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carmine
join:2002-09-30
Waterbury, CT

carmine to Mike Wolf

Member

to Mike Wolf

Re: 3 second blackouts

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Picked up a brand new RNG200N this morning from the local service center, shrink-wrapped and still had the clear plastic protection strip along the front bezel.

Installed, powered up, provisioned/activated, and took the first two screenshots above.

Waited 30 minutes or so, checked again, and as you can see, I am having the same problem with signal strength, s/n ratio, and locked/unlocked status.

I haven't watched enough TV yet to know if the blackouts will still occur, but I expect that they will. Waiting for ComcastSteve in the Direct forum to suggest the next step.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Like I said it's probably bad cabling causing bad signalling. I'd suggest having a tech come out. I'm still not a fan of how your location is wired, as I said before I perfer the branch method which is a single wire going into the house, connecting to a three way splitter, one peg going to the cable modem, one peg going to the voice modem, and one peg going into another splitter where everything else connects to. I got the hardware if you want me to send it up to you or I could do it myself if you want and thus avoid a possible charge for a service call.
stanely
join:2003-01-04
Hopkins, MN

stanely to carmine

Member

to carmine
This is an known issue with the RNG200N box. More specifically, the new software guide. Hopefully Comcast will admit this to you privately before you waste any time replacing your wiring.

The only way to fix this is to replace the box with a RNG200 or one of the older SA8300 series. Otherwise, you will have to wait for a software fix.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

but to replace the box with an older piece of equipment will be a death sentence for all of the new features rolling out such as anyroom dvr, guide 2.0, guide 3.0, and so on which wouldn't be compatible.
carmine
join:2002-09-30
Waterbury, CT

carmine

Member

Well, no one is more surprised than I to have to report that we watched TV for several hours last night and did not notice a single blackout of the type this thread has been about. Of course, my wife is a college football fan and tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and we'll have lots of TV viewing in the day's lineup, so we'll see what tonight and tomorrow brings.

If what Stanley said is correct, could it be that the replacement RNG200N I installed has an older version of Guide loaded into it? Does anyone know how I can tell? It certainly looks the same as the previous one...

Also, I don't know if Stanley is referring to the same problem. My blackouts were both video and audio, lasted two to three seconds, and occurred at any time while watching live or recorded TV - in the middle of a program, the middle of a commercial, etc.
The Q
join:2008-06-26
Collegeville, PA

The Q to Mike Wolf

Member

to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

but to replace the box with an older piece of equipment will be a death sentence for all of the new features rolling out such as anyroom dvr, guide 2.0, guide 3.0, and so on which wouldn't be compatible.

Pretty sure that if you get anyroom dvr they need to give you all new boxes anyway. guide 2.0 is when?

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

no the RNG200N and everything that came out during that same time supports AnyRoom DVR. Comcast said the 8300HD doesn't have the memory and processing power for guide 2.0/3.0 which also includes AnyRoom DVR and I think the fact it doesn't have ethernet doesn't help either. Guide 2.0 is sometime in 2012.
Mike Wolf

Mike Wolf to carmine

Member

to carmine
I'm just nervous about this issue occuring at the worst time and letting you and your guests down. The guide version that was originally on the box being different wouldn't matter since it would simply download the latest software available in your area upon bootup. I once picked up a shrink wrapped HD non DVR box and hooked it up and before I could use it it downloaded the S25 guide. If you ever press the power button after the time shows up the first time, APdL appears on display and that indicates it is checking and downloading the latest information available on the headend like a checksum.
carmine
join:2002-09-30
Waterbury, CT

carmine

Member

It definitely did the download after I installed and powered it up the first time. Took 5-10 minutes as I recall.

So, we'll see what it is like tonight and tomorrow. Meanwhile, still waiting for ComcastSteve to let me know what he thinks may be causing the funny signal levels and unlocked status.
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6 to The Q

Member

to The Q
said by The Q:

said by Mike Wolf:

but to replace the box with an older piece of equipment will be a death sentence for all of the new features rolling out such as anyroom dvr, guide 2.0, guide 3.0, and so on which wouldn't be compatible.

Pretty sure that if you get anyroom dvr they need to give you all new boxes anyway. guide 2.0 is when?

The following link points to my guess for when guide 2.0 will be available:

»Re: On Screen Guide 2.0 for SA Areas - Looks Good!

I think in SA/Cisco markets AnyRoom DVR functionality will only be available using the Cisco RNG 200-N as the host DVR. When this box is used for AnyRoom DVR functionality it uses On-Screen Guide 2.0 and currently it is the only set-top box to use it. In the future, On-Screen Guide 2.0 will be downloaded to other RNG series set-top boxes and the more recent Motorola set-top boxes.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

thank you for your informative post

Rust
@comcast.net

Rust to carmine

Anon

to carmine
I am having this blackout problem.. When i watch any thing in HD. I have a vizio tv hooked up with a hdmi cable... Ive recently gotten a new dvr box from comcast and it hasnt gone away.. What should i do?

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

It would be a good idea to check out the other posts in this thread and see if any of those suggestions help with the issue you are having. If they do not we will be happy to assist you.
gchsr7
join:2011-11-19
Spotsylvania, VA

gchsr7

Member

The 3 second picture/sound is caused by the RNG 200N. I went through 3 of them and they all do it. This is a known issue that has yet to be resolved. Go to your local office and see if they can swap it for a SA8300 HDC set top box. Your problems will be solved.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Strange. I haven't had this issue at all. Only thing similar I was having was between changing certain channels, which was 100% resolved for me when I switched over to component cables.

I'd never replace the RNG200N for an older box for several reasons, such as the RNG has a 500GB hard drive compared to the 8300HD with a 160GB hard drive, the RNG200N supports more future features Comcast is implementing such as MyDVR remote programming, iPad applications, guide 2.0, guide 3.0, Anywhere DVR, and so on and so forth. To exchange for an older box would be a stupid thing to do in my opinion as the older equipment do not support any of what I mentioned above. I understand that some people are having trouble with the RNG200N boxes but I would simply recommend being patient while the kinks and oddities are worked out
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by Mike Wolf:

Strange. I haven't had this issue at all. Only thing similar I was having was between changing certain channels, which was 100% resolved for me when I switched over to component cables.

I'd never replace the RNG200N for an older box for several reasons, such as the RNG has a 500GB hard drive compared to the 8300HD with a 160GB hard drive, the RNG200N supports more future features Comcast is implementing such as MyDVR remote programming, iPad applications, guide 2.0, guide 3.0, Anywhere DVR, and so on and so forth. To exchange for an older box would be a stupid thing to do in my opinion as the older equipment do not support any of what I mentioned above. I understand that some people are having trouble with the RNG200N boxes but I would simply recommend being patient while the kinks and oddities are worked out

The SA 8300 HD & HDC DVRs are scheduled to support MyDVR remote programming and iPad applications with the merged release of Phase 2/Phase 3.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

oh really. thats interesting. I could have sworn Ted said differently in his email.
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

The following quote is a post from Comcast's Ted Hodgins "New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes" blog. Please note the date of the post and the fact that the schedule for Phase 3 has slipped from 2011 to mid 2012.
quote:
Glad to see that you are paying attention Russ!

We were able to actually pull the myDVR feature (remote DVR access) forward into the non-RNG DVR's as well, so that is a very positive change. It will be part of phase 3 and expected this year.

The SA 8300 HD cable box is a newer box and will be able to support these features.

Ted Hodgins replied to comment from Russ | March 11, 2011 12:35 PM

»blog.comcast.com/2010/05 ··· nt-37531

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

ah ok. i guess he must have forgot what he said back then when he told me differently. my point is still there that it wont support other new features that Comcast is rolling out in the future because of the lack of resource memory.
carmine
join:2002-09-30
Waterbury, CT

carmine to gchsr7

Member

to gchsr7
FWIW, my problem with 3 second blackouts went away when I swapped my "new" Cisco RNG200N for another "new" Cisco RNG200N. I say "new" because I don't really know the status of either box; the replacement was shrink-wrapped in plastic and had the plastic protective strip over the front panel - I don't know if that means it was factory-fresh or just refurbed.

The original box was installed on November 15 and acted up right from the first evening. I made the swap last Tuesday, the 22nd, and haven't seen a blackout since.

Fingers crossed...

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

oh good so the issue stopped been wondering what ended up happening. Are you still seeing those inconsistencies in the diagnostics you posted pictures of?
carmine
join:2002-09-30
Waterbury, CT

carmine

Member

said by Mike Wolf:

oh good so the issue stopped been wondering what ended up happening. Are you still seeing those inconsistencies in the diagnostics you posted pictures of?

It definitely seems to have settled down; each time I look (admittedly, not very often), I see roughly the same as above. I don't know if this (vs the previous "Unlocked" status and poor levels) is directly related to the blackouts or not.

wbaborcomca
@comcast.net

wbaborcomca to Mike Wolf

Anon

to Mike Wolf
I have had the same problem with my DCX 3425 DVR(over a year)...have tried many fixes and techs came out..no luck...my entire town-home(only 6 years old) was checked. and certified cables, etc and signal levels by Comcast as OK...techs and supervisors...In Chicago suburb(Mokena, IL)..Romeoville head end..

I also have another problem that they were never able to fix...at anytime the box will reset...go to DU1 and reset as if you were turning on the STB....no loss of guide..just reset ....they also are stumped by this...

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

hmm sounds like a project for me if I ever come to Chicago
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6 to Mike Wolf

Member

to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

ah ok. i guess he must have forgot what he said back then when he told me differently. my point is still there that it wont support other new features that Comcast is rolling out in the future because of the lack of resource memory.

It is possible that Ted Hodgins and his staff have changed their mind about supporting MyDVR and the iPad Application on the SA 8300 HD DVR since he made that comment about 8 months ago. I agree that On-Screen Guide 2.0 and its new features will not be supported on the SA 8300 HD DVR.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

I think if you saw the new guide thats located on a thread created a few minutes ago, you might agree that the older equipment might not be able to support the eye candy, i hope im wrong.