Official AVS Motorola DCX series HD DVR Topic! - Page 153

How old are DCX, DCH, and DCT models? Based on the first post of this thread, DCX has been out since 2008 (almost four years)? Is there a list of known issues for DCX model?

1. Comcast has been downloading upgraded s/w to the old DCH and DCT models that have SATA ports where you can hook up a 1TB drive. They have a list of areas where this feature is available on their web site. This list started a few months ago and is increasing monthly. You buy the appropriate drive from various sellers.

2. At least Comcast users have been posting many reports of "Black Screen" recordings on the DCX 3400. The recording shows up on your list - but just get a black screen when you hit play. Just happens at random times. I can't recall if TWC users have reported the same problem.

Hmm, Comcast. I am using it with Time Warner Cable. I haven't seen the black screen yet. I just see other issues like I mentioned.

Comcast and TWC use different firmware. The above problem is related to the firmware.

There have, however, been a number of TWC customers who have had the black screen recording problem. It is not isolated to Comcast.

The problem probably won't happen unless you have a lot of recordings where both tuners are recording concurrently. But no definitive pattern has been found.

Ah, so far I have just recorded movies.

I've had the 512GB Comcast Motorola DCX3400-M as part of AnyRoom Service for over 2 years now and not one problem with heavy useage.

I just noticed the A30 FW has been installed so the eSATA expansion capability can't be far off assuming Comcast eventually gets the DCX3400 series on the approved list of models that work with the external WD HDD.

But you know the thing about Forums ...... it's usually people with technical problems that visit them (regardless of the product or mfg).

I wonder how many DCX series Comcast units are in service working properly over the years like mine which people have never bothered to report.

It might make for an interesting bell curve .... and no, I'm not a troll.

Thanks for letting me know. I just checked and A30 is on my box too in Portland, OR. My box is also the 512 Comcast DCX3400-M Anyroom system. But up until recently, I have had plenty of trouble with black screen recordings and more recently "cancelled by the system" recordings. Perhaps A30 has fixed those.

One new problem I have noticed is my manual overrides of program priorities have been reset. For example, next week, because of the way my priorities are set, Nashville is set to record and American Horror Story isn't. However, because Nashville, while a new show, is just a rehash of the first part of the season, in my upcoming recordings list, I clicked on the American Horror Story listing and chose to record that program. As a result, the listing showed Nashville as not to be recorded (slash through the circles) and AHS to record (no slash). But when I checked back an hour later, that was reversed (AHS was now set to not record (slash) and Nashville was set to record (no slash)). I tried it both ways, manually setting Nashville not to record, but it still wouldn't take. The only thing I could do was to set up a later recording of AHS to record.

Hmm, I have had those cancelled by the system errors before with my TWC's DVR, but that is because I don't have those stations. I really wished its TV Guide would not show these channels or tell me I don't have this specific station.

That will never happen.  They want you to see what you're missing and tempt you into upgrading your package in time for that program. That would be a good idea, probably too good for the provider to think of.

It happened to me (on a DCH3416) once as well: I spotted something scheduled on TMCHD but misread the station as TCMHD and didn't notice the channel number, so I set the event.  Nothing at the time alerted me that it was on a station I wasn't receiving.  Time came, and of course no recording, only the error message in the DVR History (which most customers probably don't look at).

Yep, I discovered that history thing months later and it was really deep to find it. I kept wondering why my recordings didn't work (canceled)! Ugh. DVR's software has a bad usability design IMO. I assume all cable companies use similiar designs. did I mention I hate those bottom ads in TV Guides? :P

BTW, there is a way to check to see if that station is valid in TV Guide. Go to that channel before setting the recording. It is annoying though. I wonder if we will get more major software upgrades soon.

Problem being that the DVR does not know that you do not subscribe to that channel until it actually tunes to that channel - which it doesn't do until it's time for the recording. Solution is to let the user delete channels from its IPG, which few IPGs do for the above stated reasons.

I have an older DCX3400 DVR from Comcast. Are there any newer boxes available with more storage or anything? New guide? Anything?

Thanks.

The 3400 isn't really old. Comcast still distributes the 10 y.o. 3416 boxes. They do have a somewhat newer 3501 (aka RNG200N). They have a capacity of about 500G. (Real early 3400 models had half that.) Comcast is now updating their firmware so that the SATA port is now usable. You will be abe to plug in a 1T (terabyte) Western Digital Drive. They are available for purchase from Western Digital directly and various resellers for around $100.
If you go to Comcast's site it will show what areas now have this upgraded ability. It started in just a couple areas last summer. This will allow the OLD decks to have increased capacity. BTW - the 3400 is not (yet) approved for this feature!

Here's an update on Comcast's rollout of external hard drive support via e-SATA. Right now, the feature is available in Comcast areas of Michigan, Indiana (except South Bend), western Ohio, and Augusta, GA. The New England states and New York are supposed to get the feature sometime next week. All areas are supposed to have the feature in "early 2013," whatever that means.

One issue with the e-SATA support is that Comcast is not yet supporting the DCX3400 and DCX3400-M. This is apparently due to an issue with the Motorola firmware which will eventually need to be updated to address. Given how painfully slow Motorola has been in the past at fixing bugs, I would not hold my breath. Some issues have literally taken years to get resolved.

Here's something interesting, though. Read message 73 in the thread below, from the Comcast support forum:

http://forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-and-Equipment/External-Hard-Drive-Support-for-Motorola-Scientific-Atlanta/td-p/1463565/page/2

Apparently, in areas where the feature is available, Comcast is enabling the e-SATA port on ALL of their Motorola DVR's, including the problematic DCX3400 and DCX3400-M. Therefore, if you have one of these models, you can still attach an external drive (up to 1 TB) and make use of this feature despite the lack of support from Comcast. I imagine, though, that doing so would be risky, but if you're willing to take the risk, it is an option.

Anybody have a clue what the "risk" would be of using this on a DCX3400? Could it be worse than the "black screen" and "cancelled by system" problems we've already had?

"This recording will self-destruct in 5 seconds ..... Good luck Jim!"

I am going to see if Oakland has the 3501 (aka RNG200) which we have in Miami. Haven't had any problems with it, yet. It also has a 500G drive like the 3400. Otherwise, might get an old deck and spend $100 and attach a 1T drive.
I am not sure that "cancelled by system" problem a month ago only affected the 3400.

Thanks. I was hoping that there was something newer with the ability to record more simulaneous shows, and maybe even a newer guide that doesn't look like it is from 1986.

I never understood why it takes days up download the guide. The system is obviously capable of huge downloads of data in a few seconds. It must have something to do with the capacity of the box to absorb it. The appearance could us an upgrade as well.
II think one or both of the satellite systems has boxes that do more than two recordings at a time. Not sure. ATT's Uverse advertises 4. However, reviews of ATT's video quality aren't steller.

"Do it yourself".

Win7, Windows Media Center, up to three internal or USB-attached Ceton InfiniTV 4-tuner cards (total of 12 cablecard-enabled tuners so you can receive all copy-protected encrypted programs along with copy-freely unencrypted programs). Or, use SiliconDust HD Homerun external network tuner boxes. Also throw in some dual-tuner Hauppauge HVR-2250 OTA/ATSC cards if you have a roof antenna and want better image quality than you get for free local OTA network channels than what gets re-compressed and delivered through your cable service. All managed by Windows Media Center with a "very modern and sleek Guide" that does NOT take 3 days to populate but is instantaneously available (since it's retained locally on your hard drive, right up-to-date always).

Unlimited hard drive capacity for storage of recordings, subject only to what you care to install in your HTPC.

Delivery of your HTPC recordings/live-TV around your house through your home LAN via Ethernet, going to up to five simultaneously active "Media Center Extenders" delivering full HD via HDMI to attached HDTV's. You can actually have more than five connected, but a max of five active simultaneously. Each of those extenders provides complete independent remote control over recording schedules for one-offs or series, and all other WMC functions. This is the WMC version of "whole home solution" from the cable company.

DIY, and get it right. Return all DVRs and STBs to the cable company, save all of that money, and rent one or more cablecards at about $2/month. yes, there's a one-time dollar investment in hardware/cabling setup, but the perpetual enjoyment of the result can't be beat for the price. It will pay for itself quickly.

DSperber's solution seems like a good one. But don't think I'm smart enough to implement it. As I've said somewhere else before, I was almost to the point of switching to Dish just to get their Hopper DVR with multiple tuners. But Comcast gave me a price break and "promised" that a new DVR solution would be coming out "early" this year, which would involve more tuners and a lot of cloud storage. Last time I checked with my local Comcast (Portland), it wasn't happening here yet. The person I talked to locally thought Denver might be getting something like that soon. Anyone there know anything?

If I did this, do I still have to buy a service package from Comcast (digital starter, digital plus (or whatever its called), HBO, etc)?

Yes. Whatever programming you want to subscribe to, you still need to subscribe to it. You're just watching/recording it using your own WMC-based DVR approach and whole-home LAN solution for delivery to the HDTV's around your house. But the programming content still comes from the cable company and must still be paid for.

You simply avoid having to rent any STB/DVR hardware from them, and you also avoid the "DVR service charge" (which is what TWC calls it, for the privilege of being able to also rent and use their DVR hardware) if you had a DVR which you will no longer have.

You only have to pay for an M-card (or perhaps several, if you have more than one TV tuner card/box which needs its own M-card). For TWC that is $2/month.

Note that this solution does NOT support pay-per-view, which is only available with 2-way hardware devices from the cable company like STB or DVR. So if pay-per-view is critical to you, then you've got to have a hardware box from them... at least to satisfy this one particular need.

As I stated above, the answer is "yes".

But the monthly hardware rental savings (which probably will pay for your new hardware/cabling costs to build the WMC infrastructure required within 6-8 months, after which the monthly savings are pure savings) are only part of the motivation for you to undertake such a project.

The real reason you're doing this is because (a) you want 4-12 cable tuners, along with optional up to OTA/ATSC tuners, depending on your desires and needs, and (b) you want essentially unlimited hard drive capacity for recording and playback, and (c) you want a much more capable and elegant user-interface for your DVR, onscreen Guide, mechanism for setting up one-off and series recordings, etc.

Furthermore, if you go with Ceton you also have access to "My Media Center" app for your mobile devices, which give you remote access to your WMC setup, so that you can access and manage and program and control your WMC HTPC from outside WMC itself.

Thanks for the info, this helps a lot. So if I did want PPV and I got a basic box from Comcast, could it be tied to the pc for viewing in any room? Also, if I'm buying programing, why would I also need an OTA/ATSC tuner?

Actually I think you can still get by without a box if you order PPV by phone. I don't understand why anyone would want to rent a movie for $8, but you'll have the option. I've never tried it and probably never will.

My cable company carries just about everything I can get OTA, so I have no need for an OTA tuner either. I think that's mainly for cord cutters.

No. PPV can only be viewed on the HDTV connected directly to the box.

Actually, if you had a real DVR you could not even record that PPV program to hard drive for later watching. PPV is marked (in 5C lingo) as "copy NEVER". Cannot be recorded to hard drive even once, not even by the DVR being used to receive it. I think analog outputs to TV are the only form of audio/video output from PPV, other than HDMI to the HDTV/AVR and optical to the AVR.

But that's ok, since your PPV purchase lets you watch it any time you want for up to 24-hours? Yes? Don't know... I've never used PPV myself. But if you can watch it "on demand" whenever you want in that purchase license period, why would you need to record it to hard drive? It's "copy NEVER", so you cannot preserve it for indefinite later viewing.

There is no way to connect your external basic STB box to the PC for digital distribution in any room, since the STB/DVR will not even deliver digital output over firewire (the only possible digital connection option which might have given you what you're looking for) for PPV (which is marked "copy NEVER").

Sorry... PPV requires an external box and standard digital delivery method for audio/video from that box direct to your HDTV/AVR system. That's the idea behind all this digitally perfect content... DRM protects it from piracy and unauthorized distribution or duplication. You can buy it, you can watch it, but you cannot copy it... and sending it to a PC or anywhere else in unencrypted unprotected digital form is simply not allowed.

You wouldn't, if you're satisfied with the image quality implicit in how your cable system delivers local OTA networks.

Sure, you can get NBC-DT from your cable system (here on channel 404 in TWC/LA). But TWC/LA re-compresses the original OTA/ATSC program they received from NBC Burbank or NY or NJ (or wherever the digital delivery comes from for TWC), so the bitrate in 404 is lower than OTA/ATSC, and is actually re-compressed from the original. This degrades the image quality for anyone who cares (and apparently TWC doesn't think anybody cares).

So for me, who before going with Ceton and M-Card-enabled cable programming already had an OTA/ATSC tuner in my PC (using BeyondTV as the DVR/viewing software) for support of local OTA/ATSC channels received from my roof antenna, I simply continued to use that same OTA/ATSC dual-tuner card but controlled by WMC... since I prefer the image quality of local OTA/ATSC channels received via genuine roof antenna to the degraded picture received via TWC/LA.

But, if you don't have a roof antenna, or you can't tell the difference, or don't care about the minor difference, then you certainly don't need a separate OTA/ATSC tuner card. I just already had it along with the roof antenna, and I just added the Ceton card and switched from BeyondTV to WMC, so I now use both. That means I have 6 tuners total (two for OTA/ATSC and 4 for cable-provided content of any kind), which is just additional flexibility with improved picture for OTA/ATSC channels.

I don't know how this would be done, as I don't know what channel PPV would be delivered on and thus what channel you'd tune WMC to.

But if you can order PPV by phone and have it delivered to your S-card-enabled HDTV, that means there must be some way of tuning to it. And that means the M-card-enabled Ceton should also be able to tune to the right channel for PPV ordered by phone. I just don't know what that channel is (but if someone does, please let me know).

I thought PPV via DVR/STB required going to "channel 1", which changed the whole setup of these external boxes and didn't really use a standard tuner any longer... much like SDV works now with a tuning adapter. But I don't really know.

I've always believed you couldn't get PPV with the Ceton card, but perhaps you're right and it's simply that you can't ORDER PPV that way. But you can receive it once ordered, if the proper channel was known.

On the other hand, I am again skeptical because of the "copy NEVER" nature of PPV content. But maybe WMC understands that and WILL allow viewing but not recording (including not PAUSE/REWIND, etc, since that would involve DVR-like functionality of buffering to hard drive which conceptually is "recording").

Anyway, since I never use PPV anyway (never have, never will) none of this really bothers me.

I vote with you.

As I explained in my other response, if your cable company re-compresses local OTA content for delivery (as a way of reducing bandwidth requirements so as to provide 100+ HD channels over existing infrastructure), and if the recompressed picture is visibly inferior to the original OTA image, and if that image degradation bothers you (as it does me), then given a choice I will always watch/record the OTA/ATSC broadcast rather than using the "equivalent" (but genuinely visually degraded) channel provided through the cable system.

That's just me. And I already had my OTA/ATSC tuner from years earlier, using BeyondTV for my HTPC for a long time before upgrading to WMC and adding the Ceton tuner card as well.

Also note that many cable providers offer lots of "free" PPV stuff like recent TV episodes and free older yet good movies .... that's my only use of PPV as I agree with an earlier poster that I would not pay even $5 to rent a recent movie when I can rent higher resolution Blu-ray discs of the same new release just down the block or via mail for a fraction of that cost.