Cox Cable - whole Home DVR Cisco - Page 3

UPDATE: Email from Cox saying this is supposed to work and they are now fully aware of the software issue. Vegggas = discredited.

I doubt that a low level CSR would even understand the question if asked if a client STB connected to a eSATA expanded 8642HDC could successfully retrieve a recorded program. Even the Cisco website warns that the eSATA operation of the 8642HDC is software controlled. We've all known for quite some time that Passport doesn't play nicely with HDC model Cisco DVRs. It looks like Trio has problems, too. But "bait and switch" ?? Naw...

domino- CCIE R&S 7123 here, work for a Cisco Gold Partner. That blurb on the specs is talking about enablement of the feature only. It is enabled on Cox's San Diego deployment. It is not talking about operation.


So many excuses for Cox here....lot of apologists. It looks like Cox agrees with me, not with a few posters here, and may accelerate a fix for this. I will keep updated.

Trio v2.0 is in the works with more social features such as Twitter, Facebook, dynamic weather, dynamic watched program listings, and the ability to check your e-mail on the TV.

If the Trio IPG was never intended to support an eSATA Ext HDD, then why was it designed to prompt for a format of an Ext HDD? Given you can't even get a 8642HDC DVR only, without the Whole Home Package?

Before moving to add social media apps, perhaps Cox should read the Connecticut and Rhode Island Threads and fix the issues those users are complaining about.

It is clearly supposed to work, some posters just defend Cox as if they were paid to do so. If Trio wasn't supposed to work, nothing would happen when you plug in a drive.

Please re-read my post. I didn't/don't maintain that the Trio software doesn't have a bug that needs to be fixed, I just stated that it wasn't nearly a case of "bait-and-switch" as you alleged.

Where did you read that Trio was never intended to support eSATA?

What happened to me is the very definition of bait and switch.

Pre sale: "yes you can use the e-sata"

Post sale: "no you cannot use the e-sata"

If that isn't bait and switch I don't know what is.

Posters in this thread.

OTA HD stations are reducing main channel bit-rate as well. Back in 2009, KGTV-DT (SD's ABC affiliate) was broadcasting consistently at about 15.2 Mbps. This was measured OTA and on Cox Cable. KFMB-DT (SD's CBS affiliate) was around 18.2 Mbps both OTA and on Cox Cable. Now, KGTV-DT has dropped to 11-13 Mbps both OTA and on cable, and KFMB has dropped to 16-16.3 Mbps. Why? Dunno. Probably sub-channels.

I agree with your last sentence. "Bait & Switch" is advertising one item, but then telling buyers that you are "out" of that item, but a different (higher profit margin) item is available.

Having CSRs that aren't aware of a software bug is just SOP in the electronics industry, but it isn't even close to being "bait & switch."

When asked who maintained that Trio was never intended to support eSATA:

Care to be a little more specific? I just re-read the thread, and saw no such claim.

Come on...It was never stated "per se" it was implied.

Again...implied by whom?

So I'm in San Diego County and was very close to pulling the trigger this package. The deal breaker was that the COX sales person told me I wouldn't be able to pause the TV in my bedroom.. I could watch a recorded program from the main box, but cannot pause or rewind..

Is this accurate? It seems weird that I lose all that funcationality. (I currently have two HD-DVRs in my home.)

It is accurate. The client boxes are just simple tuners with Cablecards. No HDD to buffer TV as you watch it. They don't even have clocks on them! A multi 8300HD DVR setup is superior to the "whole home" DVR setup far. The only "drawback" is you can't watch a recording from any box. I can't do that even with the new setup since I use e-sata.

Cox spit this out at least 1 year too early judging by their inability to test and fix bugs.

Another thing: if you don't use an external drive on the host and you playback a recording on the client- it is pathetic to navigate. Only 1 speed FF and operates more like On Demand. Try this with a Media Center Extender- it hauls ass so the tech is there. Cox just sucks.

I understand that you can record from the client boxes. Could you just press record, then access the recording and pause from there?

Yes, you can record from the client box and then control the recorded stream on the client box. The whole home DVR is far superior to a single, or even multi DVR's in the fact that you can have multiple streams to as many as a dozen client box locations from a central library of content. The previous poster has a "broken" whole home function because of adding an external drive, which currently makes the server DVR more of a standalone single use DVR.

vegggas

A bit confused, eci says I was right from what I originally posted/asked and If I'm reading correct vegggas says recording and controlling the video (pause, FF, REW) on client box can be done?

Let me see if I can clarify the client STB operation.
The client has a single HD tuner for watching real time, linear and On Demand channels in your subscription package. This part is a standard cable box, not a DVR.
The client is also a 2-way MoCa transceiver. As a MoCa transceiver, it can access and control the DVR server, located in the main location. Using that, you can tell the main DVR to record the program you are watching, and then stream it to the client and have full control of the program from the client STB.
Basically, you have to press record to get DVR type functionality on a client STB, but it records to your DVR and then it has to be streamed to the client for playback. It's not exactly instant because it requires a few button presses to set the recording, and then access it, and it uses one of the tuners in the main DVR instead of directly on the client.
Hope that helps.
vegggas

Curious, do you have both setups in your home vegggas? I do. Multiple 8300's is superior, even without the external drive attached. I'll listen to your opinion if you actually have both and are not just speaking about what you "read on the web".

Pressing pause on an 8300HD or the 8642 host itself is far superior to having a client box where you have to hit record, then stream the show from the host- it is PIG SLOW. Have you tried it? I have. You don't seem to understand how bad it is. The "playback" is not the same as playback on the host. It is more like On Demand- single speed FF/RW and big time delays on pause, play etc. You don't have anywhere close to as good of access to your "library of content" as you would on a local DVR. It's awful. The client boxes suck period. Trio also has serious problems with the Series Manager missing shows, recording things twice using both tuners, you name it.

You are right. The "workaround" is far inferior to a local DVR where you can pause the show and have speedy access to it. Plus, if you have 2 recordings going on @ the host- you are out of tuners and cannot record aka "pause" at the client box. The best solution remains multiple DVR's. I have the Whole Home DVR setup. I don't believe vegggas does. Listen to the people actually using it- you'll see all the same complaints.

SDRANGER if you like your current DVR and want to try the WHDVR, KEEP your current DVR until you are satisfied with the WHDVR. Don't let the tech take your current boxes. You will pay more but at least you can go back to where you started- bug free, fast access to your shows. WHDVR doesn't have that.

Thanks for the information eci & vegggas.

I understand that recording from the client box to "pause" is a workaround - and not a very palatable one. I currently have two DVR's, but find that increasingly I would like to watch recorded material from one room in the other room, and vice versa. I do not want to double record in both rooms. I have to decide if the pause workaround is worth it to me. Trio sounds great to me, and I want the extra HD channels - but this is the first I've heard about Trio's series manager missing shows, or other recording bugs (other than the external HDD issue). I definitely don't want to try it if it's having recording issues. eci, could you elaborate on that??

Series Manager: Add a show and tell it to "record all 1st run". You'll find the show is not being recorded when it is truly the first run. Try and manually record it: record turns on, then off. Show will NOT record unless you delete it from series manager and manually record it. Occurrence of this: random.

Double record: Add a show and tell it to "record all 1st run". The time comes, and then you find BOTH tuners locked on that show, recording it twice.

PPV bugs: You buy the UFC, and invite so many people over you need to run both TV's. Try and buy UFC on 798 on the client box- error message. Cox has not resolved.

Thanks eci. Wow!

Oh- before vegggas calls this "user error"- I have had 2 techs out, boxes swapped- no result. They confirmed the problems with their own eyes and had no clue. They reported the issues back to Cox.

Power levels are great. Whole house is Belden 1694a with Canare connectors.

I will try to answer as best as I can, but without trying to quote every post and comment.
The "user error" to me, is the addition of the external SATA drive, disabling or crippling the "whole home" portion of the DVR service, not the actual user's button presses. I'm sure you can fully operate the units without much difficulty as any regular user could operate the equipment. It's my opinion, that the addition of the external drive, which I think is causing eci so many problems, is the root of all of his problems. From an engineering POV, I think that there is an issue with the amount of buffering needed to go from an external drive to the DVR, then to the remote client.

I do not yet have Trio in MY particular home, but DO have access to seeing it in a customer home now. The client response was as fast and seamless as if using the main DVR, and no, there was no slowness or sluggishness involved.
With a live program on the client, the sequence was basically [Record], confirm [A], [QuickMenu], [Select] (the new recording was at the top), and then it was streaming. It took about 10 seconds to go from watching live to have DVR control on the client STB for me as a novice user of the system.

Pulling up other recordings through the client STB, we had full control of playback with four different playback speeds. An hour show took somewhere about 20 seconds to fully fast forward through to the end at the fastest speed. The only "issue" I saw was that FF and REW playback on the screen is not smooth (you can't follow the fluid action, its more like jumping chapters), and at the higher speeds, the show would jump in multi-minute increments.
I do agree, whole heartedly, that if you upgrade, keep an existing DVR for sanity and comparison. The Rovi interface has a lot of great features that the Trio system was not built around that some may find different.

PPV - I didn't see this in person, but the owner said they ordered PPV as part of their testing, and had no problems on either the main DVR or any of the client STB's. It worked just like any other STB. They did mention they had to go in and set the parental controls, but they never saw an issue with viewing PPV on the client or DVR, or either.

Series recording and errors. I can't comment specifically on those since I have no experience, but the system was built and based on SARA from several years ago. Some people do have issues with recording on SARA, in my experience, due to multiple recordings and conflicts that will drop anything if the two tuners are in use. Rovi, is much better in resolving conflicts so that if you use the guide, it will give you the NO symbol (circle with a slash) and allow you to set priorities, based on list position. AFAIK, Trio doesn't have this feature, and maintaining multiple recordings can get dicey as conflicts happen, but with no conflict management, you never know until you try to find a recording that didn't happen until you look for it.

vegggas

My external drive is not on the 8642, it's back on the 8300. My 8642 was swapped out. The current one has never had my drive on it. All the other problems are present.

Trio has conflict management. You can even set each series recording with a specific priority to influence which would get bumped. It works much the same. It will also indicate in the guide if a recording has an impending conflict in the future. Here is the guide:

http://ww2.cox.com/support/print_med...Triomanual.pdf