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Official AVS Motorola DCX series HD DVR Topic! - Page 150

post #4471 of 4641
10/11/12 at 9:10pm
Just got my 3501 installed recently. (charter cable)
I have read that it has some sort of sleep setting. I imagine this would be something so that you didnt have to actually leave it on all the time so you can have your shows record.

I assume you cant power the box down when you are leaving home because if the box is off it wont record your shows while you are away. I imagine the sleep setting is the in between here where it will still be able to record your programs while you are away, but while being in the "sleep mode", consuming less energy.. Is there a sleep function? how do i use it? and is it what i have described so far?
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post #4472 of 4641
10/11/12 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanLeaf View Post

Just got my 3501 installed recently. (charter cable)
I have read that it has some sort of sleep setting. I imagine this would be something so that you didnt have to actually leave it on all the time so you can have your shows record.
You are incorrect in your assumption.

Powering the DVR off just puts it in "standby state". But it will wake itself up automatically to record a scheduled program. And it will then put itself back into "standby state" when the scheduled timer recording(s) have been completed. This happens indefinitely, even if you go away for weeks. On and off as needed.

Quote:
I assume you cant power the box down when you are leaving home because if the box is off it wont record your shows while you are away.
Wrong. Again, the box automatically powers itself on to make recordings you've scheduled, if it's currently in the "off/standby" state when the scheduled recording time arrives. And when the recording completes, it will automatically power itself back off.

You do NOT need to leave the box "on" in order to accomplish a scheduled recording.
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post #4473 of 4641
10/11/12 at 11:09pm
Thanks A lot!
Sorry for being so wrong on all of that haha. I guess i'll shut it off anytime i turn off the TV.
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post #4474 of 4641
10/12/12 at 4:45am
For years with all the boxes I've been through I do wish an "auto power off" option would be available too.

If the box already has the capability to power up and down by itself, it should be able to give me the option to shut down after recording if I start the recording with it already on.

:screwy:

Sent using Tapatalk 2
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post #4475 of 4641
10/12/12 at 8:16am
Yes, no matter what order I turn devices on or off, the native setting is retained. Actually, with my new reciever (Onkyo TX-NR609), it didn't matter the order, it always reset. After a30, no more resets! Also has dimming for the front panel and the auto power down. Sorry, I don't remember FW version, but it is different. I'll try to remember to check when I get home tonight.
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post #4476 of 4641
10/12/12 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by grcmptrnrd View Post

Yes, no matter what order I turn devices on or off, the native setting is retained. Actually, with my new reciever (Onkyo TX-NR609), it didn't matter the order, it always reset. After a30, no more resets!
Interesting.

My guess is that they simply revised the behavior to NOT ever change the user-specified setting, but rather just to keep it. The user set it, and that's what the user wants.

This is probably totally acceptable for today's modern HDTV's which can accept any source resolution anyway. It really was unnecessary and inappropriate to depend on the HDMI handshake results to set this value, while supporting that value to be user-specified. Made no sense.

I'm sure they're now just keeping whatever the user sets, regardless of anything else that happens (or doesn't happen) during HDMI handshake time. It's about time they programmed it correctly.

Now if only they'd store the latest up-to-date current Guide data on hard drive, and use it in an "instant re-load" after a power outage so that you have near-zero recovery time to full Guide instead of having to wait 3 days because of some 1960's approach to dribbling out the data at 9600 baud or something. Even without a local hard drive backup copy, at today's broadband speeds it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes or less to reload the entire 14 days of Guide data for 1000 channels even if you started from scratch.
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post #4477 of 4641
10/13/12 at 11:39pm
I've noticed some problems with the A30 firmware. For one thing, when I do 5 minute skips ahead, the indicator bar lags behind, sometimes as much as two or three skips, even though the position in the film is really advanced.
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post #4478 of 4641
10/20/12 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSperber View Post

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.

DSperber, I have a two DCX3400 and both show DVI (on the LED box) whenever you turn the TV on. It always appears on every start-up and nothing is wrong. On my DCX3400 I have HDMI set in the Additional HDMI Settings section of the hidden menu, color space YCC and passthrough audio (I've also set it to Auto with no change of DVI showing). Also I have it set to Native resolution and the TV always switches between 1080i and 720p without any issue. Why does my box show DVI though when I turn on my TV when everything is setup and working via HDMI? The DCX3400 is on A28 (FW: 22.65) connected directly to a Samsung 51 inch plasma via HDMI with nothing in the middle (receiver). Do you think Comcast disabled HDMI HDCP protocol handshaking when they couldn't figure the bug in the guide, basically forcing every box into DVI mode? I've tried resetting to default in the same menu and trying different menu options but they always result in the box displaying DVI (DUI, lol) on start-up? What do you think?

Thanks,

FAS smile.gif
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post #4479 of 4641
10/21/12 at 1:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fromanotherstate View Post

DSperber, I have a two DCX3400 and both show DVI (on the LED box) whenever you turn the TV on. It always appears on every start-up and nothing is wrong. On my DCX3400 I have HDMI set in the Additional HDMI Settings section of the hidden menu, color space YCC and passthrough audio (I've also set it to Auto with no change of DVI showing). Also I have it set to Native resolution and the TV always switches between 1080i and 720p without any issue. Why does my box show DVI though when I turn on my TV when everything is setup and working via HDMI? The DCX3400 is on A28 (FW: 22.65) connected directly to a Samsung 51 inch plasma via HDMI with nothing in the middle (receiver).
I believe the appearance of the "DUI" indicates that the HDMI handshake is occurring. I probably mis-expressed the story when I implied that when "DUI" appears that an "HDMI reset" was occurring. It really means "HDMI handshake occurring".

If you have the DCX connected directly to an HDTV with no AVR in the middle then the HDMI handshake will always be "successful", and your HDMI settings (including "native") will be retained. That's why things are "working" for you, as you have a direct single-cable HDMI connection from DCX to Samsung plasma.

Nothing to do with Comcast doing anything.
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post #4480 of 4641
10/21/12 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSperber View Post

I believe the appearance of the "DUI" indicates that the HDMI handshake is occurring. I probably mis-expressed the story when I implied that when "DUI" appears that an "HDMI reset" was occurring. It really means "HDMI handshake occurring".
If you have the DCX connected directly to an HDTV with no AVR in the middle then the HDMI handshake will always be "successful", and your HDMI settings (including "native") will be retained. That's why things are "working" for you, as you have a direct single-cable HDMI connection from DCX to Samsung plasma.
Nothing to do with Comcast doing anything.

Shouldn't it say HDMI thought rather than DVI? I'm so tired of the iGuide but I know Comcast won't be upgradingf for the next few years in 99% of their markets. It does seem very appalling that it has taken so long for Comcast to come out of the 90's. I have had iGuide since the late 90's, I'm not kidding! Well I think since at least 2001. I mean that is crazy to have a guide for over 10 years that has almost never changed (they've added features but the look is identical)!? I really don't think they will ever upgrade any areas with OSG 3.0. I think they will eventually send a letter to all customers saying if they want to enter the future they will need to have their boxes swapped out. That drives me nuts as I don't want to get a new box or bother with the hassle! My DCX3400 is the same as the RNG200N which they are supposedly already pushing out OSG 3.0 on now? It has 512MB of RAM and Tru2way/OCAP support. I just think the developers for Comcast are lost? I mean when you see DirecTV, DishNet, ATT U-verse, Verizon all with guides that look straight scifi compared to Comcast it's annoying that we usually pay more for a crappy guide from the 90's! LOL! What is even scarier is in my area most people have Motos but they have been also giving out Pace RNG110's over the past few years. Are they going to be able to upgrade someone that has an RNG110 and a DCX3400 in the same house to the same guide?! BTW DSperber, thank you for the quick response. smile.gif
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post #4481 of 4641
10/21/12 at 8:32am
^ I don't think there's any way for them to display "HDMI" on the front panel...not enough LED segments to work with. I believe that DVI is displayed to indicate that the digital connection is in use.

Besides, DVI is compatibile with HDMI (you can use an adapter to convert DVI to HDMI), so it's not too far off. And I do like how it looks like "DUI" smile.gif
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post #4482 of 4641
10/21/12 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNO821 View Post

^ I don't think there's any way for them to display "HDMI" on the front panel...not enough LED segments to work with. I believe that DVI is displayed to indicate that the digital connection is in use.
Besides, DVI is compatibile with HDMI (you can use an adapter to convert DVI to HDMI), so it's not too far off. And I do like how it looks like "DUI" smile.gif
Yeah, it is "Drunk Under Influence". No wonder it has issues. Seriously, why does it still use old analog numbers and letters? :P
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post #4483 of 4641
10/21/12 at 2:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNO821 View Post

^ I don't think there's any way for them to display "HDMI" on the front panel...not enough LED segments to work with. I believe that DVI is displayed to indicate that the digital connection is in use.
Besides, DVI is compatibile with HDMI (you can use an adapter to convert DVI to HDMI), so it's not too far off. And I do like how it looks like "DUI" smile.gif

No the box will do HDMI. It makes it look funny the way it displays it but you can tell what it is saying. You can check it out yourself by going into the hidden settings (box off, menu) then go to the Additional HDMI Settings and the first option lets you choose between HDMI and DVI. When you have this option selected it will display on the LED box screen. You can make it change between HDMI and DVI. DVI can be compatible but it doesn't enable audio, ethernet, etc from the HDMI cable. Plus DVI doesn't have HDCP content protocol handshaking. I suspect that Comcast disabled HDCP handshaking on some firmwares and set all boxes to DVI compatibility mode in order to fix users issues with handshaking on some box firmwares.
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post #4484 of 4641
10/22/12 at 11:06am
^ There's about 0% chance that HDCP protection was disabled. That would violate basically all of the contracts that they have with the content owners. For example, if proper HDCP protection is not in use, HBO and other premium channels will pull the plug. There are documented incidents of premium channels doing this until cable companies enabled appropriate protections.
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post #4485 of 4641
10/22/12 at 8:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TNO821 View Post

^ There's about 0% chance that HDCP protection was disabled. That would violate basically all of the contracts that they have with the content owners. For example, if proper HDCP protection is not in use, HBO and other premium channels will pull the plug. There are documented incidents of premium channels doing this until cable companies enabled appropriate protections.
You're right as I checked in the special menu and HDCP is on and working. I can't understand why the box still shows DVI though when it could display HDMI?
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post #4486 of 4641
10/22/12 at 8:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fromanotherstate View Post

You're right as I checked in the special menu and HDCP is on and working. I can't understand why the box still shows DVI though when it could display HDMI?
Because the LCD display can't show HDMI. How does it write HDMI within three characters and only straight lines? Notice it can't even show DVI. There are no diagonal lines. V is a U on there. It uses the old school digital time format. They should use pixels. frown.gif
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post #4487 of 4641
10/22/12 at 8:59pm

Quote:
Originally Posted by phildaant View Post

Because the LCD display can't show HDMI. How does it write HDMI within three characters and only straight lines? Notice it can't even show DVI. There are no diagonal lines. V is a U on there. It uses the old school digital time format. They should use pixels. frown.gif

It certainly can do HDMI. I'm recoding something now but I'll take a pic in a few minutes. Read my post above as it tells you how to see it yourself.

Updated with pics: I never said HDMI looked good but it does do it. DVI looks better though, lol.
Edited by Fromanotherstate - 10/22/12 at 9:06pm
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post #4488 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fromanotherstate View Post

You're right as I checked in the special menu and HDCP is on and working. I can't understand why the box still shows DVI though when it could display HDMI?

The display of "DVI" dates back to the early days of HD receivers when the boxes had DVI ports instead of HDMI. I think some of those old boxes are still deployed, and the software that generates the display doesn't distinguish between DVI and HDMI. As I'm sure you know, software development for these boxes is extremely slow, and a lot of old, outdated behavior still remains. (I believe they still have "RF Bypass" in the cable box setup menu even though that feature has been nonexistent for many years now.)

There is enough LED space for four characters (you will see "8888" during boot-up), but there's no way to display an M because the only vertical segments are on the left and right sides. The best you could do is "HdnI" (with an "n" instead of "M").

EDIT - OK, someone beat me to it...
Edited by dvdmth - 10/22/12 at 9:18pm
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post #4489 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvdmth View Post

The display of "DVI" dates back to the early days of HD receivers when the boxes had DVI ports instead of HDMI. I think some of those old boxes are still deployed, and the software that generates the display doesn't distinguish between DVI and HDMI. As I'm sure you know, software development for these boxes is extremely slow, and a lot of old, outdated behavior still remains. (I believe they still have "RF Bypass" in the cable box setup menu even though that feature has been nonexistent for many years now.)
There is enough LED space for four characters (you will see "8888" during boot-up), but there's no way to display an M because the only vertical segments are on the left and right sides. The best you could do is "HdnI" (with an "n" instead of "M").
How long has this receiver design been around?
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post #4490 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by phildaant View Post

How long has this receiver design been around?
The Motorola series is what Comcast has been using for most of the past decade; DCT, DCH and now finally DCX. My first Moto box was the DCT2000 which I got back between 1998-2000 (not sure exactly). Yeah it does seem very appalling that it has taken so long for Comcast to come out of the 90's. I have had iGuide since the late 90's, I'm not kidding! Well I think since at least 2001. I mean that is crazy to have a guide for over 10 years that has almost never changed (they've added features but the look is identical)!? I really don't think they will ever upgrade any areas with OSG 3.0. I think they will eventually send a letter to all customers saying if they want to enter the future they will need to have their boxes swapped out. That drives me nuts as I don't want to get a new box or bother with the hassle! My DCX3400 is the same as the RNG200N which they are supposedly already pushing out OSG 3.0 on now? It has 512MB of RAM and Tru2way/OCAP support. I just think the developers for Comcast are lost? I mean when you see DirecTV, DishNet, ATT U-verse, Verizon all with guides that look straight scifi compared to Comcast it's annoying that we usually pay more for a crappy guide from the 90's! LOL! What is even scarier is in my area most people have Motos but they have been also giving out Pace RNG110's over the past few years. Are they going to be able to upgrade someone that has an RNG110 and a DCX3400 in the same house to the same guide?!
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post #4491 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fromanotherstate View Post

The Motorola series is what Comcast has been using for most of the past decade; DCT, DCH and now finally DCX. My first Moto box was the DCT2000 which I got back between 1998-2000 (not sure exactly). Yeah it does seem very appalling that it has taken so long for Comcast to come out of the 90's. I have had iGuide since the late 90's, I'm not kidding! Well I think since at least 2001. I mean that is crazy to have a guide for over 10 years that has almost never changed (they've added features but the look is identical)!? I really don't think they will ever upgrade any areas with OSG 3.0. I think they will eventually send a letter to all customers saying if they want to enter the future they will need to have their boxes swapped out. That drives me nuts as I don't want to get a new box or bother with the hassle! My DCX3400 is the same as the RNG200N which they are supposedly already pushing out OSG 3.0 on now? It has 512MB of RAM and Tru2way/OCAP support. I just think the developers for Comcast are lost? I mean when you see DirecTV, DishNet, ATT U-verse, Verizon all with guides that look straight scifi compared to Comcast it's annoying that we usually pay more for a crappy guide from the 90's! LOL! What is even scarier is in my area most people have Motos but they have been also giving out Pace RNG110's over the past few years. Are they going to be able to upgrade someone that has an RNG110 and a DCX3400 in the same house to the same guide?!
Wow. With TWC, they have Navigator on other DVRs but people complained it was slow and buggy compared to iGuide. :/
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post #4492 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:50pm
I leave either the current channel or time on display. It's a lot more useful.
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post #4493 of 4641
10/22/12 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arvy View Post

I leave either the current channel or time on display. It's a lot more useful.
I use channel since there are way too many. biggrin.gif
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post #4494 of 4641
10/29/12 at 6:10pm
Just recently my DCX3400 started to act up on me. I used to be able to have both tuners on the same channel. When I record WWE Monday Night RAW on USA HD (my channel number 695), I could have channel 695 on both tuners. Is there a way I could have the same channel on both tuners? I used to have it when I tune to USA HD.
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post #4495 of 4641
10/29/12 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JedFRaybould View Post

Just recently my DCX3400 started to act up on me. I used to be able to have both tuners on the same channel. When I record WWE Monday Night RAW on USA HD (my channel number 695), I could have channel 695 on both tuners. Is there a way I could have the same channel on both tuners? I used to have it when I tune to USA HD.

If you record two programs with overlap on the same channel (example: one program is set to end 5 minutes late and/or the next is set to start early), the DVR will tune the second tuner to the same channel to start the second recording.

I'm confused though, why would you want both tuners on the same channel?
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post #4496 of 4641
10/30/12 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JedFRaybould View Post

Just recently my DCX3400 started to act up on me. I used to be able to have both tuners on the same channel. When I record WWE Monday Night RAW on USA HD (my channel number 695), I could have channel 695 on both tuners. Is there a way I could have the same channel on both tuners? I used to have it when I tune to USA HD.

There are two ways I know of to get both tuners on the same channel. One is to be tuned to the channel at the time a recording is scheduled to begin on that channel (the recording starts on the background tuner). The other, as already mentioned, is to have two overlapping recordings on the same channel. This has been the case ever since the A28 guide software was rolled out a coupld of years ago. Before then it was easy to get both tuners on the same channel (by entering the channel number, pressing SWAP, then entering the channel number again).
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post #4497 of 4641
11/3/12 at 10:36am
It appears parts of Michigan can now use the eSATA port on Motorola DVR's (excluding the DCX3400). Comcast has updated their list of markets where the feature is available, which now includes portions of Indiana and Michigan.

More info:

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

From what I've seen on Comcast forums, many areas are supposed to have the feature before the end of the year, and Comcast is also expecting to add the DCX3400 to the list of supported models before year's end as well.
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post #4498 of 4641
11/4/12 at 6:50am
Drive can be bought on Amazon for $99 w. free shipping.
(use coupon WDCARES for 15% discount and free shipping) if you order from WD direct.

Above taken from Amazon
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post #4499 of 4641
11/4/12 at 12:42pm
It should be pointed out that other eSata implementations that worked (e.g. using the Scientific Atlanta DVR's, if you were in Charter Cable areas for example) also had an encryption method used which "protected" that externally recorded content from being usable other than by the current DVR.

So if you had to return the DVR for a replacement, all of your current external recordings would no longer be usable if the eSata drive were simply attached to the new DVR. Instead, everything would be lost as the eSata drive would have to be formatted again for use with the new replacement DVR.

Likewise, your external eSata drive could not just be disconnected and brought to someone else's DVR and played there. It was only usable with the "recording DVR" (much like Windows Media Center and DRM within Windows, and the encryption used for copy-once WTV recordings to hard drive).


I don't know firsthand that this is the case with Comcast's in-progress implementaion of active eSata, but I would intuit that this is the story.
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post #4500 of 4641
11/4/12 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSperber View Post

It should be pointed out that other eSata implementations that worked (e.g. using the Scientific Atlanta DVR's, if you were in Charter Cable areas for example) also had an encryption method used which "protected" that externally recorded content from being usable other than by the current DVR.
So if you had to return the DVR for a replacement, all of your current external recordings would no longer be usable if the eSata drive were simply attached to the new DVR. Instead, everything would be lost as the eSata drive would have to be formatted again for use with the new replacement DVR.
Likewise, your external eSata drive could not just be disconnected and brought to someone else's DVR and played there. It was only usable with the "recording DVR" (much like Windows Media Center and DRM within Windows, and the encryption used for copy-once WTV recordings to hard drive).
I don't know firsthand that this is the case with Comcast's in-progress implementaion of active eSata, but I would intuit that this is the story.
Heck, I'd be OK with that as long as I could get more disc space.
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