hi guys,

quick qestion. recentl rceved the 3214 frm comcast. I did not add dvr service but the device has a 120gb drive. Suprisingly the DVR worked... but today it froze and I had to unplug the device. now it says dvr unavailable. am I out of luck?

thanks for your help. sorry I am posting from cell phone.

Why do you have a 3412 without DVR service? Perhaps you'll need to add that.

Why do you have a 3412 without DVR service? Perhaps you'll need to add that.

not really sure, the contractor just dropped it off here.. oh well!

hi guys,

quick qestion. recentl rceved the 3214 frm comcast. I did not add dvr service but the device has a 120gb drive. Suprisingly the DVR worked... but today it froze and I had to unplug the device. now it says dvr unavailable. am I out of luck?

thanks for your help. sorry I am posting from cell phone.You probably are out of luck. I had a friend last year that moved to digital cable but initially didn't think he wanted to pay for the DVR service, and that's what he stated to the account setup rep when ordering his digital service. I'm assuming in our area Comcast didn't have any non-DVR digital STBs to give out at the time he switched, so they came to his house and set up a 3412 with DVR instead. The installer explained they would switch out the DVR when new non-DVR digital boxes were available to install. He was also able to record with no problems initially. I'm assuming that when a customer gets an STB with DVR, the back office responsible for those account changes probably instinctively (and in some cases mistakenly) set up the accounts to automatically have the DVR functionality as well.

Comcast never did come back and switch out the 3412, but a couple months later the recording function just stopped working. He took the box back in himself one day thinking it went bad, not even thinking about the fact that he wasn't paying for the DVR service to begin with and maybe that's why it stopped working. The local Comcast office actually just gave him a 3416 to replace it (duh)... which when we hooked it up, of course the DVR function still did not work. It was at this time that my friend actually explained to me that he never ordered a DVR or DVR service in the first place. So at that point I was assuming the DVR wouldn't record because Comcast finally caught their error and turned off the DVR functionality for his account, rather than believe that the 3416 was defective. For the same reason the new 3416 was not recording led me to also believe the 3412 he replaced was probably not defective either.

Unfortunately, like most people who get a chance to use this service, he got hooked on having the record functionality. So he simply just had to call and get the service added back to his account; the box then started recording just fine :D, but his monthly bill went up as well :p.

not really sure, the contractor just dropped it off here.. oh well!

You need to call and find out what's going on. You may be paying for DVR service you aren't getting. Check your bill.

You probably are out of luck. I had a friend last year that moved to digital cable but initially didn't think he wanted to pay for the DVR service, and that's what he stated to the account setup rep when ordering his digital service. I'm assuming in our area Comcast didn't have any non-DVR digital STBs to give out at the time he switched, so they came to his house and set up a 3412 with DVR instead. The installer explained they would switch out the DVR when new non-DVR digital boxes were available to install. He was also able to record with no problems initially. I'm assuming that when a customer gets an STB with DVR, the back office responsible for those account changes probably instinctively (and in some cases mistakenly) set up the accounts to automatically have the DVR functionality as well.

Comcast never did come back and switch out the 3412, but a couple months later the recording function just stopped working. He took the box back in himself one day thinking it went bad, not even thinking about the fact that he wasn't paying for the DVR service to begin with and maybe that's why it stopped working. The local Comcast office actually just gave him a 3416 to replace it (duh)... which when we hooked it up, of course the DVR function still did not work. It was at this time that my friend actually explained to me that he never ordered a DVR or DVR service in the first place. So at that point I was assuming the DVR wouldn't record because Comcast finally caught their error and turned off the DVR functionality for his account, rather than believe that the 3416 was defective. For the same reason the new 3416 was not recording led me to also believe the 3412 he replaced was probably not defective either.

Unfortunately, like most people who get a chance to use this service, he got hooked on having the record functionality. So he simply just had to call and get the service added back to his account; the box then started recording just fine :D, but his monthly bill went up as well :p.

ah, that sounds just like it. maybe i'll pay... or just try to get something going with my own dvr :) thanks for the help guys.

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, I work for cable. The notion that "CSRs" are just "gatekeepers" is ridiculous. If you get someone that keeps putting you on hold and not giving you information that is readily available then unfortunately they just may not be technically inclined. Our calls are live, unscripted and often difficult because most people don't know how cable works.

As for a few other issues, someone here noted that their DVR service became unavailable. This can often be fixed with a power cycle. If that doesn't work I recommend calling in, you have to be paying for DVR service and there can be some other minor adjustments to the account to resolve the issue.

Also, the techs have a dedicated group that they should be contacting. The reason their conversations might be brief is the same as if you see or talk to someone you know 100 times a day. There's only so much room for small talk. I'm interested to here from your thoughts.

...
If you get someone that keeps putting you on hold and not giving you information that is readily available then unfortunately they just may not be technically inclined.
...


Please explain "may not be technically inclined" and how that fits with the CSR job description.

hi guys,

quick qestion. recentl rceved the 3214 frm comcast. I did not add dvr service but the device has a 120gb drive. Suprisingly the DVR worked... but today it froze and I had to unplug the device. now it says dvr unavailable. am I out of luck?


You may have gotten a DVR due to the fact that in some areas Comcast ran out of HD boxes & gave people HD/DVR's for the time being. Most people were upgraded to the dvr service but if the codes were left off it may just be acting like a HD box.

Please explain "may not be technically inclined" and how that fits with the CSR job description.
Exactly. What we hope for when we call in is someone who is indeed technically inclined. Those who aren't would then be what someone described as "gatekeepers." That is, people who keep us from talking to someone who is technically inclined and able to solve our problems. Not only is it frustrating to have problems with our cable boxes/dvrs, it is doubly frustrating when we then have to deal with a CSR who clearly knows less about the hardware, software, and our problem than we do.

I suspect that we would have to settle for having our calls shunted off to India, to get cost-effective, "technically inclined" CSR assistance. Customers want low-prices and a high level of service -- those two objectives work against each other.

Well, it isn't as though the Comcast CSR's need to be up on a vast inventory of products. You wouldn't think it would be too much to ask that they be aware of the problems that consistently crop up.

First of all I am very new to this DVR and got it because my TiVo s2 will not record HD.

I am trying to set up a manual recording that repeats every week. It won't let me, only option is Once on the setting screen.

I'm trying to record "Three Sheets" off InHD. The show is new every Wed @ 9pm. It runs a repeat of the latest show about 2 times every day. Also the show info is always the general description w/o a new/repeat distinction so the DVR records every one no matter the settings.

Any tips on how to set up a manual recording that repeats every Wed at 9p?

Thanks in advance.

What is the difference between the 3412 and 3416?

Different size hard drive, i think the 3412 is 120G and the 3416 is 160g, or something like that

What is the difference between the 3412 and 3416?

3412 has a 120 GB hard drive. 3416 has a 160 GB hard drive.

That is the only difference.

Is anyone having trouble with the 3416 Space is Full issue? Ocassionally one of my 3416s has a window that pops up and says "Space is Full, need to delete something". When I look at My Recordings stuff it says DVR is 100% full. After I delete an item it goes back down to the real number, usually 6 to 10%.

Is anyone having trouble with the 3416 Space is Full issue? Ocassionally one of my 3416s has a window that pops up and says "Space is Full, need to delete something". When I look at My Recordings stuff it says DVR is 100% full. After I delete an item it goes back down to the real number, usually 6 to 10%.


Yes I am having the same problem with my 3412! See my post here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=835199

First of all I am very new to this DVR and got it because my TiVo s2 will not record HD.

I am trying to set up a manual recording that repeats every week. It won't let me, only option is Once on the setting screen.

I'm trying to record "Three Sheets" off InHD. The show is new every Wed @ 9pm. It runs a repeat of the latest show about 2 times every day. Also the show info is always the general description w/o a new/repeat distinction so the DVR records every one no matter the settings.

Any tips on how to set up a manual recording that repeats every Wed at 9p?

Thanks in advance.

When you are setting up the recording, go to Recording Settings. At the top where it says Record Once, press the right arrow twice, it will change to once a week....

My box does not show any left or right arrows there... I have pressed both directions and it will not change from Once - its really odd.

Well I have three 3416 DVRs from Charter Cable in the St Louis area and have had just about the same problem with them as you described in your post. Technicians have been out bunches of times, swapped out one of the boxes, numerours resets and signals sent, etc, etc and nothing has worked. The Charter DVR technician in the St Louis office is now working with the engineers at Motorola to try to fix the problem. I have the 12.35 firmware version. What version do you have? Are you with Comcast? I have read in this web site that version 16.35 fixes the problem Check it out. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Hidden_F.2FW_Feature

This can often be fixed with a power cycle. If that doesn't work I recommend calling in, you have to be paying for DVR service and there can be some other minor adjustments to the account to resolve the issue.



Right, you call in and describe a problem with the box(so many common ones to choose from!) First they tell you to unplug it(which you already tried). Then they 'hit' your box(which you can do yourself, using procedures documented on these treads). That doesn't work, they hit it again. Still doesn't work, set up a service appointment for you to miss work only to have a clueless tech come to your house and call the same number and have them 'hit' your box again.

'minor' adjustments means sending a 'hit' signal to the box.

Right, you call in and describe a problem with the box(so many common ones to choose from!) First they tell you to unplug it(which you already tried). Then they 'hit' your box(which you can do yourself, using procedures documented on these treads). That doesn't work, they hit it again. Still doesn't work, set up a service appointment for you to miss work only to have a clueless tech come to your house and call the same number and have them 'hit' your box again.

'minor' adjustments means sending a 'hit' signal to the box.

Well, if people are sending hits to your box when you call in for that you definitely don't have a technically inclined rep as I mentioned above. Some of the 'minor' adjustments I'm talking about is that you don't have the right rate codes on your account, there could be an equipment hierarchy problem or some other settings that we have in the computer. So no, I don't mean a hit to the box in this case. Unfortunately a lot of reps think that is a mass fix. The two known user fixes are power cycling the box and/or deleting a recording.

Well, it isn't as though the Comcast CSR's need to be up on a vast inventory of products. You wouldn't think it would be too much to ask that they be aware of the problems that consistently crop up.

I'm not defending all reps but trust me you need to know quite a bit about all products to do your job effectively. Unfortunately the toughest part of any job like this, any company is dealing with people within the company that don't or can't do their job as well as they could.

Please explain "may not be technically inclined" and how that fits with the CSR job description.

Technically inclined means that before the job people are technical by nature. There are lots of capable reps that I went through training with but they were starting from the bottom in learning about HDTV for example. The tools and info are available for everyone and no reps have a good excuse if they have been there long enough.

Well, it isn't as though the Comcast CSR's need to be up on a vast inventory of products. You wouldn't think it would be too much to ask that they be aware of the problems that consistently crop up.I bet these problem crop up, among the general public, much less often than you think. AVS Forums is a really bad place to get your feel for what the average Joe is experiencing.

Regardless, most of the issues are issues inherent with using technology which is still in its infancy, like HD DVRs. I could tell you a nice horror story I encountered with the $800 TiVo Series 3 -- it would make any of the typical issues with the Motorola boxes look paltry by comparison. This is new stuff. 10 years from now, it'll all be worked out. Have patience or not; your choice; but whether you do or don't won't make things go differently for you.

Technically inclined means that before the job people are technical by nature. I bet I could offer them a better job at my company than Comcast could offer them answering phones for them. The job we're hiring for is relatively low pressure, not much interaction with abusive people, etc., and only requires a few specific technical skills (Domino Objects Model, basic Java skills, super-advanced DHTML, expert in JavaScript, and AJAX). Technically inclined people are in big demand.

I bet these problem crop up, among the general public, much less often than you think. AVS Forums is a really bad place to get your feel for what the average Joe is experiencing.

Seems to me that Average Joe would hafta be way more frustrated, experiencing these problems with no idea what to do and no useful info from Comcast.

I have lost the HD digital locals. (3412, Comcast, Central Jersey). Here's what I mean. I get all of the analog stations. I get the HD stations for ESPN (202), ESPN-2 (203), Discovery HD (205), etc. I can not get ABC (231), NBC (232), CBS (233), etc. Prior to them going out completely, I was getting break-up or pixilation (akin to what I used to get from the satellite during a bad rain storm.) All this started happening Sunday during the Nor' Easter.

Anyway, I called Comcast. They sent a 'signal' to the box and then asked my to unplug and plug back in. No joy. Now they want to send a tech out. I was hoping that somebody here has a suggestion.

Is it possible that this is still due to the storm? (Many areas here in Middlesex County are still under water.)

Thanks for any help.

I have lost the HD digital locals. (3412, Comcast, Central Jersey). Here's what I mean. I get all of the analog stations. I get the HD stations for ESPN (202), ESPN-2 (203), Discovery HD (205), etc. I can not get ABC (231), NBC (232), CBS (233), etc. Prior to them going out completely, I was getting break-up or pixilation (akin to what I used to get from the satellite during a bad rain storm.) All this started happening Sunday during the Nor' Easter.

Anyway, I called Comcast. They sent a 'signal' to the box and then asked my to unplug and plug back in. No joy. Now they want to send a tech out. I was hoping that somebody here has a suggestion.

Is it possible that this is still due to the storm? (Many areas here in Middlesex County are still under water.)

Thanks for any help.

Could be, but seems unlikely, if all the rest of the channels work fine. A while back when they changed the channel mappings of my HD locals, they would not show up in the DVR at all, but that only lasted a couple hours and was fixed by morning. It's because they changed the frequencies(aka channls, like moving from 119.1 to 3.1), and the cable box hadn't gotten the new frequency that the channel was on, so when you go to ch 233, it was going to the old frequency/channel, where there was no longer anything there.

But I would think that would be fixed pretty quickly, and not last for days. Sorry I don't have any more ideas. Do you have an HD set w/ a QAM tuner? If you do, try and find the HD locals on that, if they are there then you know it's an issue w/ the box.

I have lost the HD digital locals. (3412, Comcast, Central Jersey). Here's what I mean. I get all of the analog stations. I get the HD stations for ESPN (202), ESPN-2 (203), Discovery HD (205), etc. I can not get ABC (231), NBC (232), CBS (233), etc. Prior to them going out completely, I was getting break-up or pixilation (akin to what I used to get from the satellite during a bad rain storm.) All this started happening Sunday during the Nor' Easter.

Anyway, I called Comcast. They sent a 'signal' to the box and then asked my to unplug and plug back in. No joy. Now they want to send a tech out. I was hoping that somebody here has a suggestion.

Is it possible that this is still due to the storm? (Many areas here in Middlesex County are still under water.)

Thanks for any help.

"break-up or pixilation" & then going completely out is usually a poor signal issue. Check what you can in the house, poorly made or loose fittings, old splitters, chewed up cable. Beyond that it would be for the tech to find on home visit, could be bad drop from street, low signal from tap at street or something along those lines or you just have more tvs then the signal can handle.

Seems to me that Average Joe would hafta be way more frustrated, experiencing these problems with no idea what to do and no useful info from Comcast.Remarkably, not. I think the problem is that we have far higher and more stringent expectations than Average Joe.

Remarkably, not. I think the problem is that we have far higher and more stringent expectations than Average Joe.

And how would one know that?

Are you asking for instructions for verifying what I stated I thought? Or are you asking for instructions for verifying that I think what I stated I thought?

"break-up or pixilation" & then going completely out is usually a poor signal issue. Check what you can in the house, poorly made or loose fittings, old splitters, chewed up cable. Beyond that it would be for the tech to find on home visit, could be bad drop from street, low signal from tap at street or something along those lines or you just have more tvs then the signal can handle.

Thanks for everyone's input. Last night, the signal was back to normal. So, for now, I'm attributing this to flooding here in Central Jersey, at least until it happens again. I don't have time to sit at home waiting for a tech to show up. Anyway, it gave me a good opportunity to use my OTA tuner for a couple of days.

My box does not show any left or right arrows there... I have pressed both directions and it will not change from Once - its really odd.
figured it out. I can't do a manual over a series recording <slaps forehead>

Excerpts from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9710918-1.html

CableCard may be getting a new lease on life, thanks to Uncle Sam. Cable boxes distributed after July 1 will need CableCards.

One side effect of the CableCard requirement is that more third-party CableCard-enabled DVRs will be available at retail. CC-enabled Motorola DVRs will soon be available, followed by Digeo Moxi models. CC-enabled Vista PCs that will soon be hitting stores as well.

If this all plays out, it means that consumers will have the possibility of enhanced choice when it comes to choosing a cable box and DVR. The competition among third-party DVR manufacturers may actually mean - finally - that you could walk in to Best Buy and choose from a selection of affordably priced high-def DVRs that work more or less identically whether you're a Time Warner, Cox, or Comcast subscriber, anywhere in the country.

And while these third-party boxes may have drawbacks, such as no access to video-on-demand, they may also offer advantages to the cable companies' default boxes. For instance, models from both Digeo and Motorola are said to be capable of streaming recorded programs throughout multiple rooms of a home, and Motorola has even demonstrated the Slingbox-like ability to stream programming to a cellphone.

Excerpts from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9710918-1.html
And while these third-party boxes may have drawbacks, such as no access to video-on-demand, they may also offer advantages to the cable companies' default boxes. For instance, models from both Digeo and Motorola are said to be capable of streaming recorded programs throughout multiple rooms of a home, and Motorola has even demonstrated the Slingbox-like ability to stream programming to a cellphone.

These companies would be subject to Cablelabs certification just like Tivo is with the S3. To this point Tivo has been unable to get Cablelabs to certify their unit with its version of multi room viewing, or most of the other useful features on the S2.

Excerpts from http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9710918-1.html
CableCard may be getting a new lease on life, thanks to Uncle Sam. Cable boxes distributed after July 1 will need CableCards.
.

I've been wondering about the details of this. Does this really mean that they can't reuse the boxes that come back from customers, or are already in inventory? Perhaps it means they can't distribute boxes without cablecard that are manufactured after July 1?

I've been wondering about the details of this. Does this really mean that they can't reuse the boxes that come back from customers, or are already in inventory? Perhaps it means they can't distribute boxes without cablecard that are manufactured after July 1?

Yes and No. I think it means they cannot deplay ANY box w/o a cablecard slot, no matter when it was manufactored. Do you think it is a coeincidence that Comcast all of a sudden is offering self-install kits for digital cable boxes? They are trying DESPERATLY to get rid of their inventory by almost handing out those boxes for free. In chicago where they eliminated analong cable, they really are letting people have the boxes for free, for a year I think.

Yes and No. I think it means they cannot deplay ANY box w/o a cablecard slot, no matter when it was manufactored. Do you think it is a coeincidence that Comcast all of a sudden is offering self-install kits for digital cable boxes? They are trying DESPERATLY to get rid of their inventory by almost handing out those boxes for free. In chicago where they eliminated analong cable, they really are letting people have the boxes for free, for a year I think.

In the seattle area they are promoting two free additional digital cable boxes free for 12 months - and even ship them to you for free and they come with all the necessary cabling. No, it's not a coincidence :) But I'll take advantage for a year.

In the seattle area they are promoting two free additional digital cable boxes free for 12 months - and even ship them to you for free and they come with all the necessary cabling. No, it's not a coincidence :) But I'll take advantage for a year.

Are they really free? The box rental might be free, but what about the "digital A/O fee?" Do they really waive that too?

Are they really free? The box rental might be free, but what about the "digital A/O fee?" Do they really waive that too?

I was skeptical too. I called and asked if there were ANY fees at all and they said not for the first 12 months. If a fee pops up on my bill they will get a call from me!

I was skeptical too. I called and asked if there were ANY fees at all and they said not for the first 12 months. If a fee pops up on my bill they will get a call from me!
The CSR was thoughtful enough to ask if I had a TV and nearby cable outlets to hook them up to as they wouldn't work without being plugged in to cable or a TV. They must really get some crazy calls.

Caller: "My cable doesn't work?"
CSR: "What happens when you turn on the TV?"
Caller: "I have a cable box, why do I need a TV?"


I would also note that these aren't HD cable boxes according to the CSR

I've been wondering about the details of this. Does this really mean that they can't reuse the boxes that come back from customers, or are already in inventory? Perhaps it means they can't distribute boxes without cablecard that are manufactured after July 1?

The new boxes just have to have been on someone's acct. before July 1, so most people should see new boxes for the next 2 or so months & then you'll see all those beautiful refurbished one's back again. And eventually the cable card ones.

The CSR was thoughtful enough to ask if I had a TV and nearby cable outlets to hook them up to as they wouldn't work without being plugged in to cable or a TV. They must really get some crazy calls.

Caller: "My cable doesn't work?"
CSR: "What happens when you turn on the TV?"
Caller: "I have a cable box, why do I need a TV?"


I would also note that these aren't HD cable boxes according to the CSR

I know you joke & 99.99% of the rest of the population would too, but some people actually think they get a tv at time of cable install.

I know you joke & 99.99% of the rest of the population would too, but some people actually think they get a tv at time of cable install.

I don't doubt it. In this case I actually felt sorry for the CSR, because I know they ask this question because there have been misunderstandings...

I know this has been discussed numerous times, but I figured I would ask anyway. I have the 3412 with F/W 16.20 and software version 74.53-3321 and for the life of me cannot get the HDMI port to work. I initially tried connecting through a switch box I just bought and today tried connecting directly to the TV(Samsung DLP...a DVI input), to no avail. I tried power cycling and even did a factory full reset still to no avail. I did notice on the diagnostic menu that HDCP is not enabled....anyway I can force it enable without calling Comcast? I'm assuming switching the box for a new one won't do anything either?

Should I just wait to till firmware 16.35? Any idea when that will be rolled out, I'm located on North side of Chicago. Or maybe I'll get rid of this and pick up a TivoS3!

Also, I notice at times that the HDMI Additional settings on the menu disappears all together. Why would that happen?

Appreciate any advice

Okay, here's a strange problem with my 3416. I have a series recording set up for 'Planet Earth' in HD. I tell it to save six episodes and keep only new ones until I delete. I've missed a couple so I'm trying to catch them all when they re-air during various times of the week.

Now there were a couple older ones that I definitely wanted to record this time around because I was afraid they might not get re-aired again in the near future, so I set up a single event recording for the ones I definitely want to grab. One of the reasons I did this is when I check 'Scheduled Recordings' and go through the days I don't see any of the Planet Earth re-airs being listed as getting recorded (since I still have a couple sitting on the box). The single event recordings is kind of like a safety net.

However, after one of these recordings takes place when I go into MY DVR it either tells me the 3416 is full or it shows almost full and one of the Planet Earth recordings has a message saying the power has been interrupted and the recording may not be complete. However, the recording is always complete and then some. As in, I look at the length of the episode and it shows something like 298 minutes, 504 minutes, etc. Basically it looks like it just starts recording and never stops.

Now I don't know if the box actually does reboot during the recording or if it just says it did (because I'm never there when it is recording), but this seems really odd because it only does it on my Planet Earth recordings and I've never seen it do it before. It's almost like there's something happening with the series recording vs single event recording causing the box to lock-up or reboot. Has anyone seen this before?

I wonder if Comcast is offering free DVRs around here... and would a second DVR be free? :)

Okay, here's a strange problem with my 3416. I have a series recording set up for 'Planet Earth' in HD. I tell it to save six episodes and keep only new ones until I delete. I've missed a couple so I'm trying to catch them all when they re-air during various times of the week.

Now there were a couple older ones that I definitely wanted to record this time around because I was afraid they might not get re-aired again in the near future, so I set up a single event recording for the ones I definitely want to grab. One of the reasons I did this is when I check 'Scheduled Recordings' and go through the days I don't see any of the Planet Earth re-airs being listed as getting recorded (since I still have a couple sitting on the box). The single event recordings is kind of like a safety net.

However, after one of these recordings takes place when I go into MY DVR it either tells me the 3416 is full or it shows almost full and one of the Planet Earth recordings has a message saying the power has been interrupted and the recording may not be complete. However, the recording is always complete and then some. As in, I look at the length of the episode and it shows something like 298 minutes, 504 minutes, etc. Basically it looks like it just starts recording and never stops.

Now I don't know if the box actually does reboot during the recording or if it just says it did (because I'm never there when it is recording), but this seems really odd because it only does it on my Planet Earth recordings and I've never seen it do it before. It's almost like there's something happening with the series recording vs single event recording causing the box to lock-up or reboot. Has anyone seen this before?

Not that this fixes your problem, but you know Planet Earth is availible OnDemand right? HD as well as SD. PQ is slightly less, but it's there.

As for free DVRs? I do believe we will see that. When Comcast gets HDNET and doesn't pass along a price increase that year. Why else would they jack up the 2nd DVR price by like what, 8 or 10 bucks? Many areas have major shortages of them, and I'm sure they cost them a lot more $$$ to purchase than a crappy little SD only digi cable box. Pretty sure the reason why they are giving away free SD digi cable boxes is to have them deployed at least once before July 1st.

New weird problem: Every 30 seconds or so the sound drops, and sometimes the picture garbles a bit. This is on all channels, and also occurs when I'm playing back old recordings that I know were recorded before this started. Now the weird bit is if I disconnect the cable going into my DVR I can then watch these old recordings without glitches. So it's like something in the incoming signal is disrupting playback. Also if I have a continuous ping running on my laptop I can see that the ping is greatly delayed right when the sound goes out on the tv. So whatever is affecting the DVR is affecting the cable modem too. I have gone into the DVR's diagnostic menu to look at the error counts for the in-band signals and there are zero errors being reported... so the video signal looks clean, the recordings are clean when I play them back when the DVR is disconnected, so what could cause this?

I have a tech scheduled to come out tomorrow, we'll see what he says.

Its funny you mention that..this happened to me yesterday and made things almost unwatchable. I unplugged both of my dvrs and things seemed to clear up. Any idea what happened?

Thanks

Huh I wish that would solve it, but it hasn't. I unplugged both, but they're still both doing it, and I still have the occasional internet ping time of 300ms+ instead of the normal 1/10th that. We'll see if the tech has any clue...

Okay, here's a strange problem with my 3416. I have a series recording set up for 'Planet Earth' in HD. I tell it to save six episodes and keep only new ones until I delete. I've missed a couple so I'm trying to catch them all when they re-air during various times of the week.

Now there were a couple older ones that I definitely wanted to record this time around because I was afraid they might not get re-aired again in the near future, so I set up a single event recording for the ones I definitely want to grab. One of the reasons I did this is when I check 'Scheduled Recordings' and go through the days I don't see any of the Planet Earth re-airs being listed as getting recorded (since I still have a couple sitting on the box). The single event recordings is kind of like a safety net.

However, after one of these recordings takes place when I go into MY DVR it either tells me the 3416 is full or it shows almost full and one of the Planet Earth recordings has a message saying the power has been interrupted and the recording may not be complete. However, the recording is always complete and then some. As in, I look at the length of the episode and it shows something like 298 minutes, 504 minutes, etc. Basically it looks like it just starts recording and never stops.

Now I don't know if the box actually does reboot during the recording or if it just says it did (because I'm never there when it is recording), but this seems really odd because it only does it on my Planet Earth recordings and I've never seen it do it before. It's almost like there's something happening with the series recording vs single event recording causing the box to lock-up or reboot. Has anyone seen this before?

I've seen the exact same thing. Twice now I've attempted to record single episodes of Planet Earth. Both times the box went haywire, recording nonstop, filling my recordings list with supposedly interrupted Planet Earth episodes of random lengths. Meanwhile every other recording I had is eventually deleted to make way for the increasing number of garbage Planet Earth episodes.

I don't have the answer, but I'm glad it's not just my 3416 doing this.

Firmware version 16.35 hit the Boston area today for those interested.

Thanks for the heads up. Does anything need to be done as far as doing a reboot or does it take care of itself?

Tom

Firmware version 16.35 hit the Boston area today for those interested.

It's about time. Hopefully this will clear up some of the stuttering and ocassional lock-ups I have experienced. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the heads up. Does anything need to be done as far as doing a reboot or does it take care of itself?

Tom

Should've come through by itself at around 3am, if it didn't you can try power cycling the box & check version again.

New weird problem: Every 30 seconds or so the sound drops, and sometimes the picture garbles a bit. This is on all channels, and also occurs when I'm playing back old recordings that I know were recorded before this started. Now the weird bit is if I disconnect the cable going into my DVR I can then watch these old recordings without glitches. So it's like something in the incoming signal is disrupting playback. Also if I have a continuous ping running on my laptop I can see that the ping is greatly delayed right when the sound goes out on the tv. So whatever is affecting the DVR is affecting the cable modem too. I have gone into the DVR's diagnostic menu to look at the error counts for the in-band signals and there are zero errors being reported... so the video signal looks clean, the recordings are clean when I play them back when the DVR is disconnected, so what could cause this?.
You may have a bad connection someplace, causing the signal to be disconnected. It could be in your house, or more likely, outside. It depends on how many other people may be affected.
I have noticed that recordings will mute if the tuners lose a signal while you are playing the recording.

Yes I think that was it. By this morning it had been corrected, so I canceled the appointment. I guess others in the neighborhood had reported it too, and it was fixed.

I live in the Boston area, and I noticed the download @ 3am. It lasted at least 17 minutes and then I dozed off due to the blank tv screen. Anyways, I wanted to let those who live in the area know that the 30 sec skip works MUCH faster now. Until today, I would have to wait about 1.5 seconds before hitting "skip" again while going through commercial breaks. This was annoying since I would get a split second of the audio before it would skip again and it would often miss commands (or I was just going too fast for the box). Now I can skip fast enough so that it is almost seamless! :D Sometimes it's the little things...

On another note, someone posted a while back that they were having problems using a splitter. I've been using a Monster 2.4GHZ 4-way splitter (one to the HD-DVR, one to a DVD-R, and one to my Telephony modem, the 4th one is unused) for quite a while now with no problems at all. I'm running HDMI from the HD-DVR through a Yamaha RX-V2700 roundy sound receiver and then to the tv. I get all channels exept smut (Platinum Premium pkg) with no issues of ch. drop out. I also use a 2-way in the bedroom (one to the HD-DVR and one to a Replay tv) with no issues. BTW, both the DVR's are 3416's. Just my $.02 on that tho.

I've been having a problem with my 3416 (FW 16.20, SF bay). Certain channels display the message "Please wait, the channel will be available shortly". I called Comcast, they tell me its a signal issue. Has anyone else had this problem on some channels? If so, anything you can tell me about it that I can pass along to the tech would be appreciated. I'm on my 3rd box, and I'm thinking this might be why I get audio hiccups on my On Demand also.

Any ideas?

Thank you,

/m/

I've been having a problem with my 3416 (FW 16.20, SF bay). Certain channels display the message "Please wait, the channel will be available shortly". I called Comcast, they tell me its a signal issue. Has anyone else had this problem on some channels? If so, anything you can tell me about it that I can pass along to the tech would be appreciated. I'm on my 3rd box, and I'm thinking this might be why I get audio hiccups on my On Demand also.

Any ideas?

Thank you,

/m/
I had this problem on some channels. Technician had to replace the cable that was coming into my house.

I had this problem on some channels. Technician had to replace the cable that was coming into my house.


Thanks for the info. I wish there was a way in the box to check the singal levels. Oh well, I guess I'll be sitting patiently for the comcast techs to arrive. Last time (install) they were 22 hours late.

Fingers crossed.

Thanks again,

/m/

...
I wish there was a way in the box to check the singal levels.
...


There is. Turn the DVR off and immediately (within 2 seconds) press OK/Select. This will bring up the Diagnostics page, and item D04 (In-band status) will show S/N ratio and signal strength.

There is. Turn the DVR off and immediately (within 2 seconds) press OK/Select. This will bring up the Diagnostics page, and item D04 (In-band status) will show S/N ratio and signal strength.

Thanks for the tip, comcast assured me there was no way to check this. No surprise there. What would be a good range for singnal? I can check this when I get home from work and have a good idea of what the tech should tell me.

Thanks again!

/m/

There is. Turn the DVR off and immediately (within 2 seconds) press OK/Select. This will bring up the Diagnostics page, and item D04 (In-band status) will show S/N ratio and signal strength.
You should try this on the problem channels. Odds are, they may be at the higher frequencies, which tend to be the weakest. Also, many digital channels (up to 14-16 SD) will share one frequency. So if you have one frequency that is bad or very noisy, you can lose a bunch of channels.

You should try this on the problem channels. Odds are, they may be at the higher frequencies, which tend to be the weakest. Also, many digital channels (up to 14-16 SD) will share one frequency. So if you have one frequency that is bad or very noisy, you can lose a bunch of channels.


I checked in on the problem channel (580), it says that the SNR is N/A, so I'm guessing thats my problem. Is it odd that the other channels are working well (at least visually)?

Thanks,

/m/

If it says N/A, that means it can't pick up a signal at all. You may want to randomly check a few others to see what the SNR is. If many read FAIR or POOR, you probably have a weak signal. The newer firmware doesn't show AGC anymore, which makes it possible to get a rough idea of signal strength. It's also possible for a too-strong signal to create noise issues, too.

If it says N/A, that means it can't pick up a signal at all. You may want to randomly check a few others to see what the SNR is. If many read FAIR or POOR, you probably have a weak signal. The newer firmware doesn't show AGC anymore, which makes it possible to get a rough idea of signal strength. It's also possible for a too-strong signal to create noise issues, too.


Well the Comcast guy came and fixed it. According to him there was "junk on the line". It took him all of 10 minutes to remove this "junk", and now it works.


Thank you for the responses!


/m/

I have been using a 6412 box for over 2 years and for the last 6 months, I was trying to get a 3416 and was always told that they are not available in my area from Comcast. 2 days ago I had Digital Voice installed for my telephone service and I told the Comcast tech. that I wanted a 3416 STB and I couldn't get one. He went out to his truck and showed me a 3416 STB. He said he would exchange it for me, telling Comcast I was having trouble with my 6412. Now I am completely happy with my 3416.
One difference that I noticed, with the 6412, you could go directly to any channel without pressing OK. With the 3416, you must press OK after the channel number. Minor inconvience but I'll live it. Also I couldn't get channel 960 for the new Comcast Central and I can now with the 3416.

Etop -- the differences you see must be due to the 3416 having a newer version of firmware, rather than features of the 3416 vs. 6412. Having to press OK for the channel change may be because you don't have "auto tune" selected.

One difference that I noticed, with the 6412, you could go directly to any channel without pressing OK. With the 3416, you must press OK after the channel number. Minor inconvience but I'll live it. Also I couldn't get channel 960 for the new Comcast Central and I can now with the 3416.
You can alter the auto-tune options. With it ON, it will change after a few seconds if you only type 1 or 2 digits. With it OFF, you must hit OK/Select, or type 3 digits (007).

Full details in the Wikibook:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Using_i-Guide/User_Setup#Channel_entry_behavior

Any word on when Tivo will be available on these boxes? I am so sick of the current DVR software.

Etop -- the differences you see must be due to the 3416 having a newer version of firmware, rather than features of the 3416 vs. 6412. Having to press OK for the channel change may be because you don't have "auto tune" selected.

You're right it is because of the auto-tune being off, however it has nothing to do with the firmware version. Auto-tune & the clock display on the front have been off by default ever since Motorola dig. cable boxes were introduced (at least in most areas). Most people don't realize it because most techs know that the customers usually want those 2 features on & do it without even asking. You would think that if those 2 things are always turned on for people that would be the default, but alas not so.

I was thinking that the "Comcast Central" difference might be due to different firmware.

One difference that I noticed, with the 6412, you could go directly to any channel without pressing OK. With the 3416, you must press OK after the channel number.

Go into cable box setup and set channel number entry to automatic. Both boxes use the same firmware. Everything should be the same except there is no analog tuner and the AC socket on the back is always on.

Has anyone in Atlanta with one of these boxes seen the new firmware that allows for HDMI/HDCP handshaking? I have a 3412 that currently has the old firmware but am moving and buying a LCD and want to only have to run a HDMI cable between my receiver and my LCD...

Thanks!

Okay, here's a strange problem with my 3416. I have a series recording set up for 'Planet Earth' in HD. I tell it to save six episodes and keep only new ones until I delete. I've missed a couple so I'm trying to catch them all when they re-air during various times of the week.

Now there were a couple older ones that I definitely wanted to record this time around because I was afraid they might not get re-aired again in the near future, so I set up a single event recording for the ones I definitely want to grab. One of the reasons I did this is when I check 'Scheduled Recordings' and go through the days I don't see any of the Planet Earth re-airs being listed as getting recorded (since I still have a couple sitting on the box). The single event recordings is kind of like a safety net.

However, after one of these recordings takes place when I go into MY DVR it either tells me the 3416 is full or it shows almost full and one of the Planet Earth recordings has a message saying the power has been interrupted and the recording may not be complete. However, the recording is always complete and then some. As in, I look at the length of the episode and it shows something like 298 minutes, 504 minutes, etc. Basically it looks like it just starts recording and never stops.

Now I don't know if the box actually does reboot during the recording or if it just says it did (because I'm never there when it is recording), but this seems really odd because it only does it on my Planet Earth recordings and I've never seen it do it before. It's almost like there's something happening with the series recording vs single event recording causing the box to lock-up or reboot. Has anyone seen this before?

I think I got similar problems with the 6412 about a year ago. I believe it was linked to recordings that refused to be deleted and had a date of 12/31/89 (or something like that). I don't recall all the details. I think the problem was solved by replacing the unit.

I think there were some bugs with Series recordings, that if you manually add a start-earlier/end-later minutes, they may get buggy. I don't recall details of this one either, but it was discussed here (or the 6412/6416 threads) and it may be in the Wiki pages.

Also with the current unit there seems to be some confusion when you overlap manual recordings and/or scheduled recordings of the same channel. It doesn't happen all the time, and it only happens under certain conditions, but I haven't figured out the combinations that cause problems. What I usually do is I only add time to one of the two. Also if you delete one of the two while recording is in progress, the 2nd one will stop recording if the previous scheduled recording overlaps timewise with the current scheduled recording. (or something like that). I think it won't affect the other recording if you delete it at the end of playback when it automatically asks you "do you want to delete" and press "yes". If you delete from the DVR listing or the "stop" button, it may stop the other overlapping channel recording as well.

hey ya'll - i've tried to go through all 130 pages, and i couldn't find anything on some of the pages i was able to poke through haha, but i'm having two issues w/my 3416 -- i currently have firmware 16.20 and swver 74.53-3321. I'm using hdmi directly from the unit to my tv, and here are my issues:

on the top, when watching sd, there's a constant black and white garbled line along the top....can't seem to get rid of it. also, the other problem I have is if the receiver is recording and my tv is off, if i turn my TV on, all I get is a green screen, no matter what i do.

any suggestions??? thanks!!!!

hey ya'll - i've tried to go through all 130 pages, and i couldn't find anything on some of the pages i was able to poke through haha, but i'm having two issues w/my 3416 -- i currently have firmware 16.20 and swver 74.53-3321. I'm using hdmi directly from the unit to my tv, and here are my issues:

on the top, when watching sd, there's a constant black and white garbled line along the top....can't seem to get rid of it. also, the other problem I have is if the receiver is recording and my tv is off, if i turn my TV on, all I get is a green screen, no matter what i do.

any suggestions??? thanks!!!!

The top line is undoubtedly closed caption data. Try adjusting your TV display (size or placement). You may also need to change your 4:3 override setting. The green screen is probably a problem with HDCP handshaking.

Read the Wiki book for details: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR

hey ya'll - i've tried to go through all 130 pages, and i couldn't find anything on some of the pages i was able to poke through haha, but i'm having two issues w/my 3416 -- i currently have firmware 16.20 and swver 74.53-3321. I'm using hdmi directly from the unit to my tv, and here are my issues:

on the top, when watching sd, there's a constant black and white garbled line along the top....can't seem to get rid of it. also, the other problem I have is if the receiver is recording and my tv is off, if i turn my TV on, all I get is a green screen, no matter what i do.

any suggestions??? thanks!!!!

I'll start with the second part first here. I'll say the green screen is firmware issue. How do you usually turn the tv & dvr on if not recording, tv first then dvr, usually a handshake issue, you can try component cables just to double check this.
The first part sounds like an overscan issue with tv (older Phillips tvs seem to do this quite a bit, not saying that's what you own though), you could try going into service menu on tv & pushing screen position up a little. The other times I've seen this is when people watch HD channels via channel 3 on the tv (not what you're doing obviously). That line is actually a bunch of very small numbers scrolling very quickly at the top of the screen.

I would like to feed 16:9 video to an external recording device that cannot handle high definition content. But, when selecting 480i out of the STB and a 16:9 display type, the output is letterboxed. I tried this using component and HDMI outputs on three different 3412s, all with the same letterboxed result. Does anyone know whether it is possible to feed 16:9 SD video out of these STBs without a letterbox?

Well I turned in my dead 6412 for a 3416 today and brough it home. My cable is split just before the cable box to alslo go to a cable modem. The reception on many channels on the new 3416 was horrible with streaks and squares dancing all over the screen. After much wire swapping, I found that just running the cable through the splitter box with no other wires or devices hooked to the splitter box botched the signal.

The 3416 has coax out, can I attach the cable modem there? I enabled the coax passthrough in the setup screen but can not get the modem to work connected to the coax out on the back of the 3416. The signal was good enough for the 6412 yesterday, I can't believe that the measly splitter box can generate such problems.

If I attached a coax pigtail to the coax out with nothing attached to it I still got some sporatic freezing. Weird?!?

Any ideas?

Well I turned in my dead 6412 for a 3416 today and brough it home. My cable is split just before the cable box to alslo go to a cable modem. The reception on many channels on the new 3416 was horrible with streaks and squares dancing all over the screen. After much wire swapping, I found that just running the cable through the splitter box with no other wires or devices hooked to the splitter box botched the signal.

The 3416 has coax out, can I attach the cable modem there? I enabled the coax passthrough in the setup screen but can not get the modem to work connected to the coax out on the back of the 3416. The signal was good enough for the 6412 yesterday, I can't believe that the measly splitter box can generate such problems.

If I attached a coax pigtail to the coax out with nothing attached to it I still got some sporatic freezing. Weird?!?

Any ideas?

OK, i will take my stupid question punishment on the air.

I went to the local hardware store and got a 1gig digital splitter and the problem went away.
I suppose that the 3416 works on a different frequency range than the 6412 and would not tolerate the splitter that the 6412 did. Can someone fill me in on the tech details?

Check your signal strength, you should see "good". Fair or poor will mean signal problems. If you run through a splitter it doesn't matter if anyhting else is plugged into it you are still going to get a weaker signal on the other end. Start with the signal strength as the first possible culprit, if that checks out OK you can move on to other possible issues.

The cable modem needs a certain level of strength as well or you could have issues receiving reliable internet.

I had similar issues after my initial install a month ago in a new(for me) house and found out the signal was splitting way too many ways from the initial wire coming into the house and many of the splits were going to dead ends. I completely rewired and reduced the splits and the signal strength went way up and all the issues stopped.

edit: I would still check your signal strength as it seems you may be borderline based on the better splitter working over the other one. You may run into issues down the line.

I went to the local hardware store and got a 1gig digital splitter and the problem went away.
I suppose that the 3416 works on a different frequency range than the 6412 and would not tolerate the splitter that the 6412 did. Can someone fill me in on the tech details?

The 6412 has analog and digital tuners. The 3416 only has digital tuners.
You need a bidirectional splitter that is good to 1000 MHZ.

pmacafee --

The only logical explanation I can think of for the 3416 not to work as well would be if the 6412 had not had ADS enabled, and thus was still using its analog tuner for the channels < 100. If those are the only ones you noticed problems with, then that might explain it.

That line is actually a bunch of very small numbers scrolling very quickly at the top of the screen.
They aren't numbers. They are little dashes on one or more scan lines flickering on and off. In other words, visible digital data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_captioning
That line and the ones above can also carry other information such as program info (XDS), time signals used to set VCR's and similar, and 3rd party data such as TVGuide OnScreen and similar in some TV's.

OK, i will take my stupid question punishment on the air.

I went to the local hardware store and got a 1gig digital splitter and the problem went away.
I suppose that the 3416 works on a different frequency range than the 6412 and would not tolerate the splitter that the 6412 did. Can someone fill me in on the tech details?

Ok, second trip to the corner hardware store, got 2 1gig female to female barrels and went looking for the 2 splits under the house that we don't use.

One was already disconnected and I removed the splitter from the other and substitued the 1gig barrel.
Direct into the box, the s/n on tuner 1was goog/fair (31-34) and the 2nd tuner was fair (29-31).

The splitter I just removed from under the house seemed to be a 2way 1gig and so I put that between the box and the cable. The s/n dropped about 5 db to fair and poor. When i attached another cable without connecting it to the modem, the db jumped +2. It held when I connected it to the modem. I guess there is some balancing factor in the splitters. I now show fair and poor on the 2 tuners but have not yet found any visible or audible problems. The modem seems to be working correctly so for now we are just into the OK zone. That will get us through the weekend. I will now call Comcast to report the poor signal strength and hopefully they can improve it to at least fair everywhere.

Since I learned that even the barrels are rated at 1 gig, what about cable, I have loads or tv coax left over from different projects around the house and my old apartment, as well as some still in the bubble pack. Is there 1 gig coax as well?

They aren't numbers. They are little dashes on one or more scan lines flickering on and off. In other words, visible digital data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_captioning
That line and the ones above can also carry other information such as program info (XDS), time signals used to set VCR's and similar, and 3rd party data such as TVGuide OnScreen and similar in some TV's.

Yes that is mostly CC data, however I'm not sure where you get that they're dashes up there. The lines 'look' like dashes but I believe its the number & letter data squeezed down & stretched out to fit on that line. I read most of that page 2 times & didn't see dashes mentioned once, however I did follow a link on that page to this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIA-708 and according to what I read in the second paragraph it uses the Latin1 character set (which I'm not sure but think that would be numbers & letters, as well as the occasional dash). I followed that link because it was talking about ATSC signals, not analog.

This is my first post to the forum, I've been reading alot of posts looking for answers to my problem but havent found any helpful info yet. I have a Moto 3416 and would like to pull DVR shows off the box to the computer...I dont know how to do this at all, I have read posts about firewire and the fact that the conversion process is real time but I need someone to explain the process, please. Which drivers to download, etc. I am a novice at this and would love to get recorded shows over to disc. Is there a website link explaining the process or could someone step me through it. This site is the closest ive come to finding info on the process, could anyone please help...Thanks

This is my first post to the forum, I've been reading alot of posts looking for answers to my problem but havent found any helpful info yet. I have a Moto 3416 and would like to pull DVR shows off the box to the computer...I dont know how to do this at all, I have read posts about firewire and the fact that the conversion process is real time but I need someone to explain the process, please. Which drivers to download, etc. I am a novice at this and would love to get recorded shows over to disc. Is there a website link explaining the process or could someone step me through it. This site is the closest ive come to finding info on the process, could anyone please help...Thanks

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/
I believe it's the same for the 34xx

This is my first post to the forum, I've been reading alot of posts looking for answers to my problem but havent found any helpful info yet. I have a Moto 3416 and would like to pull DVR shows off the box to the computer...I dont know how to do this at all, I have read posts about firewire and the fact that the conversion process is real time but I need someone to explain the process, please. Which drivers to download, etc. I am a novice at this and would love to get recorded shows over to disc. Is there a website link explaining the process or could someone step me through it. This site is the closest ive come to finding info on the process, could anyone please help...Thanks

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695

I would like to feed 16:9 video to an external recording device that cannot handle high definition content. But, when selecting 480i out of the STB and a 16:9 display type, the output is letterboxed. I tried this using component and HDMI outputs on three different 3412s, all with the same letterboxed result. Does anyone know whether it is possible to feed 16:9 SD video out of these STBs without a letterbox?

The only way to get anamorphic 480i out of a Moto is through the component outputs, so you would need one of the few DVDRs that have component ins, if that is how you are trying to record. Sorry, I don't like that either!

Yes that is mostly CC data, however I'm not sure where you get that they're dashes up there. The lines 'look' like dashes but I believe its the number & letter data squeezed down & stretched out to fit on that line. I read most of that page 2 times & didn't see dashes mentioned once, however I did follow a link on that page to this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIA-708 and according to what I read in the second paragraph it uses the Latin1 character set (which I'm not sure but think that would be numbers & letters, as well as the occasional dash). I followed that link because it was talking about ATSC signals, not analog.
There is no way you could squeeze it to one scan line, then make it play back. It is a digital datastream. Normally, they are offscreen. The decoder reads that scan line and treats the high and low analog signals (black and white) as 1's and 0's. That in turn encodes the text, formatting, and location. It's transmitted at a rather low rate (960 bits/sec, or about 100 bytes/sec.)

Also, the link is for US ATSC signals, which is digital broadcasting. Analog and most SD video sources (DVD, VCR, even the cable box's downconvert of HD digital data) use EIA-608: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIA-608

The only way to get anamorphic 480i out of a Moto is through the component outputs, so you would need one of the few DVDRs that have component ins, if that is how you are trying to record. Sorry, I don't like that either!
Thanks for the suggestion, kjbawc. I tried using component out again tonight and it is still letterboxed when the display setting is 16:9. Perhaps there's another setting I need to change? (Actually, letterbox isn't quite accurate. The video is 16 wide, but less than 9 high, distorting the aspect ratio of the images so that people are short and squatty.)

I just got hit by the 3416 bug "Recorded programs and scheduled recordings missing after a power outage or reboot" (see http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs), and lost a pretty full HD's worth of recordings :-(

In my case, it was a reboot to clear another bug: the confounded "sound out-of-sync with video" on attempting Firewire archive to a JVC 40K DVHS deck! I have only found a couple of mentions in passing to this in AVSF threads: my question is, has anyone found a better solution than rebooting this rather underwhelming DVR to clear the sync problem? I'd hate to continue to have to reboot it just to archive shows on DVHS, now knowing that a reboot can potentially wipe out the drive contents!

Any/all help on this will be greatly appreciated, and TIA.

I've searched this thread and also the wikibook but cannot find how to "learn" a button with the remote, could someone post instructions?

I've searched this thread and also the wikibook but cannot find how to "learn" a button with the remote, could someone post instructions?

If you're using the Comcast supplied remote it is not a 'learning' remote, it is just a universal/programmable remote. Learning remotes you can put head to head with the old & new remote & learn the desired button press (without actually knowing the code number that would program it). These are just programmable remotes whereas you need to know the code of the function you want it to do. So unless the codes you want are in the included user book or in the wiki: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote chances are pretty good your remote is not going to know how to work the equipment (unless you're going to get into JP1/JP1.2 programming) or buy a different remote.

Thanks for the suggestion, kjbawc. I tried using component out again tonight and it is still letterboxed when the display setting is 16:9. Perhaps there's another setting I need to change? (Actually, letterbox isn't quite accurate. The video is 16 wide, but less than 9 high, distorting the aspect ratio of the images so that people are short and squatty.)

Well, you have to set the component output to 480i, and tell it it is outputting to 16x9 TV. That should provide a 4x3 squeezed frame on a standard TV. On a HDTV, you might have to manually select "Wide" in the picture size, to unsqueeze it when playing back a recording of it. It's been a while since I played with it, but I think that is all there is to it. Even if you have a DVDR with component inputs, it's still a pain to have to enter the service menu all the time, to switch back to watching in HD.

I am assuming your source (program), shown in HD, fills your 16x9 TV screen without having to adjust picture size, or with just setting it to "Wide."

I've searched this thread and also the wikibook but cannot find how to "learn" a button with the remote, could someone post instructions?
As others posted, the Comcast remote cannot learn. If you can find a code that somewhat controls your TV or device, you may be able to reprogram some keys using EFC's (Extended Function Codes.) The Wikibook page includes links to several websites with EFC lists for many devices:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote
A few other links:
http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/codes.shtml
http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/devices.shtml
http://www.hifi-remote.com/ofa/adv-codes.shtml

Well, you have to set the component output to 480i, and tell it it is outputting to 16x9 TV. That should provide a 4x3 squeezed frame on a standard TV. On a HDTV, you might have to manually select "Wide" in the picture size, to unsqueeze it when playing back a recording of it. It's been a while since I played with it, but I think that is all there is to it.
Those are the settings I tried on the 3412. I don't have a standard TV with component inputs. So, I can't see a 480i 16:9 image displayed that way. However, when feeding composite from the 3412 to a regular TV, 16:9 sources appear letterboxed, but with correct aspect ratios. I conclude they are being sent stretched and then squeezed back to the proper aspect by the 4:3 set. That is consistent with what I see on the component and HDMI outputs to a 16:9 set.

I am assuming your source (program), shown in HD, fills your 16x9 TV screen without having to adjust picture size, or with just setting it to "Wide."
When the 3412 output to is set to 1080i, 720p, or 480p and the source program is 16:9, the video fills the screen correctly on my HD set. When the output is set to 480i, I get the stretched, letterbox output.

When the 3412 output to is set to 1080i, 720p, or 480p and the source program is 16:9, the video fills the screen correctly on my HD set. When the output is set to 480i, I get the stretched, letterbox output.

Are you on Comcast, or some other system? I'll admit I am stumped, as to why it looks like that for you. You would get some letter-boxing on a 16x9 screen, if the program in 2.35:1, but that doesn't explain the distortion. If this picture looks normal when you set your display's picture size to display 4x3, that is to say it is not squished, and has substantial letter-boxing, while viewed over component outputs from the STB, I have no explanation. That's not the way it is with my Moto 6412 and 16.2 software.

Are you on Comcast, or some other system? I'll admit I am stumped, as to why it looks like that for you. You would get some letter-boxing on a 16x9 screen, if the program in 2.35:1, but that doesn't explain the distortion. If this picture looks normal when you set your display's picture size to display 4x3, that is to say it is not squished, and has substantial letter-boxing, while viewed over component outputs from the STB, I have no explanation. That's not the way it is with my Moto 6412 and 16.2 software.
i've had 4 different *41* boxes (a 6412, 2 3412s and a 3416) and all of them behave this way. 480i is 4:3 in a full frame only (meaning that it stretches to fill whatever video device you are outputting to). any 16:9 content output in 480i mode is 16:9 letterboxed in a 4:3 frame stretched to 16:9.

Are you on Comcast, or some other system? I'll admit I am stumped, as to why it looks like that for you. You would get some letter-boxing on a 16x9 screen, if the program in 2.35:1, but that doesn't explain the distortion. If this picture looks normal when you set your display's picture size to display 4x3, that is to say it is not squished, and has substantial letter-boxing, while viewed over component outputs from the STB, I have no explanation. That's not the way it is with my Moto 6412 and 16.2 software.
I am on Comcast. DCT-3412 with 12.31 firmware. Since your 6412 works differently (correctly), I suspect this is a Comcast issue. I will try them again, although I am not optimistic about getting a CSR who can deal with this kind of issue.

GutBomb - thanks for the input as well. Are your STBs provided by Comcast?

Whats the best way to connect a dvd recorder to this box to record HD and sd. I have the main componet outs going to my Sony Kdfe4210a.
Thanks
Luther

I just got hit by the 3416 bug "Recorded programs and scheduled recordings missing after a power outage or reboot" (see http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs), and lost a pretty full HD's worth of recordings :-(
This has happened to me twice.

The first time, the power went out for a split-second three times. The first two times, it was fine. The last one, however, caused me to lose weeks worth of recorded material that was taking up 85% of the HDD, and which I was really looking forward to watching.

We have a second DVR upstairs, same model, SW & FW, and it retained all of its recordings. The only difference was that I was watching the one downstairs that lost everything.

It happened again when I was installing a battery-backup over the weekend so that that sort of thing wouldn't happen again - it lost everything (only a few shows this time) and I had shut it down normally before unplugging.

Recently, a new bug has shown up, where the box will mute itself as I am FFWD or doing 30 second skip. It seems completely random. I have to switch my Harmony remote to the PVR device, mute, and unmute - not a big deal, just a PITA.

Reluctantly, we just got a 3rd of these boxes for my wife's office yesterday. As crappy as they are, they sure are great little machines.

-jim

Whats the best way to connect a dvd recorder to this box to record HD and sd. I have the main componet outs going to my Sony Kdfe4210a.
Thanks
Luther

My Panny DVD-R (DMR-E50K) is hooked up via S-video and analog audio from my Moto box since it has no component video in. Then I run HDMI from the Moto box to an AV receiver then to my Sony. Burned HD recordings look ok, and standard channel recordings look... well, they look like standard channel recordings. I also run straight cable (4 way splitter) to the DVD-R as well for another tuner. And then theres the ReplayTV... but I digress. Just wanted to throw it out there that I can record 4 programs simultainiously! :D

That's just one way. What's the make and model of the DVD recorder??

Whats the best way to connect a dvd recorder to this box to record HD and sd. I have the main componet outs going to my Sony Kdfe4210a.
Thanks
Luther

If you have one of the few dvd recorders with component input (DVD recorders thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=775235)), then component. If not, then what "EddlieLives" wrote just above :)

We just received the 3416 (had another model for a while). There have been a couple instances of recorded shows, which show as being fully recorded on the timeline, skipping ahead in the program and no amount of rewinding will let you play the missed material. The other box did something similar occassionaly when it was about to go dead (we went through a few of those). In this box though the skip is in the exact same spot each time, then you get a moment of digital blocks, and then it goes ahead 10, 20, 40 minutes. When you rewind it rewinds over the skipped amount. It does not, however, freeze the program totally or go to the end of the program like the other box did. So, is this another bad box or just an idiosyncrasy of this box?

We just received the 3416 (had another model for a while). There have been a couple instances of recorded shows, which show as being fully recorded on the timeline, skipping ahead in the program and no amount of rewinding will let you play the missed material. The other box did something similar occassionaly when it was about to go dead (we went through a few of those). In this box though the skip is in the exact same spot each time, then you get a moment of digital blocks, and then it goes ahead 10, 20, 40 minutes. When you rewind it rewinds over the skipped amount. It does not, however, freeze the program totally or go to the end of the program like the other box did. So, is this another bad box or just an idiosyncrasy of this box?


It sounds like the box may have lost signal during the recording. Check your connections and signal level.

I don't know if I'm in the right place or not. If not, please re-direct me.

I'm looking at buying a 50" or 58" Panasonic plasma TV, but I'll soon have a Comcast HD DVR (my current one is not HD). I wondered if I could buy only a plasma monitor and have it hooked up to the HD DVR, thus saving money. I have speakers in the ceiling for music, so I assume the monitor could be hooked up to that for sound. I also have a DVD/VHS player to hook up to it.

Simple clarification will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Karen

I don't know if I'm in the right place or not. If not, please re-direct me.

I'm looking at buying a 50" or 58" Panasonic plasma TV, but I'll soon have a Comcast HD DVR (my current one is not HD). I wondered if I could buy only a plasma monitor and have it hooked up to the HD DVR, thus saving money. I have speakers in the ceiling for music, so I assume the monitor could be hooked up to that for sound. I also have a DVD/VHS player to hook up to it.

Simple clarification will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Karen

If the absence of a tuner saves you money, you won't need the tuner so long as the plasma monitor has an available HDMI input.

As for the ceiling speakers, are they connected to some sort of receiver? If so, the HD box, just like the non-HD box, has both analog and digital audio out, separate from and simultaneously active with the output that goes to the TV/monitor.

If the absence of a tuner saves you money, you won't need the tuner so long as the plasma monitor has an available HDMI input.

As for the ceiling speakers, are they connected to some sort of receiver? If so, the HD box, just like the non-HD box, has both analog and digital audio out, separate from and simultaneously active with the output that goes to the TV/monitor.

Thanks for responding.

So, a cord would go between the HD DVR & the HDMI input?

Yes, the speakers are connected to my stereo receiver. So I'd run audio out from the DVR box to the receiver? Would I have to run BOTH analog AND digital cords over to the receiver if I'm only watching HD some of the time?

Sorry for the clarifying questions, but I'm a techno-dweeb.

Karen

Thanks for responding.

So, a cord would go between the HD DVR & the HDMI input?

Yes, the speakers are connected to my stereo receiver. So I'd run audio out from the DVR box to the receiver? Would I have to run BOTH analog AND digital cords over to the receiver if I'm only watching HD some of the time?

Sorry for the clarifying questions, but I'm a techno-dweeb.

Karen

Yes, a cord will go between both, but Comcast should provide the cord, unless you want to purchase one on your own of better quality, which is not necessary. Though you may want to tell them you plan on using HDMI input. You only need to run one audio cable(either optical or coax) to your receiver, either will work on all channels.

We just received the 3416 (had another model for a while). There have been a couple instances of recorded shows, which show as being fully recorded on the timeline, skipping ahead in the program and no amount of rewinding will let you play the missed material. The other box did something similar occassionaly when it was about to go dead (we went through a few of those). In this box though the skip is in the exact same spot each time, then you get a moment of digital blocks, and then it goes ahead 10, 20, 40 minutes. When you rewind it rewinds over the skipped amount. It does not, however, freeze the program totally or go to the end of the program like the other box did. So, is this another bad box or just an idiosyncrasy of this box?

It occasionally happened to me with both 3412 and 6412, usually on recordings in the middle of the night or early morning. I do not know if there is a solution or if the missing part of the program is actually recorded and inaccessible...

Does anyone have info on Comcast's "required weekly test"? It's happened to me about a dozen times - have a DVR recording and discover that it bounced in the middle because of this test. Or I'm recording from the DVR onto DVD, and discover later that the recording is junk because of this test. Are these scheduled tests, so we could know when they're gonna occur?

Here's the latest announcement wording: "Emergency Details: A required weekly test has been issues for all Washington at 4:40 PM on May 11, effective until 4:19 PM."

Here's the latest announcement wording: "Emergency Details: A required weekly test has been issues for all Washington at 4:40 PM on May 11, effective until 4:19 PM."

Oops, should be 4:04 PM until 4:19 PM

I just got the DCT3416 from COX. Working fine. I can't find any info on the audio setup menu. The dynamic range settings are Wide, Medium and Narrow. Am I to assume that Wide will give the widest dynamic range (the least compression) and Narrow is the most compression (Like "Midnight" mode on AV recievers)?

Thanks for any help.

I just got the DCT3416 from COX. Working fine. I can't find any info on the audio setup menu. The dynamic range settings are Wide, Medium and Narrow. Am I to assume that Wide will give the widest dynamic range (the least compression) and Narrow is the most compression (Like "Midnight" mode on AV recievers)?

Thanks for any help.

Try the Cox 6412 forum:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=414680&perpage=60&pagenumber=999

The guide s/w tends to work about the same for all the Motorola DVRs.

I just got the DCT3416 from COX. Working fine. I can't find any info on the audio setup menu. The dynamic range settings are Wide, Medium and Narrow. Am I to assume that Wide will give the widest dynamic range (the least compression) and Narrow is the most compression (Like "Midnight" mode on AV recievers)?
These settings only affect the ANALOG outputs. If you use the digital outputs (coax, optical, or HDMI), you will need to use any compression options on your TV or amp/receiver.

Quick Questions for anyone about the 34XX series of Motorola boxes for Comcast. Can their HDMI output be switched thru a surround sound reciever, I have an older 64xx box and it has to go direct to the TV.

Also does anyone have any idea about if/when the sata port would be active for increasing the storage capacity?

Thanks

I have my 3416 HDMI going into my DLP for video (only), with separate audio output going into my DD5.1 home theater system.

Quick Questions for anyone about the 34XX series of Motorola boxes for Comcast. Can their HDMI output be switched thru a surround sound reciever, I have an older 64xx box and it has to go direct to the TV.

I have an older 64xx box and I switch both audio (coax) and video (component) via my receiver.

Does anyone have info on Comcast's "required weekly test"? It's happened to me about a dozen times - have a DVR recording and discover that it bounced in the middle because of this test. Or I'm recording from the DVR onto DVD, and discover later that the recording is junk because of this test. Are these scheduled tests, so we could know when they're gonna occur?

Here's the latest announcement wording: "Emergency Details: A required weekly test has been issues for all Washington at 4:40 PM on May 11, effective until 4:19 PM."

That is an excellent question! It happened to me a few times as well! I tried to explain the issue to their CSRs, but they stop listening after you say "emergency testing".

Appreciate the feedback, but still hoping someone has tried to run the HDMI output of the 34xx box thru a AVR to allow switching of multiple HDMI sources

Any info is appreciated - Thanks

Does anyone have info on Comcast's "required weekly test"? It's happened to me about a dozen times - have a DVR recording and discover that it bounced in the middle because of this test. Or I'm recording from the DVR onto DVD, and discover later that the recording is junk because of this test. Are these scheduled tests, so we could know when they're gonna occur?

Here's the latest announcement wording: "Emergency Details: A required weekly test has been issues for all Washington at 4:40 PM on May 11, effective until 4:19 PM."
It sounds like you are referring to tests of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). There are regularly scheduled tests that broadcasters are required to replay, which they generally do as part of a commercial break shortly after receiving the test. Comcast also takes part in these tests independent of the TV stations. Of course, Comcast doesn't have anywhere to run these test messages, except over regular programming. I'm not sure there's any legal requirement for what Comcast does. But, they do it anyway, killing the audio and jamming a crawl over every channel.

Quick Questions for anyone about the 34XX series of Motorola boxes for Comcast. Can their HDMI output be switched thru a surround sound reciever, I have an older 64xx box and it has to go direct to the TV.

Also does anyone have any idea about if/when the sata port would be active for increasing the storage capacity?
HDMI switch supposedly works with the latest (16.xx series) firmware. Although there sometimes appear to be issues with certain brands. The 34xx and 64xx use the same firmware now.

No idea when if ever, external storage will be allowed. Certainly nothing official.

Well I switched out my 6412 phase III for 3416 box this weekend. Other than an increase in storage, most everything seems the same. 2 things that seems like a bit of a step backwards:

1. The few SD channels I watched seemed more compressed. Odd as they were on the digital tier on my old box too so I'd think they should look the same.

2. The remote seems sluggish at best. Spent most of last evening pointing at the cable box and waiting. Sometimes the light would light up, other times nothing. Menus seem slower and response time when it actually reponds seems worse. And part of the reason I traded it in was that the 6412 was sluggish to start with!

It's a shame because my father-in-law has Time Warner with a SA8300 box and it is so responsive and it has PIP and it has an active SATA port that adds storage. Bummer. How is Motorola getting away with so little features? price?

Peace!

It sounds like you are referring to tests of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). There are regularly scheduled tests that broadcasters are required to replay, which they generally do as part of a commercial break shortly after receiving the test. Comcast also takes part in these tests independent of the TV stations. Of course, Comcast doesn't have anywhere to run these test messages, except over regular programming. I'm not sure there's any legal requirement for what Comcast does. But, they do it anyway, killing the audio and jamming a crawl over every channel.

Not sure, but I think this is different. It's not a crawl, it's a notice plastered over the whole screen, and it completely stops the programming for several minutes, often resulting in being bounced out of record mode.

Yesterday I tried twice to record The Sopranos. Both times, playback showed only a frozen image of whatever was onscreen live when I hit play. Could FF thru the whole thing, the image never changed. Anyone else run into this sorta thing?

I have HDMI from my 3412 to my Denon AVR-2807 and then HDMI out to my Mitsubishi LT-46131 LCD. No problems thus far. I had heard the firmware version 16.35 fixed the switching problem but my 3412 uses firmware 16.20 with no problems.

Not sure, but I think this is different. It's not a crawl, it's a notice plastered over the whole screen, and it completely stops the programming for several minutes, often resulting in being bounced out of record mode.
In my area, an EAS bulletin causes a text crawl at the top of the screen instructing you to "tune to channel 3 for more information." Channel 3 (normally a local channel) is then replaced with a full-screen announcement of the tornado warning (or whatever is being sent out on the EAS). That screen stays for two or three minutes, which is very annoying when you're trying to watch something on that channel at the time.

It's my understanding the 16.xx DVR firmware is supposed to detect EAS bulletins and automatically tune to whatever channel the message is being broadcast on, stopping any recordings in the process. I haven't encountered an EAS message since being upgraded to 16.20, so I can't say if that's happening here (SW Denver suburbs). There are weekly tests, but I don't think Comcast does anything with them (either that or the tests are run in the early morning hours when I'm not watching or recording anything).

I suspect there to have been some government action behind the (annoying) EAS behavior. I doubt cable companies would do this on their own, as it's a major inconvenience to everyone (until one of those tornado warnings is actually within 10 miles of where you live and you have a chance to get to the basement and avoid getting killed potentially).

Yesterday I tried twice to record The Sopranos. Both times, playback showed only a frozen image of whatever was onscreen live when I hit play. Could FF thru the whole thing, the image never changed. Anyone else run into this sorta thing?

This has been the subject of discussion on the Seattle HD forum during the past week. It may be a problem only with the Microsoft guide DVR s/w. Post over there, and compare notes with me and many others.

In my area, an EAS bulletin causes a text crawl at the top of the screen instructing you to "tune to channel 3 for more information." Channel 3 (normally a local channel) is then replaced with a full-screen announcement of the tornado warning (or whatever is being sent out on the EAS). That screen stays for two or three minutes, which is very annoying when you're trying to watch something on that channel at the time.

It's my understanding the 16.xx DVR firmware is supposed to detect EAS bulletins and automatically tune to whatever channel the message is being broadcast on, stopping any recordings in the process. I haven't encountered an EAS message since being upgraded to 16.20, so I can't say if that's happening here (SW Denver suburbs). There are weekly tests, but I don't think Comcast does anything with them (either that or the tests are run in the early morning hours when I'm not watching or recording anything).

I suspect there to have been some government action behind the (annoying) EAS behavior. I doubt cable companies would do this on their own, as it's a major inconvenience to everyone (until one of those tornado warnings is actually within 10 miles of where you live and you have a chance to get to the basement and avoid getting killed potentially).

Yes, it varies by locality. In my area, the test are usually late night like midnight and what happens is that the box stops recording and then goes to a green screen that states something about EAS Emergency System test Montgomery County and some other information. It lasts about a minute with those awful buzzing noises. Then the box goes to channel 8 (defalt channel like when box is first turned on) briefly before going back to my schedule program and the recording starts again. So if you are recording something at that time you will loose about a minute worth of show.

Just did a power recycle (unplug, then plug it back in) in response to some tech issues. Now the DVR recordings screen shows 0% full - it appears that all the recordings (about 60 hours worth) are now gone. It's the first time this has happened to me, guess I've been lucky. Is it possible the recordings are still there? Is there some way to retrieve them?

Just did a power recycle (unplug, then plug it back in) in response to some tech issues. Now the DVR recordings screen shows 0% full - it appears that all the recordings (about 60 hours worth) are now gone. It's the first time this has happened to me, guess I've been lucky. Is it possible the recordings are still there? Is there some way to retrieve them?

And how likely is it that this 3416 is defective? Maybe I should swap it out while it's empty? I hesitate to do this, because it's been working well, and there's no guarantee that another one will be better...

And how likely is it that this 3416 is defective? Maybe I should swap it out while it's empty? I hesitate to do this, because it's been working well, and there's no guarantee that another one will be better...

This wouldn't be a bad time to do it if you want to try a swap -- but it seems >99% probability that the box isn't the problem. My 3416, along with many other boxes of various models in Seattle, is having the same problems. I'd bet on a Comcast system problem.

Just did a power recycle (unplug, then plug it back in) in response to some tech issues. Now the DVR recordings screen shows 0% full - it appears that all the recordings (about 60 hours worth) are now gone. It's the first time this has happened to me, guess I've been lucky. Is it possible the recordings are still there? Is there some way to retrieve them?
Your recordings, and probably any series recordings and other scheduled recordings, are all gone. On bootup, it probably detected some corruption and reformatted the drive. The newer firmware/software seems to be MUCH more aggressive about this than in the past.
In the past, we often said it should be rebooted often to prevent problems. Now, I would avoid rebooting unless you have to, or it does it on it's own. Keep a log of your series recordings and scheduled recordings, just in case.

In the past, we often said it should be rebooted often to prevent problems. Now, I would avoid rebooting unless you have to, or it does it on it's own. Keep a log of your series recordings and scheduled recordings, just in case.

Sure wish you woulda told me this yesterday. :)

Your recordings, and probably any series recordings and other scheduled recordings, are all gone. On bootup, it probably detected some corruption and reformatted the drive. The newer firmware/software seems to be MUCH more aggressive about this than in the past.

You'd think they could program the box to ask before reformatting, or at least provide some sorta warning. But then again, this is Comcast we're talking about...

2. The remote seems sluggish at best. Spent most of last evening pointing at the cable box and waiting. Sometimes the light would light up, other times nothing. Menus seem slower and response time when it actually reponds seems worse.When we switched from 6412 to 3412 we noted a very substantial improvement in responsiveness. We also noted an improvement when we switched from the 3412 to the 3416.

When we switched from 6412 to 3412 we noted a very substantial improvement in responsiveness. We also noted an improvement when we switched from the 3412 to the 3416.

I haven't changed a thing yet it seems much better the last 2 days. Weird....almost like it had to "break-in" or something. Either way I am happy so far.

Thanks.

I haven't changed a thing yet it seems much better the last 2 days. Weird....almost like it had to "break-in" or something. Either way I am happy so far.

Thanks.

I noticed the break-in issue as well with a couple of DVRs. I also agree with the previous poster, the move from a 641x to a 341x was an improvement (part of it was also an upgrade to ADS which may have helped and if nothing else increased recording hour for 2-99 channels).

Your recordings, and probably any series recordings and other scheduled recordings, are all gone. .... Keep a log of your series recordings and scheduled recordings, just in case.

Setting up your recordings again is merely a PITA. Losing previously recorded programming is the upsetting part in all this. These random reboots have been going on for a long time and it's about time Comcast does something about it! :mad:

Looks like you Washingtonians will be joining the rest of us soon with your programming guide, no more Micro$oft guide.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/315614_msftcomcast15.html

Looks like you Washingtonians will be joining the rest of us soon with your programming guide, no more Micro$oft guide.

The way it's been acting the last week or so, I can hardly wait to see it go.

I recently changed from DirecTV/Tivo to Comcast/3412 ... and I can't figure out how to do some things. I read through most of the thread and tried some searches, but just in case these CAN be done somehow, maybe someone can point to a FAQ or help with these issues:

1. How to record Stargate SG-1 .. without having every SG-1 episode being recorded. I suspect this is a guide/programming problem, since I had this with Tivo as well (but Tivo seems to remember old episodes that were recorded, while 3412 does not?). Maybe the only way to do this is to use a manual recording.. which gets to..

2. How to set-up a recurring channel+time recording. The "Manual" recording seems to only work for one recording at a time - is there a way to make it recurring? I must have missed something.

3. My audio (optical to receiver) is completely cut-off every time I ff/fb/mute. Instead of doing a "zero volume", it just shuts down the signal and my receiver has to handshake when it resumes, causing some clicks and a brief pause. Is there a way around this?

4. How do closed captions work in this STB ... is there a way to make CCs come up when sound is muted, or have a button to turn them on/off? The only place I find CCs in the power-off setup, which seems to be always on/always off.

5. How to mute the audio when doing guide/setup etc. I don't mind the mini-window (even though it's totally useless & takes space), but the audio blaring makes no sense and is just a distraction.. I guess there is no way to get rid of the mini tv&audio besides remembering to mute.

6. Is there a way to skip to the end of a recording? Or do 15 minute skips?

7. Any chance that there is a better channel guide than the grid? (wishful thinking) Or make it more useful, than displaying just a few channels for a few hours .. do people actually prefer the grid over a full-screen tivostyle guide? The bad thing is that the grid will most likely be the guide in the Tivo fw upgrade as well... leading me to..

8. I know Comcast is hoping to release a Tivo interface downloadable upgrade real-soon-now .. is there any inside information when this will start, or how to sign a petition/betatest/hurry-up feedback for comcast? :-)

Thanks for reading ... 1-4 are real issues, while the rest is just me griping.

I recently changed from DirecTV/Tivo to Comcast/3412 ... and I can't figure out how to do some things. I read through most of the thread and tried some searches, but just in case these CAN be done somehow, maybe someone can point to a FAQ or help with these issues:
...


The Wikibook is a good reference:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR

The answers to some questions depend on which guide software you have. Unless you're in Washington State (and even here very soon), you probably have iGuide. There is an iGuide 6412 HD forum here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=464986&perpage=60&pagenumber=999#post10555183

1. How to record Stargate SG-1 .. without having every SG-1 episode being recorded. I suspect this is a guide/programming problem, since I had this with Tivo as well (but Tivo seems to remember old episodes that were recorded, while 3412 does not?). Maybe the only way to do this is to use a manual recording.. which gets to..
The 3412 w/ i-Guide will not record the same episode twice while it is still on the DVR. Once the recording is deleted, yes, you will get dups without a manual recording.

2. How to set-up a recurring channel+time recording. The "Manual" recording seems to only work for one recording at a time - is there a way to make it recurring? I must have missed something.
I don't have the STB in front of me right now, but I'm thinking you missed something. I will update this after I take a look, or get the info from the other forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=464986&page=1&pp=60) mentioned above. The 64xx and 34xx boxes are essentially the same from a user's perspective.

3. My audio (optical to receiver) is completely cut-off every time I ff/fb/mute. Instead of doing a "zero volume", it just shuts down the signal and my receiver has to handshake when it resumes, causing some clicks and a brief pause. Is there a way around this?
No, that's the way it works. Be glad that they fixed it to shut off the output completely when muted in the 16.35 F/W. If you have an earlier F/W version, then the box will continually handshake while muted.

4. How do closed captions work in this STB ... is there a way to make CCs come up when sound is muted, or have a button to turn them on/off? The only place I find CCs in the power-off setup, which seems to be always on/always off.
The user settings menu you already found is the only place to change CC settings. This is a common complaint and shining example of poor human-centered design.

5. How to mute the audio when doing guide/setup etc. I don't mind the mini-window (even though it's totally useless & takes space), but the audio blaring makes no sense and is just a distraction.. I guess there is no way to get rid of the mini tv&audio besides remembering to mute.
Remember to mute. I don't think this would be a common feature request.

6. Is there a way to skip to the end of a recording? Or do 15 minute skips?
No, but you can set a macro (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Add_a_Macro_Button) to a remote button to execute the 30-sec skip (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Add_30-Second_Skip) up to 15 times.

7. Any chance that there is a better channel guide than the grid? (wishful thinking) Or make it more useful, than displaying just a few channels for a few hours .. do people actually prefer the grid over a full-screen tivostyle guide? The bad thing is that the grid will most likely be the guide in the Tivo fw upgrade as well... leading me to..
You can view TV listings by time or by channel, but I believe that's it. The TiVo upgrade will not be a F/W update, it will be an IPG update, so I would not expect to see any remnants of the i-Guide in the TiVo interface. That would be... stupid. So I guess that does make it a possibility....

8. I know Comcast is hoping to release a Tivo interface downloadable upgrade real-soon-now .. is there any inside information when this will start, or how to sign a petition/betatest/hurry-up feedback for comcast? :-)
Depending on your market, it could be fairly soon, or a long, long time. There is another thread for that topic (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=682350).

I recorded Criminal Minds on the 3416 last night. I tried to watch the recorded version (in progress) and all audio from the center channel was missing. Background music from LR speakers would play, but all vocals were lost.

Anyone else experience this?

I am a relative new user of the 3416. I gave the MOXI 9012 back to TW. There doesn't seem to be a RETURN key on the remote that allows users to step one step backward in menus choices. I get into the UI menus and I can only go back by pressing EXIT which takes you all the way out of the MENU. Then you have to go back in with multiple keystroke picks to get back to where you wanted to be.

Am I missing something on the remote?

...
Am I missing something on the remote?

Try the "Last" button -- just under "Menu" and on the opposite side from "Exit".

Thanks for the help. Any ideas on the audio dropout?

Thanks for the help. Any ideas on the audio dropout?

You may find something under bugs in the Wiki book:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs

I recorded Criminal Minds on the 3416 last night. I tried to watch the recorded version (in progress) and all audio from the center channel was missing. Background music from LR speakers would play, but all vocals were lost.

Anyone else experience this?

I am a relative new user of the 3416. I gave the MOXI 9012 back to TW. There doesn't seem to be a RETURN key on the remote that allows users to step one step backward in menus choices. I get into the UI menus and I can only go back by pressing EXIT which takes you all the way out of the MENU. Then you have to go back in with multiple keystroke picks to get back to where you wanted to be.

Am I missing something on the remote?

I just watched Criminal Minds and seemed ok.

Anybody know what settings on the 3416 will give me the smallest, least obtrusive closed captioning?

thanks

You may find something under bugs in the Wiki book:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs
I will check the F/W version and maybe do the Download. Does this wipe out all recorded shows at the same time it loads new software?

Is there any way to get the STB to stop displaying the annoying banner "Your Recording Has Completed"? It sits right in the middle of the screen and stays on for 5 seconds. And for What?

I will check the F/W version and maybe do the Download. Does this wipe out all recorded shows at the same time it loads new software?

Is there any way to get the STB to stop displaying the annoying banner "Your Recording Has Completed"? It sits right in the middle of the screen and stays on for 5 seconds. And for What?

Be careful with the resets, since you may lose recordings depending on what method you use.

I don't (currently) have the same guide s/w as you, so I can't answer about banners.

I will check the F/W version and maybe do the Download. Does this wipe out all recorded shows at the same time it loads new software?
Read the warnings, but you should be ok with the DVR Authorization and Factory Full Reset (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Resets#DVR_Authorization_and_Factory_Full_Reset). No guarantees, but I've never lost any recordings. I have lost my user settings (color settings, series and scheduled recordings, etc.), though.

Is there any way to get the STB to stop displaying the annoying banner "Your Recording Has Completed"? It sits right in the middle of the screen and stays on for 5 seconds. And for What?
Nope, just poor design. You can hit the Exit button to close the message box.

Be careful with the resets, since you may lose recordings depending on what method you use.

As I recently discovered, you can now lose recordings with any reset, including just pulling the plug.

As I recently discovered, you can now lose recordings with any reset, including just pulling the plug.

I haven't lost any recordings with reboots/resets with either one of the Motorolas (6412/3412) as of 2-3 weeks ago. I don't remember what firmware version it was running...

I could use some guidance and moral support, if you don't mind. My Moxi went dead after a power outage that we had out here in
Channel Islands Harbor- Oxnard on Monday night.
So anyway, TWC came out today and switched out the MOXI box with a 3416 I Motorola DVR

I pay for all the channels and everyone one of them but the HD ones look awful. They are grainy or mirror like with graininess , or have artifacts. Some channels look glassy and grainy at the same time. Also the people on all my channels (HD excluded) were short wide and squatty.

My TV is the Mitsubishi WS=65313. (65in wide screen) It looks like I fixed the squatty wide people because I pulled out the cords on the back of my TV that were in the composite holes and put the cord in the DVI holes. That helped.

But what is up with the picture on all standard channels? Is anyone else having this problem? And can you help me or direct me to some help? I am sick about this. Why am I paying for all these channels if they are going to look like this? The DVR was just switched out today and I am already disillusioned. This can not be normal. I can not believe that everyone has been watching their tv's like this and putting up with it. If I had the cash I would buy the HD TiVo, in a sec. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do? I would so appreciate any help or feedback you may have.

Thanks in advance

You should check the display settings for the box according to the Wiki:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Setting_video_display_options

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback. I did that tho and made my adjustments, and still no change.

For anyone who own their DVR, have you tried ghosting the harddrive to a bigger drive to accommodate more hours of recording? Thanks.

For anyone who own their DVR, have you tried ghosting the harddrive to a bigger drive to accommodate more hours of recording? Thanks.
Some have replaced the drive. You don't have to ghost it if you don't want to save anything. It will automatically format it as needed.

The drawback is that the current firmware only supports up to 160G. You can put in a bigger drive, but it will only 'see' 160G.

I could use some guidance and moral support, if you don't mind. My Moxi went dead after a power outage that we had out here in
Channel Islands Harbor- Oxnard on Monday night.
So anyway, TWC came out today and switched out the MOXI box with a 3416 I Motorola DVR

I pay for all the channels and everyone one of them but the HD ones look awful. They are grainy or mirror like with graininess , or have artifacts. Some channels look glassy and grainy at the same time. Also the people on all my channels (HD excluded) were short wide and squatty.

My TV is the Mitsubishi WS=65313. (65in wide screen) It looks like I fixed the squatty wide people because I pulled out the cords on the back of my TV that were in the composite holes and put the cord in the DVI holes. That helped.

But what is up with the picture on all standard channels? Is anyone else having this problem? And can you help me or direct me to some help? I am sick about this. Why am I paying for all these channels if they are going to look like this? The DVR was just switched out today and I am already disillusioned. This can not be normal. I can not believe that everyone has been watching their tv's like this and putting up with it. If I had the cash I would buy the HD TiVo, in a sec. Anyone have any ideas on what I can do? I would so appreciate any help or feedback you may have.

Thanks in advance
First, you mentioned changing the video connections... make sure you only have ONE video connection from the 3412 to the TV.

Then, about the 3412 display options (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Setting_video_display_options), I'm not sure how you have them set, but you can try a couple different combinations.

Try 720p with 4:3 Override OFF. Look at your HD channels, the i-Guide Menus, and SD channels. If you don't like the results, try 720p with 4:3 Override at 480p. That will use your TV's scaling features to bring the picture up to your screen size, whereas the 3412's scaling features were used with 4:3 Override set to OFF. Check the results, and if you still don't like it, try 720p with 4:3 Override set to 480i. Next, try 1080i with 4:3 Override OFF. Check the results, and cycle through the 4:3 Override options if you don't like it.

In the end, pick the results that look best. I'm not sure about the Moxi, but the 3412 only has a digital tuner, so all of your SD channels are digital. Perhaps with the Moxi you were still getting the SD channels in analog, which looked better with your TV. Especially with a very large display, like you have, the low bitrate used for the SD channels can really show up. This may get better over time, as the bandwidth used for analog channels is recycled for digital channels, but unfortunately the future is all in digital channels.

If you do a lot of watching in channels 02-99, and really can't stand the look of the SD channels, then you can split your incoming cable line and run a cable directly to the TV, which you can use to view your basic (analog) cable channels.

Two notes:

1) The Mitsubishi WS-65313 is a CRT RPTV. I'm not trying to knock your stuff, but CRT RPTVs produce the lowest quality images out of any of the large screen displays. If you are ever thinking of an upgrade, you can go up in picture quality by choosing a microdisplay-based TV (an LCD RPTV, DLP RPTV, LCOS RPTV). Unfortunately with those, SD channels still won't look as good as with a flat panel display, an LCD or plasma TV. Generally, the larger the TV you get, using any display technology, the worse the picture will look, especially on SD channels.

2) An HD TiVo will not help you. If you are thinking of an S3, then that uses two CableCARDs to tune the cable channels. They will use the same digital SD channels, and will look largely the same as the 3412. If you are talking about getting a DirectTV HD TiVo box, then all channels are digital, and you will likely see worse quality in your HD channels, and, in my experience, comparable quality in the SD channels.

Thanks so much for the feedback! Things are looking a little better cause I set the 4:30override on off . As far as my tv goes, the HD channels are incredible but like you said the SD channels are not what I had hoped for and not what an LCD or Plasma can offer. I will upgrade in another few years. ;) :)

Yesterday I tried twice to record The Sopranos. Both times, playback showed only a frozen image of whatever was onscreen live when I hit play. Could FF thru the whole thing, the image never changed. Anyone else run into this sorta thing?

This morning my problems with the 3416 dual tuners have been miraculously cured.

This is my first time posting here, but ive read through about 10 random pages of this thread (no search option on this board?) and the wikibooks article (both very helpful), and i've gotten both my DVR and remote almost the way i want it, with one small exception...

I use the TV/VCR button to change video modes between my DVR, xbox, and computer on my TV, but if the Cable button is selected, it'll do nothing. I was wondering if there was a way to lock the TV/VCR button to only work for the TV (like volume is) even while the Cable mode is active on the remote. I do alot of switching back and forth, and using this one button is the only time i have to switch from "Cable" to "TV" mode (other than turning it off of course).

If it matters, im have Insight Communications in Ohio for my cable provider, but considering its a remote "problem", it probably doesn't

Im sorry if this information was already posted somewhere, but i thank you guys in advance

-ipher

That might be a hard question to search for, but the "Search" button is in the blue bar at the top, 4th from the right.

I use the TV/VCR button to change video modes between my DVR, xbox, and computer on my TV, but if the Cable button is selected, it'll do nothing. I was wondering if there was a way to lock the TV/VCR button to only work for the TV (like volume is) even while the Cable mode is active on the remote. I do alot of switching back and forth, and using this one button is the only time i have to switch from "Cable" to "TV" mode (other than turning it off of course).
-ipher

As far as I know there's no way to lock that one button the way you're talking about with the standard remote programming (good idea though). You could definitely do it with JP1.2 programming of the remote but I kind of doubt you'd want to go through that hassle and expense for that one button. If you are interested in that route though here's the site to check out: http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/

i figured it would be something insane like that if at all possible... What does the TV/VCR button even supposed to do for the boxes anyways? (it does nothing that i can see on mine).

Anyways, thanks for the speedy responses.

Thanks for the detailed answers! I'm trying to learn to live with this STB ... but I still can't figure out this one:


2. How to set-up a recurring channel+time recording. The "Manual" recording seems to only work for one recording at a time - is there a way to make it recurring? I must have missed something.


Can someone confirm this is possible? I seem to remember I was able to do this when I first got the STB and was testing things, but now I can't find this anywhere in the menus.

edit ... figured it out:

1. FIRST remove a conflicting series recording
2. create manual recording for the program
3. Go in additional options, and you can change the "once" to weekly

The first step is not very intuitive... d'oh.

//Jay

I just received the 3412 unit today from Comcast. This is my first time with DVR. I know the basics. My questions are

1) I recorded Dancing with the Stars on ABC for a total of 61 minutes. It says my unit is 2% full. This is the only program on the unit. Does this seem right to you? I am unsure of the capacity of the unit. It does say on the progam info that it is HD program. But I don't subscribe to any HD service from Comcast nor is my Sharp LCD tv high definition.

2) I have a sharp LCD tv. Please help me figure out why I can't record to my VCR when the shows are on. The blue, green, orange, red, white component cable they provided is hooked to input 1 of my tv from the DVR. To input 2 of the tv, I have the red, white, yellow cable hooked to the red, white, yellow output of the VCR. I can get the VCR to play if I have the tv on input 2 mode and on input 1 mode, is the regular comcast guide. But do I have to switch modes to play the VCR? More specifically, why can't I record to my VCR when a show is on... what if I want to transfer shows from DVR to my VCR tapes.. I can't figure out how to do this.

If anyone can help, I would appreciate it.

1. Yes, that sounds right.

2. Your cables should connect cable box->VCR->TV

RT55 --
Here's a good reference for the DVR: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR

The DVR records the signal just as it receives it, so it will record as HD regardless of what TV you have. You may want to record the SD channels rather than HD, assuming the picture suits you. Was that channel 4, which is SD, or 104, which is HD? 2% would be a bit high for SD, and low for HD, but it's hard to be accurate with only one recording. I thought you would get the HD channels with the DVR, since you're paying the same price whether you have an HDTV or not.

You should be able to record to the VCR from the DVR. Setting it up is easier done than said! There are connection options here:
http://www.comcast.com/diagrams/

This is my first time posting here, but ive read through about 10 random pages of this thread (no search option on this board?) and the wikibooks article (both very helpful), and i've gotten both my DVR and remote almost the way i want it, with one small exception...

I use the TV/VCR button to change video modes between my DVR, xbox, and computer on my TV, but if the Cable button is selected, it'll do nothing. I was wondering if there was a way to lock the TV/VCR button to only work for the TV (like volume is) even while the Cable mode is active on the remote. I do alot of switching back and forth, and using this one button is the only time i have to switch from "Cable" to "TV" mode (other than turning it off of course).


-ipher

You can't lock the button, but you can remap the key from the TV device mode to the Cable device mode. It was in the wikibook: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Remap_a_Key

You can't lock the button, but you can remap the key from the TV device mode to the Cable device mode. It was in the wikibook: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote#Remap_a_Key
I was thinking that would work.

ipher - just use the TV button as the source device in step 4, and the Cable button as the destination device in step 6. Skip step 7.

It's worth a try.

Despite someone's claim that the 'DVR menu erroneously states the DVR hard drive is 100% full (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#The_DVR_menu_erroneously_states_the_DVR_hard_drive_is_1 00.25_full)' bug was fixed in F/W 16.35 (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_16.35), I got the error again, just with a different error message.

YOUR RECORDING SPACE IS FULL

You must delete one or more recordings to continue to use your DVR. Current recordings have stopped and you may not be able to Pause or REW live TV. To prevent this in the future, set your recording settings with 'Save until space is needed.'

This is bullshit, if I don't say so myself. I have several recordings set to delete when 'space is needed'. When I deleted 1 hr of HD content, it cleared up 33% of available space. This bug is definitely not fixed. Someone's not counting bytes correctly.

No I don't have the 104 high definition channels on Comcast. They are just a black screen. So it was channel 4 ABC. SO I wasn't sure if that 2% is right. Am I better off switching to the motorol 6400 DVR .. that seems like it has a bigger hard drive?

I am still getting the 100% full too with one of my 3416s. It did get better after the 16.35 upgrade.

Despite someone's claim that the 'DVR menu erroneously states the DVR hard drive is 100% full (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#The_DVR_menu_erroneously_states_the_DVR_hard_drive_is_1 00.25_full)' bug was fixed in F/W 16.35 (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_16.35), I got the error again, just with a different error message. ...This is bullshit, if I don't say so myself.


:mad: I agree 100%.

I had this bug when it first appeared, I reset the box, reloaded that firmware and the problem went away until the other night. In the middle of watching a program the message popped up. I had 3 saved recordings, but it showed 100%. I had to delete one of them, then suddenly it went to 3%.

BS..

I'm SO tempted to go buy a Tivo Series 3 at lunch today....if it weren't for the cable card fiasco with Comcast I'd have done this months ago. I'm beginning to wonder if a couple hours of pain with the "installer" to get cable cards working isn't worth the tradeoff of not having to put up with this POS box anymore.

I agree. I keep a couple of old recordings to be able to delete when my 3416 does the 100% full stuff. I wish I had the MOXI back. It never had all the headaches of the 3416.

No I don't have the 104 high definition channels on Comcast. They are just a black screen. So it was channel 4 ABC. SO I wasn't sure if that 2% is right. Am I better off switching to the motorol 6400 DVR .. that seems like it has a bigger hard drive?

The 3412 and 6412 each has a 120GB drive. The only apparent difference is that the 6412 has an analog tuner, and the 3412 doesn't (since we have ADS). You might be able to get a 3416 (which I have) with a 160GB drive. They probably have switched over completely from the 64xx boxes here.

No I don't have the 104 high definition channels on Comcast. They are just a black screen. So it was channel 4 ABC. SO I wasn't sure if that 2% is right. Am I better off switching to the motorol 6400 DVR .. that seems like it has a bigger hard drive?
The 3412 and 6412 have 120 GB HDDs. The 3416 and 6416 have 160 GB HDDs. So no, the 64xx boxes don't have larger HDDs, except if you have the 3412 and you might be able to get a 6416. In all likelihood, you would just get a 3416.

2 % is about right for a 1-hr SD program on a 120 GB HDD. The user space for recordings, after formatting, I think is like 97000 MBytes.

3600 secs * 4 Mbits/sec = 14400 Mbits * 1 bit / 8 Bytes = 1800 MBytes

1800 MBytes / 97000 MBytes = 1.86 % or ~ 2 %.

Voila. Math.

Sorry for the confusion. They gave me a 3416 box indeed. But I did the self installation myself. I was not given a guide or anything and just hooked the wires up. Am I supposed to change the settings on the DVR? I have a Sharp LCD 20 inch tv and it's set at Comcast default settings which is 1081 dpi (or whatever that number is). I think it also said 16:9. Am I supposed to change these options for my tv. My tv is not high definition but rather enhanced definition apparently.

Also if I have it set at 480 p, will this use up less space on the hard drive than the 1081 setting?

Sorry for the confusion. They gave me a 3416 box indeed. But I did the self installation myself. I was not given a guide or anything and just hooked the wires up. Am I supposed to change the settings on the DVR? I have a Sharp LCD 20 inch tv and it's set at Comcast default settings which is 1081 dpi (or whatever that number is). I think it also said 16:9. Am I supposed to change these options for my tv. My tv is not high definition but rather enhanced definition apparently.

Also if I have it set at 480 p, will this use up less space on the hard drive than the 1081 setting?
You should set the display options to your preferences. There are some tips and instructions in the wikibook (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Setting_video_display_options). I recommend reading through the whole book.

The settings are just for the output display, however, so they will not affect the hard drive consumption.

I just received the 3412 unit today from Comcast. This is my first time with DVR. I know the basics. My questions are

1) I recorded Dancing with the Stars on ABC for a total of 61 minutes. It says my unit is 2% full. This is the only program on the unit. Does this seem right to you?

yes. the first recording on an otherwise empty 34XX or 64XX seems to occupy about 2% of buffer space no matter how long it is (perhaps the buffer that's caused by both tuners constantly recording is only reflected on the % full DVR screen when there is a recording). try a one minute SD recording first, and it should still say 2-3% full. then delete it, and it's back to zero. once you have completed one recording, each successive recording should be fairly accurately reflected in the capacity, but there are some strange patterns caused by the buffering -- if you have both tuners set to an HD channel, but one then starts recording an SD program, the % on the DVR can actually decrease. another thing is that different channels have different bitrates, and even different shows on the same channel can have different bitrates, so you cannot always predict accurately how much space can be used, though with time you become better. just another quirk of the box.

Despite someone's claim that the 'DVR menu erroneously states the DVR hard drive is 100% full (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#The_DVR_menu_erroneously_states_the_DVR_hard_drive_is_1 00.25_full)' bug was fixed in F/W 16.35 (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_16.35), I got the error again, just with a different error message.
This bug is not exclusive to Motorola DVRs. The bug was also posted in the thread for the PACE Tahoe box. A tech for the PACE box said the bug was a TV Guide problem and not a problem with their DVR.

I don't know for sure, but I think the bug was eventually fixed on the PACE boxes (they have a newer version of I-Guide, version 74.62 I believe).

2) I have a sharp LCD tv. Please help me figure out why I can't record to my VCR when the shows are on. The blue, green, orange, red, white component cable they provided is hooked to input 1 of my tv from the DVR. To input 2 of the tv, I have the red, white, yellow cable hooked to the red, white, yellow output of the VCR. I can get the VCR to play if I have the tv on input 2 mode and on input 1 mode, is the regular comcast guide. But do I have to switch modes to play the VCR? More specifically, why can't I record to my VCR when a show is on... what if I want to transfer shows from DVR to my VCR tapes.. I can't figure out how to do this.

If anyone can help, I would appreciate it.

Not sure if you got this working yet or not but basically you're just missing a cable from the DVR to the VCR. My two suggestions would be either a coax jumper going from the output of the DVR to input of the VCR (the easy way & make sure the VCR is tuned to channel 3 for this one) or you need two 'Y' adapters for the audio from the DVR splitting the red & white audio output-one half continuing to the tv the way it is and the other half going to the VCR input, VCR would be tuned to Video1 or aux or whatever for this (along with the yellow, video out from the DVR to the VCR)(the harder but more preferred way in your situation).

For VCR recording of live shows on analog channels (as opposed to dumping DVR'd shows to VCR later, and as opposed to shows on digital channels), just bypass your DVR entirely and split the cable from the wall before it gets to the DVR. One leg to the DVR, the other leg to the VCR. Use the VCR's internal tuner and program it like you always did.

To dump DVR shows to VCR after they've been recorded, use composite cables (yellow, red, white) between the cable box output and the VCR input. The TV isn't involved at all. A composite cable between the VCR output and the TV input lets you watch what's on the VCR (i.e., its tuner or a tape).

As for setting the box to 480p versus 720p or 1080i, that's a display setting. The recordings are done in the native resolution broadcast, either 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i, depending on the channel and having nothing at all to do with any setting on the box. So no, setting the box to 480p won't save you any disc space at all. If you want to save disc space, record from the SD channel instead of the HD channel. Though, I have no idea why you'd ever want to do that. HD is too pretty.

yes. the first recording on an otherwise empty 34XX or 64XX seems to occupy about 2% of buffer space no matter how long it is (perhaps the buffer that's caused by both tuners constantly recording is only reflected on the % full DVR screen when there is a recording).
Actually, the newer 74.53 software ignores the buffer space in it's allocation (maybe this is the root of the 100% bug?)
2% for a 1 hour SD program is about right for an ADS channel (which typically have 75-90 minutes of buffer time). It may actually be something like 1.7%, but rounded up.

Good evening,
I was wondering if someone could help me out with some advice...I have a 6412 box and have been noticing more and more that the HD channels are breaking up in sound and video..it gets pixilated and stutters. The SD channels don't do this..its been especially bad watching HBO on Sunday nights and have to switch over to channel 301 to watch the Sopranos..this past Sunday was bad..week before was fine..a couple of weeks ago the same thing happened. Are others having this problem or is this on my end? Am noticing on my second unit..a 3416 on a sd set I get the same sort of problems on channel 49 while recording on espn. Might this be something outside on the line or...?

Thanks in advance

Tom

1) The Mitsubishi WS-65313 is a CRT RPTV. I'm not trying to knock your stuff, but CRT RPTVs produce the lowest quality images out of any of the large screen displays. If you are ever thinking of an upgrade, you can go up in picture quality by choosing a microdisplay-based TV (an LCD RPTV, DLP RPTV, LCOS RPTV).


You have absolutely no idea of what your are talking about. CRT can be among the best out there. Their black levels are second to none.

watrat

from my experience you have a deteriorating input signal. if no changes have been made inside your house then it's something with the cable outside.

could be just your drop to your house or the neighborhood. do your neighbors who share your pedestal have similar degradation?

jtm

You can't lock the button, but you can remap the key from the TV device mode to the Cable device mode. It was in the wikibook:

Thank you, i knew you could remap the keys (i did the 30-second skip thing), but it didn't connect that i could remap a key from one device mode to another. Thanks alot!

You have absolutely no idea of what your are talking about. CRT can be among the best out there.

It is a given that we are all entitled to our opinions, and we should all buy what looks best to us. That said, I have never heard, or read, of anyone saying CRT RP HDTVs were better, or even as good as, DLP or LCOS. My 2 year old Samsung 56"DLP has a far better picture than a Pioneer Elite CRT RP that I looked at before I bought the one I have. As far as I am concerned, ExDeus does know what he is talking about.

Hey Jim,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I am not really sure of my neighbors picture quality as to say we aren't close is an understatement :) I have noticed that in the almost 2 months since switching to Comcast from directtv that the picture quality has slowly been degrading. I am just hesitant to call comcast and just have them tell me its my problem and I need to rewire the runs inside my house on my own.

Tom

watrat

from my experience you have a deteriorating input signal. if no changes have been made inside your house then it's something with the cable outside.

could be just your drop to your house or the neighborhood. do your neighbors who share your pedestal have similar degradation?

jtm

Hey Jim,
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I am not really sure of my neighbors picture quality as to say we aren't close is an understatement :) I have noticed that in the almost 2 months since switching to Comcast from directtv that the picture quality has slowly been degrading. I am just hesitant to call comcast and just have them tell me its my problem and I need to rewire the runs inside my house on my own.

TomRe-check all your lines and splitters to be certain they are tight. The cableco box should as close as possible to a line from the pole, i.e. minimal splits from source to box. In my case I have just a single 2-way. I've since modded my original install and have added a drop-amp for a BR TV through RG6 that supports a non-DVR digital set-top box. It can access all my premiums and OnDemand.

I had a problem a few years back. Some days, HD and OnDemand worked as advertised on the LR set. Other days, "please wait ..." and nothing would appear. (Missed a concert one day for that one) Comcast evenutally found the problem at the pole. Squirrels had been chewing on the lines.

Bottom line, your problem could arise from a number of things. In the times I've needed help from Comcast, it was satisfactory ... except for waiting for them to show or dealing with voice-mail hell.

YMMV

No I don't have the 104 high definition channels on Comcast. They are just a black screen. So it was channel 4 ABC. SO I wasn't sure if that 2% is right. Am I better off switching to the motorol 6400 DVR .. that seems like it has a bigger hard drive?

When the hard disk is almost empty the reporting of available space is not as accurate as it is after it fills up a bit (eg 30%+). However, what you saw is right. On the 3412 (120gb), ADS programs are usually 1.5%-2% per hour, with some live sporting events such as ESPN at 2%+. A number of digital channels are about 1% (eg BBC America), some are even 0.75% per hour (ESPN News), some are 1.5%-2%. Other digital channels (such as NBATV and CSTV in the Sports Tier) are 2.5%-3% per hour... The HD channels are much higher, could be 5%-9% per hour depending on content and whether it is a live or "pre-chewed" broadcast...

To compare the percentages from the 3416 (160gb) to the 3412 multiply by 1.33 or to go from the 3412 numbers to the 3416 numbers multiply by .75. For one hour programs will may get similar numbers (+/-1%) since they are reported in round numbers, not fractions.

You can get more accurate numbers if you record a long (multi-hour) program from the same channel and do the math...

Another issue when it comes to disk space recording is how it calculates the buffer space. The Motorolas I had included the buffer space in the used space % but released it when the buffer was recording (eg number went down by 2-3% per buffer, and went up by 2-3% when a recording ended)...

I hope this makes some sense :-)

When the hard disk is almost empty the reporting of available space is not as accurate as it is after it fills up a bit (eg 30%+). However, what you saw is right. On the 3412 (120gb), ADS programs are usually 1.5%-2% per hour, with some live sporting events such as ESPN at 2%+. A number of digital channels are about 1% (eg BBC America), some are even 0.75% per hour (ESPN News), some are 1.5%-2%. Other digital channels (such as NBATV and CSTV in the Sports Tier) are 2.5%-3% per hour... The HD channels are much higher, could be 5%-9% per hour depending on content and whether it is a live or "pre-chewed" broadcast...

To compare the percentages from the 3416 (160gb) to the 3412 multiply by 1.33 or to go from the 3412 numbers to the 3416 numbers multiply by .75. For one hour programs will may get similar numbers (+/-1%) since they are reported in round numbers, not fractions.

You can get more accurate numbers if you record a long (multi-hour) program from the same channel and do the math...

Another issue when it comes to disk space recording is how it calculates the buffer space. The Motorolas I had included the buffer space in the used space % but released it when the buffer was recording (eg number went down by 2-3% per buffer, and went up by 2-3% when a recording ended)...

I hope this makes some sense :-)

This doesn't make sense. LOL. But I will reread it carefully to get an understanding. It would be nice if Comcast had a 250 gb box.

Hmm

Not sure if you got this working yet or not but basically you're just missing a cable from the DVR to the VCR. My two suggestions would be either a coax jumper going from the output of the DVR to input of the VCR (the easy way & make sure the VCR is tuned to channel 3 for this one) or you need two 'Y' adapters for the audio from the DVR splitting the red & white audio output-one half continuing to the tv the way it is and the other half going to the VCR input, VCR would be tuned to Video1 or aux or whatever for this (along with the yellow, video out from the DVR to the VCR)(the harder but more preferred way in your situation).

Thank you for your response. I tried option 2 that you mentioned and this is not working for me. But I probably hooked it up wrong. I found this self installation guide for Comcast DVR. It is a different model of DVR though. I am now looking at the diagram for set up 5 - DVR, HDTV (even though technically my tv is not HD), and VCR. Should I follow this diagram? I want the VCR to record off the same input 1 as the DVR. Or if I follow this diagram, will I still encounter the same problem - I will have to always push input 2 to work the VCR.

http://www.comcast.com/MediaLibrary/1/2/CM/VanityURL/documents/2367-MotorDVRSelfMoto.pdf

1) The Mitsubishi WS-65313 is a CRT RPTV. I'm not trying to knock your stuff, but CRT RPTVs produce the lowest quality images out of any of the large screen displays. If you are ever thinking of an upgrade, you can go up in picture quality by choosing a microdisplay-based TV (an LCD RPTV, DLP RPTV, LCOS RPTV).
You have absolutely no idea of what your are talking about. CRT can be among the best out there. Their black levels are second to none.
I might agree were we talking about CRT TVs, but we're not. We're talking about CRT RPTVs. That would be Rear Projection TVs. While, in theory, a CRT RPTV can achieve better black levels than a microdisplay, that's about their only advantage, and it's only theoretical. In practice, CRT RPTVs don't often reach the black levels of microdisplays.

Way to tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about, while you have no idea what I'm talking about.

:mad: I agree 100%.

I had this bug when it first appeared, I reset the box, reloaded that firmware and the problem went away until the other night. In the middle of watching a program the message popped up. I had 3 saved recordings, but it showed 100%. I had to delete one of them, then suddenly it went to 3%.

BS..

I'm SO tempted to go buy a Tivo Series 3 at lunch today....if it weren't for the cable card fiasco with Comcast I'd have done this months ago. I'm beginning to wonder if a couple hours of pain with the "installer" to get cable cards working isn't worth the tradeoff of not having to put up with this POS box anymore.

Might be worth it w/ the below discount and buying on amazon it would cost about $400 for the unit:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/05/19/200-series3-rebate-for-fathers-day/

Thank you for your response. I tried option 2 that you mentioned and this is not working for me. But I probably hooked it up wrong. I found this self installation guide for Comcast DVR. It is a different model of DVR though. I am now looking at the diagram for set up 5 - DVR, HDTV (even though technically my tv is not HD), and VCR. Should I follow this diagram? I want the VCR to record off the same input 1 as the DVR. Or if I follow this diagram, will I still encounter the same problem - I will have to always push input 2 to work the VCR.

http://www.comcast.com/MediaLibrary/1/2/CM/VanityURL/documents/2367-MotorDVRSelfMoto.pdf

The VCR doesn't record from the TV. It either records direct from the coax via the wall, or from the DVR itself. Those are the sources of content, not the TV.

Since the DVR only has one set of analog audio outputs, you need two splitters to split each output (left and right) into two outputs. Once your DVR has two sets of analog outputs, send:

1) Component video from DVR out to TV in.
2) One set of audio out from splitter to the red and white next to the input used in step 1.
3) Composite video from DVR out to VCR in (use S-Video instead if the VCR has an S-Video in).
4) Second set of audio out from splitter to VCR in
5) Composite video from the VCR to the TV (use S-Video if VCR has S-Video out)
6) Red and White audio from VCR out to Red and White on TV next to the input used in step 5.

Cables you need:
1 Component cable (red, green, blue)
2 RCA audio splitters (one for white, one for red)
3 RCA audio cables (red, white)
2 composite video cables OR 2 S-Video cables (depending on in/out on VCR).

Set the TV to the component input to watch the DVR. Set the TV to the composite or S-Video input to watch the VCR.

Thank you for your response. I tried option 2 that you mentioned and this is not working for me. But I probably hooked it up wrong. I found this self installation guide for Comcast DVR. It is a different model of DVR though. I am now looking at the diagram for set up 5 - DVR, HDTV (even though technically my tv is not HD), and VCR. Should I follow this diagram? I want the VCR to record off the same input 1 as the DVR. Or if I follow this diagram, will I still encounter the same problem - I will have to always push input 2 to work the VCR.

http://www.comcast.com/MediaLibrary/1/2/CM/VanityURL/documents/2367-MotorDVRSelfMoto.pdf

Option 5 in that manual is on the right track of what you want but they forgot to put some of the wires in the diagram & left some wires off the shopping list of needed items. Go with the solution "aindik" did. And yes unfortunately you will have to switch inputs on the tv unless you want to just watch everything via the composite connection (red, white, yellow).

Is it normal for the 3416 to be warm even it is turned off?

Is it normal for the 3416 to be warm even it is turned off?

Unless it's unplugged it's never really "off" -- so yes. It's recommended that you not turn it off; instead, just turn off the TV and leave the 3416 on.

I might agree were we talking about CRT TVs, but we're not. We're talking about CRT RPTVs. That would be Rear Projection TVs. While, in theory, a CRT RPTV can achieve better black levels than a microdisplay, that's about their only advantage, and it's only theoretical. In practice, CRT RPTVs don't often reach the black levels of microdisplays.

Way to tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about, while you have no idea what I'm talking about.


WOW.

Dude if you think that a CRT TV can rival ANY RPTV or micro display you have issues.


CRT RPTV's have THE BEST BLACK LEVELS OUT THERE. Bottom line. IN PRACTICE. I own both a mitsu 55411 and a sony a2000 lcos. I still am not used to the black level on the sony, and it's considered to be among the best micro display.

A CRT with 9" guns will blow away 95% of micro displays.

And if you don't believe me ask a well known isf dude..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=695922

WOW.

Dude if you think that a CRT TV can rival ANY RPTV or micro display you have issues.
Ummm, yeah. I'll let you research this one yourself. CRT TVs still kill other display technologies in black levels and dynamic range.

CRT RPTV's have THE BEST BLACK LEVELS OUT THERE. Bottom line. IN PRACTICE. I own both a mitsu 55411 and a sony a2000 lcos. I still am not used to the black level on the sony, and it's considered to be among the best micro display.

A CRT with 9" guns will blow away 95% of micro displays.

And if you don't believe me ask a well known isf dude..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=695922
The author you referenced threw up a lot information about how great CRT RPTVs can look, but the only real comparative measure given is black levels. That's great. I admitted as much. But even if calibrated, which I would wager the vast majority of owners have never had done professionally, it takes an expensive model, in my own comparisons, to even come close to a microdisplay. The post you referenced doesn't contradict me, stating, "Even the cheapest brand has incredible potential, when treated properly." Fine, but that still doesn't say anything about how it would compare to a quality microdisplay. This is all a long way from an average CRT RPTV, in average working condition, under average viewing conditions, would compare to a fixed pixel display in similar circumstances.

Obviously you're someone of little tact and a fan of CRT RPTVs. Fine. Great. If we're going to debate in anecdotal evidence, then trust an ISF guy over me. I can understand that. But in terms of factual evidence, we're still not any farther than black levels, and as far as my own anecdotal experience goes, I've never seen a CRT RPTV I could watch. For overall PQ, I stand behind my original post.

In any event, this is way OT for this thread, so I'm done.

Hey I simply was trying to point out that you are being a bit overboard in telling someone that their tv sucks cause it's crt. That my friend is of little tact.

And for the record, I like both my micro and my crt.

I've got a question regarding audio sync issues...

I've noticed, every so often, that the words are not matching up with the lips on the screen. I'm always watching through my HDMI port and the audio is going from the cable box through a digital coax to my surround sound. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I have a DCT 3416 1, firmware 16.35 connected to a Samsung HT-TQ85 home theater A/V receiver via HDMI. Output of A/V receiver is connected to Samsung S5053 Plasma via HDMI out. Before 16.35 I was not able to do this and got the Green Screen issue.
I had to use component cables to get around the problem. When I turn on all three, the TV screen says waiting for signal until the A/V receiver comes on and the picture and sound come on. The sound comes from the A/V receiver. Everything is fine for about 3 seconds and the Green screen flashes on for about a second and the video and audio go way out of sync with the audio lagging the video. Sometimes when switching channels from an HD channel to a non-HD channel the green screen flashes and the video and audio goes out of sync. It has even happened while just watching a channel or a recording.

There are two ways to get them back in sync, one is to turn the HDMI Audio on which sends the audio to the TV and turn it off again. This syncs everything up again until the next green screen. Second, change to another HD channel and back again.

I have a DCT 3416 1, firmware 16.35 connected to a Samsung HT-TQ85 home theater A/V receiver via HDMI. Output of A/V receiver is connected to Samsung S5053 Plasma via HDMI out. Before 16.35 I was not able to do this and got the Green Screen issue.
I had to use component cables to get around the problem. When I turn on all three, the TV screen says waiting for signal until the A/V receiver comes on and the picture and sound come on. The sound comes from the A/V receiver. Everything is fine for about 3 seconds and the Green screen flashes on for about a second and the video and audio go way out of sync with the audio lagging the video. Sometimes when switching channels from an HD channel to a non-HD channel the green screen flashes and the video and audio goes out of sync. It has even happened while just watching a channel or a recording.

There are two ways to get them back in sync, one is to turn the HDMI Audio on which sends the audio to the TV and turn it off again. This syncs everything up again until the next green screen. Second, change to another HD channel and back again.

You are a tact person if you think RPTV's are better than.... oops sorry I thought this thread was arguing about CRT HDTV's :rolleyes:

My setup does the same thing, but I never loose audio sync though. I had component cables up until a couple weeks ago, I got another HDMI to use from the DVR to the receiver, since my DVR got 16.35 or whatever firmware allowed HDCP over repeaters/receivers. It works, but I get a green screen the first time I turn them on, and occasionally a green screen when I change channels. I've even got it randomly when watching TV on rare occasions. Last night I actually was able to get the "HDCP comprimised" message! Something with when I was messing around with the 4:3 override. I just turned off my receiver and the box, then the receiver then the box back on and they redid the handshake and it worked fine again.

Anyway, I've never noticed a bad sync issue either. I thought it would be worse when I got my receiver, but I actually haven't used the delay function on my receiver. Maybe it's because it doesn't bother me, but I think there really isn't much delay in my setup(somehow). If I sit and stare at lips moving i might be able to pick it up a little, but that's not what I do when I watch tv. :)

I'm guessing even if you just leave the cable box on all the time, once the TV gets turned on again, it has to handshake again, thus the brief green screen. See if you can adjust the delay on your receiver.

You are a tact person if you think RPTV's are better than.... oops sorry I thought this thread was arguing about CRT HDTV's :rolleyes:

My setup does the same thing, but I never loose audio sync though. I had component cables up until a couple weeks ago, I got another HDMI to use from the DVR to the receiver, since my DVR got 16.35 or whatever firmware allowed HDCP over repeaters/receivers. It works, but I get a green screen the first time I turn them on, and occasionally a green screen when I change channels. I've even got it randomly when watching TV on rare occasions. Last night I actually was able to get the "HDCP comprimised" message! Something with when I was messing around with the 4:3 override. I just turned off my receiver and the box, then the receiver then the box back on and they redid the handshake and it worked fine again.

Anyway, I've never noticed a bad sync issue either. I thought it would be worse when I got my receiver, but I actually haven't used the delay function on my receiver. Maybe it's because it doesn't bother me, but I think there really isn't much delay in my setup(somehow). If I sit and stare at lips moving i might be able to pick it up a little, but that's not what I do when I watch tv. :)

I'm guessing even if you just leave the cable box on all the time, once the TV gets turned on again, it has to handshake again, thus the brief green screen. See if you can adjust the delay on your receiver.

Thanks for the reply. In my case the audio lags the video by at least 1 second. In other words, when the person's lips stop moving, a few more words are heard.

The adjustment on the receiver is to delay the audio so that won't help.

Not sure why the audio is lagging since it takes longer to process video than the audio. Just one of those strange things.

Despite someone's claim that the 'DVR menu erroneously states the DVR hard drive is 100% full (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#The_DVR_menu_erroneously_states_the_DVR_hard_drive_is_1 00.25_full)' bug was fixed in F/W 16.35 (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Version_16.35), I got the error again, just with a different error message.



This is bullshit, if I don't say so myself. I have several recordings set to delete when 'space is needed'. When I deleted 1 hr of HD content, it cleared up 33% of available space. This bug is definitely not fixed. Someone's not counting bytes correctly.

i get this error on all 3 of my dual tuner DVR's ever since the last box update a couple months back when they added the "swap" feature

i found a trick to get out of it without deleting anything

just turn the box off and back on again

what pisses me off is when this happens and i'm not around, it doesn't record my shows :mad:

Anyone else getting a scheduled recording Monday for CSI Miami, even though the Motorola is set to record only new episodes? I don't understand why it wants to record the clearly marked repeat. My series recording is set to only new episodes.

Anyone else getting a scheduled recording Monday for CSI Miami, even though the Motorola is set to record only new episodes? I don't understand why it wants to record the clearly marked repeat. My series recording is set to only new episodes.

this happens with all my recordings since the new software came out. I keep setting for new and it schedules new and repeats.

I just bought the sony RM-VL600 learning remote. So far so good, as I have made it learn all the standard buttons from my 3416 DVR remote, but for some reason, it won't learn the 30 second skip button. I assume it can't because the 30 second skip is a macro. Does anybody have this remote, and successfully mapped a 30 second skip button?

Thanks

I just bought the sony RM-VL600 learning remote. So far so good, as I have made it learn all the standard buttons from my 3416 DVR remote, but for some reason, it won't learn the 30 second skip button. I assume it can't because the 30 second skip is a macro. Does anybody have this remote, and successfully mapped a 30 second skip button?

Thanks

I don't have your remote -- but I have a learning remote with my Onkyo Receiver, which has learned the 30 second skip from my Comcast remote.

So it is not a macro. I would try again (or try mapping to another button on your Sony remote.

I just bought the sony RM-VL600 learning remote. So far so good, as I have made it learn all the standard buttons from my 3416 DVR remote, but for some reason, it won't learn the 30 second skip button. I assume it can't because the 30 second skip is a macro. Does anybody have this remote, and successfully mapped a 30 second skip button?I don't have that remote but I've never had a problem teaching the 30-sec skip to my learning remotes either. I'm pretty sure the command is not a macro.

Looking for some help - I'm running the 3416 to my Panny plasma display which has a DVI input (at the time of purchase Comcast's DVR didn't have HDMI) so the way I'm making the connection is with a HDMI cable out of the DVR that has a DVI adapter so that it can connect to the Plasma TV.

The problem that I have is that when I turn off the TV and then turn it back on, the HDMI hand shake is lost and the only way I know to fix that is to also turn off the cable box. This is especially a problem when you leave and come back and the DVR is recording because essentially I have to interrupt the recording, turn off the cable box, turn it back on and then hurry up and reset any recordings that I just interrupted.

Is there an easier way, or some fix I could program into the remote that would reinitiate the HDMI hand shake after I turn on my TV?

I have the 3416 from TWC--Does anyone know if there is way to do a 15 minute skip? I now this is a Comcast thread, but this thread seemed closest...

...
Is there an easier way, or some fix I could program into the remote that would reinitiate the HDMI hand shake after I turn on my TV?

You may find some suggestions that apply to your situation in the Wiki Book:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs#The_DVI_or_HDMI_output_works_intermittently_or_not_at_a ll
but if I were having that much trouble, I'd switch to a component connection.

I have the 3416 from TWC--Does anyone know if there is way to do a 15 minute skip? I now this is a Comcast thread, but this thread seemed closest...15 minutes? You obviously have this thing confused with a Tivo :D

YMMV

Granger Indiana woke today with F/W 16.35 installed.
I noticed the addition of a screen saver option and the ability to have more than 1 favorite list. Other than that, I havent noticed any big changes other than what I have described below.

I have encountered a huge annoyance with the update.
It has to do with the way the favotite channels are displayed in the guide.
Previously when you highlighted the guide it would open and display the current channel along with the 4 succesive channels. When you then pressed the favorite button it would scroll through your favorite channels starting with the one you were watching.
Now when you highlight the guide and press the favorite button it goes to the first channel in your favorite list. Is there a setting that can be changed that would allow the scroll to start from the current channel being watched?

My Comcast 3412 has developed a new problem that I don't remember others talking about. It is now displaying HD content with black borders on all four sides (i.e. in 16x9 aspect ratio, but shrunk down greatly.) This is true of broadcast material as well as HD that I have stored on the DVR. Strangely, the SD content is displayed normally in 4x3 ratio and expected black side bars on the right and left side. Can anyone help me? Is there a setting that I could try? Or, has my unit developed a defect and need to be exchanged? Could this have something to do with the warm temperatures lately?

My Comcast 3412 has developed a new problem that I don't remember others talking about. It is now displaying HD content with black borders on all four sides (i.e. in 16x9 aspect ratio, but shrunk down greatly.)
...


Check the video display settings:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Setup#Setting_video_display_options

Somehow they may have been changed.

Hi everyone,

I can't record from HBO-HD any more from 3416 using CapDVHS. Max-HD is ok.

Checked HBO-HD channel 215 status:

D11 for 1394 says:

5c implementation = NO

D06 says:

CCI: 0x02
DRM: 0x01

Anybody knows what the issue is?

My Comcast 3412 has developed a new problem that I don't remember others talking about. It is now displaying HD content with black borders on all four sides (i.e. in 16x9 aspect ratio, but shrunk down greatly.) This is true of broadcast material as well as HD that I have stored on the DVR. Strangely, the SD content is displayed normally in 4x3 ratio and expected black side bars on the right and left side. Can anyone help me? Is there a setting that I could try? Or, has my unit developed a defect and need to be exchanged? Could this have something to do with the warm temperatures lately?

Go into the main menu (turn the box off and press "Menu" on the remote), and make sure your box knows you have a 16:9 TV.

When I'm in that menu changing settings from 720p to 1080i or vice versa, I often change the TV type setting accidentally.

15 minutes? You obviously have this thing confused with a Tivo :D

YMMV

I hope the confusion won't last long .... as per breaking news:


Comcast Motorola TiVo

According to Tom Rogers:

Comcast’s plan, and I’m now quoting Comcast directly, the Comcast TiVo trials will continue into early summer with a commercial launch plan for August. The commercial launch will be in parts of our New England division, including Metro Boston, Southeast Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

After more than two years, we have a launch date and location for the Comcast Motorola TiVo! Too bad it’s not in my neighborhood… Though maybe that S3 Lite will be economical enough that I won’t bother with Comcast’s offering. It’s yet to be seen what effect these continued development delays will have… This summer, new HD DVR deployments will be separable security (CableCARD) boxes rather than the current Moto 6412 units. Have TiVo & Comcast begun work yet on another software customization? Will new Comcast customers be out of luck for a year?


Not allowed to post the link from engadget.

Hi everyone,

I can't record from HBO-HD any more from 3416 using CapDVHS. Max-HD is ok.

Checked HBO-HD channel 215 status:

D11 for 1394 says:

5c implementation = NO

D06 says:

CCI: 0x02
DRM: 0x01

Anybody knows what the issue is?
The '5C Implementation' value can be misleading. My experience has been that 5C is being used on the Firewire output unless both CCI is 0x00 and DRM is 0x00. At a minimum, CCI seems to indicate the Copy Control Information flag of the Firewire output, so 0x02 would indicate 5C is being used with "copy one generation" protection.

If you used to be able to cap HBO, and now can't, some firmware, software or equipment must have changed with your cable provider, or your own box.

My Comcast 3412 has developed a new problem that I don't remember others talking about. It is now displaying HD content with black borders on all four sides (i.e. in 16x9 aspect ratio, but shrunk down greatly.) This is true of broadcast material as well as HD that I have stored on the DVR. Strangely, the SD content is displayed normally in 4x3 ratio and expected black side bars on the right and left side. Can anyone help me? Is there a setting that I could try? Or, has my unit developed a defect and need to be exchanged? Could this have something to do with the warm temperatures lately?

This happens to me once in awhile when I'm changing channels quickly from a non-HD station to an HD station, but within a second or two the shrunk 16X9 picture reverts to filling the whole screen. My aspect settings are correct. It only happens on the 3416 I have connected to my TV via HDMI-DVI, and not on the 3412 I have connected via component. I would first try turning the power off then on while the TV is showing the shrunk 16X9 picture, or do a reset by unplugging the unit. If it persists often enough, you might have to exchange the box, but I suspect it's one of many 34XX quirks that only happens occasionally and for which there is a workaround.

The '5C Implementation' value can be misleading. My experience has been that 5C is being used on the Firewire output unless both CCI is 0x00 and DRM is 0x00. At a minimum, CCI seems to indicate the Copy Control Information flag of the Firewire output, so 0x02 would indicate 5C is being used with "copy one generation" protection.

"copy one generation" protection - does it mean that I can only record HBO-HD to DVR's hard drive and that's it?

If you used to be able to cap HBO, and now can't, some firmware, software or equipment must have changed with your cable provider, or your own box.
Yes, I was able to record HBO-HD to PC before.

"copy one generation" protection - does it mean that I can only record HBO-HD to DVR's hard drive and that's it?
No, it means you could copy it one generation yourself, from the DVR to a 5C DTCP-compliant device. Which basically means a D-VHS recorder.

Yes, I was able to record HBO-HD to PC before.
You were luckier than most for longer than most. Now, you're just average, like the rest of us.

No, it means you could copy it one generation yourself, from the DVR to a 5C DTCP-compliant device. Which basically means a D-VHS recorder.
Is there any way to make PC and CapDVHS look like 5C DTCP-compliant device?

You were luckier than most for longer than most. Now, you're just average, like the rest of us.
I guess yes. The latest video on DVR hard drive recorded from HBO-HD that I can transfer to PC dated from the beginning of April this year.

Is there any way to make PC and CapDVHS look like 5C DTCP-compliant device?
Not without violating the DMCA.

You might be able to capture using component cables (lower quality, but it avoids copy protection schemes since there's no way the box can authenticate through the component output).

If what you want to record is available on demand, and if on demand streams are unencrypted in your area, then you could capture on your PC using a QAM tuner (might be tricky to set up though).

is it possible to hook up an external hard drive to the 3416 ?

is it possible to hook up an external hard drive to the 3416 ?

No.

I just got hit by the 3416 bug "Recorded programs and scheduled recordings missing after a power outage or reboot" (see http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Bugs), and lost a pretty full HD's worth of recordings :-(

In my case, it was a reboot to clear another bug: the confounded "sound out-of-sync with video" on attempting Firewire archive to a JVC 40K DVHS deck! I have only found a couple of mentions in passing to this in AVSF threads: my question is, has anyone found a better solution than rebooting this rather underwhelming DVR to clear the sync problem? I'd hate to continue to have to reboot it just to archive shows on DVHS, now knowing that a reboot can potentially wipe out the drive contents!

Any/all help on this will be greatly appreciated, and TIA.

I had posted this a while ago, and received one reply that confirmed that the
bug had struck at least one other person ... but my real interest is in finding
out if anyone had a solution to the "sound out-of-sync with video" problem
that afflicts my setup after every Firewire archive (see above) ... so, is
everone else trying this just living with this major annoyance? Of course,
I just lost another almost full DVR worth of recorded shows today :-(

I hope the confusion won't last long .... as per breaking news:


Comcast Motorola TiVo

According to Tom Rogers:
.... I posted in the Comcast Tivo thread a few weeks back that I expect to see Duke Nukem Forever before I'll see the Comcast Tivo. On the other hand, this is only the first anniversary of its announcement versus the April 1997 announcement for DNF ... which still being promised :rolleyes:

anyone notice they changed the menu last night?

"parental controls" is now where "DVR" used to be

You might be able to capture using component cables (lower quality, but it avoids copy protection schemes since there's no way the box can authenticate through the component output).
Do you know of the hardware to do this? I haven't seen any PC components for it, as it would be uncompressed video at over 1Gbps.

If what you want to record is available on demand, and if on demand streams are unencrypted in your area, then you could capture on your PC using a QAM tuner (might be tricky to set up though).
I don't think you can get OD over QAM. I haven't been able to get more than my basic cable channels + hi-def locals over QAM.

If OD is unencrypted, however, you can do a Firewire capture. I've done that, but be prepared for lower quality, and I haven't had any luck with hi-def OD being unencrypted.

anyone notice they changed the menu last night?

"parental controls" is now where "DVR" used to be
This is specific to when they update your software, which is controlled by your local head-end (so the change at a specific time would have been just in your area).

It does look like they slightly rearranged the mini-menu. I normally have the default on the Favorites (heart) icon, but it had shifted yesterday to another icon.

The menus are dynamically created and can be updated 'on-line'. The mini and setup menu have a basic default, but if you ever reboot your box (or use the change language option), you will see them change at about the same time the full menus become active.

This is specific to when they update your software, which is controlled by your local head-end (so the change at a specific time would have been just in your area).

oh, ok

i noticed when the did the last change, i started getting those "your dvr is full" messages when it wasn't

can't believe they haven't fixed that yet

wait a minute, i've had comcast since 1984, yes, i can believe it

Do you know of the hardware to do this? I haven't seen any PC components for it, as it would be uncompressed video at over 1Gbps.
I was once told it could be done, but I have to admit I really don't know. It may very well not be possible, at least not at a high quality, to do a component capture, but I was under the impression (which may very easily have been wrong) that it could be done.
I don't think you can get OD over QAM. I haven't been able to get more than my basic cable channels + hi-def locals over QAM.
Where I live, VOD is unencrypted and my TV (which has a QAM tuner) will pick up the VOD streams. You may have to perform a channel scan while someone is watching on VOD for the channel(s) to pick up (try on a rainy Saturday evening). Bear in mind that VOD is not sent in the clear in all areas, so you may be out of luck here.
If OD is unencrypted, however, you can do a Firewire capture. I've done that, but be prepared for lower quality, and I haven't had any luck with hi-def OD being unencrypted.
Whether you can record via Firewire or not has nothing to do with whether the source material is encrypted. Just because you can record something through Firewire (VOD or otherwise) doesn't mean it's in the clear, and just because you can't record doesn't mean it's encrypted.

I don't think you can get OD over QAM. I haven't been able to get more than my basic cable channels + hi-def locals over QAM.

If OD is unencrypted, however, you can do a Firewire capture. I've done that, but be prepared for lower quality, and I haven't had any luck with hi-def OD being unencrypted.

It's definetly unencrypted here, I guess it depends where you are. HD and SD both, I can easily pick up on my TV's QAM tuner, or my OnAir GT which I have hooked up to my PC, since it has a QAM tuner.

Fri/Sat nights there is a lot of stuff ppl are watching, from kids shows to *ahem* adult entertainment ;)

If OD is unencrypted, however, you can do a Firewire capture. I've done that, but be prepared for lower quality, and I haven't had any luck with hi-def OD being unencrypted.
Whether you can record via Firewire or not has nothing to do with whether the source material is encrypted. Just because you can record something through Firewire (VOD or otherwise) doesn't mean it's in the clear, and just because you can't record doesn't mean it's encrypted.
I didn't say it explicitly, but I was speaking of the 5C DTCP encryption over the Firewire output, so it has everything to do with whether you can capture it. In my experience, the term for referring to encrypted content over QAM (or cable systems in general) is "scrambled".

You're right, an ability to capture via Firewire doesn't mean the stream is in the clear over QAM --- that was exactly my point: Even if you can't tune VOD via QAM, you may still be able to capture the Firewire stream.

I haven't been able to tune any VOD over QAM, but I will have to check again.