[dwater]

Some background :


I have ATT Digital Cable into the house, but have been unhappy with the sound quality.

I've had the ATT engrs round a number of times but they couldn't fix it - and even suggested that I was being 'fussy' and that the quality was 'to be expected'/normal. The problem is that high frequency sounds are very often distorted (especially 's' at the ends of words). If I listen to the same channels through my VCR, it sounds great. Also, it is only the analog channels that have this problem; not the digital ones (obviously I can't compare them anyway, since my VCR doesn't decode the digital channels). This makes me blame a poor quality tuner in the cable box (it's the General Electric one people mention).


I have also been idly keeping an eye on the DVR options and have noticed the ReplayTV 4000 box. It looks like it has the features I want and so I might take the plunge.


Some features and comments made by others confuse me.


I was hoping that I could throw away the crappy GE digital cable box that ATT supply, and that the ReplayTV 4000 box would have the equivalent tuner functionality (OK, I might have kept the box in order to watch a different channel to what the Replay 4000 is recording...). Some comments have suggested that it doesn't work this way - mentions of IR blasters and things. Will it do what I want?


Also, I have a couple of Maxtor 80GB IDE drives. I have seen mention of people upgrading their TiVos and Replays' with these drives and that is something that I would like to do. Does anyone know if there is any difference between the different ReplayTV models appart from disk capacity?

Or can I simply buy the cheapest one and add a couple of 80 GB drives?


Thanks for any insight...


Max.

 

[PUZZLER1]

Hi Max. The replay does have its own tuner. It can tune in the analog cable channels only unless you connect the cable box to it. It also cannot descramble any premium channels. Since your sound quality problem is only with the analog channels, you could set up your replay to receive the analog channels thru the replay's tuner and the digital channels thru one of the other 2 inputs from your cable box. As far as the replay boxes themselves, any of the boxes except the 4000 models can be upgraded at this point. For the most part, there is almost no difference between models other than the drive size. So buy the lowest price one you can find and it will be just as upgradeable as the largest available.


Terry

 

[dwater]

> Hi Max. The replay does have its own tuner. It can tune in the analog

> cable channels only unless you connect the cable box to it.


Only analog? That's disappointing. So I have to keep the sicky General Instrument box.


What an awkward setup.


> It also

> cannot descramble any premium channels.


I've not used any premium channels yet, so I don't think thats a problem.


> Since your sound quality

> problem is only with the analog channels, you could set up your replay

> to receive the analog channels thru the replay's tuner and the digital

> channels thru one of the other 2 inputs from your cable box.


OK. And there's this Infrared control thing so that the ReplayTV can control the GI box? How does that work?


> As far as

> the replay boxes themselves, any of the boxes except the 4000 models

> can be upgraded at this point.


But it's the 4000 I was going to buy. Do you know that the 4000 can't be upgraded, or is it just that noone has one yet and so doesn't know for sure?


> For the most part,


Hmm. "For the most part". I wonder what the differences actually are.


> there is almost no

> difference between models other than the drive size. So buy the lowest

> price one you can find and it will be just as upgradeable as the

> largest available.


OK. Thanks.


Max.


>

> Terry

 

[riker]

Quote:

Originally posted by dwater Only analog? That's disappointing. So I have to keep the sicky General Instrument box. What an awkward setup.

There is no PVR or VCR on the market that can tune digital cable. It's an unfortunate fact of life.


Quote:

OK. And there's this Infrared control thing so that the ReplayTV can control the GI box? How does that work?

Most VCR from the past 10 years come with these things. They are just tiny little IR transmitters that act like remote controls to send the signal to your cable box to change channels. But yours probably has a serial cable input that does the same thing but more reliably, so you would use the Replay's serial cable instead of the IR blaster.


Quote:

But it's the 4000 I was going to buy. Do you know that the 4000 can't be upgraded, or is it just that noone has one yet and so doesn't know for sure?

Yeah, no one has one in hand so the hackers haven't had a chance to play with one yet. No one has any idea if they took special steps, knowing how the older ones were hacked, to stop it from happening with these. Or, if they did, if any of the hackers can outrsmart them
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