Hartford, CT - Cox - Page 69

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Hi HardHarry;

Yes , that i knew about.... but it has nothing to do with settings... all that is ... is a device to check and see status of connections and information packets. you Cannot adjust anything in this "Diagnostics Menu"...
But thanks for trying to help.... hopefully someday this information will come out to let all of us tweak until our thumbs fall off... lol....

Originally Posted by Hard Harry

I think I found the answer, its just not the one we want to hear. I don't think there any such menu. I spoke with a couple friends that have worked with Cisco equipment and they agree that is a distinct possibility. Let me know if you dig anything up though.

http://www.cisco.com/web/consumer/su...s2/4004007.pdf See Page 6
Note: When the HDMI connector is connected to the HDTV, the General Settings - Set: Picture Format screen displays the AutoDVI/HDMI option instead of the Pass-Through option.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/coll...3/7015625A.pdf, Table 2, Page 3
Output Control: Scaled video in graphics, scaled HD video in graphics, graphics on HD and SD outputs, aspect ratio control, native resolution pass-thru, HD down convertible to SD, software controlled

Originally Posted by Bryan_CoxPHX

@Hard Harry I believe you are correct that there is no option for native resolution pass-thru with any IPG other than SARA, (see note from spec sheet below). Even with SARA the option for native resolution pass-thru was only available when using the Component Output, but was not available when using the HDMI Output.



The Cisco DVRs feature set is software controlled. With the box running SARA, (Scientific Atlanta Resident Application) DVR software - Native software for navigation and user interfaces, it should have the option you are looking for, But running 3rd party software it may not be available. When Cox switched from SARA to Passport on our Scientific Atlanta DVRs and STBs we also lost the Pass-Through Option. However, if I select all formats, 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i, the DVR passes the broadcast resolution to the TV without up-scaling.

Originally Posted by btrotta

EJ, or anyone else with knowledge, is there an update coming for the whole house DVR?

I've had it for two months now and am just about ready to return the boxes because it's all but unusable, has the feel of an early beta, and certainly not worth the extra money and aggravation. My wife's constant mantra is "have I told you how much I hate this new box?"

I've detailed some of the issues I have with the service in previous posts, but they include:

- shortening all shows by one minute, no matter what their length. ie 30 min shows only record for 29 mins. Even shows that are scheduled for 31 minutes only record for 30 minutes.
-fast forwarding is laggy and jumpy at best.
-frequent freezes during fast forwarding, requiring you to stop the show and restart it.
-frequent missed recordings. The box has had "technical difficulties" on a dozen shows in just the last week.
-not showing conflicting recordings, until you find out the next day that a show couldn't record because of a conflict.
-inconsistent display of conflicting recordings. Sometimes it shows you the conflict. Other times it tells you to go figure it out.
-the program guide is ok, but it takes you three steps to do everything. Most of those functions only took 1 or two steps on the Motorola boxes. It's tedious and unnecessary.

If these items are going to be fixed soon, I'll consider keeping the Cisco boxes. Otherwise, I'm turning them in. I don't like paying extra money for something that doesn't work as well as the old box.

Originally Posted by EJW_CoxNE

There are updates coming in the future, but it's still unclear at this point what they will address first. This is the first I've heard about a potential conflicting recordings problem. Let me take a look when I get home tonight.

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

hi there..... I have done lots of recordings and have yet to miss one due to box error but i do agree that the shows are cutoff by one minute. Kinda frustrating these days because shows routinely run the full 60 minutes... They use every minute they have... So you end up missing a bit of the desired show.
My biggest gripe is the sluggishness of the trio guide..... Oh my god... Yup even the wife is complaining... (that's when you know it's bad)..
Something really needs to be done with this ...
I have actually resorted to using the classic style "passport" guide because with the slow response from each button push i find it easier to navigate the guide using the classic style. Kinda defeats the purpose of having the new guide...
I am a bit disappointed in the product so far and the lack of support i am getting from cox on the native pass-through issue...
But>>>> with the new whole home dvr service and a bundle option my monthly bill actually went down by 5 dollars... So makes no sense to return and go back to paying more money.... Oh well...i'll just live with it.. And hope they (cox) comes out with some patches and fast!!!

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Well last night ..i had the almighty missed recording.....

Originally Posted by apaulct

Deja Vu all over again ... sounds like a repeat of 2004-05 when the Moto boxes first came out. We had the infamous "Subscription Required" bug which customer service denied existed. Missed about half of my recordings because the box wanted a subscription to local OTA channels. Only took about a year to work that one out so maybe next year the Cisco boxes will work as advertised. Meanwhile, I don't want to pay to be a beta tester again ... I'll sit on the sideline and wait for a stable platform.

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Yeah... this box definitely has some issues that need to be addressed.... hopefully the Cox people that are responsible for updates via firmware/software.. pay attention to these postings and help turn this box into the item it was advertised to be....
Right about now it is less capable then the Moto. DCX3400... except for hard-drive size.... the much bally-hooed "trio-guide"....?? kind of a joke right now.. until they work the missed recordings and sluggishness out of it..

Let's hope they don't drag their feet in pushing out updates to address these issues as they do with their Moto. boxes...... which were/are about 3 or 4 firmware/software upgrades behind other markets that use the same equipment. ???

Originally Posted by Hard Harry

Does it have issues? Yes. But I wouldn't say its less capable. The sluggish guide seems to be situational dependant. The guide at my parents is nice and quick. Guide at my friends house is slow. Not sure what the difference is, but Its the same hardware, so that either means its signal, firmware, or something else unknown. The ondemand search, whole home playback, and eSATA makes up for alot of the quirks in my opinion.

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Hey there HH
Let me rephrase my statement... The new boxes have more capabilities then the old Moto's.. but... i never missed a recording with my old boxes unless it was my dumb fault... nor did i fuss with using the guide as much as i do with using the Trio... even in the "classic" style.
The on demand search ...i don't use... don't really care.. (netflix baby)
Whole home playback... it better do that...that's why i bought it..

so as far as i'm concerned ...besides the bigger hard drive and the whole home dvr...... it doesn't do much more or isn't much flashier then the old Moto it replaced..

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Interesting note on the guide being quick in one location but slow in another?? That doesn't make any sense. ??
From what i have heard on here.... everyone has griped about the guide being slow. I have not read one post that said... the guide works great for me..nice and quick..
Not calling you a liar.. but it is just a weird observation

Originally Posted by bmichael

Harry,

At what point are you going to come out and admit you work for cox?

Originally Posted by EJW_CoxNE

I'll try to address some of your questions and concerns to the best of my ability and from the information I'm able to gather.

First, and this is according to multiple people at our video engineering department in Atlanta, it is not available or possible to set a Native Pass Thru option on the Cisco boxes.

If you have found tech specs for the box that contradicts this, please pass them along to me. That is the answer I have at this point.

Secondly, the guide is admittedly more sluggish than the one you all used to have, but you have to remember, it's loading a lot more information and graphics. But yes, they are aware that it's not perfect and are working to improve the loading speed with future updates.



And I have a couple people testing boxes here to see what might be going on with missing recordings.

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

You have got to be kidding me.... that is the answer you got from tech?
LOL!!!!!!
Wow.... so a Cisco box that is advertised as having "Native Pass-through" in it's specs... is a lie???
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/coll...3/7015625A.pdf

Note the---- output control..."native resolution pass through"????

Now if that is not FALSE ADVERTISING.... i don't know what is???
That makes me want to DUMP COX... and go with Dish... just out of spite. !!

That is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Hard Harry

The Specs, like cake, is a lie. LOL. More importantly, if it was false advertising (keyword if) it would be on Cisco's end yes? Did someone from Cox tell you it was possible and thats what your angry about? I could relate to that.

Originally Posted by gulf979cb

Of course HH....
When i originally inquired about this box i asked a bunch of questions about the system...one being...can it do Native Pass-through.. and of course the answer was "OH YES, No Problem..!!!
Well i guess that isn't the case.
All i am getting is No answer on here.. and not one person ... tech or otherwise... has ever mentioned .. a way to get into the advanced user menu...
If i was told .. here is how you get into the service menu... and i saw it was disabled then ok... sit back and wait for a software/firmware upgrade that will enable the feature...
BUT... with no one able to tell me how to access the service menu... I don't believe it can't do it for a minute.

SO once agan....my original question... can anyone tell me how to get into the advanced service menu of the Cisco box. ????

Originally Posted by Bryan_CoxPHX


The Cisco Specs are not a lie. Over half the Specs are noted as: "software controlled"
The Specs of what the Cisco 8642HDC DVR hardware is capable of and the capability of what the Trio software allows the DVR to do is like comparing Apples to Oranges.

The Native Cisco software that allows the Cisco 8642HDC to accomplish every function listed in the Specs is called SARA (Scientific Atlanta Resident Application). Even with SARA there are "optional" versions the MSO can choose from to fit thier needs.

The 8642HDC is also capable of, which is also not enabled with Trio.
[*]Personal media player enables display of photos and playback of video and audio from standards based home network connected devices (optional software)[*]Ethernet Connection enables a connection to the home IP LAN for advanced services such as content sharing to the set-top from retail-purchased electronic devices

Another good example would be the 8240HDC which running SARA allowed for attaching an External eSATA HDD, the same 8240HDC running Passport is now not allowing the External HDD to be formatted. The same 8240HDC running TWC Navigator ODN also does not allow External HDD Expansion.

The same cell phone does not necessarily have the same capabilities between different providers.

Originally Posted by btrotta

So, once again the consumer gets stuck with a crippled device because the operator thinks they know better than the developer what the end user wants/needs.

I would rather have a fast but ugly interface that works than a slow, pretty piece of crippleware any day.

I wish cox would give us the option of using the SARA interface. I bet it would solve a lot of our complaints.