Moxi ( Motorola BMC90xx ) Q&A and Discussion Thread - Page 11

As with others above, my ticker has full functionality (with all of the weather, sports, news, etc. )

The Easter Egg also works. 8^)

Once internet access becomes available on the box (and drivers for wireless mouse and keyboard), I will never be able to replace my couch as my butt will be permanently attached to it.

Woke up this morning, the Moxi Box was just sitting there "flickering" (both the screen and the front display. I had to unplug it as the power button was not working. Plugged it in (waited for the reboot) and the ticker was gone.

I am guessing that it was a trial run.

I may have gotten an update this morning -- I just got my Moxi yesterday morning, and I'm seeing an "HDTV" icon now that I don't recall having seen yesterday. Dunno if it's related to this apparent update or not, but all of my programming data disappeared. Nothing's listed under any of the categories, I can't search for any titles or keywords, nothing's listed as airing on any of the channels...hmmm. Hopefully it'll pop back up again momentarily. Rebooting didn't seem to do anything.

Has anyone noticed a slight shift in color towards red/magenta on their Moxi picture compared to a direct signal? Also, some shadow areas become very dark and lose detail (look at the womans jacket).

I have a Mitsubishi 52725 DLP with the Moxi box and a Cable Card also installed (I can record 2 shows and watch a 3rd, or get PIP). Although the Mits allows you to adjust your color settings for each input separately, I have set both the CC input and Moxi input to the same color settings using the settings I achieved from the Avia DVD.

The picture I attached, shows the CC picture on the left and the Moxi picture on the right, using the POP feature on the Mits to show them at the same time side by side (there is a fraction of a delay from one picture to the next). The Moxi box video output was set to 480i, otherwise the picture would be stretched. The movie was playing on HBO (the red shift shows up on all channels). I can't adjust the color settings side by side to make a comparison and anytime I try to bring the red/magenta settings down, it still doesn't look right.

I like using the features of the Moxi box (ie. pause, rewind) while I am watching a show, but find myself going back to the CC to get a better picture and only use the Moxi box to record something I can't watch live.

If anyone has experienced this or knows a possible fix, I thank you in advance for any help.

Phil

PS The photo was only cropped and resized. No color adjustments. 400 iso, 1/100, f/2.8, 35mm focal length.

I had the ticker for a couple of days and this morning it's gone. Adelphia here also.
Jim

If you saw Ticker last week, consider it a sneak preview. You'll have it for real very soon.

Thanks for the info...
Later,
Jim

MoxiGuy,

I have been informed by other St. Louis customers that they are now receiving VOD thru the Moxi. I checked my box and I still cannot get VOD. Is this an upgrade that has just not been sent to my box yet?

Is there any way that I can trigger the software update?

Thanks

After playing with my box over the weekend, I'm pretty impressed. This is the first time I've used any kind of DVR so I can't make a comparison, but I can't say that I'm dissapointed.

A couple things that I think would be nice additions.

1. The ability to extend the recording time of scheduled program while it's recording. I ran into this issue while recording the Purdue - Wisconsin game this weekend. I had even set it to run 30 minutes past the scheduled end time, but the game started run pretty long and I wanted to extend the recording until the game was over, but wasn't able to do so. I just had to start recording the next scheduled program, then stop it on my own.

2. I think it would be nice to have frame by frame advance if that's possible.

Other than that I'm really happy. Keep up the good work.

There are a few different triggers you can activiate in the maintenance menu. If I remember correctly pushing, "OK and Menu" at the same time on the box itself will bring you to the menu. From there I don't remember exactly where the triggers are, but you should be able to tell pretty easily once you're in the menu. From what I remember there are quite a few triggers and a couple specifically for VOD.

Good luck.

Hi!

I now live in Anderson, SC, and Charter Cable is rolling out Moxi DVR's on October 20. I'm having mine delivered tonight on a pre-rollout beta. (Whee!) I'm a very long-time ReplayTV user and proponent, so I'll no doubt end up posting (in another thread) my impressions of Moxi vs. ReplayTV, but that's for another day...

That said, after reading through the many Moxi-related .pdf files available on the Digeo site, I am thoroughly intrigued not only by the basic feature set which will probably be included by Charter Cable, but features and add-ons that are (or may eventually be) available (depending on what the Cable Provider provisions.)

For example, there is the "Moxi Plus" offering extended HDD space, a Memory Card reader, and possible DVD-burning capabilities. I currently use a ReplayTV model 5040 to record, upload to PC and burn shows to DVD. It's kludgy, but it works.

Then there is also information on the "Moxi Mate" which I REALLY think is cool. Now THAT is something I would like to add on. Having a networked, interoperable DVR system in our living roon and our bedroom would certainly be very nice and worth the cost.

OK, while I may be jumping the gun here because (I haven't even had the box installed--it comes tonight!) but if I wanted to take advantage of some of these other features or add-ons, how would I go about getting my cable company to provide them? Unfortunatly, Anderson, SC is a small town, and I suspect that we probably don't have much "pull" with the big cable companies, but at the same time, maybe we would be a good market to test new features? All I can say is that three out of the eight people in the IT department where I work have already signed up for Charter's Moxi DVR service, and two others are awaiting our verdicts, so there is an obvious demand (at least among several tech-savvy people.) I know nothing about the politics of cable systems other than the typical consumer perspective, so maybe someone here could shed some light or give some insights on how we could push this technology forward and get more features and add-ons implemented.

Thanks for listening!

Jbarr, my in-laws live in Mauldin and Greenville, as far as Charter and future offerings, many of us are thankful that we at least have the basic Moxi box which still isn't available in all of there service areas. With the state of Charter's financial situation and the fact that they still haven't added all the available local digital channels in most areas, I would tend to think no matter who tries to light a fire under them the Moxi mates are a long, long, way off

Just my opinion

Strange. During the first day I had my box on, I could get to VOD just fine. After the new software uploaded the next day (w/HD selections) it stopped.

Hi Jim

Welcome aboard!! Your experience with ReplayTV is a good asset to us....
I think that in this moment ReplayTV and Moxi are complementing, specially that Moxi doesn't offer any option to record outside the box and have certain glitchs with the audio and interface.

The Moxi Plus is not available yet, but I don't think that will have a DVD Burner instead a DVD Player, so the Hard drive capacity is a problem that we are having with Moxi.
The Moxi Mate has a price of $75 and I think that will be available from Motorola in short term. But sharing the small Moxi hard drive could be a trouble, but like a replacement of another Moxi box will be more cheaper.
My cable provider (Adelphia) charges $15 to each additional Moxi, using the ReplayTV I can record more hours and pay less.

Now I got a ReplayTV and I was wondering use it with my Moxi, my TV have 2 coax inputs and I was wondering if you will do the same. I want use the Moxi to record HDTV and digital channels, and let the ReplayTV to record the local channels series.
The Moxi have a cable modem inside but the ethernet port is not enable yet. I hope that you can share your experiences about using both PVRs.

Trade

Jim, and all you Moxi folks, I hope your Charter PVR's work well. I've been trying to get in on the BETA testing with no luck... and I work for Charter! We have to wait a couple of weeks or months so the public can get their orders filled. I guess I can see that. Looking forward to hearing how you like the Moxi, and how it works!

I am not sure if this has been reported before. I just got a Charter Moxi and I have found that the SD picture is much better using 480i vs 480p. 480p is so bad that it is unwatchable.

Other then this I am very happy with the Moxi. One of the main reasons I got it was the support that Moxiguy gives on this board. This should be a lesson on how to use forums like AVS to promote products and stay in touch with the customers.

Just got the moxi in St. Louis. For some reason on some of my HD channels are showing up so Charter is sending out a new box. Other than that, I'm fairly happy with it. I guess I was expecting the worst with the SD channels, as I don't find them that bad.

What remotes does everyone use with it? This is my first DVR and am looking for a decent priced remote to control this, the tv, and the receiver?

Thanks,
Tim

Could you clarify?

When I got the Moxi this past weekend, I wasn't getting any of the premium HD channels. I could get my locals, but not ESPN-HD, HBO-HD, HDNet, or HDNet Movies -- I kept getting a screen saying that I wasn't a subscriber. I was tossed around on the phone to several different people, and I was talking to Person #5 before the problem was resolved. It turned out that the codes Charter sends to these boxes to indicate that I'm an HD subscriber is different for the Moxis than my previous Motorola box. They were sending out both codes to me, and that was causing a conflict. Once they dropped the old code, I was able to start getting those channels again. I'm not sure if your symptoms are the same as what I was experiencing, but if it is, maybe you could describe what I just rattled off to someone on the phone.

(I also informed Charter a few days ago that the program guide here in Greenville has two channels switched; it lists 770 as HDNet Movies and 771 as HDNet when it's the other way around. Less significant, but OMAX has a PPV icon instead of the usual logo. I'm not sure when this is going to be fixed or even who in the chain is responsible for that, but hopefully it'll be addressed soon.)

Tim I use the Sony RM-AV3000 learning remote for all my equipment. I realize that $200 might be a bit high for some budgets but I got tired of getting inexpensive remotes that worked 'most' of my equipment, but never all of it. This learning remote learns ANY code from any remote I have tossed in front of it....even ceiling fans.

I also have a couple friends who swear by the Philips Pronto.

A fantastic resource for remote is http://www.remotecentral.com - it has reviews, specs, forums, etc for just about every good remote on the planet.

Adam,

I get FOXHD and NBCHD and nothing else. It's like they aren't even there. If I scroll down from FOXHD (782) it goes all the way down to channel 730. If I manually punch in 770 (HDNET) it doesn't do anything. I could possibly understand getting the locals and not premium channels, but I can't get CBSHD (784) either. You would think it would be all or nothing.

Tim

Thanks abc,

Just checked buy.com and they have it for $80. I think I will try it.

Tim

$80??? wow great price...

I tried this last night, as I am in St. Louis and don't have VOD either. The two VOD triggers in the maintenance menu are something like "trigger VOD configuration" and "Trigger VOD Metafile download". I tried both of them and nothing happend. I think Moxiguy stated earlier in this thread that the cable company has to send down updates, there is nothing you can do to trigger them earlier.

The triggers only initiate a download only of something that the cable operator has designated for your box. If the gun has no bullets, it won't shoot, even if you pull the trigger.

First off, thanks for the welcome. I am a long-time ReplayTV owner (I own three), and I operate a hobby Web site (http://JimsTips.com) where I have been providing Tips & Tricks for various hobbies that interest me (like ReplayTV, Gmail, Palm PDA's, etc.) Needless to say, my DVR perspective is very ReplayTV-centric, so comparisons are inevitable. Also, I realize that this is an HDTV forum, and I do NOT have an HDTV (yet) so I won't be commenting on Moxi's HD aspects.

I also find it cool that there are as many Anderson/Greenville area people here. Maybe we should start a local user's group!

Anyway, the Cable installer came last night and installed a new Moxi box, and I have to say I'm quite impressed! Here are some "first impressions" of my new Moxi.


INSTALLATION
This was only the second box that the installer installed, but the install was a simple no-brainer: Connect the TV to the box, Connect the Cable to the box, Plug in box, and call Charter to provision the box. Moxi booted and we could watch Live TV almost immediatly. Unfortunatly, the Channel data wouldn't populate, and the technician on the phone told the installer that it typically takes 15 to 20 minutes, and up to an hour for everything to download. Having a similar experience when installing my Cable Mode, on faith I signed off, the installer left, and I waited. About two hours later, it was still in the same state, so I hit the Reset button (labeled "Power" on the front--go figure.) and when Moxi rebooted, all channel guide data was populated and everything ran smoothly! Wheee!

By the way, does anyone know if Charter (or Moxi/Degio) has any "Feedback" email address for "pilot" users? I have some installation and provisioning suggestions that might help in future installs...


GENERAL OPERATION
Generally, the Moxi seems to be a very full-featured DVR. The UI is slick and reminds me a bit of a cross between TiVo and Windows Media Center. The animation is pleasing but not distracting. I do find the sound effects to be annoying, but there is a Setting to control that. Remote response seems quick and responsive. Changing channels is almost instantaneous unlike my ReplayTV box which takes 3-5 seconds to change the channel.

I also LOVE the fact that Moxi has two tuners. This alone is a huge sell for me. Being able to hit Record and then tune to another channel is very nice--something ReplayTV cannot do. And the dual tuner feature is transparant. Initially, I though that ther would be some "cue" as to what tuner I was viewing, but it turns out that it simply doesn't matter. Recording becomes a background function instead of a foreground function. No doubt, I'll be wanting a third tuner soon...

Finding shows is cool. I like the fact that the full list of shows is presented (some 14,000) and as you select the letters, the list "narrows down" displaying only those that match the letter sequence. As I understand it, this is similar to how TiVo does it. It's fast and doesn't always require typing the entire keyword. Very nice.

I have more observations, but I'll save those for later a posting.


SUGGESTIONS
Now for the inevitable suggestions. There are a few things that I find do annoying about the interface...

1. "Channel List" function in Settings
By default, Moxi includes ALL available channels, including those that are "unavailable" (ie: TBA) To remove these channels, it's a simple process of scrolling to the channel and pressing "OK" to "uncheck" the channel. Simple, but it takes a L-O-N-G time! Down arrow, ckick OK. Wait. Down Arrow, Click OK. Wait. etc. With literally hundreds of channels that must be unchecked, the current implementation is very tedious and time-consuming. Fortunatly, I'll only have to do it once. How about considering ReplayTV's method where you press "OK" and the channel gets "unchecked" and then it auto-scrolls to the next channel. This way, you only have to repeatedly press "OK". My experience with UI's has typically shown me that the fewer the button presses, the better.

2. Sort order in the Channel menu
In my opinion, the channels are incorrectly sorted in "reverse" order which seems very unusual to me. By this, I mean that lower numbered channels are "at the bottom" of the list and higher numbered channels are "at the top". Because of things like ReplayTV's Channel Guide, Charter's Digital Cable Guide, the paper TV Guide, and just about every other sorted list, I'm very used to the lowest-numbered channels at the top of the list. Even on computers, lists tend to be sorted in ascending order. It would be nice to either have it reversed by default or offer a Setting to let us select the sort order.

3. Channel Menu does not contain channel numbers
I found it interesting that the Channel Menu does not list channel numbers, but just the icons. Yes, the highlighted channel does display the number, but again, coming from the "grid-based" world, this seems strange that the numbers are missing from the other listed channels. Screen real estate is always at a HUGE premium, so it does make some since, and I guess I could see the logic in omiting them (for example, if there is a lineup change, you don't have to worry about new channel numbers--you just look at the icons.) But given that you can "direct-access" channels in many places by keying the numbers, the lack of visible numbers is strange.

4. What's up with the "Back" button?
I know that this may have been addressed in the latest build, but I find it annoying that the "Back" button doesn't do what I would intuitivly expect it to do: Take you back to the last performed operation. It seems that backing out of functions varies depending on the function. Sometimes I have to hit the Info button to dismiss a screen. Sometimes I have to hit the Moxi button. Sometimes, it's the Clear button. It would be nice if a button like "Back" would consistently take you back.


Note that all of my suggestions are basically "UI-related" suggestions. Overall, the UI is very functional and pleasing to use. Obviously, it's a mindset change from ReplayTV, but it's certainly something I'll get used to. It reminds me more of a hybrid of TiVo and Media Center. That said other available functionality and how that functionality works is pretty solid.

OK, I'm done for now. I'll post more "findings" later, especially after my wife takes some time with it...

WOW. I'm pretty new to this forum and I hadn't realized this thread was here. Awfully good info, guys, and much appreciated. Thank all of you for the posts.

I'm a recent MOXI inductee as well and it is my first experience with a DVR of any sort. With the exception of most of the short comings noted here (especially the lack of external drive support, lack of DVI support, lack of network support, the "remind" function for future programs) I'm a believer!! The upcoming fix for transmitted resolution pass through will be helpful but because of, as noted elsewhere in this thread, the absolutely horrible PQ on analog SD and the marginal PQ on digital SD I'll probably continue to keep the old receiver (which I kept when I had the MOXI installed last month) hooked up to the Sony (KV-27HS420) to view those channels through one of the composite inputs. A PITA, fer sure, but there's just no other choice given how crappy everything but HD looks from the MOXI.

Speaking of MOXI and HD. I think this was touched on earlier in this thread but I, too, had a heck of a time getting all the HD channels to work. When they flipped the switch I began receiving some (HDNET, FOX, HBO) HD but not the others. The techs they sent kept coming out, calling the office, confirming the codes had been entered properly and leaving scratching thier heads. Finally, one of them said he'd have a new MOXI box provisioned at the shop and would then bring it out. Bingo. Just FYI.

Finally, I'd like to second the comment somebody made about how the MOXI folks "get it" concerning customer relations and support. Thanks, MOXIGUY. Your posts and patience are mucho appreciated.

Jim:

I was wondering if you are using your ReplayTV with Moxi or you are using alone.
If you are using together let me know how you setup them.

I am new with ReplayTV, but I like the feautures like programming throug a MyReplayTV website and download the programs to record on my PC, such things that Moxi is not offering yet.

I reviewed your Tips Website and will follow the instructions to install the DVarchive, really I need record my series because I don't have so much time to see TV during the week.

Trade

I posted a very L-O-N-G "Moxi vs. ReplayTV - A Comparison" thread over on the ReplayTV forums. I hesitate cross-posting it here, so here is the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=460289

I welcome your suggestions, criticisms, and comments!

Have fun!

The installer left the original digital cable box, so I left the ReplayTV hooked up to it and connected it to "Input 1" on my TV and I hooked up Moxi on "Input 2". This way I can flip between them easily. They are not connected to each other. Oh, and it's a ReplayTV model 2020, because I could NOT get my model 5040 to reliably change the channels on my Digital cable box.

I do like MyReplayTV.com and would like to see Moxi implement some sort of web-based recording control. Not high on my priorities, but it would certainly be a cool feature if implemented well.

Also, it looks like Moxi incorporates some sort of DRM, so downloading and burning shows to DVD is not something I see will be implemented any time soon. As far as I know, there is no capability for ReplayTV to control the Moxi box, so automated recordings would be difficult. (And you would have to deal with the fact that the ReplayTV box doesn't know when Moxi is going to record.) However, you could setup the ReplayTV box to record the Moxi's output so....

I'd be interested in a solution like this. I called the cable company on Saturday and let them know, but the program guide in Greenville, SC still has HDNet and HDNet Movies transposed (should be 770 and 771 respectively; the program guide has it the other way around), which would make it a pain to record all those episodes of Andy Richter Controls the Universe that it looks like HDNet will be airing weekdays at 2:30 AM starting next week. I know I could get around it by just recording what's on HDNet Movies at that time, but I'd just as soon try to find another way, if I could.