Official DVICO TViX M6620N HD (ATSC/QAM) Tuner Topic - Page 54

My latest Dilemma: I finally took the weeks required to use Tivxie to download all the cover art and movies details for my collection.

Wouldn't you know it? Now my Tvix randomly decides that it's not going to display the full Folder-with-art-and-details stuff. For awhile I could go into the menu from movies and then back again and it would display correctly. Now it won't even do that. I've played with the settings so much I no longer know which setting is the supposedly correct one to display the full art and info screen. Too bad because after all that work I actually liked the results.

The results I get are this:

When displaying correctly; the folder icons are slightly rectangular-ish (being somewhat taller than wide) and are laid out in a 8x3 pattern (could be off by one here, doing this from memory). When you click on a folder icon, you get the cover art, the background image, movie description and so on. This was working about 30% of the time - now not at all.

Then, for a reason only a piss-poor Dvico software engineer could guess at - it displays the folder icons in a square shape in a 7x3 layout and when clicked on - I get only the "reel" icon inside the folder.

What a joke.

Due to my frustration, I have moved from 2-3 stars-ish on this device to 1/2 stars out of five. It's too buggy and too unreliable and too stupidly programmed to be of much use. Add in the atitude of the company that could - because they are dumping this device anyway - release the programming API and source code while still retaining licence but chooses instead to leave us with laughably moronic software.

I for one will never buy another Dvico product, or likely any Korean product for that matter.

@ Davidt1

I don't have much to record over the summer, but mine still gets use. I use a 2.5" drive in mine, but I didn't get any kind of enclosure for it. I merely have it supported on the end so that it remains parallel with the bottom of the drive bay and doesn't bend the SATA connector. The extra space around it allows for more air flow and keeps the fan from having to speed up. That enclosure would probably help people who don't want to rig a custom support system, though.

@ oshunluvr

IMO your problems stem from too much tinkering. I look at the potential for bugs in units like these as a reason to never change anything unless it's necessary. I have my TViX set to use the standard file list mode with only text, and that works fine. Sure, artwork might be flashy, but it would waste a lot of screen space, and it's certainly not worth trying to implement it if it's going to break things. The basic interface may not have much eye candy, but I don't think it's necessarily fair to downgrade the box's rating because it doesn't play well with other software. Yes, it's advertised as being able to do what you tried, but it's well known now that the software is unstable. The basic functionality works, and that's enough to make these units worth a look for people who want a DVR, if only because there are so few products in the market.

Here's hoping having said this that I don't now get visited by my own TViX gremlins.

Is it worth $25/year to you not to have to convert the recorded files from MSFT's DRM wrapper to ordinary TS format? It is to me and that (plus the fact that I helped develop it) is why I use CW_EPG instead of WMC to schedule my HDHomerun recordings. CW_EPG is free and works with HDHR and FusionHDTV tuners, but it requires Schedules Direct's $25/year EPG service to schedule HDTV recordings as flexibly as WMC can. And the result is...a .tp file.

I forgot to mention that I use VideoRedo to remove commercials and change the file from WTV to TS in one step. So it's no biggie.



Aleron Ives,

I rigged up something for my 2.5'' drive and used that for about two months. The Kingwin converter, however, provides a multifunction professional solution that looks better and can work as an external drive and internal drive for a desktop PC.

I disagree with the characterisation that I'm "tinkering." I am using the device exactly as the manufacturer has advertised it is supposed to be used, which includes the enhanced display and the use of Tvixie software to create the enhanced menus. Any changing of settings I have done has been in response to the bugginess I documented earlier.

On the contrary, if they advertise it as they do but it's only really functional as a basic DVR it is dishonest to give the device a satisfactory rating. The point of rating something is to inform others of the value or functionality of a device or program, not to mis-lead them into thinking it's something it's not.

The majority of my frustration comes from the attitude of the company. The hardware is exactly what I want, but the buggy and un-supported software reduces it to a simple recording device. Any computer in my house can do that. Dvico deserves to go out of business.

That said: I too hope you (and all of us) avoid any further gremlins!

I think you have a bad attitude.
You aren't trying to say this is worse that that other DVR are you?
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Edited by videobruce - 7/12/12 at 10:41am

I agree that in an ideal world where we could afford to be picky about our DVR options that you would be using a fair rating system, as a device should perform as advertised. Unfortunately, there are very few DVRs to choose from, and when so many of them can't even perform basic recording functions properly, let alone other features, the fact that the TViX does work as a DVR, even if its other advertised features are flawed, is enough to make it worth a few stars (and perhaps even the best of the crop).

I remember reading near the beginning of the topic (since I read it all before buying one of these) that other people who strayed from using the basic text-only file listings had strange problems occur with their units, so I made note to never "tinker" with that functionality. I used that word to indicate that you had gone against the prescribed use of the box as found by other people who had posted in this topic, not because you were dabbling in things unauthorised by the manufacturer. Sadly, the experiences of our fellow members have proven to be more reliable performance indicators than anything the makers of these boxes have told us.

I like my TVix, but I am using it less and less. I am down-sizing my stuff by adding multifunction devices and getting of redundancy. My HD Homerun and laptop can do much more than the TVix, so there is no need for the TVix. For those who don't like the TVix, the HTPC route is a much better alternative. And it's cheaper than you think.

@Aleron Ives: Agreed, but I'm still frustrated....

Here's a new device I've invested in. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/simpletv/cut-the-cord-with-the-simpletv-dvr

I'll let you all know how it goes once I have it in hand. Has future potential with features like multi-tuner (stacking devices) and others. I'll let those interested read up on it.

Yes, you're correct! My attitude is poor. It's my fault really. I keep expecting companies who want my money to do what they say they are going to. Silly of me, isn't it?

I'm not sure what "other" dvr we're talking about, but I have own several TIVO's in the past that were pretty great. Of course, I had to pay a wad for them. If you meant the channel master - sounds like a total peice of junk to me.

At least my TVIX records most of the time.

I think videobruce was referring to the PHD-VRX, which can't even record on a weekly basis. If you read that unit's topic, you'll see that the technical support staff sent him a nasty e-mail accusing him (an official beta tester) of being the source of the DVR's problems, because they don't want to deal with the slew of flaws bruce and others found in their product.

Sigh... it looks even less useful than the VRX. It still requires a USB hard drive, and it can't even connect to a TV at all. It can only transfer its recordings over Ethernet, and judging from the description, it looks like it transcodes the broadcast. I'll stick with my TViX.
Edited by Aleron Ives - 7/13/12 at 2:56pm

They're planning connectivity to network devices down the road and it will allow your content to be viewable over the internet or network on other devices. If plain vanilla VCR is all you need, then I guess the TVIX will be fine. I already have a Roku because the TViX doesn't do anything but record TV.

Another new device coming out is the $99 Vizio CoStar. It's a pass-through device that adds internet features (via GoogleTV) to your existing setup. It might actually be a nice addition to the TViX as it will add netflix and other stuff sorely lacking from the TViX alone.

No it's not and no it's not: Correct, I was hoping you might of stopped in by now. It makes all others look good including the VRX. Just the appearance of it is enough to make you laugh. A giant pill.

Why was and why hasn't the title of this thread been changed to include the term "DVR"?? Yes, I know there is no HDD supplied, but at least the term "DVR capable" would be technically correct. And yes, it is a "tuner", but "tuners" alone (which this isn't) are in another sub-forum aren't they?

Anyway, one thing that impressed me was the inclusion of a fan that is temperature controlled. Not to be outdone, I see there is a user control for that fan in the menu which really surprised me.
Since there are two tuners (but only one RF input), are there one or two Guides, where one has to switch back and forth between the two to setup programming?

I can't find a thread for HDTV Tuners and I have 5. The EPG is the PSIP data. I installed a 500Gb drive in mine and found the output temp at a comfortable 80F. I never noticed the fan control, which reflects my enthusiasm I guess. It's tall enough for a fan, which the CM7400 isn't. Since this item doesn't appear on the DVICO Store web site anymore I think we are spending too much time thinking about it.

Not a "thread", but a sub-forum. That would be under "HDTV Technical";
http://www.avsforum.com/f/25/hdtv-technical

The bottom of the TVix can get hot and there is very little space for air to circulate. I suggest raising the unit a little higher for better air circulation and cooling.

NFS Server?

Hi All,

I read the older posts that say that the TVIX can read from an NFS server but that it only serves its files as SMB or FTP.

I would like to have the TVIX serve NFS. So to confirm, this is not possible?

Thanks

The tuners are not user-selectable. When the user enters HDTV mode, tuner 1 displays the last channel tuned, while tuner 2 silently scans all existing channels and harvests their PSIP data. After about a minute, pressing the remote's guide button then displays whatever program information tuner 2 was able to harvest. The remote's left and right arrows allow the user to switch between channels in the guide (without actually changing the station that tuner 1 is tuned to, which is still playing in a small window in the upper-right corner), and the >| and |< buttons let the user switch between days of the week on the current channel in the guide. Making a recording from the guide is as simple as pressing the OK button on the desired program, and then pressing OK again on the "Recording | Watching | Cancel" popup that opens.

Any recording you decide to make will automatically use tuner 1. Tuner 2 only gets used if you schedule two recordings at the same time or want to watch one program while recording another. The only down side of automatic tuner selection is that it is not possible to record the same channel multiple times with overlap, e.g. if program 1 is from 8 - 9 and program 2 is from 9 - 10 on the same channel, you cannot pad recording 1 to end at 9:01 and program 2 to start at 8:59, because that would require both tuners, and you're not allowed to do that on the same channel. The only options are to either split the recording without padding or record both hours as a single file.

The TViX has an automatic padding option, which pads recordings by the selected number of seconds on both ends (such as 60). Making back-to-back recordings on the same channel requires a little massaging of the schedule for this to work, as the automatic padding also runs into that problem. Recording 1 wants to end at 9:01, but recording 2 wants to start at 8:59, which isn't possible on the same channel. If you do nothing, recording 1 will end at 9:01 and cause recording 2 to start at 9:01. If you want the break to be at 9:00, you need to set program 1 to end at 8:59 (+60s end padding = 9:00) and program 2 to start at 9:01 (+60s start padding = 9:00). Thankfully if you need to deal with this on a weekly basis, you can just configure your weekly timers once and then forget about them.

Your understanding is correct. The TViX will play files from a remote NFS or SMB server, while files on the TViX HDD can only be accessed by FTP, SMB, or USB (or SATA if you physically remove the HDD and connect it to a computer).
Edited by Aleron Ives - 7/15/12 at 2:03pm

Extremely interesting idea on how to gather the data.
Is that data saved, or does this continuously keep scanning for new data?
How about when two recordings are on at the same time, is the Guide available? Back to back w/o overlap is ok isn't it: 8-9 then 9-10 on the hour?

Since there is only one RF input, you can't have both OTA & CATV at the same time. How about the channel memory. Does scanning the other 'band' (QAM vs ATSC) wipe the memory of the previous scan memory like most tuners, or does this have dual memories?

Why can't someone get all of this correct in one unit?

With out going too far OT, why are these networks doing the start/stop time Russian roulette? Just to screw with DVR owners?

Obviously. Product placement gets better too.

Have they considered that by doing so it turns viewers off to the extent they will drop watching those programs altogether?

It scans all the channels once, AFAIK. I don't know what would happen if you left the unit on long enough for the PSIP information to run out; I've never left it on long enough to see if it scans again. Unlike the Dish/CM DVRs, the TViX actually turns off like a VCR and only wakes up if you press the power button or there's a timer event scheduled.

I've only had to use the dual recording feature once or twice so far, so I'm not sure. I got mine at the tail end of last season, so all my conflicts were already resolved by seasons being over already. I'll have plenty of time to test this in the fall. Even if the guide is available, it would be useless for anything except adding new timers, since you couldn't tune to anything except the two channels being recorded already.

It seems to depend on the channel. When I recorded a 1080i channel, there was only about 2 seconds of lag between when the first timer stopped and the second timer started, so the transition was almost intsant. I'm still recording a 480i channel over the summer, and the switch takes around 15 seconds, meaning I miss the beginning of the second program. I found this annoying enough to adjust my timers to do the switch during the final commercial break of the first program, so the lag time doesn't cause me to miss actual content. Whether the channel resolution is to blame for this I have no idea; it could just be a cooincidence. I'll find out when I have more back-to-back HD programs to record in the fall. If it becomes a serious enough annoyance, I'll just configure my timers VCR-style and record back-to-back programs as a single two-hour event. Unlike the VRX, I can just press the GoTo key, type in 1'00", and hit OK to jump to the second hour of programming within the file.

I've never used it with QAM, but I would assume it forgets. The menu has air and cable options, and there is no manual channel add or rescan function. When you do a channel scan, the old channel list is deleted, and you must pick up all the channels you want to get during the scan (meaning you'll have to adjust your antenna in real time as the scan is happening if different channels require different antenna orientations). You can, however, permanently delete detected channels from the memory, which is crucial for bypassing the ION problem.

All these DVR options have their flaws, but the networking features of the TViX were a major selling point for me. Units like the Dish/CM offerings are unacceptable to me, because they only allow throw-away recording. A VCR lets you archive things permanently, and I wanted a DVR that could do the same thing.

That makes the Guide not available. Are you talking about back to back analog or SD digital recordings? Why would there be a difference? If you enter the physical channel number (either 43 or 43.1 for example) of a station that is not in the channel list, does recognize that channel?
Many tuners will and will add that entry if it is not in the scan, but some will not even recognize it. That seemed to be more of a problem with earlier tuners. This has never been documented that I have seen with the devices involved. I can assume the manufacture probably doesn't even know about it.
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Edited by videobruce - 7/17/12 at 8:13am

With my TVIX3310, at the file level, you can hit Bookmark and select from the list to Resume viewing where you left off. You don't need to use Goto. And when viewing TV you can enter the physical channel number and if it "sees" it, it will add the subchannels to the channel list.

As I thought, another undocumented function/feature they weren't aware of.
IOW's it's a "add channel" function.

You can only resume a file that you've played previously. If you want to watch the second hour of programming before the first, you have to use GoTo to skip over the first hour.

As for manual channel additions, the 6620 does allow you to add an unmapped channel by entering its RF channel number, but it only works for the first channel in the PSIP list. If the station has sub-channels, it doesn't seem possible to add them without resetting the channel list by doing a fresh scan.

Wow. That's odd. Never heard of that behavior before.
If you enter, lets say, 43.3 (assuming that is a valid number), would it ignore 43.1 & 2 and add just 3?

You can't enter sub-channels manually in the first place, because the remote doesn't have a period or dash key. (There are complaints about this earlier in the topic.) When you start typing channel numbers, the channel GoTo list automatically opens and filters the channels based on the numbers you have entered so far. For example, if you press "2", the list will show channels 2-1, 20-1, 20-2, 26-1, 26-2, and 28-1, and then if you press "0", the list will only show 20-1 and 20-2. The only way to select 20-2 is to then press down on the remote and select it from the list (or to not type channel numbers at all and use the channel up and down buttons). I tried entering RF #14 last night, which maps via PSIP to 42-1. I didn't get 42-2 or 42-3 in my channel list, which leads me to assume the latest firmware can't detect sub-channels through the manual interface and needs to do a full scan.