Official AVS Motorola DCX series HD DVR Topic! - Page 156

I’m also on Shaw cable. I’m pretty sure that the technology Shaw and Comcast both use is almost identical.

I have been using a Motorola DCX3400-M for almost 2 years. I purchased this 500 GB HDD box brand new directly from Shaw. In the two years I owned the box I had almost zero problems with the Motorola DCX3400-M.

I do not have an external HDD (PVR expander) hooked to my DCX3400-M but I have heard numerous complaints from other Shaw subscribers that have a PVR expander hooked up. My guess is that this is more of a software problem and has less to do with hardware.

As to the memory and HDD size , I just went into the hidden diagnosis screen and my DCX3400-M also has:

System RAM: 512 MB
Flash: 64 MB
HDD: 500 MB

I think it depends on how your cable co orders the boxes with memory and HDD size. Same with the ports being enabled or disabled its up to your cable co to decide witch ports it activates.

Hardware wise I’d say the DCX3510-M is a slightly better box due to having more advanced hardware. Shaw subscriber lorac wrote”

“Obviously things do differ somewhat from provider to provider, but on Shaw cable in Canada the DCX3510 is a POS. It is just so bug riddled that the opinion of most people is that the DCX3400 is still the better unit”

I have heard the exact same reports BUT I think the DCX3510-M complaints are due to Shaw putting out a completely new bug ridden software package including a new guide and I believe the bugs/complaints are due to the new software, not the DCX3510-M hardware.

For future-proofing reasons I would stay away from older boxes like the DCH6416 because they do not tune in mpeg-4 channels and most cable cos are adding more and more channels that use MPEG-4 AVC (H.264). There are other outdated things with the older boxes. Oh and the DCX3400-M will indeed pass through native 1080p content, it just won’t scale 720p or 1080i content to 1080p.

As to having a fan, I always prefer having a fan in any piece of gear with a HDD. As to the power supply, since I own my box, I would prefer an external PS like with the 3510 because it would be easier to DIY fix.

In conclusion I’m very happy with my DCX3400-M but with the current software I’d be weary of adding an external HDD PVR expander. I’m pretty sure that eventually the cable co will get rid of the bugs that plague the new software running the DCX3510-M and at that time they will switch over the DCX3400-M customers to the new software. At that time I’m willing to bet that the DCX3510-M will run smoother than the DCX3400-M. By the way the “M” stands for “MOCA” but Shaw has not activated MOCA-Mode with these boxes – you need the gateway with portals if you want multi-room DVR with my cable co.

I don't know if that last post was intended for me, but I definitely appreciate the info. I'm on Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles, so I'm sure with the software being different and with certain hardware features being enabled/disabled, my experience with both the 3400-M and the 3510-M will be different than those who use Shaw or Comcast.

That being said, I'm still at a loss as to which box to keep! I tend to be more than a tad indecisive anyway, but when there are pros and cons to both options, as is the case with these two boxes, it makes the decision that much harder for me. I guess that's why I was hoping for some piece of information that would make the decision a no brainer...

One thing that my 3510-M has going for it - and I doubt anyone else would care, but let me know if you do - is that I picked up a brand new, still-in-the-shrink-wrap unit, complete with instructions, etc. The 3400-M was handed to me by the field tech who came by my apartment to check my cable connection. It's in pretty good shape, but it's got a couple of dents on the top and who knows how much it's been dropped or kicked around. The same guy gave me a 3200 (non DVR) for my bedroom and when I went to hook it up, I heard something rattling around inside the box and it turned out to be the heat sink which had become detached. So, perhaps getting a brand new 3510-M is a good thing??

So far, here's how I'm looking at it:

3400-M
Pros:
has internal power supply and internal fan and no top vents, so I can place other equipment (blu-ray, Apple TV, etc.) on top
may be more reliable than the 3510-M
has slightly dimmer display than the 3510-M, which is super bright

Cons:
fan could, over time, add noise
has less system RAM (512 MB vs. 640) - Does this really matter? If so, how?
used - could have been kicked around
doesn't natively support 1080p60 (TWC doesn't transmit 1080p, so I don't know if this matters... yet. Any thoughts??)

3510-M
Pros:
smaller, lighter, more power-effecient, more eco-friendly
natively supports 1080p60 (don't know if this matters now or if it ever will)
brand new unit - perhaps more reliable?
newer components may make it more future proof??

Cons:
newer/lighter doesn't always mean better or more reliable
has really bright clock/power display
other than power button, no front panel controls
external power supply and no fan so it seems to run warmer to the touch than the 3400-M

Speaking of the bright display on both boxes, does anyone know if there's a hidden way to dim the lights? I checked with both Time Warner and Motorola and both indicated that there was not. However, I've seen references made to a menu option on certain hidden menus that will allow the display brightness to be adjusted, but on my hidden menu (power off, then press "select") there is not.

Any other input/feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

With my DCX3400-M

1) Turn off box
2) Within’ 2-seconds push the ‘MENU’ button

This will bring up a hidden menu with many features and near the bottom one feature is called:
Front Panel Brightness and has the following options:
Off / Low / Normal /High
After you select the feature turn off box then turn box back on.

If I were in your shoes I’d research to see if there are any Los Angeles Time Warner customer complaints more geared towards the 3400 or the 3510. If the complaints were even, I’d go with the brand new in box 3510. But that’s just me. If you do go with the 3400, I wouldn't stack any other gear on top of it.

Note that the 3400 also supports native 1080p but not at 60p like the 3510. The 3400 only does 30p or 24p at 1080p. Most movies are at 24p. Also the 3400 will only pass-through 1080p, it won't scale 1080i or 720p content to 1080p but its better to let the TV handle scaling and just let the cable box pass through native resolutions.
Edited by Super Eye - 6/1/13 at 5:01pm

Thanks for the help with the front panel lights. Unfortunately, on both my 3400-M and my 3510-M, when I bring up the menu you mentioned, there is no feature called "Front Panel Brightness." The last one on mine is "sleep timer." Are you with Time Warner Cable? I am, and I'm in L.A.. I'm not sure how to determine what version of the software is installed on my boxes - do you? If so, could you tell me how and which version you're running?

Thanks :-)

As I said previously, I’m with Shaw.

SW 78.55 – A28p0-5.1008.r-2
Firmware 24.33

My menu looks exactly like this







EDIT
Your cable co must be running a different FW or SW version.
What version are you running?
The info is under
SET-UP / CABLE BOX / CONFIGURATION
Mine is
SW SW 78.55 – A28p0-5.1008.r-2
Firmware 24.33

My menu does not have a sleep timer option - mine is exactly as shown in my above images.


Here is the wiki software/firmware page
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software
Edited by Super Eye - 6/1/13 at 9:28pm

Comcast recently pushed out some software and firmware updates to customers. On my DCX-3400-M, this fixed the longtime handshake issue preventing the 'Native' resolution setting from persisting. Also, I am now getting glitch free FireWire transfers.

It remains to be seen if the 'black screen' recording issue has been fixed. I have not seen it since the update, but i didn't see that very often in the past either.

Our 3501, which we got about 6 months ago, stopped working. (This is MIami.) Comcast sent a tech out, couldn't get it working, and replaced it with the 3400. (Not 3400M which we have in Oakland.)
Seems to have new software in that the menu now allows you to turn on closed captioning - which we couldn't do before and can't in Oakland.
So far, no black screen recordings. We are on 3rd 3400m box (which is used as a stand alone box) in Oakland and still have black screen issues. I'll need to check s/w ver. numbers on each location in the next week.

I would guess you will be able to turn CC on and off from the menu in Oakland now. Sometime during the week of May 27 new software was downloaded here in Albany.

Thanks. Last was in Okld. on 6/1 didn't know it might have been updated. Maybe that will cure the black screen recordings for us as well.

Now that Comcast has finally decided to give us a usable way to CC - I'd like a "Nerd" to come up with a way to program a button on the remote to quickly access CC w.o. several button presses - or, I guess we could get a simple programmable remote just to do one sequence of turning CC "on" and one "off". Should would be nice to just use the one remote, tho.
The FCC mandated stand alone TV's to have CC 10 or 15 years ago. I'm surprised Comcast (et al) got away without providing this. {There isn't one person in a thousand that could figure out how to turn it on by going into the "hidden" menus.}
Edited by snidely - 6/8/13 at 8:11pm

Snidely: Wikibooks has a page on programming the remote for a Motorola DVR.  I've never tried using macros, only reprogramming individual buttons, but it should be possible to make a macro for CC on and one for CC off; a single macro to toggle the setting, though, would be difficult, because when you get down into the setup menu, you need to send the signal for the cursor to go in a specific direction for ON and the other for OFF.

Also, every time the main options menu or the Setup menu is reorganized, you'll have to change the macro.  It might be more trouble than it's worth.

Dattier - Good points. However, I think the past set up menu was in effect forever. This function should be included if there is ever an upgrade to the remotes that come with these boxes. The most used button on my remote is the 30 sec. skip.

I've programmed a macro on my Harmony One remote to turn CC on and off, but it does require a macro for "on' and another separate macro for "off". With 7 button presses to complete each macro, it doesn't always work reliably though.

It would be great to find that there is a discrete remote command that could toggle CC on and off that could be added to the Harmony database, or programmed into the Comcast remote.

Do I assume the 1056B03 RC, that came with this DVR for TWC, can't do programming for macros? I also find this DVR's CCs ugly and annoying (showing up even in DVR menu screens). Argh.

The thirty-second skip is a single code; that's different from a macro.  I've programmed the skip also but never tried any macros yet.

There is no mention of macros in the MANUAL anymore. But it still does a power macro, so it should logically do other macros as well. Could you please try to program one anyway and let us know?

Is there a similar forum to this on AVS that discusses the new X-1 boxes that Comcast (and others?) is now offering in some areas?

Yes, Snidely, but you might have to search for "Xfinity" and "X1" rather than "Comcast" and "X1".

This thread has some discussion of Comcast X1.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/542401/comcast-technology-topic