Official SA 8300HD DVR Users Thread

[svtdougie]

Thanks for all the input, this forum is much more responsive than the AVS forum!

I'll probably pick one up to try because that's what we do, right!  

Oh, sorry for the confusion, my JVC is 720P not 1080P, I was saying the 1080P's came out 4 months after I got mine.  I'm not complaining the picture is absolutely stunning, I haven't had one problem or anything else that some people on the AVS forum complain about.

[svtdougie]

Just a quick note on mysetup for those interested:

Theatre 1:

JVC 61" 720P LCOS
Harman/Kardon AVR 630
Harman/Kardon DVD 33
Infinity Kappa 400 x 4
Infinity kappa Center Channel
Infinity CSW10 Subwoofer
Panamax surger protector/regulator
Component video and Fiber optic for sound
Liberty Cables for all

Theatre 2:

Panasonic 40" LCD RPTV 720P
Harman/Kardon AVR520
Harman/Kardon DVD50
Infinity Overture 1's x 5
Velodyne 12" Subwoofer
Component video and Fiber optic for sound
Liberty Cables for all

Had 2 HD DVR's but only going to run 1 for the time being while theatre 2 (which was the original theatre) is on deck.

[Mark Strube]

TPK - If the actual resolution on your hdtv is anything above 1280x720, I'd reccommend having the box output only 1080i. (Some have strange resolutions, like my older Sony.) I've never seen good results letting my HD box scale 1080i down to 720p, but that may be because of the native formats of my sets, since the box does do a great job of scaling anything up to 1080i.

Also, about that stretching problem... in your DVR settings, is it set up as a 16:9 television, and to sidebar (or stretch) only 4:3 content? This could be your issue, otherwise you just got a strange box.

[TPK]

TPK - If the actual resolution on your hdtv is anything above 1280x720, I'd reccommend having the box output only 1080i. (Some have strange resolutions, like my older Sony.) I've never seen good results letting my HD box scale 1080i down to 720p, but that may be because of the native formats of my sets, since the box does do a great job of scaling anything up to 1080i.

Also, about that stretching problem... in your DVR settings, is it set up as a 16:9 television, and to sidebar (or stretch) only 4:3 content? This could be your issue, otherwise you just got a strange box.

Hello there, thanx for the reply

The television is a DLP projection, so it will have a fixed resoultion microdisplay which I highly doubt is anything but exactly 1280 x 720...   Was your older sony a projection CRT or another type of microdisplay??   I would imagine that with a CRT type of TV your probably better off scaling up to 1080i since these wont have a fixed resolution and interlace the output anyhow, while with digital microdisplays your better off with a progressive signal like 720p...  I suppose thats true until you get to a 1080p microdisplay, then I'm not sure if your better off forcing the output to progressive at 720p, or forcing the output to a higher resolution like 1080i....   I guess with a 720p microdisplay, the choice becomes easier

Well, as far as my settings go, here is where things get a little strange...

I do have it set up for 16:9 television....   However the settings for what to do with a 4:3 picture are different depending on what channel I am on at the time I go to the menu...

If I am on a SD channel, and go to that setting (hit Settings -> A (more settings) -> down -> down) I see that the aspect ratio is set to Widescreen and Stretch...

If I am on a HD channel, and go to that setting, I see that the aspect ratio is set to Widescreen, and Sidebar...

If I change the setting from Sidebar to Stretch when I am on a HD channel, then it stretches out the screen (as I described above) cutting off the sides of the HD picture...     At that point, if I change to a SD channel and back to the HD channel, then the HD picture goes back to normal (standard 16:9 picture fullscreen), and if I go back to that setting, I can see that it has reverted back to sidebar 4:3 picture...

Yep, this behavior is quite strange...  Its not a really big deal though, its just somewhat annoying is all...  The only time that it really affects me is if I come home, turn on the TV and the cable box and see that its been tuned to a channel that I would like to rewind and watch, but now of course the widescreen is stretched and the sides are cut off...    So I can rewind and watch the show like that which is sorta yucky...  To remedy the problem I can switch to a SD channel and back, but of course by doing that I whipe out the recorded buffer and now I can no longer rewind the show....

Oh well, no big deal really, just really strange and kinda annoying....   Perhaps if I decide one day not to be lazy, and I know I will be out by Mayfair anyhow, I will go and trade in this box for a new one...  But its not worth making a special trip all the way out to mayfair for this, especially in the thick of the x-mas season, when I try to keep at least a 5 mile buffer between myself and any shopping mall, ESPECIALLY mayfair!!!

[Mark Strube]

The older Sony I was referring to is the 42" listed in my signature. The resolution on that one is 1386x788. This is slightly higher resolution than 720p, and the picture looked noticeably softer if I let the box send it 720p... so I just had it upscale everything to 1080i and it looked great. I'd be losing detail if I had let it downscale 1080i stuff to 720p.

My new Sony (the 50") is full 1080p, meaning 1920x1080... and it does its own progressive scan of all 1080i or 480i video... so it would make no sense to have 1080i stuff downscaled to 720p (1280x720) just because it's a progressive display.

I think you should experiment with a movie or show you're familiar with on a 1080i channel (HBO HD, Showtime HD, Discovery HD, HDNet, INHD, NBC, CBS) and see which looks sharper or more pleasing to your eye (720p or 1080i output) and then do the same for a 720p signal (ESPN-HD, ABC, FOX).

[Paul S.]

Dude, use HDMI over componant cables. Componant cables are still an analog connection. HDMI cables are a digital connection. Which makes more sense to use with digital cable?

As for digital cables like DVI, HDMI, etc, look at Ebay. Don't spend more than 16 bucks for an 8ft cable. Stay away from Monster at all costs.

[Mark Strube]

We just got another 8300HD DVR... my mom could no longer resist.

On the new one, I noticed it now has IEEE 1394 (firewire) ports, and also has the additional setting for digital audio (between dolby digital or stereo).

I tested the 1394 by connecting it to my computer with the proper drivers and using CapDVHS and it refused to work properly (even though my PC did recognize it properly as the SA8300HD, installing the correct drivers). I was using the method found here - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695
If anyone has any better tips, let me know!

[Andrew Grall]

We just got another 8300HD DVR... my mom could no longer resist.

On the new one, I noticed it now has IEEE 1394 (firewire) ports, and also has the additional setting for digital audio (between dolby digital or stereo).

I tested the 1394 by connecting it to my computer with the proper drivers and using CapDVHS and it refused to work properly (even though my PC did recognize it properly as the SA8300HD, installing the correct drivers). I was using the method found here - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=403695
If anyone has any better tips, let me know!

Very interesting...

We recently got a new camcorder and I have dumped video from that to our computer using firewire - no problems.  This will be very interesting if you get it to work!

On the other hand, it may not be wrothwhile for us to pick up another 8300.  We are leaving the state in late June - moving to Tucson!  

[mhz40]

The firewire port is not yet active on the 8300...

[Mark Strube]

Well, it should be. Just like Time Warner should allow personal archiving of premium HD stations, because we're paying plenty. These copy protection freaks need to open their eyes.

[RS922]

The port is active on the 8300 HD, saw it working a few days back on a Sony HD set.  The connection must be hooked up to a device that supports HDCP before you will see any contect flow between devices.

[Mark Strube]

I was under the impression that channels like HDNet are supposed to be set to "copy free." Not too free if you still need an HDCP device to archive it.

[Mark Strube]

Well, my mom didn't like the whole DVR setup, so I took her "newer" box for myself and exchanged my DVR for a standard HD box for my mom. I ended up with a "Pace" branded box.

[MDR]

http://www.maxstore.com/qvx/

Will TWC ever add this product. Would be nice addition to the puny 160G they give you!

[kevbeck122]

I doubt it.. I don't think the Pioneer software they use supports it and I don't see them switching to SA's software anytime soon.  Maybe a bigger DVR will come whenever OCAP arrives in the Milwaukee area.