Comcast Rolling Out AnyRoom DVR - Page 2

It is a MoCA connection over the existing coax.

I see, thanks. Does that mean that they do this over the existing coax in my home, or that they will be running additional coax from room to room?

The host HD set-top-box (an HD dual tuner DVR with a 500GB hard drive) communicates simultaneously with up to 3 other HD STBs called terminal boxes (w/o hard drives) entirely via the existing coax cables .... no new wiring required .... just a cable outlet at each location. No ethernet is involved. You can have four different recordings playing simultanously plus be recording two shows in a max'd out system. New recordings can only be initiated or scheduled from the host box. Also, recordings can only be deleted from the host box.

Thus, he who controls the host box commands the system so jerky kids or upset spouses can't wipe out recordings just to mess with you, etc.

Thanks for the info guys.

Also, the terminal boxes have their own tuners. So you can either watch something already recorded on the DVR, or you can watch live TV. Watching live TV on the terminal box does not use up one of the DVR's tuners.

Right ... I forgot to mention that.

Plus, if someone starts to watch a recording in one room and is like half way through it, another person can also choose the same recording and start watching it from the beginning simultaneously.

I predict that Comcast will eventually roll out firmware within a year that will let customers upgrade the non-hard drive terminal units with regular DCX33400-M DVR host units and they all can still share recordings plus each room can also initiate and record their on stuff like some of the other providers are already doing. It should be a simple SW update and probably cost the customer the rental difference between the DCX3400-M and DCX3200-M (about an extra $12/mo per terminal upgraded).

I'm getting this installed tomorrow to try it out, can't wait.

The installation of the filter in the garage is tricky .... it took 4 techs (moving up the expertise level over a week to get it right). Just make sure the filter goes in just before the Comcast Amp (assuming you have a Comcast supplied 8-way splitter amp for a house with 8 TVs like mine).

Had mine installed Wednesday. It works fine except:

-- Neither TV gets ch 209 (Palladium HD)
-- The HD box will not go to the DVR menu to watch a recorded program.

Everything is else crystal clear. Wonder what the problem is?

How do you watch a recorded program from the non-DVR TV, if not from the DVR menu? If you can't, that implies that the entire Anyroom thing isn't working at all.

Palladium HD is Channel 764 in Beaverton, OR and comes in great. Where are you located?

Is your inability to access the list of recorded programs when pressing the MyDVR button on the non-Hard Drive terminal unit (DCX3200-M) or when pressing the MyDVR button on the main hard drive Host unit (DCX3400-M)? For me initially it was the non-hard drive terminal unit that could not access the recordings menu from the main host unit. It may be the same problem the first 3 techs had with my system, i.e. the units are not getting an IP address due to incorrect placement of a new filter trap that's supposed to prevent your neighbors (with AnyRoom) from seeing your own recordings list.

Call Tech service for a senior technician to come out and double-check the installation. The AnyRoom roll-out is so new that some of the techs being sent out are doing Anyroom for the first time.

I'm getting mine installed next week. Is there any way I can make the tech stay there and verify that the terminal can access the DVR?

You betcha!

The problem in my case (one of the first installs with a large house 8-way splitter amp) was that after the tech spent several hours on the phone with a supv and even a second tech rolled out, they still could not figure it out and so suggested waiting 24hrs to see if the Comcast computers just needed some extra time, etc.

I think they've figure out things by now and most all the techs and supvs have had a install refresher course on proper hook-up ;-)

I have an appointment tomorrow morning and I'm not sure of what to do. I had two HD DVRs and I just purchased a third HD TV and Blu Ray combo and I wanted another DVR to go with them. I thought (in my ignorance) that the new any room DVR would work the old ones. I now know that the two old boxes would have to go. I also thought that any recording made in any room could be seen in any other room.

I like to be able to stop live TV, specially if I'm watching a football game. I watch those on my basement on the big screen so I would like to keep a self standing DVR there. So the any room DVR will only work from the family room master to the upstairs slave, where I couldn't stop live TV either.

Am I missing something or the only supposed advantages in my case would be saving some money and increased storage capacity on the master DVR?

Nobody has mentioned the remote that comes with the box. Is it possible to program the 30 second skip on it? If not, that's a deal breaker for me. Please answer quickly, the clock is ticking.

First, welcome to the Forum.

In the USA, Comcast only rents AnyRoom DVRs, so you must be in Canada .... right?

The remote on the DCX3400-M is the same as the regular DCX units and the 30 second skip has to be added yourself via simple steps found via an internet seach.

Thanks for the welcome and I'm actually in Maryland. I'm not sure what made you think otherwise. Comcast told me that I have a choice of a regular Motorola HD DVR or an AnyRoom DVR. I guess you mean that the remote is the same one that comes with the 6412?

The remote is the same one as comes with the DCX3400, i.e. the silver-gray remote. I had my system installed today and just kept my old one. The satellite units also use that remote.

The anyroom DVR has a larger hard drive and can communicate with the satellite units, but not with other DVRs. The satellite units can view content from the anyroom dvr, but cannot record to the DVR. Nor can they pause live TV.

If you need DVRs everywhere, then stick to the regular DVRs until they upgrade the software to allow multiple DVRs to communicate.

I think people thought you were from Canada because you said you PURCHASED your DVRs, which, if they were Motorola boxes in the US, you couldn't do.

OK. I purchased a third HDTV and Bluray player, and I need a new DVR to go with them. I see now how that sounded confusing. So the remote is no problem, but If i need to pause live TV I'm out of luck.

I think I'm going for the best of both worlds. I'm going to keep a separate DVR on the basement so I can pause live TV there and have two additional tuners for recording, just in case, and use an anyroom DVR and satellite for the rest of the house. Thanks.

My mistake .... I mis-read that you "purchased" the DVR (which you can do in Canada)

Wondering if this would solve not being able to record/watch more than 2 things at once if I can talk them into this rig.

I keep my existing DVR on my main TV. Record and watch as normal. I put an Anyroom DVR on a TV in another room. Back on the main TV, I have one of the satellite boxes split off the co-ax and into a different input on the TV.

So on input 1, I can watch record 2 shows on regular DVR. On anyroom DVR I can record 2 other shows and watch them on the main set using Input 2.

Will this work?

I think this will only work if the remote codes are different for the existing DVR and the AnyRoom Terminal box that you want to add. I'm pretty sure they're the same and the remote commands will be acted on by both simultaneously - very bad. Nice try though.

- Mike

ahh. Now I remember. Last year I tried to come up with a 2 DVR on one set solution and the remote was the deal breaker then.

Can't believe they haven't solved this one yet. I don't know how they work, but don't understand why 2 things are doable, but 3 is impossible. I could have another DVR in another room and record 2 other things, so the coax isn't the bottleneck.

The AnyRoom terminal unit does not record as it has no hard drive .... it only plays back what's been recorded on the main DVR. You will need full DVRs with hard drives if you want to be able to record more than 2 channels at a time and they need to be in different rooms due to remote code issue you mentioned.

If you do go with a second full DVR, I'd recommend getting the AnyRoom setup (an extra $20/mo for the M-series DCX3400-M w/500GB hard drive, plus and extra $8/mo for the DCX-3200-M terminal unit w/o hard drive). This way, for only a little bit of chump change ($28/mo), you can be recording 4 shows at once and be watching 3 other different live shows live via the HDTV's QAM tuners (although the QAM selection of channels will be limited to your local over the air channels in your community). That should be enough to accomplish your assumed mission of going HDTVs-Gone-Wild.

A word of caution though, watching too much TV may be dangerous to your mental and physical health

Question: Once AnyRoom is installed, can you move the AnyRoom base unit to another location within your house without requiring another Comcast Installation visit?

Mickey

I think you can, as long as all the "M" units remain inside the area that the filter is filtering.

I agree.

No HDTV here. A 12 year old 55" still works fine. As I told someone at Comcast today, if putting a channel switch on the remotes would give us a workaround, why haven't they done that yet?

Still don't understand why 2 shows is do-able, but 3 is impossible.

DVRs only have 2 recording tuners is why .... However, Motorola or TIVO could build them with 3, 4, or more tuners if they wanted to .... nothing is impossible. The providers simply want us to pay up for a second recording DVR if we want more than 2 simultaneous recording capability. It's just business .... nothing personal

I don't have a problem paying for a 2nd DVR if it worked for me. I watch all TV on one set. Give me a programmable remote and 2 DVRs with different freqs and we're done.

Just want a solution that works. I was still using VCRs until a year ago when they released the DTRs. :-)

For the most part yes, unless you have a crazy, multi-splitter configuration that the boxes can't 'talk' to each other through.