Official SA 8000HD DVR Thread

[summerfun]

Here we are in August Now...... Still waiting......

I have to say, however, I have been reading a few other boards and the people that already have the SA 8000 HD DVR are not very happy. They say the HD PQ is not as good as the Pioneer box and the SD channels are much worse.

A few of them are going to go back to the Pioneer box and drop the DVR. That is sure not what I was hoping to hear.

[The Law]

They say the HD PQ is not as good as the Pioneer box and the SD channels are much worse.

Which has *got* to be the reason for the delay in this area.  I would want no pq loss, audio dropouts or any other sacrifice just to be able to record.

I will gladly wait until it's ready for prime time....

[Drummerboy]

I will gladly wait until it's ready for prime time....

Isn't that like saying "I won't load Windows XP until all the bugs have been worked out..."?

[Gregg Lengling]

Unfortunately we have gotten used to the Microsoft Mentality.  Just release and we'll work out the bugs later.  I had to deal with this in my business for years and we finally decided when a new product came out we would test it extensively ourselves and if it wasn't up to snuff we wouldn't release it until the bugs are ironed out.  I give any business big KUDO's if they Beta test on their own before releasing to the general public.

I sure miss CPM, it actually worked and didn't have any bugs.

:guns:

[summerfun]

Originally posted by Drummerboy
Isn't that like saying "I won't load Windows XP until all the bugs have been worked out..."?

Yes, most people do wait until the major bugs are worked out before switching to a new product. That is why we have beta testers.

I'm with "The Law". I am not willing to sacrafice any PQ. Get it right before sending it out.

[Paul S.]

Originally posted by summerfun


I'm with "The Law". I am not willing to sacrafice any PQ. Get it right before sending it out.

[e-man]

I just got the call and have picked up my hd dvr.  So far, so good.  The picture quality is fine for me.  Of course, only time will tell if I'll have some of the issues I've seen posted.

Eric in Wauwatosa!

[gb4fan92]

Where's mine???

[Joel S]

I got the call last night also!  I'm going to Mayfair tonight to pick one up.  

The HD DVR's are ready and in stock at the Mayair location.

[borghe]

congrats guys. welcome to the world of HD DVR... and what a nice world it is. :cool:

[Drummerboy]

But I haven't seen any pigs flying.  And last I heard hell is pretty hot.  How can this be?

[gparris]

We haven't received anything in the Kenosha area about HD DVRs, yet.
 You are lucky if they actually called you and have them-working.

Lately with my SD DVRs having sound issues such as the sound breakups, I hope TWC has it fixed by the time we get the HD versions, here.
Otherwise, I'll keep what I have and live fight with it (4 boxes).

For those with the HD DVRs, let us know how the PQ is, how you stretched your SD pictures and if you can stretch your HD pictures so the sidebars don't cause burn in like the current HD boxes do.

Anything will be appreciated. Maybe you are the ones that are the "guinea pigs" with the HD DVRs and don't  know it, yet, speaking about "pigs".:eek:

[Drummerboy]

Yes, most people do wait until the major bugs are worked out before switching to a new product. That is why we have beta testers.

But the SciAtl 8000 HD was already tested by SciAtl.  Its sounds like to me that Time Warner altered the boxes so much that they goofed up the boxes.  Besides there are several other markets that had the box for months.  Couldn't Time Warner coordinate the info from the other markets to get the bugs worked out a little quicker?  I'm not saying there was no coordination, but there didn't seem to be much of a rush.

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up to much space.
Face it guys, Microsoft has set the standard and that's the way most hardware and software companies are practicing.  Otherwise they risk the loss of marketshare.

What surprises me the most is that there are people here that defend TW.  Their empty promisses, lack of communication with the customer and jacked up prices leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

[borghe]

Hmm.. just have to chime in here.. while I make no statement on how I think TWC handled this, Microsoft "setting the standard" is one of the more ignorant phrases I have heard in a while.. Are you aware how much money Microsoft has cost business, ne, the world, in releasing bug ridden or insecure software? In the last two years we have had two days of down time directly related to security flaws in Microsoft products. Two days, for an entire international corporation with thousands of employees down the drain because microsoft is "setting the standard".

Most people who live on the edge prefer to do so. This is fine. I am actually one of them believe it or not (hey, I paid $1000 for an HD Tivo and hacked it before I even powered it on). However releasing unstable bug-ridden hardware and software just to appease people who will in turn slam it for being so buggy and unstable is NOT the way things should be approached. Why does MS do it? Because they know when it comes down to it 90% of the computer users out there will not turn to the alternative.

In this case TWC doesn't have that luxury. If they release buggy hardware, customers can turn to dish or DirecTV, both of which have comparable hardware and services. If the $1000 is too high for an HD DVR, then the person will switch and just not get it. Customer service is everything when you are a service provider. EVERYTHING. While you may be fine with "release it now work the kinds out later", most people will not be. And Microsoft has lead the way in the software industry with such tactics. Now let's just hope that ludacris mentality never makes it out any further than that industry, and let's hope Microsoft's market share keeps declining on a daily basis until they realize that that ISN'T an appropriate way of doing business.

Ant the last thing I will say is that SA already tested the box, but not with the Pioneer software on it. TWC-Milw opted for the Pioneer software I am assuming because their existing boxes also have the Pioneer software on it.. So yeah, they could have gotten it here a lot earlier with the different software on it and had to have their customers learn the UI all over again. AFAIK no other market has rolled out the SA8000HD with the Pioneer software.

[MDR]

Picked up my HD-dvr at 8 am from the MLK office. So far so good.
PC is fine but now that my SD is fed into the HD input of my tv the SD isn't as sharp as it was inmy old setup with SD and HD each fed seperately.

I used the DVR to stretch the SD to eliminate the sidebars and the stretch function on my tv to eliminate the letterbox.

Still playing around to learn all the quirks and tricks of the beast.

By the way, the message i got said one of the pick-up sites was the Regency mall in Racine. Not to far from Kenosha if you know
what I mean.

Glad to finally have the box and no real complaints so far..