Moxi ( Motorola BMC90xx ) Q&A and Discussion Thread - Page 5

MoxiGuy

Thanks for the info.

tnili

I have the MX-700, and it learned the Moxi remote without any problems. I had a couple of buttons that I had to program twice, so you may have to try a couple of times. Good luck.

octavian

I tried learning the buttons that I was having trouble with many times. I tried short taps and long presses on the original remote when learning. The MX-500 always said it learned succesfully. Still, there are some buttons that work unreliably or not at all. For example the MOXI button is one of those that works unreliably. If I jam on it a few times it eventually works but who wants to do that? The down arrow is one that just refuses to work, which is strange because all the other directions work fine. This is pissing me off. I guess I will just have to use the MOXI remote for now.

Here are some more issues that I have encountered since getting the MOXI:

1. Sometimes, you cannot get the FFWD function to stop. I was using the fastest setting to skip through commercials and the MOXI would not respond to any commands like stop, for instance. I had to sit there and wait until MOXI finished FFWD'ing to the end of the program. I am not sure if this is a problem with the remote or the receiver. All I can say is that I was using the original remote which had new batteries installed.

2. When you stop a program mid-way, MOXI does not always let you resume from the place you stopped. I tried different combination of hitting the MOXI button first, then stopping or stopping first and then going into the MOXI menu. I could not find a combination that always worked. When MOXI fails to remember the resume position, you have to start playing the program from the beginning.

3. Sometimes when you try to schedule a series recording, the MOXI will go into an infinite loop, requiring a hard reset. I tried creating a series recording on CBS-HD's US Open Tennis coverage and ran into this twice, back-to-back. I gave up on the third try.

4. Find & Record by category needs to be simplified. When I am looking for football games, there should not be separate entries for Football on CBS, ABC, FOX and ESPN and PPVIEW. The categories should be something like this: NFL, College, High School, etc.

I would like to close on a positive note by saying that it was great being able to record and watch HD broadcasts of Dinosaur and US Open Tennis.

I experience the same problem. I found that if I hit the Pause button, it will actually respond and go to Pause. Hitting Play does nothing, rewind is hit or miss, but so far on my box, Pause will halt the runaway fast-forward.

It is great to have MoxiGuy actually participate here, and I appreciate his efforts. My experience so far with the BMC9012 with Adelphia hasn't been perfect, but I like the channel guide a LOT better than the 6200 alternative, and of course having DVR is very cool.

It seems like the Moxi has a lot of untapped potential that will hopefully be utilized in upcoming releases.

I like some of the other posters have the Sammy DLP with limited input options. I just run it with both the old HD box and the Moxi. I use the old box for SD stuff and the Moxi only for DVR and HD stuff.

Ultimately I would like to use only the DVI output into my HTPC and run the Sammy with a single DVI input from the HTPC, but it seems like it will be a while before that is a reality.

I just called Adelphia today to get my DVR. They are coming on the 18th to install it. I plan on using my 6200 along with the new DVR.

Do the Moxi and Motorola have different remote or remote codes so they do not interfere with each other?

I'll probably keep both boxes till Moxi makes the DVI and a few other updates available.

I might look into a JVC 40K to record some HD stuff over the firewire from the 6200. Of course I'm still looking at getting a LG LST-3410a for some OTA recording also......

Later,

Jim

The BMC9012 and 6200 boxes use very different remote interfaces. There is no problem with the remotes interacting.

Basically the Moxi unit is all-around better except in a few key areas. Using the 6200 seems to be a temporary solution until the Moxi is upgraded to solve some of the issues.

That's what I was hoping. Thanks for the info. Once they get the DVI active and a few other things I'll probably drop back down to one box.

Jim

Couple issues I have run into..

Everyonce in a while I lose audio. The only thing that will bring it back is to reboot the Moxi!

Recorded the Vikings game Sunday and at 2 hr 29 m it just stops and will not play any further although the time graphs shows about 30 min left. Real bummer to miss the end of a great game like this!

On a daily basis the Moxi defaults back to "Widescreen" setting. I change it to "Letterbox" and within a day or two it will be back on "Widescreen"

I have the same issue with the widescreen thing...I'm guessing that the moxi goes through some kind of udpate or reboot, and then defaults to widescreen instead of saving that setting in memory...

A quick issue about the moxi, it definetely needs some sort of feature when you record a series to just specify a time...I realize its not time based because shows can change times...but some channels, like MTV, if I want to record new episodes of the real world,...the moxi cannot distinguish new episodes from repeats...so it records every instance on that channel of that show...sometimes I'd rather risk missing a show because of a scheduling change, rather than have 20 episodes of a show because there's a marathon on...

Don't like the defaults settings either for 'Record Once' and 'Record Series'...it would be nice if I could change the system's recording defaults...so that everytime I clicked on a show to 'Record Once', it would have the Recording Options I use most...for example, if I hit record once now, it'll default to 'keep 2 days' whereas I like to mark everything as 'keep until space needed', same thing with the 'Record Series' option,...it would be nice to change all the defaults for this, becasue as it stands right now, whenever I want to record something, I have to go into the Record Options screen and toggle everything, and while it only takes a few seconds,...I do like having my default settings saved in there...

The DVR definitely needs a management screen that allows you to delete multiple events at once...I realize that the moxi is supposed to manage my memory for me, but I still like to manage my own recordings so that I don't end up having 50 shows to scroll through...being able to mark several shows for deletion would be very nice.

Furthermore, the DVR screen needs sorting (name-based, time-based would be the two most important), so that I can sort based on when I recorded, or just based on name...

I asked in another thread which HD DVR Adelphia Orange County, CA would use and was told it would likely be a Moxi unit. It took me only a hour (sarcasm!) to confirm that w/ Adelphia.

Questions about Moxi from this Newbie, please.

1. Will any Moxi box offer the same picture quality as does my current Moto 6200? Issues like being able to do non-linear stretches, display the broadcast resolution, and the like are of strong interest. What time frame is likely in terms of my being able to use this capability, or will the picture ever look as good?

2. What do I need to attach an external USB 2.0 HDD to a Moxi box (when the software/firmware permits)? Is this just any external drive? Will this interface (now or then) easily with a PC? Are the necessary drivers available now?

3. Is what is written to the external HDD (or perhaps PC) encoded in all/some/none cases? In any case, can I make DVD copies for my own use? Must they be played back through the Moxi to work?

4. Why don't the Moxi boxes offer Firewire? Did Adelphia not sign the agreement with the FCC in this regard? My interest here is that I'm wondering if all of these boxes will get replaced when Adelphia is bought out, which will almost certainly be before the end of this calendar year.

Again, thanks all for your patience. Learning what's going on at what seems a very late stage is indeed like drinking from a firehose.

[list=1][*]Upcoming software release (planned before end of year) will feature "native-mode pass-trough" That means the BMC9012 will output video at whatever resolution and aspect ratio it is originally transmitted. You can use your TV to apply stretches or upscaling if you wish. With analog signals, the process of encoding them for recording or for pausing "live" TV introduces artifacts. You can read extensive discussions of this elswhere on the forums. Some users split their cable feed and use a direct feed to the antenna port on the TV for analog viewing.[*]Support for external USB hard drives is planned for a future release. You will not be able to swap the drive from the BMC to your PC to transfer video programs. [*]We are planning future models with DVD burning built in. Details not available yet.[*]Future models are planned to have Firewire. FCC agreement doesn't require that all current boxes have firewire, but rather that the cable operator supply a firewire enabled box to any subscriber who asks for it. As for what might happen in the future: I can't predict the policy of an unknown corporate entity. If you consult the past: when cable franchises have changed ownership, the new owners usually keep the existing equipment in place, upgrading it on normal schedules in response to consumer demand as new capabilities (such as HDTV or DVR) are introduced.[/list=1]

Thanks, MoxiGuy, for the straight answers.

A few clarification questions, please. (Although this is likely annoying, I'm still getting up to speed. Your patience is sincerely appreciated.)

- When the capability is available, can the external HDD connected to a Moxi can be any size and brand including fitting a very large drive to an external HDD case, as long as USB 2.0 is used?

- May more than one external HDD be used, even if cable-plugging is required?

- Will 5400 RPM external hard drives be fast enough?

- Kindly confirm: Moxi is not intended to interface with PC or Mac by any means now or later, at least in current plans.

- My presumption is that cable providers being required to offer Firewire-equipped boxes on request by FCC is satisfied by the availability of such hardware without recorders included. (In my case, just keeping my Moto 6200.) Thus, no worry about changes when Adelphia is bought out.

Again, thanks.

Not to preempt Moxiguy, but he has posted that future firmware will allow the Moxi to be linked to a network, enabling the Moxi to retreive (at least) audio and photographic media from the networked machines/drives.

Crabby Guy,

You're asking the right questions about USB add-on drives. We don't have all the answers yet, and that's part of the reason we're not ready to support this. We need to be sure that performance of the drive is sufficient to support simultaneous recording and playback of HD signals. We need to make sure that our scheduler can deal intelligently with the fact that you've added HDD capacity. And just as intelligently deal with the fact that you might remove the extra capacity.

There is a second stage of the FCC requirement for Firewire that kicks in next year--applying to all boxes. We have plans to add Firewire to future models.

MakiC is correct about plans for integrating Moxi with home networks.

What I find really useful with TiVo are the shortcuts, e.g., TiVo-2 for To-Do list, TiVo-4 for record by title, etc. These would be especially helpful for MOXI, where it takes so long to scroll horizontally.

It would also be nice to able to disable certain items in the horizontal menu, e.g., Sports, News, Kids, Intro to MOXI, etc.

A suggestion would be to have the box automatically record to the native drive, then program the box to transfer files to the attached drive when there is limited hard drive activity (no scheduled records, other than the one active channel).

Will the output of the video resolution and aspect ratio in native format mean that the Moxi functions are always bypassed in this mode (i.e. it only applies to Live TV and not recorded programming etc.)? The most annoying thing right now is that I constantly have to switch the Video Output setting from 1080i to 480p and back so that I can view programming without it being stretched/squeezed. Will there be an option so that if you have 1080i selected you can either 1. have your non-1080 signals automatically matted (black bars on the side) if it's being up-rezed OR 2. have non-1080 signals come though at a different resolution of the user's choosing (so that the TV's strertching/upscaling is available).

A side bar question too... I connected the DVI plug in back to my TV, but the signal doesn't come through. It flickers on for a second or two, goes away for 5 seconds, flickers back on for a second or two, etc. Right now I'm using a Monster DVI-D Cable. Is this likely a problem with the box, cable company, DVI cable?

Thanks!
alex

Read the entire thread or at least search it for "DVI".. Moxi/DVI support will be coming..

Alex,
The DVI port is not active on the Moxi DVR at this time. It should be available by years end (hopefully)
Later,
Jim

sundraghan,

Recorded shows and live shows will behave the same way. Moxi always records in native mode, regardless of the output resolution. Here's the way the new HD setup will work. You test each output resolution to see whether you TV can handle it. If you get a picture, say yes. If you don't get a picture, wait and the resolution will switch back to something you can see. At the end of the process, you will have checked off all the possible resolutions that your TV can display. If the native incoming resolution is something you have checked, then Moxi will display at that resolution (whether live or recorded). If not, Moxi will scale it to something your TV can handle.

16:9 stuff comes out 16:9.
4:3 stuff comes out 4:3, and depending on your TV you can watch it with black bars on the side, grey bars, or apply a stretching mode. Moxi won't stretch it. What you see is up to you and your TV at that point.

Hey MoxiGuy,

currently, when I delete programs from the recorded tv menu,...I'm always bounced back to the beginning of the menu. Is this a bug? or is this desired functionality?

In my case, if I want to delete a bunch of programs that are half way through the menu, and I have a long list of recorded shows, I have to keep scrolling to the middle of the menu, instead of just being placed back at the approximate location of where I just deleted a show.

Any ideas on if this might change or not in the future?

Also, I think I may have posted this in another thread, but will there be any of the following functionality with the recorded shows list:

-- Name Sort and Date Sort
-- Ability to delete several items at once

thanks

Moxiguy,

I am one of the first Charter subscribers in St. Louis to get the Moxi BMC9012. It was installed yesterday at noon. 1.5 days has passed and I still do not have anything listed in my Channel List [show names, descriptions, etc].

I have spoken a few times today to Charter techs who stated they were beta-testers of this product. So far they have been unable to resolve this issue.

Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this issue? Thanks

Bruce

Just got my Moxi box today, the Moto BMC. So far pretty good. Issues are similar to what I've read here so far. One strange behavior I just noticed that I haven't found referenced here is that when I am viewing HD channels, the sound effects of the menus goes off but comes back when I tune back to SD channels. The coming features Moxiguy has mentioned will be welcome ones to me (no more stretching and an HDTV filter in the menus particularly)

Additional info on my audio setup is that I run all my audio via optical through a home theater receiver and no audio to the TV itself (a GW III 50inch)

Other quick question, what are the buttons i need to push on the box to bring up the menus the cable installer was reviewing?

Thanks

Creditmaster,

I guess the MOXI sound effects aren't encoded for Dolby Digital - so you can't hear them when watching hi-def with DD audio. To view the install menu, hold down the MENU and OK buttons on the box for a couple seconds.

- Rick -

This issue is addressed in the next release (which we expect to reach you in October). When you delete a program, the list will stay in place making it easy to get to the next program. Got your suggestions on sort and group delete. Thanks

Just got a Moxi box from Adelphia here in Los Angeles and have to say I'm not real impressed. The sluggishness and freezing of the menu interface is driving me crazy. For this reason alone I'm thinking of returning the unit and just recording downconverted HD with one of my Replays. I see throughout this thread that menu response has been an ongoing issue, so I would have hoped to see that efforts were directed to solving this problem. Other than the menu problem, the box performs great. A lot of heat tho', I've got three other DVRs and none of them put out the amount of heat that this box does.

Question: I've got a Pioneer Elite PRO-1110HD and I've tried using a DVI to HDMI cable from the Moxi to Pioneer, but I can't get a consistent picture. It cuts in and out and flickers, goes out all together and all I get is sound. Is this problem caused because its not DVI to DVI.

Suggestions:
1. Add the ability to delete categories you don't want to see from the menu, just like you can eliminate channels you don't want.
2. Option to fine tune recordings, like record all episodes but only on certain days, etc.
3. Pass thru the CC rather than having it controlled by the box. With my set I have the option of having the CC come on whenever the Mute button is pressed, but this functionality is completely lost when I now have to controll the CC thru the box.

DVI is not yet enabled. We expect it by end of year or possibly early 2005.

Interesting because the Adelphia installation tech told me I had the option of using component or DVI cables. So much for their training program.

I see something strange with my Moxi box. About every 25-30 minutes the bottom ticker will appear for about 5 seconds then go away. We have not trouched the remote at all. Any idea what that is about?


FYI - My channel list still has not updated. Ugh.