Official SA 8000HD DVR Users Thread

[tbarney]

Originally posted by tbarney
I am having a problem with audio.  
I'm using the digital coaxial out and it's very choppy.  I have not tried the optical out yet.  The analog audio out is fine when I listen through my tv speakers, and terrible through the stereo  Anyone else try the digital audio using the coaxial cable yet?  Did I get a bad box?
[/B]

I just tried the optical audio and it's choppy too.  My stereo is set to automatically pick the format that is fed to it, it keeps hopping between DD5.1 and Stereo PCM, it sits for a while on DD5.1, the sound cuts in and out, then it jumps to Stereo PCM, sits for a while, then jumps back....  I really don't want to tear this thing out of my home theater setup.....

[tbarney]

Originally posted by summerfun
I also found out it is an 80GB drive. 40 hours of SD or 20 hours of HD recording time.

My HD DVR has a 160GB drive in it.  This should be good for about 40 hours of HD recording!

[summerfun]

Originally posted by tbarney
My HD DVR has a 160GB drive in it.  This should be good for about 40 hours of HD recording!

How do you know? I am only going by what the rep on the phone told me. Maybe I have more as well.

I am running the coaxial digital audio cable with no issues.

[tbarney]

If you go to the diagnostic menu it shows 152GB of available space.  My guess is that it is a 160GB drive, and all the software takes up a gig or two, leaving a little over 150 available.   If this screen is telling me accurate info then this is GREAT news!  It was well worth the wait if they gave us the better model of the DVR since some other areas got the lower model with less recording time.

I bet your next question is "How do you get to the diagnostic menu?"  Well, I don't want to share that right now since you may be able to do some damage in there.



Also, I reported the problem with DD5.1 audio earlier.  All is well. I called TWC and they reset the box from their end, now it sounds normal.

[The Law]

Well, I am *very* pleased.  I did have a minor issue in that my HDPackage was no longer avail, however, a call to Cust Services got things taken care of.  I was on hold for about 10mins and when the rep appeared he was knowledgable, polite and was able to take care of things - WELL DONE TWC!!!

The menu is faster for me than that of my Pioneer - the tech advised it may speed up/slow down depending on if I'm recording HD vs SD and watching SD vs HD, etc.  I'm quite please with that

I was please to know that if you set a show to record and turn off the unit - it will still record.

PIP worked fine - though not as good as the mits. built in, but - hey, it's good enough.

PQ Was great - no issues except pixelation for a few moments on one channel while recording another - only noticed it the one time.

Audio - no issues whatsover - i'm using the digital out and I'm very happy that I don't have to change my receiver like I did on the old SA box last year.  Have yet to try the optical out -I'll play with that tomorrow and to a side by side - coax vs. optical.

I did not have to add all the resolution formats like I did on the Pioneer - for that, I had to plug in 480i, 1080i, 480p and, I thinkg 720p in order for all channels to not blue screen.  This one is set only to 1080i and all channels look good.

I have my aspect ratio set to 16:9 Widescreen, 4:3 Stretch.

I tested recorded Star Trek Resurrection on TNT -HD (though I don't think it was actually HD), Fox Sports Net 114 (digital SD) and MLS Soccer - inHD.  Rewinding, pausing, ffwd, etc worked like a champ and functioned as I expected and better than the TWC Video On Demand ffw/rew/pause, etc.   ffwd/rew has 3 or 4 speeds - just keep clicking through the cycle.  Performance and response was quite good - I did not find myself jumping the gun due to lag.

Scheduling is a snap -just pick yer proggie and hit the button - you are prompted to record the series - but I haven't played with that yet.  I'm just stoked to record Holland vs. the Czech's tonight in HD.

Overall, I'm *very* please and am glad TWC waited to iron out the bugs.

ps:....I don't know which was cooler - the red Buell or the security guard's hair! - I'm glad you were able to get that thing home

[summerfun]

I just got into the service menu, even though "tbarney" would not tell me how,  and I too have 160GB hard drive.

I'm not sure how many hours that translates into. I have been told that it takes 5-9 GB per hour for HD. That would give us approx 20 hours recording time in HD with a 160GB drive. That is what the rep told me on the phone. She was just wrong about the drive size.

[louisd13]

Would anyone who already has one of these beautys be able to tell me if the composite video/audio or coax video output is active yet.  I will be running a non-HD TV off of this box as well as my HDTV (which I am doing with my Pioneer box right now) and I definately need the non-hd outputs to be active.  (The wife would be mad if we lost the DVR function upstairs on the non-HDTV)  I suppose I could rent a second SD DVR, but I have 2 boxes now and want to consolidate!  Thanks guys.

[borghe]

160GB is NOT 40 hours.. HD programming takes up an average of 8GB per hour. That gives your DVRs an average of 20 hours of HD recording space.

I haven't had a chance to hack my HD Tivo yet, but when I do I will post some random samplings of HD show sizes and runtimes. We know WDJT runs less than 19Mbps. I am assuming WISN and WTMJ run at the full 19Mbps.. It will be interesting to see what WITI will run at, what WMVT runs at, especially during SDTV widescreen shows.

Anyway, if you count on 20 hours of recording from your DVRs you should be safe. And ten hours of SD equals about 1 hour of HD. I'll give you a better idea of actual sizes hopefully by sometime this weekend (and assuming TWC doesn't trim down bitrates any further from OTA broadcasts).

For the record my Tivo with its stock 250GB drive only reports 30 hours of recording and my upgraded unit with two 250GB drives only reports 63 hours  of HD (427 hours SD).

[jamisonweber]

Originally posted by louisd13
Would anyone who already has one of these beautys be able to tell me if the composite video/audio or coax video output is active yet.  

The answer to that is no :bang: , only the component outputs are enabled.

I had to call TWC customer service this morning (the box told me to) and asked about this. The guy I talked to said the he do not know if or when they were planning on activating the additional ports. Boy that was a surprise coming from a TWC customer rep (can you feel the sarcasm here).

[Joel S]

My initial thoughts on the HD DVR after picking it up last night...

The PQ is about the same for the HD as the Pioneer but actually a little bit better for SD.  I was dissapointed that the S-Video port didn't work for watching SD. I usually like to watch SD on a different input and then use my Mits stretch modes as oppossed to the one stretch mode the box has for the Component input.  However, the SD picture seemed good enough that I'll get used to it.

Flipping channels seemed much quicker that the SD DVR, which is very nice.

I was suprised to see no PQ loss when watching recorded HD.  I am always able to tell when watching a recorded show on the SD DVR.  The picture usually seems more compressed or something, but not the case with the HD one.

The remote will not work with my Mitsubishi TV for some reason.  Does anybody else have a Mitsubishi and were able to program the cable remote to power on/off the TV or change volume???

I also don't like the PIP being framed 4X3 like the guide.  It puts the small picture almost in the middle of the screen or at least not  very far in the corner.  Any fix to this??  It's no different I guess that the score box on MNF.  However, I can now watch 3 shows (games) at one time when using my TV's PIP!!

I also lost my HD tier channels but had every other station under the sun.  This happens everytime I exchange a box.  A quick phone call clears it up.

[Steve Mackay]

I've got a Mits 55" (55809 or something)TV. Works great. Used the 2nd code on the list IIRC.

[Joel S]

Originally posted by Steve Mackay
I've got a Mits 55" (55809 or something)TV. Works great. Used the 2nd code on the list IIRC.

I'll try that.  Thanks!  It's probably just user error on my part.

Note:  The jsonline article today says the thing has 20 hours of HD recording capability.  He also states that the waiting list was 1,600.

[louisd13]

Ok Since the SD outputs don't seem to be activated on this box yet, does anybody know how I might get a second signal to a non-HDTV from this box?  Why wouldn't these outputs be activated.  Seems like a dumb thing not to have activated, but I suppose they want you to get a second box instead of using just the one box for 2 tv's

[borghe]

basically you are SOL. I know I too am disappointed about the lack of SD output. I recommended a couple of people to pick one up for their analog TVs (keep your shirts on, TWC says there are more than enough to go around). I can only assume that recommendations such as mine are EXACTLY why TWC Milwaukee has chosen to disable the SD outputs. Make sure the HD viewers get the boxes first, then work on swapping them out with SD units.

As for any remote programming problems... if you "think" it doesn't work, keep trying.. CE manufacturers have for the most part continued to use the same IR frequencies for over a decade now. Unless your TV is over 15 years old (impossible for an HDTV) the remote is pretty much guaranteed to work with your set.

As an aside, that new $6.95 DVR charge is absolutely ridiculous. $6.95 for nothing. I guess now we know how they plan to make their reported $1200 cost per box back... :confused:

[gyoung]

I noticed that the 8000HD Explorer gives you digital sound on all the stations even the analog.  This makes the audio switching much easier.

I have a 4:3 Sony XBR450 that I set the picture type as 4:3 and tell it to zoom 16:9 programming.  I only have to change it when I want to watch true high definition programming.  Is there any way around this?

I am assuming I just have to manually change it when I want to watch HD programming.  Not much of a problem since I now don't have to switch between video inputs any longer.

Thanks,