressed so far all seems to be well especially audio wise .

I am just getting used to new features showing hard drive space left and dual sametime TV outputs ( HD and SD ).
This feature is nice as it allows me to use SDTV for programming while keeping my HDTV projector off.

Thanks for the tips and tricks link printed that off and will start experimenting .
Looking forward to SARA upgrades that hopefully will allow SATA external HD to be added for extra HDTV archiving storage space .

HDTV PVR what a concept can't live without it.

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
Jorge,


My bad, I misread that. :)

At any rate, I just went through setup with my Hitachi 65" RPTV for the second time and tested each format again. I made sure I turned off my 4:3 Expanded stretch mode this time. This is an important step because when I first tested the formats, I got the same results you did, but I had my stretch mode (4:3 Expanded) on. So, I turned it off, went through setup again, and got the correct results. (I suspect you had/have your TV's stretch mode on when you did your setup).

Anyway, here is what I found with my stretch mode OFF:

All formats appear in a 4:3 space with bars on the side and this can make the results kind of confusing. What should be widescreen appears to be 4:3 when it really isn't. Confused? I was until I got to the 480i/p WS formats.

Within the 4:3 space, the actual format being displayed for 480i/p Std, 720p, and 1080i is Widescreen, they all display the same. When I tested 480i/p WS, they had an extra set of bars on the sides, making them true 4:3 within the 4:3 space.

I didn't notice this the first time when I had my stretch mode still on because the 480i/p WS formats filled the whole screen. This initially made it seem that they were the widescreen formats, just the opposite of what you would expect. Turning OFF the stretch mode was the key to getting the correct test display.
Dave,
Thanks for confirming that I wasn't going crazy. :D

Regarding the FOX HD / 8300HD video recording chop up....

I JUST got the 8300HD from Time Warner (austin, TX) last week. I was all excited to watch 24 in HD, so I recorded it while I was out on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, when I came home, it only recorded the last 28 minutes of the show, I was not happy. I called Time Warner and they said Fox is working on it.

Anyway, my question is, has anyone tried to do a manual recording? Does this fix the chop up?

Originally posted by acc97a
Regarding the FOX HD / 8300HD video recording chop up....

I JUST got the 8300HD from Time Warner (austin, TX) last week. I was all excited to watch 24 in HD, so I recorded it while I was out on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, when I came home, it only recorded the last 28 minutes of the show, I was not happy. I called Time Warner and they said Fox is working on it.

Anyway, my question is, has anyone tried to do a manual recording? Does this fix the chop up?

While this does happen with FOX it doesn't seem to be a nation wide problem. 24 came in fine for me.

I'm curious. Did you just get the last 28 minutes? If that's what you got then it probably recorded the whole thing but made more the 5 recordings so the others got deleted?

Oh man I didn't even think of that, I probably have it set to keep the last 5, and so it only kept the last 5. That sucks. I hate this thing, I want my Tivo back.

Good point, hookbill. Anyone having the prrblem should adjust their preferences to keep all recordings until they delete them.

I can also verify it is not a nationwide problem, I've never had the problem here in Phoenix either. I suspect a manual recording might be a workaround, but I've never seen anyone with the problem say anything one way or the other. The thing we've never determined is whether or not the problem is limited to:

Fox East Coast feed
TWC 8300s
TWC 8300s using Passport software

Originally posted by acc97a
I want my Tivo back. Easy enough to fix, just go get it, there are no contracts with cable. :)

How can I find out what format my cable company is sending my signal in? Once I find out should I always use the passthrough option or should I use Upconvert? I am guessing most of my channels are 480I.

You can call them and ask, but I don't know of any cableco that does anything to the formats other than modulate (QAM) them for broadcast. Generally, SD channels should be 480i, music channels 480p, ABC/ESPN/FOX HD channels 720p, and all other HD channels 1080i.

Many folks use Pass-Through to let their TV reformat the signals for display rather than having the HD tuner do it. Usually, the TV does a better or the same job. My TV displays 1080i, so I only enabled 480i and 1080i because I could see no difference with 720p and didn't like the distracting reformat when switching to/from ABC/ESPN/FOX.

The only way to know what you should use is the simply try them both, whatever formats your TV accepts, and see what looks best to you.

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
Good point, hookbill. Anyone having the prrblem should adjust their preferences to keep all recordings until they delete them.

I can also verify it is not a nationwide problem, I've never had the problem here in Phoenix either. I suspect a manual recording might be a workaround, but I've never seen anyone with the problem say anything one way or the other. The thing we've never determined is whether or not the problem is limited to:

Fox East Coast feed
TWC 8300s
TWC 8300s using Passport software

Well, I'm Adelphia. Nothing to do with TWC and I was affected by it 2 weeks ago. Everything has worked fine over the last two weeks. It's happening in Texas, which isn't East so I don't think it's restricted to just Eastern Feed, Texas is mostly Central time.

I think FOX is behind this, I just don't understand why. I don't believe that folks with TiVo HD recorders are having this problem, but I'm not certain either.

Everything recorded just fine - never had a problem with it yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I had the superbowl in 9 parts, which was tedious last night.....having to delete each part one by one........(I had set it to save all parts until I deleted them)

When I use "Copy to VCR" function the resulting tape is "double letterboxed" (by that I mean the black bars are too wide). This does not happen if I simply record what I am watching. Anyone know a work around?

What I would really like to do is create an "anamorphic tape" with no black bars" (like an "enhanced for widescreen" DVD). Anyone have a way to do that?

I haven't made the 8300HD jump yet - I am still using ReplayTV in SD. A few weeks ago, I only got the last 27 minutes of The OC, another Fox show. I never had that problem before or since - maybe it is a Fox thing.

Originally posted by marchristensen
I haven't made the 8300HD jump yet - I am still using ReplayTV in SD. A few weeks ago, I only got the last 27 minutes of The OC, another Fox show. I never had that problem before or since - maybe it is a Fox thing.

Yes, I've heard it isn't just SA 8300. And all signs do point to FOX.

I guess I missed a few posts since this is the first I've heard about other DVRs having similar problems or that is wasn't just HD. I don't recall seeing a post anywhere pointing to any network other than FOX. Maybe eventually it will affect Tivo and then it will surely get fixed. :)

Originally posted by LesMoss
When I use "Copy to VCR" function the resulting tape is "double letterboxed" (by that I mean the black bars are too wide). This does not happen if I simply record what I am watching. Anyone know a work around?

What I would really like to do is create an "anamorphic tape" with no black bars" (like an "enhanced for widescreen" DVD). Anyone have a way to do that?

Wish I knew a fix for that too LesMoss. I think that they need another menu item to select how you want HD down graded to S-Video output ....

Bernie

I sent email to Adelphia about the external SATA port. I said: I rent an SA 8300HD DVR from you. Is the external SATA port activated?

They said: Not at this time, we are looking to have software applications updated to activate various options during 2005.

Has anyone heard how the TWC testing of SATA external drives is going? Is there another thread discussing it?

On further review, I think my claim of an aspect ratio problem is wrong. It appears that my TV has a greater overscan percentage in HD than it does in SD. Also, the aspect ratio is the same on regular and Copy to VCR. Sorry to blame the "innocent" 8300HD for my poor experimental technique.

Still have not figured out how to get an "anamorphic tape".


Originally posted by LesMoss
When I use "Copy to VCR" function the resulting tape is "double letterboxed" (by that I mean the black bars are too wide). This does not happen if I simply record what I am watching. Anyone know a work around?

What I would really like to do is create an "anamorphic tape" with no black bars" (like an "enhanced for widescreen" DVD). Anyone have a way to do that?

I just got my 8300 HD box and I am having a problem. I am using HDMI connection with a digital optical out but I cant seem to get true surround sound working. On my receiver it says only the L and R are lit up. I went into settings under audio like everyone suggested but all I can change is from fixed to variable. Im a little lost. BTW im using a Pioneer Elite Plasma tv. THX for the help.

All I can get is 2 channel stereo with my digital optical outs.

It's not the TV, the 8300, or anything you've done wrong. You are simply part of a group that is stuck because you cannot change the Audio: Digital Out to Dolby Digital. AFAIK, there is absolutely nothing you can do except switch back to Component until your software gets updated or the cableco enables that option.

Thanks for responding. I have been driving myself friggin nuts the last 3 hours trying to get it to work. I didnt think there was anything wrong I was doing but wasnt sure. All I knew was when I went to audio and there was only fixed and variable option. Hopefully adelphia will enable this soon. At least I know its not me. Thanks again

Just wanted to point out one other thing. I recorded "Survivor" to the SA8300HD a few days ago. I recorded it from CBS-HD channel 708 on Cox cable even though it was actually broadcast SD.

When I play it back on the 8300 it is normal 4X3 material. But when I use copy out to VHS it letterboxes it as though it was 16X9. I think that it was recoreded in upconverted 1080i. Next time I will have to record any 4X3 material from NON "HD" channels on Cox!

Yes, if you record SD channels that upconvert their stuff to a HD channel, and you are planning to save them to vhs or dvd, (or anything that uses the video/audio out rca cables, it is best to record it originally using the 4:3 non upconverted signal, otherwise you wind up with the letterboxed version.

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
If you stop or pause a recorded program, change channels, and eventually come back to the DVR channel, you should be able to simply hit Play and it will start playing from where you left off. That is probably how you got it to start in the middle once or twice. :)

However, if you stop it and turn off the DVR or watch another recording, it loses it's place and the only recourse right now is to FF from the beginning or REW from the end, depending on which is shorter. They are working on a fix for this, but no ETA yet. Basically, the 8300 has no way yet of storing a position flag at the moment. I don't know what has happened because I'm still using the same software I was back in November, but earlier this week we started to watch a recording of Point Pleasant. Half way through, we stopped it to watch something else live. Since then I have watched 3-4 other recordings, turned the unit off a couple of nights, etc. However, just now when I slected PP from the list and started watching it again, it started from where it left off previously. I expected it to start from the beginning, so I will have to do some testing to see if this was just a fluke, like Lampei mentioned a while back, or not.

I experienced the same thing. I recorded "Return of the Living Dead" off of Encore the other night and watched half of it and went to bed. I returned to it the next day and when I chose to watch the movie, it began exactly where I left off the night before. I see this as a positive feature as I wouldn't have liked to fastforward to the point I stopped watching the previous night.

Chuck, that has always been the case for me as long as I didn't watch another recorded program first. However, watching another recorded program before returning to the first one has always resulted in the first one restarting from the beginning instead of where I left off and I had to FF.

So, this is something new for me and I don't know what could have changed between now and the last time I tried this (see earlier discussions in this thread with Lampei). The software version is still 1.85.14.1 from last November. I suppose it's always possible they fixed something at the headend since my box has been reset a few times inthe past couple of weeks. It's been quite a while since I've stopped watching a program in the middle and returned to it after watching other recorded programs. Oh well......

Dave,

I tried this last night and I wasn't successful in setting multiple bookmarks.

Thanks for the info stosh. I haven't tested it again yet to see if it was just a fluke, but I hope to do so sometime today. I should mention that I only had the one program restart where it left off and I watched all the other recordings to the end. It could be that the 8300 can remember the position for one recorded program stopped in the middle, but not more than one. I've got several recordings saved, so it shouldn't be hard to test.

How do we get COX to change the software to allow 16X9 on the S-vid outputs and copy to VCR ?

Dave,
I did a reboot last night and afterward decided to check for multi bookmarks. I only ran two recordings and live, but I paused each recording a couple of times and it worked fine a first for me here in Houston. TWC SARA

TerryB

Originally posted by Bernie R
How do we get COX to change the software to allow 16X9 on the S-vid outputs and copy to VCR ?

Bernie....you can't and won't. Each cable company provides software that is compatible with their system. That's why so many of us have different software versions.

Now if SA develops a software that does this and it's compatible to COX...then you might see it.:)

Dear DVR Subscriber,

It has just been brought to our attention that the providers of the program information in your interactive program guide have labeled tonight's and tomorrow's episodes of "American Idol" as re-runs when, in fact, they are first run episodes. So, if you've set up your DVR to record first-run only episodes of American Idol, it will not be recorded tonight or tomorrow night.

To ensure that these episodes are recorded, you will need to manually schedule each of them again by time or by program name for tonight and tomorrow night.

If you have any friends or neighbors who are not members of the Explorer eClub, you might want to let them know about this.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Scientific-Atlanta



vegggas

I got that email too, but doesn't that only apply to Passport software? Is there a SARA software out there that lets you do new shows only?

Originally posted by hookbill
I got that email too, but doesn't that only apply to Passport software? Is there a SARA software out there that lets you do new shows only?
No, The typical IPG is a SARA application. Not sure if Passport uses the SARA IPG or not, but I posted in their thread too. First run flag is in many areas, including mine in Las Vegas, where this will be affected. Areas without first run flag in the IPG will not have this problem, since they can't filter off new shows instead of re-runs.
You won't find any info on IPG software versions.

vegggas

Originally posted by TerryB
I did a reboot last night and afterward decided to check for multi bookmarks. I only ran two recordings and live, but I paused each recording a couple of times and it worked fine a first for me here in Houston. Thanks. I didn't get to test it because my '88 Grand Prix finally bit the dust after 156k miles and I had to go buy a new vehicle. Now my tests here will have to wait until Sunday or later.

Dave, I just tested for multibookmarks, and it didn't work. The 1st recording I stopped playing went back to the beginning after starting and stopping a 2nd recording. Looks like we still need to wait for an update in Phoenix.

The interaction between DD5.1 and HDMI has been covered, but here is another one.

I have a Pioneer PDP-4304 monitor connected to the SA8300HD with an HDMI cable.

With different cable boxes, different TVs, etc., I have often done this: At dinner time I put it on one of the digital music channels, turn the stereo on and turn the TV off. More recently I have even set up an activity on my Harmony remote that does this. And I have the Media button set up to display the list of channels so that I don't even need the monitor to choose the music.

All of this worked fine until the new monitor (and its HDMI cable). Now, when I do this, I get about 10 seconds of music and then the audio disappears. Let me be very specific that this audio is going from the SA box(which is set to Dolby Digital, not HDMI) to my receiver via digital coax. The HDMI cable is not involved. But I can make the sound going to the receiver appear and disappear merely by powering the monitor on and off. And it isn't instantaneous either, there is a bit of a delay. The only plausible explanation I can come up with is that the 8300 is sensing, via the HDMI cable, that the monitor is off and concluding that sound is unnecessary since there is no picture.

Of course, the opposite is the case. In my previous situation, turning off the TV was a matter of money and aesthetics. With the plasma, it is a matter of avoiding burn-in. I pretty much CAN'T listen to these music channels if the box insists it be accompanied by a static picture.

Any alternate explanations or workarounds?

Can't you just tune the TV to an input that isn't being used. I do this when I listen to the Cox music channels. I search for the music I want to listen to on the guide through my Video2 connection and when I have found it, I don't turn the TV off but merely switch the input to "Front" and since that input is unused I get a blank screen and continuous music.

Originally posted by ChuckSolo
Can't you just tune the TV to an input that isn't being used. I do this when I listen to the Cox music channels. I search for the music I want to listen to on the guide through my Video2 connection and when I have found it, I don't turn the TV off but merely switch the input to "Front" and since that input is unused I get a blank screen and continuous music.

Well, that will work but from an energy saving point how effective is it? Your set is still on?

I don't get the reason this even happens. I have my audio from a digital output to my receiver.

My solution? I got an XM home kit for my ROADY 2 and I listen to even better music through that. And I shut the TV off.

DoubleDAZ,
I can't make the multiple bookmarks work this morning and they wouldn't work last night, but I swear they worked for a while Sunday night. My contact says there are new codes comming soon but there is no release date. Maybe I was just dreaming. I did have two recordings NOT get kicked out to live when the recording period ended last night. I just missed the 8AM oppurtunity to test that this morning.

Confused in Houston

TerryB

I don't know what happened, but FOX no longer seems to record partials (I am crossing my fingers here and don't want to jinx myself :D). Judge Judy on Monday, Simpsons, Family Guy, Malcolm In The Middle on Sunday all recorded the complete shows without all of the parts. I'll keep an eye on it, but hopefully they've fixed something.

Originally posted by Lampei
I don't know what happened, but FOX no longer seems to record partials (I am crossing my fingers here and don't want to jinx myself :D). Judge Judy on Monday, Simpsons, Family Guy, Malcolm In The Middle on Sunday all recorded the complete shows without all of the parts. I'll keep an eye on it, but hopefully they've fixed something.

Yeah I haven't happen in a couple of weeks either. Doesn't mean it won't happen to someone else, when it stopped doing it to me that's when I saw others reporting it was happening.

Post superbowl, I've had no problems with FOX.

Originally posted by hookbill
Bernie....you can't and won't. Each cable company provides software that is compatible with their system. That's why so many of us have different software versions.

Now if SA develops a software that does this and it's compatible to COX...then you might see it.:)

So, anyone have the right email contacts to complain to (where it might make a difference if many email ) ???

Originally posted by Bernie R
So, anyone have the right email contacts to complain to (where it might make a difference if many email ) ???

I hope you didn't misunderstand my post. You have the right to do whatever you want. I'm just saying that it's really a waste of time. But if you want to start a campaign in your area, by all means feel free.:)

I personally think they need to do other things that are important, like in my area I would like to be able to choose new shows only for recording. I'd also like a schedule that went beyond 1 week. I'd like to see them work on some of the bugs that make it miss recordings, like it did to me this Sunday for Boston Legal (which I caught, I just missed a few minutes at the top). I'd like to be able to bookmark at a paused spot and be able to watch another recording without loosing my place. I'd like to be able to watch a recorded show in process without jumping through a whole lot of hoops so I don't get dumped to the end when it finishes recording. All of these things I would like but I know that either they will come in time or not at all.

DoubleDAZ,
I was able to verify the NO KICKOUT. But even after a reboot couldn't make multiple bookmarks work again.

Oh Well NO KICKOUT is a very good thing.

TerryB

I'd also like to be able to skip ahead 15 minutes like TiVo currently has (skip to tick) (at least until they get the bookmark thing worked out). Fast forwarding (and then rewinding) through a 2 hour movie was a pain in the a$$.

Originally posted by hookbill
Bernie....you can't and won't. Each cable company provides software that is compatible with their system. That's why so many of us have different software versions.

Now if SA develops a software that does this and it's compatible to COX...then you might see it.:)

Well it doesn't hurt to try :

From: Cox eCare San Diego <SanDiego.Services@cox.com>
Date: Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:39:10 PM US/Pacific
To: Bernard Russell <b.....@cox.net>
Subject: Re: SA8300HD issues --
Reply-To: Cox eCare San Diego <SanDiego.Services@cox.com>

Hello Bernard,

Thank you for your email regarding your cable service.

We do appreciate you taking the time to inform us of what we can do to
improve our DVR service. Your suggestion(s) have been forwarded to our
technical team for review.

As we continue to refine the new DVR technology, we will ensure that we
are offering the best possible services and features to our customers.

If I receive a response back, that with any information that would be
helpful to you, I will send you a follow up email.

Thank you for your feedback.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information you
requested. If we have not, or if we can be of any additional service to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Brad
Cox Communications - Video/Telephony Tech Support
Online Support Team

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
My problem is this: With SARA software the "Copy out to VCR" doesn't
output proper 16X9. It letterboxes 16X9 programs recorded on the HDD.


Also -the S-video output on the SA8300HD letterboxes 16:9 programs .


Can this be changed?

Bernie



Bernard L. Russell

Originally posted by Bernie R
Well it doesn't hurt to try :

From: Cox eCare San Diego <SanDiego.Services@cox.com>
Date: Tue Feb 22, 2005 12:39:10 PM US/Pacific
To: Bernard Russell <b.....@cox.net>
Subject: Re: SA8300HD issues --
Reply-To: Cox eCare San Diego <SanDiego.Services@cox.com>

Hello Bernard,

Thank you for your email regarding your cable service.

We do appreciate you taking the time to inform us of what we can do to
improve our DVR service. Your suggestion(s) have been forwarded to our
technical team for review.

As we continue to refine the new DVR technology, we will ensure that we
are offering the best possible services and features to our customers.

If I receive a response back, that with any information that would be
helpful to you, I will send you a follow up email.

Thank you for your feedback.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with the information you
requested. If we have not, or if we can be of any additional service to
you, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Brad
Cox Communications - Video/Telephony Tech Support
Online Support Team

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
My problem is this: With SARA software the "Copy out to VCR" doesn't
output proper 16X9. It letterboxes 16X9 programs recorded on the HDD.


Also -the S-video output on the SA8300HD letterboxes 16:9 programs .


Can this be changed?

Bernie



Bernard L. Russell

Ummmm....that's a canned response. But keep on trying, dude!:D :D :D

The only problem that bothers me is the difference in volume from the HD vs. SD channels. The HD is way too low and I have to quickly lower the volume when going back to reg channels. Anyone else notice this?

This is really apparent with the locals that are simulcast on their reg slots and changing between them and the reg ota over cable channels.

I love my 8300HD up here in the great white north . My SARA version is 1.85.20 .

This unit is far Superior to my old 8000HD with it's audio nightmares .

I love the simultaneous HD/SD output which allows me to program using 21" monitor style TV without powering up my 720P PJ.

In a previous post ( 8300HD tips and tricks )
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=471859
someone mentioned that both HDMI and Component outputs work simultaneously . Has anyone verified this ?

Originally posted by REWJR
In a previous post ( 8300HD tips and tricks )
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...threadid=471859
someone mentioned that both HDMI and Component outputs work simultaneously . Has anyone verified this ? YMMV, but many folks have reported doing PIP tests between their HDMI and Component connections. Some even have a small HDTV connected via Component and a large screen/pj via HDMI. I don't know if it's the same with all software versions and with both SARA/Passport though.

DoubleDAZ,
The kickout from chase play is definately gone here in Houston on the 8300. It's a much frendlier box when it doesn't throw you out into live when the recording interval ends.

I hope you got the fix where you are.

TerryB

foghorn2, I have the same problem with volume, I think it is a bug that can't be fixed but please prove me wrong! twcny (my provider) told me they can't fix it. I have seen quite a few other posts along the same lines.

Originally posted by lowella
foghorn2, I have the same problem with volume, I think it is a bug that can't be fixed but please prove me wrong! twcny (my provider) told me they can't fix it. I have seen quite a few other posts along the same lines.

Yes, I've noticed it too. I don't know if it's a bug or what, I simply turn up the volume and TRY to remember to turn it down when I go to a non hd channel.

Originally posted by hookbill
Yes, I've noticed it too. I don't know if it's a bug or what, I simply turn up the volume and TRY to remember to turn it down when I go to a non hd channel.
I have this problem, too. It is not only a HD to SD problem for me. I get big volume differences on some commercials as well when watching a HD show. I think it is an analog (Dolby Pro Logic) vs. Dolby Digital difference. I tried changing the audio output settings (narrow, etc.), but it doesn't make a difference. Good to know it isn't just a problem with my receiver.

Edit: Speaking of annoying audio problems, does anyone notice that digital ABC broadcasts sometimes leave out the center channel? I don't know if it is 2 channel Dolby Digital or if it is Pro Logic. Extreme Makeover, Home Edition is an example of a show that leaves out the center channel. Other channels that show up on my receiver as Pro Logic or 2 channel Dolby Digital will use the center channel.

The coreect answer is D, all of the above. There are audio variances when going for HD to SD, mostly because there are ways to control analog volume that don't apply to digital (for lack of a better way of explaining it). There are also variances when going to/from a commercial, though some stations seem to be better than others about how big the variance is. I suspect it has more to do with going from 2.0 to 5.1 than anything.

As far the center channel problem, FWIU sometimes they have the flag set to 5.1 when the program is actually 2.0. If your receiver stays on 5.1 based on the flag instead of switching to 2.0, you lose the center channel.

If I'm wrong about any of this I'm sure someone will jump in with corrections.

On my 8300 box here in San Diego, the SD channel volume is very noticeably higher than the HD channels (whether the HD channel is 2.0 Dolby or 5.1 Dolby).

Does anyone have trouble getting DD5.1 from ESPNHD on cox cable? I only get DD2.0 from my explorer 8300HD with espnhd broadcasts...

Donald :)

Are you sure a given broadcast was in 5.1 on your cable system? If it w s, are you using an HDMI connection and have you changed the Audio: Digital Out option to Dolby Digital (from HDMI)?

Originally posted by DoubleDAZ
Are you sure a given broadcast was in 5.1 on your cable system? If it w s, are you using an HDMI connection and have you changed the Audio: Digital Out option to Dolby Digital (from HDMI)?

I am hooked up via component and I get DD5.1 on Fox, CBS, ABC, INHD1&2, DiscoveryHD and HBOHD but I have never seen DD5.1 from any of the scheduled HD broadcasts on espnhd. ESPN's website says that HD content is in DD5.1 so I didn't know if it was a Cox problem in phoenix or is everyone had this problem...

Donald :)

I don't watch much on ESPNHD, so I guess we'll have to see if anyone else chimes in. If I get a chance, I'll ckeck locally and post any answer I get here.

About getting 5.1 broadcasts on the SA 8300HD. According to a tech I talked to about this, and he had me do some changes on my box which didn't work, he said a lot of times it is the local affiliate that is not passing the 5.1 signal but is merely transmitting the hi-def program in DD 2.0. I think this is the case because I watched the NFL playoffs AND Superbowl in DD 5.1 (my receiver confirmed this), but the 8-11 PM Monday night CBS broadcasts that declare "In DD 5.1 where available" always defaults to DD 2.0 with prologic processing on my system. I am almost positive it is the local CBS affiliate, KFMB channel 8 that is the culprit.

Originally posted by ChuckSolo
About getting 5.1 broadcasts on the SA 8300HD. According to a tech I talked to about this, and he had me do some changes on my box which didn't work, he said a lot of times it is the local affiliate that is not passing the 5.1 signal but is merely transmitting the hi-def program in DD 2.0. I think this is the case because I watched the NFL playoffs AND Superbowl in DD 5.1 (my receiver confirmed this), but the 8-11 PM Monday night CBS broadcasts that declare "In DD 5.1 where available" always defaults to DD 2.0 with prologic processing on my system. I am almost positive it is the local CBS affiliate, KFMB channel 8 that is the culprit.

That makes sense for local channels...but ESPNHD doesn't have any local affiliates. I guess I wanted to see if ESPN wasn't sending out a DD5.1 stream or if Cox cable isn't passing the DD5.1 on or if anyone gets 5.1 from ESPN on any service out there...thanks

Donald :)

Cable companies will not demux the HD streams into audio and video to remove audio, then insert a new audio track, and re-encode them at a different format. They pass it along as it comes off the ESPN source sat. That type of equipment is very expensive, and there is nothing to gain, especially space or bandwidth, that one would think (a couple of kbps) it would save.
Dolby Digital is NOT an option for ESPN, and is not mentioned on their website. They only mention 5.1 surround for Circle surround receivers. You would need to probably use the format "other" to pass along that DPLII type of surround sound to a compatible reciever, if you happen to find, and own one.

From http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tvlistings/espnhd/espnHDStory?id=1678995

*In order to make the most of ESPN HD, look for a receiver with the SRS Circle Surround logo on the faceplate. ESPN HD uses this encoding system for their 5.1 surround sound track! Dolby Pro-Logic and Dolby Pro-Logic II decoders will also be able to produce a surround sound effect with the ESPN HD audio track. Also make sure your receiver bears the Dolby Digital and DTS logos to make the most out of all of your DVD movies.


vegggas

Originally posted by vegggas
Cable companies will not demux the HD streams into audio and video to remove audio, then insert a new audio track, and re-encode them at a different format. They pass it along as it comes off the ESPN source sat. That type of equipment is very expensive, and there is nothing to gain, especially space or bandwidth, that one would think (a couple of kbps) it would save.
Dolby Digital is NOT an option for ESPN, and is not mentioned on their website. They only mention 5.1 surround for Circle surround receivers. You would need to probably use the format "other" to pass along that DPLII type of surround sound to a compatible reciever, if you happen to find, and own one.


vegggas

You are right...I totally misread that whole thing...i wonder why they are doing circle surround instead of encoding to dolby digital? You said it wasn't an option for them? just curious...thanks for the correct info

Donald :)

Regarding network signals in Dolby 5.1, in my area (Cleveland, OH) we only get Dolby 5.1 on FOX and NBC. CBS and ABC carry Dolby 5.1 but the local affilliates do not offer the signal.

This is where I give cudos to my home theater systems Pro Logic II which does a great job of converting that stereo signal to make it sound like Dolby 5.1.

vegggas, as always, thanks for clarifying. I guess I was kind of right about being sure the program was in 5.1. I was pretty sure Cox simply passed along whatever they got, but I had forgotten about the Circle-Surround that ESPN uses. :)

Originally posted by lexluthor
GOSS151,

Yes, anyone with Cablevision who has the new SARA has this problem.

Expect a fix to be pushed in the next week or so.
I spoke to cablevision today about the “stuck in 480i mode” problem and they stated that a fix was available. Unfortunately, they could not see my boxes from their office so they are making a service call.

Has anyone with this problem been fixed yet?

jonnyb:

Here in Toronto, the Buffalo ABC station never has a proper stereo signal. I've always thought it had something to do with the cable company or the Buffalo station, not ABC, but who knows. I get out-of-phase audio, where voices come from no where in particular. It's exactly the same out-of-phase audio generated by system set up tools, such as Video Essentials.

Originally posted by GOSS151
I spoke to cablevision today about the “stuck in 480i mode” problem and they stated that a fix was available. Unfortunately, they could not see my boxes from their office so they are making a service call.

Has anyone with this problem been fixed yet?
Not yet. Cancel your service call, it'll be a waste of time as the fix hasn't been released yet.

It's probably coming next week or the week after and should be sent automatically to your box.

Don't cancel the call. The forward and return signal levels are not good enough to see your box, so corruptd downloads may result. They will check their end of the line at the street, but you can ask them to check your wiring to see how much it drops the signal once it comes in your home. Good communication is needed for any software patch to be complete, and it will improve many other things too.

vegggas

Only reason I said to cancel the call is that you might not want to wait home half a day to come when there may or may not be a problem.

I wouldn't always trust what the first level reps tell you.

I'd say wait until you hear that they released the new code push and then if you don't get it when other people in your area get it, then investigate why.

Originally posted by lexluthor
Only reason I said to cancel the call is that you might not want to wait home half a day to come when there may or may not be a problem.

I wouldn't always trust what the first level reps tell you.

I'd say wait until you hear that they released the new code push and then if you don't get it when other people in your area get it, then investigate why.

No, I got to go along with veggas on this. If they can't see the box theres another problem. Don't cancel the call.

No update can come through unless they can see that box as veggas pointed out. And just the fact that they can't see the box is indicating a problem, this needs a techs fix.

If you do need an additional service call after they fix the first problem then so be it, but I doubt that will happen.

At the very least talk to a different rep and see if they confirm they can't see the box before cancelling.

I've been following the thread on the SA boxes (both 8000 and 8300) for months now. As a result of all the good tips (and your willingness to be on the bleeding edge of technology), I got the 8300 yesterday. I had TWC out to replace my cable modem box (probably due to a surge that cut off internet phone service), and they just happened to have a box on the truck It's a good thing I know how to connect stuff as the techs certainly didn't. We haven't done much experimenting with it yet, but I've printed the tips and have them handy.

So thank all of you for sharing your stories. I can't wait to be able to time shift HD. I'm even kinda glad my plasma (a 2001 model) doesn't have the HDMI//DVI connection so I don't have the handshake hassle.
Leslie

Originally posted by leslie
I've been following the thread on the SA boxes (both 8000 and 8300) for months now. As a result of all the good tips (and your willingness to be on the bleeding edge of technology), I got the 8300 yesterday. I had TWC out to replace my cable modem box (probably due to a surge that cut off internet phone service), and they just happened to have a box on the truck It's a good thing I know how to connect stuff as the techs certainly didn't. We haven't done much experimenting with it yet, but I've printed the tips and have them handy.

So thank all of you for sharing your stories. I can't wait to be able to time shift HD. I'm even kinda glad my plasma (a 2001 model) doesn't have the HDMI//DVI connection so I don't have the handshake hassle.
Leslie

Yep, printing the tips is a good idea. I have mine right by the box.

FYI...that handshaking problem I had initially but I worked around it. I have posted about that somewhere in the thread.

Originally posted by hookbill

No update can come through unless they can see that box as veggas pointed out. And just the fact that they can't see the box is indicating a problem, this needs a techs fix.

If you do need an additional service call after they fix the first problem then so be it, but I doubt that will happen.

At the very least talk to a different rep and see if they confirm they can't see the box before cancelling.
The last part is probably the best advice.

Why don't you go into the diags of the box and post what SARA? We should be able to tell from that if your box has had a recent code push. If it got the push from 2 weeks ago, there's no problem getting code to your box. I suspect that's how it's going to wind up.

Leslie,
Wow, talk about patient. When was it you asked if it was worth the change to go up to the DVR? I think you'll like the 8300, although it does have some annoying traits that hopefully will be solved soon.

I thought the Kickout and multiple bookmarks had been solved at the first of last week, but as of yesterday, both are alive and unwell.



TerryB

Here is an unrelated question.......why is there no screensaver option on most pvr/cable boxes (as well as many even high end dvd players)? You would think if the problem of screen burn in exists.......the box would go into screen saver mode if paused for say.....5 or 10 minutes.......

any thoughts?

Mine will after a certain amount of time kick out of pause and start playing again. I've never timed it and I know it isn't like 5 minutes or so but it will do it after I'd say 15- 20 minutes. Yes, that's a long time to be on hold, but I don't worry too much since my HD is CRT based.

I also notice that if you leave it in now playing it will kick back to the last live tv station you had it on. I have Sara v 1.85.17.3.

Perhaps that is in a newer version, since I have 185.14.1, or perhaps it is cable company modifiable, since I have left the pause on for in excess of 30 minutes, and when I come back, it is still paused.

Tachy,
In the TWC Houston local thread, I teased some guys who were complaining that they couldn't trust the machine to stay paused while they did whatever over 10 minutes, it goes back to play from pause or stop. While some others have your question. Here in Houston the 8300 definitly will not leave the screen cooking for long.

TerryB

PS Tachy, edit your profile to add your location. That will help obtain more precise answers.

I am in the Clearwater/Pinellas county/Tampa area, and receive brighthouse cable.

I think I've noticed that the pause is different for live as opposed tp a recorded show. The paused live show will stay paused longer, while the recorded show will jump out of pause a lot faster. As with others, I haven't timed it.

Originally posted by lexluthor
The last part is probably the best advice.

Why don't you go into the diags of the box and post what SARA? We should be able to tell from that if your box has had a recent code push. If it got the push from 2 weeks ago, there's no problem getting code to your box. I suspect that's how it's going to wind up.

SARA ver. 1.87.12.1
Looks like from 1/25/05. Do you have the same?

Originally posted by GOSS151
SARA ver. 1.87.12.1
Looks like from 1/25/05. Do you have the same?

Yes.

That means you
1) are able to get software updates and
2) you have the verision with the resolution switching bug

Like I said before, I think you'd be wasting your time with a service call. You got an update a couple weeks ago, so it works. My guess is that the CSR you talked to was just wrong when she said she couldn't see your box properly.

I think we'll see a fix for the resolution bug in the next week or 2, at most.

Noticed this info this morning:
SARA version 1.85.19.1
Date listed in diagnostic mode: 11/11/04 1:01:12 PM EST

Still looking for the new features! veggas? Any clues?

Hey LEX, just received SARA ver. 1.87.14.1. The resolution bug is fixed!!!!:D

I have not noticed any new problems yet....... :rolleyes:

Originally posted by GOSS151
Hey LEX, just received SARA ver. 1.87.14.1. The resolution bug is fixed!!!!:D

I have not noticed any new problems yet....... :rolleyes:

Well, glad you didn't listen to tech support and schedule a visit.

They were wrong twice, one - they didn't know about their own bug and two - that your box couldn't get an update.

Nothing new. Same reports we hear from people daily.

Originally posted by lexluthor
Well, glad you didn't listen to tech support and schedule a visit.

They were wrong twice, one - they didn't know about their own bug and two - that your box couldn't get an update.

Nothing new. Same reports we hear from people daily.

I called and tried to explain to the CSR (who magically can now see my boxes)that this was a known issue that was being experienced by many users after the last software update. She of course stated that this was the first time she had ever heard of it. I also tried to reason with her that if a tech was dispatched, they would be unable to resolve the issue. She then said that she would talk to her supervisor and call me back. On the return call I was told that the supervisor insisted that the service was needed.

The tech comes to my house and tells me I should set the box to 1080i because thats the way they do it, and not to "mess around with the HDMI connector" After bitch slapping him with his clip board, I enlighten him on things he should already know about. He then tells me that they will probably send out an update eventually.

Sigh.

Originally posted by GOSS151
IThe tech comes to my house and tells me I should set the box to 1080i because thats the way they do it, and not to "mess around with the HDMI connector" After bitch slapping him with his clip board, I enlighten him on things he should already know about. He then tells me that they will probably send out an update eventually.

Sigh.

What morons! Unfortunately this seems prevelant not only with your cable company but mine as well.

Well, maybe he can teach his buddies a few things now.

Originally posted by GOSS151
After bitch slapping him with his clip board, I enlighten him on things he should already know about.

LMAO! Thanks - I needed that this morning! It is so infuriating to deal with people who won't listen to you when you are TRYING to save them from needless work....

Originally posted by lexluthor
GOSS151,

Yes, anyone with Cablevision who has the new SARA has this problem.

Expect a fix to be pushed in the next week or so.

You definitely called it!

So who are you sleeping with over at CV to get your info???;)

Anybody know of a way to delete unwanted channels on this box and in the guide? I'd like to get rid of the spaninsh stations and shopping channels, but I don't see any way of doing this. (I just got my 8300 yesterday, and Adelphia didn't give me a manual, so sorry if this is a simple question).

Also, anyone with a Pioneer plasma notice a PQ difference between HDMI and component? (After owning 3 different HDTVs, I've found differences in PQ as a result of cable type to be completely dependant on the type of display and it's processing unit.)

Originally posted by baylorgator
Anybody know of a way to delete unwanted channels on this box and in the guide? I'd like to get rid of the spaninsh stations and shopping channels, but I don't see any way of doing this. (I just got my 8300 yesterday, and Adelphia didn't give me a manual, so sorry if this is a simple question).

No, unlike TiVo or even D* you cannot change the channel line up that you receive.

That would be another nice feature to have. On the other hand you can really speed through the channel menu by pressing and holding the +- keys. It's much faster then TiVo.

Originally posted by baylorgator
Anybody know of a way to delete unwanted channels on this box and in the guide? I'd like to get rid of the spaninsh stations and shopping channels, but I don't see any way of doing this. (I just got my 8300 yesterday, and Adelphia didn't give me a manual, so sorry if this is a simple question).

I don't think you can skip channels in the Guide, but you can set up a list of Favorites under Advanced Settings, and use that list to surf. And you can find a manual on the SA Web site (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/index.htm).

I'm still waiting for a multi-day search feature. I wanted to see if "Father of the Pride" was showing any more and I had to search for it 1 day at a time. What a PITA! I also get a ton of audio dropouts and video tiling. Oh well, at least I can DVR HD :) (no matter how bad the quality)

Russell

Trpltongue, you might have TWC check out those dropouts. While I occasionally have some in bad weather, it's rare. When I first got HD (back in 2001), I had a lot of audio dropouts and tiling. After troubleshooting at my connection, TWC discovered the problems originated at their end: the signal was being degraded at two different connection points between their satellite dish and my home. Because HD signals are much more sensitive than SD, they'd had no idea there was a problem. I must have had the only HD monitor in my particular area at that time. But, everybody's signal improved once they fixed the problems.
Leslie

Leslie,

Thanks for the tip! I did have terribly weak signal strength, so weak that TWC actually came out and installed a booster for free. Now my signal strength is good but the dropouts are a pain. I'll call them sometime and see if they can troubleshoot.

Did they come out to your house or do all the checks from their side?

I have the 8300hd dvr from Cox Cable in Las Vegas. I cannot seem to get the close captioning function to work. There are several options for customization in the settings menu but I don't see any for turning it on or off. I have tried all the source options ( cc1, cc2, etc...). I assume that it is supposed to be automatic when the mute button is pressed or is there a setup option I am overlooking? Close captioning works with the direct antenna input but not through hdmi cable box input.

Does anyone know what the setting Sound Range is? I have two settings, wide and narrow. Just curious, it doesn't seem to make a difference which one I select. Running SARA 1.85.17.3

I have a question about using the Copy to VCR function. Can you use S-Video output with the copy to VCR function, or only composite output? I would like to send the output to my PC (30 or 40 feet away in another room) so I can record to DVD, and I expect S-Video would give me a better picture.

To the best of my knowledge it only works on composite output. There is no input on a VCR for S-Video only out put so I don't see how that can work.

Not all SARA 1.85.17.3 boxes have this (we don't). I believe that it is for Dynamic Range.

I just switched to the s-video input to the TV which is connected to the s-video out of the 8300HD and when I did a "copy to VCR" the s-video switched to the recording. so YES, s-video saves recordings out to DVDs.

SARA v1.87.4.4a dated 10/12/04

TerryB

hookbill- Base on my other SA boxes, the wide/narrow audio settings only seem to make a diference if you set audio Digital out to OTHER, rather than Dolby, and it also depends on the program your watching. --hourglass

I'm under the impression you get more sound separation out of the surrounds with it set to wide vs narrow. Of course, how noticeable it will be depends on your setup and the program's audio. Is this a wrong impression?

Originally posted by TerryB
I just switched to the s-video input to the TV which is connected to the s-video out of the 8300HD and when I did a "copy to VCR" the s-video switched to the recording. so YES, s-video saves recordings out to DVDs.

SARA v1.87.4.4a dated 10/12/04

TerryB

I'm confused. Where on the VCR did you plug the svideo out from box to on your VCR?

Originally posted by hookbill
Does anyone know what the setting Sound Range is? I have two settings, wide and narrow. Just curious, it doesn't seem to make a difference which one I select. Running SARA 1.85.17.3

"Audio: Range" is used to set the dynamic range of the Dolby Digital volume.

Originally posted by hookbill
I'm confused. Where on the VCR did you plug the svideo out from box to on your VCR?

hookbill - the idea wasn't to plug the s-video cable into a VCR. I want to plug the s-video cable into my computer to record a DVD, and I was going to use the "Copy to VCR" function on the 8300. That way I could watch something else while the computer is capturing the video.

TerryB - thanks for testing it. Now I just need to get a 50 ft s-video cable!

What does setting audio digital out to "Other" do?

Hookbill and mfabel,
I don't in fact have an s-video VCR although they do exist, all I'm saying is that the s-video out is active for tuned programs, playback and if selected "save to VCR" so you could output 4801 to a DVD recorder or s-video capable VCR.

TerryB

Re the S-Video connection:

Hookbill,

As TerryB points out there are VCRs out there (S-VHS) that have S-Video connections (both in and out). Also most DVD recorders that I know of have S-Video inputs (and outputs).

S-Video connections came about when the technology was developed in VCRs (S-Video & ED Beta) to record a higher resolution picture (took horizontal resolution from around 240 lines to 400 lines). This resulted in a problem with interference between the luminance (Y - black & white) and chrominance (C - color) information. By putting these two signals on separate lines this interference could be avoided.

mfabel,

Here is a 50ft S-Video A/V cable for $20

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/mcm/en_US/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=24-6360&N=4.

They also have a straight S-Video cable for $15

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/mcm/en_US/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=24-7335&N=4

I can't vouch for either of these but am suspicious that the capacitance in the typical S-Video cable may well cause problems in a 50 foot cable. The approach that professional installers use is to split the Y & C signals using an adapter like this on each end of the run:

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebCommerce/mcm/en_US/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=24-9000&N=4

They run low capacity coax (with BNC connectors in this case) between each end. It is important to use the same type and length of coax for the Y and C.

I have a consumer Panasonic Plasma ED TV. Has anyone hooked one of these models up to the SA8300HD DVR? If so, can you please tell me specifically which cable connections and which menu settings you used. Thanks so much.

Originally posted by bohbot16
What does setting audio digital out to "Other" do?
PCM stream only. (2ch)

Trpltongue, first they came out to the house and verified that all my connections were correct. Then they realized that the problem was "upstream." They went back to whatever they call the node for my area where they found a problem. Then they discovered that there was a problem back another node.

I wouldn't have known except the tech came back and told me about it. Laughing, he said that my area in Bellaire owed me a big thank-you as the repairs should have improved everybody's signal. Of course, he also told me I had the only HD display on the TWC system in the area at the time (which is why they hadn't realized there was a problem -- that and the fact that the techs didn't have HD monitors in their trucks to check the signal with).
Leslie

Thanks Leslie! I'll probably disconnect my CC distribution and let them take a look. These dropouts are annoying!

Russell

Originally posted by TerryB
I just switched to the s-video input to the TV which is connected to the s-video out of the 8300HD and when I did a "copy to VCR" the s-video switched to the recording. so YES, s-video saves recordings out to DVDs.

SARA v1.87.4.4a dated 10/12/04

TerryB

Thanks for this observation. I confirmed this on my SA8300HD last night. Both my VCR and DVD Recorder accept s-video input so now I need to recable and maybe improve the quality of my recordings.

Don

More "fun" with my 8300HD.

I have it set up to record 24 this coming Monday along with Everybody Loves Raymond and two and a half men (yes, I know... :)) The only problem is the box seems to think there are 3 recordings. It keeps coming up with the "you can't have 3 recordings" message, but only shows 24 and Everybody Loves Raymond (2 shows). I tried manually recording ELR and setting it up so it trims a minute off the total time (in case the box thought 2aaHM ran long for some strange reason), but still no luck.

Anyone have any ideas to try for this?

I used to have a similar problem, but it's not happening anymore. One thing I would suggest is to remove all 3 recordings from the schedule, then try to recreate them. Sorry, but I remember trying this, just can't remember if that ended up being the solution. What is your SARA version?

I'm not sure what version of SARA I'm running (how do you do that again?), but I've deleted 24 and ELM (I didn't delete 2aaHM) and recreated them, but the same thing happened. I'll try deleting all 3 and see what happens.

Lampei, I just scheduled them here on Cox with no problems. IPG shows ELR from 8:00-8:30, Men from 8:30-9:00 and 24 from 8:00-9:00, so there should be no timeslot conflicts if your IPG is the same. I am still running SARA 1.85.14.1, so I suppose there could a problem with your version.

Lampei, have you rebooted? I would try that if you haven't.

Just witnessed first major glitch with secondary 8300HD unit . It froze and needed a hard reboot and when it came back up all recorded programs except one 5 min recoding were gone !! all other recordings vanished without a trace . The HDD seems to be noisy even when power turned off will have to monitor situation as my suspicions are a physical issue .

Anyone else experience this issue ?

I've had it freeze on me at least once but never lost my recordings.

I wouldn't hesitate on this, I call the cable company and ask for replacement.

When replacing a 8300HD, would the cable company backup the content from the old drive to the new one?

Just one thing to think about if you have content you don't wanna lose.

Y.

Mine won't. I have Adelphia.

My HD picture is inferior to what I had before. I know I need to get to the screen where I can set the box to pass through (my plasma display accepts 1080i, 720P, 480i and 480p natively). I am using the component connection (no DVI or HDMI available). I downloaded the manual (thanks for the link), but am having a problem getting to the setup screen. When I follow directions (press guide and info buttons at same time on a turned off SA 83000 box with the display turned on) I get the screen which toggles between the HD and SD options. Nothing I do on the remote to get it to the setup screen works. I've pressed B over and over again, rebooted everything, etc. No dice. The screen endlessly toggles between the two screens, ignoring any command from the remote. I've turned the air blue for blocks around my house to no effect while fighting this. Help!
Leslie

Originally posted by leslie
I know I need to get to the screen where I can set the box to pass through. When I follow directions (press guide and info buttons at same time on a turned off SA 83000 box with the display turned on) I get the screen which toggles between the HD and SD options. Nothing I do on the remote to get it to the setup screen works.
Press "SETTINGS" on the remote twice. Scroll up 5 or 6 spots to "SET: PICTURE FORMAT". This is the location you can set the display to: Fixed, Pass Through, Auto HDMI/DVI, Upconvert 1, or Upconvert 2. Auto HDMI/DVI is only an option if you have the HDMI/DVI out port on the DVR hooked up.

Albany, thank for replying. I'd tried your maneuver prior to the attempt I posted about. Sorry I forget to mention it. It doesn't work either. I just went in and tried it again and . . . you guessed it, it doesn't work. I really don't understand why neither of the two methods of getting to Setup work!
Leslie

Hi Leslie,
I just went through setup again:
press guide and info for about 1 second
screen displays "press A for standard definition" or
"press B for hi definition"
I press B and wait for display
"You will be asked a short series of questions that will help you set up your HDTV set top box.
"Press A to start"
"press A for 4:3 TV"
"Press B for 16:9 TV"
Press A for easy
Press B for advanced

It would be a lot easier to talk through this, see Personal Mail

TerryB

Leslie,
Did you succeed in completing the setup after our phoncon?

TerryB

TerryB, I owe you a HUGE thank-you. I've been away from my computer due to a household upgrade project that involved lots of sanding dust. Hence, my late thank-you.

For other readers, I'd struggled to get to the right screen having believed the remote was in cable mode (because the TWC techs had turned it over to me after fiddling around with it). I'd assumed it was set to work because I could change channels with it. Not so. No wonder I couldn't get to any setup screens. And, I'm not even a blonde!

I woke TerryB up (a thousand forgive-me's) and he walked me through the setup and when it didn't work, told me to punch the cable button. Voila. Let there be light, camera and action! The picture is back looking fabulous. I'm very grateful for the help.
Leslie

I just got an 8300HD w/SARA (I'm with TWC in Austin, TX)

I'm going to connect it via HDMI to a Sony HS51 front projector.
The Sony's native resolution is 720p. (waiting for Sony to return it to me).

How good is the scaler in the 8300HD?

I'll test this out when I get the projector back, but I'm wondering if I should have the 8300HD output everything at 720p
OR
(and I'm pretty sure the 8300HD has this feature) have the 8300HD output everything at the native resolution of the content (ie-SD @ 480i, HD at 720p or 1080p depending on the station). <- in this case the Sony HS51 would process the signal to 720p.

Thanks!

FYI, I got my 8300HD from TWC here in Austin just in the last week. Here's the specs:
PTV OS: OS, Home Server Edition 1.4
FLASH: 1.85.19.1
App(s): saixod v3419, SARA v.185.19.1

ROM Image 1.85.19.1
OS 6.8.9.4
SARA 1.85.19.1
PowerKEY LIB 3.7.5.110
HAL Driver 1.0.31.1052
PHAL3 Driver 3.5.11.100

Model: Maxtor 4R160L0
Firmware: RAMB1TU0
Size: 320041984

Sounds like it doesn't have the latest firmware, but I guess I have to wait for TWC to send updates down the pipe...

Originally posted by MoG
Sounds like it doesn't have the latest firmware, but I guess I have to wait for TWC to send updates down the pipe...

Software and firmware is determined by what your cable company has for your area. Since TWC took over many cable companies you may see all kinds of different software and firmware.

I just wish Comcast would buy out my cable company so we could have TiVo.

Originally posted by leslie
TerryB, I owe you a HUGE thank-you. I've been away from my computer due to a household upgrade project that involved lots of sanding dust. Hence, my late thank-you.

For other readers, I'd struggled to get to the right screen having believed the remote was in cable mode (because the TWC techs had turned it over to me after fiddling around with it). I'd assumed it was set to work because I could change channels with it. Not so. No wonder I couldn't get to any setup screens. And, I'm not even a blonde!

I woke TerryB up (a thousand forgive-me's) and he walked me through the setup and when it didn't work, told me to punch the cable button. Voila. Let there be light, camera and action! The picture is back looking fabulous. I'm very grateful for the help.
Leslie

Hey Terry,

Nice job. You make us all look like heroes. That's why I love this forum.

You da' man!

David

Originally posted by hookbill
I just wish Comcast would buy out my cable company so we could have TiVo.

I agree. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that think that a Comcast buyout of Adelphia would be worse than having a bankrupt cable co.

Has anyone had any success in scheduling a "new episode only" recording, and then adjusting the record time by adding a couple of minutes and have it work?

For some reason, my episodes recording are missing the last couple of minutes, and when I go into scheduled recordings and add a couple of minutes to the end of the show, it lets add the minutes, but then ignores the change when it records.

Yep, the last couple minutes is the worst part to miss for most shows! I have had trouble (in particular with Alias) when a program is scheduled for 9:02 to 10:00 instead of 9:00 to 10:00. It ignores my scheduling even though I have it scheduled to record all new shows in this time slot, if it's off by 2 min. The only other thing I've noticed is at the end of the show it often cuts off for the next show to start on time anyway - so I believe that to be a problem with my cable company and scheduling conflicts, rather than the box itself. Not sure I can tell you much else though, sorry! I haven't tried adding minutes to the end of my scheduled recordings.

Originally posted by stosh
Has anyone had any success in scheduling a "new episode only" recording, and then adjusting the record time by adding a couple of minutes and have it work?

For some reason, my episodes recording are missing the last couple of minutes, and when I go into scheduled recordings and add a couple of minutes to the end of the show, it lets add the minutes, but then ignores the change when it records.

No, it doesn't work. Another SA bug apparently.