ePVision PHD-VRX speculation thread - Page 11  

Notice that I am cable only. MPEG-4 could happen tomorrow and I am at the mercy of my feed. It would brick most of my stuff, but give me a good reason to buy new stuff. It's not likely, true, but this is all speculation anyhow. If this box didn't have QAM in its specs I would not be here.

What I've read is that's EXACTLY what the ATSC standards committee is planning! Try googling 'ATSC 3.0'. They're talking about converting us to a world wide stanndard and they're warning that all current DVRs will become useless. It sounds like it'll be awhile however.

On the one hand, I find it hard to believe that they'll go through with it any time soon, considering how many years they were threatening to terminate analogue broadcasts before actually doing it.

On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if they deliberately changed the standard to spur new TV sales, since the US market has become nearly saturated at this point, and they need something new to make people replace their sets again.

At this rate, maybe the VRX will come out by the time they introduce the new standard.

Yeah.. I think that will have the additional effect of spurring gun sales as well . . .

I'm not sure about "ALL". From the CM7400:

The following audio file formats are supported: (AAC, MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA, WMA Pro, Dolby Digital).
The following photo file formats are supported: (BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF).
The following video file formats are supported: (MPEG 1,2,4, H.264, WM9, DivX, AVS, MP4/MOV, MKV, VC1).

But there's no way to test it.

Most DVRs are capable of playing MPEG-4 files from internal and external storage devices. That is completely separate from what a DVR's tuner is able to capture. All ATSC tuners expect MPEG-2 broadcasts. They won't be able to record anymore if the format changes to MPEG-4, thus rendering current DVRs useless, just like current TVs. The TViX and VRX are also capable of playing the MPEG-4 format, but like the CM7400, they can't tune or record it.

*edit*

Well, the A/72 addition to the ATSC standard for AVC support was supposedly made in 2008, but I can't find either confirmation or denial of whether it's integrated into all ATSC tuners. Since the update was made before the transition, it seems reasonable to assume that all post-transition sets support it, which would indicate that all DVRs and TVs with ATSC tuners would be unaffected by a transition to MPEG-4 broadcasting, and that such a transition could be made whenever the broadcasters wanted to make it, since it wouldn't require hardware upgrades on the part of viewers. If that's the case, the VRX would probably already be in good shape, as would the TViX and CM7400. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the standards could clarify this point further.

As for ATSC 3.0, that's much further from completion. It's based on HEVC (H.265), which is the proposed successor to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, which is the successor to the MPEG-2 system currently in use for ATSC broadcasts. The HEVC format hasn't even been finalized and approved yet (it should be in 2013), so it won't be available for a while, especially for OTA TV.

New home page. www.epvision.com

What's Super-HD?

That page appears to be the same old main.

This one has the PHD-VRX on it:

http://www.epvision.com/index.htm

www.epvision.com is the current home page. Use the browser refresh, or clear your cache to see the new page.

You are correct sir.

I wonder when they finally will send out the discount coupon emails. Right now that's all I care about. I have had enough of this speculation talk about what it will or will not do, because until someone actually gets one it's all speculation.

I started a thread on those machines here and was met with some negativity with statements like:
I guess I am not the only "UNREALISTIC" person in the world.

Shouldn't the Pre-Order price really be the Pre-Release price?

Sort of like pre-recorded. I never saw post-recorded.

Slow news day.

I guess "Super HD" will have to wait for an update. It's gone from the home page. Nothing but good old regular "Full HD" now.

Are they watching??

Sorry, Super HD is back again. Not the first item though.

Actually, the home page could become a hobby:

Exceptional Full HD 1080p Dual Tuner Receiver Box!
Recording up to Two Tuner Programs Simultaneously.
Timesfiting and Pause Live TV Show.
Flexible External USB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Recording & Playback.
HD Medial Player and Network Video Streaming.

I know, I need to get a life.

Oops! They missed again. I guess they have a different calendar than the rest of us. I'm beginning to wonder if this some kind of joke.

Probably a classical case of telling the managers what they want to hear or marketing making unrealistic promises to the customer. At least a lot of movement has happened over the last couple of weeks. I think it is close

This is from the product details and firmware tab.
Is this for the playback on a PC of the files recorded by the PHD-VRX?


Supported Video Player (PC Version):

KM Player (local download) -
Offical Website: http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/index.php
K-Lite Codec Pack 6.7.0 Full (local download) -
Offical Website:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...codec_pack.htm

Probably. I hope that I can make VLC to play the files though

Since 99% of my TV watching is Blu-ray discs I decided that the TIVO boxes with monthly $3.99 cablecard rental would be a waste of money for me (Plus the $499 lifetime subscription). I just ordered the PHD-VRX which was a total of $228.63 after shipping (I saved $20 with the online coupon). If this box does not work out for me, I might end up spending around $1,000 for the high-end TIVO options. Now I am waiting for the product to be released.




I have no use for a NTSC tuner since Verizon FIOS is 100% digital QAM and since over the air broadcasts are 100% ATSC. One thing nice about this box is that tuner number 1 also supports NTSC with Stereo/SAP options. So consumers that do subscribe to a cable company that still offers NTSC channels will be able to view those channels. According to page 2 in the Quick start Guide online the PHD-VRX can only record digital channels so the NTSC tuner cannot be used for recording. Also there is a HDMI, component video, composite video, and VGA input to use the PHD-VRX as a video switcher and upscaler. The PHD-VRX offers an Aspect Ratio direct mode according to the specs.

The PHD-VRX has two USB inputs for up to two 2TB hard drive connections. Only one USB hard drive can be used for the DVR while the other USB hard drive is used for media playback. The PHD-VRX supports NTFS recording and playback which is ideal (Hopefully the DVR software in the PHD-VRX might offer a native bit for bit digital recording mode that is exactly the same as the master ATSC/QAM broadcast).

The Ethernet port is only 10/100Mbps speed and does not support 1Gbps networking. An optional USB WiFi adapter can be used for those that do not have a wired network. According to page 7 in the Quick Start Guide, on-line video streaming access is an option that might be offered in the future.

If a deluxe higher-end version of the PHD-VRX is every made then it should offer 1Gbps networking, cable card slot, and e-sata jack for DVR recording. Then maybe spending the extra money for the TIVO boxes would be better.




1. The video output on the PHD-VRX according to the specs only supports progressive scan over HDMI at 480P,720P, and 1080P. An option in the video menu should be made to support native source direct output. If possible a firmware update should be made to allow consumers to choose between all the following output resolutions (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, and native source direct).

a. The reasons for source direct is that some consumers own high-end A/V receivers and HD displays that do a better job of scaling video to 1080P or 4K.

b. The reason for adding a 1080i output is that some older HD displays with HDMI/DVI inputs only handle video up to 1080i.

2. The firmware update feature on the PHD-VRX is a nice feature but it would be more consumer friendly and easier to install firmware if the Ethernet port could be used for firmware updates and not just the USB port. It would be ideal to have the PHD-VRX automatically or manually connect to the Internet to download and install the latest firmware update.

Having a choice is key. If the firmware update cycles on other stand-alone DVRs are any indication, it's a good idea to wait before updating. New versions sometimes introduce as many new bugs as they do fixes for old ones.

Odds favor the box will have 480i and 1080i output. Might have pass through.

Internet updates would be nice. But they must be manual or optional as was posted.

We'll know in a few months.

We'll know in a few months.
Dreamer!

Let's say I'm not holding off any other purchases while I wait.

Slightly OT, despite the activity of Walmart's recent screwup, they seem to be out of the CM7400. Amazon still has them.

Amazon has a new trick too. They want to buy your used CD and DVD for a few bucks. With owning the content they are "free" to stream it to you and not pay royalties. Netflix is dying from the debt load due to paying royalties. This is really slick and legal. It's like DNLA on a massive scale.

We live in interesting times.

I received an email from Amazon a few days ago offering to buy used CD's and DVD's from me. I had no idea why . . .