Washington State - Comcast 6412 w/ MSFT Software - Page 53

Is this true? Do we only have to put up with this 'software?' for a little while?

If true, when are we to get a real software for our DVRs? Expected date?

Tim

It's currently being rolled out now. From what I've read, the roll-out should be complete by the end of Summer.

My DVR was updated today, I live east of Redmond.

"If true, when are we to get a real software for our DVRs? Expected date?"

That depends on what you mean by "real software". If by real you mean written by REAL idiots and implemented by REAL bastards, then yes, it's real. I'm so glad that for the past year or so the rumors have been flying that this would be a version of Tivo. You can only laugh when you see the guide and realize you have been waiting for this.

I hate to say it, but I'd almost rather have the original MSFT back. They say the sequel is rarely better than the original, and I'm sorry to say that's true.

I want my MSFT software back!! I never thought i'd say that, but how can anyone live with this guide? Also the DVR seems buggy ... it had scheduled a season pass for a bunch of shows that i had never requested.

Is there a support group for this new software?

Yes, it's Alcoholics Anonymous. You'll find many of the designers there, too.

No, actually, I've only found the Comcast forums on their own site.

BTW, can someone please explain why it has been rumored for so long that the new software would be Tivo lite and then we get this?

Actually, I kinda like it. 30 second skip, of course, and the remote is much more responsive. However, the drastic drop in FF4 speed sucks, and FF generally seems more jerky...

Actually, this is the same guide that Comcast uses everywhere else in the country. It's not, by any means, new as evidenced by the Commodore64-quality graphics.

There is an actual Tivo interface that is supposed to be available sometime later this year which you can request (and you will have to pay extra for... naturally).

But what you are seeing now is not the Tivo-lite that was talked about.

I thought the MS guide was pretty lame, but this thing is just horrible. I'll try out the "real" Tivo interface when it becomes available. If it doesn't run well on the craptastic Moto hardware, I may have to break down and buy a Tivo HD.

I hate the "new" guide software so much that I'm switching back to DirecTV. They're giving me a free HD DVR, 5 LNB dish, and I talked them into free MLB package for the rest of the season. Plus their DVR can record 30-50 hours of HD.

I thought the MS interface on Comcast's HD-DVR was better in every way to this new version.

I mostly have small complaints about the new guide and there are several things I like better. I have two large complaints though that I don't think DirecTV can address. On DirecTV can you remove channels from the master list that you will never watch? Is channel surfing faster? IGuide does not allow you to remove channels and using up/down arrows on live TV is a joke. It takes forever to change channels and multiple presses add to the queue.

If there are any Tivo owners who read this, is this taken care of with the S3?

When I have the time and money, I'll probably take a look at replacing all but one of my Comast boxes (so I can get VOD, I know I'm one of the few who like it) and adding a Tivo S3.

I'm planning on doing the exact same thing. I HATE the new guide with a passion. I was looking at picking up two new TivoHD's but if i'm gonna pay that much I want external storage to work so I can plug in a 500+ gig drive. I doubt I would stay even if comcast gave me a free year to stay on with them..i hate it that much..ok maybe I would stay but would still bitch

When I called Comcast to cancel (I told them I switched back to D* because I didn't like the new DVR guide software), all they offered me to stay was $33/mo for basic cable. No thanks.

I too am not impressed with the new guide. After 24 hours, it's not quite the disaster I thought at first, it still is generally worse then the MS guide (I can't believe I am saying that). I expect by this weekend I'll be on Tivo HD...

Just completed setting-up my Tivo HD and am now recording HD goodness on two channels at once.

Comcast Redmond now has multistream cable cards (they gave me two, actually) so you only need one of them to enable both channels (so I'll be taking one back). Too about three minutes to activate over the phone with the excellent Comcast agent.

Unit plus service works out to $16 a month over three years. Since I save $10 buy sending back my 6412, for $6 more it is so worth it. Even when Comcast eventually gets around to launching their TiVo service in my area (which may be three years considering how late they are with the pilot), it's worth the money now to enjoy television again.

Wish the Tivo had firewire. Can't use my DVHS with Tivo. Of course, having the ability to add additional disk space could potentially replace my DVHS. I'm tempted but not quite ready to pull the trigger on a Tivo. Hope I don't regret waiting when the fall season starts...

The Tivo HD does have an E-SATA connection and I believe folks have connected SATA HDDs to it. I do have an E-SATA 2.5" enclosure with a 60GB HDD in it. Guess I should plug it in and see what happens...

The Series 3 works with e-Sata, but I haven't seen anything about the TiVo HD. I saw something else that should interest the TiVo crowd:

NCTA Opens Window to Switched Channels
http://ibc.broadcastnewsroom.com/art....jsp?id=175784

There is an E-SATA port in the back of my unit, but I do not think it is active by default. The "kickstart62" trick for the S3 probably will work, but I don't load up my box so I should be okay with the standard on-board 160GB. Tivo and BestBuy (where I bought mine) are supposed to have an exclusive "external HDD" deal coming soon so we shall see how much they want for the thing.

According to the FAQ in the Tivo Community, the eSata port on the HD version of Tivo does not work. However, I too have also read where sometime this fall/winter eSata drives will be available for the HD series. Just a guess on my part, but I would expect the drive to be branded as a Tivo device with some sort of signature on the drive that enforces DRM. In other words, I would expect that you can't just plug in a sata drive, and/or that the file system would be encrypted.

I finally crossed over to the "other side" and recently purchased a TiVO HD series machine. So far I am very happy with it- a superior menu and guide system to my Comcast box.

I will keep my Comcast box for awhile. As a longtime Reply TV advocate, I found the 12-14 hour limit on HD storage, to say the least, very limiting. After the 2007 season ended in May, I vowed to get more storage before the new season starts in September. I originally purchased the TiVO HD assuming that they would activate the eSATA drive sometime before year end. In the meantime I would keep the Comcast box- between the 2 boxes I would have around 30 hours HD storage. When the eSATA port is eventually activated by TiVO, I would get a 500GB eSATA drive- and return the cable box.

But 2 things have changed my ideas. First, I read an article here in the TiVO Forum clearly detailing how to install a new larger hard drive into the TiVO. Opening the box will, of course, void the warranty, so I will wait a few weeks to make sure there are no immediate issues with the new TiVO HD box. Then I plan to install a spare 500GB drive I have.

And then this week, Ed Bott, clearly detailed the parts necessary to create a VISTA based home entertainment center using Windows Media Center. I live in metropolitan Seattle, so I am confident that I will be able to receive the major HD channels OTA. The other channels I watch (663-666, ESPN HD, etc I can use my TiVO HD to record shows). I purchased the parts today at the sources he suggested (Dell and Amazon) for at/or under the prices he describes in his parts list. I have been waiting to find a QUIET box with a small footprint. Seems like this will do the job (I considered waiting until the new XBOX comes out- the current XBOX, from all reports, is quite noisy. But who knows when that will Microsoft will bring that out). I am currently using the beta version of Microsoft's Home Server, so I will be able to tie into it to view pictures, play music, and hopefully, stream recorded HD shows.

I spent about 30" this morning with a Comcast CSR trying to figure out how to record only one of the multiple daily showings of The Daily Show; apparently it can't be done with the new software.

Also, I tried changing the Series Priorities for my various programs and sometimes the Page Up/Down moved the program but about half the time it simply moved to a different page.

I do like the 30 second skip I learned about on a different site on this forum

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/print...pp=30&page=337

and wonder how I get there so I can post there instead of here?

Christine

Try http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...pagenumber=999

WarEagle, thanks for the help; I can now read and post to the Seattle site...

Christine (still deciding if I like the new software)

I am hazarding a guess that the iGuide pulls it's guide data from a different source then the MSE guide did? I notice my Tivo has about as little information as the MSE guide had, while my 6412 with iGuide has significantly more.

Not a calamity, of course, but one of my beefs about the MSE guide was I never knew if a show was a repeat or not because it never gave title or info on it - just the show name. Kind of annoying to have to suffer the same with TiVo when iGuide is fully-populated.

For some reason a lot of my future recording setups, especially the Formula One programs, go through cycles of being listed by name one day, then To Be Announced the next, and so forth. Fortunately, they're still listed as future recordings even when the guide has forgotten what they are.

RIP MSFT guide, I miss you

So true. We thought it was junk, but I couldn't take i-Guide for three days before I bought a Tivo HD.