The Official AVS Dish DTVPal DVR Topic! - Page 14

Did you change the repeat back to one time and see if the toggle will work? Mine shows DVR / Autotune (original firmware). It seems like that this would be the place that you could specify where to record. Hopefully, if / when USB support is added they will have a default option (I.e. largest drive, internal / external, etc)

Any chance we could stream local HD video to this box via ethernet?

Why don't you hack and rewrite the firmware and share with the rest of us? Otherwise, I suggest a PS3.

Can this thread get anymore off-topic?

This device tunes OTA digital signals and records them...nothing more.

I'm surprised nobody hasn't gotten the wid-a$$ idea yet to dismantle this thing to see if there's an inactivated QAM tuner in it. Especially with so many people wishing there was one in it so bad.

That's one of the big things all the ADHD'ers were so hyped up about when the CECB's first started coming out. That and an inactive s-video connection.

But even if it's in there (and it probably is) how would anyone turn it on?

I mean it takes some guts just to tear into the thing for an HDD replacement - modifying it enough to turn on the QAM tuner would be some very major hacking.

I'm not familiar with AD-HD. Do you get that with satellite service?

Hey, does anyone know if the DTVPal DVR is able to output video via HDMI, while simultaneously outputting audio via standard RCA analog jacks? I have a (somewhat older model) HDTV that does not have HDMI inputs. I currently have my PS3 hooked up to it in this manner:
1. HDMI -> DVI cable to TV
2. Analog audio cable to TV.
And I select in the PS3 menu to output video via HDMI (which goes to my TV as DVI) and audio via the analog cables. This works perfectly, and I can even do 1080i Blu-Ray playback this way. I searched the PDF manual and could not find out if the DTVPal has such an option/feature. Anyone know? Thanks. By the way... I *can* do component video/analog audio if needed, I just wanted that extra boost from an all-digital video signal.

QAM is a modulation scheme, so you cannot tell whether the box supports QAM by looking at the chipset. The Microtune tuner can certainly tune the frequencies normally found on cable systems that use QAM. What's needed for QAM support is a QAM demodulator, which would be done in the baseband processor (software). I'm relatively sure this box COULD do it, but I doubt that it WILL do it, since they clearly have designed this as an OTA-only product.

All outputs are active any time its running.

The lockup (again with green & red indicators illuminated) recurred around 8:00 PM EST. Might this suggest that there is some conflict, when the program guide updates. (The device was "off" at the time of the first occurrence. It was "on" at the time of the second occurrence.)

That's *just* what I wanted to know, thank you!

How do you know this box can do "nothing more"?

Perhaps movies could be placed on a USB/Ethernet NAS and accessed from the DVR recordings menu.

Please read post number one of this thread. It answers this and many more questions you may have.

Have you changed the Updates default time in options?
If so, try putting it back to 1 AM (the factory default) so its less likely to interfere.
I set mine for daytime once just to see if I could get TVGOS (turns out its not in my area yet)
and when it updated it locked the machine for quite a while before it finally rebooted.

I am not 100% on this but if you select an item in the program guide the repeats will have a big red R. Not as nice as having a logo on each guide entry but the info appears to be there. A lot of people would like the option of only recording new episodes only which is also missing.

Not trying to be a jerk, but as far as a QAM tuning option...why would a satellite provider such as Dish network provide ANYTHING that could be used with cable TV?

Here they are trying to fill a niche. If they included support for cable TV, it could cost them dearly as a pay TV provider.

Just my opinion.

Bill

This functionality doesn't exist in on my Sony HD DVR which also uses TVGOS so it isn't any real surprise that it doesn't exist here either. The 'new' notification existed on the Sony, however.


It probably has the processing power to do more, but until Echostar releases a firmware update to allow 'more' (or someone writes a custom firmware) as of today it will not do more. In other words, don't buy it expecting it to be able to do more in the future.

The Sony HD DVR also has an ethernet port which was for 'future' use. It is the future, it still has no use, so don't get your hopes up on this one either.

No, two completely different issues.

I think the big red R just means that program is recording.

Hardware would not be the issue.
It would require a major, major re-write of the software. Very unlikely.

And a correct one, at that.

That is what I thought at first because it appears on programs that are being recorded but then I noticed that if you select/info on something in the future some have the R and some don't so I decided that it indicated that the program was scheduled to record on a recurring basis. Most network stuff now is a repeat and has the R. The syndicated stuff and things like news don't. I said not 100% sure, just the conclusion I came to based on my observation. Try a few yourself and see what you think because I have not done an exhaustive analysis.

Interesting discussion over here. EchoStar separated itself from Dish Network this past year (possible sale?). Among other things, EchoStar makes satellite receivers, the DTVPal line and Sling boxes/modems, while Dish Network operates a subscription DBS service. If E* can make a buck selling receivers to the Cable market (which they have been trying to do for several months), they will.

A BIG thank you to all who have posted!

I desperately want to break my dependence on TWC but the poor guide and absence of a Season Pass are a deal breaker at the moment. Boo Hoo.

Thanks for checking that...sounds promising, and makes a big difference in terms of convenience (and besides, program guides ought to contain important program info, and all the high-def DVRs that I'm familiar with - admittedly only 4 different units - DO have this...)

Don't count this out. I wouldn't call the guide all that bad. Obviously you need a test drive which will be hard to do.

As long as what you want to record occurs on a regular basis there are ways to record daily, weekly or M-F. You just may have to delete a few things you don't want.

35 hours of HD without the ability to download/achieve may cramp you but I guess you could do the upgrade (I wouldn't chance it with a new box) discussed eariler in this thread to a 71 hour drive.

If the USB for an external drive gets enabled you may be able to use an external BluRay drive but that is not currently an option. So far no one has said they can get the hard drive to show up on a network.

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Question regarding CP (Copy Protection) /Write Once flags

First of all all this relates to OTA ONLY...


In the Philips DVDR3575H/37, 3576/37, and it's sister unit the Magnavox H2160 threads I've read postings concerning CP protected tv shows are being marked CP protected, or having embedded write once flags making shows recorded to the units hard drive un-burnable to the units burn-in dvd recorder UNLESS you use the unit itself to strip out the CP flags on shows recorded to the units hard drive.
.
(One poster mentioning a "soap-opera" with CP flags...(LOL)

The work-around with the above units being to "edit" out the commercials containing the CP, write once flags via the units BUILT-IN editing menus, Once that is done the show that has been previously recorded on the units internal hard drive becoming burnable to the units built-in dvd burner.

****

Questions:

A: Has anyone checked to see if the DTVPal DVR is passing the CP /write once flags thru it's outputs?

B: Is there a way to edit out commercials containing the CP flags via the DTVPal itself.

C: Which stand-alone dvd recorders "work" with the DTVPal DVR?

D: What other work-arounds may work.


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Well, there are some reasons.

1. Charlie spun off Dish Network from Echostar this year. E* being the Hardware arm, and Dish being the Programming/Service arm. Now E* has it own agenda to make money independent of Dish.

2. Dish Subscriber growth is slowing now that pretty much the entire nation can get their locals (adding locals always drove growth in subscribers). Now might be the time for Charlie to sell of Dish, but he can still keep E* and use its hardware technology and IP for any new ventures.

3. I sometimes hear about Dish utilizing QAM for Apartment building distribution. (but I can't back it up with any details).

4. The very existence of this Non Dish Sat service box is a strike against the pay service. So biting the hand the feeds them is not out of bounds it appears.

5. It has an ethernet jack, and that leaves the door open to a lot of new content possibilities.

So while I don't think that unit does have a QAM tuner built it, I can see why some hold out hope.

Our box came in on the 22nd and I slid it under the tree. It's out now (golly, vacuum-sealed for freshness? ), and initial observations are favorable.

So far, so good. If it suffers any maladies they'll be aired here.





Name-based recording is a wonderful and dreamy goal for an update.

I cast yet another vote for a spin-down if idle. My Replay and Philips boxes spin-down after some idle dwell, and run-up in anticipation of a scheduled event. The replay box's drive lasted 8yrs before it got flaky and I replaced it (substantially more effort than for what we've come to know for a dtvpal drive).



Thanks for your pioneering efforts!
Perhaps similar methods for extracting content from Replay drives under Mac OS-x (albeit from the command line) will also work for the dtvpal drive.

What copy protection flag are you referring to?