SA 8000HD & 8300HD w/ Passport software (TWC) - Page 15

Thanks for the reply. The simultaneous output is exactly what I need! Time Warner, bring on the 8300HD (or a firmware update for the 8000HD to enable both ports simultaneously)!

I think the box automatically defaults to HD mode. For example, if I switche it to SD mode, and then turn it off and back on, it comes up in HD mode.

It certainly seems possible that a firmware update would activate both modes, but I doubt it will happen, since the 8000 is an old (wow - how quickly we age nowadays) technology.

As Joxer said, the 8300HD has all it's ports active simulatanously, and should be available soon (if it's not already available in your area).

-barry

Yeah, pretty much. It basically functions the same way the 8000 did except the PQ is improved and the processor is faster, as others have mentioned. It also has two firewire ports (inactive here) and an SATA port. The other big difference is the simultaneous HD and SD output, a welcome addition. As far as I can tell, the Passport software package is identical.

It's a little weird size-wise as it's about an inch less wide than the standard 17", so if you're one who has to stack components on top of each other, they might not "fit" properly. I long ago ran out of shelves in my stereo cabinet and now have to stack some components on top of each other, so it's a bit inconvenient. But the improved HD PQ is well worth that minor hassle. And the future hard drive expansion (via firewire or SATA) will solve the problem of 'not enough disk space', so this box gets a big "thumbs up" from Archie!

For some reason, unless I'm watching an SD channel, my TV won't let me do "stretch mode" on any HD channels (or "Zoom" for that matter). I can see and select stretch mode, but it just goes back to "4:3 sidebar" as my aspect ratio selection no matter what I do. So when I was trying to watch "The Simpsons" in HD yesterday, it would only do the sidebar thing and would not stretch the picture. It would stretch it fine when watching on the regular Fox channel. "Arrested Development" on the other hand appeared to be broadcast in widescreen natively, so I would have the program fill my screen but not the commercials.

Is this normal behavior and is there anything I can do? As I understand, there is no "passthrough" mode on the 8000HD, correct?

Someone in another thread claimed to have 1.6.xxx, with incremental multi-character title and keyword guide search (drool). Has anyone else seen that?

I have it set to 480p/1080i. So, I need to set it to receive 480i as well? It is my BOX that will not let me manipulate the size, not the TV--it will not let me switch from "sidebar" mode no matter what I do when watching an HD program.

Stretch and zoom modes are for enlarging a 4:3 SD image to fill the entire 16:9 picture frame. Because all HD broadcasts already fully occupy the 16:9 space, they can't be enlarged. (The sidebars added by a HD broadcaster when showing 4:3 content are part of the image, unlike the sidebars that are added by a STB when a SD channel is being viewed.)

So if I understand you correctly, I'm out of luck?

Brian,

Unfortunately you may be SOL. First I'm assuming from your post that you are using component (some people have reported active DVI) to connect the 8000HD to your projector.

One major drawback (IMHO) of the 8000HD is that it is incapable of outputting 480i if you have selected a higher resolution (by higher I mean 480p, 720p or 1080i) in the settings menus. Since it's an HD box and your are going to want to select 720p and/or 1080i this obviously creates a problem - the box won't output 480i in HD mode. Keep in mind, the 8000HD has an SD mode and an HD mode. The only way to toggle between the two is to literally go up to the box and hit a couple of buttons on the front (can't remember which ones since I never do it but search this thread and you'll find out). If you put the box in SD mode it will output 480i.

For my setup (Samsung DLP), I choose to have SD upconverted to 720p - the set's native resolution - it looks a lot better than having it converted to 480p in the box and then having the Samsung rescale it to 720p.

So not sure I have a solution for you. You, like the rest of us, are the victim of a poorly designed 8000HD.

Well, since this "problem" arises only when a HD channel is airing (upconverting) a SD program, you're free to switch to the broadcaster's SD channel and stretch and zoom to your heart's content. Since broadcasters' upconversion equipment is usually better than what's found in a TV, you'll probably have a loss of PQ.

Yep. Got no choice. But they have "feet", so the bottom of one is elevated, albeit slightly, from the top of the other. Air can flow between them. If I felt it was a real problem, I'd put something under the feet to jack it up a little, but I have precious little space now until I hit the room's ceiling.

Is there really no other way?? I am about to buy an HDTV and will be swapping my DVR for an HD-DVR. My biggest concern is disc space since I routinely have 20-30 hours of programming on my drive at any one time during peak season.. I thought I would be able to easily "off-load" programs to a DVD Recorder, but I'm getting the feeling that isn't true. What options do I have? Is there nothing else that can record HD programming? (sorry, I'm a newbie as well)

There really is no other way. The new SA8300HD continously outputs downconverted HD video through its analog connections--at least it does when running the SARA IPG. It's uncertain whether it works the same way with Passport, since it's only just begun to be deployed on the SA8300HD, but I think it's reasonably safe to assume that it will.

It's possible that that Passport on that box will implement a TiVo-esque "Archive to Tape" function, which SARA was supposed to have. Such a function would play a selection back through the analog connections in the background, while allowing you to watch other things. That, of course, is pure speculation.

Note that you are unlikely to get 30 hours of HD on this thing. It depends on what you record and the bitrates used by the broadcasters in your area.

You could use a D-VHS recorder such as THIS ONE. They have firewire inputs. TWCNYC offers one HD box with a firewire output that it will make available if a customer can show a need for it.

Yep, they are gray, and I'm not sure whether it is the TV or not, since my TV does gray sidebars too.


Yeah, I get the same message. I noticed that when ESPN HD has SportsCenter on, the picture goes back and forth between filling the screen and 4:3, but whenever I have sidebars, they are obviously put there by ESPN, since they are neither black nor gray but some kind of design.

What do they consider "a need"? What is the model number for that one HD Box? Why don't they just provide a live firewire output for everyone? It sounds great and is something I'd consider. But why do I get the feeling the TWC customer service rep will have no idea what I'm asking?

Thanks, though.... I'll investigate.

The box is the Scientific Atlanta 3250HD. I believe that possession of a D-VHS recorder establishes need.

Note that this cannot be used to archive what's on your DVR (since the DVR doesn't have 1394/DTCP outputs), but only on the side to simultaneously record things onto tape. You have to set it to record and the DVR to record if you want to use the DVR to watch something that you want to save a taped copy of.

It's not quite as bad as it sounds. After a few tries at switching the box to SD mode, you get rather adept at it, and once it's in SD mode, recording to DVD/VCR is easy.

I do agree with michaelscott about "more disk space". I, too, switched from an 8000 to an 8000HD, and I expected to get more program storage space. I find I now record almost always in HD, and so I actually get less programming space (when measured in hours) on the HD box than on the SD one.

-barry

As I stated, it depends on what you record. In my area, an hour of Fox HD consumes an average of 4.37 GB HDD. You can get a little over 34 hours of that on the DVR. An hour of HDNet, on the other hand, consumes an average of 7.74 GB--you can only get a little more than 19 hours of that on the drive. Movies on HBO average a bit over the the size of Fox programming per hour, but they're highly variable--if they were all like the "densest" of 30 programs I've recorded, they'd consume 5.54 GB/hour and you could get 27 hours worth of that on.

SD DVB-quality "digital cable" averages around 1.26 GB/hour and the DVR would hold 119 hours of it; analog channels digitize to a flat 2.3 GB/hour for 65 hours worth.

Those numbers are in 2^30th bytes, whereas the size of the HDD is cited in 10^9th bytes: the drive size is a bit over 160 billion bytes, and a bit over 150 2^30th bytes (GB,as I think of them and as the diag screens report them).

Have you tried the zoom/stretch modes in the SA HD DVR by using the remote control's # key?

OK, but this box is a non-DVR box. Does TWC offer an HD-DVR box with a live firewire?

Not in NYC. I'm not sure about other areas.

Mike, really appeciate all the feedback. But I did not follow that last line. Can you rephrase?