is it done automatically by the cable company?

Is Armstrong your cable company?

Thanks

Is Armstrong your cable company?

Thanks



Yes it is.

when I went into my box (vegas) setup the software was 78.xx (i cant remeber the xx numbers) and i didnt have TVG listing at all in the pace diag.

Yes it is.
I really wish Armstrong would get their act together as far as the Pace box goes. They're such a great company to deal with normally - but this Pace/Firmware deal is just getting frustrating as heck. I've now made 4 phone calls about the firmware upgrade and sent 2 emails to by friend outlining all the positive changes in the firmware. All I get back is pretty much "we shall upgrade no firmware until it's time"... :mad:

I have a flicker of depixelization and audio drop-out lasting 1-2 seconds, which happens anywhere from every 5 seconds to once every few minutes. Could this be from my HDMI hookup? Has anyone had this happen with a component hook-up? I am running 9.24. Thanks for the help.
Yes - I get the same thing over my component hookups - I originally had HDMI but because of the VOD dropouts I had to swap over to component until Armstrong sees fit to push 9.31 firmware through to me. Now I get the depixelization/audio drop-outs fairly regularly over component. Makes for some very frustrating TV watching.

I really wish Armstrong would get their act together as far as the Pace box goes. They're such a great company to deal with normally - but this Pace/Firmware deal is just getting frustrating as heck. I've now made 4 phone calls about the firmware upgrade and sent 2 emails to by friend outlining all the positive changes in the firmware. All I get back is pretty much "we shall upgrade no firmware until it's time"... :mad:


I like the tahoe i got, but it seems really buggy right now. almost everytime i change a HD channel to another hd channel i get a white static video noise, or an error message about connectinng th hdcp connection. last night i got a black screen for a few minutes. have you had this problem? Lindend assures me that the upgrade will help this.

I like the tahoe i got, but it seems really buggy right now. almost everytime i change a HD channel to another hd channel i get a white static video noise, or an error message about connectinng th hdcp connection. last night i got a black screen for a few minutes. have you had this problem? Lindend assures me that the upgrade will help this.
I don't get the white static/noise while changing channels. I do get the pausing/tiling/artifacting while watching TV. And I did get the dropped VOD over HDMI until I switched from HDMI to Component. I agree with you - I really like the Tahoe - but on Armstrong with firmware 9.21 - it does seem buggy - I really really really really wish they'd at least TRY upgrading the firmware to see if it alleviates some of the bugs.

I just picked up a Pace unit, and am wondering if there is a way to activate the closed captioning without doing the power button menu move. It seems that this should be accessible from the remote Thanks

I just picked up a Pace unit, and am wondering if there is a way to activate the closed captioning without doing the power button menu move. It seems that this should be accessible from the remote Thanks

I'm assuming you are referring to Tahoe and not Vegas in this question.

The firmware in Tahoe is capable of enabling/disabling captions on the fly. However, TV Guide does not contain this functionality in its user interface, so the only way to access it is via the PowerMenu. Sorry.

Is there a trick to get the Tahoe to recognize an external eSATA drive? I hooked one up last night and nothing. I have firmware 9.31. Thanks, Rob

I was able to get it to recognize the haeddrive by turning the power off, then unplugging the unit. I guess this causes it to reboot. It took a minute before anything happened, but then it asked me if I wanted to format the external HD.

I was able to get it to recognize the haeddrive by turning the power off, then unplugging the unit. I guess this causes it to reboot.

Rob,

As you discovered, a reboot is required. Hot plug of SATA drives is not currently supported.

linend, or anyone else...

I have ran into another issue with both of my boxes (tahoe and vegas). I have had 2 of my recordings record the last 40 min. of the show. This has happened with 2 different shows, with 2 different boxes. Is this a known issue with the pace STB's? does this sound like a TVG thing?

Jake,

I'm on Armstrong too and have the Pace Tahoe. At this point the only saving grace for the Pace box for me is the PQ vs. the Moto ones.

The DVR functionality on my Pace box is flaky at best. I haven't experienced what you did as far as only recording parts of shows - but I have experienced pauses/audio drops etc on recordings.

I wish Armstrong would get off their duffs and get the firmware on the Pace's upgraded so we could at least be discussing "new" bugs vs. the same old ones.

I'm ready to bribe Linden to fly up here to PA and have a face to face talk with the powers that be at Armstrong! ;)

Is this a known issue with the pace STB's?

Never seen it reported before.

does this sound like a TVG thing?

Don't know. Was it the same show on both boxes? How long was the show and were you on the channel before the recording began?

Lindend, could you discuss in general terms the process for updating firmware. What I am really getting at is why do the cable companies seem to be so reluctant to update firmware? Is the updating of firmware a particulary arduous process? I realize that updating firmware can introduce additional problems (and support calls if there are problems), but when there are known (significant) problems with early versions of the firmware what is the holdup? It seems that a good deal of us are waiting for firmware upgrades to solve problems and we seem to have a difficult time convincing our providers that firmware updates are good. Any suggestions?

Lindend, could you discuss in general terms the process for updating firmware.

If you look a couple of pages back, I did provide an overview of the risks involved in doing an upgrade. Are you looking for something more detailed?

What I am really getting at is why do the cable companies seem to be so reluctant to update firmware?

There are a number of reasons but the primary ones tend to be:

1. We all know there are bugs there, but the non-power users (i.e. not the AVS crowd) tend to be happy with the current software (especially if they know how to work around issues).

2. The transition to a new Guide version. They don't want to upgrade and then do another upgrade a few weeks later with the new guide.

3. Beta testing. I know a lot of you think your cable company is dragging this out, but many sites have a beta testing process before a release is made to the general public.

Is the updating of firmware a particulary arduous process?

No. But as with anything in life, mistakes can be made if one is not careful.

Any suggestions?

Not really. You may want to find out if they offer a beta testing program and whether or not you can participate (assuming that you are willing to beta test).

I like the tahoe i got, but it seems really buggy right now. almost everytime i change a HD channel to another hd channel i get a white static video noise, or an error message about connectinng th hdcp connection. last night i got a black screen for a few minutes. have you had this problem? Lindend assures me that the upgrade will help this.

I had this problem on previous firmware versions. I was able to work around it by setting the Pace box to only output one resolution (the native one for the display, in my case 1080i). After some testing, I actually think the Pace box is better at converting, than my tv.

BTW, Buckeye cablesystem in Toledo, just ran out the 9.31 with the new guide, 30 second skip and all. No problems so far, seems a little faster to restore the sound after a FF or REW (coax Dolby fed to a HT receiver).

On another note, since we are talking about Star Trek on HD Net. I have HDCP communication problems with only this show. I have to turn off my TV and turn it back on when I am watching a recording of this show. Then it works fine. I have watched other HD net programing without problem, but this show gives me fits.

FYI, Lindend, this problem went away without an update from my cable company (problem was gone when still on 9.29 now on 9.31), so it must have been something at HDNet.

FYI, Lindend, this problem went away without an update from my cable company (problem was gone when still on 9.29 now on 9.31), so it must have been something at HDNet.


Not so sure. It could be that you were hit with the bug where HDCP was being enabled when the broadcast flag was present. There was a definite fix for this in 9.29/9.31.

Were you seeing it with 9.29?

Were you seeing it with 9.29?

Yes, but it is possible the content was recorded while onthe previous firmware.

Hi,
I too experienced a problem with shortened recordings. I [series] record a 30-minute program and lengthen the stop time to 30-minutes after the show, so I got an hour show instead of 2 half-hour ones. After a few (unknown amount) of good recordings, it started to only record 40-minutes of the shows, starting 20-minutes into the first half-hour show. I had to delete that setup and go back to 2 half-hour recordings.

I have crappy I-guide on Bresnan and v9.26.

I used DishTV from 1998-2006, but they don't carry my favorite sport team in HD. The Dish guide works wonderfully, after many updates with tweaking and feedback. TV Guide doesn't seem to want feedback for their crappy guide.

I've read this entire forum so far. If there is another, I'll read it, too.

I want my 30-second skip back. I'll keep looking for the way to do it.

Hi,
I too experienced a problem with shortened recordings. I record a 30-minute program and lengthen the stop time to 30-minutes after the show, so I got an hour show instead of 2 half-hour ones. After a few (unknown amount) of good recordings, it started to only record 40-minutes of the shows, starting 20-minutes into the first half-hour show. I had to delete that setup and go back to 2 half-hour recordings.

I have crappy I-guide on Bresnan and v9.26.

I used DishTV from 1998-2006, but they don't carry my favorite sport team in HD. The Dish guide works wonderfully, after many updates with tweaking and feedback. TV Guide doesn't seem to want feedback for their crappy guide.

I've read this entire forum so far. If there is another, I'll read it, too.

I want my 30-second skip back. I'll keep looking for the way to do it.



mine was similar to yours except i just pressed record in the guide. it was an hour long program. It recorded the last 40 min. This happened twice for me. what a bummer.

Simba7,

What application were you running under Gentoo that exhibited this behavior?
Sorry for the long delay. Been networking a few Xboxes through the house and configuring the DirecTiVo for networking and streaming.

I might have the kernel configuration wrong. I'm going to tweak up the kernel a little bit and see what happens. The only 1394 device I see is the raw1394 device when it boots. Should I disable that or keep it in the kernel?

I tried GStreamer, but that didn't work. Kino doesn't either (says can't find AV/C Device). I'm going to try kdenlive and see what it does.

mine was similar to yours except i just pressed record in the guide. it was an hour long program. It recorded the last 40 min. This happened twice for me. what a bummer.

I think I read that in an earlier post and it reminded me of my problem. I had a few differences and, once set up, it reoccured daily. I thought I would post my details, too. I could work around the problem, so I didn't complain to Bresnan so they could write it up, go through that slow process of fixing it without any feedback, and I'm never sure if it's fixed.

I've had an odd problem I haven't been able to reproduce reliably. It seems to occur when I cancel an HD show while it is recording, without finishing the recording. The Tahoe will then ignore any commands I give it for several minutes, either from the remote or the front panel. It eventually catches up and does a lot of the commands at once, but it stops with a banner that says something like "Cannot delete file" None of the DVR functions work until I do a hard reset by removing the A/C from the unit. The last few of the 5 or 6 times it's happened, I noticed it was definitely an HD show, but I couldn't tell you if it was a Locked program.

Again, v9.26. Bresnan supposedly pushed down an upgrade on 4/10, but the O/S wasn't part of it, damnit.

It seems to occur when I cancel an HD show while it is recording, without finishing the recording. The Tahoe will then ignore any commands I give it for several minutes, either from the remote or the front panel. It eventually catches up and does a lot of the commands at once, but it stops with a banner that says something like "Cannot delete file"

When this happens, have you ever seen an empty dialog on screen that would not go away for ~30 seconds?

Again, v9.26. Bresnan supposedly pushed down an upgrade on 4/10, but the O/S wasn't part of it, damnit.Hmmm... I'm on Bresnan, and didn't get any updates. Maybe they are just telling you that, in hopes you go away for a while :rolleyes: .

I got a notice (one page flyer) in the mail 4/10 from Bresnan saying that they are updating the I-Guide. It said that they would be updating 4/10/07 at 4 am to minimize disruption. Didn't see anything on the 10th (thought someone might have thought 4 am was at the end of the day on the 10th (ha ha). My box still hasn't updated. Called Bresnan this morning and Customer Service said that the update did go out. Suggested that I unplug and plug back in the box to get the update. I thought Bresnan might also be updating the Tahoe firmware as they are supposed to be testing it at some locations, but don't know if this is happening with this update. We can only wait and hope :confused:

Just got off the phone with Customer Service (so take this with a grain of salt). The update has been pushed back, I was told next Tuesday in Grand Junction. I was also told that firmware would go to .32 for Pace boxes. The CS rep told me that he took this from an email to CS reps. So we hold our breath for another week. :rolleyes:

Ok. I'm successfully able to connect to the DVR and run CapDVHS to obtain a stream in Windows. The problem I'm having now is CapDVHS is crashing now and then. Is it extremely sensitive to the TS stream? Also, is there alternatives out there?

I'm noticing that a few channels CapDVHS does fine, but most it crashes.

The cable company connected my Pace tdc775 with standard coax to the back of my tv. I'm assuming that the clarity on HD channels will be MUCH more clear after hooking up component from the component out on the Pace DVR to the component in's on my tv.

However when I do this I get nothing on my screen. Is there something that I need to enable for my signal to flow thru the component connection rather coax? Do I need to restart the system?

Thanks

ok bresnan guys.......bresnan pushed down the .32 software in great falls, Montana.....I still can't get the 30 second skip to work...anyone else try.

Lindend I'm brand new to the forum but have been following this thread for about six weeks. Found it most helpful after I had returned three Pace DVR's for various unanswered reasons. This morning in Great Falls, MT. Bresnan upgraded the firmware to 9.32 and the I-Guide to the 240 version. I am hopeful that this will fix the lost HD movies after reboot and losing the digital channels after going to VOD. I was able to program the 30 second skip from reading this thread and it seems to work great. My question which I've seen but not fully answered is when I turn the DVR off it does'nt seem to spindown after the two or three minutes I've seen described. And when I power back up I get no animation I read about. This is the same when I had the 9.26 and the 9.32 firmware. I have the setting power saver "on"as well. It's no big deal but it seems awful warm after a whole night of being off. In the diags. the temp is 105/114 when I first turn on. Is this normal? Also in the diags. (22 DVR status) the standby spindowns show 20 and always have since I've started checking. In (23 HDD status) spindowns show 0. Again this is before and after the upgrade. I am just happy to have the upgrade and hope it cures all the major problems. But if you have any thoughts on this spindown thing I would appreciate your input. Thanks.

Linden, any notes on what the 9.32 update brings? Reports on the Great Falls Bresnan customers getting updated are encouraging to us Missoulians. :)

The cable company connected my Pace tdc775 with standard coax to the back of my tv. I'm assuming that the clarity on HD channels will be MUCH more clear after hooking up component from the component out on the Pace DVR to the component in's on my tv.

However when I do this I get nothing on my screen. Is there something that I need to enable for my signal to flow thru the component connection rather coax? Do I need to restart the system?

Thanks
This may be a silly question - but are you sure you're TV is set to the Component Input now that you've made the swap from Coax In to Component In?

My question which I've seen but not fully answered is when I turn the DVR off it does'nt seem to spindown after the two or three minutes I've seen described. And when I power back up I get no animation I read about. This is the same when I had the 9.26 and the 9.32 firmware. I have the setting power saver "on"as well. It's no big deal but it seems awful warm after a whole night of being off.

How many scheduled recordings do you have? If you have a lot, the new guide will force the drive to periodically spin up to write data to the HDD. If this is happening a lot, we won't spin the drive down until the disk I/O settles down.

If you're willing, I'd reboot the box and immediately go into standby after you see video. Waiting two-three minutes then check diags to see if the drive has spun down.

In the diags. the temp is 105/114 when I first turn on. Is this normal?

Its in the normal range.


Also in the diags. (22 DVR status) the standby spindowns show 20 and always have since I've started checking.

Those spin downs are the number of times the drive has spun down during normal TV watching because the drive temp got too hot. Are you sure 114 is the max temp its ever seen?

In (23 HDD status) spindowns show 0.


Do you mean standby spin downs? If so, in this case, it looks like the drive isn't spinning down when you go into standby (and I'm not sure why that would be happening). We need to do the test above to find out more.

Linden, any notes on what the 9.32 update brings? Reports on the Great Falls Bresnan customers getting updated are encouraging to us Missoulians. :)

9.32 is 9.31 with a C-COR VOD library that supports the new guide.

If your cable company uses C-COR for VOD, you'd get 9.32 rather than 9.31.

There are no special goodies above and beyond 9.31 in this release if anyone was wondering.

How many scheduled recordings do you have? If you have a lot, the new guide will force the drive to periodically spin up to write data to the HDD. If this is happening a lot, we won't spin the drive down until the disk I/O settles down.

I didn't Have any at that time

If you're willing, I'd reboot the box and immediately go into standby after you see video. Waiting two-three minutes then check diags to see if the drive has spun down.

I did reboot last night before retiring for bed just to check any loss of HD recordings. (no loss of any, thank the powers to be) But I don't understand what you mean when say "see video" since I reboot in the standby mode or powered off, and when it comes back it remains in the standby "red LED lit".







Those spin downs are the number of times the drive has spun down during normal TV watching because the drive temp got too hot. Are you sure 114 is the max temp its ever seen?

See below




]Do you mean standby spin downs? If so, in this case, it looks like the drive isn't spinning down when you go into standby (and I'm not sure why that would be happening). We need to do the test above to find out more.
Under Diags. page 22 Dvr status #overheat spindowns : 0
#standby spindowns : 20

Under Diags. page 23 HDD status #spindowns : 0
Current/Max temp : 100F/114F



Thanks again[/B]

Under Diags. page 22 Dvr status #overheat spindowns : 0
#standby spindowns : 20


Ok, these numbers make sense. Your drive has never spun down due to overheating. It has spun down while in standby 20 times.

But I don't understand what you mean when say "see video" since I reboot in the standby mode or powered off, and when it comes back it remains in the standby "red LED lit".


If you were watching TV when you rebooted, it will reboot and start showing video. If you rebooted while in diags, it will stay in standby and you'll need to press the power button to get out of standby.

What I meant to say was make sure you are at the point where you are watching video and then go into standby.

After you reboot, please go into standby as quickly as possible after seeing video.

Any Ideas? Unit works fine for 30 seconds or so then locks up and seems to reboot itself...

FYI....we've been able to replicate the problem. Thanks for your help in reporting the issue.

9.32 is 9.31 with a C-COR VOD library that supports the new guide.

If your cable company uses C-COR for VOD, you'd get 9.32 rather than 9.31.Oh, ya (from C-COR's corporate website, selling to their cableco partners)...

"C-COR’s On Demand video solution allows you to tune into a rich new revenue stream ..."

A new way for cablecos to tap into our pocketbook :D . I hope the service has some decent offerings, like HD VOD.

There are no special goodies above and beyond 9.31 in this release if anyone was wondering.Who around here ever wonders about little things like that??? ;) Thanks for the update, Linden.

LIndend

What I meant to say was make sure you are at the point where you are watching video and then go into standby.

After you reboot, please go into standby as quickly as possible after seeing video.[/QUOTE]

O.K. So correct me if I'm wrong. After reboot and in quick standby wait about three minutes and go to diags. and report standby spindowns on page 22 (DVR status)?

LAfter reboot and in quick standby wait about three minutes and go to diags. and report standby spindowns on page 22 (DVR status)?[/B]

The sequence is:

1. Reboot
2. Go into standby (after seeing video).
3. Wait ~2 minutes until HDD should spin down.
4. Come out of standby (you should see front panel animation if all is well).
5. Go into diagnostics and capture # of spin downs.

The sequence is:

[QUOTE]1. Reboot
2. Go into standby (after seeing video).
3. Wait ~2 minutes until HDD should spin down.
4. Come out of standby (you should see front panel animation if all is well).
5. Go into diagnostics and capture # of spin downs.[

Went through the sequence before bedtime. After reboot the drive seems to spin louder when the four dashes are on the display (----) and then they go off and the drive slows down or at least gets quieter and the LED goes from red to blue and video comes back on. I then put it in standby and waited about three or more minutes and never noticed any difference in sounds of the drive. Powered back up and display went right to channel I had it on to begin with and no animation. Checked Diags. Page 22 and had same numbers as before. 0 overheat spindowns and 20 standby spindowns. Page 23 had 0 spindowns as always. Have a nice weelend.

Upon further review:
checked my recorded files and went from 72% to 50%. Went back in content of diags. and found three HD recordings with the famous {0}. ( one of them my favorite "USED CARS") These were all recorded Pre 9.32 firmware update or does that matter?

sometimes when changing channels the channel you go to has no sound....you must change to another channel and back to get sound.....firmware 9.32. It does not seem to matter if you are going from a digital, high definition or analog channel the sound is just gone. Otherwise the box seems much faster when changing channels.

[QUOTE=lindend]Upon further review:
checked my recorded files and went from 72% to 50%. Went back in content of diags. and found three HD recordings with the famous {0}. ( one of them my favorite "USED CARS")

Were these HD recordings 2 hours or longer?

These were all recorded Pre 9.32 firmware update or does that matter?

Doesn't matter. They shouldn't be lost.

sometimes when changing channels the channel you go to has no sound....you must change to another channel and back to get sound.....firmware 9.32.

This bug has been lurking around for a while and we're working on it.

Does the problem happen only (or mostly) on analog channels?

[QUOTE=andybub]

[QUOTE]Were these HD recordings 2 hours or longer?
No.
Used Cars 1:59:58
American Chopper 0:59:58
Cold Case 0: 59:27

Note that this reboot was unplugging 775 Tahoe while the blue LED was on and Video was displayed on Sony HD TV.

I got a TDC775D the other day, when exchanging my old SD box in for an HD box, I'm liking it except for one major problem, I've called mediacom about this several times, but the box will not display the guide (i-Guide) when I change channels, no info bar along the bottom, as well as the guide and info buttons doing nothing, black screen with the VOD channel, etc. Every time I've called, they said they will send a signal, and it should begin displaying the guide, but it never does. I've prowled around in the diagnostics menu, and I have firmware 9.08 (typical of mediacom to use ancient crap)

I'm on Mediacom (Madison County AL)

I got a TDC775D the other day.... I've prowled around in the diagnostics menu, and I have firmware 9.08 (typical of mediacom to use ancient crap)


My records don't show a 9.08 release for any Mediacom site (or any other Cable site for that matter).

What diagnostics page are you using that you determined that you have a 9.08 release? Are you sure that you don't have a Vegas and are using a 9.18 release?

but the box will not display the guide (i-Guide) when I change channels, no info bar along the bottom, as well as the guide and info buttons doing nothing, no black screen with the VOD channel, etc.

What video output are using? Do you ever get graphics when you hit the guide button?

Used Cars 1:59:58

For all intents and purposes, this is two hours...two seconds doesn't matter. :)

American Chopper 0:59:58
Cold Case 0: 59:27

Could you please post the exact file size details for both of these recordings and the bitrate of the recordings?

Just to update everyone on what we know.

On Feb. 12 in this thread, trabbic reported a lost HD recording with 9.29 and obviously andybub has reported some also. Based on our investigation with Trabbic's report, this is what we know and have replicated:

1. 9.29 or later should not lose any normal size SD recording on a dirty reboot (unless its like an all day manual recording or something odd like that).
2. 9.29 or later can sometimes lose HD recordings longer than 90 minutes on a dirty reboot (obviously unpredictable when this might happen).

This is why I'm puzzled about your American Chopper and Cold Case recordings since they are only 60 minutes and should not have been affected.

Could you please post the exact file size details for both of these recordings and the bitrate of the recordings?
American Chopper
Meta data file size: 5152
MPEG file size : 8190427136 {0}
Trick file size : 3445760 {3445760}
Average bit rate :18211064

Cold Case
Meta data file size: 5144
MPEG file size : 6595543040 {0}
Trick file size : 3425728 {3425728}
Average bit rate :14771648
Hope thats all you need if not let me know and I'll keep the data until you say so.

Also about the standby numbers. If all is working well and I shut down for the night the DVR goes into standby and the next day there should be a new number registered on the diags. 22 DVR status standby spindowns? Just a note on that, my neighbor has the same service and DVR (not as many premium channels) as I do. I was programing his remote for 30 second skip Fri. and checked his diags on standby spindowns and his is at 18 and he has the power saver option on as well. It just seems that you would get one spindown at least a day or am I wrong? Thanks

My records don't show a 9.08 release for any Mediacom site (or any other Cable site for that matter).

What diagnostics page are you using that you determined that you have a 9.08 release? Are you sure that you don't have a Vegas and are using a 9.18 release?

It's not a Vegas, says TDC 775D right above the power button

I went into software and hw ver and it says:
SW Version (DENA) 09.08
HW Version 0x00000007
Serial Num PAT............
TSODA 0x16

Pace Reference 001-411-02-03

What video output are using? Do you ever get graphics when you hit the guide button?

I have it on Component out, I also have tried RF, Composite, & S-Video, no graphics on any of them

Hope thats all you need if not let me know and I'll keep the data until you say so.

For now, that's ok. I'll let you know if I need anything else.

Thanks for the details.

Also about the standby numbers. If all is working well and I shut down for the night the DVR goes into standby and the next day there should be a new number registered on the diags.

Correct.

It just seems that you would get one spindown at least a day or am I wrong? Thanks

Depends. If you put your box in standby once a day, then yes, it should increase by one each day. If you do it more frequently, then the number will increase at a faster pace than that. If the guide is doing a lot of writing to the HDD in standby, then the number won't move.

I went into software and hw ver and it says:
SW Version (DENA) 09.08
HW Version 0x00000007
Serial Num PAT............
TSODA 0x16

Pace Reference 001-411-02-03


Well those numbers are legitimate. :eek:

Here's what I believe happened. After Tahoe's are manufactured, they contain a default application that has no frills functionality (i.e. it knows enough to download the TV Guide firmware used by your site, but has no graphics etc.).

No end user should ever see this default image, but somehow you got a box in this condition so its not surprising that you don't see graphics. According to our records, your site should be on 9.31. Please request that they update the image on your box ASAP.

Well those numbers are legitimate. :eek:

Here's what I believe happened. After Tahoe's are manufactured, they contain a default application that has no frills functionality (i.e. it knows enough to download the TV Guide firmware used by your site, but has no graphics etc.).

No end user should ever see this default image, but somehow you got a box in this condition so its not surprising that you don't see graphics. According to our records, your site should be on 9.31. Please request that they update the image on your box ASAP.
I have called them about it twice, and both times, they say they are going to send a new image to the box, and it should power off, reboot, and all that, and wait about 30 minutes, and it should be working. It does all that, but after waiting an hour just to be sure, I turn it back on, and it still is at the default. I'm going to try calling them again about it, and if it doesn't work this time, I'm going to take it by their office on Monday, since I go by there on the way to work, and see if they can do anything there, or exchange it for a working one.
Thanks for the help!
I had a suspicion that this was the problem

EDIT:
after calling, the woman said that the INT signal will not work with this box, so I'm just going to stop by their office tomorrow and exchange the box, I hope they give me another Pace, but I'll probably end up with a DCT-6200. I guess they have just now started to send the Tahoe out, as she automatically assumed I had a motorola, and I had to tell her I had a Pace, which she then put me back on hold and came back and said that it won't work to send a signal

Hope thats all you need if not let me know and I'll keep the data until you say so.


Please also post the build that each recording was recorded with.

Thanks.

Hope thats all you need if not let me know and I'll keep the data until you say so.


Please also post the build that each recording was recorded with.

I would also like to know the number of trash can empties reported on the DVR Status page.

Thanks.

Just went and exchanged the problem box for another, and the new one is up and running fine

[QUOTE=lindend]Please also post the build that each recording was recorded with.

001-600-04-28 all three that were lost.
There are many recorded with this build that remained.
FYI The new Build is 001-600-04-39 at least those were the numbers on recordings from last night.

I would also like to know the number of trash can empties reported on the DVR Status page.

0 trash empties
0 trash recoveries

See you later.

I just got this Cable Box this Saturday, on Sunday, I was trying to do PIP and to my disappointment, I got an error on the front screen. It is a EO 03. I called the cable Company and they said they have no record of that error code and what to do, so I have to wait until Tuesday to get a new box. I got no documents on this unit. Now I see that it also has a cable modem, this is intriguing as how I might be able to hook up some wireless Access point and use it as well. First and foremost, I am interested in the error and anything I can do for it?

Thanks!

When this happens, have you ever seen an empty dialog on screen that would not go away for ~30 seconds?

Sorry I took so long and thanks for the reply. No, I do not remember seeing any. Just the "Cannot delete..." message.

Bresnan called to say the GJ CO update is tonight.

I was trying to do PIP and to my disappointment,

PIP is not possible with TV Guide.

I got an error on the front screen. It is a EO 03.

Were you watching TV when this error just showed up on the front panel or did it appear when you booted the box.

Now I see that it also has a cable modem, this is intriguing as how I might be able to hook up some wireless Access point and use it as well.

The CableModem is a build option that is controlled by your cable companies. It is not active at all sites.

Were you watching TV when this error just showed up on the front panel or did it appear when you booted the box.

I was watching the TV as I was messing with the controller for PIP stuff. At that time it happened.


The CableModem is a build option that is controlled by your cable companies. It is not active at all sites

Are you aware if SuddenLink does or will do this?

Thanks for your assistance.

Are you aware if SuddenLink does or will do this?

Sorry. Can't comment on SuddenLink's future plans either here or via PM.

What about the EO03 error code and me watching TV at the time it occurred?

I tried to send you an email, I am not sure it went through.

Is there a place I can locate what error codes mean and how to fix them? Besides getting a new box?

Thanks
Daniel

Daniel,

What about the EO03 error code and me watching TV at the time it occurred?


Did the box reboot when the E003 code appeared on the front panel?

Lindend;

Just to update everyone on what we know.

On Feb. 12 in this thread, trabbic reported a lost HD recording with 9.29 and obviously andybub has reported some also. Based on our investigation with Trabbic's report, this is what we know and have replicated:

1. 9.29 or later should not lose any normal size SD recording on a dirty reboot (unless its like an all day manual recording or something odd like that).
2. 9.29 or later can sometimes lose HD recordings longer than 90 minutes on a dirty reboot (obviously unpredictable when this might happen).

This is why I'm puzzled about your American Chopper and Cold Case recordings since they are only 60 minutes and should not have been affected.[/QUOTE]


Last night my son informed me that we had no digital channels but analog channels were OK. I swapped tuners and had digital for a couple of seconds than changed channels and lost it. I did a reboot and all came back and didn't seem to lose any recordings. Quick question on my previous discussion about no standyby spindowns. If I put the DVR in standby and it refuses to spindown is this a dirty reboot?

And any ideas why I would lose digital channels for no apparent reason. This was identical to pre 9.32 when I was hooked up to HDMI and went to VOD. But after reading this thread I went back to component video jacks and that seemed to go away. After 9.32 I still have component jacks hooked up.

If I put the DVR in standby and it refuses to spindown is this a dirty reboot?

No, in this case, the box hasn't rebooted. If the drive doesn't spin down, its either a bug or an application is reading/writing from the drive and preventing a spin down.

And any ideas why I would lose digital channels for no apparent reason.

Sounds like a bug. How long was the box up before this happened? Did it seem sluggish at all when it was in this condition?

No, in this case, the box hasn't rebooted. If the drive doesn't spin down, its either a bug or an application is reading/writing from the drive and preventing a spin down.

I didn't explain that very well. What I meant to say was if I put it in standby and wait several minutes and it still hasn't gone into standby spindown, then I unplug it, wait and plug back in, is that considered a dirty reboot ? Would you be concerned about no standby spindowns ever adding up in diags?



Sounds like a bug. How long was the box up before this happened? Did it seem sluggish at all when it was in this condition?

Probably 3 days and no, no sluggishness. It seems like HDNET and HD Movie channel start pixeling pretty bad periodically. Rebooting cleans it up most of the time but a week ago it didn't help but by morning it was cleared up so I figured it was a Bresnan glitch. Tonight HBO HD is doing it so I will wait and see if it clears by tommorow. When you say bug, is this something that is in this particular machine or software. It's much better than it was anyway since I have rebooted several times since 9.32 and only lost recording on the dirty reboot.

Thanks for you time.

i can only hope that some day armstrong will at least try the new firmware for the tahoe. I am pulling my hair out with the bugs.

Yesterday, for the second time, I noticed the box just decided it doesnt want to record the stanley cup playoffs for me. ...so i miss the first period. IN addition to this I have no sound. I turn to the guide and it clearly states that it should be recording but its not. I swap tuners and the box reads REC. but no record light is on and it isnt recording. I get frustrated, and I unplug the unit....wait a minute and plug it back in. it reboots and starts recording 10 min. later.

I like the fact I have a hdmi to hdmi connection with this unit and the unit has great PQ. It has many features above and beyond the MOTO, and Dish DVRs However, for the 3 years I had DISH DVR I did not have one bug, not one problem. Every day seems to bring a new problem with my new set-up. Box just doesnt want to turn on to record, records last 40 min., no sound, hdcp error, blockiness with the fast fwd, freezing up when pressing play...I really dont feel like I can rely on the STB to record what I want. what can I do? My wife is ready to throw the new tahoe and vegas out the window.

I didn't explain that very well. What I meant to say was if I put it in standby and wait several minutes and it still hasn't gone into standby spindown, then I unplug it, wait and plug back in, is that considered a dirty reboot ?

No. By any chance is the drive making a lot of noise when you're in standby?

Would you be concerned about no standby spindowns ever adding up in diags?

The HDD should be spinning down, so its definitely not functioning optimally. However, its not something that is going to impact your viewing experience. If the box is in a bedroom or someplace similar, I can understand and appreciate that you'd like to get this working.


It seems like HDNET and HD Movie channel start pixeling pretty bad periodically.

Could you clarify the problem? Your initial report indicated no video on digital channels, but this post mentions macroblocking on digital channels. Are you experiencing both problems or are these two separate issues?

Probably 3 days and no, no sluggishness. It seems like HDNET and HD Movie channel start pixeling pretty bad periodically. Rebooting cleans it up most of the time but a week ago it didn't help but by morning it was cleared up so I figured it was a Bresnan glitch.

If the macroblocking ever happens again, please try to channel up and back to the problem channel and let me know if the macroblocking persists.

[QUOTE=lindend]If the macroblocking ever happens again, please try to channel up and back to the problem channel and let me know if the macroblocking persists.[/

Yes the macroblocking did persist yesterday as I did channel up and down as well as go into standby and then power back up. I did call Bresnan earlier and discuss the macroblocking and the spindown issue. The tech said that they had tried an update last night and it didn't finish. She said she would send it now. Since I was at work I said I would check it at lunch. 90 minutes later at lunch I powered up the DVR and for the first time I saw the "animation" you spoke of. I went into diags and checked temp and it was 80/114 the coolest by far and standby spindowns showed an additional spindown. Channels all looked good. Shut it down and ate lunch. 30 minutes later I powered back up hoping to see that animation again but it didn't do it. I called Bresnan back and a different tech claimed the only time it goes into standby spindown is when they are downloading updates to our machines,and so I should only see 4 or 5 a month. But says the DVR should run a lot cooler now because of their new update.
So I guess I'm not sure what to think. About the macroblocking the two had different answers. The first gal said there was an issue with other viewers as well and it should be taken care of, but the guy said it could be signal problem and to call in next time it happens. So there you have it.

[QUOTE=lindend]No. By any chance is the drive making a lot of noise when you're in standby?

No just normal.








[QUOTE]Could you clarify the problem? Your initial report indicated no video on digital channels, but this post mentions macroblocking on digital channels. Are you experiencing both problems or are these two separate issues?

Yes these are two seperate issues. The no digital video only happened once since 9.32.

i can only hope that some day armstrong will at least try the new firmware for the tahoe. I am pulling my hair out with the bugs.

Yesterday, for the second time, I noticed the box just decided it doesnt want to record the stanley cup playoffs for me. ...so i miss the first period. IN addition to this I have no sound. I turn to the guide and it clearly states that it should be recording but its not. I swap tuners and the box reads REC. but no record light is on and it isnt recording. I get frustrated, and I unplug the unit....wait a minute and plug it back in. it reboots and starts recording 10 min. later.

I like the fact I have a hdmi to hdmi connection with this unit and the unit has great PQ. It has many features above and beyond the MOTO, and Dish DVRs However, for the 3 years I had DISH DVR I did not have one bug, not one problem. Every day seems to bring a new problem with my new set-up. Box just doesnt want to turn on to record, records last 40 min., no sound, hdcp error, blockiness with the fast fwd, freezing up when pressing play...I really dont feel like I can rely on the STB to record what I want. what can I do? My wife is ready to throw the new tahoe and vegas out the window.

I totally feel your pain Jake - I'm on Armstrong also - and I normally send one email and make one phone call every week to them about upgrading the firmware - get the same response - "we'll make sure the appropriate people see your request" and I sit back and hope each day that they'll upgrade. It's maddening - luckily the PQ on the Pace is why I keep it - and my wife doesn't get too mad about losing audio/video on American Idol recordings thankfully.

...my wife doesn't get too mad about losing audio/video on American Idol recordings thankfully.Hmmm... I might call losing audio/video on American Idol a feature, not a bug. :rolleyes:

What type of content did you try to record?

In our labs, with XP, CapDVHS seems stable with SD content, but doesn't work too well with HD and/or analog. As far as we can tell, we're feeding it a valid stream that works on DVHS and 1394 TVs, but it blows up anyway and since the source isn't available for the app, there's no way to know why.

Problem is, the app is several years old and judging from the comments on the AVS 1394 thread, it has stability issues with a number of set tops. Does anyone know if the author of this app has any patches and/or fixes?

Sort of related to this... I have a Pace Tahoe with 9.31 firmware. Fedora Core 5 using a generic firewire card with a Texas Instruments chip (Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)). I received the Pace on April 2, 2007, as an upgrade from a Moto 6208. I am using test-mepg2 (from the libiec61883-utils-1.1.0-1.fc6 package) to capture video. I know for a fact on the Moto, I could start a recorded program, get to where I wanted to start the capture and pause it, then start test-mepg2, un-pause the program and play it through, resulting in a valid MPEG2 transport stream. The file size would stay unchanged at 0 bytes until I un-paused the playback. I am almost certain I could perform the same steps with the Tahoe the day after I got it (I have a couple transferred recordings with a date stamp of April 3, 2007).

Much earlier tonight, I decided to archive a few standard definition shows off the Pace, and followed the above procedure (queue up the show, pause it, start the capture, play the program), and I noticed that the file size was increasing very slowly (~2KB/sec*) during playback. The resulting file was not playable (go figure). Here's what I've found:

Live TV (high def, standard def makes no difference) captures fine with a proper bit rate (of course higher for the HD vs. SD). But once the internal processor is in play (hit 15 second replay, or pause the recording and restart it, or play a pre-recorded show, and then exit back to live TV, etc.), the bit rate drops to the ~2KB/sec. Even hitting the "Live" button on my remote (despite the fact that the green "play" LED on the front turns off) doesn't fix the problem. Only turning the box off, or changing channels brings the bit rate back. Here's the really odd bit. The file size changes at the 2KB/sec rate even if the playback is paused.

I don't have a WinXP computer to run the CapDVHS program on, and haven't needed one previously. If someone could verify my results with a different box (or verifying that it's just me), I would appreciate knowing.

For what it's worth, my cable service is through GCI in Anchorage, AK, my hard drive never spins down (even though power saving is enabled on the power menu), and the 30 second skip doesn't even register as a valid code (no "remote" icon when I press the button I assigned it to). The tuner swap button (that I also manually assigned) works.

* The rate is actually ~4KB every 2 seconds. Every other second (give or take) the file size changes, perhaps due to some buffering somewhere.

claimed the only time it goes into standby spindown is when they are downloading updates to our machines

The spin down is unrelated to background download. As I outlined above, the HDD should spin down after two minutes in standby unless something is doing I/O to the drive.

I'm guessing during your second 30 minutes session in standby, TVG probably either read or wrote guide data to the HDD and prevented it from spinning down.

In 9.32 (and previous drops), if the EPG continues to write to the HDD in standby, the firmware eventually will not spin down the drive in an effort to avoid excessive spin up/downs.

We are investigating to see if there's a way to better handle this situation, but that's how it works in 9.32 and older drops.

but the guy said it could be signal problem and to call in next time it happens. So there you have it.

Ok, please keep us updated.

A question about the volume output of this receiver. Both my parents and inlaws have this receiver and hooked up to two slightly different models of the Vizio 37 inch LCD HD TVs. The tv's volume must be turned almost to it's highest level to able to hear it. But using other sources, dvd or vcr, the volume is fine at low to middle levels. I have hooked the tv from the receiver with different cables and to different inputs with the same results. Bresnan cable techs (twenty-something kids just hire off the street) blame the Vizio with speaker problems. I don't buy it. I just don't think these boxes are pumping out the volume they should. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.

A question about the volume output of this receiver. Both my parents and inlaws have this receiver and hooked up to two slightly different models of the Vizio 37 inch LCD HD TVs. The tv's volume must be turned almost to it's highest level to able to hear it. But using other sources, dvd or vcr, the volume is fine at low to middle levels. I have hooked the tv from the receiver with different cables and to different inputs with the same results. Bresnan cable techs (twenty-something kids just hire off the street) blame the Vizio with speaker problems. I don't buy it. I just don't think these boxes are pumping out the volume they should. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.
I noticed my Pace Tahoe did require me to bump up my volume on my Samsung DLP by a fair amount vs. our old Motorola 6412 box. With the Moto box my volume was about 8-10 most of the time on the Samsung whereas with the Pace box it's in the upper teens and sometimes low 20's for a comparable volume level. Not nearly as bad as you describe but still a noticeable difference vs. the Moto.

I recived the Tahoe TDC 775 From Bresnan about about five weeks ago, and this forum has been of great help Thanks to all the users and Lindend. But ever since bresnan pushed out the update, i have been having issues. My machine will Lag when pushing the contols, like I push on the record button, and it just sits there, the program contiunes to run, and then like after 3 minutes the machine trys to catch up with the controls that I pushed. I also had a second issue that happend last night where I recorded a program, but I could not delete is it stated that the file was currently in use and could not be closed error CIU. None of the record or play lights were active on the front of the machine. The only way that I could get the program to delete was to soft shutdown and then power the machine off. Any ideas???

With the Moto box my volume was about 8-10 most of the time on the Samsung whereas with the Pace box it's in the upper teens and sometimes low 20's for a comparable volume level. Not nearly as bad as you describe but still a noticeable difference vs. the Moto.

As acknowledged earlier in the thread, if you do comparative tests, the Tahoe volume output will be lower that the Motorola's. Although, as Bill mentioned, the difference should not be as significant as the amount reported by cactusflier.

I also had a second issue that happend last night where I recorded a program, but I could not delete is it stated that the file was currently in use and could not be closed error CIU. None of the record or play lights were active on the front of the machine. The only way that I could get the program to delete was to soft shutdown and then power the machine off. Any ideas???

Did the problem persist even if you entered/exited standby?

Did the problem persist even if you entered/exited standby?

Yes

Yes

We have replicated a similar issue in our labs. When I've seen it, it is sometimes correctable by going into standby and coming out. However, sometimes, a reboot is required. :( Sorry.

Now before the CIU, typically, there is another error dialog that shows. By any chance, do you know if there was another error dialog before that happens?

Hi, I am trying to get my BenQ PE8700 projector to work with a Pace TDC775D box via HDMI. I have an HDMI-DVI cable connecting the two. My display shows "DVI not supportive" when connected. Only when I disconnect the HDMI cable for a second and then plug it back in does it bring up a picture. Then about 20 sec. after it displays a picture it suddenly reboots the box. And then its back to saying not supportive again. It works fine with all other types of connections however. Also, I just got this box from my cable company because my Motorola box which worked fine for over year suddenly stopped working via HDMI... scrambled characters on the display etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :confused:

FYI

For those of you Armstrong Cable customers with Pace HD boxes, I got the word last night that an update was being pushed out at 3AM this morning. My box is now at:
SW Ver 74.62 - 3337
FW Ver 09.31
TVG 248

FYI

For those of you Armstrong Cable customers with Pace HD boxes, I got the word last night that an update was being pushed out at 3AM this morning. My box is now at:
SW Ver 74.62 - 3337
FW Ver 09.31
TVG 248
Awesome - that's great news! I can't wait to check it out tonight. I may even order my external SATA hd now. :)

We have replicated a similar issue in our labs. When I've seen it, it is sometimes correctable by going into standby and coming out. However, sometimes, a reboot is required. :( Sorry.

Now before the CIU, typically, there is another error dialog that shows. By any chance, do you know if there was another error dialog before that happens?


No I did not see one, just the one that is mentioned. Also one question off topic, is it possible to turn off my Sata hard drive with out powering down my machine?

is it possible to turn off my Sata hard drive with out powering down my machine?

No. Hot plug of a SATA drive is not supported.

As acknowledged earlier in the thread, if you do comparative tests, the Tahoe volume output will be lower that the Motorola's. Although, as Bill mentioned, the difference should not be as significant as the amount reported by cactusflier.


my volume reads 0 - 100. With OTA I usually listen at 23. with the Tahoe I need to crank it to about 46.

FYI

For those of you Armstrong Cable customers with Pace HD boxes, I got the word last night that an update was being pushed out at 3AM this morning. My box is now at:
SW Ver 74.62 - 3337
FW Ver 09.31
TVG 248


lindend is this version of TVG 30 second skip programable? I know you previously said that ver 240 was.

lindend is this version of TVG 30 second skip programable?

Yes.

I had to replace my box with a new one. I had an external drive hooked up and rehooked it up to the new one. Even though my hard drive is recognized in the internal diagnostics (even tells how much is used and left), no programs are listed in the DVR menu (it reads 0% full) and on the content listing of the diag. menu, everything that used to be listed reads <<metadata corrupt>>. Can I get access to these again? If not, can I at least delete my hard drive to get the space back?

Also, I now have 9.31. Is this the version that now supports the 30 sec. skip, and if so, where do I find the process to set that up? Thanks in advance for any help.

Forget the 30 sec skip, I found it in an earlier post. But now I can't use any DVR functions for live tv. Pause, rew, etc. all show a circle with a line through it on screen and do nothing. These boxes are killing me.

Yes.


Thank you! I programmed the remote and I have my 30-sec skip. This is truly a good day.

Forget the 30 sec skip, I found it in an earlier post. But now I can't use any DVR functions for live tv. Pause, rew, etc. all show a circle with a line through it on screen and do nothing. These boxes are killing me.
Your external SATA hd "handshakes" with your Pace box - it's unique as I recall - so once you have them connected - everything is unique - if you replace your box - you'll lose everything on that external SATA hd - then you need to re-format it and re-handshake with the new box.

I also suspect that maybe that's why the pause/rewind functions are not working since the external HD is not yet re-formatted/re-handshook and the box doesn't know where to buffer/save the things you're trying to pause/rewind/record. Just a hunch - I'm sure Linden can explain it if I'm wrong.

Armstrong finally pushed down 9.31 (did you get it BillKen?). The update also included the new guide with the 30 second skip. :)

I have had an external drive waiting for any firmware update greater than 9.21. So I powered down the box, hooked up the drive. After powering up, it asked me if I wanted to format the external drive, I selected "Yes". Almost immediately the box replied with the error "Failed to format drive. Ok.". :(

The drive is a Maxtor SATA drive I put into an external case that has both a USB and eSTATA connection. After the failure, I hooked the drive up to a Windows PC via the eSTATA connection (minus the gender changer) to a secondary SATA connection and it was recognized by Window XP as new hardware.

Any ideas?

Armstrong finally pushed down 9.31 (did you get it BillKen?). The update also included the new guide with the 30 second skip. :)

I have had an external drive waiting for any firmware update greater than 9.21. So I powered down the box, hooked up the drive. After powering up, it asked me if I wanted to format the external drive, I selected "Yes". Almost immediately the box replied with the error "Failed to format drive. Ok.". :(

The drive is a Maxtor SATA drive I put into an external case that has both a USB and eSTATA connection. After the failure, I hooked the drive up to a Windows PC via the eSTATA connection (minus the gender changer) to a secondary SATA connection and it was recognized by Window XP as new hardware.

Any ideas?
I sure did get it - THANK GOD! So far I'm happy with it - I did notice a couple of SD commercials looked horrible now - but I'll wait a bit longer before I complain. :) The 30-second skip makes every other issue I can think of bearable now though! :rolleyes:

Keep me posted on your ESata drive issue - I've been wanting to get one but held off until now since 9.21 didn't support them. Thanks!

everything that used to be listed reads <<metadata corrupt>>. Can I get access to these again? If not, can I at least delete my hard drive to get the space back?

The content from the old machine can't be viewed on the new one (that's why you see diagnostics complain about corrupt content).

There are two solutions to remove the old content:

1. Connect the drive to your old machine and manually delete all the recordings (not possible in your case).

2. Format the eSATA drive in diags (this is quicker anyway).

As I mentioned way back when I posted the 9.31 release notes, I recommend reformatting the eSATA drive anyway to avoid potential data loss on reboots.

The instructions for formatting the eSATA drive are posted several times in the thread history, but I'll post it again.

In the main diags page, press

Repeat
MyDVR
MyDVR
MyDVR
LIVE

*note: MYDVR may be LIST on your remote

This will bring up a screen where you can reformat the drive.

Be sure to select the second drive (drive 2/2) before you start the format. Otherwise, you'll end up formatting your internal drive.

Pause, rew, etc. all show a circle with a line through it on screen and do nothing.

Sounds like the Live Off Disk (LOD) recordings are not taking place. To help diagnose the problem, do the DVR or HDD status pages in diagnostics list all the drives in your system?

Thanks BillKen and Linden.

I have a couple more questions, if you don't mind.

1) Before reformatting, can I hook up the external hard drive to my computer and get the content off it, so I don't lose it?

2) I have 9.31 now, but my TVG is less than 240. I don't remember the exact number as I'm not at home now. Does this mean I am not able to program the 30 sec. skip, because I tried it and it did not respond.

Is there a way to program the UEI Atlas Remote to issue the cmd for the 30 second skip?

Is there a way to program the UEI Atlas Remote to issue the cmd for the 30 second skip?
Can your remote learn commands from other remotes?

My Harmony 880 can - so I ended up buying a Comcast DVR remote off of Ebay for like $8 - followed the steps to set up the 30-second skip on it - then learned it with my 880. The directions for programming a Comcast remote to do 30-second skip are everywhere on the net.

1) Before reformatting, can I hook up the external hard drive to my computer and get the content off it, so I don't lose it?

Sorry, this is one of those topics where I can't comment. I will tell you that Windows will not recognize the partition.

2) I have 9.31 now, but my TVG is less than 240. I don't remember the exact number as I'm not at home now. Does this mean I am not able to program the 30 sec. skip, because I tried it and it did not respond.

Yes, 24 or higher is required to re-activate the 30 second skip.

Is there a way to program the UEI Atlas Remote to issue the cmd for the 30 second skip?
It should be possible, being a UEI remote. Try these instructions:

Try the following:

1. Point the remote to your box. It's best if the box is playing a recording as you do this.
2. Press (do not hold) SETUP.
3. Enter 1-7-3 or 0-0-1-7-3 (older remotes want a 3-digit number, while newer ones require a 5-digit number).

Does the box respond to the code you entered?

If so, you can program it to a button using the following instructions:

1. Press and hold SETUP until the device button flashes twice.
2. Enter 9-9-4. The device button should flash twice.
3. Press (do not hold) SETUP.
4. Enter 1-7-3 or 0-0-1-7-3 (whichever code worked above).
5. Press whatever button you want the function assigned to. There should be two flashes.

To reset a button back to its original function, do the following:

1. Press and hold SETUP until the device key flashes twice.
2. Enter 9-9-4 (two flashes).
3. Press the button you want to reset twice (two flashes).

Armstrong finally pushed down 9.31.

I have had an external drive waiting for any firmware update greater than 9.21. So I powered down the box, hooked up the drive. After powering up, it asked me if I wanted to format the external drive, I selected "Yes". Almost immediately the box replied with the error "Failed to format drive. Ok.". :(

The drive is a Maxtor SATA drive I put into an external case that has both a USB and eSTATA connection. After the failure, I hooked the drive up to a Windows PC via the eSTATA connection (minus the gender changer) to a secondary SATA connection and it was recognized by Window XP as new hardware.

Any ideas?

I also noticed tonight when I tried to hook up the external drive again that it was listed as "invalid" under the "interfaces sata" diagnostics menu.

Lindend what would cause the PACE to flag the drive as "invalid"?

Lindend what would cause the PACE to flag the drive as "invalid"?

This will appear if the drive has a valid (but unrecognized) format.

Did the system ask you if it could format the drive when you connected it?

Have you tried to format it from diagnostics?

You indicate that it is a Maxtor drive. What is the model #, size info etc. Is it a native SATA drive in a eSATA enclosure?

The HDD should be spinning down, so its definitely not functioning optimally. However, its not something that is going to impact your viewing experience. If the box is in a bedroom or someplace similar, I can understand and appreciate that you'd like to get this working.

Lindend FYI: Since Friday the HDD has had about 11 standby spindowns. That gal at Bresnan seemed to have done something right. I've noticed it doesn't seem to spindown if I have a recording scheduled for the future (which I believe you mentioned in an earlier post). And after it has spundown there still is heat and some minimal humming on the right side of the DVR which I assume is the result of the transformer. Glad to see everyone seems to be getting software upgrades.

It should be possible, being a UEI remote. Try these instructions:

Try the following:

1. Point the remote to your box. It's best if the box is playing a recording as you do this.
2. Press (do not hold) SETUP.
3. Enter 1-7-3 or 0-0-1-7-3 (older remotes want a 3-digit number, while newer ones require a 5-digit number).

Does the box respond to the code you entered?

If so, you can program it to a button using the following instructions:

1. Press and hold SETUP until the device button flashes twice.
2. Enter 9-9-4. The device button should flash twice.
3. Press (do not hold) SETUP.
4. Enter 1-7-3 or 0-0-1-7-3 (whichever code worked above).
5. Press whatever button you want the function assigned to. There should be two flashes.

To reset a button back to its original function, do the following:

1. Press and hold SETUP until the device key flashes twice.
2. Enter 9-9-4 (two flashes).
3. Press the button you want to reset twice (two flashes).


YeeeHaaaw, Thanks so much for that one!

That is soooo nice! I programmed the F1 button on it to the 5digit version and it now skips ahead. I thought about programming the live button to it, which is right across from the skip back button but decided I might actually use it once and a while. Plus the F1 button is directly above it and not used for anything.

Thanks again!

programmed the F1 button on it to the 5digit version and it now skips ahead. I thought about programming the live button to it, which is right across from the skip back button but decided I might actually use it once and a while. Plus the F1 button is directly above it and not used for anything.I like using the triangular and yellow A button. It is easily felt out in the dark, not to be mistaken for the rewind or VOD buttons by the F1. But then again, it's been so long since I've been able to use the 30 sec button, that it'll take a while to get unused to the fff->rw trick that I've come to instinctually use at the first hint of commercials. ;-) Here 's hoping for 9.31+ upgrade to happen soon. Come on Bresnan...

This will appear if the drive has a valid (but unrecognized) format.

Did the system ask you if it could format the drive when you connected it?

Yes and I selected Ok. It then produced the message "Failed to format drive. Ok"

Have you tried to format it from diagnostics?

I tried last night using the instructions that you had posted. When I got to the format menu the option to select the external drive did not seem to be there. There was an ">" by the "drive 1/1" listing, but selecting the right arrow on the remote did not seem to do anything.

You indicate that it is a Maxtor drive. What is the model #, size info etc. Is it a native SATA drive in a eSATA enclosure?

I will post the details tonight when I get home. It is a native 120GB SATA drive that I had removed from my PC, put into an eSATA/USB enclosure, and then wiped clean with a disk eraser. When it failed to format on the PACE two nights ago, I hooked the enclosure up to another PC I had at home using the STATA cable to a second SATA port inside the PC. Windows XP recognized the "new hardware". I put a primary partition on it and did a quick format with NTFS. I hooked it back to the PACE and still got the "Unable to format" error at power up. I did this to confirm the (e)STATA connection on the enclosure. Previously I had the drive connected to the PC via USB to wipe it.

wildrock, Bresnan, Grand Junction went to .32 with the I-Guide update last Thursday. Hopefully they will upgrade you soon. The upgrade is underway it just seems to take forever. We also started getting A&EHD yesterday and there is another channel in the HD series that is showing a test pattern. Slow, slow progress! :D

There was an ">" by the "drive 1/1" listing, but selecting the right arrow on the remote did not seem to do anything.


This is not good. It means the system is no longer recognizing it. Did this also happen after it failed to format the drive?

More questions:

1. What type of enclosure is it?
2. Is this a SSC (Spread Spectrum Clocking) SATA drive? SSC drives aren't supported (typically, there is a jumper to turn SSC off).

Linden - is it possible for a cable provider to remove features from the firmware on their own? Such as possibly Armstrong disabling eSata support? Just curious.

Linden - is it possible for a cable provider to remove features from the firmware on their own?

Sort of. Depending on the feature you're talking about, the cable head end can dynamically enable/disable HD, 1394, DVR and other features.

SATA is currently a build option and the MSO can choose whether or not they want the SATA port enabled.

Such as possibly Armstrong disabling eSata support? Just curious.

The Armstrong build is SATA enabled.

This is not good. It means the system is no longer recognizing it. Did this also happen after it failed to format the drive?

More questions:

1. What type of enclosure is it?

Sabrent Black Serial ATA (SATA) & SATA II to eSata or USB 2.0 3.5" Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329298&CMP=EMC-TIGEREMAIL&SRCCODE=WEBLET01I)



2. Is this a SSC (Spread Spectrum Clocking) SATA drive? SSC drives aren't supported (typically, there is a jumper to turn SSC off).

The drive is a Maxtor 6Y120M0 (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=eac8ec70fce8f010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&locale=en-US). The documents say there are no jumper settings.

Anybody know how to force this box to output 16:9? Mine is stuck on 4:3 on HD channels and squeezes everything on the screen in a 16:9 picture into a 4:3 box. I can stretch it out with my TV, but I am sacrificing quality by doing this (and its obvious).

My TV is a Sony Bravia KDL46XBR2 connected via HDMI. I was using Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD from Cox until yesterday with no problems before.

I called MediaCom and they just sent me the PDF Operators Manual that says go to the User Setting Mode and select 16:9. I did that right I think, but I get no feedback from that screen saying it actually on 16:9 or 4:3.

I found the diagnostic menu by searching this thread, and under the AV status window, it says I am outputing 720P with an Aspect Ratio of 16:9. However my Sony still shows 720p at 4:3 as the source.

Any help is appreciated, Thanks

I just purchased a Seagate 300gb ESATA drive to plug into my TDC575D (Vegas) DVR. It didn't work. I called my provider GCI here in Anchorage AK. They said they disable all extra functions like ESATA due to copyright laws. They say it is illegal to copy copyrighted material to an external device. This bites! Firmware is 9.18. Any chances on getting my drive to work?

just joined the board so i could get involved. i also have mediacom and just had my tahoe installed last friday. starting about three nights ago, while recording two things at the same time, the box quit recording both programs and the hd service has been overtly pixelated and near unwatchable. i chalked that aspect up to mediacom, but now with my dvr options, i seem to still be able to watch and record things, but i can no longer control the live channel i'm watching. no rewind, pause, etc. it has popped up an acc error and a ciu error. i contacted mediacom about it, but they said no one can come out until may 9th. i took it anyway, but was hoping maybe it's the dvr stuff was something i could try and fix, if you had any ideas.

I have one of these PACE 775D boxes with Bresnan in Colorado here, but I also have a MythTV box that I use as my main DVR.

I have one of my PVR150 cards that has a tuner issue and I am unable to use it to receive cable signals directly. Its Composite and SVideo inputs still work fine, so I was thinking about an alternative of using it with the digital cable box. I'd love to have 3 tuners, with 1 of them able to record the upper digital channels.

I noticed an IR transmit and IR receive port on the back of this unit. Are these enabled, and if so, how would you use them? It would be really nice to be able to run cable straight over from my mythtv PC to the Pace box without the intermediate step of running signals through the air.

Anybody know how to force this box to output 16:9? Mine is stuck on 4:3 on HD channels and squeezes everything on the screen in a 16:9 picture into a 4:3 box. I can stretch it out with my TV, but I am sacrificing quality by doing this (and its obvious).

My TV is a Sony Bravia KDL46XBR2 connected via HDMI. I was using Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD from Cox until yesterday with no problems before.

I called MediaCom and they just sent me the PDF Operators Manual that says go to the User Setting Mode and select 16:9. I did that right I think, but I get no feedback from that screen saying it actually on 16:9 or 4:3.

I found the diagnostic menu by searching this thread, and under the AV status window, it says I am outputing 720P with an Aspect Ratio of 16:9. However my Sony still shows 720p at 4:3 as the source.

Any help is appreciated, Thanks
I believe you turn off "auto pillarbox" in the setup menu.

I've tried both "auto pillarbox" on and off. This does not seem to affect anything.

For clarification, My STB sees analog 4:3 and puts it out as a 4:3 properly. But when I go to a digital channel, I get pillarboxes even with something that should be widescreen and that widescreen image is squished horizontally into a 4:3 space.

Just tested component video, and it is outputing a 16:9 properly, however HDMI is sending the 4:3 squished image simultaneously.

Any ideas?????

I just purchased a Seagate 300gb ESATA drive to plug into my TDC575D (Vegas) DVR. It didn't work..... Firmware is 9.18. Any chances on getting my drive to work?

As mentioned in the Vegas Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=790514&page=1&pp=60), eSATA support is not enabled in the 9.18 firmware.

Couple of clarifications on this. There are no federal (or state) restrictions on using an eSATA drive.

Tahoe and Vegas use two completely different firmware images. All Tahoe firmware drops (except 9.21 due to a bug) are capable of supporting eSATA (and as I mentioned to Bill, the cable company still has the option of theoretically disabling it). The Vegas 9.18 firmware does not support eSATA but that is a software and not legal limitation.

Just tested component video, and it is outputing a 16:9 properly, however HDMI is sending the 4:3 squished image simultaneously.

From a hardware standpoint, the same 16x9 image is sent to both Component and HDMI outputs. So if you see 16x9 on component, then I'm pretty sure something isn't configured properly on your HDMI display.

In addition, Tahoe won't adjust the aspect ratio on HD content. Only SD. So if the incoming content is 16x9, it will be output 16x9.

Are you sure there isn't some obscure setting on your TV that might be right for Component and wrong for HDMI?

it has popped up an acc error and a ciu error.

Please see the recent CIU discussion where a reboot was required to recover. Have you tried to reboot?

To reboot, place your box in standby, wait 15 seconds and then remove power. Let us know if this helps.

I was using Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD from Cox until yesterday with no problems before.

Could you clarify something please. Tahoe (TDC775) does not run on the same network as an SA 8300HD. Did you recently move or switch cable providers?

Well I think I ran into one of this be careful what you wish for situations. After the upgrade to 9.31, I "lose" my video from the PACE if I have the TV power of for an extended period of time. The PACE is connected to my "ancient" Hitachi S700 TV via an HDMI to DVI cable. The "Input 1" that the PACE is connected to on the TV is a combination DVI/component/composite input. What appears to be happening is that when I turn the TV on and immediately (via a macro) select "Input 1", the TV does not auto-detect "signal" on the DVI and defaults to the component input.

I have gotten out of this situation in several ways including changing from a HD to SD channel (which changes output from 1080i to 480i in my configuration), changing the TV to the ANT input and back to "Input 1", and turning off the PACE. Nothing so far has been consistent. I will probably hook up component video in addition to the DVI connection as a wife[work]-around tonight. I think the TV prefers the DVI over the component and there is no way that I can find to hardcode it to use DVI only.

Lindend, was there some HDMI change that introduced a timeout or something similar that would cause this? I did not have problems with 9.21.

Lindend, was there some HDMI change that introduced a timeout or something similar that would cause this? I did not have problems with 9.21.

There were some HDMI changes in 9.31 to fix HDCP issues but this shouldn't be impacting you. Couple of things to investigate:

1. Does this happen on all types of content or just some channels?

2. Do you have any channels where the lock icon appears?

3. If you turn your TV on/off a couple of times, does the problem persist (i.e. wrong signal selection)?

4. If you temporarily only have the DVI input connected, does the problem persist?

5. If you go into diags and check the HDMI page, is HDCP active?

:(
I have a Benq 8700 connected with a HDMI/DVI cable. The Benq will not display any non-HD video from my Pace HD PVR. It displays the HD channels just fine. Unlike my old Motorola HD PVR, there is no way to designate the output of the Pace PVR to a DVI rather than a pure HDMI output.

Luckily I still have another old Motorola PVR on my new Sharp LCD (that happens to be HDPC compliant) so I am switching boxes -- but the bad news is that once that Motorola box dies, I am left with using component connections only with the Pace to the Benq, with a resultant loss of black level and overall video signal quality.

Count me as disappointed in this "improved" DVR. Maybe Pace can figure out a firmware revision that could fix this issue and make it backwards compatible for display devices with DVI inputs that are not HDPC compliant?

See my other post -- we're in the same boat. I am told the only way to get the Pace Tahoe to work with the Benq is thru a component connection -- horrible.

Luckily I still have another old Motorola PVR on my new Sharp LCD (that happens to be HDPC compliant) so I am switching boxes -- but the bad news is that once that Motorola box dies, I am left with using component connections only with the Pace to the Benq, with a resultant loss of black level and overall video signal quality.


HDCP is only a requirement if your cable company has activated HDCP support. Who is your cable provider?

I have some questions:

1. Is this Benq model HDCP compatible? I've seen some links that indicate that it is, but you indicate that it isn't.

2. Does this happen with all SD channels or just some SD channels? Does it happen with analog channels or just digital SD?

3. What software/firmware revision is your Tahoe at?

HDCP is only a requirement if your cable company has activated HDCP support. Who is your cable provider?

The only cable provider in Alaska, GCI Cable.

I have some questions:

1. Is this Benq model HDCP compatible? I've seen some links that indicate that it is, but you indicate that it isn't.

I have a Benq 8700 I was told by Benq that it is not HDCP compliant.

2. Does this happen with all SD channels or just some SD channels? Does it happen with analog channels or just digital SD?

All the SD channels are inop -- "DVI not supportive" is displayed. I don't know the difference between analog and digital SD.

3. What software/firmware revision is your Tahoe at?

I'm in Japan so will need to check this when I get home. What is the latest version?

Thanks

The firmware version in Anchorage is 9.31, but we do not have the new guide or 30 sec skip capability.

Sabrent Black Serial ATA (SATA) & SATA II to eSata or USB 2.0 3.5" Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329298&CMP=EMC-TIGEREMAIL&SRCCODE=WEBLET01I)

The drive is a Maxtor 6Y120M0 (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=eac8ec70fce8f010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD&locale=en-US). The documents say there are no jumper settings.

I swapped the Maxtor 6Y120M0 with the Western Digital WD1600JS in my kid's computer and everything is working now with the eSATA connection. I did notice that the Maxtor was only rated at 150 MB/s. It also appeared from the documentation that it was really designed as an ATA drive with a serial to parallel converter to make it a SATA drive. Does the PACE have any sanity checks on the drive that would have cause the format to fail?

There were some HDMI changes in 9.31 to fix HDCP issues but this shouldn't be impacting you. Couple of things to investigate:

1. Does this happen on all types of content or just some channels?

I think I have seen this when tuned to both HD and SD channels.

2. Do you have any channels where the lock icon appears?

Yes, some of the HD channels have a lock icon.

3. If you turn your TV on/off a couple of times, does the problem persist (i.e. wrong signal selection)?

So far since I have posted this I have not seen the problem. :confused:

4. If you temporarily only have the DVI input connected, does the problem persist?

I was not sure what exactly you meant here, but I know I fixed the problem once by unplugging the HDMI cable and reinserting it.

5. If you go into diags and check the HDMI page, is HDCP active?

HDCP is disable.

From a hardware standpoint, the same 16x9 image is sent to both Component and HDMI outputs. So if you see 16x9 on component, then I'm pretty sure something isn't configured properly on your HDMI display.

In addition, Tahoe won't adjust the aspect ratio on HD content. Only SD. So if the incoming content is 16x9, it will be output 16x9.

Are you sure there isn't some obscure setting on your TV that might be right forComponent and wrong for HDMI?

__________________
Linden
Pace Micro Technology (note the views expressed here are my own and not necessarily those of Pace).

I'm pretty sure its not my TV, I know how to operate it, and I did so just fine with my last HD DVR and PS3 (not being rude). My TV tells me what signal it is receiving in the menu, and it shows 720p/1080i and 4:3 for all the HD channels on HDMI while simultaneously showing it is getting a 16:9 signal from the component video cables. I've got my TV set to stretch out the HDMI signal to 16:9, but it seems obvious that I would be losing picture quality by squeezing the picture together in the DVR and then stretching it out again in my TV.

I've talked to 3 Mediacom people and they don't have any idea, they said just come get a different box. One of them said the same thing you did about they should both be outputting the same thing. Makes sense to me, but its not working as advertised for some reason.


Could you clarify something please. Tahoe (TDC775) does not run on the same network as an SA 8300HD. Did you recently move or switch cable providers?

Yes, I just moved from an area serviced by Cox to an area serviced by Mediacom. (Figured I'd wait till Directv can offer HD locals before I jump on any sort of contract with them.)

Thanks, Marcus

Sort of related to this... I have a Pace Tahoe with 9.31 firmware. Fedora Core 5 using a generic firewire card with a Texas Instruments chip (Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)). I received the Pace on April 2, 2007, as an upgrade from a Moto 6208. I am using test-mepg2 (from the libiec61883-utils-1.1.0-1.fc6 package) to capture video. I know for a fact on the Moto, I could start a recorded program, get to where I wanted to start the capture and pause it, then start test-mepg2, un-pause the program and play it through, resulting in a valid MPEG2 transport stream. The file size would stay unchanged at 0 bytes until I un-paused the playback. I am almost certain I could perform the same steps with the Tahoe the day after I got it (I have a couple transferred recordings with a date stamp of April 3, 2007).
Hmm.. I've been trying to capture using Gentoo and haven't gotten very far. Seems like it's easy on a Motorola box, but is a pain on the Pace boxes.
I don't have a WinXP computer to run the CapDVHS program on, and haven't needed one previously. If someone could verify my results with a different box (or verifying that it's just me), I would appreciate knowing.
Don't bother. I've been trying this for weeks and it keeps crashing between 5 and 50 seconds during the capture. Even after the 9.32 Update (I'm on Bresnan).

I swapped the Maxtor 6Y120M0 with the Western Digital WD1600JS in my kid's computer and everything is working now with the eSATA connection.

How does your kid feel about the swap out? :)

Does the PACE have any sanity checks on the drive that would have cause the format to fail?

Only tested true eSATA (non SSC) drives are supported. I am not surprised that you had issues in this case.

and it shows 720p/1080i and 4:3 for all the HD channels on HDMI while simultaneously showing it is getting a 16:9 signal from the component video cables. I've got my TV set to stretch out the HDMI signal to 16:9

Marcus,

Under normal circumstances, 720p/1080i are 16x9 and that is how the box sends out the signal. It is puzzling to me why your display thinks its a 4x3 aspect ratio (especially when component is getting 16x9).

Two things:

1. Do you have any other HDMI devices in the house that you could try to connect to the Tahoe?

2. Its possible (although extremely unlikely) that the source resolution is actually 4x3 (i.e. 1440 x 1080 etc.). Does your TV show the incoming resolution or just 720p or 1080i?

I was not sure what exactly you meant here, but I know I fixed the problem once by unplugging the HDMI cable and reinserting it.

Sorry. Let me try to clarify. I am suspicious that having multiple inputs active at the same time is confusing your TV. I want to find out if the problem still occurs if you only have HDMI plugged in.

However, since you can't easily replicate this, it may be impossible to test my scenario out. :(

question of the day here. I am trying to hook a dvd recorder up to the tahoe. The hdmi is running to the tv and is working fine. However, I cant seeme to get a picture from the s-video out, or the yellow composites. Are these working outputs on the tahoe??

This bites! Firmware is 9.18. Any chances on getting my drive to work?

FYI...9.22 Vegas firmware is starting to be rolled out at some sites. The eSATA port can be enabled in that build (assuming that your cable company wants the eSATA port active).

All future discussions on this topic should be posted to the Vegas Thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=790514). I only posted a reply on this thread due to the concern about whether it was legal to enable eSATA support on Vegas.

Sort of related to this... I have a Pace Tahoe with 9.31 firmware. Fedora Core 5 using a generic firewire card with a Texas Instruments chip (Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 IEEE-1394a-2000 Controller (PHY/Link)). I received the Pace on April 2, 2007, as an upgrade from a Moto 6208. I am using test-mepg2 (from the libiec61883-utils-1.1.0-1.fc6 package) to capture video. I know for a fact on the Moto, I could start a recorded program, get to where I wanted to start the capture and pause it, then start test-mepg2, un-pause the program and play it through, resulting in a valid MPEG2 transport stream. The file size would stay unchanged at 0 bytes until I un-paused the playback. I am almost certain I could perform the same steps with the Tahoe the day after I got it (I have a couple transferred recordings with a date stamp of April 3, 2007).
Hmm.. I've been trying to capture using Gentoo and haven't gotten very far. Seems like it's easy on a Motorola box, but is a pain on the Pace boxes.

Well , I finally got a chance to follow the directions in the " Record and playback via IEEE 1394 (a.k.a. Firewire) with linux!" thread of the "Firewire 1394 Trade Association Q&A" section (not being able to post URLs sucks...) , with good results. For what it's worth, I think what helped most was the "setrom" step. I ran setrom, ran avc_vcr_hdtv as compiled in the instructions, and then tried using test-mpeg. It works!

Then I killed the avc_vcr_hdtv program and tried using test-mpeg again. It still works.

So here is at least one anecdotal instance of limited (I haven't tried recording more than 20 or 30 seconds so far) success between a Pace DVR and Linux's libraw1394. Also, with the Motorola DCT-6208 when I had a program paused, no data flowed into the file I was capturing to. This is not the case with the Pace. Data flows in at ~2K/sec while the show is paused. I have not tested what that (supposedly junk) data does at the start of a capture yet, but I can live with having to start the capture after hitting play.

Marcus,

Under normal circumstances, 720p/1080i are 16x9 and that is how the box sends out the signal. It is puzzling to me why your display thinks its a 4x3 aspect ratio (especially when component is getting 16x9).

Two things:

1. Do you have any other HDMI devices in the house that you could try to connect to the Tahoe?

2. Its possible (although extremely unlikely) that the source resolution is actually 4x3 (i.e. 1440 x 1080 etc.). Does your TV show the incoming resolution or just 720p or 1080i?


1. As much as I would love to to be independently wealthy, I only have the one TV that has HDMI inputs.

2. Sony's KDL-46XBR2 just shows whether it's revieving 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p and then if it is recieving 4:3 or 16:9.
(Sony usually has some cosmic diagnostic modes that might show the actual resolution, but I have not gotten that far with this TV as I just got it as a trade from Sony for my "POS" KDS-50XBR1.)

So as the resident expert on this thread, do you think I should bother swapping the box with MediaCom for another one, or just keep it and use the component video cables. Does HDMI connection really make a noticable improvent in picture quality over component video?

-Marcus

So as the resident expert on this thread, do you think I should bother swapping the box with MediaCom for another one, or just keep it and use the component video cables. Does HDMI connection really make a noticable improvent in picture quality over component video?
-Marcus

Given that component is outputing the correct aspect ratio, I don't think there is a hardware or software fault on the Tahoe side of the equation.

As far as HDMI versus component, theoretically, HDMI should produce a superior picture. However, unless you're a videophile, I don't think you'll see a difference.

BillKen had a similar dilemma a couple months back due a software bug and switched over to component and I don't think he noticed a difference. Care to comment Bill?

question of the day here. I am trying to hook a dvd recorder up to the tahoe. The hdmi is running to the tv and is working fine. However, I cant seeme to get a picture from the s-video out, or the yellow composites. Are these working outputs on the tahoe??


ok i am quoting myself...

Lindend, The yellow composite is working fine.

Is the S-video on the the tahoe an out or in? Is it enabled?

Is the S-video on the the tahoe an out or in? Is it enabled?

Its an output and yes, it is enabled.

How does your kid feel about the swap out? :)

With both boys being toddlers, they were more interested in why I had "their" computer open than the speed and type of HD. It was a bare bones system I bought for them from Christmas and it has not done much more than visit playhousedisney.com. :)

Sorry. Let me try to clarify. I am suspicious that having multiple inputs active at the same time is confusing your TV. I want to find out if the problem still occurs if you only have HDMI plugged in.

However, since you can't easily replicate this, it may be impossible to test my scenario out. :(


I never got to wire the component video. I went home looking for a failure to provide the debug information, but all weekend I have not seen the problem. Maybe all I needed to do was post the problem. :)

Given that component is outputing the correct aspect ratio, I don't think there is a hardware or software fault on the Tahoe side of the equation.

As far as HDMI versus component, theoretically, HDMI should produce a superior picture. However, unless you're a videophile, I don't think you'll see a difference.

BillKen had a similar dilemma a couple months back due a software bug and switched over to component and I don't think he noticed a difference. Care to comment Bill?
I honestly couldn't tell the difference between HDMI and Component connections on my Samsung HL-R5067W 50" DLP TV. I'm certainly not a videophile by any stretch but I guess you could say I'm pretty fussy about my PQ.

Its an output and yes, it is enabled.


hmmm no luck. is it a pass through or does it only work if the HDMI is disconected?

hmmm no luck. is it a pass through or does it only work if the HDMI is disconected?

The SD outputs (RCA, RF and S-Video) are independent from the HD outputs (HDMI and Component).

It probably would be helpful if you provided more details on exactly how you are trying to wire everything together.

I never got to wire the component video. I went home looking for a failure to provide the debug information, but all weekend I have not seen the problem. Maybe all I needed to do was post the problem. :)

The problem happened again last night. The TV and PACE were working fine earlier in the day. Later that night I turned the TV on with the PACE selected as input and the screen was blank. After realizing it was blank (~5s to 10s) and checking the input type detected by the TV, I powered off the TV and powered it back on. This recovered the video display. When the TV was first turned on it had defaulted to the component input. After the power cycle the TV detect the DVI input. The PACE was recording two HD shows at the time that I powered the TV on.

Lindend, did the priority of the "connection detection task/process" on the PACE change? This seems to be timing related. The PACE appears to be taking longer to "negotiate" the HDMI connection and in that time my TV thinks there is no signal on the DVI and defaults back to the component video.

The SD outputs (RCA, RF and S-Video) are independent from the HD outputs (HDMI and Component).

It probably would be helpful if you provided more details on exactly how you are trying to wire everything together.


I have the hdmi going to the tv, i am also hooking up a dvd recorder from the STB. Before i was using the rf, but now my new dvd recorder does not have an rf input. its tunerless. So i figured i would use the s-video to supply the recorder. didnt get a picture with that , but i did with the rca cable.

The PACE appears to be taking longer to "negotiate" the HDMI connection and in that time my TV thinks there is no signal on the DVI and defaults back to the component video.

Please describe your typical usage pattern and what input is active when you turn off your display. Have you noticed a correlation between the last active input and this issue?

So i figured i would use the s-video to supply the recorder. didnt get a picture with that , but i did with the rca cable.

The S-video output gets fed the same video output as the RCA video output. Are you sure the cable is good and the connection isn't loose?

Please describe your typical usage pattern and what input is active when you turn off your display. Have you noticed a correlation between the last active input and this issue?

I would say the typical activity would be to watch the PACE input ("Input 1") and turn the TV off with that input selected. Viewing then typically resumes by pressing the "Cable" macro on the remote which turns the TV on, pauses 3 seconds, and then selects "Input 1" (PACE - DVI/Component/Composite) on the TV.

I will try to correlate standard viewing practices with and video outages.

The S-video output gets fed the same video output as the RCA video output. Are you sure the cable is good and the connection isn't loose?

I can confirm that the S-video output works fine when using HDMI as well. I have HDMI fed to my TV and S-Video to my Slingbox, and it all works as you would expect.

Just to update everyone on what we know.

On Feb. 12 in this thread, trabbic reported a lost HD recording with 9.29 and obviously andybub has reported some also. Based on our investigation with Trabbic's report, this is what we know and have replicated:

1. 9.29 or later should not lose any normal size SD recording on a dirty reboot (unless its like an all day manual recording or something odd like that).
2. 9.29 or later can sometimes lose HD recordings longer than 90 minutes on a dirty reboot (obviously unpredictable when this might happen).

This is why I'm puzzled about your American Chopper and Cold Case recordings since they are only 60 minutes and should not have been affected.

Lindend:
Last night I had some jerky action on my HD channels and decided to try a reboot before going to bed. It wasn't a dirty reboot. This evening I see I lost 4 HD recordings. One 2 hour movie and three one hour shows. All on the 001-600-04-39 build. Again this is quite annoying. This is Bresnan 9.32. Any other reports of this nature? Thanks.

The S-video output gets fed the same video output as the RCA video output. Are you sure the cable is good and the connection isn't loose?


i will have to double check. thanks. at least i know its supposed to be a live output.

Lindend:
Last night I had some jerky action on my HD channels and decided to try a reboot before going to bed. It wasn't a dirty reboot. This evening I see I lost 4 HD recordings. One 2 hour movie and three one hour shows. All on the 001-600-04-39 build. Again this is quite annoying. This is Bresnan 9.32. Any other reports of this nature? Thanks.


when you loose these programs do they delete from your list, or do they just not play when selected? I had a problem where an hour program just would not play.

when you loose these programs do they delete from your list, or do they just not play when selected? I had a problem where an hour program just would not play.

It's the same old problem where its on the list of recordings but goes right to delete screen when played. And in the HDD content digags it shows so many kb's with the {0} following. Was your loss after the 9.31 or 9.32 upgrade?

It's the same old problem where its on the list of recordings but goes right to delete screen when played. And in the HDD content digags it shows so many kb's with the {0} following. Was your loss after the 9.31 or 9.32 upgrade?

it happend right after the 9.31 upgrade. is this an ongoing problem or a one time shot?

i can only hope that some day armstrong will at least try the new firmware for the tahoe. I am pulling my hair out with the bugs.

<snip>
However, for the 3 years I had DISH DVR I did not have one bug, not one problem. Every day seems to bring a new problem with my new set-up. Box just doesnt want to turn on to record, records last 40 min., no sound, hdcp error, blockiness with the fast fwd, freezing up when pressing play...I really dont feel like I can rely on the STB to record what I want. what can I do? My wife is ready to throw the new tahoe and vegas out the window.

My wife says" I agree with this statement exactly."

I would say the typical activity would be to watch the PACE input ("Input 1") and turn the TV off with that input selected. Viewing then typically resumes by pressing the "Cable" macro on the remote which turns the TV on, pauses 3 seconds, and then selects "Input 1" (PACE - DVI/Component/Composite) on the TV.

I will try to correlate standard viewing practices with and video outages.

Last night we were watching the ANT input of the TV and then switched to the PACE ("Input 1") and there was no video (TV defaulted to component). Switching through other inputs and back to to the PACE did not recover. Turning TV off and on again recovered the PACE input. The PACE was recording 1 HD show at the time we switched to watch it. The last two instances of "video loss" have been while the PACE is recording.

Last night we were watching the ANT input of the TV and then switched to the PACE ("Input 1") and there was no video (TV defaulted to component). Switching through other inputs and back to to the PACE did not recover. Turning TV off and on again recovered the PACE input. The PACE was recording 1 HD show at the time we switched to watch it.

Please see if this is repeatable (i.e. switch to a different input, then turn off the TV, turn the TV back on then switch to the HDMI input).

What is the exact make and model of your HDMI display?

The last two instances of "video loss" have been while the PACE is recording.

I don't think the two issues are related. Lets try to solve the HDMI video issue and then we'll move on preventing the lost videos.

Please see if this is repeatable (i.e. switch to a different input, then turn off the TV, turn the TV back on then switch to the HDMI input).

Will try tonight.

What is the exact make and model of your HDMI display?

My display only has a DVI input. It is an "old" Hitachi s700 rear projection. I have a 12' HDMI to DVI cable. Did not see this problem until the PACE as upgrade to 9.31 from 9.21.

Will try tonight.

Two other things.

1. If/when this happens, please try to channel up and see if this restores video.

2. When it happens, is the lock icon lit on the front panel?

Two other things.

1. If/when this happens, please try to channel up and see if this restores video.

2. When it happens, is the lock icon lit on the front panel?

Dumb question: What exactly is the lock icon for. I've only noticed it on our local HD cbs channel on the bresnan feed. Also any ideas or comments on my 5/1 question about losing recordings again after a "clean reboot"? Thanks.

Dumb question: What exactly is the lock icon for.

It indicates that there is some type of digital rights associated with the content.

I've only noticed it on our local HD cbs channel on the bresnan feed.

Typically with local OTA channels, this is the broadcast flag. You can find out what DRM (Digital Rights Management) attribute is causing the lock icon to show by going into current channel status (page 8) in diagnostics. The six values on the right in the middle of the page are DRM attributes.

If its just the RC (aka Broadcast flag) they you won't have any restrictions on copying/recording it.


Also any ideas or comments on my 5/1 question about losing recordings again after a "clean reboot"? Thanks.

It can happen (if you have at least one large 90+ minute) HD recording (clean or dirty reboot). We are actively investigating and have replicated the problem.

Linden (or anyone else that knows for sure),

Will adding an external eSata drive to my existing Pace box invalidate all the currently recorded shows on it? I'm assuming once you add an external hd that the various bits and pieces of the recorded shows are scattered between both hard drives much like a PC does at times?

BillKen, I have not been able to get my new box to recognize my external drive yet, but in the past, when I added it, all the existing recordings were still fine. I don't know if it moved them over, or goes back and forth, but they still worked.

Linden (or anyone else that knows for sure),

Will adding an external eSata drive to my existing Pace box invalidate all the currently recorded shows on it? I'm assuming once you add an external hd that the various bits and pieces of the recorded shows are scattered between both hard drives much like a PC does at times?

Check out the posts on 1/17/07 from wildrock and lindend. I think they address this very question. See Ya.

Just got the Pace TDC775D a couple weeks ago.

First reaction:
very pleased with SD digital picture quality on a 480i TV.
remote response is generally excellent and way better than the motos i've used.

i am using Armstrong cable in Medina Ohio. i saw a few people asking, and i'm not sure if they were answered yet but... Armstrong offers all their channels in digital AND analog. so if you hook up your cable to the Pace and it is off it will pass through to your TV in analog but if the Pace is on, it will use the digital signal which is really nice.

one issue i had was when i first got it, it was plugged into a loose outlet and i bumped it and it restarted. after that everything on tuner 1 started blocking out and loosing audio every few seconds. i thought it was my signal strength at first but then i noticed it was fine on tuner 2. i unplugged it for a few minutes and plugged it back in and it has worked fine ever since.

suggestions: (i know some of these have been mentioned)
-be able to have the Pace automatically shut down after a recording is done.
-reorganize the play1,2 and record1,2 so the 1's are together and the 2's are together. also always display something showing what tuner your on.

i'm sure i'll have more when i get my new HDTV and can test drive that functionality.

We got the Pace Tahoe box about two months ago, replacement for a Motorola 6412, and all worked well with our Mitsubishi 57" HDTV, until this week (Thursday evening). Tried to view some recorded programs, but none would play and we were also not getting any live HD channels from SuddenLink here in Kingwood, TX, north of Houston.

Had the tech out today and he did a refresh and all seemed OK. He said we were not getting any digital or HD signals to the TV and they were having "lots of problems" with the Pace STB's.

Tonight, my wife watched one recorded program and then we lost HD and the digital channels again when she tried to access the list of recorded programs. Again, none of the recorded programs would play. Drive is about 55% full.

Called SuddenLink again and they had me tune the box to channel 204, a digital channel, and then unplug the box for 30 seconds. When it came back on I got four bars in the display and was told to wait 30 minutes while they did another refresh. We got HD and digital back, but when we accessed the recorded programs, Total Failure, again. Nothing played, then we had no HD or digital channels.

Called SuddenLink again and got another rep who said they are doing a "software update", since last Thursday evening, when our problem started. He walked me thru a few setup steps, (turn on TV, tune to a digital channel), and then a software download started which I could see happening on my HDTV. After about 20 minutes, my Pace turned off and here I sit, at midnight, wondering what daylight will bring! :confused:

Anyone else experience this kind of a goat rope? :eek:

It doesn't surprise me that I talked with four SuddenLink reps before anyone mentioned a software update, :rolleyes: but is this what normally happens when an update is implemented?

Do all cable companies just do the updates without telling their customers OR their customer reps? Or, is SuddenLink more screwed up than I ever imagined? :mad:

OR, will I be driving to the SuddenLink office tomorrow with the Pace in the backseat and getting a Motorola 6416 STB back?


UPDATE AS OF MONDAY @ 10:00 AM. Pace box shut itself off after/during update. Turned it on this morning and got nothing but a big "0" in the display window! Called SuddenLink again, rep tried to do a refresh and nothing happened. Back to a tech coming to the house again, which I have to delay since I cannot be here for a while. Customer Rep said everything went bad last Thursday when SuddenLink started tthe update process. They called her in to work today three hours early to help handle the irate customer calls!

I've just gotten a 775D from MediaCom and connected it via HDMI to a Sceptre 42" LCD.

Sound and picture are fine on the HD channels, but the sound on the analog SD channels sounds like chipmunks in an echo chamber.

I've gone thru the menus of the TV and the box, but I can't find any way to adjust it.

Any advice would be appreciated.

John

Still getting audio dropout when switching channels....mainly going from analog to digital and seems to be getting worse....bresnan cable .32 firmware.

Linden (or anyone else that knows for sure),

Will adding an external eSata drive to my existing Pace box invalidate all the currently recorded shows on it? I'm assuming once you add an external hd that the various bits and pieces of the recorded shows are scattered between both hard drives much like a PC does at times?

I did not loose any of my shows, it will only format the external drive. You do have to power off the box by unplugging it, before connecting the external drive, so you may loose a show or two because of the known bug. I believe that the shows are not divided, meaning that a show is completely on one drive or the other.

linden,

I am also having a problem with jumpy video. 9.32 firmware, external eSATA drive, HDMI connection to HDTV, and S-Video out to Slingbox.

A hard reboot cures it, but after a couple of days the jumpiness returns. It is on all video all tuners, recorded shows or live TV. It does not matter if I am streaming with the slingbox or not.

I do have a lot of recorded material. 74% full on the two drives.

Two other things.

1. If/when this happens, please try to channel up and see if this restores video.

2. When it happens, is the lock icon lit on the front panel?

I was away this weekend so I did not get to try a lot of things, but I saw the problem Thursday night when I turned the TV on. It was tuned to a SD channel. I tuned up to the next SD channel and still no video. I then tuned in the first HD channel I have and after a flicker of the screen the video came back. That particular HD channel had the lock icon on. I was not able to try going from a SD to "non-locked" HD channel to see if that made a difference. The way I have the PACE configured changing from SD to HD changs the output from 480i to 1080i.

I believe that the shows are not divided, meaning that a show is completely on one drive or the other.

Correct. A recording can't bridge drives.

Still getting audio dropout when switching channels....mainly going from analog to digital and seems to be getting worse....bresnan cable .32 firmware.

Does the problem get worse the longer the box is running since the last reboot or is the problem bad immediately after a reboot?

I am also having a problem with jumpy video. 9.32 firmware, external eSATA drive, HDMI connection to HDTV, and S-Video out to Slingbox.

Which video outputs are jumpy? When you say jumpy, is it macro blocking or just a wobbly picture?

A hard reboot cures it, but after a couple of days the jumpiness returns. It is on all video all tuners, recorded shows or live TV. It does not matter if I am streaming with the slingbox or not.


Did this happen after the 9.32 upgrade or was it happening before?

I've just gotten a 775D from MediaCom and connected it via HDMI to a Sceptre 42" LCD.

Sound and picture are fine on the HD channels, but the sound on the analog SD channels sounds like chipmunks in an echo chamber.

I've gone thru the menus of the TV and the box, but I can't find any way to adjust it.


John,

Do you have an A/V receiver where you can test the output of the S/PDIF or TOSlink cable? I'd like to find out if the problem is isolated to HDMI or if it happens on all digital audio outputs.

Customer Rep said everything went bad last Thursday when SuddenLink started tthe update process. They called her in to work today three hours early to help handle the irate customer calls!

As you found out, there were some issues during the upgrade process (these issues were unrelated to the actual firmware download code).

My understanding of the current situation is most of the boxes were fixed over the weekend but a couple weren't on etc and missed the re-initialization (I'm guessing you're in that group).

If you're still seeing a '0' on the front panel, then I suspect that your box still hasn't been successfully re-initialized.

Does the problem get worse the longer the box is running since the last reboot or is the problem bad immediately after a reboot?


Its very random lindend. On saturday my wife called bresnan and they did a reboot from their end.....still have the dropout. I'd guess about 5-10% of channel changes result in no audio. I can live with that because the box otherwise is great. Some of my recordings have recorded with no audio ( thankfully not lost or heroes) :p

John,

Do you have an A/V receiver where you can test the output of the S/PDIF or TOSlink cable? I'd like to find out if the problem is isolated to HDMI or if it happens on all digital audio outputs.

This is a second home (actually a beach rental) and I don't have an audio receiver here capable capable of handling the TOSlink or S/PDIF output. I could probably round one up, but I have a tech coming from MediaCom, they've never dealt with this before, so we'll see what he/she says. Any advice to give to the Tech? They use pretty sharp contractors here.

Just as info, the TV is a Sceptre x42. Its discussed here in thread 653098. I can't post a link, since I am a new member.

John

As you found out, there were some issues during the upgrade process (these issues were unrelated to the actual firmware download code).

My understanding of the current situation is most of the boxes were fixed over the weekend but a couple weren't on etc and missed the re-initialization (I'm guessing you're in that group).

If you're still seeing a '0' on the front panel, then I suspect that your box still hasn't been successfully re-initialized.


A "couple" ??? :eek: That would explain calling in customer service reps early to handle complaints??

My box was definitely on over the weekend. No "0" now, but no HD or DVR capabilities either! :mad:

I applaud your taking part in this forum :cool: It's a rare event indeed when a manufacturer's rep/employee actually monitors and responds to issues. You are to be commended, personally. However, based on the number of issues posted here in the past few months, it looks to me like Pace is running beta testing on equipment being distributed to paying customers.

A "couple" ??? :eek: That would explain calling in customer service reps early to handle complaints??

First of all, I'm sorry for the problems you've encountered recently. However, I don't think you understood what I was trying to say, so let me clarify.

There was an issue that affected a number of users (can't get into specifics on the magnitude or exact cause on a public forum but it wasn't due to firmware). Given the number of boxes affected, it wouldn't surprise me if additional CSRs were brought in to handle the questions/complaints and/or get boxes back into a a functional state but I don't have firsthand access to that info.

What I was trying to say was that according to the info I have, most of the boxes were back into a functional state by Monday morning. Functional state doesn't mean that calls aren't coming in about why there were problems during the weekend.


No "0" now, but no HD or DVR capabilities either! :mad:

0 is indicative of a partial connection to the head end, but the symptoms you are describing also seem like you still only have a partial connection to the head end (this is the root cause of what went wrong during the upgrade).

If possible, you may want to ask the next CSR you talk with if your box has been authorized (or re-authorized) for DVR and HD services.

However, based on the number of issues posted here in the past few months, it looks to me like Pace is running beta testing on equipment being distributed to paying customers.

I don't think its accurate to extrapolate bug reports on AVS an apply it to the Tahoe population as a whole. In general, on Internet forums, 95% of the comments are from people that are having problems (i.e. happy people rarely post ;) ).

Do we have bugs in our code? Yes.
Have we enhanced our testing since the uncovering these bugs? Yes.
Are we carefully monitoring AVS and fixing bugs you report here? Yes.

Any advice to give to the Tech? They use pretty sharp contractors here.


Couple of things I've noticed are:

1. HDMI cable length. Some displays have issues with cables longer than 6 ft.
2. Make sure the cable is seated properly.

Do we have bugs in our code? Yes.
Have we enhanced our testing since the uncovering these bugs? Yes.
Are we carefully monitoring AVS and fixing bugs you report here? Yes.To put this in perspective, many of us here at AVS would agree that the Pace Tahoe, compared to the Motorola 6412 (pI,II,III), is a fine STB and has many advantages. The moto boxes have their share of bugs and problems. But they do not have the one thing that brings attention to the development efforts going on: participation on this list by a member of the engineering team.

If Linden wasn't here, we would be hearing very little about the problems with the Tahoe. As one who monitored several different 6412 lists for quite a while, it was evident there that no matter what problems we had, there was nothing to be gained by talking about them as there were few solutions, workarounds, explanations, or anything else to be gained by griping about the boxes. People just were ignored and thus went away. Lists became stale, and eventually died.

Even given the probems associated with the Tahoe, I greatly prefer it over the 6412, and take some comfort in knowing that the product is actively worked on with public involvement.

Thanks again Linden.

Jim (who's still waiting for that >9.26 Bresnan FW rollout).

John,

Do you have an A/V receiver where you can test the output of the S/PDIF or TOSlink cable? I'd like to find out if the problem is isolated to HDMI or if it happens on all digital audio outputs.

I had a mediacom tech out today. He had a replacement box and the same thing happened. His advice was use Component instead of hdmi.

I like the convenience of hdmi, but looks like I'll be trying component next.

John

To put this in perspective, many of us here at AVS would agree that the Pace Tahoe, compared to the Motorola 6412 (pI,II,III), is a fine STB and has many advantages. The moto boxes have their share of bugs and problems. But they do not have the one thing that brings attention to the development efforts going on: participation on this list by a member of the engineering team.

If Linden wasn't here, we would be hearing very little about the problems with the Tahoe. As one who monitored several different 6412 lists for quite a while, it was evident there that no matter what problems we had, there was nothing to be gained by talking about them as there were few solutions, workarounds, explanations, or anything else to be gained by griping about the boxes. People just were ignored and thus went away. Lists became stale, and eventually died.

Even given the probems associated with the Tahoe, I greatly prefer it over the 6412, and take some comfort in knowing that the product is actively worked on with public involvement.

Thanks again Linden.

Jim (who's still waiting for that >9.26 Bresnan FW rollout).

what he said :)

Which video outputs are jumpy? When you say jumpy, is it
macro blocking or just a wobbly picture?

It is not Macro blocking, but rather the video "jumps". Hard to explain. the audio is smooth, but it is like the video pauses for a split second, then skips ahead to catch up. This results in a "jump" in the video. sometimes is is barely noticeable, but in high motion scenes it is obvious.



Did this happen after the 9.32 upgrade or was it happening before?

I did not notice it before the upgrade.

I have another issue that I will post separate. It may have nothing to do with Pace, but rather an issue with TV Guide. This has happened the last two weeks.

On Thursday we are recording several shows. Two of the shows are falling on weird times. Here is the problem:

Ugly Betty 8-9 Ch: 613 Not recording
The Office 8:40-9:20 Ch 624 Recording
CSI 9- 10 Ch: 611 Not Recording
Grey's Anatomy 9-10:01 Ch 613 Not Recording
Scrubs 9:20-10:01 Ch: 624 Recording

Now I understand that one show in the list above will not record (CSI, because of the low priority). But it SHOULD be recording Ugly Betty And Grey's Anatomy on one tuner, and The Office and Scrubs on the other. What seems to be happening is that it wants to record them on separate tuners.

Last week, I was able to start the recordings manually without problem.

EDIT: OK, I "fixed" the problem, both The Office and Scrubs were set to start 1 minute early. Which they should have been able to do, without messing anything else up, but with the weird start times, it seemed to have screwed that up. When they start at the normal times, this 1 minute early start works fine (and is necessary on The Office).

It is not Macro blocking, but rather the video "jumps". Hard to explain. the audio is smooth, but it is like the video pauses for a split second, then skips ahead to catch up. This results in a "jump" in the video. sometimes is is barely noticeable, but in high motion scenes it is obvious.


That the same thing thats happening once in a while with my HD video.





I did not notice it before the upgrade.

No it never did this particular thing till just recently.

That the same thing thats happening once in a while with my HD video.

No it never did this particular thing till just recently.

Do you have an external Hard Drive?

I have a Benq 8700 connected with a HDMI/DVI cable. The Benq will not display any non-HD video from my Pace HD PVR. It displays the HD channels just fine.

maddogpilot,

I've been thinking about your issue. Since the Benq is a DVI device, it likely doesn't support 480i. Since SD content is 480i, I'm wondering if somehow a 480i signal is getting sent to the Benq? Unlike HDMI which has EDID information that tells Tahoe what resolution your display supports, many DVI display won't provide these details via EDID.

If this is in fact the case, you can user the PowerMenu to explicitly disable the 480i output.

I got my HDTV (sony KDS55A2020) hooked it up with both HDMI and Component.

first thing i notice is that my tv tells me what resolution and aspect ratio i'm getting. through HDMI it always said it was a 4:3 whether i was in 480, 720, or 1080. when i went to the Component input it said i was 4:3 in 480 and 16:9 in 720 and 1080. (the output on the 775 was set to 16:9). Since the component displayed properly i wonder if the Pace was sending the signal wrong to the TV. Regardless, the picture still looked good.

So i'm all set to watch the Cavs game (go Cavs!) so i'm recording it in HD and watching live. I want to get something to eat so i pause it. i come back and hit play and i start getting all kinds of macro blocking and jumping and audio cutting out. it kept doing that even when i hit LIVE. the only time it stopped was when i stopped the recording. now every time i record something it does that. THEN it started to freeze and automatically shut it self off for a few moments and then turn itself back on. It continued to do that until I unplugged it. i plugged it back in the next day and it seemed to be ok. but when i went to my recordings it says its 55% full which i know it was only around 11% and none of the recordings are listed. then it freezes.


i'm gonna read through some of these posts and see what i can figure out on my own. I may just try to get another one.

Couple of things I've noticed are:

1. HDMI cable length. Some displays have issues with cables longer than 6 ft.
2. Make sure the cable is seated properly.


I've tried 2 different cables (a 1m and a 4m) on two different ports with 2 different TDC775s.

I noticed that the Sceptre says it only accepts PCM audio via the HDMI. I'm assuming it is PCM whether analog or digital signal and that it is a bit rate issue, but I can't see any way to modify that.

So i'm all set to watch the Cavs game (go Cavs!) so i'm recording it in HD and watching live. I want to get something to eat so i pause it. i come back and hit play and i start getting all kinds of macro blocking and jumping and audio cutting out.

Did you happen to have another HD channel on the other tuner?


it kept doing that even when i hit LIVE.

Just an FYI, but the LIVE button does not return you to live. It just puts you at the end of the time shift buffer. To truly return to live in this case, you would have to surf to another channel on that tuner and then surf back to the channel in question.

I'm assuming it is PCM whether analog or digital signal and that it is a bit rate issue, but I can't see any way to modify that.

Yes, most monitors only support PCM. Rather than bit rate, its probably a sampling rate issue and yes, you are correct, there is no way to adjust the sampling rate.

Do you know if SD digital channels are ok and if this only happens on analog channels?

Do you know if SD digital channels are ok and if this only happens on analog channels?

That's correct. The SD digital channels are fine, its only the analog ones that are the problem. Unfortunately, that's most of the basic cable offering here.

Did you happen to have another HD channel on the other tuner?




Just an FYI, but the LIVE button does not return you to live. It just puts you at the end of the time shift buffer. To truly return to live in this case, you would have to surf to another channel on that tuner and then surf back to the channel in question.


Yes i'm pretty sure both tuners ended up being on the same HD channel. Do you think that was the reason? because i've been on two HD channels and paused one before and it worked fine. thats why i got the feeling it was an issue to do with using an HDMI cable. i vaguely remember reading a post that someone had said their cable company told them to only use component cables.


update:

i reformatted the drive. seems to be working as normal now. i tried to replicate the problem and couldn't. i can tune both tuners to HD channels and pause both and swap and everything is fine.

Do you have an external Hard Drive?

No not yet.

I got my HDTV (sony KDS55A2020) hooked it up with both HDMI and Component.

first thing i notice is that my tv tells me what resolution and aspect ratio i'm getting. through HDMI it always said it was a 4:3 whether i was in 480, 720, or 1080. when i went to the Component input it said i was 4:3 in 480 and 16:9 in 720 and 1080. (the output on the 775 was set to 16:9). Since the component displayed properly i wonder if the Pace was sending the signal wrong to the TV. Regardless, the picture still looked good.

I have the same prob with my Sony KDL-46XBR2 (look back a few pages). I used this TV and a KDS-R50XBR1 with a Sci. Atl. DVR with normal 16:9 and 4:3 indications. Not sure what to make of it.

I have the same prob with my Sony KDL-46XBR2 (look back a few pages). I used this TV and a KDS-R50XBR1 with a Sci. Atl. DVR with normal 16:9 and 4:3 indications. Not sure what to make of it.

i just got my dvd player and when hooked up to the TV with HDMI it is properly detected as 16:9 so it leads me to believe the issue is with the STB. the picture doesn't look of degraded quality, but i don't know if i'd be able to tell if it was with the naked eye.

anyone know if there is a way to display a test image though the STB?

i just got my dvd player and when hooked up to the TV with HDMI it is properly detected as 16:9 so it leads me to believe the issue is with the STB.

We are investigating the problem. To help with the investigation, does the image look like it has the correct aspect ratio on HD content (i.e. does the image look the same through component and HDMI)? If the aspect ratio is wrong, the naked eye should be able to distinguish it easily. Things on the screen will look fat.


anyone know if there is a way to display a test image though the STB?

There's nothing that will generate a test pattern. However, your cable company may periodically broadcast a test pattern or have a test channel.

Do we have bugs in our code? Yes.
Have we enhanced our testing since the uncovering these bugs? Yes.
Are we carefully monitoring AVS and fixing bugs you report here? Yes.

Thank you again for all of the great info!

I had a mediacom tech out today. He had a replacement box and the same thing happened. His advice was use Component instead of hdmi.

I like the convenience of hdmi, but looks like I'll be trying component next.

John

I do not use HDMI because my A/V rcvr doesn't support it. I have a friend who uses HDMI on her A/V rcvr (Pioneer) for DVD (LG) only. The HDMI just loses connection on its own. It does it randomly during DVD movie or CD music use. There is also a lag when switching to the DVD function on the A/V rcvr while the HDMI figures out what is supposed to be doing.

I don't know what versions of HDMI she has, but I'm in no hurry to replace my component cables with HDMI.

I still lose audio when switching channels on my Tahoe, even with v9.31. It hasn't happened during recording, like it did with an earlier version. I'm just overjoyed to get our 30-sec skip back.

We acquired our TDC-775 a few weeks ago with none of the problems listed on this thread up until now.

We swapped a Moto 6400 series PVR for the Tahoe.

S/W version 9.29 Service Electric cable

When selecting a program from the DVR list a black screen would come up with a dialog box to delete or don't delete. At the time we had mostly SD recordings and some HD.

Upon rebooting the Tahoe were we able to view the programs again but it seemed to freeze and would not come back to you in accessibility.

After several reboots these programs seemed to become more and more corrupt and began to show some micro blocking (As described in other posts) and the brief "freezing" of the picture and audio which eventually led to a total freeze of the Tahoe which did not respond after several minutes.

We tried formatting the Hard drive given the instructions by Lindend and still have not seen any kind of improvement in functionality. Recorded programs even from a few moments will not be played back and display the delete, don't delete dialog box. The content recorded was SD. The Tahoe froze when I was trying to record two SD programs at the same time. After the reboot I was not able to access the recorded programs. I tried deleting them but the dialog box did not go away after I selected delete. After exiting the delete, don't delete dialog box and going to the DVR list I noticed that those programs were infact deleted even though it was not registering when selecting delete.

I know that this particular bug has been noted but it has not been mentioned for quite a while and I was wondering if went away for some users?

I also found that when watching live programming that I was not able to use any of the PVR functions such as rewind, Fast forward and pause. I got a circle with a line through it.

One particular instance about the Tahoe not mentioned here is that it takes quite awhile to boot up from unplugging for 20 sec from standby and plugging back in again. The Tahoe will hang and display the four dashes for hours on end eventually going back into standby mode a few or more hours later.

This happened before we even knew how to format the hard drive. We did notice that upon rebooting when the Tahoe's behavior became abnormal that it came up and briefly displayed that the hard drive was being formatted and then a few minutes later booted up into standby mode.

The only sense I can make of the box failing to boot for a few hours is that its either formatting or recovering a format from loss of power. It sure would be nice if the Tahoe would let you know what its doing the entire time its booting up and if it freezes. Because if a group of people are watching a recorded program and it freezes we would like to know if it ever will come back or if it will need a reboot.
What usually happens with either the Motorola or the PACE is that when it does freeze it eventually will reboot on its own. But we beat it to the punch to get back up and running quicker.

Maybe that could be implemented in the next firmware upgrade.

Jon

^^^

I think you might have a bad hard drive, swap out the box...

But I don't really know anything.

maddogpilot,

I've been thinking about your issue. Since the Benq is a DVI device, it likely doesn't support 480i. Since SD content is 480i, I'm wondering if somehow a 480i signal is getting sent to the Benq? Unlike HDMI which has EDID information that tells Tahoe what resolution your display supports, many DVI display won't provide these details via EDID.

If this is in fact the case, you can user the PowerMenu to explicitly disable the 480i output.

Fantastic analysis -- I did exactly what you suggested and now am able to view all channels from the Pace Tahoe via HDMI/DVI cabling into my BenQ8700.

I've also called my local cable company (GCI Alaska) to tell them about this fix.

Thanks!

Jon,


We tried formatting the Hard drive given the instructions by Lindend and still have not seen any kind of improvement in functionality.

Do you know if the format was successful (i.e. was all the content removed from the MyDVR listing and the content listing in diagnostics)?

We did notice that upon rebooting when the Tahoe's behavior became abnormal that it came up and briefly displayed that the hard drive was being formatted and then a few minutes later booted up into standby mode.

Given these symptoms, Trabbic's thoughts seem logical. It sounds as if you have a problem drive. If you do decide to swap it out, I'd like to find out all the values from the PVR page and the HDD status page before you get a new unit.

We are investigating the problem. To help with the investigation, does the image look like it has the correct aspect ratio on HD content (i.e. does the image look the same through component and HDMI)? If the aspect ratio is wrong, the naked eye should be able to distinguish it easily. Things on the screen will look fat.

It appears to display properly. The TV is kind of weird in the way it displays different aspect ratios. it says "Normal" displays 4:3 in the correct aspect ratio and in "Full" mode it displays 16:9 in the correct ratio. so it forces the source signal, regarless of what ratio it is, into that aspect ratio. so by definition its displaying properly. but what may be happening is the STB is compressing a 16:9 format to a 4:3 signal. (when i viewed this on a 4:3 tv things looked really tall and nothing was cut off.) so then it sends the 4:3 signal to my TV which stretches it back out to the orginal aspect ratio however with a lost of a resolution.

I just picked up a TDC775 Set-Top Box (Service Electric) and connected it to my Pioneer 4270 Plasma. I’d like to know if I connected it correctly since I’m having difficulties using the picture in picture feature on my 4270. I connected the cable feed to the cable input on the set-top and I have a HDMI cable (input 5) running to the 4270. I also have a set of component cables (input 3) running from the set-top to the 4270. Based on connections I described I do not have a cable feed running to the 4270 antenna A or B. I should mention the 4270 is also new so I’m still trying to figure out how to operate/setup it also. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I am sure this question has already been asked, but I couldn't find the answer. I recently swapped a Motorola DTC6416 cable box for the Pace TDC775D cable box, software 9.31 using an HDMI cable with a Phillips 42" Plasma television and Mediacom cable. Right away I noticed the picture quality is not near as good with the Pace box in non-HD channels as the Motorola. The HD channels seem ok. Is there any adjustments to the box that I can make to improve the picture quality? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Linden,
I have seen both of the issues I am experiencing in past posts, but couldn't figure out how to solve them. First off my unit was unplugged while it was powered on and now the mydvr option in the menu is gone. You said this is generated by the configuration, but I am unsure of what I need to cahnge to get it back. I can still view my recodings by pressing the list button on my remote, but cannot access any of the DVRs other options such as conflict resolution. This makes the unit really unpractical to use.

Also I have noticed as someone else said that the volume output of the Pace box is very low compared to all of my other components. I have tried both HDMI and toslink for the audio, but it has not made a difference. It would be really nice if this could be changed so my receiver doesn't have to go into the 70s for watching TV and be blaring when I chang inputs.

I currently have firmware version 9.26 with Bresnan

Thanks for your help, and I really appreciate your participation on the forums!

I can still view my recodings by pressing the list button on my remote, but cannot access any of the DVRs other options such as conflict resolution. This makes the unit really unpractical to use.

The MyDVR button appears based on information in your cable feed. It may take many minutes for the button to show up (how long have you waited)?

If you aren't seeing the button after an extended period of time (i.e. hours), then you'll have to call your cable provider and see if this is a general issue with your area or specific to your box.


It would be really nice if this could be changed so my receiver doesn't have to go into the 70s for watching TV and be blaring when I chang inputs.

I have noted your request. Does your receiver have the ability to remember different volume levels for different inputs?

Right away I noticed the picture quality is not near as good with the Pace box in non-HD channels as the Motorola.

When you say non-HD are you referring to SD digital channels or analog channels? If analog, then please read the early pages of this thread where this problem was discussed in detail.

As far as SD digital, many posters on AVS believe Tahoe has a superior SD output (but a lot of these PQ issues are based on individual preference).

but what may be happening is the STB is compressing a 16:9 format to a 4:3 signal.

Guys,

We've got a bug here. The output video stream for HD content is in fact 16x9 and the aspect ratio is not altered by Tahoe. However, we aren't properly setting the aspect ratio flag in the stream. Almost all HDMI displays don't care about the aspect ratio flag as this info can easily be calculated by the stream resolution. However, some displays obviously track this info.

I don't think this affects picture quality and I think this bug is informational only, but I'd sure like to confirm this theory. Could everyone that is experiencing this problem please post their monitor make and model? Are there any displays other than Sony that exhibit this issue?

Thanks Linden, I contacted Bresnan and they said it was a widespread issue due to a power outage during updates at the end of this past week and it will be fixed soon. I am not sure if my receiver has the option to set the volume, but I will see what I can figure out. In any manner a fix for that would be terrific. Have a good day and thanks again!

I looked at earlier posts and really did not find an answer, as suggested by Lindend. after more troubleshooting it appears that the channels below 100 in my area with Mediacom are analog, by going into the diagnostics page of the cable box. All the digital channels and HD channels look good but the analog channels are very grainy. Why doesn't this box like analog channels? Are there any software changes in the future that may make this box more analog friendly? Any info on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

I looked at earlier posts and really did not find an answer, as suggested by Lindend.

See posts 32, 88, 128, 131 and 140 on this thread. There are other posts, but this is a good sampling.

I think the problem is you're looking for a work around and I'm afraid there isn't one. Many users have reported that analog picture quality is not as good as a Phase III 6412.

There have been some software updates/tweaks to improve things, but nothing dramatic.

Why doesn't this box like analog channels?

Just different hardware than the Motorola boxes. If you compared Tahoe to a Phase II 6412, you'd likely find Tahoe superior.


Are there any software changes in the future that may make this box more analog friendly?

If any improvements are made, I'll post an update here.

So what your saying is that I am just going to live with the grainy analog picture? That is a shame because about half of my channels are analog. I do not know much about the difference between analog and digital, are most cable companies going all digital? Could you explain why you think channels 100 and below are analog and above 100 are digital with Mediacom in my area. (Which is Mobile, Al) Any info would be greatly appreciated on this subject.

So what your saying is that I am just going to live with the grainy analog picture? That is a shame because about half of my channels are analog. I do not know much about the difference between analog and digital, are most cable companies going all digital? Could you explain why you think channels 100 and below are analog and above 100 are digital with Mediacom in my area. (Which is Mobile, Al) Any info would be greatly appreciated on this subject.

All cable companies are moving all digital. Yours will too, and the picture will be just as good as the channels above 100.

To improve your current picture, you can try replacing \ the splitters and cables in your house, between the outside and the box, making sure they are of the highest quality and split the signal as little as possible. Also you can have your cable company come out and check the signal strength of your line.

Or you can just wait until they go digital...

Here is some more technical info from a quick search of your cable provider and digital cable:

http://www.skyreport.http://www.skyreport.com/media/archives/NewCable_BR062306.pdf

Hi all--I have a panny plasma, and the pace unit we all like so much. My gf's son wants to use his PS2 on the plasma. Is there anyway of connecting the video and audio outputs of the PS2 to the Pace unit (there are two sets of av inputs,( rca type and component), and view it on the plasma? I have tried this , but have not had any success. Thanks
Jim

Is there anyway of connecting the video and audio outputs of the PS2 to the Pace unit (there are two sets of av inputs,( rca type and component), and view it on the plasma?

Yes, you can do that by doing the following:

1. Hook up the PS2 to the (RCA or component) connectors marked "IN".
2. Turn "RF Bypass" to on in the guide.
3. Place your box into standby.

When your box is in standby, you should see the PS2 output on your TV. When you come out of standby, you'll see the TDC775 output.

Thanks Linden--Your item 2: Turn RF Bypass to on in the guide" does not make sense to me. What is the guide? the only guide I know of is the one that lists the channels. Sorry for the dumb question.
Jim

What is the guide?
Jim

Guide is shorthand for the Electronic Program Guide (or EPG). In this particular case, your box is running the TV Guide EPG.

Not only does it show the guide grid you are referring to, but the entire user interface is TV Guide. This version of TV Guide is the same for both Pace boxes and Motorola boxes.

Below TV Guide is a software layer called EngineWare (http://www.pacemicro.com/americas/newsroom/pacenewsitem.asp?id=10280) . At the recent NCTA show, we showed TV Guide and Aptiv Passport Echo EPGs running on Tahoe, Vegas and our new removable security family of products.

NCTA Press Release (http://www.pacemicro.com/americas/newsroom/pacenewsitem.asp?id=10549)

Also shown were OCAP EPGs running on top of EngineWare.

If its still a little confusing, consider this analogy. In the Windows World, Microsoft Office or the Web Browser is the primary User interface that people interact with. Below the covers is the Win32 API that Microsoft Office/Firefox use to create the user interface.

On Tahoe and Vegas, the EPG is the application you interact with and EngineWare provides the low level plumbing APIs EPGs need to run.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

Hope this clears things up a bit.Thanks for the info Linden!

Jim, to make it a little easier, go into the TVGuide Main Menu, scroll down to Setup, go into the Cable Box Setup, and turn RF bypass "On." To put the Pace into standby, just hit the power switch. That puts it in standby. Then you'll see your passthrough signal. Take it out of standby and go to normal viewing by hitting the power switch again.

Hope you're enjoying the thundershowers!

One for the FAQ, eh Linden? ;)

How do you toggle between the two tuners from the remote? The motorola command of PIP SWAP goes directly to VOD.

One for the FAQ, eh Linden? ;)

I've been thinking about your FAQ suggestion and have an alternative idea for you. Wouldn't it be better if someone setup a Tahoe page on Wikipedia that organized the key details from this thread? We're likely to be able to post more detailed info on Wikipedia since info can be added from non-Pace sources too.

How do you toggle between the two tuners from the remote? The motorola command of PIP SWAP goes directly to VOD.

You just get the box? It is going to the VOD cause the channel was never changed on the other tuner (at least thats what happened for me when I first got the box). You should be able to change the channel and swap between the tuners and theyll still be on the channel they were last at...

PIP is not possible with TV Guide.

So there will be no way to use the TDC 775D box to output a PIP feed to my TV (without having a PIP function on the tv)? I saw this was possible with a Scientific Atlanta box when I was in new york... I've been wishing I could use it since.

While watching TV, hit Power, then the select button. This will put you into diagnostics (it also will go into diags on the 6412, but 6412 diagnostics will look significantly different).

This goes way back in the thread but I can't get into the diagnostics. As soon as I press Power the unit turns off (red light) and pressing Select does nothing. Also tried holding Power and then Select. So what am I doing wrong?

With the 9.31 update - was there a change with the power function?

We're in the middle of remodeling our first floor so the hdtv/pace combo is in our bedroom temporarily and I notice that even when the Pace is "off" (red light) it still seems to be running and making an awful lot of noise. Or is this how it's always been and I never noticed before since it was in our living room?

Thanks.

So there will be no way to use the TDC 775D box to output a PIP feed to my TV (without having a PIP function on the tv)?

Not at the current time.

With the 9.31 update - was there a change with the power function?

No, but I suspect you're running into "the drive not spinning down while in standby issue" that was discussed a couple of pages back in the thread.

Its possible that your drive has stopped spinning down, but the only way to confirm is to go into diags and track the spin down counter.

Hi Linden,

As you probably know, Bresnan has finally gotten around to updating the Pace to 9.32. Its been a few weeks for me, and outside of Bresnan totally mucking up their network somehow last week, which made it impossible to do any real testing, I have a few things to report.

First off, I'm back to having the HDCP problem when I go into VOD. After about 10 seconds I lose video, and have to hot plug the monitor to get it back. I'm still using a 6' Philips HDMI cable, going to a Westinghouse 37w3.

Secondly, and more importantly, I'm having the same issues with some serious macroblocking and audio dropouts with HD recordings that a few others report. The worst of it occurs when I'm watching an HD program, and want to record it. So I start recording, and leave for say a half hour. Then when I come back to start watching (it's still recording) from the beginning, the video keeps breaking up with audio dropouts. Like every 5-10 seconds. Makes the program unwatchable. I've been watching the NBA Playoffs this way, and really like to time shift it a bit and skip commercials (thanks for the 30 sec skip!!!), and enjoy the spring evenings a bit before retreating indoors to tube out. But thoughts of missing another LeBron dunk has me rethinking that plan (go Cavs!).

And third, there is an odd bug in the program guide. This may be more of a TVGuide issue, but what happens is that if I go to look at the Guide in channel mode (looking out over the next 3-4 days on a channel), a lot of data is missing (it doesn't say To Be Announced"--there is just no listing for any programs) that is available when looking at the Guide in time mode. I like to look at the HD listing in channel mode for the next few days so that I can set recordings. But, for instance, the first 8 hours or so of programming aren't available, then a scattering of programs for a day, then nothing. When I shift to time mode, all of the programming info is available, but it is a PITA to scan a few days ahead in time mode.

There may be more, but I haven't really tested everything out. I haven't had the going to VOD/lockup bug strike yet (keep fingers crossed), and I haven't lost any HD recordings to corruption either.

Thanks, Jim

No, but I suspect you're running into "the drive not spinning down while in standby issue" that was discussed a couple of pages back in the thread.

Its possible that your drive has stopped spinning down, but the only way to confirm is to go into diags and track the spin down counter.
I went back and read through the pages regarding the drive not spinning down (which mine is definitely not spinning down) but couldn't see any fixes for this. Is there one I'm just not seeing in this thread Linden? Thanks.

I went back and read through the pages regarding the drive not spinning down (which mine is definitely not spinning down) but couldn't see any fixes for this. Is there one I'm just not seeing in this thread Linden? Thanks.

Hi. I was checking into this problem a few pages back. And like i stated earlier one tech with bresnan claimed to understand the standby spindowns and when i was at work sent a signal to the box and it worked great for a few days to a week. The standby spindown counts went from 20 to about 40 in a week. Also as noted before when you power back up you get the animation of the light circling the LED panel where the channel is. And it did cool down the hard drive to room temperature. But you still never had complete silence. There was a definate humming from the transforrmer in the right rear facing the box. But all of a sudden it quit going into standby spindown and like wildrock I was having the macro blocking and stuutering picture. I called and got another tech who had no idea about standby spindown and fed me a line.

Finally I had a service call and the tech checked my incoming signal which was great. So I rebooted and it worked less than a day. Called them back and the tech brought a new box and changed every connecttion from the pole to the TV and wished me luck. Well it's been 11 days and no major problems but a very quick instance of macro blocking the first weekend on a live HD program and a couple of small macro blocking during the Wounded Knee recording in HD. The problem is I was tense the whole movie waiting for it go bonkers and have the wife hit me on the head with a frying pan cause she can't understand putting up with this pain for HD and DVR ( go Figure).
As for standby spindowns, I checked when we installed unit and it was at 1 and that's where it has stayed. So I don't know what thats all about. Good luck!!

I went back and read through the pages regarding the drive not spinning down (which mine is definitely not spinning down) but couldn't see any fixes for this. Is there one I'm just not seeing in this thread Linden? Thanks.

No, I wanted to confirm first that this is the problem you were seeing. Since the 9.31/9.32 release we've enhanced the logic to better handle the fact that the new EPG can write to the HDD quite frequently in standby and we've also fixed an issue that is somewhat similar to what you're reporting.

None of these fixes are available in a public build to my knowledge. I will let everyone know when/if these fixes are publicly available.

First off, I'm back to having the HDCP problem when I go into VOD. After about 10 seconds I lose video, and have to hot plug the monitor to get it back. I'm still using a 6' Philips HDMI cable, going to a Westinghouse 37w3.


Are you indicating that the problem was fixed and then the new release broke it, or it remains broken?


Secondly, and more importantly, I'm having the same issues with some serious macroblocking and audio dropouts with HD recordings that a few others report.

If you look a couple pages back in the thread, I posted a workaround when this happens. Basically, you have HD content on both tuners and your time shifting. To prevent this from happening (especially during the NBA championships), you can make sure the background tuner is on an SD channel or you can channel up and back down to the NBA game.

I realize that this is far less than ideal, but it will work around the bug until a fix is available. Note: this is not a signal strength issue nor is it a hardware fault, nor will it always happen if you have HD content on both tuners. We have replicated and fixed the issue in our labs and a fix will be forthcoming.


But thoughts of missing another LeBron dunk has me rethinking that plan (go Cavs!).

Your lucky your team is still in it. When Dwayne Wade blew out his shoulder, my NBA season essentially ended. Thankfully, the Chicago Bulls mercifully ended the Heat's playoffs quickly and relatively painlessly. :(

The odd thing is I think the one team in the East the Heat definitely would have beat was the Cavs. If the Bulls would've won that last regular season game, I wonder if Chicago would be playing the Spurs? Its all about matchups. If Golden State wasn't the eight seed, could it have been the Bulls and Mavs?

Ahh...never mind. If onlys and what ifs are for losers. :rolleyes:

And third, there is an odd bug in the program guide. This may be more of a TVGuide issue, but what happens is that if I go to look at the Guide in channel mode (looking out over the next 3-4 days on a channel), a lot of data is missing (it doesn't say To Be Announced"--there is just no listing for any programs)

Never seen this reported before and I don't think its a known issue with the Guide. You may want to call Bresnan and see if there's anything unusual going on with Guide data.

Are you indicating that the problem was fixed and then the new release broke it, or it remains broken?Fixed, then broken. With the first FW version I had (pre 9.26) I had the problem and we talked about it here. In 9.26 the problem disappeared. It cropped up again with the 9.32 update.

If you look a couple pages back in the thread, I posted a workaround when this happens. ... We have replicated and fixed the issue in our labs and a fix will be forthcoming.I guess somehow I missed the fix but remembered the problem. I'll give it the workaround. Glad the fix is forthcoming!

Your lucky your team is still in it. I wouldn't call any of them my team, being in the middle of the largest NBA void in the country. Just looking for a good game/series. BTW, those 5 on 1 plays look real fine in slowmo on the Pace! The looks of horror on Teyshaun's face as LeBron comes flying through the air at him are priceless.

... Ahh...never mind. If onlys and what ifs are for losers. :rolleyes: Well, there's always next year. At least we get to laugh at some of Wade's commercials now. Sexxxxxyyyyyyy...

Never seen this reported before and I don't think its a known issue with the Guide. You may want to call Bresnan and see if there's anything unusual going on with Guide data.I'll wait another week or so before I try to call them again. When they had their network snafu last week, there was no guide data for 3 days, and you couldn't even get through on the phone. Maybe they'll get it cleaned up. But t was like that before the problems, right after the FW update.

Anybody here ever experienced their TDC775 beeping at them? It just started the other day. Sometimes it will do it once and then not again for an hour or so. And other times about every few minutes. I'm just curious what is going on, not to mention it is a rather high pitched beep that is annoying. Any help appreciated.

Anybody here ever experienced their TDC775 beeping at them?

This is not normal. You may want to see if you swap your box out for another.

Does this happen with any particular type of content or any content?

Does it happen in standby?

This is not normal. You may want to see if you swap your box out for another.

Does this happen with any particular type of content or any content?

Does it happen in standby?


It happens pretty much whenever it feels like it. It happens while watching any content and also in standby. I'll check on Monday and see if I can get the box swapped for another. It's seeming less frequent today, but it still does it and it's still annoying. Thanks for the help.