[pdampier]

For instance my new cable provider is a small company (Millennium Cable, http://www.mdm.net)


Now I presume Replay IR Blaster controls the likes of AT&T cable boxes well but what about these other cable companies?


Thanks!

 

[DrJoe]

Small companies DON'T make their own cable boxes --


For that matter BIG cable companies don't make their own boxes!


If you do a search on the web you'll find that there is a small number of big companies that manufacture cable boxes (Jerrold, Scientific Atlanta, General Instruments, Tocom, Pioneer, and Zenith); as far as I know, General Instruments, Scientific Atlanta, and Pioneer are the only ones making digital boxes.


Replay supports all the boxes -- if there is a new box or one they missed that they DON'T support, let Tech Support know about it -- and they will fix it so that they DO support it.


There are tips and tricks to setting the boxes up to "channel surf" well; read the FAQ at the top of the page!



Ciao


Joe

 

[Serra]

With that being said, don't assume that Replay will setup your cable box quickly, if it is not already supported. When I reported that my cable box would not work with the Replay Remote or IR Blaster, they suggested I wait a month and call them back. This was the time that would be required to get the 3.0 upgrade. Of course, I waited and got 3.0, which made no difference.


They also told me that they would contact my cable company to get the IR codes, which they said would take a week. I hung up and called them myself and had the codes in ten minutes. The code was not supported by replay. That was when they told me to wait for 3.0.


I got sick of it and went to DirecTV instead of cable. That solved the problem, but without Replay's help. I am very happy with the serial connection to my DirecTV box. Works perfect.


Overall, I'd say that I was less than impressed with that part of Replay's tech support. They did answer the phone quickly and were able to figure out the problem very quickly. They were just reluctant to jump into solving the problem quickly.

 

[pdampier]

Would you recommend going with DirecTV because of the serial link or will DishNetwork work as well. I know I'd have to use the IR Blaster and people seem to suggest it has the odd problem?


Personally I prefer the DishNetwork channel lineup and pricing options....

 

[DrJoe]

Quote:

Originally posted by pdampier: Would you recommend going with DirecTV because of the serial link or will DishNetwork work as well. I know I'd have to use the IR Blaster and people seem to suggest it has the odd problem? Personally I prefer the DishNetwork channel lineup and pricing options....

Remember -- you can only get locals with sat broadcasts in a few markets (although more are being added every week), and if you can't get locals, and live too close to a major market, you can't get long-distance locals either. So don't switch to satellite just for serial control. Most cable boxes work fine with the Replay; the General Instruments boxes are a lone exception.


One nice thing about cable -- they often have a money-back guarantee -- you can try it out for 30 days and see if it works well with the Replay, then cancel the service and get your money back if it doesn't -- check with them about a guarantee, and see what box they use.


I use a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 with Time Warner digital service -- and have no problems with it... Check the FAQ for instructions on setting up Replay to run with a digital box.


Ciao


Joe

 

[Serra]

For me serial was the deciding factor and I'm very happy with the whole setup. The Replay has never given me any problems with the serial link. I am sure the IR blaster could do the same, but I was worried that something would come along and knock it off the front of the box. Plus those extra wires in front of the cable box/receiver didn't look at that professional. In addition, the IR blaster's wires are fairly thin and I wondered if they were likely to break if they were pulled too tight or got crushed somehow.


The whole thing just seemed to flimsy to me. Serial seems more of a permanent solution without future hassles.