Xfinity / Comcast X1??

Awaiting details.

Some things I'd like to know:

1. Number of tuners - supposedly the answer is six, but I'd like confirmation
2. Hard drive size
3. Will the DVR record while in standby (turned off)?
4. If there's a conflict when setting a recording, do you get a choice of which program to cancel (unlike I-Guide)?
5. Is there any form of 30-second skip or scan? How about five-minute jumps (available in I-Guide with Page Up/Down)?
6. How far can you rewind live TV (particularly on HD channels)?

If you can watch one channel while two others are recording, then the DVR must have at least three tuners. I read in an article a while back that the X1 DVR supposedly has six tuners, but I haven't seen that anywhere else (info about these boxes is very limited), which is why I asked how many tuners are actually there.

Nice to know the 5-minute jumps are there. That's one thing I-Guide has that I with other platforms offered (we have both Comcast and DirecTV, and DirecTV's boxes don't have anything like that).

I still would like to know if there's any form of 30-second skip or scan. Is there a button on the remote that does this? I understand it is an RF remote, so it's unlikely the function can be programmed like you can with I-Guide. It would therefore have to be a function already on the remote. DirecTV's remotes have the function built-in, but by default it is a "scan" function which fast-forwards for 30 seconds instead of an instant skip (though there is a way to change the behavior with a special keyword search).

I believe I found the answer to the hard drive size. It is apparently 500 GB (same as the newer DCX3501 / RNG200N boxes from Motorola). The upcoming cloud storage capability should help (depending on exactly how it works), but Comcast is notoriously slow at rolling out new features, so I wouldn't hold my breath for it.

There is no 30-second skip button on the remote. In fact the buttons are so minimal there aren't even any good candidates for buttons to be replaced by a 30-second skip. The most glaring button ommission is that there is no aux or input button. Just about everybody with even a slightly advanced setup is going to need to use a universal remote as it stands now. When setting up my universal remote I used the codes for the rng200n and every button worked except for the thirty second skip. I tried the 30 second skip trick from cnet and that worked on my older DVR with the dark silver remote but will not work at all with the X1. I also checked Remote Central and pretty much only found posts for other people looking for codes and info.

I ended up using a trick that I read about on the Comcast support boards. It allows you to customize the length of the skip on the page up button. So you can change it from 5 minutes to 30 seconds... or any time you want. Of course the downside is now I have lost the five minute skip. In my situation I'd rather have the thirty second skip than the five minute, plus the 4x FF is very fast so I use that for long skips.

Interesting. It seems everybody has some secret method of accessing 30-second skip functionality on their DVR's. With I-Guide, it's a button reprogram. With DirecTV, it's a special keyword search. I never used Tivo but heard there's a way to do it there as well. Always a hidden feature, but always there.

Hello all,
Unable to find out how to start new thread, so replying.
Had X1 DVR installed 24 hrs ago. Cannot schedule series recordings. It allows me to do so, and even gives me a confirmation of successful scheduling. But none of those series recordings show up in my "Scheduled Recordings", and none of them record. Currently the only successful recording I have had is when I individually scroll thru the guide and schedule individual episodes. Any input here would be appreciated.

The X1 DVR function is currently experiencing software problems and seems to be mostly unusable. Comcast is working to correct the problems and the DVR is slightly better than yesterday but still is not functioning properly. On the Comcast forums some people report better results than others. I guess we have to be patient; it sounds like quite a challenge for Comcast. If this goes on for a while longer I might turn in my X1 for an older box.

I'm a bit surprised by the lack of posts so far. Maybe savvy AVS Forum users know to avoid new Comcast DVRs before the inevitable problems are worked out I’ve had the X1 for 5 days now, and have not experienced the major problems earlier adopters had so far, knock on wood. My programs have recorded, my surround sound works. But I haven't had a sufficient chance yet to subject it to multiple recordings and heavy use. The UI and potential added features (more than 2 recordings at once, external hard drive?) show promise, but Comcast is going to have to continue to improve it.

Does anybody know how to go a day ahead on the guide? I liked that feature on the old box.

Unfortunately this ability is gone from the X1 platform. Search ability is the generic answer for that.

If anyone has questions go ahead I'll try and answer.

Cable guy -

Gone, as in not even able to be added now in an update, or gone, as it won't be added even though it could be? Moving ahead a day is a very useful way of moving through a guide, especially this clunky one which moves jerkily through time now.

is the reminder feature no longer available for example I see a show that is on later in the nite, I would set a reminder that is on, is that function not available with the x1 ?

The skip ahead function has been removed. The is no correlating button on remote. Whether it can be programmed separately like the 30 sec skip is unknown. We're told no. As far as the reminder function, I have yet to see that option as well.

Left, as far as your guide being clunky, it should not be. Something is wrong signal wise. Without seeing it it's hard to tell. It could be ingress or high transmit. The x1 box is basically a cable modem and needs to have good signal coming to it and going from it.

Check out THIS thread for some things you can try. If skip exists, the code for it can be found in about 15 minutes.
Edited by mdavej - 4/27/13 at 9:26am

It's not the signal (the house was rewired about a month before the X1 was set up) but more that with different program lengths the guide appears to move jerkily ... also sometimes when holding down the button to move forward a few days it will start slow and then speed up and overshoot. It does seem to be easier to move the guide when the channel I want is the top channel, but the X1 usually sets it as the 2nd channel. Search has more options, but the results are displayed oddly, especially for sports. So sometimes it's still easier to find programs by channel.

I've found and duplicated one annoying bug with cancelling scheduled recordings before they happen, and having them still record. If I have set up a recording for a few days from now, and I decide I don't want to record it and cancel it, the next day (sometime between 2 am & 8 am) it will return to scheduled recordings as if I didn't cancel it. Only if I cancel a recording on the day it is supposed to record does the cancellation hold. If I have 2 recordings set up for the same time in the future, and decide I want to cancel 1 because I want to record a 3rd recording instead, the next day the first recording will be back on the scheduled programming list and record and the new 3rd program will not be on the list and not record.