Channel Master CM-7000PAL HD DVR - AKA Dish DTVPal - Page 2

Looks like this thread is pretty quiet. You will probably want to follow the Dish DTVPal thread which is pretty active. The first post is definitely worth a read.

Also check http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post18707827

Fry's has run an add for the CM unit several times. So when I was in the Canoga Park, CA store lately I thought I would check it out. Hard to find it. Was not in the TV section. Asked two Fry's people for it and got sent to the wrong area (even after one of them looked it up on their computer). Finally found it in the TV coax section near the outdoor TV antennas.

My conclusion? Most people seeing the ad will give up before they find it. No one will find it while browsing in the store.

Not good for the future of this unit.

Rick R

See the first post in the AVS Official DTVPal DVR thread. Here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...p?t=1099071#A5

It has all info needed on replacing the drive as well as step by step instructions to safely open the case.

It appears this DVR has TVGOS. Anyone check to see what version ?..
IIRC the latest TVGOS version is V9.
Or is it limited to PSIP data

The Dish version of this same DVR supports TVGOS for guide data. I could not find any refererence to TVGOS version number in my Dish DTV Pal DVR.

I am currently using the TVGOS guide on both of my DTV Pal DVRs.

I've been debating whether to get a lower-priced DTVPal (with 90 day warranty) or a high-priced CM-7000pal (with 1 yr warranty). My question is, if I get the DTV Pal, where do I find the F208 update? Seems like that's the biggest obstacle with the DTVPal. I've looked around and I don't see it anywhere. Also, how do you install it? Thanks! This will help me with my decision.

See here:

http://www.dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/support.shtml

I bought my PAL about 2 months ago, it came with F208... (instructions are in the first post of the DTVPal thread)

Sorry, I'm a bit confused...correct me if I'm wrong, but are some of the above posters stating this unit will not work if you use an HDMI cable to output to a receiver (I have a Sony HT-CT500) and then onto the TV (a plasma panny). I just bought an Antenna Direct CS-2 and can't wait to cut the cable bills, but I need to know if/when we give back the PVR to the cable company that the CM7000Pal is a viable alternative.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Cheers

May someone please tell me if after the inital scan of ota channels is there a function in the menu to add on to the first scan of channels with out having to delete the first scan. Since I have to move my antenna to recieve certain stations and then move it back to recieve other channels. It would be pointless for me to buy this if It deletes scans everytime I want to recored a show and I have to move the antenna. Even though there are two tuners I don't know If I could have them both be set up indepently of each other. Thank you.

The way I understand the manual says it does support HDMI sound correctly, and as long as your AVR can decode it, you will have a choice of DD 5.1 or PCM 2.0 on the HDMI cable. If your AVR cannot process the DD 5.1 then the DVR also has Toslink out for DD 5.1 as a second method. At least that is what the manual says. I assume it to be true?

Yes it adds channels. There is a find new channels scan that will just add any new channels it finds to your existing collection.

Thank you, much appreciated!

Thank you very much. Now I won't have to worry so much about having to return it.

My Pal works great on my Pioneer 9130 receiver using HDMI.

Can anyone confirm if two CM-7000's are connected to a home network, can they play each other's files via ethernet?

Thanks,

Andre'

No can do.

Can any of the home HDTV DVR's listed in the "HDTV DVR Comparison-Consumer Owned Units" chart, without a DVR Subscription Fee:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1204433

My cm has worked timer wise as expected no problems
Anyone else not having a problem with dst on their timers just curious
the dtvpals seem to be giving some of their owners a fit
wonder if i not having a problem because of steady tvgos information

Another thought based on the above question.......

Is it possible with this unit to pull the recorded files off of the hard drive via the network? Or remove the hard drive and copy the files to another drive (for archiving)? Also, any idea what the file extension is of the recorded file (tp, ts, mpg) and will it play (if extracted) on another device (computer)?

Thanks

I just received my CM 7000 Pal DVR yesterday and thought I would share some of my observations. Thanks to the dedicated members over on the Dish DTVPal DVR thread most of my observations came as no surprise and their research saved me further investigation.
#1. Some channels do scan into the 70's range. Here in El Paso two of the locals whose primary broadcast is on RF VHF have been experimenting for the past year with a simulcast on UHF for the more rural viewers. These UHF simulcasts have no PSIP virtual re-mapping so the DVR put them as channel 70 and 71 rather than their true RF frequencies. Other odd situations such as rural viewers who can get two channels with the same virtual number have also been reported to show up in the 70's range.
#2. Although TV guide information was quickly downloaded, I only have 6 to 8 hours worth of PSIP guide for the local FOX station. This was actually expected and fortunately the PSIP is correct in my case. If it were missing entirely one could always do a manual record based on guides available on-line or even in the newspaper.
#3. Even though I am using red and white analog audio connections ( with component video) I looked into the Dolby Digital menu. One would not expect those setting to affect the analog output, but they do. There is a setting simply labeled Standard/Night. The default was Night so I changed it to Standard. Later I noticed that I was having to turn the TV volume way up. I went back and switched the setting to Night. It seems either the programmer got this setting wrong or their definition of "night" is different than mine.
#4. Despite what the on screen help button describes, the Updates function is about firmware updates, not the TV guide. It is recommended to disable updates as the CM 7000 Pal DVR comes with the latest firmware and there may never be any more releases. Having the unit search for updates at a specific time is just asking for problems.
I wanted to post in this thread specifically titled for the Channel Master version as the casual owner might not know to look under the much lengthier Dish thread. Also one member chastised me for posting in the other thread although I believe it is the general concision the Dish DTVPal DVR thread has become relevant to both versions of this equipment.

It's a little late, but anyway - here is initial report about 'physicals' of CM-7000PAL with pictures made 5/29/10:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=9608
For those ppl who're not aware about lengthy thread dedicated to DVTpal DVR aka TR-50.

After a couple of days use I found I am suffering from known issue # 12 on the first page of the Dish DTVPal thread. This states that on some channels there is a video/audio drop-out every 30 to 32 seconds. It is believed to be incompatibility between the unit and the broadcaster's equipment. In my case it is an audio drop-out on KFOX here in El Paso. They are also the local channel that only displays PSIP information in the guide.
Even though it is only about one word missed every 30 seconds, it is quite distracting once one is aware of the problem. I can only say that if it is going to happen on one of the major networks, I can live with it being on FOX as only a few of their shows gain my interest. I could not have found it acceptable on CBS or PBS.
I just wanted to let it be known that this problem is still an issue.

Perhaps you did answer to common question - is there any difference between FW F4.00 of CM-7000PAL and F2.08 of DTVpal DVR ?

As can be seen in my previous post I found the audio and video studders every 30 seconds on my local FOX station. I felt I could live with that. This morning my Mother asked why her favorite Spanish station was "all messed up". I have seem some members refer to the "WAF" (wife acceptance factor), well you can imagine the MAF (mother acceptance factor).
So, the people at Crutchfield were very nice and are even paying for the shipping back. I bought a TIVO today.

We're waiting for the answer form you .

just bought one at fry s (phoenix)

always had good ota with converter boxes; works; no worries, jump in the water is fine.

I've had one of these for a few months and it's been working very well. However, I did find an odd bug.

When I originally hooked up the unit, I used the HDMI cable from my DVD player since that was the only HDMI cable I had available. It worked fine until I replaced that HDMI cable with a brand new one I bought. Then whenever I powered off the unit, it would freeze up and become unresponsive. The only way to bring it back up was to unplug it and plug it back in. This puzzled me for about a week until I realized that I was using the new HDMI cable. So after swapping the cables, it's been working fine! (And the new cable has been working fine on my DVD player.) Bizarre...

Has anyone else run into this issue? If so, and you're still puzzled, I may have stumbled upon the fix.

In the original DTVPal DVR FAQ, there is a lockup issue regarding HDMI. Take a read there.

just pulled the trigger on this dvr...they have it at crutchfield for 279 with coupon code 3a825

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_6597000...tml?search=dvr