Is the link "SA8300HD eSATA Compatibility Database (SARA)" down?:confused:

Recently I've seen all of the above....partial recording, a 1 hour show split into 2 pieces (e.g. 9 minutes and 48 minutes - note it doesn't add up to 60) , no recording (one night I actually was reading with the TV off and saw the 8300 reboot when it was scheduled to start a recording - so I know it didn't record that show)...lately I'm getting a lot of shows showing up in the recorded list as being the proper length and when I go to play them, it goes right to the "recorded program splash screen" (the screen you get when you hit "exit" from the recoded list screen after watching a recording) so there's nothing to watch (VERY annoying). Watching another recording and going back never fixes it. I tried a hard boot of the DVR and it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I haven't tried to reformat/reset yet....but I'm wondering if I should just go get a new 8300....this one is a couple years old already. I also haven't tried unplugging the external drive to see if that would make a difference - I guess I could give that a shot.

I tried searching the thread but didn't see any really relevent stuff that was recent.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Is the link "SA8300HD eSATA Compatibility Database (SARA)" down?:confused:
It appears that baseportal.com is down, at least at the moment. I haven't looked at any of the 3 databases for a long time, so I don't know how long they've been down.

It appears that baseportal.com is down, at least at the moment. I haven't looked at any of the 3 databases for a long time, so I don't know how long they've been down.

Wow, that sucks. It was up a couple of days ago. Sure makes me wish I had exported the data to a file :( :(

Hopefully it is temporary.

[EDIT] You can view the contents using Google cached versions for now:
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:nPWTT7DFuTkJ:baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl%3Fhtx%3D/xnappo/main+esata+database+baseportal&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:nPWTT7DFuTkJ:baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl%3Fhtx%3D/xnappo/main+esata+database+baseportal+navigator&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:4a1c4YOuLmkJ:www.baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/passport+esata+database+baseportal&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us


xnappo

It appears that baseportal.com is down, at least at the moment. I haven't looked at any of the 3 databases for a long time, so I don't know how long they've been down.
DoubleDAZ - Thanks for the info. I am trying to research expanding my SA8240. I purchased an Apricorn DVR epander and it created more problems than helped (the recorded shows were a mess and the live TV kept screwing up). So I was going to either try the WD version of the DVR expander or custom build one. My back is against the wall with all the new shows starting (The natives are restless!!).
Thanks again.

having an interesting problem.

not sure if its my STB the 8300HDC or my receiver the YAM v863

the issue is this: the receiver upconverts analog to 1080p so ive got the STB out as component to the v863 then hdmi to the tv (1080p lcd)

when converting the signal from the stb to 1080p it flickers like no other. but when i set it to convert all to 1080i it does not any ideas?

Wow, that sucks. It was up a couple of days ago. Sure makes me wish I had exported the data to a file :( :(

Hopefully it is temporary.


Database is back up...

xnappo

Database is back up...
Thanks. Did you take the opportunity to back up the databases? :)

Recently I've seen all of the above....partial recording, a 1 hour show split into 2 pieces (e.g. 9 minutes and 48 minutes - note it doesn't add up to 60) , no recording (one night I actually was reading with the TV off and saw the 8300 reboot when it was scheduled to start a recording - so I know it didn't record that show)...lately I'm getting a lot of shows showing up in the recorded list as being the proper length and when I go to play them, it goes right to the "recorded program splash screen" (the screen you get when you hit "exit" from the recoded list screen after watching a recording) so there's nothing to watch (VERY annoying). Watching another recording and going back never fixes it. I tried a hard boot of the DVR and it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I haven't tried to reformat/reset yet....but I'm wondering if I should just go get a new 8300....this one is a couple years old already. I also haven't tried unplugging the external drive to see if that would make a difference - I guess I could give that a shot.

I tried searching the thread but didn't see any really relevent stuff that was recent.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Your problems sound similar to mine. Very frustrating to be sure!

I called the fine folks at Cox and the gal there speculated that maybe the hard drive on mine is having problems. I'm not so sure myself. So far as I can tell, I've got the thing working again - as best it ever has worked (which is prolly about 97.5%). I did the "total reset" procedure described on Page 1 and was able for the first time in a couple of weeks to watch a program that was still recording without it going corrupt.

Total Reset. From AVS - vegggas:

1. I don't think this is common knowledge, but it could save many users a lot of grief. Most failed units can be revived with total reset performed by user, depending on failure type. Instead of replacing unit and losing your shows, try this trick as last (or first) resort. This is known to reset unit no longer displaying Video, unable to lock on to one/both tuners, unable to read Hard Drive, or no longer able to get a download (display counting or hunting).
2. Complete reset can be done by removing power and all connections for an extended amount of time. This means remove power cable, coax cable(s), eSATA cable, everything, so it can fully discharge capacitors and memory. This can take anywhere from 4 - 24 hours (although it MIGHT work in less than 30 Min), so pick a time that you are not going to be using unit, like overnight and while at work.
3. After leaving it disconnected overnight, repower it (but don't turn it on) with just the basic connections (no eSATA) and let it sit until it gets a full download, which could take a long time. Basic OS download should be complete once you see time, or dot (depending on your settings), appear on front panel, usually within 3-7 minutes. IPG may take up to an hour, but unit could be turned on at this point.
4. If it works, unpower unit and reconnect as normal, consider yourself lucky you didn't have to swap it out.
5. BTW, leaving unit off while repowering and downloading is always a good idea and should be done whenver you may reboot unit. Powering on while downloading OS can result in early fragmentation of memory and erratic results.

Thanks. Did you take the opportunity to back up the databases? :)

Yes :)

You know - I have a sort of sickness - I was almost hoping I was going to have to learn how to recreate it using the new Google apps form->spreadsheet application :)

xnappo

You know - I have a sort of sickness - I was almost hoping I was going to have to learn how to recreate it using the new Google apps form->spreadsheet application :)
A regular glutton for punishment, eh? :)

BTW. I just found out a friend of mine in Colorado owns a condo in Austin, so at some point after I retire, my wife and I will be making the trek. The plan will be to do some day-trips to San Antonio, Houston/Galveston, Corpus Christi, and then a separate trip to the Brownsville/South Padre Island area to visit another friend who will be moving there next year. I've only been through the Austin airport and always wanted to spend some time there.

A regular glutton for punishment, eh? :)

BTW. I just found out a friend of mine in Colorado owns a condo in Austin, so at some point after I retire, my wife and I will be making the trek. The plan will be to do some day-trips to San Antonio, Houston/Galveston, Corpus Christi, and then a separate trip to the Brownsville/South Padre Island area to visit another friend who will be moving there next year. I've only been through the Austin airport and always wanted to spend some time there.

Let me know when you come down, we can go grab some BBQ or something :)

xnappo

Let me know when you come down, we can go grab some BBQ or something :)
Will do!

Lately, I am getting several recordings that are incomplete---e.g., the show might only be recorded for 14 minutes even though it is a 1 hour show. Any ideas what might cause this?

Lately, I am getting several recordings that are incomplete---e.g., the show might only be recorded for 14 minutes even though it is a 1 hour show. Any ideas what might cause this?

I have had this happen too, but cannot reproduce it. (See first bullet below.)

I am on SARA 1.90.5.107 / SA8240HDC / Cox Cable, Fairfax VA

Here is a list of issues I have noticed recently:

A program set for "All Episodes in this time slot" only recorded 5-7 minutes of two episodes of the show. (Conan O'Brien.) I deleted it from Scheduled Recordings and set it again, so far no trouble.
If two shows are recording, the DVR sometimes fails to warn you that tuning to another channel will cause a recording to cancel. I had this situation occur when powering on. Two shows were recording. Turned on the DVR and got the "Parental Control" screen. Unlocked parental control, tuned to another channel, and one of the recordings stopped.
Pressing the DVR List button on the remote brings up the recorded programs list. Sometimes, selecting a program from this list and choosing play drops you to the DVR playback channel, but does not start the program.

I've had a couple of instances like that too, so I started checking some of my season passes yesterday afternoon. I noticed, for example, that Sons of Anarchy on FX was listed in the IPG for only 4 minutes last night and that's all that got recorded. I did schedule a recording of a rerun later in the week, but I didn't think to record the following program(s) to see if the IPG was just messed up or if the broadcast was actually only 4 minutes. The same thing hapened earlier on The Sheild, also on FX, but I didn't catch it beforehand, so I don't know if it was the same kind of IPG problem, though I assume it was. So far it's only happened to me on cable shows that I can catch later in the week, but it's still frustrating. I can't be sure, but it seems like the affected recordings were scheduled for earliy in the AM, like 2:00 or so.

I've had a couple of instances like that too, so I started checking some of my season passes yesterday afternoon. I noticed, for example, that Sons of Anarchy on FX was listed in the IPG for only 4 minutes last night and that's all that got recorded. I did schedule a recording of a rerun later in the week, but I didn't think to record the following program(s) to see if the IPG was just messed up or if the broadcast was actually only 4 minutes. The same thing hapened earlier on The Sheild, also on FX, but I didn't catch it beforehand, so I don't know if it was the same kind of IPG problem, though I assume it was. So far it's only happened to me on cable shows that I can catch later in the week, but it's still frustrating. I can't be sure, but it seems like the affected recordings were scheduled for earliy in the AM, like 2:00 or so.

Interesting, I will keep an eye on the IPG. If I see anything strange, I will check if the recording fails.

When I got only a few minutes of Late Night last week, during playback the status bar would show that the program was longer than the few minutes recorded, with the unrecorded portions in red. So I assumed the IPG was not at fault. I will pay closer attention.....

(BTW, had plenty of free space....)

Well, after following the Total Reset. From AVS - vegggas: described in the first post of this thread, I had a weekend of successful recordings. So, whatever was causing me to have corrupted recordings whenever choosing "Play from Beginning" to a recording still in progress was in the download. I hadn't considered that the IPG could be part of the problem.


I still am not able to record a "season pass" for all episodes of COPS on FoxHD @ 7-7:30p and 7:30-8p on Saturdays. I can record one or the other in a "season pass", but not both. (When I try to set a "season pass" for the second one, the first one is removed from the to be recorded list and vice versa.) My work around has been to record a single episode every week (but I have to remember to set it up each week).

I remain very unhappy with SARA. I wish, wish, wish Cox in Phoenix would abandon this cruddy bugware and upgrade us to something that can at least provide rock-solid basic functioning. :mad:

I have had this happen too, but cannot reproduce it. (See first bullet below.)

I am on SARA 1.90.5.107 / SA8240HDC / Cox Cable, Fairfax VA

Here is a list of issues I have noticed recently:

A program set for "All Episodes in this time slot" only recorded 5-7 minutes of two episodes of the show. (Conan O'Brien.) I deleted it from Scheduled Recordings and set it again, so far no trouble.
If two shows are recording, the DVR sometimes fails to warn you that tuning to another channel will cause a recording to cancel. I had this situation occur when powering on. Two shows were recording. Turned on the DVR and got the "Parental Control" screen. Unlocked parental control, tuned to another channel, and one of the recordings stopped.
Pressing the DVR List button on the remote brings up the recorded programs list. Sometimes, selecting a program from this list and choosing play drops you to the DVR playback channel, but does not start the program.


Thanks for the tips. I am thinking of trying a hard reboot to see if that will help. I am on Brighthouse networks and don't have the software version readily available as I write this. It is very frustrating, esp. when it's one of your favorite shows.

Well, after following the Total Reset. From AVS - vegggas: described in the first post of this thread, I had a weekend of successful recordings. So, whatever was causing me to have corrupted recordings whenever choosing "Play from Beginning" to a recording still in progress was in the download. I hadn't considered that the IPG could be part of the problem.


I still am not able to record a "season pass" for all episodes of COPS on FoxHD @ 7-7:30p and 7:30-8p on Saturdays. I can record one or the other in a "season pass", but not both. (When I try to set a "season pass" for the second one, the first one is removed from the to be recorded list and vice versa.) My work around has been to record a single episode every week (but I have to remember to set it up each week).

I remain very unhappy with SARA. I wish, wish, wish Cox in Phoenix would abandon this cruddy bugware and upgrade us to something that can at least provide rock-solid basic functioning. :mad:

Yeah, this is a glitch. I've had this same problem (trying to record two consecutive airings of Project Planet Earth on Discovery Channel). When you try to record the same program the previous selection is erased. And, like you, I use the same work-around, having to remember to record one of the programs for only that day and time.

Nevertheless, I'm fairly happy with the 8300 and Sara. I've seen worse.

I've seen worse.

:eek:





;)

I still am not able to record a "season pass" for all episodes of COPS on FoxHD @ 7-7:30p and 7:30-8p on Saturdays. I can record one or the other in a "season pass", but not both. (When I try to set a "season pass" for the second one, the first one is removed from the to be recorded list and vice versa.) My work around has been to record a single episode every week (but I have to remember to set it up each week).
Since these are the only shows you are having problems with, a better workaround might be to simply schedule a manual recording for every Sat from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. You have to press LIST and then "B" to get to the option to schedule manual recordings. I thought we had mentioned this once before, but I could be wrong. :)

I wish, wish, wish Cox in Phoenix would abandon this cruddy bugware and upgrade us to something that can at least provide rock-solid basic functioning. :mad:
It is pretty stable, it just doesn't do things the way you want. :)

First you tell it to record in THIS timeslot, then you turn around and tell it this OTHER timeslot. Yes, I know they could have programmed it to consider both timeslots separate the way I assume Tivo does, but they didn't and it's simply trying to do what you tell it to do based on how they programmed the options. To nitpick, that makes it lousy programming, not a bug IMHO.

Anyway, lousy programming aside, the 1st half hour of Cops is a NEW episode and the 2nd is a rerun, but I assume you already know that and still want to record both episodes. I tried setting up New and This Timeslot recordings, but that didn't work either. The only thing I could get to work was a Manual recording from 7-8 Each Sat.

As for replacing SARA, I've said many times that that is coming, at least for Cox/Comcast (TWC has Navigator, don't know about others). Whether or not they completely replace SARA or just provide other packages at an added cost is open for debate and we'll just have to wait and see, but the stated goal is to have at least 3 options; an interface based on Passport, an HD interface (probably also based on Passport), and the ported Tivo software. Once again here are some applicable links:

Passport - http://www.pioneerdigital.com/passportecho/passportecho.asp
NDS - http://www.nds.com/solutions/epgs.html
Tivo - http://www.comcast.com/tivo/ (Motorola units inthe demo)

With SDV supposedly now coming on Oct 10, I assume they are nearing completion of the EON upgrade and perhaps things will start moving forward again. I noticed Cox-Omaha has announced new HD channels for Oct 15, but I haven't heard anything about Phoenix, though if I do, it will be posted in the Phoenix thread, not here. :)

BTW, I'm just trying to help, so don't beat me up over the nitpick. :)

Yeah, this is a glitch. I've had this same problem (trying to record two consecutive airings of Project Planet Earth on Discovery Channel). When you try to record the same program the previous selection is erased. And, like you, I use the same work-around, having to remember to record one of the programs for only that day and time.
Why not a manual recording? Granted, multiple manual recordings can be a bear to find in the Recorded List, but one or 2 should be easy enough to manage.

As for replacing SARA, I've said many times that that is coming, at least for Cox/Comcast (TWC has Navigator, don't know about others). Whether or not they completely replace SARA or just provide other packages at an added cost is open for debate and we'll just have to wait and see, but the stated goal is to have at least 3 options; an interface based on Passport, an HD interface (probably also based on Passport), and the ported Tivo software. Once again here are some applicable links:

Passport - http://www.pioneerdigital.com/passportecho/passportecho.asp
NDS - http://www.nds.com/solutions/epgs.html
Tivo - http://www.comcast.com/tivo/ (Motorola units inthe demo)

A recent Cox flyer "Product Guide, Northern Virginia" has pictures of the IPG and DVR service -- both appear to be Passport. We are still on SARA here, though.

My Cox DVR has been reliable over the years (until very recently). Still, I am looking forward to the change.

With SDV supposedly now coming...
... completion of the EON upgrade

...in the Phoenix thread, not here. :)
Ack!

What's "SDV"? What's the "EON upgrade"?? :confused:

Link to the "Phoenix thread" please? (Yes, I'm lazy :eek:)
BTW, I'm just trying to help, so don't beat me up over the nitpick. :)
http://pics.picturetrail.com/res/album/bling/smileys/smiley_bash.gif

I'm just frustrated. Oh - and I'd still call it a bug. It'd absolutely make our "buglist" at work! ;)

What's "SDV"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched_video

What's the "EON upgrade"?? :confused:
http://www.onetrak.com/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=2870&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Link to the "Phoenix thread" please? (Yes, I'm lazy :eek:)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=451563

I'm just frustrated.
You're not alone even though I've had fairly good luck with my 8300. If I were paying $12.95/mo for SARA, I'd probably be more upset. Of course, in the big scheme of things I really don't know what I'm actually paying and there's nothing I can do about it anyway. My only consolation is that it's a whole lot more functional than my SD, single tuner VCR. :)

Oh - and I'd still call it a bug. It'd absolutely make our "buglist" at work! ;)
It would make my bug list too, but only because I would have written the requirements correctly in the first place. I never blame programming unless I know for sure what the requirement documents stated. I also make some allowance that such a simple requirement could be copyrighted by Tivo or someone else. We know more than one "feature" of SARA is/was lame because SA (now Cisco) didn't want to license the features, at least not until the last couple of releases. That is one reason why Cox is now dealing with Passport, it includes many Tivo-like features that SARA doesn't.

Why not a manual recording? Granted, multiple manual recordings can be a bear to find in the Recorded List, but one or 2 should be easy enough to manage.

Good suggestion. Thanks.

I would like to be able to run two SA 8300 units on one TV to be able to have the option of four recordings at one time.

I would think this is possible if I can find a way to deal with the remote not having a way to differentiate the two. Maybe I will have to work one at a time and cover the remote sensor on the unit not being used.

Has anyone else done this? Any help is appreciated.

You could hide the boxes so they don't see the IR directly, then use IR extenders with the sensors blocked by a tube of heat shrink or plastic located at different angles so they are very directional.

Yes, I had thought of that. Also manually turn off one and then use the remote for the one left on. I heard back from someone on anther forum that he has done this.

I just wanted to see any issues with this before I try it out.

It sounds like it will work okay as long as I can deal with the remote issue.

I would like to be able to run two SA 8300 units on one TV to be able to have the option of four recordings at one time.

I would think this is possible if I can find a way to deal with the remote not having a way to differentiate the two. Maybe I will have to work one at a time and cover the remote sensor on the unit not being used.

Has anyone else done this? Any help is appreciated.

And I thought *I* watched too much TV. You can start with one on and the other off. Then every time you pressed the power button, one would turn on, the other off and you would then be controlling only one at a time. Not a perfect situation since you couldn't be watching one while say setting a recording on the other.

And I thought *I* watched too much TV. You can start with one on and the other off. Then every time you pressed the power button, one would turn on, the other off and you would then be controlling only one at a time. Not a perfect situation since you couldn't be watching one while say setting a recording on the other.

Back in the day, before DVR's, my father had a big screen w/four vcr's sitting on top of it. He could watch one channel while recording another, or watch a video while recording a channel, all while recording a movie from the local video store to another vcr. I wish he were still around, how he would have loved the DVR technology!

Harold

Well, got a conflict on Monday with Season Passes. I have 1 recordings set to go 9-11 on Monday (Heros), then two others 9-10 and 10-11. The problem is my kids have a season pass to another show that is scheduled also at 10-11; so now I have a total of 3 shows scheduled for the 10-11 time slots.

How do I disable / delete one recording without having to get rid of the Season Pass? How do you just delete a single show from being deleted from a season pass?

Thanks.

How do I disable / delete one recording without having to get rid of the Season Pass? How do you just delete a single show from being deleted from a season pass?

Thanks.

You can't, canceling it once cancels it all, you'll have to set it back up when it's in the guide again.

Well, got a conflict on Monday with Season Passes. I have 1 recordings set to go 9-11 on Monday (Heros), then two others 9-10 and 10-11. The problem is my kids have a season pass to another show that is scheduled also at 10-11; so now I have a total of 3 shows scheduled for the 10-11 time slots.

How do I disable / delete one recording without having to get rid of the Season Pass? How do you just delete a single show from being deleted from a season pass?

Thanks.
You can't. You have to delete it and then remember to reschedule it the following day or later in the week. I have the same conflict, though probably not the same programs, :) and I've opted to skip the second hour of Heroes and try to catch it on their website, if it'll be available there. If not, oh well. I might end up watching it live and then go to bed early to watch the second hour on that TV. :)

That is just one of many features I wish SARA had. I don't know if Passport or Navigator has it, but I assume Tivo does. Actually I think Tivo and Passport let's you set the priority to get the other 2 and then the problem automatically goes away when the conflict goes away the following week. Fortunately, it's really only needed this time of year when there are special 2-hour premieres gumming up the schedules. FWIW, I use Google Calendar or TitanTV to remind me to reschedule when needed.

Actually, in this case I believe I simply changed the Stop Time on the Heroes recording to just get the first hour. That way the Season Pass will stay in the schedule and will reset it's time the following week.

Actually I think Tivo and Passport let's you set the priority to get the other 2 and then the problem automatically goes away when the conflict goes away the following week.

I used to have Tivo and they did let you set priorities. So there was no such thing as conflict, the lower priority items did not get recorded.

Oh, well - maybe someday they include it in Sara.

Oh, well - maybe someday they include it in Sara.
I have my doubts. Cox (and Comcast) is supposedly moving away from SARA in favor of a new IPG based on Passport code and something by NDS as well as the Tivo port. I'm sure Cisco will try to remain competitive, but who knows how all this will work out.

Hey guys,

Recently, Comcast in my area "upgraded" our service from using the Passport Echo software, to the craptacular SARA. (if you can't tell, i'm totally enthused about using it)

Without going into how the Passport was so much better than SARA (i.e. laggy menus in SARA, ugly interface in SARA, needlessly complicated show recording options in SARA, confusing DVR options in SARA... you get the point) I'm having some trouble and can't find an answer to something simple I want to do.

Before, when I had the Passport software, when I opened the guide, I could hit the Favorites button and scan through my fav channels and see what was on, without having to actually change the channel. SARA will not do this. Anytime I hit the Favorites button now, it changes the channel.

This is EXTREMELY annoying that I can't scan through my favorite channels from the guide menu.

Is there a way to scan through them while viewing the guide in the SARA software? I may drop cable and change to satellite over this... and yes, I'm being totally serious.

Thanks in advance,
Lias

Is there a way to scan through them while viewing the guide in the SARA software? I may drop cable and change to satellite over this... and yes, I'm being totally serious.
You are SOL, so you might as well schedule the switch. :)

FWIW, I thought Comcast, along with Cox, planned to convert all their systems to Passport, but maybe it's just Cox. Comcast does have the Tivo software port coming to SA boxes, so you might want to check on the status of that in your area before you make your decision.

The other thing TiVo would do that was cool is alert you when there was a conflict. It ran some kind of a job to review upcoming schedules and would pop up a message next time you turned on the DVR about the conflict. That was cool.

I had 3 shows not record on Thursday night. I have no idea why. :mad:

The other thing TiVo would do that was cool is alert you when there was a conflict. It ran some kind of a job to review upcoming schedules and would pop up a message next time you turned on the DVR about the conflict. That was cool.

I had 3 shows not record on Thursday night. I have no idea why. :mad:
No doubt Tivo has the best conflict resolution feature out there, but I've gotten so used to working around SARA limitations, I haven't had a conflict in a long time. SARA does now at least record 2 of the 3 shows when there is a conflict. At least it did before the last update and I haven't set up a test to see what this version does.

I don't know if I can explain it, but which 3 shows didn't record and which option did you use?

I don't know if I can explain it, but which 3 shows didn't record and which option did you use?
I don't remember. I could check, but I'm lazy! LOL All I know is I saw three shows from Thurs last week that were listed on my "To be recorded" list, which invariably means they weren't recorded. I'm just bitchin' about it, that's all...

I don't remember. I could check, but I'm lazy! LOL All I know is I saw three shows from Thurs last week that were listed on my "To be recorded" list, which invariably means they weren't recorded. I'm just bitchin' about it, that's all...
Ok, probably too late to figure it out anyway.

You might want to do some double-checking if you use the First Run option because the NEW indicator is not always set properly. Also, don't forget to check for 3-way conflicts if you've kept season passes from last year.

Noticed another bug in 1.90.5.107.

I was watching Nova on PBS last night. The show on Black Holes was spectacular in HD. So 20 minutes in, I hit Record so my kids could watch it later.

The whole show *did* record.

But, when you play it back, the progress indicator has a large red segment at the beginning of the band. (In other words, instead of a green band representing the 60 minute show, I have a red/green band that seems to represent 1 hour 20 minutes.)

Like I said, full show recorded. Strange bug.

My SA 8240HDC seems to have trouble keeping audio and video in sync for live TV. When it happens, audio is way ahead of video. It is intermittent, but it seems only to happen with HD content.

I originally thought this was my TV. But I realized I was not seeing this on other sources, and that I never see it when playing back a program recorded on the 8240.

When I notice the problem, I can hit replay (or pause, then play) and the audio and video are back in sync.

Anyone else notice this? I am thinking about asking Cox to replace it.

Maybe this is a hardware problem and does not belong in the SARA thread, but I was wondering if it might be related to the version Cox has me on.

SARA 1.90.5.a107 / SA8240HDC / Cox Cable, Fairfax VA
Set up to output 1080i via component.

We have seen the same issues with both our 8300HD (Cox SD SARA 1.89.22.2) and our 8240HD (same SARA). To resync the sound, we have to do the same things as you, so I think it is common and not particular to your box. We've also noticed the same issue with the progress indicator.

Also, lately the 8300HD box "hangs" and reboots on its own occasionally and a few times I've had to "hard reboot" the box to clear up various issues.

We have seen the same issues with both our 8300HD (Cox SD SARA 1.89.22.2) and our 8240HD (same SARA). To resync the sound, we have to do the same things as you, so I think it is common and not particular to your box. We've also noticed the same issue with the progress indicator.

Also, lately the 8300HD box "hangs" and reboots on its own occasionally and a few times I've had to "hard reboot" the box to clear up various issues.
Thanks, at least I know I am not crazy. You saved me a trip to the Cox storefront too. I will just stick to the workarounds I'm using now.

RE: Sara program conflicts not handled well if PG is late in downloading.

Let's say you have 2 shows set for ALL NEW Eps for Monday at 8PM. However the program guide sometimes is late to download to your DVR. So it may let you set a recording for another show for that time slot (if you forgot you already have two). Then the program guide downloads on Sunday night, it now sees the conflict & will just arbitrarily delete one of your season pass recordings WITHOUT WARNING. So you need to re-check the program guide daily for the RED Highlight for shows that are important to you to record that evening.

Sara isn't perfect but it's better than anything else TWC is providing these days.

I have a 750gb cavalry external hard drive connected by esata cable to my 8300hd. I think there was an "update" mon or tue morning 9/29 or 30 around 3am, which took 15 minutes of rebooting and counting down numbers and letters like 3e to 3d, down to 1 or 0, etc. Supposedly this was to fix issues with the "guide" schedule though I didn't have problems with it before and nothing seemed to change afterwards.

Lately, starting around sun evening 9/28/08 in fairfax county, northern virginia, cox cable, recordings started cutting off as if space had run out on the external hard drive. The thing is, there was plenty of space left, many hours left of recording capacity, so recordings should not have cut off. It does not say in red anything about recording being stopped because out of hard drive space, the item on "list" just says 55 minutes or 28 mins or whatever instead of the hour it was supposed to record. And if going to the end of the 55 or 28 mins by fastforward or whatever, sometimes the dvr will freeze up then reboot. This seems to indicate the 55/28 min instead of 60 min recordings are happening on the external hard drive.

How do I stop this? Has anyone had this happen to them? I have over 550 programs recorded on both internal and external hard drives, usually 97-99/100% full. So it's extremely important that nothing happens to delete any of those programs.

I read in first post this thread about "hard reboot" and "defragging hdd". I read elsewhere that "hard reboot" will NOT ERASE recordings on internal or external hard drive and solves a number of random problems (though no mention of my specific problem) so I guess I'll try that. Would that work?

What exactly is "defragging hdd" and what does it do? Does defragging affect external hard drive in any way (think I remember reading it only affects internal hdd)? If not, it wouldn't affect my problem of recordings being cut off presumably on the external hard drive, right?

Would a "hard reboot" fix my problem? Or is my external hdd somehow corrupted, perhaps around the 98/99% full point with about five hours left to record, and should I just take it down to 96-97% full and treat 98% full like 100% full and avoid a point at which the esata hdd could POSSIBLY be messed up? Thanks a lot!

I'd do a "hard" reboot. I've had problems similar to yours that have been fixed by this.

Also, I've found that when my external SATA drive gets above somewhere around 95-97% full, things get dicey. I try to keep mine at or below 90%, except for brief periods.. For my setup, 1 hr of HD programming equals about 1% of my total hard drive space.

Good luck.

please help me, does any body know the correct procedure to erase the memory in the cable box, such as ppv orders

You could try a full 24-hour reset (no power, cable, etc).
I think I might worry more about getting the bill from the mailbox first more than the PPV entries in the diagnostics...

v/r,
C-F

cottygee, I did the hard reboot, and it didn't help. Did you have problems exactly like mine that were fixed with a hard reboot? What do you mean when you say things got "dicey" above 95-97% full? All my recordings are SD and not HD, which is why I have over 550 programs on my 750gb external and 160gb internal hard drives.

Recordings are still cutting off at about the 98% full mark on the esata external hard drive, even though there should be 5 or more hours left. Maybe it's just misreading how much space is left and should I just treat 98% like 100% full hard drive(s)?

Recordings are still cutting off at about the 98% full mark on the esata external hard drive, even though there should be 5 or more hours left. Maybe it's just misreading how much space is left and should I just treat 98% like 100% full hard drive(s)?

I always thought that harddrives in computer use needed extra available (cushion) space to add files.

IE: They're not like a glass of water and you can just keep adding until it's filled to the brim!!

As mentioned earlier, I'd suspect a safety factor of 90% might be a good idea.

Been using esata external hard drive for 6+ months and before this past week could always fill it close to 100% or 99% when it would cut off recordings. Before, when it STARTED to say 99% full on the 750gb external plus 160gb internal, that's when there was 5 hours of SD recording left. Just like each "percent" of hard drive space equaled about 5 hours of SD recording. It's only in the last week that recordings have been cut off at around the 98-99% mark.

Also a minor question, does anyone else notice when pressing fast forward once on remote, sometimes it goes to 1FF, 3FF, or even 4FF, when it isn't supposed to go to 3FF unless you press it 3 times, etc.? Does DVR (seems like they all do it, 8000hd, 8300hd, maybe even 8000) just randomly determine how fast to fast forward and you have no real control over it?

Also a minor question, does anyone else notice when pressing fast forward once on remote, sometimes it goes to 1FF, 3FF, or even 4FF, when it isn't supposed to go to 3FF unless you press it 3 times, etc.? Does DVR (seems like they all do it, 8000hd, 8300hd, maybe even 8000) just randomly determine how fast to fast forward and you have no real control over it?
First, I hope you never have to replace your DVR because when, not if, you do, you will lose all those recordings.

How do you stop FF, do you press Play or Replay? If Replay, that does not reset the FF counter. If you use Replay to stop FF2, the next time you press FF, it will be FF3.

I think this is all in the main post, so I am not going to go track it down, but IIRC:

- Stop & Erase for a recording program does not recover the used space. - Solution: Hard Reboot.
- While not as evident with large files, the disk could "fragment" based upon what was free when the space was allocated and what gets deleted. So there may be gaps (30 minute low-bit digital show) and such the will rarely get used thus acting like Jenga or Tetris. - I think SARA may have a defrag, but deleting everything possible may help.

- If you jump out of FF with something other than play (i.e. Quick Review) SARA does not clear the last Play-FF-FF2-FF3-FF4 position, and you will get the next in rotation when you press FF again...

v/r,
C-F

please help me, does any body know the correct procedure to erase the memory in the cable box, such as ppv orders, i just bought a cable filter and need help please help me.

You could try a full 24-hour reset (no power, cable, etc).

please help me, does any body know the correct procedure to erase the memory in the cable box, such as ppv orders, i just bought a cable filter and need help please help me.
Not sure what you're really trying to do here or why, but I thought CF did, didn't he? He maybe should have added a note to read the First Post, but the only thing I can think of to try is a full reset (disconnect for several hours). It usually doesn't take 24 hours, but does need to at least go overnight. I don't really know if that will erase the PPV stuff or not though.

I think this is all in the main post, so I am not going to go track it down, but IIRC:

- Stop & Erase for a recording program does not recover the used space. - Solution: Hard Reboot.
- While not as evident with large files, the disk could "fragment" based upon what was free when the space was allocated and what gets deleted. So there may be gaps (30 minute low-bit digital show) and such the will rarely get used thus acting like Jenga or Tetris. - I think SARA may have a defrag, but deleting everything possible may help.

v/r,
C-F

So are you saying while stopping a program that is recording, stop and save to hdd, then go to list and delete that partly recorded program? I do that. I even have this weird way of deleting recorded programs when I'm done watching them. If the red light is on and another program is being recorded, I just delete when I get to the end of the recorded program. If red light isn't on, I play another recorded program then switch from ch.750 to a live program like CNN Headline News then go to list and delete the program I just watched. I don't like to delete directly when I get to the end of a recorded program when the red light isn't on for some reason, maybe because when I started using DVRs I noticed space didn't seem to free up as much for some reason.

Does the internal or external hard drive defrag or move the recordings around so that there's always space left for new recordings? Wouldn't deleting an hour free up an hour then deleting a 30 minute show from months ago frees up 90 mins total to then record a 90 minute show? If not, space would constantly be reduced wouldn't it?

Even though it's early so far, keeping the DVR below 98% full seems to be resulting in full programs being recorded without cutting off. Hopefully that will work. Do external hard drives never defrag and constantly lose space so 750gb becomes 740 then 730, etc., as weeks/months go by?

Thanks a lot, you guys know a lot more than cox tech support over phone or in person.

So are you saying while stopping a program that is recording, stop and save to hdd, then go to list and delete that partly recorded program? I do that..................
You are doing it correctly and that should not be causing your problem. What he said was "Stop & Erase", a totally different option wherein the space does not appear to be recovered without a hard reboot. Even that may have changed with later software updates.

Wouldn't deleting an hour free up an hour then deleting a 30 minute show from months ago frees up 90 mins total to then record a 90 minute show? If not, space would constantly be reduced wouldn't it?
It's not as finite as that because recording space depends on more that just the length of a program. The space requred depends on the amount of actual data broadcast and it varies by channel and program. However, as a rule of thumb, what you are saying is probabaly good enough for government work. :)

Also, recordings are more like "streamed" to the HDD than filed using traditional file management techniques. I haven't actually read any posts showing how much space, if any, has ever been recovered by defragging. Most folks use this and other troubleshooting techniques in the First Post to try to clear up problems than as any kind of PC-like management procedures.

Seems like it's getting worse, now a recording got cut off while space available was at 97% instead of 98 or 99%. Anyone else have these kinds of problems with an external esata hard drive? Cox tech support came by and said signal strength was good, near 0 or 1 which it should be, didn't know much else. I was hoping it was an issue with cox, some type of area problem over the last week since the update a week ago, that would be fixed over time, but that's seeming less and less likely. Why didn't hard rebooting work, is that supposed to fix that?

Seems like it's getting worse, now a recording got cut off while space available was at 97% instead of 98 or 99%. Anyone else have these kinds of problems with an external esata hard drive? Cox tech support came by and said signal strength was good, near 0 or 1 which it should be, didn't know much else. I was hoping it was an issue with cox, some type of area problem over the last week since the update a week ago, that would be fixed over time, but that's seeming less and less likely. Why didn't hard rebooting work, is that supposed to fix that?
You do know that there is a separate SATA thread where these questions would be more appropriate and probably get you some better suggestions, don't you?

Edit: Then again, looking at your post count, maybe you don't. :)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5277957&&#post5277957

Star War's clone wars seems to go 1 minute over for each episode so my sara cuts off the last minute. My SARA Cox SA8300 is set to automatically record all episodes of Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. Is there a way to force the DVR to record an extra minute for all instances of a show?

Star War's clone wars seems to go 1 minute over for each episode so my sara cuts off the last minute. My SARA Cox SA8300 is set to automatically record all episodes of Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. Is there a way to force the DVR to record an extra minute for all instances of a show?
Yes, just change the Stop time. Unfortunately, if you only record it once a week or less, you'll have to change it each week. The alternative is to set up a Manual Recording for the specific times you want.

Little confused about hard reboot, the last step is:

"Press and hold Power on 8300 front panel. While Power is depressed, plug 8300 power cord back in. Continue to hold Power until 8300 display says "boot" and/or begins to cycle a few times (usually about 15 seconds). "

How long exactly should power button be held down (because I held it like 20+ seconds and nothing seemed to improve)? When should I release power button?

1 at display of "boot" within a few seconds much sooner than 15 seconds
2 hold it for 15 seconds
3 or wait to "cycle a few times" what does that mean?

And why would a hard reboot fix many issues with external hard drives, wouldn't it only affect internal hardware? What sorts of issues with external drives is hard reboot supposed to fix? Should it prevent my recordings being cut off (on external drive?) with it being 97% full instead of 99-100% full? Thanks!

please does anybody know the correct procedure to clear the memory in the cable box, such as ppv purchases, pleasehelp

Little confused about hard reboot, the last step is:

"Press and hold Power on 8300 front panel. While Power is depressed, plug 8300 power cord back in. Continue to hold Power until 8300 display says "boot" and/or begins to cycle a few times (usually about 15 seconds). "

How long exactly should power button be held down (because I held it like 20+ seconds and nothing seemed to improve)? When should I release power button?

1 at display of "boot" within a few seconds much sooner than 15 seconds
2 hold it for 15 seconds
3 or wait to "cycle a few times" what does that mean?

And why would a hard reboot fix many issues with external hard drives, wouldn't it only affect internal hardware? What sorts of issues with external drives is hard reboot supposed to fix? Should it prevent my recordings being cut off (on external drive?) with it being 97% full instead of 99-100% full? Thanks!
The hard reboot is not a panacea for problems, just something to try. Hold the Power button long enough for 1 of those things to happen. You won't notice ANY difference vs just pulling the plug and plugging it back in. Different versions of the software have taken different lengths of time, so we leave all the caveats in the instructions.

It's been shown time and again that doing the "hard" reboot resolves problems that a simple reboot doesn't. Will it solve your problem? I don't know, but I doubt it. You seem to want to keep your drives filled and only play with the last 2%, so I don't know that there is anything that will help. I've already suggested you try the SATA thread where there are more people more knowledgeable with SATA, but you don't seem to want to do that for some reason. :confused:

I don't believe the hard reboot will do anything specific to your external driver, but it will reset any internal indicators, etc., that could be contributing to the problem. If you really want to try something, I think you need to delete down to the 90% full level and see what happens. It's obvious that keeping your drives filled to the 97-98% level is not working. I'll say it again, perhaps the folks in the SATA thread can help you more. We might suggest you try something that really messes things up and cause you to lose everything and I'd really hate to see that happen. :eek:

please does anybody know the correct procedure to clear the memory in the cable box, such as ppv purchases, pleasehelp
Have you tried what we suggested?

yes and it didnt work, people keep telling me there is a button method to do

yes and it didnt work, people keep telling me there is a button method to do
Maybe you need to tell us what cable box you are using. It sounds like you are talking about some sort of reset button and I don't know of any such button on the SA series of boxes.

Little confused about hard reboot, the last step is:

"Press and hold Power on 8300 front panel. While Power is depressed, plug 8300 power cord back in. Continue to hold Power until 8300 display says "boot" and/or begins to cycle a few times (usually about 15 seconds). "

How long exactly should power button be held down (because I held it like 20+ seconds and nothing seemed to improve)? When should I release power button?

1 at display of "boot" within a few seconds much sooner than 15 seconds
2 hold it for 15 seconds
3 or wait to "cycle a few times" what does that mean?

And why would a hard reboot fix many issues with external hard drives, wouldn't it only affect internal hardware? What sorts of issues with external drives is hard reboot supposed to fix? Should it prevent my recordings being cut off (on external drive?) with it being 97% full instead of 99-100% full? Thanks!I don't think that most of the people that post in this thread know the exact details of what a hard reboot does and what problems it corrects. The hard reboot is an easy procedure to do and it corrects some problems for some people so it is usually worth trying.

You can try the HDD Defrag instructions to defrag the drive. This procedure is explained in the first post. I don't know if this works on an external drive.

Sooner or later the DVR is going to break and you are going to lose all the recordings on both the internal and external hard drives. The new DVR will not recognize the external drive and it will reformat the external drive before it will recognize it destroying all the recordings on it.

I guess I encountered a IPG problem. This Thursday, the Guide Data shows that it will record the MLB playoffs on Fox. I never set that up. Looking at the To Be Recorded list, there is no entry for MLB playoffs.

However, it shows some FOX shows that are not even on on Thursday will be recorded, i.e., House and Fringe. Those shows are part of my season pass. Problem is that I also want to record 11th hour and Grey's Anatomy.

Has anyone else seen this kind of problem? Should I try a hard reboot?

I guess I encountered a IPG problem. This Thursday, the Guide Data shows that it will record the MLB playoffs on Fox. I never set that up. Looking at the To Be Recorded list, there is no entry for MLB playoffs.

However, it shows some FOX shows that are not even on on Thursday will be recorded, i.e., House and Fringe. Those shows are part of my season pass. Problem is that I also want to record 11th hour and Grey's Anatomy.

Has anyone else seen this kind of problem? Should I try a hard reboot?
Those are placeholders for episodes that actually have no IPG entry for the week. They won't record. Another thing that can happen is when a network makes a program change that doesn't reflect in the IPG yet, but will adjust when it downloads again.

You should be ok. If you want to make more sure, disconnect your DVR for a hard re-boot.

Those are placeholders for episodes that actually have no IPG entry for the week. They won't record. Another thing that can happen is when a network makes a program change that doesn't reflect in the IPG yet, but will adjust when it downloads again.

You should be ok. If you want to make more sure, disconnect your DVR for a hard re-boot.

Tried a hard reboot; no difference. The IPG may be wrong; I'll see on Thursday.

I guess I encountered a IPG problem. This Thursday, the Guide Data shows that it will record the MLB playoffs on Fox. I never set that up. Looking at the To Be Recorded list, there is no entry for MLB playoffs.

However, it shows some FOX shows that are not even on on Thursday will be recorded, i.e., House and Fringe. Those shows are part of my season pass. Problem is that I also want to record 11th hour and Grey's Anatomy.

Has anyone else seen this kind of problem? Should I try a hard reboot?
There is some info on this in the First Post where it talks about Placeholders. There is nothing wrong, just a quirky way of doing things. The software version you are using probably still has placeholders 9 days out. That means it will show a recording for 9 days from the last valid recording. In this case, it's because the shows, House and Fringe, are not new episodes tonight because of the debates. When the IPG gets updated later tonight, things should look correct again and House and Fringe will be highlighted for recording next Tuesday.

Hi guys - I just subscribed to this thread. I've had my HD-DVR (SA-8000HD) since 2004 and added an 8300HD in 2006. My question pertains to exporting recordings to other media (DVD burner or PC with a DVD drive). I've done a few of these recordings but I'm wondering if I'm doing it correctly and maxing out the possible PQ. Basically, I've used both the "archive to VCR" method and just plugging an output of the DVR into my PC input (RCA composite and S-Video) and both produced about the same quality (a letterboxed image). I did not change the output of the DVR to SD however.

In a search of this thread, I found a short discussion in 2006 about this topic, but nothing since. Is this addressed anywhere else on AVS that I might see? Is there any difference in method between the 8000HD and the 8300HD? I have some recordings on my DVR that I'd like to offload to free up some space. Thanks in advance for the help.

Hi guys - I just subscribed to this thread. I've had my HD-DVR (SA-8000HD) since 2004 and added an 8300HD in 2006. My question pertains to exporting recordings to other media (DVD burner or PC with a DVD drive). I've done a few of these recordings but I'm wondering if I'm doing it correctly and maxing out the possible PQ. Basically, I've used both the "archive to VCR" method and just plugging an output of the DVR into my PC input (RCA composite and S-Video) and both produced about the same quality (a letterboxed image). I did not change the output of the DVR to SD however.

In a search of this thread, I found a short discussion in 2006 about this topic, but nothing since. Is this addressed anywhere else on AVS that I might see? Is there any difference in method between the 8000HD and the 8300HD? I have some recordings on my DVR that I'd like to offload to free up some space. Thanks in advance for the help.

On the first page there is a discussion of making anamorphic DVDs. Since learning how to do this with the help of this forum, I have made countless such DVDs from HD recordings. The DVDs are still in SD but they are pretty good quality and are in 16-9 format.

On the first page there is a discussion of making anamorphic DVDs. Since learning how to do this with the help of this forum, I have made countless such DVDs from HD recordings. The DVDs are still in SD but they are pretty good quality and are in 16-9 format.

Could you be so kind as to point me to the post? Your page viewing size must be different from mine because I didn't see anything in the first 90 posts I looked at...unless I somehow missed it. Thanks!

Could you be so kind as to point me to the post? Your page viewing size must be different from mine because I didn't see anything in the first 90 posts I looked at...unless I somehow missed it. Thanks!

It is in the very first post, toward the end.

xnappo

Okay, thanks. I see it now:

Anamorphic DVDs.
First some background. Basically, Anamorphic DVDs are SD DVDs that have wide screen image "Squeezed" rather than recorded in letterbox format (where upper/lower black bars are wasted). This results in DVD with more resolution. While some DVD recorders/formats support inclusion of anamorphic (16:9) flag, you do not really need flag if you can view DVDs in "stretch" mode. If DVD recorder does have ability to set this flag, then "stretch" will automatically occur in DVD player.

To make this work you need to get SA8300HD to "squeeze" images. 8300HD will do this on Composite/S-Video outputs when in SD mode. Once in SD mode, Zoom button (usually #) on remote will go to "Stretch 480i" mode. This results in 16:9 image being squeezed into 4:3 space so you can record it. It is recommended you use S-Video connection on 8300 for these recordings. Note: when 8300HD is in SD mode, Component outputs will be magenta in color - so you need to be watching what you are doing through DVD recorder output.

Instructions:
With TV tuned to 8300 input, turn 8300 off.
Press both Guide/Info on front panel of 8300.
Setup Wizard will come up - Simply press "A" to go into SD mode.
Do Hard Reboot (described earlier).
Select program to be recorded and make sure DVD recorder is ready to record.
Start DVD recorder, play program on 8300, and press "#" once to get into Stretch (actually Squeeze) mode.
When done and ready to return 8300 to regular HD operation, go through Setup Wizard again. This time press "B" to set up HD mode with desired resolutions and then do a Hard Reboot again.
Note: The Hard Reboot steps were needed with 1.88.17.100 because 8300 would randomly drop out of SD mode, go back to normal letterboxed mode, and then come on in SD mode when turned on next day. Hard Reboot with desired mode (SD or HD) seems to force 8300 to remember correct mode. This does not apply to 1.89.x.x or later software.

Just a quick addition to the initial post. I haven't read through all the pages of this to see if anyone else has already mentioned this but the ranges giving for signal levels (RDC, FDC, SNR) are a little off. Actual ranges should be RDC: -10 to 10 FDC: 35 to 50 SNR(S/N): 35+ Please keep in mind that these levels are the LIMITS and the signal levels are constantly fluctuating. Therefor, if you were to check your levels and see any of these withing 2-3dB of the limits, you may not always be in the clear. If you have issue with digital and 2 way services especially (premium, HD, and OnDemand channels) these levels are usually the cause.

Has anyones 8300HD box ever told you that you aren't "authorized" to view a certain channel? Starting today, some of my non-premium HD channels say "not authorized to view, call 800-xxx-xxxx to order." The people at my cable company can't figure it out, and have me do the useless plug-pulling reset to no avail.

Has anyones 8300HD box ever told you that you aren't "authorized" to view a certain channel? Starting today, some of my non-premium HD channels say "not authorized to view, call 800-xxx-xxxx to order." The people at my cable company can't figure it out, and have me do the useless plug-pulling reset to no avail.You can ask your cable company to send a "SIGNAL" to authorize your 8300HD box again. When I get a new DVR box, I have to call to have a "SIGNAL" sent. Maybe something got messed up and that might correct it. Good Luck!

You can ask your cable company to send a "SIGNAL" to authorize your 8300HD box again. When I get a new DVR box, I have to call to have a "SIGNAL" sent. Maybe something got messed up and that might correct it. Good Luck!

This doesn't sound like the unauthorized settop error (that shows 4 dashes on the front) but that the compass software is not loaded properly. Even still, initializing and addressable hits should have been sent to your equip vs a hard reset.

Is it true that the 8300HD only displays 1,300 lines of resolution instead of 1920 lines that the 8300HDC does?

I tried the trick posted on page one, it did not prevent it from happening.

I tried the trick posted on page one, it did not prevent it from happening.
None that I've heard of. Unfortunately, software and cableco changes break previous workarounds. Do you leave your DVR on all the time or do you turn it off when not being used? Did you try to vary the time, like 5-10 minutes. I'm never up that late, so I've never had the problem. :)

None that I've heard of. Unfortunately, software and cableco changes break previous workarounds. Do you leave your DVR on all the time or do you turn it off when not being used? Did you try to vary the time, like 5-10 minutes. I'm never up that late, so I've never had the problem. :)

I fell asleep and when I woke up I saw that exactly 2 hrs into it, the message had come up so it ruined the content. Very annoying.

Is it true that the 8300HD only displays 1,300 lines of resolution instead of 1920 lines that the 8300HDC does?Do a search for "John Mason" as he is usually involved in questions and/or tests of this sort; and remember someone is using their eyes looking at their display device, hooked to their source (computer or cable) - any of which may be the weak link and entirely different than your ___.

v/r,
C-F

I have had this here in Glendale (Charter)..

Ask the co. to send an auth signal to the device. It can happen if the device was off during a system update where they may have changed channel frequencies internally, but your box never recieved the update to authorize that station on the new channel/frequency.

It can also happen if you were on a promo that now does not include the HD tier, or if they moved the HD channels to their own tier requiring its own subscription.. [eg: here in Glendale this happened for some people on Sep 9th when they added several new HD channels, and subdivided the HD tier into HD Lifeline {Broadcast HD channels} and HD Basic {Stuff like Smithsonian HD, Dicsovery HD}. THe HD Premium for them would be HBOHD,SHOHD,etc....

It can happen if the device was off during a system update where they may have changed channel frequencies internally, but your box never recieved the update to authorize that station on the new channel/frequency.


By "off" do you mean unplugged? Because it's actually the box being left ON that will cause it to run into problems with the system updates that are sent out around 2am.

By "off" do you mean unplugged? Because it's actually the box being left ON that will cause it to run into problems with the system updates that are sent out around 2am.Why?

Why?
Because the first time they push an upgrade, they try not to interrupt viewing/recording, so they just push it to units that are Off. Here in Phoenix they try twice, then on the third try they just push it and reboot the unit, if needed.

Exactly.

Because the first time they push an upgrade, they try not to interrupt viewing/recording, so they just push it to units that are Off. Here in Phoenix they try twice, then on the third try they just push it and reboot the unit, if needed.
Interesting! Did not know this. I power mine down. Good reason to remember to do this!

we just got a second HD-DVR hooked up for my mother-in-law while she is here for 5 weeks ... but i just noticed it is a SA 8000HD instead of a 8300.

I assume that is an older model? What's the difference?

we just got a second HD-DVR hooked up for my mother-in-law while she is here for 5 weeks ... but i just noticed it is a SA 8000HD instead of a 8300.

I assume that is an older model? What's the difference?
I don't remember all the specifics, but it is the older model. I'm sure someone will chime in, but unless it is not doing what you want it to do, I'm not sure I'd worry about it for the 5 weeks it will be used. I know the software has been updated a bit over the years, so as long as it has the same options as your 8300 and displays the way you want it to on the TV it's connected to, I don't see a real problem. Make sure you check things though before she gets there, just to be sure it works okay.

thanks. she's here already so i'll just wait and see if she complains about anything. since it is only 5 weeks i am not too concerned ... as long as it does the same basic function we should be good.

hello all,

having a major problem with this setup, and hoping to get it resolved.

have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 from Comcast running via HDMI to a Panasonic TH-50PX600U. i go into the cable box setup, set it to widescreen, 1080i, etc. tv is set to full. HD picture looks great.

the problem occurs when i shut the tv off. when i turn it back on, the cable box switches to auto/480i. when i go to an HD channel, it stays like that, and there are gray bars across the top and bottom of the screen, squishing the image.

anyone know what the problem could possibly be here? i've tried pretty much everything i can think of, and i just can't get it to work properly. VERY frustrating.

thanks in advance.

hello all,

having a major problem with this setup, and hoping to get it resolved.

have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300 from Comcast running via HDMI to a Panasonic TH-50PX600U. i go into the cable box setup, set it to widescreen, 1080i, etc. tv is set to full. HD picture looks great.

the problem occurs when i shut the tv off. when i turn it back on, the cable box switches to auto/480i. when i go to an HD channel, it stays like that, and there are gray bars across the top and bottom of the screen, squishing the image.

anyone know what the problem could possibly be here? i've tried pretty much everything i can think of, and i just can't get it to work properly. VERY frustrating.

thanks in advance.After you setup the cable box, do a hard reboot, which is explained in the first post in this thread. The cable box should retain the setup after that.

thanks. she's here already so i'll just wait and see if she complains about anything. since it is only 5 weeks i am not too concerned ... as long as it does the same basic function we should be good.

I have a SA8000HD in addition to my 8300HD. The 8000HD seems to be a little slower to respond in the menus/guides/lists, but other than that, it's the same.

NOTE: This is from the first post in this thread.


. . .

Place-Holders For Future Recordings. The 8300HD sets place-holders to keep track of future recordings for recurring scheduled recordings (weekly or less frequent). These are set as soon as recording starts and are scheduled for 7 (1.89.x.x) or 9 (1.88.x.x) days out. Unfortunately, these place-holders, especially those in 1.88.x.x, can make things look incorrect when viewing highlighted items in IPG looking for potential conflicts or just reviewing upcoming recordings. An example:
Justice on FOX airs weekly on Monday nights at 8:00 pm. When regularly scheduled recording starts, new place-holder is set for next episode, but it is dated for following Wednesday and will appear as such in Scheduled Recordings list. It is easily identified as a place-holder. When you press INFO, you get an empty display window.
Criminal Minds on CBS and Lost on ABC both air weekly on Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm and when you view the IPG, both of these are highlighted for recording.
Nothing is scheduled to record on FOX on Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm, so nothing should be highlighted. However, if you check further, you will see that whatever airs at 8:00 pm is also highlighted (MLB Post-Game as of this posting).
Even though this appears to be incorrect, is it only highlighted because of place-holder for Justice and not because anything will actually get recorded. It does not need to be cancelled.
In my test, place-holders are reset for correct day once next episode appears in IPG, usually after nightly IPG update. Others have had them reset shortly after mid-night, while still others have them wait to reset until the actual day of recording.
It's important to note to be careful when reviewing IPG and Scheduled Recordings list for upcoming recordings, all may not be as it appears and you may inadvertently cancel recordings that are not erroneous.

. . .


I have had a different experience with some place-holders (see First Bullet). Some place-holders are blank, but others still have the previous "NEW" program description listed instead of being blank. To determine what is going to be recorded I have to look at both the Scheduled Recordings and the Program Guide. For example, NCIS, The Mentalist, Without a Trace, Law & Order: SVU list the program descrption in the Scheduled Recordings from Tuesday October 28 but have a date of Tuesday November 4. These shows will not air because of election coverage but are listed in the Scheduled Recordings. The Program Guide correctly lists election coverage with no shows highlighted. I rebooted the DVR and now the Scheduled Recordings list the current date and the program descriptions are blank.

NOTE: This is from the first post in this thread.


I have had a different experience with some place-holders (see First Bullet). Some place-holders are blank, but others still have the previous "NEW" program description listed instead of being blank. To determine what is going to be recorded I have to look at both the Scheduled Recordings and the Program Guide. For example, NCIS, The Mentalist, Without a Trace, Law & Order: SVU list the program descrption in the Scheduled Recordings from Tuesday October 28 but have a date of Tuesday November 4. These shows will not air because of election coverage but are listed in the Scheduled Recordings. The Program Guide correctly lists election coverage with no shows highlighted. I rebooted the DVR and now the Scheduled Recordings list the current date and the program descriptions are blank.

Same here. I often see the program description of the previous week's episode even though the program is not being shown again. Pretty sure this happened with Mad Men at the conclusion of the season. I thought there was another episode left until I realized I had just seen the episode described.

NOTE: This is from the first post in this thread.


I have had a different experience with some place-holders (see First Bullet). Some place-holders are blank, but others still have the previous "NEW" program description listed .......................program descriptions are blank.
I'll go you one better Russ. I record Private Practice. I just looked through my placeholders and noticed one for PP (as it happens, blank info) on 11/12 instead of 11/05. It is set for New episodes. I then looked through the Guide and noted that there would have neen a 3-way conflict with Criminal Minds and Life on 11/05. Apparently SARA decided to record the other 2 and skip a week of PP, probably based in channel number (705, 712, and 715).

It also put a placeholder in for next week's Smallville with blank info, but the one for Survivor on the same night has some info and both are still recording. I will check the info on both after recording ends, but I'm at a loss to explain what's going on.

I'll go you one better Russ. I record Private Practice. I just looked through my placeholders and noticed one for PP (as it happens, blank info) on 11/12 instead of 11/05. It is set for New episodes. I then looked through the Guide and noted that there would have neen a 3-way conflict with Criminal Minds and Life on 11/05. Apparently SARA decided to record the other 2 and skip a week of PP, probably based in channel number (705, 712, and 715).

It also put a placeholder in for next week's Smallville with blank info, but the one for Survivor on the same night has some info and both are still recording. I will check the info on both after recording ends, but I'm at a loss to explain what's going on.
The same thing happened with me for Private Practice (channel 13), Criminal Minds (channel 11), and Life (channel 12).

The info I have for Survivor for next week in the Scheduled Recordings is the description for this week's episode (title "It all Depends on the Pin Up Girl"). I'll look at it tomorrow and see what the description is. I don't record Smallville so it is not in my Scheduled Recordings.

The same thing happened with me for Private Practice (channel 13), Criminal Minds (channel 11), and Life (channel 12).

The info I have for Survivor for next week in the Scheduled Recordings is the description for this week's episode (title "It all Depends on the Pin Up Girl"). I'll look at it tomorrow and see what the description is. I don't record Smallville so it is not in my Scheduled Recordings.
As I kind of expected, the info for Smallville and Survivor updated this morning with the Guide update overnight. I can't explain why Survivor showed last night's data for the placeholder while Smallville was blank. I guess I'll have to check some other recordings though now that some shows are being moved around. I wouldn't have noticed the missing Private Practice if you hadn't said something about placeholders, so thanks. I'll forego PP next week. Fortunately, it's not "must see TV" for me when compared to Criminal Minds and Life. :)

Last weekend my SA8240HDC took a heckuva long time to restart after being unplugged for a while. Never saw this before, but the front panel went into a very long hexadecimal countdown.

Anyway, when it finally powered back up, I checked the FW, and noticed it had been upgraded to SARA 1.90.5.a113. (Cox/Northern Virginia by the way.)

Is it normal for the system to wait to apply a firmware update until the box is being rebooted like this? Just wondering if I should pull the plug every couple of weeks.

Last weekend my SA8240HDC took a heckuva long time to restart after being unplugged for a while. Never saw this before, but the front panel went into a very long hexadecimal countdown.

Anyway, when it finally powered back up, I checked the FW, and noticed it had been upgraded to SARA 1.90.5.a113. (Cox/Northern Virginia by the way.)

Is it normal for the system to wait to apply a firmware update until the box is being rebooted like this? Just wondering if I should pull the plug every couple of weeks.It can't update the firmware if it is unplugged. As stated previously, the firmware will normally update when the box is turned off but plugged in to power. As I understand it, if the box is always on, the cableco will make a few attempts to update firmware then, at some time, will push the new firmware anyway, even if the box is on. If it is unplugged, it will install updates as soon as it is plugged in.

It can't update the firmware if it is unplugged.
Thanks, I certainly get that. If I came up with a way to make an electronic device run without electricity, I would not be wasting my time posting here. I'd be on the beach, enjoying my millions. :)

What I meant was that it took the act of unplugging the STB for an hour and then plugging it back in to cause it to download the latest firmware.

Is that normal, or is firmware normally pushed out actively.

What I meant was that it took the act of unplugging the STB for an hour and then plugging it back in to cause it to download the latest firmware.

Is that normal, or is firmware normally pushed out actively.
As cctvtech indicated, updates are pushed and more than one attempt it made before they force the update even if the unit is on. However, it's possible that your unit was hung and unplugging it that long sufficiently reset enough so that when you plugged it back in it requested the latest update. That is what it does if it can't recover using the firmware from flash memory.

As cctvtech indicated, updates are pushed and more than one attempt it made before they force the update even if the unit is on. However, it's possible that your unit was hung and unplugging it that long sufficiently reset enough so that when you plugged it back in it requested the latest update. That is what it does if it can't recover using the firmware from flash memory.

Thanks. (Mine may read funny because his post was edited after I quoted it.)

Thanks cctvtech too.

The same thing happened with me for Private Practice (channel 13), Criminal Minds (channel 11), and Life (channel 12).

The info I have for Survivor for next week in the Scheduled Recordings is the description for this week's episode (title "It all Depends on the Pin Up Girl"). I'll look at it tomorrow and see what the description is. I don't record Smallville so it is not in my Scheduled Recordings.The description for Survivor updated to the correct info overnight.

I thought there might be a problem when I learned "Life" was moving to Wednesday but I didn't expect "Private Practice" to be taken off the Scheduled Recordings list.

but I didn't expect "Private Practice" to be taken off the Scheduled Recordings list.
I didn't either and it sure would be nice if SARAs conflict resolution was documented somewhere. Maybe it is, but I sure don't know where. :)

Hi

Can the 8300HD output to two HD outputs simultaneously? I mean one 1080p tv on the HDMI and one HD tv on the component?

I have a tv in the basement and would like to have the output on both.

Thanks

I ended up buying a distribution amplifier. The signal (component) goes into the input of the distr. amp and the outputs to my two HDTVs through component cables. Works great.

http://www.avdeals.ca/CELABS/400COMP.htm

I ended up buying a distribution amplifier. The signal (component) goes into the input of the distr. amp and the outputs to my two HDTVs through component cables. Works great.

http://www.avdeals.ca/CELABS/400COMP.htm
So you are taking one of the cable inputs and connecting it to this device. Than you run component cables to to TVs. How long are the component cables; how far are the TVs apart. How do you change channels on the second TV not located by the DVR?

I ended up buying a distribution amplifier. The signal (component) goes into the input of the distr. amp and the outputs to my two HDTVs through component cables. Works great.

http://www.avdeals.ca/CELABS/400COMP.htm
If both devices have HDMI, then the 4x2 hdmi matrix from monoprice may also work well. (monoprice item 4802)...

[can take any four hdmi inputs and output them to any of the two outputs, so in this case, input 1 (the DVR) can be set to display on both outputs A and B. ]

So you are taking one of the cable inputs and connecting it to this device. Than you run component cables to to TVs. How long are the component cables; how far are the TVs apart. How do you change channels on the second TV not located by the DVR?

Output from the cable box on components to the distribution amplifier.
2 outputs from the distribution amplifier, component cables going to each tv.
The same output ("channel") is displayed on both tvs.

The 2nd tv is in the gym downstairs, right below the one in the living room. I used a 12ft long component cable, going through the floor.

Audio signal
from cable box through digital output to sound system near tv #1
from cable box through RCA Red/White downstairs to sound system near tv #2

You asked for cable lengths?
1 x 3ft component from cable box to dist. amp.
1 x 3ft component from dist. amp to tv #1
1 x 12ft component from dist. amp to tv #2

Teddy, thanks for the input on the HDMI splitter. I didn't thing of those, I thought HDMI technology prevented that. Had I known I would have gone this route. HDMI cables are slimmer and make for a cleaner installation

What do the following audio settings mean?

Range: Wide - Normal - Narrow

Volume Control: Variable - Fixed

Thanks much,
Harold

What do the following audio settings mean?

Range: Wide - Normal - Narrow

Copy-pasted from the first post in this thread:

Audio Range Settings. Audio Range options are for Dolby Digital output signals and refer to digital "Dynamic Range".
Wide Dynamic Range will render audio that will go from faintest audio level of a whisper at an extremely low level to thundering boom at ear-shattering levels giving great impact to action movies, but calls for good audio setup to properly hear normal dialog without blasting speakers during loud scenes.
Narrow Dynamic Range keeps lower volumes at higher level while muting higher level sounds to lower level. Whispered dialog is not much quieter than explosion and all sound levels are "Narrowed" to a certain level.
Normal Dynamic Range basically splits difference.




What do the following audio settings mean?

Volume Control: Variable - Fixed

Variable: the audio output (from the red-white RCA I think) is variable and will be controlled by your Explorer volume setting
Fixed: the audio output becomes line-level and will be controlled by the device that receives the signal (an amp, tv, etc)

Copy-pasted from the first post in this thread:

Audio Range Settings. Audio Range options are for Dolby Digital output signals and refer to digital "Dynamic Range".
Wide Dynamic Range will render audio that will go from faintest audio level of a whisper at an extremely low level to thundering boom at ear-shattering levels giving great impact to action movies, but calls for good audio setup to properly hear normal dialog without blasting speakers during loud scenes.
Narrow Dynamic Range keeps lower volumes at higher level while muting higher level sounds to lower level. Whispered dialog is not much quieter than explosion and all sound levels are "Narrowed" to a certain level.
Normal Dynamic Range basically splits difference.


Do any of these settings matter if you're not outputting to a surround-sound capable receiver? IOW, if I have a cable box with red/white RCA's output to just the TV input...do these settings make any difference at all?

I’ve had an 8300HD for about 4 years now and have just started using its HDMI output with a new Kuro Pro111FD plasma. I also have the 8300 connected to a digital audio input in my HT system. When I started using HDMI, the digital coaxial connection caused my speakers to hum. I switched from coax to the optical connection and the humming disappeared. Has anyone else seen this problem and is it normal? I tried playing with the 8300’s audio output options, switching between HDMI and Dolby Digital, but that made no difference.

I’ve had an 8300HD for about 4 years now and have just started using its HDMI output with a new Kuro Pro111FD plasma. I also have the 8300 connected to a digital audio input in my HT system. When I started using HDMI, the digital coaxial connection caused my speakers to hum. I switched from coax to the optical connection and the humming disappeared. Has anyone else seen this problem and is it normal? I tried playing with the 8300’s audio output options, switching between HDMI and Dolby Digital, but that made no difference.

Ground loops with a coax connection are common. Might want to check that all devices involved are plugged into the same outlet and that all plugs are properly polarized, but using the optical connection is as good of solution as any...

Ground loops with a coax connection are common. Might want to check that all devices involved are plugged into the same outlet and that all plugs are properly polarized, but using the optical connection is as good of solution as any...

Thanks for the reply. Everything in my system is properly connected and grounded and the only difference is that I started using HDMI for the first time. If I disconnect the HDMI cable, the hum goes away. All my gear goes through a Monster Power HTS 5100 power conditioner.

As you say, optical is a good solution.

Everything in my system is properly connected and grounded and the only difference is that I started using HDMI for the first time. If I disconnect the HDMI cable, the hum goes away. All my gear goes through a Monster Power HTS 5100 power conditioner.

Well the fact that you get hum when you add the third ground path tells you that something isn't grounded completely properly. Might be poor ground design in some device, a flipped non-polarized plug, or multiple different paths to ground. If the TV was not connected to the same power conditioner that would be my suspect, but you can drive yourself crazy trying to find the source of these problems. My sub started humming recently and nothing has changed in relationship to how it's wired, going to have to track it down this weekend...

Thanks for the reply. Everything in my system is properly connected and grounded and the only difference is that I started using HDMI for the first time. If I disconnect the HDMI cable, the hum goes away. All my gear goes through a Monster Power HTS 5100 power conditioner.

As you say, optical is a good solution.

One of these will probably fix you up:
http://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html8.html

I know - it is weird that the problem is with the cable coax, but I bet if you play back something from the DVR and remove the cable coax the buzz will go away.

xnappo

I connected up my WD 500 GB DVR Extender to my TWC NYC SA 8300 HD. Although it appears to work fine (drive formatted, space increased), one of the main features that i've used is no longer available. That is, I no longer appear to have the previous hour recorded on a running loop of whatever channel i'm on. I used to come back home from work at 6:15pm and rewind 45 minutes to watch PTI, but now it no longer appears to record the previous hour. In addition, if i pause to answer the phone, i can't advance the channel or go to the current spot (using the 'live' option).

Any ideas?

Do any of these settings matter if you're not outputting to a surround-sound capable receiver? IOW, if I have a cable box with red/white RCA's output to just the TV input...do these settings make any difference at all?

Does anyone have an answer for this?

Does anyone have an answer for this?I would assume that they apply to all Dolby Digital signals that are being decoded by the 8300, even those that eventually feed the analog outputs directly to your TV.

Does anyone have an answer for this?
AFAIK, the fixed/variable setting only applies to analog while the others apply to digital. All you have to do is experiment to see what, if any, effect any setting has on your setup. I've used nothing but digital for so long, I don't even remember what effects these have anymore. :)

I connected up my WD 500 GB DVR Extender to my TWC NYC SA 8300 HD. Although it appears to work fine (drive formatted, space increased), one of the main features that i've used is no longer available. That is, I no longer appear to have the previous hour recorded on a running loop of whatever channel i'm on. I used to come back home from work at 6:15pm and rewind 45 minutes to watch PTI, but now it no longer appears to record the previous hour. In addition, if i pause to answer the phone, i can't advance the channel or go to the current spot (using the 'live' option).

Any ideas?

TWC NYC -- I thought that system used to run PASSPORT (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=453804) (which had a similar issue when using eSATA (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=516559)) and recently switched to NAVIGATOR (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=723830).

v/r,
C-F

I would assume that they apply to all Dolby Digital signals that are being decoded by the 8300, even those that eventually feed the analog outputs directly to your TV.

AFAIK, the fixed/variable setting only applies to analog while the others apply to digital. All you have to do is experiment to see what, if any, effect any setting has on your setup. I've used nothing but digital for so long, I don't even remember what effects these have anymore. :)

Thanks guys. I have a bedroom TV that doesn't have SS involved and I struggle to hear the audio at times without cranking the volume waaaay up. I've tinkered with it and can't tell much of a difference between any of the settings though.

The following problem happens to me every few weeks. I have an 8300hd hooked up to esata external hard drive, but I think this has also happened on the 8000hd without an external hdd. When I set a recording, it will show up on the recorded list when it's finished, but when I select it and try to play it, a different recording from weeks or months ago starts playing. If I then press stop, the title and date of the different recording will show up with the length of time of the new recording. For example I set and recorded a sporting event for 1 hour 11 minutes today, then when I pressed play a 1 hour TV show from months ago started playing, pressing stop displays title and date of the old TV show but shows 1 hr 11 mins even though fast forwarding to the end it goes 1 hour. Unplugging and rebooting doesn't seem to help. Hard rebooting also didn't seem to help.

In the past, I thought the only thing I could do is free up disk space and delete the new recording and I thought there was no way to access the new recording since it always went to the old recording when I tried to play either the old or new one. Recently I was on the old recording and pressed stop, then I pulled up recorded list and went to the new 1 hr 11 min recording and deleted it. To my surprise the old 1 hr recording vanished before my eyes. Then I was able to go to the new recording which was still there and play it. I suppose if this happens again I can watch the old recording first and delete it then the new recording might be watchable but that doesn't really help if the old recording can't be wached for a long time while the new one needs to be watched immediately, etc.

Why does trying to play a new recording sometimes lead to playing an old recording from months ago? And is there any way to keep and separately play both recordings? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks!

One of these will probably fix you up:
http://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html8.html

I know - it is weird that the problem is with the cable coax, but I bet if you play back something from the DVR and remove the cable coax the buzz will go away.

xnappo

Thanks for the tip. I had cable hum problems a few years ago and my HTS5100 power conditioner eliminated it by connecting the cable to its input and using another cable to the DVR.

I think my present problem is related to a new Pioneer Pro111FD plasma which I just installed. It's causing a ground loop hum for some reason and it simply replaced another plasma before the problem started. I've posted about it in the Plasma thread. These grounding problems can certainly be a PITA to figure out.:D

Havent posted in along while...

Just wondering, if I have two 8300's next to eachother is there any way I can have one use a different remote code or something to be able to have them work independently of eachother instead of having the channel change on both when I change the channel on one?

Is this possible? I thought I had read that I could assign a remote "A" or something....

Havent posted in along while...

Just wondering, if I have two 8300's next to eachother is there any way I can have one use a different remote code or something to be able to have them work independently of eachother instead of having the channel change on both when I change the channel on one?

Is this possible? I thought I had read that I could assign a remote "A" or something....
No, but all you really need to do is turn one off and one on manually to start. Then, when you press Power, it will toggle them both, one to Off and the other to On.

There are devices you can buy to make them work seperately using RF instead of IR, but that costs money. Many folks just use the Power button and it seems to work okay once you get used to it.

Havent posted in along while...

Just wondering, if I have two 8300's next to eachother is there any way I can have one use a different remote code or something to be able to have them work independently of eachother instead of having the channel change on both when I change the channel on one?

Is this possible? I thought I had read that I could assign a remote "A" or something....I don't think you can use different remote codes. I have two 8300s next to each other and what I do is turn one off and the other one on. When I use the remote, only the 8300 that is turned on responds. When I want to swap 8300s, I just press the POWER key. The 8300 still records when it is turned off so this works good for me. Just be careful that you don't turn both on at the same time.

There may be some electronic devices that allow you to control one 8300 at a time.

^^^ rotflmao!

^^^ rotflmao!

Share with the class...perhaps you think this is a stupid question???

Please help me understand your laughter...

Share with the class...perhaps you think this is a stupid question???

Please help me understand your laughter...

He's laughing because both he and RussB posted the same answer a couple minutes apart.

Great minds and all...

Share with the class...perhaps you think this is a stupid question???

Please help me understand your laughter...
If I thought it was a stupid question, I would have said as much and not responded with an answer. I guess you don't see the humor in both Russ and I posting the same answer a few minutes apart. :(

He's laughing because both he and RussB posted the same answer a couple minutes apart.

Great minds and all...
Bingo! Anyone who has read this thread awhile knows this happens quite often. :)

The following problem happens to me every few weeks. I have an 8300hd hooked up to esata external hard drive, but I think this has also happened on the 8000hd without an external hdd. When I set a recording, it will show up on the recorded list when it's finished, but when I select it and try to play it, a different recording from weeks or months ago starts playing. If I then press stop, the title and date of the different recording will show up with the length of time of the new recording. For example I set and recorded a sporting event for 1 hour 11 minutes today, then when I pressed play a 1 hour TV show from months ago started playing, pressing stop displays title and date of the old TV show but shows 1 hr 11 mins even though fast forwarding to the end it goes 1 hour. Unplugging and rebooting doesn't seem to help. Hard rebooting also didn't seem to help.

In the past, I thought the only thing I could do is free up disk space and delete the new recording and I thought there was no way to access the new recording since it always went to the old recording when I tried to play either the old or new one. Recently I was on the old recording and pressed stop, then I pulled up recorded list and went to the new 1 hr 11 min recording and deleted it. To my surprise the old 1 hr recording vanished before my eyes. Then I was able to go to the new recording which was still there and play it. I suppose if this happens again I can watch the old recording first and delete it then the new recording might be watchable but that doesn't really help if the old recording can't be wached for a long time while the new one needs to be watched immediately, etc.

Why does trying to play a new recording sometimes lead to playing an old recording from months ago? And is there any way to keep and separately play both recordings? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks!I don't have that problem, but sometimes when I reboot the DVR, old recordings that have been erased show up on the Recorded List. If I try to play these recordings, they won't play instead it just returns to the Recorded List. I just delete them.

The answers to the following questions might help somebody answer your questions.

What cable company do you have?
Where are you located?
Do you have SARA?
What version?

If your problem is "Bad Enough", you might consider doing a Last Resort (Reformat) which is described in the first post. Before you do this you should watch all the recordings because the procedure will remove all the recordings and even remove any scheduled recordings so you would have to reschedule all your recordings. I am not sure if this would fix your problem but you have already tried the Hard Reboot and that didn't fix it. Before you do a Last Resort (Reformat), carefully consider the ramifications. I haven't done a Last Resort (Reformat) so I am not recomending that you do it, but it is something you should be aware of. Good Luck!

Seems to be the popular topic..

With eSata, what will happen to my recordings on the actual 8300HD if I decide to remove the eSata drive later?

Worded better.. I have shows saved on my 8300HD, but am getting low on space for those weekly shows. I have a Sata drive, and an enclosure to spare for the time being, but the drive won't stay there forever, as it's slated for a future project :) When I remove the SATA drive, I don't want to lose the content on the 8300HD itself.. Will I be safe?

I got a new version of SARA from Cablevision this morning, 1.91.14.102. It has multiple bookmarks so you can resume any recording from where you left off. We finally get the recorded show info when hitting the info button during playback. It also has a jump back when you hit play while fast forwarding in speeds 3 and 4.

Seems to be the popular topic..

With eSata, what will happen to my recordings on the actual 8300HD if I decide to remove the eSata drive later?

Worded better.. I have shows saved on my 8300HD, but am getting low on space for those weekly shows. I have a Sata drive, and an enclosure to spare for the time being, but the drive won't stay there forever, as it's slated for a future project :) When I remove the SATA drive, I don't want to lose the content on the 8300HD itself.. Will I be safe?
It is a popular topic and that is why there is a thread dedicated to it. The link is in the First Post here and SATA questions are better asked there. This thread is limited to SARA software and we don't want to give you wrong answers, especially if you have different software. That said, I don't believe you lose any current recordings if you add a SATA drive, but I don't keep up with the SATA thread. That thread also has user experience databases to steer you toward known working combos.

I got a new version of SARA from Cablevision this morning, 1.91.14.102. It has multiple bookmarks so you can resume any recording from where you left off. We finally get the recorded show info when hitting the info button during playback. It also has a jump back when you hit play while fast forwarding in speeds 3 and 4.
Thanks. Already fired off an email to my Cox contact to see if we might be getting this soon. I don't much care about the Info stuff, but the other 2 items are useful, especially the "jump back", I could finally quit using the hit&miss Replay button. :)

BTW, I added a note to the First Post regarding the new features in this version.

... We finally get the recorded show info when hitting the info button during playback. ...... BTW, I added a note to the First Post regarding the new features in this version.This is listed as a cable head-end option on 1.89, it works here (surprisingly).

<- torn between wanting a guide upgrade to get the NEW flag and scared of NAVIGATOR...

v/r,
C-F

<- torn between wanting a guide upgrade to get the NEW flag and scared of NAVIGATOR...

A painful decision to say the least. :)

Hello all, I'm wondering if you can help me pinpoint my problem.

I have a Scientific Atlanta SA8300HD through Cablevision hooked up to my Sharp LC-46D82U and Marantz SR7002 via HDMI cable. No problems for over a year, within the last 2 weeks I'm getting video drops outs when changing channels. It only happens while watching TV...

I'll be watching TV, change the channel, and I'll get an all static image... The only way to restore the image is to change the input on the TV to a non-used input and then back to my normal input for my HDMI connection.

I suspect the problem has something to do with the resolutions through the cable box because it is intermittent No problems noted with the receiver or TV, and unlikely to be a problem with the HDMI cable.

Any ideas?

I am not getting the full surround sound from my setup, I have my 8300 connected by hdmi, and optical out, and I set on the menu of the DVR 8300 to Dolby Digital.

All I get is 3.1 audio, with no Discreet Sound effects in my back speakers! No 5.1!

I even went out an bought a WD media player, and that is able to play tv shows with full 5.1 audio.

Why the 8300hd dvr is limiting the bandwidth for 5.1 sound?

Is the a secret menu to fix this?

I know this is an issue Ive read it here

http://www.highdefforum.com/cable-providers/62745-scientific-atlanta-explorer-8300-hd-twc-hdmi-audio-issues.html

... 8300 connected by hdmi, and optical out, and I set on the menu of the DVR 8300 to Dolby Digital. ... 3.1 audio ... No 5.1!
First, do you know the format that your stations' are broadcasting? I do not get 5.1 from every station; in fact, I set my 'receiver' for stereo more often than DD for TV here, which was not the case and very different from Kansas City.

Since you mention 3.1, I will take it on faith that you have a way to view the setting, and are not just the victim of poor mixing, or the unevenly greater drop in 'loudness' in the rear speakers that you 'hear' when you lower the volume (vol@max: mains=rears ; vol@min: mains>>>rears).

Not sure how the WD media player is relevant or helpful, unless it has a QAM tuner and is relaying a DD-5.1 stream from the same cable source. If it has a ATSC tuner and the OTA signal contains DD-5.1, then there may be a problem with the cable company. If you are talking about downloading from the internet (in any form, shape, or legality) then there may be a problem at the STB, cable company, local TV station, or the TV network...

v/r,
C-F

And, do we know what software is being used? If this is TWC, chances are it's Navigator and this is a SARA thread. :)

I got a new version of SARA from Cablevision this morning, 1.91.14.102. It has multiple bookmarks so you can resume any recording from where you left off. We finally get the recorded show info when hitting the info button during playback. It also has a jump back when you hit play while fast forwarding in speeds 3 and 4.

I'm probably just senile but ...

I got the upgrade (1.91.14.a102) and noticed that the info bar under the currently playing program could be navigated with up down (channel) and left right (time). If I press one of those, the bar appears. I think this is new. Or am I old?

I'm probably just senile but ...

I got the upgrade (1.91.14.a102) and noticed that the info bar under the currently playing program could be navigated with up down (channel) and left right (time). If I press one of those, the bar appears. I think this is new. Or am I old?

You could always do that AFAIK.

First, do you know the format that your stations' are broadcasting? I do not get 5.1 from every station; in fact, I set my 'receiver' for stereo more often than DD for TV here, which was not the case and very different from Kansas City.

Since you mention 3.1, I will take it on faith that you have a way to view the setting, and are not just the victim of poor mixing, or the unevenly greater drop in 'loudness' in the rear speakers that you 'hear' when you lower the volume (vol@max: mains=rears ; vol@min: mains>>>rears).

Not sure how the WD media player is relevant or helpful, unless it has a QAM tuner and is relaying a DD-5.1 stream from the same cable source. If it has a ATSC tuner and the OTA signal contains DD-5.1, then there may be a problem with the cable company. If you are talking about downloading from the internet (in any form, shape, or legality) then there may be a problem at the STB, cable company, local TV station, or the TV network...

v/r,
C-F

WD media player plays mkvs files.

and yes my receiver shows dolby digital

WD media player plays mkvs files. ... and yes my receiver shows dolby digitalOK, therefore the WD playing downloaded material is not relevant beyond verifying the receiver works in DD 5.1 with something over some input, unless you are playing recordings from other folks using QAM to record off of your cable provider.

EDIT #1: User's Manual (http://www.wdc.com/en/library/um/4779-705014.pdf)
EDIT #2: Note was not what I initially thought.

You still need to verify that your local stations are passing full DD-5.1 to your local cable carrier and they are passing it through to the STB.

It would be helpful for you to post that you are (apparently (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1069066)) using Wide Open West in Chicago so folks who have experience there can help out. Even reading that thread, I am not clear that all stations are passing full DD 5.1.

v/r,
C-F

Have you found any other new features or bug fixes in SARA 1.91.14.102?

I hope that if you change the start or end time of a weekly program the DVR will remember that for future recordings. Currently, it only applies the change in time to the first recording and after that it reverts back to the start and end times in the program guide.

Have you found any new bugs?

I got a new version of SARA from Cablevision this morning, 1.91.14.102. It has multiple bookmarks so you can resume any recording from where you left off. We finally get the recorded show info when hitting the info button during playback. It also has a jump back when you hit play while fast forwarding in speeds 3 and 4.

Have you found any other new features or bug fixes in SARA 1.91.14.102?

I hope that if you change the start or end time of a weekly program the DVR will remember that for future recordings. Currently, it only applies the change in time to the first recording and after that it reverts back to the start and end times in the program guide.

Have you found any new bugs?

I haven't played with it enough to find any other new features. As for bugs, if you use HDMI and have it set to auto HDMI SD is stretched. You need to use a fixed 1080i or 720p setting to eliminate the stretching. Pass through still works fine with component. Others are complaining about a problem with external drives but those seem to be resolved with a reboot.

RemyM,

Thank you for your reply. If you discover anything else about SARA 1.91.14.102, please post it.

Will do RussB. I'll try to remember to check out the start and end time adjusting soon. It will be tough to do the next couple of weeks with repeats and the seasons ending on some of my shows.

After my 8300HD froze I did a hard reboot. When it came back up a message prompted me to format the external drive. Not wanting to lose all my recordings I repeatedly performed the Forced Reboot and Hard Reboot outlined on page one of this thread. After about 10 attempts it worked and all was back to normal. However, after powering down the 8300HD, the problem has returned and constant attempts to reboot have failed to let me access the external drive.

Any suggestions on how I might work through this problem?
Thanks!

You might want to try asking in the SA8300HD eSATA thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=516559

Thanks. I'll try that.

PLEASE,

We are here to help. And we need your cooperation to be at our best.

Read the first post-Most answers are there! At least the simple ones. We believe our first post is unique among all threads in the amount of information it contains and in it’s easy readability!

Read the last two pages-The most recently discussed problems are there. They are also the most recently developing problems. Do not read every page, that will only drive you crazy. Older pages likely contain outdated information.

An efficient search will help. Try to use just one highly significant word. For tips on searching or any general questions, please PM me or the ID of a frequent poster, or a high post count, or any member. We may use different terminology!

If you can’t find your answer or are not sure you understand it, ask in any way you are comfortable. Try to be brief-Think of the next new person reading this thread.

Tell us where you (or the person with the problem) are-City and State.

Tell us what equipment you are using-HDMI? -All makes and models, and include your video provider (i.e. Comcast, TWC)
NOTE: I swapped my SA8300 for the newer model as below. I have found the boxes function exactly the same with additions.

Be patient-It may take a few days before the best qualified member to answer your question “picks up.”
THANK YOU!

Bob:)
Comcast-CiscoRNG200 & TivoHD-SARA 1.90.12.1/Tivo-PhilipsBRBurner(CyberLink Software)

No, he is not wrong. I was recording live tv and timeshifting it long before Tivo.

VCR reality vs sony debate


These patents are too generic

like microsith trying to own the word word.

"work their [lawyer's] asses off"

VCR reality vs sony debate

like microsith trying to own the word word.

"work their [lawyer's] asses off"
Man, what are you doing, reading this thread from the beginning? That post was from 2006. :)

Oh, and what do you have against GoDaddy? I assume your choice of User ID has a story behind it. :)

I was about to make a similar Wayback™ comment...

I wonder if the Bilski (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081030-appeals-court-limits-software-business-method-patents.html) verdict (http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20081030150903555) would affect some of these patents?

v/r,
C-F

Picked up a Samsung LN52A630 last night, put it in place of the Philips 42" plasma I had. Picture with the Blue Ray dvd is awesome, but when I hooked it up to the 8300, the 8300 defaulted to 480 resolution. When it was hooked up to the Philips via HDMI, it always stayed at 720. I've gone thru every setting (Resolution wizard, select 1080 and 720 only, then in Setup set resolution to "Fixed") and the resolution is 1080p with a great picture - until I turn of the 8300 and the Samsung. Turn everything back on and the 8300 goes back to 480. Only way I can get it back to 1080 is to turn it off and go thru the resolution Wizard again.

I'm guessing the 8300 isn't compatible with HDMI 1.3? The Philips was HDMI 1.1. I've since hooked up a 4240HDC and it's rock solid at 1080 via HDMI with a great picture. But of course, no DVR.

Do you think I can take the 8300 back to TWC and they can either patch the HDMI or give me an updated box?

Try the first post for tips, version # and provider/location will help the experts here provide suggestions, and IIRC: the problem with resolution reverting to 480i upon standby/soft-power-off may sometimes be assisted by performing a hard reset immediately following a successful change.

v/r,
C-F

Try the first post for tips, version # and provider/location will help the experts here provide suggestions, and IIRC: the problem with resolution reverting to 480i upon standby/soft-power-off may sometimes be assisted by performing a hard reset immediately following a successful change.
That would be my suggestion.

Have you found any other new features or bug fixes in SARA 1.91.14.102?

I hope that if you change the start or end time of a weekly program the DVR will remember that for future recordings. Currently, it only applies the change in time to the first recording and after that it reverts back to the start and end times in the program guide.

I tested editing the start and end times on 4 different recordings, (2 first run, time slot and anytime) and none of the times held for another recording. In fact the placeholder that was created when the recording started went back to the actual guide time.

I tested editing the start and end times on 4 different recordings, (2 first run, time slot and anytime) and none of the times held for another recording. In fact the placeholder that was created when the recording started went back to the actual guide time.The recent update fixed this bug for me.

Vincent
CableVision: Port Chester, New York

The recent update fixed this bug for me.

Vincent
CableVision: Port Chester, New York

What? We have the same provider running the same software version. You can add a minute or two to a weekly recording and the extra time stays scheduled the next week? Please tell me what show you have been able to do that with so I can check on my box.

I tested editing the start and end times on 4 different recordings, (2 first run, time slot and anytime) and none of the times held for another recording. In fact the placeholder that was created when the recording started went back to the actual guide time.
Thanks for testing this.

What? We have the same provider running the same software version. You can add a minute or two to a weekly recording and the extra time stays scheduled the next week? Please tell me what show you have been able to do that with so I can check on my box.
Yes, please double-check, the recordng has to be weekly or less frequently. The times will hold for daily recordings and it's been that way for quite some time.

The recent update fixed this bug for me.

Vincent
CableVision: Port Chester, New YorkJust to be clear, the first episode is recorded using the modified times. The problem is the second and subsequent episodes are recorded without modified times. The modified times are lost when the DVR creates a placeholder. Instead of using modified times the DVR uses the time directly from the program guide. This forces the user to modify the times before each episode is recorded instead of only once when the initial record "all episodes" method is set up.

Here is a link to RemyM's post where he quoted my initial post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=15223204#post15223204

I have a quick question, hoping to get some help so I dont have to read through 250+ pages. I have the 8300HD receiver through comcast. It has an annoying trait I am not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it. Its always on the HD channels, the picture cuts out for a second, back on, cuts out, back on, etc between 5-15 times on usual. Eventually the cutting out stops. Very annoying. Anyone else have this problem? I have tried a new receiver and still the same thing happens. Any help would be appreciated!

Just to be clear, the first episode is recorded using the modified times. The problem is the second and subsequent episodes are recorded without modified times. The modified times are lost when the DVR creates a placeholder. Instead of using modified times the DVR uses the time directly from the program guide. This forces the user to modify the times before each episode is recorded instead of only once when the initial record "all episodes" method is set up.Do you have another scheduled recording (or two) that would otherwise overlap with those extra minutes?

I have seen similar behavior, but it didn't occur immediately. I'll set up a recurring recording with some extra time on the front or tail end, and the first one, two, or half-dozen episodes will include the extra minutes, and then suddenly they won't anymore. I have never done an exhaustive survey of the circumstances, but I suspect that somewhere along the way too many of my scheduled recordings overlapped, and the DVR's "logic" resolved the conflict by lopping off the extra minutes, and it never put them back on again afterward.

I don't think it's a "bug", per se. I think that's how SARA was designed to operate.

Have a panny 32lx800 lcd. Worked fine with the comcast supplied SA8300hd stb via hdmi hook up. The stb's hard drive started to go and it was replaced with a refirbushed 3800. That stb wouldn't give me the hd setup wizard and after playing for about 10 or so minutes, it would shut itself off and I have to reboot. Did this several times and I returned it for another refir'd box. This time I was able to use the hd wizard, but as I did the wrong settings, I tried to get to the wizard again (simultaneously pressing info and guide on the box), but could'n't get the wizard to open. Selecting info and guide only toggled between the guide menu and the channel that was showing at that time. Also, after a few minutes of play, the stb would lock down and become unresponsive to any commands from the remore. When this happened there was a message as follows:

"Attention: There was a technical problem during the authorization of this device. Please contact the retailer"

The above scenario was repeated many times. All this while working with a comcast rep over the phone. They couldn't find a reference to this message, nor could they figure out why I couldn't access the hd wizard a second time, and wrote me up a case number and said they'd get back to me.

Has anyone had a similar experience and how was it resolved?

Problem solved.
After speaking to 5-6 customer reps, who had not solutionh, the tech that came to the house fixed things up in about 5 minutes with a simple phone call. I didn't realize it, but I had a bit of a newer box, 8300HDC ("C" denoting cablecard) and not 8300HD. The tech explained that the codes on these boxes had to be made to match the codes at Comcast. Even though I gave the error message verbatum to the reps, they had no idea what was happening, but the tech got the codes synchronized with his call and that was that.

... on the HD channels, the picture cuts out for a second, back on, cuts out, back on, etc between 5-15 times on usual. Eventually the cutting out stops. Very annoying. Anyone else have this problem? I have tried a new receiver and still the same thing happens. Any help would be appreciated!I have seen this. It is usually associated with HDMI for my [display device / sink], [STB / source], cable provider, location, etc. I have never really worked through it, since the obvious first step would be to leave the sink on and power cycle the source, and I am loathe to cycle the STB when it is normally recording something the wife wants... My prime-time solution is to turn on the little 26" LCD connected by component cables (the lesser of the rock and the hard place). [knock on wood] Making sure I start the sink before the source seems to keep it at bay [knock on wood].


v/r,
C-F

I have a quick question, hoping to get some help so I dont have to read through 250+ pages. I have the 8300HD receiver through comcast. It has an annoying trait I am not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it. Its always on the HD channels, the picture cuts out for a second, back on, cuts out, back on, etc between 5-15 times on usual. Eventually the cutting out stops. Very annoying. Anyone else have this problem? I have tried a new receiver and still the same thing happens. Any help would be appreciated!

Yes, I have seen this behavior, and it was resolved by swapping out HDMI cables. Evidentally the ones I initially used was just not 100% and the increased bandwidth of HD caused drop out. I usually keep several Monoprice HDMI cables at any given time, so I just grabbed another and it was fine after that. Hope that helps.

Do you have another scheduled recording (or two) that would otherwise overlap with those extra minutes?

I have seen similar behavior, but it didn't occur immediately. I'll set up a recurring recording with some extra time on the front or tail end, and the first one, two, or half-dozen episodes will include the extra minutes, and then suddenly they won't anymore. I have never done an exhaustive survey of the circumstances, but I suspect that somewhere along the way too many of my scheduled recordings overlapped, and the DVR's "logic" resolved the conflict by lopping off the extra minutes, and it never put them back on again afterward.

I don't think it's a "bug", per se. I think that's how SARA was designed to operate.I don't have other scheduled recordings that would overlap with those extra minutes, but that is a different problem. If there becomes a 3 way recording conflict due to a scheduling change or the week after a repeat, one of the scheduled recordings is deleted without warning.

Most of the time, I pad the stop time on cable shows that are repeated late at night and that sometimes run over a few minutes.

This happens with shows that are only shown weekly or less frequently. Daily shows work fine. I think the problem is when a placeholder is created for
the next episode of a show when the episode is not yet in the Program Guide.
Placeholders have a blank description of the episode or contain the description from the last episode. The placeholder can be viewed in the "Scheduled Recordings" page.

I agree it is not a "bug", per se and SA knows that it operates this way. Modifying start or stop times should work the same way for daily and weekly shows. I think it is a design flaw that SA should fix by including any time modifications in the placeholder. SA has had problems with placeholders and has changed the way they work. They should go ahead and fix this problem, too.

This happens with shows that are only shown weekly or less frequently. Daily shows work fine. I think the problem is when a placeholder is created for
the next episode of a show when the episode is not yet in the Program Guide.
Placeholders have a blank description of the episode or contain the description from the last episode. The placeholder can be viewed in the "Scheduled Recordings" page.Hmm. I like the theory, but it doesn't fit with my data. I have "Good Eats" and "Two and a Half Men" set to record all episodes at any time, and both programs air > 7 times per week. I am forever missing the beginning or end of those shows, and have repeatedly deleted the scheduled recording and re-scheduled it with leading/trailing minutes added. Consistently, I'll get a few days of good results, and then the extra minutes fall off. Sometimes it happens in one or two days, but I'm pretty sure it's also gone more than a week before they fall off.

And I'm pretty sure that at least once, I had set a recording to extend an extra 2 minutes past the end of the show, and after a few events, the STB changed it to only 1 minute past the end, and then ultimately dropped that one extra minute, as well. I'm still scratching my head about that one.

Modifying start or stop times should work the same way for daily and weekly shows. I think it is a design flaw that SA should fix by including any time modifications in the placeholder. SA has had problems with placeholders and has changed the way they work. They should go ahead and fix this problem, too.Don't get me wrong--I definitely agree there's room for improvement here!! This is a constant source of annoyance for me, also.

Hmm. I like the theory, but it doesn't fit with my data. I have "Good Eats" and "Two and a Half Men" set to record all episodes at any time, and both programs air > 7 times per week. I am forever missing the beginning or end of those shows, and have repeatedly deleted the scheduled recording and re-scheduled it with leading/trailing minutes added. Consistently, I'll get a few days of good results, and then the extra minutes fall off. Sometimes it happens in one or two days, but I'm pretty sure it's also gone more than a week before they fall off.

And I'm pretty sure that at least once, I had set a recording to extend an extra 2 minutes past the end of the show, and after a few events, the STB changed it to only 1 minute past the end, and then ultimately dropped that one extra minute, as well. I'm still scratching my head about that one.

Don't get me wrong--I definitely agree there's room for improvement here!! This is a constant source of annoyance for me, also.I think the problem you describe is different than the one I described. My problem is with weekly shows, but your problem is with daily shows.

I have seen the problem that you describe, also. I pad "The Situation Room" (shown daily Monday through Friday) with 2 extra minutes because it doesn't always end exactly at the end time in the program guide. Sometimes, the end time goes back to the end time in the program guide for no apparent reason. This doesn't happen very often, maybe once every few months. I have no conflicting recordings at that time.

Hmm. I like the theory, but it doesn't fit with my data. I have "Good Eats" and "Two and a Half Men" set to record all episodes at any time, and both programs air > 7 times per week. I am forever missing the beginning or end of those shows, and have repeatedly deleted the scheduled recording and re-scheduled it with leading/trailing minutes added. Consistently, I'll get a few days of good results, and then the extra minutes fall off. Sometimes it happens in one or two days, but I'm pretty sure it's also gone more than a week before they fall off.
I notice the same thing. I will extend the time on something daily and it will work fine for awhile and then quit. I have to go back in and modify it again. And there are never any other recordings before or after. I used to think I was just mistaken about extending the time, but it happens too often for it to be me. :)

I think the problem you describe is different than the one I described. My problem is with weekly shows, but your problem is with daily shows.Fair distinction. I was trying to lump the two signatures into a single cause, but you're right--there could certainly be two different mechanisms at work here.

Of course, that would just mean it'd be that much more work for some poor code monkey to stamp out the bugs! Rats...

I exchanged my old TWC Scientific Atlanta 8100HD for a new SA 8300HDC and bought a Western 500GB Expander Drive at Best Buy ($160). I went through the set up routine - answered the question on the screen, did I want to reformat, etc and it told me the drive was compatable. Everything seems fine, except - I recorded Numbers in HD on Friday night and when I go to the Recorded List and hit "B" to show the percentage of the hard drive used - it showed 4% - just what I would expect if it was only reading the internal drive. So today I recorded a two hours show in HD - it increased the percentage used by seven percent - just what it would show if it was only using the internal drive.

I am confused - all the on screen stuff coming from the Expander Drive and the SA8300 lead me to belive the extra drive is formatted and working, but the percentage used does not track. So, I decided to try and fill it up - used the HBO HD channel - sure enough - filled up and would not record any more with a little more than 20+hours of HD. Clearly not writing to the Expander Drive by Western Digital. But, it seemed to "set up" correctly>??!!??

Has anybody else had any experience with this kind of situation?
Thanks

I have a quick question, hoping to get some help so I dont have to read through 250+ pages. I have the 8300HD receiver through comcast. It has an annoying trait I am not sure what is causing it or how to get rid of it. Its always on the HD channels, the picture cuts out for a second, back on, cuts out, back on, etc between 5-15 times on usual. Eventually the cutting out stops. Very annoying. Anyone else have this problem? I have tried a new receiver and still the same thing happens. Any help would be appreciated!

Whenever I've had that happen, I switch to an SD TV channel and force my display (a Mitsubishi 46" LCD 1080p TV) to switch to 480i. When I switch it back to channel 800 (DVR playback channel) and un-pause the playback, everything's fine.

I exchanged my old TWC Scientific Atlanta 8100HD for a new SA 8300HDC and bought a Western 500GB Expander Drive at Best Buy ($160). I went through the set up routine - answered the question on the screen, did I want to reformat, etc and it told me the drive was compatable. Everything seems fine, except - I recorded Numbers in HD on Friday night and when I go to the Recorded List and hit "B" to show the percentage of the hard drive used - it showed 4% - just what I would expect if it was only reading the internal drive. So today I recorded a two hours show in HD - it increased the percentage used by seven percent - just what it would show if it was only using the internal drive.

I am confused - all the on screen stuff coming from the Expander Drive and the SA8300 lead me to belive the extra drive is formatted and working, but the percentage used does not track. So, I decided to try and fill it up - used the HBO HD channel - sure enough - filled up and would not record any more with a little more than 20+hours of HD. Clearly not writing to the Expander Drive by Western Digital. But, it seemed to "set up" correctly>??!!??

Has anybody else had any experience with this kind of situation?
Thanks
Yes, I had the exact same thing happen - Read my blog/review of the expander for details and the solution; http://www.404era.com/blarg/2008/8/11/review-of-the-my-dvr-expander.html let us know if that helps out!

Specifically the section headed with "My Experience after Set-Up:"

hello, I have a 8300HDC and recently noticed that after I turn the unit off. The internal HDD is no long spinning down at all. I just recently rebooted it, but the HDD is still not spinning down. Any ideas? On how to fix it?

Hi all

I have been to multiple forums and finally found SA 8300HD users.. hope some experts here can help!

My cable provider is time warner san diego and i have the following set up...

cable feed to SA 8300HD dvr

HDMI from SA 8300 to my hdtv

svideo out and composite audio out of SA 8300 to my toshiba dvd recorder..

Now when am trying to view channels through the DVD recorder it doesnt seem to recognize any input at all. when i try to unplug the HDMI connection from SA 8300hd then it recognizes that there is input and displays just fine. is this a known bug? is there a fix.. hope somebody can help me out on this one..

I believe the SA8300HD will not output analog and HDMI simultaneously.

Is there another model of HD DVR which does HDMI and Analog at the same time? If yes I can ask specifically for that particular model from Time Warner

the tech is going to be in to fix some signal issues on Saturday morning and I can call in to request for the same..

I believe the SA8300HD will not output analog and HDMI simultaneously.

Hmmm, I have previously (around the time Mad Men season 1 ep 10 aired) attached a camcorder to the svideo & composite audio jacks and recorded the show to my camcorder while it played over HDMI to my TV. If I am wrong in this recollection then the other possibility is that I had the DVR connected to the tv (by way of AVR) via the component cables... However I have also had the 8300 connected to my AVR via HDMI and component at the same time and got source from both. Odd? aren't HDMI & Component digital and analog respectively?

Hmmm, I have previously (around the time Mad Men season 1 ep 10 aired) attached a camcorder to the svideo & composite audio jacks and recorded the show to my camcorder while it played over HDMI to my TV. If I am wrong in this recollection then the other possibility is that I had the DVR connected to the tv (by way of AVR) via the component cables... However I have also had the 8300 connected to my AVR via HDMI and component at the same time and got source from both. Odd? aren't HDMI & Component digital and analog respectively?

Since you are using this thread am assuming you are using SA 8300 HD as well?? who is your cable provider?

Since you are using this thread am assuming you are using SA 8300 HD as well?? who is your cable provider?

Yes, I have a sa8300 HD and a HDC through Tampa Bay Brighthouse.

is it possible that over time the hd dvr box could cause a problem for my dlp tv ? it sits under it about 6" away and now I have a strange video noise problem on my tv, that I didn't have before...Ive had both of them along time but over the last month or so I now see this problem with my mitsu dlp. the problem area is in line with the dvr.

thx

is it possible that over time the hd dvr box could cause a problem for my dlp tv ? it sits under it about 6" away and now I have a strange video noise problem on my tv, that I didn't have before...Ive had both of them along time but over the last month or so I now see this problem with my mitsu dlp. the problem area is in line with the dvr.

thx

Things to test;
1) Does the artifact go away if you unplug the DVR?
2) Does the artifact change/lessen/increase if you move the dvr
3) Does the artifact change/lessen/increase if you plug the DVR in a different power outlet/use a conditioner or surge supressor?
4) Do you see this artifact on every input source, OTA, Cable, DVD, etc or just certain sources?

If the issue is caused by the DVR chances are it is something carried via a line (HDMI, Coax, or power) and proximity may not be as much a factor (although it my ba a contributor). Try some tests and see if you can get rid of the artifact to rule in/out the DVR.

so far, I know it doesn't go away with the dvr unplugged... it also appears when I switch inputs. The pic was taken during a dvd playback. so I've seen it on 2 diff cable inputs and a dvd input.

thx

so far, I know it doesn't go away with the dvr unplugged... it also appears when I switch inputs. The pic was taken during a dvd playback. so I've seen it on 2 diff cable inputs and a dvd input.

thx

So it appears you either have a 'broken' tv, or something in your home is causing this interference. What has changed since you got the tv? Do you have ANY other devices that are newer than the TV... A new fridge, halogen lamps, game consoles?? It could be anything in proximity (a fan, etc). If at all possible the easiest way to eliminate ALL potentials is to bring the TV somewhere else - unless its some huge tv. Otherwise systematically eliminating other electric devices may be the only hope of finding the culprit. Perhaps do a search for "electronic interference+your tv model here" and see if some has had this issue before with your tv model

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this very ODD problem I am having. I currently have one 8300HD and an SD 8300. For some reason ungodly reason both DVRs are having the same issue. Anytime I press list to view my recorded shows the units freeze and reboot automatically. I've replaced the units, and the problem continues to happen. Does anyone have any idea what the hell the problem is? As usual TWC has no idea what's causing this issue.

Thanks in advance.......

Anytime I press list to view my recorded shows the units freeze and reboot automatically.Ah, yes. The LIST button: Load Initial Software Trickery. You've apparently got one of those mischievous remotes that like to play games with their users--those things are trouble!

Actually, I've got no idea what's causing your reboots; sorry! That's a puzzler and no mistake.

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this very ODD problem I am having. I currently have one 8300HD and an SD 8300. For some reason ungodly reason both DVRs are having the same issue. Anytime I press list to view my recorded shows the units freeze and reboot automatically. I've replaced the units, and the problem continues to happen. Does anyone have any idea what the hell the problem is? As usual TWC has no idea what's causing this issue.

Thanks in advance.......This is the first time I have heard of this, but a couple of weeks ago I had similar ODD problem. When I tried to play a recording and another show was being recorded the unit would freeze and reboot automatically. Several other people posted the same problem and Comcast took several days to fix the problem.

You should see if any other people in your area are having this problem by posting in your local thread in the HDTV - Local HDTV Info and Reception Forum.

Another thing to try, look at the first post in this thread and make sure your signal is in the correct range. There is a section on the diagnostic pages and links on how to interpret them.

Since both original units and their replacements are doing the same thing, it doesn't sound like a hardware problem.

Big Brain - I did the re-boot thing with powering everything down and then bringing it up again probably 6 or 7 times - each time the on screen display would tell me everything was ok and that a compatible external drive was attached, but it never changed the amount of space shown.
So, I figure I got a bad expander unit. I returned it and will get another - hopefully with better results.

I've been trying to follow the steps to burn an anamorphic DVD but I must be doing something wrong. Maybe someone who's done this can help steer me straight.

I have an 8300HDC, with TW service and SARA software, connected to my LG DVD player/recorder via composite. 8300HDC is connected to the TV via component. LG DVD recorder is connected to the TV via HDMI (for 720p upscaling). When I play an HD recording (or live TV) on the 8300 and switch the TV over to the DVD, I believe I'm seeing what's expected. I get the video in widescreen with letterboxed borders at the top and bottom. From what I understand, the only ways to fix this are to connect to the DVD recorder via component (which my recorder doesn't support) or to use the "stretch" mode trick mentioned on page 1 of this thread. Unfortunately, when I try to do this I'm still seeing the squashed letterbox on the DVD recorder.

First, I powered on the 8300 into the diagnostic menu and selected 'A' for SD mode. This gets the 8300 into 480i mode. I've also done the hard reboot to ensure the setting took. When I play an HD recording or switch to HD live TV, the component output to the screen is discernable but reddish in color. I read that this is expected for the component output so I was thinking so far so good. Also, this reddish picture from the 8300/component fills the screen left to right but has borders top and bottom (letterbox). When I hit '#' once to zoom/stretch, the picture now fills the screen completely (i.e. no borders at top or bottom anymore...is this the expected result?) However, when I switch over to the DVD recorder, the screen (now colored properly) is unaffected by me pressing the '#' button. It is stuck with the squashed letterboxed screen / filled left to right but squashed top to bottom (i.e. same as it is when I just try to record from the DVR in HD mode without doing this SD anamorphic trick).

The DVD recorder has a mode to let me set the intended resolution. I've tried 720p, 1080i, 480i and 480p but changing that doesn't help. I've been thinking of things to try (use s-video from 8300 to DVD recorder instead of composite, use component from DVD recorder to TV instead of HDMI) but I really have no idea at this point what I'm doing wrong. I've used this DVD recorder before to record off my Sony DHG-HDD500 DVR before and was able to get full screen so I know the recorder is capable of doing it.

OK, Here goes: This is the procedure to record Anamorphic Widescreen DVDs from 8300HD HD recordings. A few "disclaimers" though:
A) Some DVD recorders (I've had this problem with my Sony) see an embedded copy protection signal on some programs and refuse to record from it. I've fixed that with the Sima GoDVD (available from CompUSA and other places).
B) The DVD recorder should have a "Record 16:9 Format" mode. This puts the appropriate "flag" on the DVD to automatically signal the wide screen mode to the player.
C) This procedure is for recording the main program . Your 8300 must be devoted to playing the program you want to record (it's OK to be recording other programs at the time). YOU CANNOT USE THIS PROCEDURE FOR THE "COPY TO VCR" FUNCTION.

The Procedure:
1) Turn Display on to the 8300 Out.
2) Turn 8300 off.
3) Simultaneously press 8300 Front Panel INFO and GUIDE buttons - a set-up screen should appear on your display.
4) Press "A" button on your remote - this puts 8300 in SD mode (it needs to be in this mode for this scheme to work.
5) Turn 8300 on via front panel POWER button - the screen should be magenta (at least on component outputs, I don't know about HDMI). This is because the "Y" lead contains the composite video out)
6) Switch the display to the DVD recorder and set it up to display 8300 S-Video output. Using LIST, select program to be recorded & start to Play (don't record, just yet).
7) Push # key on remote (may be labeled something else, like Enter, but is the one to the right of "0" It should switch the image between several display modes (Normal 480i>Stretch 480i>Zoom1 480i>Zoom2 480i). You will note that the Stretch mode, stretches vertically. That is what you want to record anamorphically.
7) Rewind to beginning of program and start recording.
8) When you are all done, repeat the set-up procedure 1-4, except press the "B" button and go through the HD set-up procedure.

That's it - Have Fun

A few additional notes.
a) You must watch the S-Video out to see the Stretch Mode working.
b) Though this has worked fine for me for better than a year and a couple of versions of SARA (currently on 1.88.17.a100) I have recently started to have an issue with the 8300 dropping out of the SD mode and losing "stretch". When this happens the front panel still shows 480i, but the component output has dropped back to normal (full color). I've successfully "fixed" this by going through set-up and setting to HD and then going back through set-up to SD again. (In fact I'm making a recording of "Dexter" for my son right now).

Maybe this is my problem. I was using composite from 8300 -> DVD Recorder.

Maybe this is my problem. I was using composite from 8300 -> DVD Recorder.

When I do these about one fourth of the time the same thing happens to me- the aspect (#) button stops working. I have to reboot the 8300 and it'll work. I sort of remember this being part of the original instructions but I don't see that in your quote.

On our 8300HD serviced by Comcast all of our recordings miss the last two minutes or so of the scheduled program. We can extend each recording session manually, but this is a great annoyance. If we record back-to-back programs without manually extending the time on the first, the end of the first show will be recorded at the beginning of the second. And if there are two recordings scheduled for the second time-slot then we can't extend the first.

Comcast thinks we are crazy. Maybe so, but does anyone have suggestions about the time problem or a fix?

On our 8300HD serviced by Comcast all of our recordings miss the last two minutes or so of the scheduled program. We can extend each recording session manually, but this is a great annoyance. If we record back-to-back programs without manually extending the time on the first, the end of the first show will be recorded at the beginning of the second. And if there are two recordings scheduled for the second time-slot then we can't extend the first.

Comcast thinks we are crazy. Maybe so, but does anyone have suggestions about the time problem or a fix?

I presume you checked it, but is the clock accurate, i.e. has the correct time? If so, what you are saying is that the DVR records only 58 minutes and stops. If that's the case I guess you need a new DVR. (I presume you've done a reboot on it even though I don't know how that would help)

BTW, SOME shows purposely are over one hour long and the guide might not be picking up on this. But certainly not ALL shows do this.

Aren't these DVRs' clocks synched by the cableco's signal? And even if the cableco's clock signals are accurate, what about the source? Satellite-distributed network TV shows are usually pretty accurate (barring breaking news, etc.) but local stations tend to be a bit more nonchalant in their timing at best, or deliberately inaccurate, at worst.

I firmly believe that many TV stations deliberately vary the start and end times of shows just to screw up time-shifters. They have the opinion that people who use DVRs skip through their source of revenue - the commercials (and don't we all? ;) )

But synchronized to what standard? GPS is ~19 leap-seconds out of sync with UTC. And if the OP is in the Mountain Timezone, there is the 'mountain minute' to deal with. Time is always an issue, along with the previously mentioned guide source and update issues (we still do not have the guide with the new flag in El Paso...).

Edit: sorry I am no help, but I will commiserate. :(

v/r,
C-F

I have the same problem with certain shows and certain stations. My point is that the DVR is probably not the culprit. By the way, if you get network broadcats from two different sources (say a local antenna and a satellite feed of a different network station), you can see the difference; which can range from a few seconds to minutes.

The end user has a few choices: watch the program live, reprogram the DVR to record by time and channel instead of by show (assuming the time is off the same each episode) or complain to the source.

does CableVision use the newer 8300HDC boxes?

On our 8300HD serviced by Comcast all of our recordings miss the last two minutes or so of the scheduled program. We can extend each recording session manually, but this is a great annoyance. If we record back-to-back programs without manually extending the time on the first, the end of the first show will be recorded at the beginning of the second. And if there are two recordings scheduled for the second time-slot then we can't extend the first.

Comcast thinks we are crazy. Maybe so, but does anyone have suggestions about the time problem or a fix?
Perhps if you gave some specific examples of what shows are missing the last few minutes, we could be of more help. Many shows alter their end times and depending on what recording options you are using, it's possible you might miss the end of some. However, if EVERY recording is missing a few minutes at the end, then something is wrong. But, I'm not surprised tohear that Comcast thinks you're nuts. If their system was wrong, every DVR user would be complaining and it doesn't look like that is the case. Have you tried rebooting (Hard Reboot) your 8300? Instructions are in the First Post.

does CableVision use the newer 8300HDC boxes?

No. They got a waiver until July 2009 do to the use of smart cards. They are supposed to adapt Tru2way by then but have applied for another waiver.

On our 8300HD serviced by Comcast all of our recordings miss the last two minutes or so of the scheduled program. We can extend each recording session manually, but this is a great annoyance. If we record back-to-back programs without manually extending the time on the first, the end of the first show will be recorded at the beginning of the second. And if there are two recordings scheduled for the second time-slot then we can't extend the first.

Comcast thinks we are crazy. Maybe so, but does anyone have suggestions about the time problem or a fix?I had the same problem about a month ago with Comcast Houston. The DVR clock was about a minute and a half wrong. This problem lasted almost a week before Comcast fixed it. To verify the DVR clock is wrong compare the time on the DVR with the time on the Program Guide or the Weather Channel. Also, check your local cable channel thread in the HDTV - Local HDTV Info and Reception forum to see if other people are having this problem. If you confirm the DVR clock is wrong, you will have to get Comcast to correct it. Call them back and ask to talk to a supervisor and keep elevating the problem until it is resolved.

P.S.

When the DVR clock was wrong and there were two recordings scheduled for the second time-slot, I would adjust their start time by the number of minutes the DVR clock was wrong. This allowed me to record and watch all the shows but it was a real pain to have to do.

Yes, I have seen this behavior, and it was resolved by swapping out HDMI cables. Evidentally the ones I initially used was just not 100% and the increased bandwidth of HD caused drop out. I usually keep several Monoprice HDMI cables at any given time, so I just grabbed another and it was fine after that. Hope that helps.
flyinrazrback / BigBrain,

Did swapping out the cables solve your issue? I saw a similar thing last night while watching the NFL game.

Only seemed to occur on HD channels and blinked 5 or more times in 3 second intervals. Freaked me out as we just got the HDTV last week and I just upgraded the DVR on Friday!

Thanks!

flyinrazrback / BigBrain,

Did swapping out the cables solve your issue? I saw a similar thing last night while watching the NFL game.

Only seemed to occur on HD channels and blinked 5 or more times in 3 second intervals. Freaked me out as we just got the HDTV last week and I just upgraded the DVR on Friday!

Thanks!

For me, swapping cables DID work, and it just occurred to me that my issues downstairs (same behavior) are probably due to re-using the bad cable! D'OH! Time to hit up Monoprice for some more HDMI cables!

I'll do some more tests to try and diagnose the cut-off recordings better and report back with any findings. Thanks for all the feedback folks.

BigBrain,

Thanks man! I needed to hear that. I will also check the monoprice site!

Any recommendations?

BCA

BigBrain,

Thanks man! I needed to hear that. I will also check the monoprice site!

Any recommendations?

BCA

Depends what length you need. start here;http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240
I'm looking for 6ft 24awg as replacements for all my 28awg (as recommended by Monoprice) but they're all IN-WALL (flat).
Anyone using these in-walls as normal non-in-wall cables? are they uncooperative with regards to bending?

How do you get Time Warner to fix bad guide data? Poker after Dark end time bad.

They think this show is 55 min, so I have to set it every night with 5 min padding,
instead of using a "season pass" type recording.

How do you get Time Warner to fix bad guide data? Poker after Dark end time bad.

They think this show is 55 min, so I have to set it every night with 5 min padding,
instead of using a "season pass" type recording.You should be able to use a "season pass" type recording and pad it with 5 minutes since this show is on more than once a week.

To get the guide data corrected, you will need to find out which company provides it and contact them or it might help to have the station contact them with the correct information. Good Luck!

I've tried to pad before with "all" episodes on different shows, and it only remembered the padding the first
time. Are you saying this has been fixed?

IIRC, he is saying that with series recordings, the STB generally [loses/forgets] the padding for shows which do not recur within seven days, but usually [keeps/remembers] the padding for shows which do recur within seven days.

v/r,
C-F

I've tried to pad before with "all" episodes on different shows, and it only remembered the padding the first
time. Are you saying this has been fixed?
Padding should work if the show is recorded more than once a week. However, this seems to be somewhat hit and miss. I've padded daily shows before and the padding held for anywhere from several days to weeks, but eventually got reset and I was never able to pinpoint exactly why, though I suspect it might get confused when one of the "this timeslot" options is used. Padding for weekly shows still gets reset after the first recording and this will probably not get fixed until we get a new IPG, hopefully with tru2way in 2009. I just padded a daily recording to see how long it holds.

Ok, will try that. Thank you all. I am going to do First Run only.

Ok, will try that. Thank you all. I am going to do First Run only.
Might I ask what show you are recording? My 2 minute padding held and looks correct for the next 7 days, but I'm recording using the "anytime on this channel" option for this recording. Maybe I'll pad a daily that uses the "New" option. I suspect it might get confused when one epsiode isn't correctly flagged as New or something like that. Be sure to let us know what happens with yours.

Sure, it's poker after dark. I have looked in the past, and it does seem to indicate new correctly, although I know the lesser know stuff usually doesn't do the new flag correctly.

Will let you know.

Sure, it's poker after dark. I have looked in the past, and it does seem to indicate new correctly, although I know the lesser know stuff usually doesn't do the new flag correctly.
Duh, I remember now you mentioned that in an earlier post. I've set up a recording to, so I'll be able to compare my experience with yours. This is actually a good test since the air times change quite a bit.

Have a feeling Matusow will be 1-10 after this week. His first win!

How long does your DVR think this show is? 55min too? Ignore tonight since it is New Years Eve.

The IPG shows 2:32-3:31, 59 minutes, and I then padded it by 5 minutes. All future epsisodes appear to be 59 minutes too and maybe that's the real problem. I'm in Phoenix with Cox Cable and it looks like your IPG might be off by 4 minutes for some reason, weird. My daughter has TWC in Fayetteville and I'll try to remember to ask her tomorrow what her IPG shows.

Ok, will try that. Thank you all. I am going to do First Run only.I pad 2 shows (The Situation Room and Nightline) that are shown Monday through Friday using the First Run recording method. Sometimes, I have problems with the show not being recorded but not too often, maybe once every 2 months. This also happens with shows that I haven't padded. I know if a recording conflict happens later, one of the shows will be removed from the recording schedule with no warning. There have been times when shows have been removed from the schedule for no apparent reason.

There have been times when shows have been removed from the schedule for no apparent reason.
Ah, the old hidden conflict. Ever tried to set up a recording and was told there was a conflict, but nothing showed up in the display? A reboot usually solved this, but I've yet to figure out how this happens.

Speaking of conflicts, with all the moving around going on, now is a good time to remember to double-check all your season passes as the TV schedule ramps up again next week.

Ah, the old hidden conflict. Ever tried to set up a recording and was told there was a conflict, but nothing showed up in the display? A reboot usually solved this, but I've yet to figure out how this happens.

Speaking of conflicts, with all the moving around going on, now is a good time to remember to double-check all your season passes as the TV schedule ramps up again next week.Yes, I have had hidden conflicts like you describe and the only way I found to resolve it was a reboot. Most of the time this happens when a show has disappeared from the Scheduled Recordings without being cancelled by me and I try to add it back. My theory is that part of the schedule to record the show remains that creates the conflict but another part is missing so the show does not record.

Has anyone found a simple way to dub material off of these in HD? The reason I'm asking is I just lost maybe 20 hours of HD recordings when my external drive (WD eSATA) crapped out.

Has anyone found a simple way to dub material off of these in HD? The reason I'm asking is I just lost maybe 20 hours of HD recordings when my external drive (WD eSATA) crapped out.
Not that I've ever heard of, but then I suspect it would be illegal and would not be posted on AVS anyway. The best you can do is burn anamorphic DVD's, view your recordings sooner, or buy Blue-Ray's when they come out. Of course, I assume you are talking about protected stuff that is coded copy once or copy never and can't be copied even with legal Firewire equipment. There are some PC-based solutions, like the HD Homerun, that work for unencrypted stuff, but I don't know of anything for encrypted content. This is one reason I don't record series to watch all at once over a weekend, etc. I just read about someone losing just such a series for the same reason and now he has to resort to the internet, if the series is even available.

Hauppauge has a device that will record over component to a PC: http://hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html

Not that I've ever heard of, but then I suspect it would be illegal and would not be posted on AVS anyway.Most of what I have on the 8300HD is not copy protected as far as I can tell. The recordings I wanted to keep were TV specials: NASA stuff like the live broadcast from the space station, a couple of live concerts, etc. Why would they be any more illegal than something I taped or recorded on a DVD Recorder?

I will check out the Hauppauge HD PVR. It looks like it might do the trick.

Most of what I have on the 8300HD is not copy protected as far as I can tell. The recordings I wanted to keep were TV specials: NASA stuff like the live broadcast from the space station, a couple of live concerts, etc. Why would they be any more illegal than something I taped or recorded on a DVD Recorder?
There are DRM copy protection flags in play when it comes to digital media; copy once, copy freely, and copy never. You can look at page 32 in the diagnostics to see the flags at the bottom. These are in place mostly for Firewire devices and whether or not other devices honor them is hit and miss. You can google DRM to find out much more.

As has been noted, there might be devices out there that will record digital/HD over Component, or even HDMI, but you asked if there is a way to download off the DVR and I mentioned there are PC-based solutions like the HD Homerun, etc. Unlike the HD Homerun though, the documentation for the Hauppauge doesn't mention encryption, but that doesn't seem like it would matter in your case. I'm also not sure about playback options, so that might be something else to check. There is a large thread (or 2) here dedicated to this subject.

There are DRM copy protection flags in play when it comes to digital media; copy once, copy freely, and copy never. You can look at page 32 in the diagnostics to see the flags at the bottom. Does the diagnostics page show what copy protection flags have been applied to a recording while it is playing?

A question about simultaneous HDMI and Composite output from 8300.
Here is the setup I have:
SA 8300 (Comcast, SARA) Composite OUt connected to the TV (panasonic plasma)
SA 8300 HDMI Out connceted to receiver (Denon 1909). Receiver HDMI out connetcted to the same TV HDMI in.
This is so that I can at times watch TV w/o using the receiver.
When using the compoiste out from the box connected to TV, I use the 'Cable' input on TV.
When using the receiver, I use HDMI input.
This worked for a few weeks, but now if I have the receiver on (with any other source selected on the receiver than TV) , my TV goes blank. If I turn the receiver off, then I do get picture and sound on the Cable input i.e. from Composite vide connection.
If I have the receiver on but I pull the HDMI cable out from the back of 8300, the picture comes back on TV from Composite video cables.
The question I have is whether this is a hardware problem with my 8300 or is this some setting in 8300 that could have changed?

Does the diagnostics page show what copy protection flags have been applied to a recording while it is playing?
You know, I never checked during playback. I think there's another page that shows the flag too, but I can't remember which it was. I believe that if something is flagged "copy once", you can record it via Firewire to a DVHS recorder and then you can't copy it again. I don't believe you can copy these from the copy on the DVR, they have to be recorded live, the DVR copy is the one copy and it can't be copied again.

A lot of things change over time though, so the best place to get answers to these questions is in the thread(s) I mentioned. Most people have given up trying to copy anything via Firewire and I'm really not up to speed on the PC solutions that are out there.

The question I have is whether this is a hardware problem with my 8300 or is this some setting in 8300 that could have changed?
Various software versions have been changed to turn off Component/Composite if HDMI is connected or active. Some HDMI devices don't completely turn off the HDMI signal and that messes up the Component/Composite outputs. There should be nothing wrong with your DVR.

I’ve had an 8300HD for about 4 years now and have just started using its HDMI output with a new Kuro Pro111FD plasma. I also have the 8300 connected to a digital audio input in my HT system. When I started using HDMI, the digital coaxial connection caused my speakers to hum. I switched from coax to the optical connection and the humming disappeared. Has anyone else seen this problem and is it normal? I tried playing with the 8300’s audio output options, switching between HDMI and Dolby Digital, but that made no difference.

I am wondering if you are able to get simultaneous audio when using HDMI and the Coax Digital out of the 8300HD. This is what I want to do: Keep the HDMI hooked up to my TV (for simple 'on-the-TV-Speaker stereo listening) and plug the Digital out of he 8300HD into my JVC RX704B AVR... I don't seem to be able to get both to work simultaneously... If I select HDMI under Settings Audio, I get stereo only. If I select Dolby Digital under Settings Audio, then no audio to the TV via HDMI as it I don't think it decodes DD.

Sharp 46D82U, SA 8300HD Sara Cablevision, JVC RX702B AVR

How do I get into the hidden menus of the 8300 ? Also Anyone here use a Denon reciever to up-scale there pic to the tv ? My Denon 2309 can up-convert/scale to 1080p....I wonder if would look better on the TV.... I also wonder like the guy above if I can use hdmi and component out together...is there a way to switch between the 2 without unplugging the hdmi ? I want to run both to the Denon and switch between both to see if the upscaling looks better then the passed thru signal of the hdmi ( Denon passes only what it sees with hdmi and upscales all other type of inputs).

thanks

Hello, new to the forum. I just picked up an 8300HD and am using it on Comcast in Canton, GA.

I've got some noticeable voice lag in HD programming though.

I don't think it's my TV, my Xbox seems fine when plugged in through the same HDMI port on the TV that I use for the PVR.

Should I call Comcast about the issue? Is there anything in the diagnostic pages that would help me to identify whether or not this is a PVR or TV issue?

Thanks for the help.

Hello, new to the forum. I just picked up an 8300HD and am using it on Comcast in Canton, GA.

I've got some noticeable voice lag in HD programming though.

I don't think it's my TV, my Xbox seems fine when plugged in through the same HDMI port on the TV that I use for the PVR.

Should I call Comcast about the issue? Is there anything in the diagnostic pages that would help me to identify whether or not this is a PVR or TV issue?

Thanks for the help.

The sound delay in Cable HD programming is a function of the provider... Most modern TVs will correct for this when connected over a consolidated cable such as HDMI... Does your TV have an Audio Delay function?? (MY Sharp Aquos does)... Althought as of yet with the 8300HD and Cablevision is has yet to be an issue.

The Xbox will be fine as there is no additional encoding for transmission. It's a direct connection from the Xbox to the monitor (TV) and the video/audio are in sync as they are sent out of the Xbox.

You certainly can contact the cable provider about recommendations as to how to deal with this, and there may be adjustments in the cable box to adjust the offset. Just my 10cents...