Cisco 8640HDC HD-DVR Thread - Page 14

The Block Pin number is the parental guide # you entered to block certain channels or programs. The default is "0000" if you never set up parental controls in the DVR.

I reformatted my HDD yesterday and all appears good for now, I'm wondering if this fix holds however. Those of you that did the reformat a few weeks ago - is your DVR still showing an accurate # of recording space used ?

Lastly, I was surprised on how quick the DVR HDD reformatted. It was about 5 minutes and I was expecting it to take hours.

That is strange. I wonder if the same formatting procedure is invoked as when you press and hold [Select]&[Vol+], apply power, and continue to hold until the LCD shows dISC , as documented above in the links below and first posted by JCWEBB-

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1219141/cisco-8640hdc-hd-dvr-thread/300_60#post_22375646 JCWEBB's post
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1219141/cisco-8640hdc-hd-dvr-thread/300_60#post_22382450 cisco documentation
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1219141/cisco-8640hdc-hd-dvr-thread/300_60#post_22438790 OSD screen shots

-nony
Edited by nony - 11/23/12 at 11:02am

The format HDD was not a Cicso screen but rather a Navigator menu selection. It was surprising that the reformat operation only took a few minutes.

I understand that. However, you may be able to get an on-screen display during the reformat operation as I did. You need either a component or composite connection as an HDMI connection won't work. The OSD may clue you in as to what type of HDD diagnostic/reformatting is being peformed. Maybe the Phase 2 operations are skipped if you pass Phase 1, although it's more likely that the HDD was just repartitioned and the ITFS was initialized.

As excerpted from the doc - http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/video/at_home/Set-Tops/8000_STTs/4030720_B.pdf
There are two phases of testing in HDD Diagnostics:
 Phase 1 tests the ITFS area and is expected to run less than 10 minutes.
 Phase 2 tests the AVFS area and is expected to run from 1 hour to 3 hours and 40 minutes.
The time required for each phase is dependent on disk size. Larger disks and drives with many correctable errors can take more time.

-nony
Edited by nony - 11/24/12 at 10:55am

...OK...I guess...

I'm not a techie by any means (although I enjoy watching Big Bang Theory). Hence I don't have a clue what you wrote.

All I know is that prior to the reformat I had about 10 hours of recordings using 95% of the HDD. After the reformat, I have 5 hours of recordings which is 5% of the HDD space.

Don't care how it works just as long as it works.

It's been proposed to select focus groups as a technology upgrade fee...

-nony

Has anyone had the shrinking hard drive issue after the reformat or the latest patch?

grenier ... Shrinking hard drive issue ... yes I have too. I have now lost three records to make room for new programs. Anybody else with this same issue?

grenier ... Shrinking hard drive issue ... yes I have too. I have now lost three records to make room for new programs. Anybody else with this same issue?

You're having the issue again after a format?

grenier, after the most resent up-date, less than a month ago. I am going to use the Field Tools to reformat the hard drive tonight.

03:20pm today just reformatted the hard drive. I will report back any success or lack there of ...
Edited by Plasma Guy - 1/29/13 at 12:29pm

Since I did the reformat several weeks ago, the problem has been resolved. If you are having this issue, I would recommend the reformat even though you'll lose all your current recordings.

Same thing here. Reformated hard drive and everything is resolved. No other issues so far.

hey guys - sorry for the off topic or if this has been covered here before, i skimmed the thread but didn't see it.

can someone please tell me how to get a recorded show (or a live show - it hasn't aired yet) from the explorer 8640 hdc to a computer? i am on twc.

my wife will be in a tv show next week and i need to capture it for her acting reel.

many thanks in advance!

the only way to do it would be to have a computer with a component video capture card in it and hook it up to the box, then play back from the box and record to your computer

of course that is prolly against the dmca and the mpaa, riaa will take your birthday away and your first borns

thanks, yes, i have a great video card so no problem there; it's more the 'hook it up to the box' that I'm looking for assistance with.

fire wire? esata? usb? anyone with experience doing this?

thanks again.

it said in my post, only thing you can use would be component (or worse still, composite) video connection, the hdmi would be flagged and your computer might not record it

If you have Component Video I/F Record capability that works with HD Cable Box output resolution settings (not all will) you're good to go. But, if not...or you can't get it to work (if it were easy, everyone would be doing it) then you may only be able to do a low-rez recording via the Composite Video (YELLOW + RED/WHITE) output.

Hauppauge HD PVR is specifically designed to record Hi-Def from Component Video I/F from Cable/Sat Boxes to PCs onto DVD/BluRay Disk:
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1055232/hauppauge-hdpvr-1212-owners-thread

Firewire (IEEE-1394) output works ONLY on SOME cable boxes on SOME CATV systems, allowing Unencrypted (CLEAR QAM) Hi-Def LOCAL Channels (ONLY) to be recorded to PC or MAC, although it's harder with PC...but I doubt you have time available to read, learn, (also try SA4250HDC) and ultimately figure out whether your system works....or NOT (more likely):
http://www.avsforum.com/t/649140/feedback-to-the-fcc-firewire-problems-with-cable-stbs
http://www.avsforum.com/t/593271/recording-to-pc-from-a-sa-8300hd-via-firewire
http://www.avsforum.com/t/403695/how-to-record-via-ieee-1394-firewire-to-windows-xp
http://www.avsforum.com/t/734242/record-and-playback-via-ieee-1394-a-k-a-firewire-with-linux

BTW: I KNOW that Firewire works (without stuttering) on my SA4250HDC and an earlier SA3250 TWC-SanDiego Cable Boxes....and stutters on SA8300HD....going to a JVC D-VHS Hi-Def Recorder. D-VHS Recorders (no longer being manufactured) implement the Copy Protect Flag and hence can record nearly ANY Cable Channel (except ON-Demand and PPV)...whereas PCs can ONLY record the Unencrypted Clear QAM (i.e. Local) channels.

PS: There is (was?) a database of user experiences with Firewire (IEEE-1394) working (or NOT) on various Cable Boxes running various versions of SARA, PASSPORT, NAVIGATOR and OCAP....I couldn't readily find the weblink...so look for it when you peruse the threads cited above.

PPS: Not too long ago the Cable companies convinced FCC to allow them to substitute Ethernet output for the Federally Mandated Firewire output for "Fair Rights" recording purposes....but I haven't run across any info on whether this is a real capability...or a futuristic pipe dream.....
Edited by holl_ands - 2/14/13 at 12:01pm

thank you holl - that's what i was looking for. no wonder i wasn't finding anything good online.

i'll dig into the avs threads and splurge on the hauppauge if i need to.

thanks again for the effort.

I think the hauppauge (either the Colossus or the HD-PVR) is your best bet. Based on you having a Cisco 8640 (at least I assume you do based on this thread), I doubt that the Cisco's FireWire firmware works properly. It would probably be a waste of your time to attempt FireWire capturing from it. I have both the Hauppauge HD-PVR and Colossus and like them both.

My question is this. I live in Indianapolis and subscribe to Brighthouse. Can I buy a used CISCO EXPLORER 8640HDC HD DVR and use it on the Brrighthouse cable system. It's the same DVR that they use and I have one in the family room. Thought about buying one for the game room.

More than likely, no. Where do you plan on buying a used 8640HDC?

I've seen a number of Cisco HD receivers on Ebay and it seems that they are selling to lots of people, so I figured that they must be able to use them.

Most of the cable boxes on eBay are either stolen, not returned to the cable company when a customer moves (which the cable company views as stolen), or from a Canadian system. With very few exceptions, the U.S. cable company will not provision these boxes.

100% true! Do not buy boxes online as your MSO will not have the entitlements (EMMs) to provision them, nor can they get them from Cisco as they don't own the box.

Long story short. A few weeks ago I noticed my Facebook wasn't acting right. So I did some investigating and came to find out my whole iPad had been comprimised. Everything from gmail to yahoo and of course my Icloud. I know who did the hack but I noticed yesterday on my scientific Atlanta explorer 4250 HDC there was an icon message with the 1080i. So after doing some more research on the tv it starting going in and out. Also, my Samsung phone was linked to all of this. Sooooo, what excatly is the icon message 1080i mean. Pleaseeeee help!

On the front panel?

If it is indeed on the front panel then it's only showing what signal (720P, 1080i) is being sent to your TV and is nothing to worry about.