Official AVS Motorola DCX series HD DVR Topic! - Page 149

I no longer have a DVR from TWC, so my answers are from memory. Also, some of your questions have already been asked and answered in your previous posts.

Sorry, can't help you here. I don't use closed captioning and never investigated any of the CC fuctionality.

There is a way. You can't give it a name (it will show up in your recordings list just by its date/time, and possibly channel, but all of that information will have been stored and you can get to it with the INFO button), but you obviously CAN manually set up a recording as you desire.

From an old iGuide manual:



Can't recall. Probably not. I'm guessing they decided separating future recordings by 24-hour day was an acceptable user interface.

Even with Windows Media Center, if you view your future recordings by date/time, they will be shown in sub-titled groups with the day/date in front of each group. So it's one long list, sub-divided by a sub-heading showing the day/date of the following items, and I suppose that's good too as you can then just use the PAGE DOWN key to continue scrolling through the list.

With the iGuide approach, you have to DAY FORWARD to see the next day, instead of PAGE DOWN to scroll through the list. Is one button that much different than the other? It's not entirely illogical in their design... they just didn't merge the lists into one large continuously scrollable presentation, although I must say I certainly like design that's in WMC.

This has been answered previously.

The 30-second skip function is NOT delivered by default into ANY remote. However it can be programmed into any remote that supports programmable keys, using the well documented Wiki instructions... as long as your remote has keys that can be programmed.

And that programmable key feature virtually always depends on the presence of a SETUP key on your remote. If your remote doesn't have a SETUP button then you won't be able to go through the necessary steps to program keys, and that's because that remote was not designed to have programmable keys.

The 1056B03 has no SETUP button. So you cannot program individual keys, beyond what the manufacturer has allowed for.

Your solution is to spend $15 and buy a 1056B01. This has been suggested previously and will solve your problem. The 1056B01 DOES have the needed SETUP key and can be programmed completely per the Wiki instructions.

There are many 1056B01 remotes for sale online. Shopping and purchasing is up to you.

This is truly unfortunate design in iGuide. There is no way to "drag the cursor along the fuel gauge" to randomly go to visually any position in the program (as there is using media player programs on a computer), nor is there any built-in set of predefined locations in the program you might be able to select from a list (e.g. each 15-minute mark, each 30-minute mark, each 1-hour mark, etc.).

So your only options are FF (annoying, obviously), 30-second skip (if that works for you), or the new 5-minute skip that came out with A28 (didn't exist originally with A24 I don't believe). PAGE-UP (I think, but it might be PAGE-DOWN) is a 5-minute skip forward. This probably is faster and less annoying than FF, but is still not the random-direct navigation we'd really like.

No way to answer this. But it's certainly been noticed and reported by many over the years.

Since there's no real diagnostic detail there, it's never been clear why these "system cancel" occurrences happen. Of course the fact that one of your scheduled recordings was not recorded through no action of yours is the net result, and this doesn't make you happy.

Anyway, it's a symptom that's been present forever, although only since A28 and the birth of "History" do we even now see any brief explanation at all for what went on. With A24 there wasn't "History".

Incidentally, "History" (which keeps the last 30-days of recording experience) was primarily invented to assist in better scheduling of upcoming recordings in order to avoid repeat recordings of shows already recorded, based on the INFO details for the program when the REPEAT vs. NEW item was not present in the Guide for the upcoming show. WMC has addressed that issue much more elegantly and precisely, because the INFO data provided by Zap2it (which is the Guide provider for Microsoft in WMC) actually does have a "original aired date", so it's explicitly obvious to the recording scheduling algorithm whether or not a program is NEW or REPEAT. Unfortunately, the TV Guide data provided to iGuide does NOT have this "original aired date", so they have to go on the basis of comparing text in the INFO which really is far less precise.

Previously asked and answered. There is no way to enter alphabetic channel names as your GO-TO intent. You can simply enter its channel number if you know it, or use the Guide if you don't know the channel number.

But you can make Guide use easier for yourself by reducing the size of the Guide you need to browse through by just using a subset, either any of the built-in subsets (e.g. the HDTV family) or one of your self-invented FAVORITES lists.

Previously asked and answered. Takes about 3 days. I know.

Actually, this probably means "digital user interface" if it's really "dUI", or it might actually be "dVI" which probably means "digital video interface".

Actually, I think the presentation of that "dUI": is part of the boot process, not a predecessor. So the boot process had already actually begun, and "dUI" is one of the things you normally see during that process as the HDMI handshake takes place between the DVR and your HDTV.

Yes, sometimes it happens. It's like a self-detected "program abend" occurred in the software, and the operating system re-booted as its recovery. Surely you've seen this on rare occasion on your PC as well, although BSOD (with no automatic re-boot) is another fairly common similar symptom, from which YOU must then manually re-boot the machine yourself to get operational again.

True.

The iGuide software does not retain a "latest available up-to-date version" of the Guide on hard disk, to be used instantaneously in case of a re-boot and which then might be quietly re-updated in the background to restore 100% accuracy. This would have been very good design, requiring zero time instead of 3 days to re-populate the Guide. I mean it was up-to-date and accurate as of 5 minutes ago, so why wouldn't it be a reasonable compromise to just start using it again immediately after a re-boot?

Anyway, this isn't the way it works.

No. It's a bit smarter than a toaster, but not too much smarter.

It's intended for millions of untrained un-tech-savvy home users. They want to watch TV, not analyze diagnostics of machine malfunctions.
Edited by DSperber - 9/29/12 at 11:01pm

Wait, are you sure? My RC does have a SETUP button. http://www.urcsupport.com/html.php?page_id=618 , http://www.urcsupport.com/images/uploaded_images/1056BC03_Eng_Esp_s.pdf , and http://i.ebayimg.com/t/SuddenLink-Universal-1056B03-DVR-Cable-Box-Remote-Control-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$%28KGrHqZHJBgE+FDKRB08BP34748!gw~~60_57.JPG (top left corner) confirm it too.
Edited by phildaant - 9/29/12 at 11:15pm

But according to the Wiki instructions to "remap a key", apparently they built the 1056B03 to not respond to the 994 code, which is what is needed in order to program a remote's keys, for any function.



Don't spend any more time on it... just buy a 1056B01 for $10-15 and be done with it forever.

Wow! I didn't know that! Thanks. It is certainly better than FF.

I will have to try that later. I hope my iGuide can do it. Where do I find its version just in case?

Thanks for this tip.
I’m on Shaw cable and have a Motorola DCX-3400-M and the Page-Up will skip forward 5-min, Page-Down will skip back 5-min.

Shaw does program the 30-second forward skip and 8-second rewind-skip with dedicated buttons into the 1056B03 remote. But this new 5-minute Forward/Rewind skip is undocumented. Shaw puts a custom plate around the P1 ON DEMAND P2 buttons with the P1 button used for the 30-second skip (includes graphic on the plate) and the P2 button used for Music.

Here is a picture of the 1056B03 remote without the custom plate.


Close up were Shaw puts the custom plate with labeling


More info on the remote.
http://www.urcsupport.com/html.php?page_id=618
http://www.urcsupport.com/images/uploaded_images/Atlas_1056BC.swf

Again, thanks for the Page-Up / Page-Down 5-minute skip tip.

I thought I heard it was happening..

http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/external-dvr-storage/

TWC and others need to get going!

Could be coming. I'm not on Comcast, and this is the first I've heard even an inkling of such a notion in the US from any cable service. I haven't heard one whisper of anything like this for TWC.

But for sure, it would appear to be a pilot project at the moment, apparently only available for Comcast in just limited areas of just Indiana.

If it's going to happen elsewhere in the US eventually, terrific. The hardware supports it. It's only a matter of the cable provider activating the feature in the firmware and supporting it.

Sweet, this worked for me too. Now if it could do 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.

If you read numerous posts above - they do 30 second skips. Go to the Motorola wiki. I do 15 second skips by hitting the 15 second rewind button immediately followed by the 30 second skip. Mainly do those 15 second skips when watching sporting events like football between plays or baseball between batters..

Not with the current supplied 1056B03 RC. I would have to get a different one to program it to do those skips.

I discovered, when a remote really did die and I didn't feel like wasting time going to their office (not close) and waiting in a long line - I called them, willing to pay for shipping. Comcast sent out a free remote and paid for shipping. This was a year ago - so don't know if their policy has changed. When we got a new 3501 to replace an ancient box about 3 months ago, it came with an old style remote with the setup button. So, you might be able to simply get a usable remote direct from Comcast. Others have posted they are readily available on Ebay for $10-$15.

Actually, I believe that someone DID figure out how to program a 30sec skip into the newer dark gray remote that comes with DCX boxes, and posted it here, or at lease on AVS, but I don't remember how they did it.

Interesting. I would like to know if it is somewhere.

4448 We are talking about 3 different remotes. The original (silver), an almost identical looking (grey), and the 1056B03 (which according to the pic in post #4448 above is black). It is the latter one that can't be programmed. The silver and grey ones vary only slightly in the programming code. We have both a silver and grey. The programming instructions are quite clear on the Motorola wiki.

The market list given on that page is entirely within the state of Indiana. I assume (though I don't know Indiana geography) that the cities listed are in the same general area as Ft. Wayne, which is where the A30 software has been deployed. Based on that, it appears Comcast is indeed turning on eSATA support with the new I-Guide software.

And, I think, the A30 software will support the selection of closed captioning via menu screen. Now it is quite involved to get to the area in the system that controls CC. Virtually useless. I am surprised the FCC let Moto get away with that. They had mandated that CC be included in TV sets many years ago.

Recently procured a Moto RGN200n (3501) 500 GB from Comcast (South Florida). With all tv's that it's been hooked up to (bought 3, returned 2 in the past three weeks) the 4:3 override "STRETCH" function does not work when viewing 4:3 SD programming. It'll stretch for a second to 16:9 and then snap back to 4:3.

Been searching till the cows come home - sorry if it's already been mentioned. Anyone know about this or have a fix?

Thanks

Turn the TV on then press the off buttom on the cable box. Immediately after pressing off, press the menu button on the box once (twice quickly if once doesn't bring up the internal box menu). Navigate down a couple lines and change (by using remote contral arrow keys) 4:3 override to stretch. Press power key on cable box twice so the box is now on. Try a 4:3 channel to test.

Or is that what you did already?

Thanks Arvy...Yup, been through all the box-off menu permutations and combinations...

I'm thinking firmware at this point. As I've only had the box a few weeks it shouldn't take me long to watch what's left on the DVR and swap it out.

Thanks again though.

Just out of curiosity, do you have an AVR between the DCX and the three different HDTV's you've tried over the past few weeks? HDMI "relay" through an AVR, or the DCX connected directly to each of the three HDTV's with a single HDMI cable?

I also ask if you've seen a flash of "dUI" (actually that's probably "dVI" displayed via bulbs) on the display panel of the DCX when the 4:3 STRETCH snaps back to 4:3 OFF (i.e. 4:3 OAR with black bars on left and right so as to present normal human proportions, instead of 4:3 stretch-o-vision for fans of Jabba)?

In other words, there is a well known "loss of native" issue with the DCX when HDMI-relay through an AVR to the HDTV. It's not just "loss of native" which occurs though, it's a full box reset to the default HDMI settings (both for audio and video) so that whatever else you might have set is undone and you are once again back to initial hardware defaults. And 4:3 STRETCH is NOT the box default, so I would expect it to revert to OFF if you are tipped off that a box reset has occurred if that "dUI" displays on the box's front panel. That could at least explain what's actually happening that is causing you to lose your manual setting of STRETCH.

Then the question would be what is causing the unhappy HDMI handshake, and the "dUI" and box reset. Is there an AVR in the middle? Or is the DCX connected directly to the HDTV with only one HDMI cable involved? If it's a direct HDMI connection, and yet you're seeing "dUI" which indicates "HDMI reset", it would be a first to my knowledge. But if it's an HDMI relay through an AVR, well now I can understand what you're seeing... which is actually the "loss of native" issue extended to loss of ALL manual override settings as the HDMI reset occurs, announced by "dUI" on the panel.

Straight HDMI to TV input. All was great with the 320 GB DCX-3500 I had, but was tempted to go with the 500 GB current STB.

I know it's unnatural for stretch vision, but I got used to no postage stamp and hate the 6-7 second delay one gets when the override is set to 480 for SD channels.

In DVR's iGuide, it seems to show all channels. Is there a way to only show what I have from my cable TV subscription? I figured out why some of my recordings failed because I can't get those channels from my subscription!

Also, is there a way to clear all DVR's recording history logs at once? One by one in a pain in the butt/abdomen. :P

Thank you in advance.
Edited by phildaant - 10/8/12 at 11:43am

Not really unless you make a list of all those channels and use the iGuide's Favorites option to log each of them. Then only navigate to the Favorites menu when channel surfing.

Ah, the issue was with recordings set from TV guide. I wasn't channel surfing.

Just an update I swapped the box and got a new one (brand new, not refurbished) yesterday and same deal. Will live with it as everything else about the box has been satisfactory.

For those looking forward to the support of external hard drives via eSATA on Comcast systems, there is a caveat:

From http://forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-and-Equipment/Adding-external-hard-drive-to-Moto-DCT3412-HDDVR/td-p/1228399/page/2

In other words, Comcast ran into issues testing eSATA support on the DCX3400 and DCX3400-M and will therefore not enable eSATA functionality on these units until the issues can be resolved. All other Motorola HD DVR's, including the DCX3501/RNG200N, will be supported.

Also, earlier in that thread it was stated that the new software is expected to be rolled out in all Comcast areas by early 2013.

The firmware that came with A30 also fixed the issue with the output resolution resetting to 720p with a reciever connected via HDMI.

Really? That would be a very significant and well-appreciated fix... FINALLY!!! You're saying that it no longer matters which box you turn off or on first or second or third, that the "native" setting is retained??

That problem has been present ever since the very first DCX3400 model was released several years ago, and the "native" option in HDMI setup first became available. The "loss of native" symptom resulting from the HDMI-relay through an AVR is that old.

Can you please look into configuration info and provide us with both the software and firmware version levels on your DVR which now has A30 on it.


Now if they only would have fixed the "broken firewire interface" problem also born at the same time with the very first DCX3400 model (which they've also known about for the same 3-4 years but been unable or unwilling to address and repair), many users still trying to record from DVR to DVHS or PC via firewire would be very happy.

So if there is anybody out there with this new A30 iGuide software and the corresponding firmware, and you also have a DVHS VCR or PC setup where the firewire interface has previously been broken ever since DCX3400 hardware came out, can you re-test with this new A30 software/firmware setup to see if they actually have now also fixed the firewire interface? That would be very useful information.